CHAPTER XX

ANNABETH

"SO," PERCY STARTED. "HOW DO WE GET TO THIS MYSTERY MONUMENT?"

Ellie smiled at him. "I suppose you won't want to fly by plane will you?"

Percy's eye widened and Annabeth barely resisted the urge to laugh because it was such a serious matter. She quickly schooled her expression.

"Please no," Percy pleaded and Annabeth let a small smile cross her face at his expression.

Ellie shook her head with silent giggles. "Don't worry, we'll have to travel by sea, I doubt Zeus is in the happiest mood with us, better safe than sorry."

~~***Line Break***~~

Percy was perfectly happy manning an olden ship. Ellie watched from the side of the huge ship, her eyes watching the waves and the patterns of the sails in the wind. Her expression was awed with everything and she smiled at the slightest things in the waves.

Annabeth looked at her curiously out of the corner of her eye.

"First time on the sea?" Percy had to raise his voice over the wind for her to hear him.

Ellie looked over at him and shrugged. "Never really knew how much he likes us." Annabeth knew by us she meant children of Metis. "We assumed because of the feud between the two it was better to be safe than sorry."

Percy glanced at her with an unreadable expression before he went back to looking at the waves ahead, his grip on the wheel slackening to pull Annabeth closer. His arm draped around her shoulder and he drove with one hand. Annabeth wondered how he could read the waves so easily, he hadn't even needed to ask which direction, or where about Crete in Greece was, Annabeth doubted he knew where, but she guessed it was a son of Poseidon thing.

She took comfort in the wind blowing her hair and her boyfriend's sent towards her. She unconsciously leant towards him and rested her head on his shoulder, he didn't seem to mind.

"How long do you think it will take to get there?" Annabeth asked him. He was the sea know-it-all.

He shrugged. "Rome is on the way to Greece so it'll take longer than last time. A week maybe."

Annabeth barely held back a groan. This ship didn't have the protection of the Argo, the Argo made it seem more like there were only three demigods instead of nine or ten, this ship probably didn't have that, although it was Lucy's ship and they never knew what she had up her sleeve, with what she had planned for the last prophecy.

"Hopefully, there won't be as many attacks this time."

Ellie snorted, somehow having heard them from so far away. "The journeys half the run or the adventure."

Annabeth knew how true that was, especially for demigods, true the battle was always the most challenging, but it was always the journey where they got the most attacks.

Ellie turned away from the ocean and focused on the two of them. Annabeth knew that expression, she recognised it in Leo, sometimes she saw it in Piper, sometimes Millie, and she recognised it from herself whenever she saw Beckendorf and Silena together so long ago, years ago when her heart had been so torn.

"Ellie?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to burst her bubble. "Have you found your soulmate?"

She knew the answer before Ellie shook her head. It was written all over her face, no matter how good someone's poker face was it was difficult to hide hurt like that. Especially from someone as vigilant as Annabeth.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth found herself apologizing.

She saw from the corner of her eye Percy look at pitifully, Ellie seemed to ignore it but Annabeth wasn't sure if it was because she didn't want pity or if she was embarrassed about it.

She just shrugged and waved it off. Ellie tried for a sarcastic smile, "no worries Annabeth." She looked mournfully at the waves. "He's out there somewhere, he's just not ready for me yet."

Or he's not alive yet. Annabeth thought. She wondered what that was like, living a life with an empty space, waiting centuries just for it to be filled. Now she understood why some of the soldiers had been so jealous of Annabeth and Percy when they arrived, it had seemed so easy for them. Annabeth disagreed but she could see where they were coming from. She also understood how they had been so against Leo, Frank and Jason having to find their soulmates. If you got it right, the sacrificial ceremony could be special. Annabeth remembered how when she found Percy she felt like she'd lost a symbolic bond with him, he hadn't changed but they'd both lost their little souvenirs from holding up the sky and Annabeth had been terrified when it had gone that things would never be the same again, it would never feel as real. Now they had a new bond, a stronger one that wasn't going to disappear, she knew how special it was.

Still Annabeth couldn't imagine a life waiting for a person you didn't even know was alive, what he looked like, how he acted. It sounded like a horrible way to live. As if picking up on her jumbled emotions Percy squeezed her shoulder affectionately, she looked over to his smiling face and he whispered: "We're together. I'm not going anywhere."

Annabeth couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. But she felt like changing the subject.

"How much do you know about this curse, Ellie?" She asked.

Ellie smiled bitterly. "A lot."

Annabeth wasn't going to let it go and they all knew it. "Eliza had it didn't she, how did she get it?"

Ellie didn't answer at first then she sighed. "Eliza had a few issues with Heracles after that, um," She coughed. "Situation, Heracles and Zeus weren't the happiest people in the world. Because of this they turned her emotions painfully intense, she fell in love with Achelous because of it and he rejected her, as the story begins of the emotional curse."

"How do you break it?"

"Depends, for Eliza it was pride, Achelous obviously wasn't her soulmate so it wasn't as strong, she had to forget him and move on, granted her emotions are still heightened, her soulmate will fix that when he comes along, but she's still a little... miffed with Zeus and his spawn from with her little... spat she had with Zeus."

"Miffed?" Percy scoffed. "Is that what you call it?"

Ellie ignored him. "But Piper and Jinx's is stronger, their soulmates rejected them, only they can help them, but it'll take time, it took Eliza years to cure her, but she hadn't created and unlocked a complete dark side so it was easier to control her, with it not being as strong and her not being against the gods and everything."

"So, how can they help them?" Annabeth asked.

Ellie sighed. "To be honest I don't know, and Jinx... she's too far gone, she was so heartbroken...I... I don't think we can save her."

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