AN: Hi peoples! wow, thanks for all the reviews. And i've got good and bad news!
Bad news: Thalia and Silena are permanently dead. sorry...
good news: Percabeth is coming!
Bad news: Percabeth won't be a very stable Percabeth - cos i get really bored when everything is all stable and happy and all the relationships are fine and nice. Well. NO. I refuse. Stay tuned for some rocky Percabeth - there won't be Percabeth until a very long time! sorry for that as well...
I'm feeling kinda evil now that you mention it... but oh well! I will be nice! I pinky promise - if that's even possible on the internet. THIS CHAPTER IS SO SHORT! boohooo. blah.
i'm seriously trying to update as fast as poss. I've kinda forggoten about my other story cos i'm too caught up in this one!
Au revoir!
The brown leather diary was lying on Leo's beside table; its pages were almost falling out from the age.
The room was covered in a shroud of darkness and the crescent moon barely shone outside the inn window. Calypso crept forwards and picked the diary up; she had no idea where he had got it since it was lost sixteen years ago...
Quietly, she hid it inside her cloak and pushed the door open slightly. There was no one around in the inn, which she didn't find surprising since it was midnight.
A few pages fell out of the book, but she managed to carefully place them back inside without creasing them.
Calypso stepped out in the deserted market street, where the snow had partially melted and the sky was a pure black. The only light was the night sentries marching around with their burning fire torches, looking for people who had disobeyed the curfew.
She waited until a group had disappeared down a small street and then sprinted down the roads, at a speed that was unnatural for any elf of human.
The way was easy to remember, since she had been down it so many times before. Her human legs didn't hurt from the sprinting as the trees flew past her at a dizzying speed, though her skin felt slightly dry from being away from the sea for over a day.
A mist rose from the ground in front of her, but she cast a spell to see through it, like Rachel had taught her.
There was a lonely house that was in the heart of the forest, sheltered underneath a rocky cliff side, protected from the torrent of wind. A wooden sign hung over the door, saying 'BEWARE, DO NOT ENTER'
She pushed it open anyway, without knocking, taking the diary from beneath her cloak.
A flood of warmth met her as she stepped in to the dimly lit low ceiling house.
A familiar woman with bright red hair was muttering to herself as she poured liquid into several cups, which made them steam up into the air. She looked up slowly when Calypso stepped into the room, her eyes flashing with irritation.
"Oh it's you," she murmured. "Back from the dead already?"
Well that was a nice welcome after sixteen years...
"Yes," Calypso went up to her and handed Rachel the brown leather diary. "And I found the diary in...Um...Leo's room..."
Rachel looked up, unemotionally. Though her eyes held a gleam to them.
"You've got the diary? How come you're alive? – and where has Leo been all these years?"
Calypso shifted with awkwardness.
"Leo went a bit crazy all these years, he ...um...locked himself underground and experimented on people..."
Rachel nodded in approval. "Well at least he put his scientist skills at good use. Obviously, he got all his knowledge from me."
Calypso coughed, not really wanting to talk about this.
"How are you alive, then? Sally said that you died," Rachel asked, flicking through the pages of the diary.
"I did," she sat down next to Rachel on the messy wooden table, relishing in the warmth of the room. "But I got saved by a girl who became friends with Leo; she used the Anima Pendant to bring me back."
Rachel frowned. "The Anima Pendant? That was lost centuries ago, where did she find that? It is certainly a precious object to have...oh, the things I could do with that – bring back all those frogs I killed in my life time..."
Calypso shuddered; she didn't know how old Rachel really was, and she didn't really want to find out.
"Percy and Sally should be arriving in approximately ten minutes and fifteen seconds," she commented absent minded.
"Is Sally ok?" Calypso asked hoping that her friend was alright after all these years. The last time she saw Sally was when she was heavily pregnant with King Poseidon's baby.
