Chapter Ten

Annabeth looked around her house that she had been absent from for only a week, yet it felt like a month. The rebel missions and her capture had made her week extremely long.

"Annie!"

Annabeth cringed at her hated nickname and turned to see her two brothers rushing at her like bulls, wrapping her in hugs. She smiled and set down her bags, wrapping her arms around her twin brothers. "Hey guys, I missed you."

"We missed you too Annie," Bobby said.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth looked up to see her father at the top of the stairs. "Father," she said.

Frederick Chase nodded curtly as he made his way down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, the two stared awkwardly at each other. The silence was tense. Annabeth's last meeting with her father hadn't been the most heartwarming conversation. Finally Annabeth felt her father's arms envelop her in a hug. "Welcome home Annabeth."

He pulled away and held her at shoulder length, a small smile resting on his lips. "How was your trip to your grandmother's?"

For a moment, Annabeth almost forgot the story she had come up with last night. Luckily for her, it came back quickly. "It was fine. We went to the market and walked in the hills. Did you know her cat just had kittens? I've never seen so many cats in one place. Grandmother baked a lot of desserts and I feel stuffed just thinking about all the foods I've eaten. All in all, it was just like the other visits, pleasant," she said fluently with a smile.

Frederick smiled. "Well it's nice to know that you had a good time at your Grandmother's. Now how about we get you upstairs and unpacked?" he said kindly, softly placing a hand on her back to guide her up the stairs.

Annabeth knit her eyebrows as she walked down the hallway to her room. The tenderness and kindness that her father had just shown confused her. Opening the door to her room, she wondered why her father was being nicer than usual. Could he have gotten the letter? she thought, putting her suitcases on her bed.

Maybe he's just trying to be a good father for once.

Yeah right. Frederick Chase, the Nazi. I'll believe that when Hitler hugs a Jew.

Annabeth sighed. Her relationship with her father was strained. Her mother leaving and her father joining the Nazis had took a toll on the two. She looked around her room where the morning sunlight streamed in through the large windows. She made her way over to her desk where several sketchbooks were stacked on one side with a blueprint still spread out on the wood. Protractors, compasses, and rulers lay absently about the desk. She blew off the gathering dust on the design and sat down in her chair, studying what she was doing before she left for the rebel missions that week.

She didn't come down for hours that day. Morning turned to afternoon and twilight approached but the blonde hadn't left her room the entire time. As she finished up a sketch her head snapped up at the sound of a knock. She swiveled in her chair. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's us Annie."

Annabeth smiled at the sound of Bobby's voice. "Come in guys."

The door swung open as the two boys poked their heads in the room. "Daddy says for you to come to dinner. We have a guest so he wants you to dress nice," Matthew said.

Annabeth smiled and nodded even though she inwardly sighed. Dinner with a guest, hooray.

"Alright see you in a second," she said, turning to her closet as her door clicked close behind the twins. In five minutes she stood in front of her mirror. Her blonde hair was in an updo and two curly locks framed her face. Examining herself, she turned in her silver dress and quickly made her out of her room

"I hate dinner with guests," she grumbled to herself.

Her stomach rumbled in protest as if to say, 'stop feeling sorry for yourself and feed me!'

Walking down the hallway in heels she heard the sound of voices coming from downstairs. One, she knew was her father, but the other she couldn't identify.

She turned the corner to the stairs and looked to see her father talking to a man in a suit. Her father turned and smiled. "Ah, Annabeth! Here you are. I was just talking with our guest here. Why don't you come on down so that you can introduce yourselves."

Annabeth put on a smile and carefully picked her way down the steps in her heels. Arriving at the bottom, she went to stand next to her father, finally getting a good look at the stranger. His black hair was short and combed up at the front. His blue eyes twinkled with a boyish humor and his lips were curved into a smile.

"Hello sir, my name is Annabeth Chase," she said politely, extending her hand in greeting.

"It's a pleasure," he answered. The man smiled, eyes focused on her as he dipped to kiss her hand. "My name is Pierre, Pierre von Jacobs."

Annabeth felt a stirring in her stomach as he smiled at her after kissing her hand. This man looked so familiar. She felt like a fool. She knew that she had seen him somewhere, but she couldn't recall a man with such short, kept hair and dazzling blue eyes.

"Annabeth? I believe it's time for dinner," her father's voice said, breaking her out of her stupor. She blushed in embarrassment as she realized that she had been staring at Pierre for a while.

