"AHHHHHHHH!"
Annabeth jolted awake out of her slumber. Piper, her serving maid was standing wide eyed at the entrance to her bedroom chambers. Her laundry basket was on a heap on the floor in front of her; both of her hands covered her mouth as she stared down at...
"Thieves! Robbers! Bandits! Annabeth, what's happened?" Piper wrenched her gaze from the unconscious elves on Annabeth's floor. Their scarlet blood had soaked into the white carpet and had turned an ugly brown colour.
Annabeth recalled the adventures of last night. Someone had been in her room and had distracted the sentries whilst she legged it to the back door down to the gardens. Oh, she remembered now...
"Annabeth, my lady, what's happened? You've been attacked!" Piper wailed, close to hysteria.
Annabeth shook her head calmly. "No, someone else was in my room last night – the sentries spotted him and well...that happened, I suppose."
"Shouldn't we tell the King?" Piper said nervously, picking up her laundry and stepping carefully over the bodies.
"No...I don't know, but I will find out who was sneaking around in my room last night," Annabeth said with determination. Annabeth didn't even know how the person had got in. The windows were locked with magic and the sentries would know if someone went into her room.
The only people it could be are servants or a person disguised as a servant. Even then they would have to state their business to the sentries at the bottom of the stairs. The only other option was...Thalia. She was allowed in whenever she wanted; Annabeth had made that rule pretty clear to the sentries a long time ago.
But why would Thalia hide in her bedroom? Something was suspicious and Annabeth hated not knowing things.
However like everything else, Annabeth was going to find out.
Percy had two hours free time before the next Mellay started. He had no intention of staying in the training grounds where Triton was showing off his skills at magic and sword fighting and generally taking every opportunity to beat up as many elves as he could.
Instead Percy decided to visit Rachel. She of course had always been there for him when he was younger, even though maybe not in the way he preferred. Still, she was good company and he needed another dose of her potion.
This time he needed to remember to take extra with him. He knew he wasn't going to be able to keep going back and forth all the time. People would start getting suspicious and last was the last thing he had in mind.
Percy pulled on a brown woollen cloak and wrapped it around himself, to shelter from the sudden harsh wind. The sky looked as if there was a storm brewing, and there was a light drizzle in the air.
He looked back once at the training camp and saw Prince Triton kicking a defenceless elf, who lay dazed on the ground.
Percy's eyes flashed and darkened like a raging sea under dark clouds and wind, before he continued to exit the high wooden walls of the camp.
Behind him, he heard sudden laughter and jeering. Percy smirked when he turned around again and saw Tritons trousers loose around his ankles. His face was bright red and his blue eyes full of anger and humiliation. Even his friends were suppressing their amusement, behind shaking hands.
Before Triton could notice Percy, he smoothly turned a sharp right around a corner of a building. A mouth-watering smell emanated from the cosy inn on the market street. People bustled down the streets carrying bags or wallets safely tucked in their pockets – or maybe not so safely when he noticed two mischievous teenage elves nimbly plucking them back out.
Everyone was talking or chatting to some extent, they all looked so peaceful and carefree it made Percy slightly jealous. How he wished he could belong somewhere, but no...He is forever cursed to walk alone since there was no one in the whole world that could accept him for who he really is.
A blonde girl sidled up to him; her group of friends were standing giggling not far off.
"Hey handsome," she said twirling a loose strand of hair just a little bit too obviously.
"Hi," he replied politely, though he felt uncomfortable with her being so close.
"I watched you fight yesterday, you were A – Maz – zing! I mean...you were just like 'this is so eaaasy' how did you learn how to fight like that?"
Percy scratched the back of his neck, feeling slightly awkward. "Um...I guess I trained a lot."
"Who's your sword tutor? Mine's terrible he always goes on about how I'm a girl and shouldn't be allowed to fight – how sexist is that?"
"You sword fight?"
The girl huffed and looked exasperated. "Exactly! Everyone thinks I'm so weird for sword fighting, it's horrible. If only I had a good sword teacher then I could show everyone that girls can fight."
