Annabeth's leg was healing, slowly but surely. She made sure to change her dressings, taking no chances of loosing her virtue. She had to pour what she began calling liquid fire on her wound a few more times. She was glad when the infection was finally gone and she only needed to put on the soothing ointment. When she wasn't addressing her wounds she spent her time looking out the sole window in the room. She was looking for any weaknesses that she could exploit to escape, but it only served to further distress her. The view of the fields upon fields of armed men and women, became a constant reminder of how peril her plight was. Her evenings were filled with restlessness as she not only couldn't get comfortable on the hard slab of a makeshift bed, but she started at any sound.
Then there was Luke. He visited her at least once a day. He would bring her small comforts, a pillow, a change of clothes, and extra blankets. But he always asked for information on Percy. Annabeth saw it for what it was, information for favors. She played his game, but only to the extent of giving him information that most already knew of: the stallion bowing to Percy and following him wherever he goes with out lead or harness. But she knew she could never reveal what she saw in Thebes. It was an extremely intimate and vulnerable moment that she considered to be extremely valuable not only to the enemy, but to her in that he shared it with her. No doubt Luke would love that piece of information. She often asked after Artemis' well being. The answer was always the same. She was still alive. This was of little comfort.
Thus her days went, until late one evening as Annabeth lay awake on her makeshift bed, she heard a scuffle outside her door. She then heard a key in the lock. She was immediately up, heart hammering inside her chest, ready for whatever was about to walk through the door. When it opened, it took her a moment to realize that Artemis was standing in front of her.
"Artemis! You're alright." Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief.
"And what of you? Are your wounds healing? Have they been treating you well?" Artemis asked with concern in her voice.
"They have treated my wounds, and treat me as well as they can for a prisoner." Annabeth responded.
Artemis physically relaxed. "We have to get out of here. Can you walk?"
"Well enough." Annabeth responded, more than eager to leave this place.
"Good. Put on this soldier's uniform." Artemis pointed to the now dead soldier laying outside her cell. They worked together to get the uniform off. Artemis helped her get it on. There was some blood on it, but Annabeth was too excited at the prospect of escape to care. Once she was fully dressed, they headed down the stairs of the tower. Her leg gave her less trouble than when she arrived, but she still had a slight limp. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs they made their way carefully around the milling soldiers and servants. No one gave them a second glance as they made their way. They came across a large room that looked to be the war room with street maps of each city on one wall, a table with the layout of Olympus, complete with figures representing each army. Annabeth couldn't help herself from investigating, and entered the room.
"Annabeth, it's too dangerous." Artemis whispered urgently.
She was just taking stock of where the armies where positioned on the table, when they heard a deep resounding voice echo through the halls. Artemis froze and for the first time showed the slightest hint of fear. "Your foolish belief that you can still convert the stallion is compromising all we have worked towards." The deep voice scolded.
They began frantically looking around the room for a place to hide. Annabeth started patting down the tapestries around the room. She stopped when one gave way. She signaled Artemis to follow her as they slipped behind the tapestry.
Castellan's voice responded as they neared the room that they were in. "The stallion will be a great asset to our cause. Jackson is on his way here, attempting to kill the stallion was a mistake, General Atlas." Annabeth's heart suddenly leapt in her chest. He was alive, and he was headed here. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
"You should kill the girl while you have the chance." Atlas growled.
"How many spies did you loose in Epyra because of that mess up? Our armies are formidable. Our plan is foolproof. But if the stallion was on our side, we'd be unstoppable."
"You have your trap, for now. But know this, if Jackson interferes again . . ."
"I will personally end him and his stallion."
"You can keep your little princess as long as you keep her under control. I know how you favor her. Personally, she's more trouble than what she is worth."
"Thank you, General. You won't regret it."
"Humph. How progresses the next phase of our plan?"
"Just smuggling the last of the Greek fire into Athens, Atlantis, and Epyra. They are untrusting and the process is slow, but it won't be long now. The loss of spies in Epyra didn't help matters."
"That could not be helped. Get it done by the winter solstice. That is when we will light Olympus up." There was a sound of glee in his voice. Annabeth and Artemis looked at each other with the same expression, concern.
"Yes, my lord." They heard movement in the room, signaling they were about to exit.
Before they left, however, Annabeth heard someone run into the room. "Pardon general, forgive the intrusion, but the princesses are gone."
Annabeth and Artemis held their breath in the darkness.
"What?! Lock down the castle! Raise the alarm! I want every soldier scouring the grounds!" General Atlas yelled.
"There is something else, sir. The guard's armor is missing."
