Percy,

Where are you, Percy? I haven't seen you in days.

-Annabeth

I folded the letter up and shoved it in my pocket.

This morning, someone had knocked on my door.

No, not someone. Annabeth.

I knew it would be Annabeth, so I froze up and didn't make a sound, barely even took a breath. But she knew me and knew I was there, so she shoved a letter underneath my door. I waited until I knew that she had finally left before I came to the door and accepted the small piece of paper in Annabeth's sprawled script.

It was to be expected that she wonder where I was, why I hadn't been around, and what I had been doing. And it was even more obvious that she would get mad about having not told her and to be avoiding her.

So, I had been expecting this letter for three days now.

But I couldn't talk to her. I couldn't see her. I couldn't talk to her especially.

Not when I could blow it all to Hades.

No, I had not been through all of this for that.

Not just the three days of deliberation and interrogation

But the last ten years.

I had not gone through all of this to mess it all up.

And I had never lied to Annabeth, not really. I couldn't hold it back, it would be like word vomit. I wouldn't be able to hold it back for long. She would quickly understand that there was a reason I was still here, a reason I was busy during the day time. And a reason that I held things back from her.

I glanced back to the sundial to make sure of the time.

She would be hunting with Thalia by now, trying to avoid all of the people who had swarmed around her to apologize for the end to her engagement. I was lucky not to be home right now, where I was surrounded by people who were just waiting for a reason to freak out, especially my eldest sister, Abbalee. But, even here, people had come to apologize for my pain with Katarina.

People I didn't even know where crying for me like we had been friends our entire lives.

"Good morning, Son. Have you eaten?" my father asked as we started to walk through the hallway together.

"Yes."

"Did you see Annabeth at breakfast?"

"I ate in my room."

"You'd think you'd be spending a lot of time with her, considering your objective here.."

"I don't want to…blab, Father."

"Why not? If this works out, it would be easy for her to figure out," King Paul laughed.

"If it doesn't work out. You know King Frederick has never really liked me. Not after I taught his baby girl how to kill."

"She needed to know."

"Doesn't matter. She was his little Wise Owl until I met her. Now, she's grown up."

"She would have grown up anyway, Percy."

"I know that. You know that. He probably even knows that. But I am someone to blame, you know that," I continued to walk, putting my hands in my pockets.

"Don't be so grumpy, Little Guppy. Everything will be fine."

For him.

For him, everything will be fine.

Because he has absolutely no investment in this.

This is the rest of my life that King Frederick is going to decide.

It is my entire happiness.

And he could easily shake his head.

And I would go home, and I would find a new bride. Jamelle probably, and Rachel would prophesize a different future for me at my wedding, which was our land's customs. And there would be a different child born, not the little twins that Aphrodite had showed me.

It wouldn't change King Frederick at all, he would be absolutely fine. None of this would change anything for him in any way.

And it would change everything for me.

"I know," I nodded, digging my fingernails into my palm.

My father clapped me on the back, smiling to himself like he had just made a brilliant parent move.

"So, when is he going to decide?"

"Today. He's had three days already and should have decided already. But he'll send us out for a while before making a choice. Today is your final argument, Perce."

Argument?

That wasn't the way I would want to start my relationship with the man who could end up as my father-in-law.

Yeah, that's what I'm doing.

Begging- yes, on my knees begging- for Annabeth's hand in marriage and awaiting a response that would never seem to come.

How long could he do this?

Hours?

Days?

Weeks?

Months?

I could barely take three minutes.

Much less months.

"My final plea before he chooses my fate."

"Don't be so hard on him, Perseus. This is his little girl. When you have a daughter, you will understand."

Little Elpida.

The younger and female twin, with bright grey eyes and bouncing blonde curls.

I had that dream only twice, but I could describe that little baby's face like I had the dream two hundred times.

"I guess."

