Percy,

I tried to sleep.

I tried to think of the happy moments of today.

Pestering Zee with Jason, trying to get him to admit that he will miss his twin sister.

Being the only one that would make Annabeth believe that she looked beautiful.

Watching how happy Alexander and Olympia had been.

But I was still thinking about that letter.

It was becoming like an obsession, hearing the words play over and over in my head like an awful song, the one you hate but can't stop singing. I could almost hear Katarina's silky voice repeating the letter, with her overly dramatic tone that she used with everything. And, if I closed my eyes really tight, I could almost see her and the memories she had relayed to me.

Finally, I pushed the blankets off me and came to sit at the desk, where I lit a candle to see the letter once again.


Dear Perseus,

Oh, Percy, how am I to tell you?

I must start at the very beginning.

Do you remember the day we first met?

I loved you from the first moment I saw you.

And, while you did not take to me the same way I did to you, I didn't give up hope. I pushed my father away from making me marry Prince Nicholas to you. I knew you didn't love me, but you could. You could learn to me, and that was enough to satisfy me.

That wasn't fair of me, but I didn't see it like that. I saw it as doing what I had to so that I could be with the one I loved.

Time passed, and I still saw it the same way.

And then this summer came, and I was so excited to be marrying you. I just wanted the summer to end so that I could be your wife, your queen. I spent most of my time preparing for the wedding until I had every detail ready.

Once I had nothing else to do, the days seemed to last forever. And I couldn't find anything to do.

So, my brother asked me to come with him on his pursuits for hopeful wife, Princess May.

When I got there, I agreed with your feelings towards Prince Lucas.

I won't go in to detail about our relationship. That doesn't matter.

But something happened, Percy. I don't know what it was, but I fell in love with him.

And he fell in love with me.

He couldn't call off his engagement to Annabeth. His people needed him to marry her, you know that as well as I do I'm sure.

And I was ready to say goodbye to the one I loved and lie in the in the bed I had made for myself.

And then we made a mistake.

Oh am I so ashamed, Percy!

I found out right before I was to leave.

...my father was so disappointed.

Luke and I try to seem upset about it, but it is clear to everyone that we are relieved. I know that I have done something awful and immoral...but I do not feel guilt, only love for my unborn child.

I do, however, feel guilt for the way I have treated you, dear Percy.

I forced you into this engagement to me. I took away the privilege of you being able to marry for love. I took away your very happiness. And then, ring before our wedding date, I write to you with such an awful truth.

You must hate me.

I would hate me, too.

I have much more to say. But I must finally conclude with the very reason I wrote to you, Percy.

My father has already written to as, you to end our engagement, but I needed to explain why I really needed to marry Luke.

I plea, dear Percy, that you release me from our engagement.

Yours truly,

Katarina


I held the ring up to the candle light.

When I had first opened the letter, it had fallen into my hand, telling me beforehand what this letter was about.

The beautiful amethyst ring had been my mother's long ago. She was given it by her father as a gift to congratulate her on getting engaged. I had never much liked the ring, but I had always wanted to give my fiancé a ring that had sentimental value, even if I didn't want her to be my fiancé.

I should be happy.

I am free. I can do what I want with my life now.

I can spend my life with Annabeth, even.

But it just... I don't know.

It doesn't feel...real.

It feels like a dream, only Katarina has a much worse fate than this in my dreams.

I picked up a jar of ink and began to reply to Katarina, searching within me to find kinder words than those I had kept inside for so long.


Dear Katarina,

As you have taken a leap of faith and told me the truth, I should do the same.

I hate to admit this, since I was aware of how you felt before now, but I never loved you. I do not love you now. I did not love you then. I actually hated you because you had taken the life I could have had with the one I loved. You were my monster inside, the thing I blamed everything on. It was wrong for you to force me into an engagement, and I admit that I have held it against you since.

I also admit that my hatred for Luke has deepened. But not because of his dealings with you but for the betrayal of Annabeth, who I love so deeply. I do congratulate him on finding a mutual love with you, and I pray that you will keep this strong love until your death.

I am happy for the family you are starting, and I shall make sure that it does not take long to put end to this so that no scandal will arise.

I wish you the best of luck in your life.

And I release you from the hatred that has been burning inside of me for so long.

You are released of our engagement.

With the best of luck to you,

Perseus


I read through the letter and sealed it, writing on the envelope,To Princess Katarina, on the front and, No forgiveness is needed, on the back. I set the envelope back on the table for it to be sent with the letter from my father, ending it all.

I took the only candle and used it to light the others as I went to open the balcony doors, and I took long deep breaths as I stared out to the night sky. It felt like years since the wedding reception that had taken place in the gardens below, where I had come so close to saying those three words j had been dying to say for so long.

I love you.

So simple but so hard.

I wanted to tell her in the right way, but I worried that the right way wouldn't come now.

My dad would make me go home, I knew he would. It wouldn't be long either. I'd be lucky to get a week still here. And I probably wouldn't get to talk to Annabeth while Olivia is freaking out about Luke, much less tell her my deepest secret.

Suddenly, I heard a gentle knock coming from the closet.

I rushed there and pulled the door open to see Annabeth waiting in the corridor.

Annabeth,

"You're up," I tried to mask my shock.

My mother had just left, and I had tried to get to sleep. I really had.

But I couldn't stop thinking of Percy, and I began to wonder what he had wanted to tell me.