"Of course, um, sorry," she stammered distractedly. Her eyes flicked about the room and she found herself making a beeline for the dining room.

What the heck is wrong with you? she thought to herself.

It was too cliche. Sure the guy was very handsome and she wanted to run her hands through his black hair and stare into his beautiful eyes and-

"That's it!" she said aloud. Her eyes widened as she realized that she had voiced her outburst. She glanced around, making sure no one was too near.

God, they'll think I'm a mental case.

She clenched her fists at her sides and let them go. She had to relax. She just met the guys for crying out loud! She took a deep breath and let the stress flow out of her. By now, she had reached the dining room and her brothers and stepmother were already seated. The two boys were practically bouncing in their seats but a sharp look from her stepmother at the head of the table stopped their antics.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and took a seat across from them at her stepmother's left hand. No doubt Pierre was to sit at her father's right hand at the other end of the table. It was a courtesy for Frederick's guests.

The four sat quietly as they waited for the two men in the entrance hall who had lingered longer than Annabeth had expected. About 3 minutes later, the two men came smiling into the room, taking their places at table. Annabeth forced herself to stay relaxed as Pierre took his seat next to her. As the dinner was served, cider-brined pork chops with Maple-Bacon Chutney, Frederick began the conversation.

"I don't believe all of you have met our guest here," Frederick said, gesturing to the blue-eyed young man seated at his side. "This is the son of my friend Damien von Jacobs who lives in Vienna. He will be staying with us for a while and will be attending the Chase Ball."

Annabeth saw her stepmother purse her lips. "Frederick, how come I have never heard of Herr Damien von Jacobs nor his son?"

All eyes turned to the master of the table and Annabeth saw a hint of hesitance in her father's answer. "Oh, I'm sure I mentioned him once but most likely it is because we have been rather distant for the past few years but now we have become much closer. After all, his son is here," he said with a grin. But Annabeth noticed the uneasiness in his smile. She'd have to ask later as her father had begun to speak again. "Now Pierre. Would you mind telling us why you are here besides to attend our fabulous ball?"

Pierre chuckled. "Although the Chase Ball is quite appealing that's not why I'm here. My father sent me here to discuss business between the Chase's and the von Jacobs'. He was going to come but I told him I wanted to see the beauty of Salzburg. I haven't got out much in Vienna. Father's always too busy working with the National Socialists Party."

Annabeth detected no hesitance or lie in his answer. But there was also something slightly different about it, almost as if it was rehearsed. She quickly shook it off. Most likely it was because he mentioned the Nazis. The sound of their name always put a bad taste in her mouth.

Or it could be because the guy's a hunk, said her subconscious.

She nearly slapped herself at that. Stop it, the guy's the son of Nazi.

But nothing can stop true love, her 'other self' argued.

Okay now is not the time for this. I'm-

"Annabeth? I know the wallpaper is very interesting but you've been staring at it for a while now."

Annabeth blinked and realized that she had drifted off. The whole table was staring at her and she wanted to just die.

Great not only am I schizophrenic, but I'm suicidal.

"Um, I'm fine. I'm still exhausted from travel. You know, road rage," she said with a nervous smile.

Frederick nodded and the table returned to its discussion. Annabeth looked down at her plate of food. Suddenly her pork chops didn't look so appealing. Meanwhile, as the conversation went on, Pierre contributing much to the discussion, Annabeth found the blue-eyed more and more intriguing. But then there was the part of her that told her to push him away. The man was the son of a Nazi and by the points he was making in the conversation, it sounded like he was one too.

Eventually she found that sitting there was pointless as she had barely eaten. Heck, she probably taken three bites out of her pork chops. She folded her napkin and neatly placed it next to her plate, waiting for a lull in the conversation before politely excusing herself from the table.

As she made her way out of the room, she heard the conversation pick up again, yet she felt eyes on her back. She turned and found herself looking at the culprit. Who better than Pierre? With that, she left the dining room, the blue-eyed man staring after her.

Author's Note: I think you all know who Pierre is. Honestly, I don't know what cider-brined pork chops with Maple-Bacon Chutney are. I literally looked up 'high class pork meals.' ;) Oh well... Also, thanks for reading and reviewing. But seriously, sometimes I don't know where I'm going with this story, whether I should continue because a part of me wants to, but another part thinks that it's a bust. So what do you think? Please, reviews mean a lot so Please Review.