There was a pause. "So they've disguised themselves as one of us." Castellan's voice mused.
"We're trapped." Artemis' voice breathed beside her.
"File the ranks. Let's see if we find any extras." They left the room.
"We need to get out of here." Artemis whispered.
"I wonder where this leads too?" Annabeth looked down what looked like a narrow tunnel. They looked at each other and made a silent decision and as one began walking down the tunnel. Artemis found a torch and lit it. They walked for what seemed like an hour until they reached a dead end. There were piles of rocks and dirt blocking the tunnel.
"Looks like a cave in." Artemis said dejectedly.
"Looks like we have to head back. Maybe they have lightened the search." Annabeth hoped.
They turned dejectedly back, but traveled at a much slower pace. When they reached the tapestry, they found the room empty. Artemis lead the way to the door. Annabeth passed by the wall covered in maps of Olympian cities, barely glancing at them. She did a double take at the map of Athens. Something was off about it, but she didn't have time to investigate it. Artemis motioned her forward and they left the room.
As they wandered through the hallways, Annabeth realized she was completely lost, but trusted in Artemis. They had made several turns when they came out into a large hall that Annabeth recognized from when they came in. The doors were closed fast and Annabeth worried that if the door was closed then the gate would be too.
They took three steps toward the door when Annabeth heard Luke's crisp voice. "What are you doing out so late? I thought I made it clear, we're in lock down. Stay in your barracks."
"Just leaving, sir." Artemis deepened her voice.
"They took a few more steps toward he gate, when Luke spoke again. "What's wrong with your leg, private?"
"Old wound." Annabeth attempted to deepen her voice.
"Annabeth." It wasn't a question.
Artemis reacted instantly and swung the sword she stole from the guard. But Luke was ready. He immediately parried. Annabeth drew her sword and swung. Luke parried it so hard that it almost fell out of her hands. She was accustom to fighting with a knife, but even so, she was sure that if she were proficient in the sword, this one was too heavy for her. She gripped the sword tighter and swung again. Artemis was definitely carrying most of the fight, and with it being two against one, they were making headway as they drove him back. Annabeth was so focused on Luke that she almost missed the sword swinging toward her skull. She managed to block it in time, but the sword came down with such force that it not only knocked her to the floor, but broke her sword. She stared at it in horror, before looking up at who had attacked her.
The man before her was old, no doubt, judging from the white hair and beard, but he was massive, as big as a door if not bigger. However, it was his eyes that pierced Annabeth's soul and made it quake with fear. They were cold, dark and murderous. He reached down and pulled her up by the front of her armor. Annabeth stabbed at him with her broken hilt. He grabbed her by the wrist and squeezed nearly braking her hand. She had no choice but to let go of the broken sword. He promptly put a hand at her throat, with the threat of choking her and turned her so her back was against him. The fight between Luke and Artemis had paused, with their swords still pointed toward each other.
"I wouldn't do that princess." The man who held her said. Artemis' eyes widened when she saw Annabeth. And just to show how serious he was he squeezed her throat. Annabeth panicked as she was deprived of air. She clawed at the hand around her throat. Artemis immediately dropped her sword and surrendered. "Better. I guess this one does have some uses." He sneered at Annabeth as he threw her to the ground. Annabeth took a deep breath and felt her throat ache from the effort. She coughed weakly. "I think these two need to be taught a lesson in manners. Take them to the quarry." He smiled maliciously.
Soldiers immediately grabbed them and led them out of the fortress. They were led out of the gate, past the encampment, and toward a mountain. As they neared it, Annabeth could make out a mine, workers, and a quarry, where large stones were being cut out of the mountain. She realized that this was where they got their stone for the rebuilding of the fortress. They stopped when they reached the entrance of the mine. "Put them at the pillars." General Atlas ordered. The soldiers did as was instructed. They placed a chain around each of their ankles, effectively restricting their legs. "You will come to appreciate my hospitality." He sneered at them. "Remove the posts."
Annabeth watched as the mine entrance trembled as though it was about to cave in. Her and Artemis immediately reacted and raised their hands above their heads to prevent the top beam of the entrance from collapsing. Atlas roared with laughter causing several of the soldiers to laugh as well. "Enjoy your stay." Atlas said as he left them. Castellan gave her one last look that she couldn't quite make out, before turning and following General Atlas.
"I'm sorry." Annabeth croaked to Artemis.
"The fault lies with me. It was an ill conceived plan." Artemis grunted in return. They stood in silence struggling to prevent the cave in that was sure to kill them the moment they gave in.