"She's fine," Rachel said, though her heart wasn't in this conversation. Her finger scrolled down the small neat writing in the diary. "She recently got out of the dungeons in Atlantia, after being in there for sixteen years..."
Calypso gaped, her mouth dropping in horror.
"What! All that time without the ocean to revive her? How is she not dead?"
"Do you want her to be dead?" Rachel said innocently, her brow creasing as she continued to read the diary.
"No! Of course not," she spluttered in shock.
"Well, the King decided to lock her in there and use her touch to craft his swords. Obviously, she didn't know that he was using her like that."
"Wait...what?"
"The king wanted to be able to kill elves, since elves can't die from sword wounds or anything really. But with one touch of a mermaid, a sword is instantly changed so it can kill elves as well. Since elves can be killed by mermaids."
"That's horrible. Oh my gods...poor Sally," Calypso whispered, turning around to look at the door when she saw shadows moving towards them.
"Speak of the devil..." Rachel muttered, looking at the door as well.
It suddenly burst open, filling the room with freezing cold air.
The fierce gusts of winds blew around them, making the papers fly backwards into the walls.
Sally was standing in the door way, her eyes full of pure anger. A body was in her arms, which was covered in blood and dripped with water.
"Oh, shut the door," Rachel chided impatiently.
"Sally!" Calypso cried, jumping up to greet her friend.
Sally slammed the door behind her, without noticing Calypso.
"Sally? Are you ok?" Calypso asked nervously.
She didn't reply for a moment, until her features hardened and her eyes shone with menace.
"Does it look like I'm ok?" she demanded furiously. "My son is dying right here, I can't save him. It's beyond my power. That princess killed him, it's her fault and I'm-"
"You're not going to do anything," Rachel stood up suddenly, staring directly at her. "I forbid it."
Sally spun on her, her jaw clenched with anger.
Calypso backed away from her fury, with terror. She had never seen her like this before and it terrified her.
"I don't have to listen to you," Sally hissed. "I want revenge and I'm getting it."
"He's not dead," Rachel sighed, walking up to her. "I can heal him, though it will take a few weeks."
"Dead or not dead. I want revenge," Sally spat, lowering her son down on a spare white bed.
"You're not thinking right," Rachel told her calmly, though annoyance and determination was laced beneath her words. "What will revenge achieve? I know what you plan to do -"
"I don't care about your opinion! The whole of Athane is going to pay for this insult. Scratch that, the whole elfish empire is going to pay."
Rachel shook her head angrily. "Just for one person that tries to kill your son? Think Sally, you are not strong enough to defeat them. It is not their fault, only the princess'."
"I won't be alone in this," Sally reminded her viciously. "When a mermaid signals the call, the entire sea nation will answer it. We will not lose and I will show them that they cannot hope to walk away in victory."
"Sally-"
"You know what? I've had enough of you contradicting me; let me stand on my own two feet for once. I don't need your advice; I don't need your help. The war has started now."
Annabeth watched her father gallop away down the courtyard, at the top of the marble steps. An army of two thousand infantry men of all ages, all sizes followed him down the weathered cobble stones to war.
The Calvary men cantered after them, bringing supplies and weapons along with them. The grey coloured flags of Athane billowing in the wind, as they rode away from the palace to Atlantia.
"My lady?"
Annabeth turned and sighed. Everything good that was in her life had vanished, never to return again. No more Thalia, no more Silena. And there was nothing she could do about it.
"Yes, Ares?" she replied to her bodyguard.
"Here's your agenda for today..." he handed her a ribbon bound scroll.
It was just her luck to be put in charge of the whole kingdom whilst her father was at war with Atlantia. She wasn't even sixteen yet and she still wasn't allowed to use magic, though it didn't really matter to her anymore.
Nothing did.
She stared tiredly down the scroll and studied the lists of criminals and punishments that she had to give out.
"Your first trial starts in five minutes," Ares said, sounding as bored as she did.
