Disclaimer: Still don't own it...

Revised: September 4th, 2015

Chapter XIII

Princess Andromeda

22 July 1812

Luke's P.O.V.

I was left in my cell after my interrogation. Last night I received a very tiny supper and I am guessing it is punishment. All I had was a hard roll and thin broth; breakfast today was the same and so was dinner. I plan to ask whoever brings my food down next why I am getting so little.

I hear my door open and I sit up on the straw pallet that serves as my bed. Last night I was given a plain white shirt with long, billowing sleeves and plain black trousers that go down to just below my knee caps. I do not even get shoes! My hair's a mess from not bathing and I know I look absolutely horrid. This is no way to treat a duke!

"Annabeth," I hear a voice say. I look at the door and notice my fiancée standing there with the blonde boy that Perseus called 'William'. They are both holding trays with what I assume is my supper and my stomach growls. "Are you sure about this?"

"I need to speak with him Will," Annabeth replies, her voice strained. "Please?"

"If the Captain gets upset…" William begins.

"I will take full blame," Annabeth promises.

"You know I will get punished too," the boy argues. Honestly, what is he thinking? He should not argue with the princess! As soon as I get out of here he will be properly punished and taught his place!

"I will try to convince him to not punish you if it comes to that," Annabeth vows. "Will, please? I need this." Annabeth is pleading now and I am shocked. Princesses do not plead! They order!

"Alright," the boy finally caves. "I will be down in one hour." William sets the tray down, gives me one last look, and leaves. He shuts the door behind him, locking it and leaving me alone with my fiancée.

"Hello love," I smile at her charmingly. Annabeth glares in response as she hands me the tray in her hands. This time I have something a little better, but not much. The broth has chunks of meat in it and there are spices on it while the roll is still as hard as ever.

"Do not call me that," Annabeth warns as she sits opposite me on the floor with a meal the same as mine. I take a minute to check her out and frown at what I see.

Her hair is not styled like it usually is and is instead put down. It is messy and looks as if she has not brushed it at all. She wears the same dress as yesterday and her hands are not soft anymore. They are red and raw and it looks like she has been doing hard work which a princess should NEVER do! All in all, she looks ugly like this and I cannot wait until she is back to normal.

"Why not?" I inquire after a few minutes.

"Why not what?" Annabeth retorts.

"Why can I not call you 'love'?" I repeat exasperatedly.

"That is what I wanted to talk to you about," Annabeth replies nervously.

"What do you mean?" I ask her. Annabeth takes a deep breath.

"I cannot marry you." she states. I stare at her for a few minutes before it sinks in.

"What do you mean you cannot marry me," I ground out.

"I mean I am in love with someone else," Annabeth tells me. I flash back to my interrogation when Perseus wrapped an arm around Annabeth's waist and kissed the top of her head. My heart plummets.

"Perseus," I state. "You are in love with Captain Perseus Jackson."

"I am," Annabeth confirms. She takes another sip of her soup while mine remains untouched.

"He is a pirate," I say incredulously. "I am a duke."

"What difference does that make?" Annabeth questions.

"All the difference in the world!"

"So, why should I marry you?" Annabeth crosses her arms over her chest and levels her glare at me. "Give me a good reason why I should marry you."

"Why should you not?" I retort. "I am a duke, Annabeth. You are a princess. Princesses should marry other nobility that can properly rule a kingdom."

"So you are saying I could not rule Olympia properly?" Annabeth raises one eyebrow.

"No," I reply firmly. "That is not what I meant. But you cannot rule Olympia alone; you would be extremely stressed. No one can rule a country on their own; they need help."

"Perseus can help me rule Olympia," Annabeth argues. "He knows how to help the poor. He has experience; that is more important than nobility."

"No it is not!" I shout. "Annabeth! Listen to yourself! He kidnapped you!"

"Like you kidnapped my brothers?" Annabeth says coldly.

"Annabeth!" I repeat. "He kidnapped you. I am the better option! I am a duke!"