Annabeth,

"Πριγκίπισσα Αγνότητα χαμογέλασε επειδή τοποθετούσαν το βαρύ στέμμα στο κεφάλι, δείχνοντας ότι ήταν μια βασίλισσα τώρα. Αλλά δεν ήταν η πλούσια κόμη που έκανε το χαμόγελό της. Ήταν ο βασιλιάς της, Alex. Όλοι χαμογελούσαν σήμερα. Το βασίλειο. Ο πρίγκιπας, ο οποίος είχε Αγνότητα έχει αρραβωνιαστεί πριν παντρευτούν, ενώ μακριά.

Ήταν μια ευτυχής κατάληξη που είχαν πάντα προσευχόταν για αλλά ποτέ δεν αναμένεται."

Princess Chastity smiled as they placed the heavy crown on her head, showing that she was a queen now. But it wasn't the lavish crown that made her smile. It was her king, Alex. Everyone smiled today. The kingdom. The prince, who had been Chastity's betrothed before marrying while away. It was a happy ending that they had always prayed for but never expected.

I closed the book and thought to Percy.

I had finished it in spite of him. For him not being here with me.

For adamantly avoiding me.

But it felt wrong to finish it without him, to not laugh and correct him when he made huge mistakes that could change the story line completely.

Where was my Seaweed Brain?

How could he do this?

He knew I needed a friend, him in particular, and he knew that it was a miracle he was still here after three days. He'd be lucky to stay for another two days, and luck had never been our strong suit. He himself had admitted that he wouldn't get to stay long and he wished he could stay longer!

So, why would he avoid me like I was the plague?

He didn't even come out for breakfast when Azabella made her famous bacon, which Percy loves so much.

I wanted to be mad-and was pretty mad- at him, but I would have forgotten it all if he had just come up and sat beside me, asking about the book like nothing had happened.

In honesty, I kept waiting for that to happen.

But it didn't.

So, I climbed off the wall, getting my dress stuck between two rocks for a moment, earning me a small rip as I wriggled free. Imagining how Olivia would react if she saw the rip, I began to make my way to the castle.

But I didn't worry myself about that too much.

She would already be mad at me for going hunting with Thalia this morning. So, a simple tear in a dress wouldn't vex her enough for her to crack, which she has been doing since my father had received the official document from Luke, telling us that the engagement was officially off and that I probably needed to return the golden anklet.

I decided to take the long way towards my room, well the official way instead of my secret passages.

And then I saw him.

Percy and his father were talking in front of the door to the throne room, and it looked like King Paul was trying his hardest to calm Percy down.

I froze, not exactly sure what to do.

Call out to him?

Walk over there and confront him?

Run to my room and ignore him like he's avoided me?

All were pretty good solutions, so I got stuck in between them all, just peeking over the corner.

All I could manage to do was add another title to Percy.

Titles for Prince Perseus.

Prince.

Friend.

Brother.

Seaweed Brain.

And the one who can make Princess Annabeth stupid.

"Son, you can calm down. In only fifteen minutes, we will have our answer. I'll meet you back here then," King Paul continued to reassure Percy.

Our answer?

Our answer to what?

"Okay, Dad," Percy told him, and I began to hear King Paul walk towards the other hallway to the guest wing.

But Percy stayed where he was.

I forced past the fog and brought my brain back to life, trying to figure out what to do.

Turn around.

My body followed the instructions and started to slowly walk away, trying not to seem conspicuous.

"Annabeth?"

I froze, cursing under my breath.

Now, I had to talk to him.

"There you are," I twirled around to look at the prince.

"Annabeth, can I talk to you for a second?" Percy quickly started walking towards me.

No.

"Sure."

Percy opened his mouth to speak but stopped before he could say anything.

"Are you alright, Percy?"

"I just…" Percy closed his eyes, not sure how to continue.

"Where have you been all this time? No one has seen you, or, if they have, they wouldn't admit it to me," I began.

"Well…" Percy began, and I continued to stare at him expectantly, "Promise you won't hit me."

"What?"

And then Percy responded.

I couldn't think.

Percy.

Percy kissed me.