"Five minutes?"
"Yeah."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Great."
She picked up her long heavy dress and raced back up the marble steps and into the grand hall.
The statues that bordered the walls seemed to watch her every step as she tentatively sat down in the diamond encrusted throne at the top of the hall.
They're real elves she thought with a shiver. All those statues...how could her father even put them in this room? It was like he was purposely trying to humiliate them.
"My lady, Thomas Fletcher – he is accused of stealing fifty gold coins from this man here," an elf she did not know was speaking to her.
"Uh...yeah, right ok," Annabeth scanned the list for his name and the punishment. "The ripping of the soul..."
The criminals' eyes widened in horror.
"That's not fair! It was only fifty coins," he protested, struggling against the rope that bound his hands together.
"I'm just reading what it says," Annabeth said with a shrug, heartlessly. Maybe when she was younger, she would've felt pity for this elf. But now all she could think of was her own sadness and grief buried inside of her. No one else seemed to matter anymore.
"My lady, are you going to do the honours?" the man with a scroll asked.
Annabeth blinked. Wait...was she supposed to strip his soul? Was she even allowed? How was she even supposed to do it? She wasn't even sixteen; she was still only a child in elfish standards.
"Me?"
"Yes, only a member of the royal family is permitted to strip the soul," the elf told her, putting down his scroll.
"Um...right," she got up slowly, wondering how to perform this spell.
Carefully, she stretched her mind into the criminals' conscience and felt his dark blue aura burning in the middle.
Just take it she told herself, trying to not feel any guilt about doing this.
She used her mind to take hold of his aura and then ripped it away from his body, lighting the whole room with dark blue light.
Annabeth heard a heart rending scream and her hand trembled as she took in the blue aura and let it settle into her own, making her feel stronger and more powerful.
The light faded and all that was left of the criminal was a pure white statue that resembled him in a strange and terrifying way.
The guilt ate her up almost immediately, she knew that this wasn't the real her. Though she wondered if she would ever find herself again...since she'd lost it the day Thalia had died.
There was a complete silence in the grand hall, making her feel slightly self conscious as she stood trembling in front of the throne.
The elf in front of her coughed and then motioned to some servants to carry the statue away. He stared at his scroll again and announced the next criminal.
"Lacy Beauregard – tried to protest for the right for women to fight."
Annabeth frowned. What kind of crime was that?
A smallish teenage girl was hauled into the room with much screaming and kicking, her hair flying in all directions.
"Annabeth!" she said running up to her without bowing. "You of all people must know that women are equal to men. Your friend Thalia would sword fight –"
"Don't speak her name," Annabeth interrupted. "Don't bring her into this."
"Annabeth! You must believe me! Women should be able to fight for the country-"
"Enough," the elf with the scroll said, staring distastefully down at her. "You will not speak out of turn if you value your life."
"What kind of tyrant are you?" Lacy demanded rudely. "I don't care about your stupid laws – I want them changed –"
"My lady you're seriously not listening to this, are you?" the elf sneered turning back to Annabeth.
Annabeth looked at her hands.
"She's got a point," she said.
Lacy's face lit up in a smile. "Thanks so much, thanks so much-"
"Hang on, hang on," the elf glared at Annabeth angrily. "Women can't be allowed to fight – it's just wrong –"
"And how is it wrong, my lord?" Annabeth asked innocently, glaring viciously back at him. "Are you saying that women are inferior to men? If so, you are mistaken. Since there is now a new law, women are allowed to fight."
The elf looked like he wanted to throttle her, but he thought better of it.
"You cannot be serious-"
"Oh yes I am. And this girl should go free and I want this law to be authorised immediately, my lord."
The elf nodded stiffly and gestured for the girl to be released, who then kept thanking her over and over again.
"Amateurs..." Annabeth heard him say under his breath.
Suddenly the doors of the grand hall burst open and a figure ran up the great length of the room, panting and shouting.
