Percy's POV

After I had returned to my base, I showed everyone the visions that Rachel had been given.

According to the visions, Annabeth, Eragon and myself were going to travel to the Orlando prism whilst Nico, Thalia and Arya go to the London one. I was disappointed that I would not be paired with Arya, as much as I found that a relationship between herself and I would not be logical.

After everyone knew what they had to do, they moved their separate ways to gather supplies and prepare for the journeys ahead of them.

Later that night, after everything had packed and gone to bed, I did my routine border check, making sure all the borders were up to par and no anomalies had occurred.

Everything's clear, Alexō. How are the hatchlings faring?

Great. Most took to the skies for the first time today, and stayed up there for such a length of time that they exhausted themselves. Tonight will be a smooth one.

I started to respond, but I looked up from my path and was surprised by what I saw.

Arya sat on the edge of the lake I had walked with my mother for the first time. "Arya?" She turned to look at me, green eyes flashing with an emotion I didn't comprehend. I walked over to her and sat next to her. "What are you doing here?"

"It is, serene," she said, referring to the still waters of the lake before us. "Serenity isn't something this world often meets."

We sat in silence for a moment, but then I spoke, "That is agreeable. And with our lives, it won't be getting any better any time soon."

Heaving a long sigh, I turned to leave when I felt a soft hand grab my wrist. I looked down to see Arya's petite hand gripping my wrist. My heart started beating faster, despite my mental protests.

"Percy, I feel . . Well, I'm not sure what I feel." This was a rare moment where I could see who Arya truly was, her moments of self-consciousness and everything.

"I think I know of which you speak. And if I am correct, I believe I feel it too. It's a nice change. To be able to feel something such as this in the troubled lives we live." I caught her gaze, and my heart lifted as I saw her smile slightly and her eyes brighten.

"Sit with me for a while longer, if you can."

"I can," I answered. I took my seat next to her once more, this time lying on my back to gaze up at the stars that covered the night sky. "The stars are beautiful tonight."

"Eragon told me that once. He said more than that, but it was quite awkward as I was not as interested in him as he was of me." We shared a small laugh.

"It is the same for Annabeth. She likes me but I'm not convinced I am attracted to her back. Of course I admire her strength and her wisdom, but I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship by moving into a romantic relationship." Arya joined me by lying down close to me, staring up at the sky.

"I understand your position. I could see visibly the feelings she held for you when you asked her to house me." She paused to look at me.

Turning my head, I noticed our faces were only inches apart. I suddenly felt the intense desire to kiss the elf beside me, but I knew that such a relationship between her and I would not work. She's Queen of the Elves of Alagaësia and I'm the leader of the Earthen New Rider Order. It just wouldn't work.

I noticed I had begun to lean towards her face, so I caught myself and pulled back to my original position. She continued talking, "I sense within you a great leader. It was an unspeakable honor for me to sleep within your home, on your home world, while you slept on the ground like a peasant."

I brushed away her compliment. "It was nothing. I do what I can to help those I love." The words came out of my mouth involuntary, and I then realized that those words would have a higher impact on her than they would on anyone else. And I hadn't even meant to say them. The thing was, I meant what I said, and I wasn't ashamed.

Arya and I continued to talk of menial things through the night, continuing to move closer to each other for warmth as the night grew cold. I don't think either of us truly noticed we had been moving closer until she was laying on top of me, with my arms around her petite body that seemed to perfectly fill in the empty space.

As the talking faded to silence and our eyes drifted closed, we held close to each other as a lifeline to the world we lived in. Then, as quietly as the night, we both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

A/N: Just a little Percy X Arya moment there… I just love that couple pairing for some reason, not sure why. Anyway, I've gathered up the motivation for writing a chapter, however short it may be. I hope you all enjoy and review. Thanks for taking the time to read my story when I hardly ever update. If you'd like to speak with me about why I don't update you can message me, just try to be nice. I've got enough jerkwads in my life, I prefer not to have any anonymous ones. Sorry for such the long wait, I'm trying to put more time into writing as I'm starting to have a little bit more free time as the Christmas season settles in. Thanks and God Bless!

~acquiringwriter