A/N: Sorry that this page was sort of dead over the week. I've been busy reading this new book by this guy named Rick Riordan, but you guys probably haven't heard of it *wink, wink.* Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

XXXVI

Recanting the Past

Perseus and Annabeth trudged through the relatively quiet streets. While they were still very much alive, the darkness suppressed, and almost shrouded the people that were present during the day. It was a lot more tolerable having to force your way through the waves of civilians. It was a masquerade of darkness. The crowds of people began to thin out as they got closer and closer to Annabeth's apartment, and finally it was only them walking alongside each other.

"So, did you remember to bring me some books?" Annabeth loosely questioned, as though she already knew the answer.

Panic jumped in his chest as he felt like striking himself in the face. He almost couldn't believe that he had forgotten.

"No, I didn't." He answered forthrightly.

"Oh," She replied with the subtle hint of disappointment in her voice. Perseus frowned at this. He would have thought that she, out of most, if not everyone, would see reason. But then he remembered the fact that he hadn't told her anything about what had happened back home. Furthermore, he had even claimed that he would tell her.

"But," He quickly added, "I um...I have my reasons, all of which I will tell you of."

She nodded in confirmation of this, "Fair enough."

They continued on without another word exchanged between them, but all the while, Perseus was contemplating how he would tell the story to Annabeth. After all, the only other person he had told was Athena. And, Juniper had explained what she knew of the story to Thalia. He had told Athena almost every detail to the story, so why couldn't he do that with Annabeth?

Perseus almost chuckled at the possibility that Annabeth might grow jealous of Calypso if he spoke of her, and that part of the tale was inevitable. It was a ridiculous notion, Annabeth growing envious of someone who had past on long ago. If he could be as honest and truthful to Athena, someone who he barely knew, he knew he could be honest and truthful to Annabeth, perhaps even more.

Perseus seated himself in a chair, out of Annabeth's way as she rifled through a cabinet. There was the loud clatter of plates as she pulled two out, followed by another, though it was covered by a cloth,

"I'm sure you must me hungry-you were at the palace as long as I was."

Annabeth pulled back the cloth, revealing a plate full of food. Baked, bread, cheese, and meat were just a few of the things on the plate.

"I can't eat all of that," He replied in an attempt to be honest, but as hungry as he was feeling at the moment, Perseus felt tempted to try.

"Of course you can't eat all of it," She replied absently as she sliced two pieces of bread and set one on both of the plates, "I need to eat as well."

"Sorry," He frowned as he watched Annabeth gather more food and turn it over to the other plates. After a minutes or so, she walked over to Perseus with a plate in front of her. He took it, thanking her as he did, and began to devour the food, completely pushing aside that it was somewhat meager.

She would occasionally look up at him expectantly, presumably waiting for his aforementioned explanation as to why he didn't bring books back to Athens with him. He didn't think that she was upset at him for not doing so, but if anything, was curious.

"Its late," Annabeth commented with a yawn as she set her now barren plate off to the side.

Perseus put his own plate on the floor, "Does this mean you'd rather wait to hear it?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm interested to hear what you have to say."
Perseus thought a moment. He wasn't really much of a story-teller, but it wasn't exactly a story. It was the truth, with no fantasy creatures or happy endings. And that was it.

"Remember that time a few months ago, when I stayed here?" He asked. Annabeth nodded her head once.

"Well after that, when I had to speak to Athena, and she denied me permission to return home, Thalia helped me do just that. I knew that if I went back, I would have to explain myself to my father."

"Because of those generals plotting against you?" She questioned.

"Yes, I was surprised that I even managed to get him to sit down for five minutes, much less convince him of the truth of their plans. When he heard this, my father was furious, and the next time he met all of the generals at once, they were promptly arrested. I was worried of what would happen to them, and knowing that it would probably end in death, I tried everything my power to set them free. But within the few days of me being there, they were killed."

Annabeth's mouth curved into a frown, "That's horrible, and without even a mere trial, too."

"Never in my entire life have I seen someone get a trial," Perseus explained, "It's either prison, or death. But all the while, my father was planning a celebration in my honor. I hadn't told him of my true intentions of being there, so he simply assumed that I was staying permanently, especially with the role I had to fulfill. Two roles, in fact."

"Which were?" Annabeth questioned.

"Becoming a suitable heir, and finding a woman who could produce the next one," He replied, the words nearly sticking in his throat, "When the time for the celebration came around, I was looking forward to anything but my father forcing me to dance and talk to women at the party. My mind was more set on finding Juniper as soon as possible."

He looked up, wearing a faint, almost wistful smile.

"But I guess that party is when my goals shifted, and drastically so. That's when I met Calypso."

He daringly glanced over at Annabeth, strangely possessing a feeling of worry of how she would react. But when he looked over at her, her face didn't contain the least amount of envy or anger. There was a smile, a hopeful, shining smile, as though she thought that there would be some happy ending to the story. He dreaded telling her otherwise.