"Right ok?" Percy wasn't sure what she was getting at.
"I'm talking about you, idiot – please please please can you teach me – you'll be like the BEST sword instructor ever! I promise I won't let you down."
Percy wasn't entirely sure if she was leading him on or joking about the whole thing. "You're serious about this?"
"Of course!"
"Uh huh...I'm not sure when I can train you, since the Mellay and everything..." Percy said.
"The Mellay lasts three months and then you'll be free to train me then. Please, this is my dream," she gave him big eyes, sort of like what Percy did with Rachel. It always worked. He just never considered it backfiring on him.
"I'll train you, after the Mellay – I promise."
The girl smiled so wide, Percy wondered if it hurt her face. "Thanks so much! Message me by magic or something – I'm called Lacy, Lacy Beauregard – Silena Beauregard is my sister – do you know her? She went to live in Atlantia a few years ago. You came from Atlantia didn't you? I haven't seen you around Athane before."
Percy nodded, though he felt bad lying.
There was an awkward silence hanging in the air whilst she was eating breakfast. Annabeth's father the king was picking at his food and staring at her, as if he were trying to figure out something from her expression. That couldn't be good.
"Annabeth," his voice was cold and quiet. She hated when he spoke like that. "You've used magic haven't you?"
Annabeth froze. Jolts of fear suddenly racked down her spine, she couldn't meet her father's threatening glower.
"No, why do you think that?" she said, lying between her teeth hoping that he bought it.
Apparently not.
"I can sense the energy crawling all over you – and it's fresh, maybe six or seven hours old," his dark brown eyes pierced straight into her head. "You know there's a punishment for magic under sixteen don't you?"
Annabeth nodded. There was no point in arguing.
"Since you're my daughter I can't punish you fully for this -" his voice sounded like 'Oh, what a shame'. "I'm disappointed in you, Annabeth – I thought you knew how my laws work."
She nodded her head again, hoping to get out of the banquet hall as quick as possible.
"Answer me; don't nod like some mute fool."
Oh, so now nodding your head is against the law now? She thought bitterly. "Yes, father. I'm sorry father."
"You better be," her father growled. "I'm assigning you a bodyguard to watch your actions everywhere you go – until you learn to obey my commands."
"What!" Annabeth spluttered, choking on her glass of water.
Her father glared at her disapprovingly. "You should be grateful that I'm not giving you the full punishment – however if this un-lady like behaviour carries on, I might just reconsider that."
Annabeth swallowed. "Yes father, may I get down?"
The king nodded, she could feel his glare on her back as she left the banquet hall. She then raced up the stairs and flung open her chamber door. Throwing herself on her bed, she screamed into her pillow letting out every last drop of her emotions into the soft fabric.
Thalia sat down at her desk, scribbling down the events of last night.
...an argument seemed to start but I couldn't hear what they were saying. In the end Annabeth sat down and...
She twirled the feather quill in her fingers. Since there was no tuition today, that gave Mr Brunner heaps of time to runaway to his secret lair – or wherever he went on his own. Maybe he wasn't even up to anything. He could just be a red herring, leading Thalia off onto a wild goose chase. But still, she was desperate to know what was going on. She would find out, there was no way she was giving up.
She shut her leather scrap book and stood up. There was no point writing all this down, when Mr Brunner could be saddling his horse right now and venturing into places unknown.
Lifting a floor board up in her chambers, right next to her bed, she placed the scrap book inside and placed it back to normal.
Quickly getting on her outdoor clothes, Thalia ran down the stairs of her father's mansion and out of the front door. She briskly walked down the long driveway and made her way through the crowded streets.
"Hey Thalia!" One of the Stoll brother's ran up to her. She wasn't sure which though; they looked completely identical to her.
"Hey...er...Travis!"
"Connor," he corrected.
"I see you've got out of prison then," Thalia noted, she kept walking quickly. Connor was having trouble catching up with her.
"You heard about that?" he sounded surprised.
