Chapter Twenty-One

Annabeth Chase wanted to explode. Her poor pillow had suffered a large amount of her rage. In fact, she was surprised it still held together. With all the screaming into it and throwing it across the room, digging her fingernails into it, it was a miracle that it didn't resemble a teddy bear put through a wood chipper. Though there was reason to her madness, at least, that was what she told herself. Frederick Chase was absolutely obnoxious. Ever since the dinner from two nights ago, his 'subtle' attempts to pair her with Pierre had increased in number. Not that she didn't mind Pierre, it was just the numerous times that her father had decided to play Cupid with them. What was his game? Knowing her father, it couldn't be something good. The man was sleazy, manipulative, and most of all, intelligent, although, at the moment she was beginning to question whether he had a brain or an ass stuck up in his head.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, at this point Annabeth was as confused as a penguin in Mexico, Frederick had 'succeeded.' Because the night before Frederick's master plan was to be put in motion, Pierre von Jacobs asked Annabeth Chase to The Chase Ball.

Flashback

Annabeth was hiding in her little corner of the living room. From here, she could remain unseen, yet be able to see anything else that occurred in the room. It was here that she did much of her reading, particularly when her room became to hot to concentrate. She was wedged between a bookshelf and a china cabinet, her back against the wall and her feet propped up against the side of the wooden bookshelf. A light from a nearby wall lamp illuminated her corner just enough for her to read the words on the page. She didn't know how long she had been reading, but it couldn't have been too long as she had only progressed about 20 pages before she heard the sound of a sneeze followed by a muttered curse in the room that she had thought was empty save for her.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she bookmarked her page and closed her book. Poking her head out from between the bookshelf and cabinet she peered about the room, her eyes settling on a head of black hair. For a few moments, she examined him and she admitted that it was a bit strange and perhaps even creepy that she was watching the back of someone's head. Perhaps it was her inner rebel kicking in or maybe just her hormones...she'd like to say it was the former.

Eventually, she lulled herself back into her relaxed position from before and went back to reading. Out of the corner of her eye though, she could see the boy rub his scalp every once in a while, as if his hand was expecting to meet more hair than what was there. At one point she thought she heard him mutter "I liked it when it was longer." She shook it off as something any normal boy would say.

As she sat in her corner and flipped each page of her book, slowly advancing towards the end, her feet started to lose feeling. Reluctantly, she stood up and squeezed out from between the bookshelf and china cabinet, seating herself on the sofa across from the fireplace. She could feel his eyes on her as she relaxed into the cushions and opened her book. After a while, she could still feel him watching her. Finally, it became unbearable and she closed the book.

Looking up at him, she asked, "Is there anything you want to say Pierre because frankly, it is very difficult to read when you can feel someone staring at you."

The boy flushed and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was doing that."

She nodded and went to reopen her book.

"-but."

Raising an eyebrow, she looked back up. "But?"

"As you know, The Ball is tomorrow…"

A knot formed in her stomach as she anticipated where this conversation was going.

"...would you perhaps consider going to The Ball with me?"

She paused to soak in what had just been asked. Never one to barge into things before thinking them thoroughly through, except for the night where she had followed the escort to the mountain base which had inevitably gotten her to where she was practically under house arrest, Annabeth sat in silence. She was conflicted. This would be buying into her father's game yet, it wasn't like she didn't want to go with him. After a moment she reached her resolution and looked up with a smile. "I would be honored."

And that moment, she knew she was a pawn.

The door creaked open and Nico cringed at the sound after spending the night in quiet whispers and the occasional crunch of gravel. He was greeted with two electric blue eyes and the pale face of one who had spent a week in a cave. "Nico?"

Solemnly, he nodded. "Told you I'd be back."

She moved aside to let the trio inside and closed the door behind them, sealing itself into the rock with a clang. As he walked in, he looked around at the various people that sat about the cave, children, adults, and elderly alike. A cry pierced the air and Nico turned to see a toddler, no older than two crying in their mother's arms as the father looked on solemnly.