"My lady! The whole lower citadel is dying – something has started off a contagious disease, it can't be stopped – you must shut the gates to the city!" he cried, rushing up to Annabeth in a state of panic.
Annabeth wasted no time for hesitation. She turned to the nearest guards and spoke harshly towards them.
"Take a few men and shut the gates immediately."
"They're dying, my lady," the elf carried on in despair. His cheeks were red from running up to the palace. "No one knows what this disease is – but it makes people burn from the inside to the outside – they need help, my lady. It's not stopping and it's beyond our power to cure it."
"How long has this been going on?" Annabeth demanded.
"Since midnight I suspect. The first case started at midnight, but we hardly took any notice of it until it started spreading like wildfire. Everyone in the lower citadel has gone this plague – it's spreading to the outlying villages as well."
There was a sudden bang as the grand hall doors exploded off their hinges, crashing into the stone paved floor and falling onto the red carpet.
A tall woman stood in the doorway, her blue eyes burning with fire.
A glowing aura of power surrounded her, making Annabeth feel small and insignificant.
She walked right up to them, her long dark dress brushing against the floor as she went. Her brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun and she carried a sword around her waist.
"Who are you?" Annabeth gazed into her luminous eyes.
The woman pulled her sword out of its sheath, making the soldiers around the room react quickly with theirs.
"My name is not important. It is only your name I wish to write upon a tombstone, it is your own decisions that have led to the destruction of your people."
The blood chilled in Annabeth's head. "I have no feud against you, what is your problem with me?"
The woman laughed icily.
"My problem with you? You attempted to kill my son and I promise you that it's not only you who will have to pay the price."
You attempted to kill my son...
Percy...oh gods. This was his mother. A fully bred savage mermaid, who would stop at nothing to kill her.
"He lied to me, I was protecting myself," Annabeth defended, unsheathing her own sword as well.
"You were the one who didn't accept who he was. Don't blame this on anyone but yourself."
Annabeth shook her head, not believing the creatures' words.
"The war starts now," the mermaid hissed, stabbing her sword into the floor in front of her. Cracks appeared in the tiles from the amount of strength that was put into it.
The creature dissolved into a sour sea breeze that reflected her anger.
"Annabeth..." Ares said nervously.
She looked over at her bodyguard.
He pointed up towards the ceiling.
Giant cracks were forming in the roof, getting larger and larger. The dark mahogany timbers were suddenly falling down into the middle of the room and the floor started shaking violently beneath them.
"Get out of here!" Annabeth shouted to the court.
The cracks started appearing in the floors, splitting apart the stone and ripping the red carpet to tatters.
Large chunks of rocks came tumbling on top of her as she raced through the palace corridors, trying to avoid the rubble and falling chandeliers.
Furniture from the storey above was slamming into the ground, the glass broke in the windows cutting her skin as it shattered as she ran by.
The walls were swaying dangerously and started caving inwards, collapsing just as she sprinted down the marble steps, almost tripping over her dress.
Towers and turrets crumbling away, falling into the mountainous pile of rubble and ashes. Annabeth's heart broke with despair as she saw her bedroom being completely destroyed, her most prized possessions gone and broken to fragments.
She heard screaming all around her as elves got buried alive under the rubble and wooden beams. The whole palace fell down to the ground, leaving only a few pillars and half made walls standing.
Annabeth felt herself screaming, but the noise was too loud to hear anything.
"Help us! My lady, Help us!" cried the villagers of the lower citadel as they reached through the iron bars of the gate.
Their skin was swollen and red, their eyes were dark red, full of pain and terror.
The great hall windows smashed by their own free will, the glass sliced into her skin even from this distance.
No, no, no, no...This couldn't be happening. This was somehow all a dream...
But it wasn't, it was real. Completely real.
She could only watch as her home was pulled down to the ground in a matter of minutes.
Just like that.