"Yeah, word spreads fast here in Athane – Annabeth told me...something about you two fighting over a certain girl, huh?" Thalia grinned knowingly.
"Yeah, yeah...anyway what I came to talk about – who is that guy you were with yesterday, huh? Care to explain?" Connor gave her a crooked smile.
Thalia flushed. "It's not what you think, he's -"
"That's what they all say, you can't fool me!" did Connor sound slightly disappointed underneath his carefree attitude? Thalia had not a clue.
"Think what you want, Con. See you later sometime," Thalia rushed off, leaving Connor in the market street.
She starting sprinting when she saw the palace stables in sight. The other Stoll brother waved at her as she dashed in. To her horror she found one stall empty. Mr Brunner must've already gone.
She ran out again. Travis looked at her confused.
"Has an elf with massive bushy eyebrows taken a horse today?" she panted.
Travis frowned in thought. "Yeah, he was here about an hour ago – said he was going to collect some rare herbs – what a weirdo. Why do you ask?"
Thalia groaned. He had gone an hour ago; she would never be able to follow him now. "It doesn't matter," she told Travis. "MM me if he comes again tomorrow, ok?"
"MM?"
"Magic messaging, keep up," Thalia said impatiently.
"Oh, right..." he didn't sound too sure. "Did you hear Piper this morning – I think she woke up half the castle with her screaming – it was so hilarious!"
"Piper?"
"Annabeth's serving maid, keep up," Travis told her, grinning. "Apparently she found two unconscious sentry guards lying in Annabeth's chambers when she went in this morning. I've been teasing her all morning about it!"
"Oh, ahh, that's cool," Thalia said. Hopefully no one knew that it was Thalia who had stabbed those two guards last night when she was following Annabeth. She probably should've moved them to a more obscure place. She'd have to remember that for next time...if there was a next time. "Are you going to Silena's wedding?" she asked randomly.
"You're good at changing the subject," Travis said. "Almost like you didn't want to talk about the last topic..."
Thalia laughed nervously. Travis' eyes widened. "I was only joking, you know! But, really is there something awesome you want to tell me about?"
"No, nothing," Thalia snapped and then left him standing alone by the stables.
"A bit temperamental today," she heard him say.
She rolled her eyes. If he figured it out, then by tomorrow the whole servants quarters would know about it – then Piper would know and Piper would tell Annabeth...who most likely would not be amused.
"Stop! Stop! You're stirring it wrong! Its anti – clockwise not clockwise...Gah, you've ruined the whole potion!" Rachel complained, pouring the vile looking liquid onto a very pretty looking bunch of flowers. Instantly they shrivelled up and disintegrated in the wind.
"See, that's what would've happened to you," Rachel told him with annoyance. "Now we have to start all over again."
"We were only on step 3," Percy reminded her.
"Exactly," Rachel said. She handed him a bunch of garlic's and half a mermaid tail. "Chop these up – carefully."
Percy held his breath when he smelt a whiff of the pungent odour of the tail. He picked up a sharp chopping knife and sliced it up in 1cm cubes. Blood splattered onto his clothes and fingers. Disgusting.
Rachel started boiling water on a newly lit fire and added a bunch of random things Percy had no clue what they were.
"Pass the tail cubes...thank you," she sprinkled them into the cauldron which made it turn a luminous shade of blue. "Now we stir it, this time I think I might since you don't have the capacity to stir anti-clockwise."
Percy decided not to take that to heart.
Rachel started chanting in a strange language, occasional speaking in the language of the mer, but apart from that it was gobble-de-goop.
"Pour three drops of goblin blood each at a five second interval," Rachel commanded.
Percy obliged.
"Perfect!" Rachel squealed, clapping her hands together. She took the potion off the heat and professionally poured the liquid in several glass bottles. "Take as many as you need, just be careful though - the more you take the more risk someone might discover it."
Percy nodded. There was no way percy was going to let someone spill his secret to the world.
"Good luck," Rachel said as he left her small strange house in the middle of nowhere. "You're going to need it."
AN: hi! Thanks for reading everybody! Hope you like it... happy reading and review!