The small girl's cries quieted slightly as the mother rocked her gently back and forth. Frowning, Nico made his way over to an empty table and set his bag on top of it. Looking through the bag, he took out a soft bun and made his way over to the family. The three looked up at him as he knelt down next to them and handed the father the bun. Taking the piece of bread, the father regarded him gratefully and broke the bread into small pieces and gave it to the toddler. Nico watched as the toddler's cries quieted as it chewed on the bread. Though she could say nothing, she looked at him with an intelligence that startled him and as she swallowed the final piece of bread her lips widened into a childish grin and laughed one of the purest sounding cries of joy Nico had ever heard. Smiling warmly, the parents looked down at the little girl whose hands were outstretched towards Nico.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Nico's lips and he stood up and went back to the table where Piper and Katie were unpacking their bags. He imitated their movements and emptied his bag on the table. Some of the refugees began to take notice of what they were doing and started moving towards them tentatively. The children rushed to the front of the room as soon as they saw the bread in Nico's hands. Bright smiles broke across their faces and the bounced up in down in excitement.

Meanwhile, Thalia looked on with a small smile and began helping Piper, Katie, and Nico with passing out the bread. As she gave a bun to an elderly woman she saw Nico walk back to the family with the little girl and give the parents each a bun and an extra for the toddler. Soon, the cave was buzzing with the tranquil sound of pleasant conversation and hearty laughter as the people who had suffered so much had been given a small opportunity of happiness.

"It's so nice isn't it?" Katie said, walking up next to Thalia.

Thalia nodded and smiled softly in agreement and looked towards Nico who was talking to some of the other younger Jews, the oldest being 15 and the youngest no older than 6. One of the younger ones kept pulling on one of Nico's pant legs, trying to get his attention. Eventually, the dark-haired Jew looked down at the boy and the boy squealed with delight and started running around in circles until they lost their balance and landed on their butt. A small look of amusement crossed Nico's face and the boy grinned up at him.

A tap on the shoulder shook Thalia out of her trance. She was faced with the troubled look of Piper, her kaleidoscope eyes revealing an expression of deep concentration and concern. She gestured over to an isolated corner of the cave and Thalia followed her.

"What is it?" Thalia asked.

"It's about the Jews," Piper began.

"What about them?"

Piper bit her lip. "I'm not sure if you know this, but the Chase Ball is tomorrow. We all know that Annabeth's Dad is a big Nazi supporter. Any Nazi who's anybody will be there. You know what that means?"

"Hmm?" Thalia frowned, crossing her arms.

"It means it's the perfect opportunity to rescue more Jews."

Thalia raised her eyebrows. She knew that the Chase Ball was around this time of the year. It always had been but it was tomorrow night? How long had she been in that cave? Her thoughts went back to what Piper had just said to her. Piper was right. It was the perfect opportunity. Many of the officers would be at The Ball. A grin crept across her face, an expression of a predator that has cornered its prey.

"I'm assuming you agree?" Piper smirked.

"Oh you betcha Beauty Queen," Thalia replied confidently.

"Good because we're in luck. Three transport trucks are coming through tomorrow. A show for Hitler's return to Germany in two days."

Thalia nodded. "We're going to have to tell the others."

"Got that covered," Piper assured her. "I informed Clarisse before we left. They'll be ready. All we need to do is send them the green light."

"Well then," Thalia smirked, cracking her knuckles. "I guess we have a parade to crash?"

Author's Note: Hey, wasn't a month this time. Told you I'd come through. Then again, you might not even read these things anyway. Who knows? Alright, this was basically last filler chapter leading up to The Ball so The Ball will be the next chapter.

Next, I'd like to thank YouTube for giving me the gift of music as this whole chapter was basically written to the sound of Imagine Dragons, Green Day, and Panic! At the Disco.

Also, I'd like to thank all of you for reading and especially if you reviewed. Lastly, PLEASE REVIEW. I love constructive criticism. One of you pointed out that some of my dialogue was slipping out of context and I immediately went back and fixed it. It made the story better as a whole. (My thanks to Hugo Hamilton.)