After sending my mother to talk to my sister, I had suddenly remembered of Percy. I had tried to call him over. But King Paul had gotten to him before I could, and the last I saw of him was when he was walking back to the castle, intently reading a letter.

"And you're here," Percy smiled, but I knew him well enough to know that there was something bothering him.

"Are you okay, Percy?"

"Yeah, of c-" Percy stopped and shook his head, "No, I'm really not."

"What's wrong?"

"Well..." Percy trailed off, "Come in."

Percy started walking towards the desk in his room, and I followed after him, making sure that the door closed behind me.

Percy reached for a small envelope with some scrawled script on it, and he sat down at the edge of his bed after handing it to me

One day, you will forgive me.

Yours truly,

Katarina

"Forgive her?"

"Read the letter."

I carefully pried it open and began to read through the letter aloud.

"Dear Perseus,

Oh, Percy, how am I to tell you?

I must start at the very beginning.

Do you remember the day we first met?

I loved you from the first moment I saw you.

And, while you did not take to me the same way I did to you, I didn't give up hope. I pushed my father away from making me marry Prince Nicholas to you. I knew you didn't love me, but you could. You could learn to me, and that was enough to satisfy me.

That wasn't fair of me, but I didn't see it like that. I saw it as doing what I had to so that I could be with the one I loved.

Time passed, and I still saw it the same way.

And then this summer came, and I was so excited to be marrying you. I just wanted the summer to end so that I could be your wife, your queen. I spent most of my time preparing for the wedding until I had every detail ready.

Once I had nothing else to do, the days seemed to last forever. And I couldn't find anything to do.

So, my brother asked me to come with him on his pursuits for hopeful wife, Princess May.

When I got there, I agreed with your feelings towards Prince Lucas.

I won't go in to detail about our relationship. That doesn't matter.

But something happened, Percy. I don't know what it was, but I-"

I gasped and fell to sit beside Percy on the bed as my eyes flew over the page, yelling out the important parts every now and then.

"but I do not feel guilt, only love for my unborn child!" I looked to Percy for confirmation, and he nodded.

I kept reading, my heart beat getting louder and faster with every word until I was unable to breathe, and I simply dropped the letter to the ground.

"She's-she's-" I fell back to be laying on the bed, unable to believe it.

"I just finished my letter back. I have to let her go."

I nodded, begging to shake.

She was pregnant.

Expecting.

With child!

I couldn't breathe, it was just so much to take.

"Why am I not happy?" I wrapped my arms around my torso, trying to stop myself from shaking.

"I know, right?"

I laughed a little as I continued to stare up at the ceiling.

But it came out weak and pathetic.

"Olivia's going to freak out when she finds out that my engagement is off," I tried not that I succeeded.

"Abbalee is probably going to track Katarina down to scream at her."

Now this did make me laugh because I knew he was completely serious.

"Or worse."

Percy smiled.

"You're going to go home, aren't you?" this was what actually what made me sad.

My fiancé of years has an affair and impregnated the girl, but the thought of Percy going home makes me want to cry?

"Probably. I have maybe a week. Maybe less. Abbalee will undoubtedly be looking for a new wife for me by tomorrow."

"Oh gods!" I covered my eyes with my hand, "What if I get stuck with Caspian?"

Percy laughed, clearly not understanding that this was a legitimate fear.

Prince Caspian sounds romantic,like it belongs in a book. But his name is so misleading it could almost make you laugh. You expect a daring, handsome, and kind prince, right?

But what you get is a pasty, annoying, and rude coward.

It was never a wonder to me why he had trouble finding someone to marry him.

"You won't get stuck with Caspain, Annabeth," Percy laughed as he took my hand.

"You know my father is oblivious! Who knows who he'll set me up with!"

Percy seemed like he was about to say something, but he closed his mouth before he could finish.

"Hey, what were you going to tell me at the wedding?" I shifted to where I could be looking directly at him, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't going to tell me the truth.

"Never mind," Percy shrugged as he pushed my hair out of my eyes.

Silence filled the room until I finally spoke up.

"Sometimes, I wish I'd said yes."

Percy knit his eyebrows in confusion, and I took a deep breath before explaining.

"To marrying you. My dad asked me when I was abut eight, but I said no. Looking back on it, I don't even know why I said no. And then my dad reached an agreement with Luke after almost getting in another war."

As I continued to lay there, I realized how true it was.

"My dad never gave me the choice," Percy shrugged, smiling like the good friend he was.

But would he of chosen me?

I wasn't sure if I wanted him to or not.

And then I realized that we weren't saying anything.

Instead, we were just looking into each other's eyes with the old telepathy we swore we had when we were kids, though we said that mostly to scare Abbalee.

And then a candle blew out, bringing us back to the world around us.

I glanced towards the balcony.

"I better get going," I sat up and looked to the moon and tried to figure out just how much time had passed.

I used what Thalia had taught me when we went camping and figured out the time.

An hour?

I forced myself not to blush.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Percy went back to the desk, where he held the letter to Katarina once again, and I couldn't help but walk over there.

"Percy, there are three little words you forgot tell me," I began to massage his neck, and he tensed.

"What?"

"I was right. You said that Luke and Katarina deserved each other. And you were spot on."

Percy relaxed, almost laughing at himself.

"What did you think I was talking about?"

"Never mind, Annabeth. Never mind."

I continued to stare at him, wondering what three words he had thought I was talking about.

I know it isn't my best chapter, but here it is.

And don't despair.

There is so much more to come.

;D