Honestly speaking, I think she was afraid of me. After all, she had just come back to the drink she had left behind on the veranda, only to find me, the prince, drinking it."

Annabeth's smile burst, and sounded a great amount of laughter. He too began to laugh at the notion.

"But I met her in the gardens the next day," He continued with a final huff of a laugh, "And after that, our friendship quickly turned into something else. My father, of course, sniffed this out, and realized that we were a perfect match. And the fact that he was good friends with Calypso's father was certainly a plus on our part. They arranged that we were to be married."

"And that's it?" Annabeth wondered with a furrowed brow. He stared at the flickering clumps of candles scattered throughout the room, with their warm light radiating off of the walls. Wax rolled freely down the various forms the candles had become after multiple uses.

"I suppose you could say that," Perseus sighed, "That was the happier part of the story. But the arranged date of our wedding, that was when everything in my odds spiraled out of control. Calypso...She couldn't even get through the city safely. After the carriage that was supposed to take her to the palace was ordered back to her home, a messenger came to the palace, announcing that an uprising had been initiated in protest of our marriage."

"Your marriage?" Annabeth repeated in disbelief.

"Maybe not necessarily our marriage, but what would come with it. My father can't live forever, and at some point, I would've had to step up and take my rightful place as the heir to the throne. But after so long a rule from my father and the men before him, the people have grown weary of the cruel lineage. They believed that I would be an evil ruler, just as he had, and still is. And being married to Calypso would seal the fact that we would bring more corrupt and tyrannical rulers afterwards."

"And due to the uprising, our wedding day was delayed even further. And one evening, while having dinner with Calypso, after my father had left, we both got into a destructive argument. She thought that I should speak my mind more, especially around my father. I...I grew angry with her for imposing something that could jeopardize our marriage all together. Eventually, I said that she could be offed for saying something like that, and she ran outside, where bewildered men and women were destroying the outside of the palace, among other things."

He forced back the nipping tears that were already beckoning to spill from the corners of his eyes. Perseus never cried in front of anyone, and reminding himself of that, he swallowed the knot in his throat.

"I followed her out into the gardens, into the barren abandoned sections left to wither under the sun. But...I guess one of the civilians recognized her, because soon after she vanished into the darkness, I found the man who had brutally stabbed her."

Annabeth let out a gasp from the opposite side of the room, but he didn't dare look at her face. It would break him.

"He almost killed me, and at the time, I wished that he had. If it meant the chances of there being another place after death, and being able to spend an eternity with her, I would take it," He added bitterly, "But I obviously reconsidered that road, because I'm still here."

Perseus finally looked at Annabeth, who sat perched on the edge of the loveseat against the wall. In the slowly dimming light, her eyes sparkled with tears. And with a trembling breath, she shut her eyes, forcing the intruding tears out of her eyes. They rolled down her faintly lit face, bringing with them flecks of light from the candles.

"I don't see why you're crying," He remarked, his voice harsh, "It's not as though you knew her. She's gone, anyway, probably in a better place than back home, too. If anything, it was for the best."

"But I know you, Perseus," She responded, "Maybe not particularly well, but that's not the point. You obviously loved her, so how could you act so bitter?"

Perseus gnashed his teeth, "Forget it, I thought you would ever be able to ever see reason. I can mourn in my own way, Annabeth, and you have no right over that."

"Did you ever once see me act bitter over the death of Lex?" She retorted, "Did you?"

"No," He countered, "But that was different. You loved him in a different way, a sisterly way. That's not like what had been built between me and Calypso."

"You don't know that," Annabeth nearly roared, "You don't know what was between me and Lex."

"What was between you two, then? What?"

"He may have been like a brother to me, yes, but there were times where I felt...where I felt like there could have been something more."

Perseus stared at her in shock, "Something more?"

"Yes," Annabeth stated firmly, "Is there a problem with that?"

"There is, actually," Perseus snapped, without fulling processing what he had just said to her, "Wait, I mean, no-"

"Really?" She muttered. Her words were so cold sounding, that it almost felt as though the room had dropped in temperature, "And why is that?"

"I-" He exhaled as his exhaustion finally seemed to register, "Just forget about it, Annabeth. I need to leave."

"Where exactly are you going?"

"Training," He grumbled, "Staying here means I have to devote my life to the military. If you need me, I'll be getting my ass handed to me by General Chiron."

"Fine," Annabeth said, "I was about to kick you out of the house, anyway."

He marched down the flight of stairs before slamming the front door in front of them. Perseus stormed back to the palace, where his training was about to begin.

A/N: Honestly speaking, this chapter wasn't the best. I had to write it in the matter of hours, since I decided to procrastinate. Sorry if it kind of sucked, but I'll try and put some more time into next week's chapter.

Sorry again,
Leaded-Pegasus