"I do not care!" Annabeth argues. "Did you forget that my mother was a princess that married a commoner? My father was not nobility yet he is king. Percy is a good man that has had a hard life; he is not as cold as people make him out to be!"

"Did you ask him about the people he murdered?" I ask her. She looks at me, clearly startled.

"What are you talking about? Percy has not killed anyone."

"Yes he has," I reply smugly. "He killed a kind old woman who offered him a place to stay. Ask him about her. I believe her name was Medusa, but she went by Aunty M. He also killed an elderly teacher at the orphanage named Alecto Dodds. Ask about Procrustes who was a salesman or Oreius and Agrius who were twins that were raised by bears. Do not forget poor Tammie who was just an innocent looking girl that wanted help."

"Stop!" Annabeth snaps. "Percy has never killed anyone!" She sounds hesitant and I smirk.

"Ask him then. He has killed people; he is a pirate Annabeth. He has no soul, no heart, he is incapable of love."

"He is not!" Annabeth's face is red now and I know I have just gotten myself a chance. I need to marry Annabeth to have any power; I will have her.

"Keep telling yourself that sweetheart," I reply. "I know the real Perseus Jackson and he is a murderer." Crack! My head whips to the side and I put my hand up to my cheek in shock. Annabeth slapped me. Annabeth. Freakin'. Slapped. Me.

"You should not have done that." I growl at her. I lunge forward and pin her to the ground. Her head smacks harshly when she lands, but I do not care. My right hand is holding her wrists above her head while my left hand is on her cheek.

"Let go of me," she demands. I smirk and move my left hand down to her hip. She brings her knee up and I realize what she is doing a moment too late. Her knee connects with my groin and I let go of her in shock. She shoves me backwards and my head smacks onto the ground.

I get up quickly and lunge at her again. She dodges and I collide with the wall. Before she can escape I grab her ankle and she falls to the ground. I drag her towards me when she opens her mouth. I expect her to snap at me or to spit or bite me, but not to call for help.

"PERCY!" She screams. "PERCY!" I jump on her again and straddle her waist as I pin her wrists above her head. My left hand covers her mouth as I hold her down. She struggles for a minute before going limp and I take a breath. I hold my breath as I wait to see if Perseus heard her. After a minute I deem it safe and remove my hand from her mouth.

"PERCY!" Annabeth screeches. "HELP!" I curse under my breath and I move to cover her mouth again, but it is too late. The door to my cell is thrown open and Perseus stares, shocked for a moment before attacking me. He shoves me off Annabeth and I quickly punch him in the jaw. He dodges easily and I am shoved to the ground. I feel something smack my head before it goes black…

Annabeth's P.O.V

I stand still for a moment, heart racing. The tray I used to smack Luke is still in my hand and I drop it with a loud clatter. Percy turns to me and I wince. He is furious; I was not supposed to be down here and it makes it worse that I got attacked. I got attacked. I never thought Luke would attack me. I thought he loved me.

"Annabeth," Percy's voice brings me out of my thoughts and I look up at him. There is a bruise on his jaw from where Luke punched him, but otherwise he is okay. "Come on. We need to get you checked. I will send someone down here to pick up." I nod and follow him numbly up the stairs. Percy leads me to the infirmary and motions to the bed.

"Sit down," he orders. "I will go get Will." I obey and sit quietly while I wait for him to return. Will rushes into the room a moment later and starts looking me over. Percy is right behind him and sits on the bed that Will motions to obediently. The infirmary is Will's territory; when he is checking one of us up after an injury he is in charge. Even Percy does not argue with Will when he comes in sporting an injury. After a few minutes he is done.

"You have bruising on your wrists from where he pinned you," Will informs me. "There is most likely going to be bruising on your back and your head is probably going to hurt for a few days. You should take it easy." William turns to Percy who raises an eyebrow.

"He punched my jaw," Percy informs Will. "I do not need you to check that." Will nods once and makes to leave, but Percy calls out his name.

"Yes Captain?" Will asks nervously.

"We need to talk."