Percy POV
About half an hour after leaving Annabeth in Athens, I had reached the gates of Atlantis. I rode in through the gates without being noticed, galloping through the narrow, winding streets towards the palace. The sunlight hurt my head, and my ankle throbbed uncomfortably, but I was soon riding up to the royal gates. The two guards posted at the gates gazed at me warily from under their uniform hats, obviously not recognising me under all the cuts, bruises and dirt. I hopped down from the horse's back, walking closer.
"Open the gates, please." I instructed politely. The guards' eyes opened wide in surprise as they finally recognised me.
"Prince Perseus! Welcome home!" They unlocked the gates quickly, ushering me inside with a bow. I clambered back onto the horse to ride the rest of the way up to the palace. The familiar marble columns that framed the front entrance shone in the mid-morning sun, glowing creamy white with flecks of blue and green. I climbed down off the horse and stumbled towards the grand wooden doors, pushing open the shining bronze door handle and stepping inside.
My father's study door was ajar, and from inside I could hear him talking to my mother. Their voices sounded worn, like they were both very tired. I pushed the door, which swung open with a creak. Both of my parents looked up at the sound, and my mother shrieked and ran towards me.
"Percy!" She threw her arms around me, making me stagger backwards.
"Perseus, are you alright?" My father asked over my mother's shoulder, smiling widely.
"I think so, but I may have sprained my ankle." I replied, prying my mother gently off of me.
"Where have you been?" My mother asked, wiping tears out of her eyes.
"I was kidnapped, my captor said he would return me for a large ransom." I said, only telling half of the truth.
"What on Earth happened to you? Where did all these cuts and bruises come from?" My mother traced a light finger over the scar on my collarbone and what was left of the ripped, dirty, bloody shirt I was wearing.
"I was tortured a bit too." The words made my mother tear up again, hugging me tighter.
"You're safe now, Percy."
Annabeth POV
I walked downstairs, feeling stronger than before, and walked into my father's study.
"Annabeth!" He greeted me, barely looking up from his papers.
"Your majesty." I said, curtseying. Even though the rest of my family were relatively relaxed with manners and royal etiquette, when I was around my father, I took special care, as any tiny mistake could send him into a temper.
"I was so worried about you, my dear! How are you?"
"I feel much better now, father." I replied meekly. Over the years, I had learned to only tell my father what he wanted to hear, never telling him anything about myself.
"I'm very glad to hear it. Later, you must tell your me exactly what happened. I will have whatever fiend it is that thinks he can kidnap the heir of Athens executed!" The false joy in his voice repulsed me, but I couldn't let it show. He seemed to have lost interest in talking to me, so I returned to my bedroom, too tired to put up with anyone else asking questions.
I curled up on my bed, all the events of the last two weeks catching up to me all at once. When I closed my eyes, I saw sparkling sea green, and I missed him so much it hurt, after being with him practically every minute of every day for two weeks. In a way, I missed that tiny cell that we had shared. If I was still there, I would still be with him. Now, my home didn't feel welcoming anymore. Everything was back to normal, but it didn't feel right. I was woken in the evening by Piper, telling me that dinner was being served. I walked into the dining room and sat in my usual seat, staring at the simple meal of soup and bread set out in front of me.
"Mr Apollo told the cook to prepare you something simple." My mother explained, noticing my confused look. I nodded, and started eating, suddenly feeling my ravenous hunger at the sight of food. I savoured every mouthful, barely remembering my manners, but to my surprise, after only finishing half of the meal, I was full. I waited for everyone else to finish, for the questions to start.
"So, Annabeth, you must tell us what happened." My father said. This was it. I had concocted a story, mostly lies, to feed to my parents, but would they believe it? "I was out in the garden with Ethan several men ambushed us. We were both unarmed, of course, and were quickly captured. I think I may have been drugged, as I cannot remember much after that." My brothers looked completely enthralled by the story, and I swallowed a smile.
"The next thing I can remember is waking up in a small cell. It was very dark, and I didn't see anyone for several hours, when my captor came in. He told me that he was going to demand a ransom of you, and that I would be returned when you had paid it." That part was mostly true, and I saw my father's face go slightly red with alarm, which quickly faded, hidden by a mask of fake concern.