I got weak in my knees, and Percy had to wrap his arms around my waist to keep me from falling.

…and then I realized the weirdest part.

I liked it.

And I… was kissing back.

"Wah-" I tried to get my brain functioning again as Percy's lips left me, "What was th-that?"

"Will you marry me?"

This broke the fog.

"Have you lost your mind, Perseus?"

"Your dad is about to make your decision again. And I want you to make the decision, Annabeth. If you don't want to marry me, I'll drop out. I'll tell your father that I changed my mind, and I'll go home. And things will go back to normal."

Suddenly, it all came to me.

The last ten years to be exact.

His protective nature of me.

The way he always smiled when I was around.

And probably why he had hated Luke.

As I stared at Percy, I suddenly saw it all.

The obvious truth that I had so long missed.

Percy.

Loved.

Me.

"So, Princess Annabeth," Percy put his forehead against mine and looked directly in my eyes, "Please, will you marry me?"

Percy was almost crying.

He was afraid I'd say no.

And, deep down, I was afraid I would, too.

What did I feel?

If you had asked me about two minutes ago, I would explain that I had no clue.

If you asked me now…

"Well, um…"

I was trying to get the words off my tongue, but I couldn't get my brain to function.

I wanted to push him off of me and answer with a "Give me some time to think." But I couldn't. If I pushed it off once, I would push it off again and again until my time had run out.

Think, Annabeth, think. What do you want to say?

What did I want?

Something I hadn't been asked in so long.

I could do it, I could marry him. I could have children with him and run a country with him.

But my question wasn't, Could I do it?

My question was Do I love him?

For years, I had blocked off such a possibility and denied it. I had locked that part of my brain up for so long that I had forgotten how to unlock it and think about that question. I had always said that we were just friends, and I loved him as so. But was I just saying that?

Had they right all along?

Or was my love for Percy only as a friend?

I was thinking about my life with him when I suddenly realized I was thinking about the wrong thing.

So, I thought of my life without him.

I thought about going to breakfast without him saving the scrambled eggs for me. I thought about crying without him to comfort me. I thought of days without his goofy smile to light it up. And I thought about kisses that would never measure up to the one he had just given me.

And then I finally got my answer.

I leaned in to kiss Percy again, and he smiled against my lips.

Yes.

"Can I-" I cut him off by kissing him again, "take that as a yes?"

Titles for Perseus.

Prince.

Friend.

Brother.

Seaweed Brain.

And the one who can make Princess Annabeth stupid.

…and, best of all, future husband.

Well, if my father allows it.

But he owes me by now.

If he does say no, it can take me less than five minutes to march in there and change his mind.

It's a perk of being the youngest daughter and the one to look exactly like our mother, who he still misses.

"If my dad says yes."

Percy smiled and swirled me around like he had the first day he had gotten here.

I tried to think of when I had fallen in love with him.

I knew I hadn't always been in love with him and that there really was a time when I had seen him only as a brother. Had it just been growing and growing for the last ten years until I finally accepted it or had there been a precise moment where I had fallen in love with Prince Perseus?

I didn't know.

I didn't really care.

I loved him now, and that was what mattered.

"I love you, Annabeth," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Percy."

He leaned in to kiss me, but then the grand clock ticked to twelve.

"I've got to go see your father."

"I know."

He looked at me questioningly.

"I might have been spying from around the corner."

Percy shook his head and kissed the top of my head.

"Might?"

"I really wouldn't call it spying. I would call it listening or noticing."

"I love you. You are crazy, but I love you."

"I'm the crazy one?"

"I'll see you as soon as I get out," Percy kissed the top of my head again and released me.

"You think I'm the crazy one?"

"Here goes nothing," Percy shook his head as he started towards the door, and I was still thinking of how he thought I was the crazy one.

But then I let myself think of what I had just said.

I said yes.

I said I wanted to marry him.

Oh my gods, I am going to marry Percy!

I felt to the ground and put my head in my hands.

Oh.

My.

Zeus.

I love Percy.