"Are you quite sure, my dear? We received no ransom." He lied smoothly.
"My captors must have thought you did, as they threatened to kill me when they thought you wouldn't pay it." I saw my mother gulp.
"How did you escape?" Bobby asked excitedly.
"Well, Ethan managed to overpower a guard and steal his keys, and we stole a horse. Unfortunately, Ethan was caught and killed as he bought me more time. I only just managed to get away." I finished. My mother's eyes looked sorrowfully at me.
"Such a shame." She muttered.
"He seemed like a very nice man." I nodded sincerely, because it had been true in the end.
"Well, you must be exhausted. Why don't you go to bed early, and we can talk again tomorrow." My father suggested , and I returned to my room, and back to sleep.
The next day, I woke feeling almost back to normal, though when I dressed and looked at myself in the mirror, I saw a girl with skin as white as death, and so thin that she looked like a skeleton. Piper brought me breakfast in my room, as instructed by Apollo, and I ate in silence, barely finishing the meagre meal.
"Your majesty, your father wishes to talk to you about your birthday celebrations. They have been rescheduled for two days from now." She told me. Two days?! I realised with a sickening feeling that my father would probably announce the man who I would marry at this party. Dread filled me. I had completely forgotten about this whole situation with everything that was going on.
"Piper?" "Yes, princess Annabeth?"
"Please, just call me Annabeth – do you know if my father will be announcing my engagement at these celebrations?" I asked nervously. Piper looked at me anxiously.
"I- I'm sorry, my lady, but I think he will."
"Miss Annabeth, which colour would you like for the decorations?"
"Your majesty, what food would you like for the menu?"
"My lady, could you please take a look at the guest list?" With the party in two days, everyone in the palace was completely focused on making sure everything would run smoothly. Everyone, that is, except me. A team of people constantly bombarded me with requests, specifications, etc. The questions never stopped. By midday, I had almost lost the will to live, yet it continued late into the evening. By the time I got to bed, the moon was high in the sky. I dropped straight into a fitful sleep, only to have my rest ruined by familiar nightmares, the kind I hadn't experienced for a while.
I was back in the cell in Kronos's palace, but Percy was nowhere to be seen. Kronos stood above me, my own dagger held in his hand. The point was pressed to my throat, slicing my skin. Blood poured from my neck, drowning me, swirling around me in a torrent. It filled the room completely, and Kronos had a hold of my wrist, pulling me under the surface. I was face to face with him. He golden eyes stared at me, as I tried to close my own eyes but couldn't. I'd seen those eyes before, on someone else… There wasn't time for that. My lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. I needed to wake up. I could hear someone shouting, but I didn't know who. Someone was pulling me out of the vile liquid that was drowning me, shaking my shoulders.
"Annabeth!" My eyes flew open.
"Piper?" I mumbled groggily.
"Were you having a nightmare? You were screaming!" Piper said anxiously. I looked over at the window, which was wide open, rays of warm morning sunlight filling the room.
"Yes, I was…" I muttered.
"Well, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." I carefully avoided my father up until the morning of my birthday celebration.
"Annabeth?" I heard him call as I returned from a walk in the garden.
"Your majesty?" I replied, curtseying as I turned to face him.
"This evening, I have a special announcement to make. Do you know what it is?" I could have slapped the patronising look right off his face at that moment. I pretended that I didn't know what he meant.
"No, father." I lied.
"I will be announcing your engagement! fiancé will be a guest at the party. I expect you to be a good host. After the party, he will be staying here to prepare for the wedding, which will be in two weeks." Two weeks?!
"Of course." I assured him. I wished he would just tell me who it was, but there was no chance of that happening. At around four o'clock in the afternoon, I was instructed to get ready. I dressed in a plain white Greek dress trimmed with gold, with gold bangles around my biceps. Piper brushed out my wavy golden hair and put it up in a bun, leaving curling strands to tumble down my back, and slipped golden gladiator sandals onto my feet.
"How are you feeling, my lady?" Piper asked, smiling as she handed me a mirror.
"Absolutely terrified." I said blankly, gazing at my reflection in the glass.
I did try to update yesterday, but I couldn't get on the website.
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