Chapter 37

When the door opened, Percy smiled up at his mother, who looked back at him with slight surprise ."You're earlier than normal."

"I know, but I wanted to spend more time with you tonight, and I have something else I have to do later." Percy had left as soon as he could without the absence being noticed. He needed to be outside the castle at the time when he normally would have sneaked out to visit her, and he wanted to make sure he had time to spend with his mom before this all happened. Just in case.

"Any particular reason for wanting extra time?" Sally asked curiously, stepping aside to let Percy into the house. Her voice took on a slightly teasing tone as she added "And what plans do you have for later?"

He knew what she was thinking. That he was going to meet up with Annabeth. Part of him wanted to tell her that was what he was doing to keep from worrying her. That wasn't fair though. She deserved to know the truth, in case something did happen.

"That's a little bit of a complicated answer," Percy admitted, moving over to take a seat at the table without really thinking about it. He hadn't brought a bag with him tonight, he would need to be fast later.

Sally looked at him for a moment, before nodding a bit "I'll make some tea."

As the water heated up, they talked about nothing in particular. It wasn't until Sally was sitting in the chair next to him and they were both holding cups of tea that she finally prompted him "What's going on?"

"A lot," Percy admitted, sighing a bit as he thought about it. Than, taking a deep breath, he started to fill her in on the important information. Who Leo was, what had happened to him, why it had happened, and ending it all with "We're going to try and get him out tonight. There's a chance this will all go wrong, and if I get caught the king will probably put me on lockdown. I don't know when I'll be able to visit again, it might not be for awhile. Either way, Annabeth promised to come talk to you and tell you what happened tomorrow night."

Sally listened to him, not saying anything as he rambled a bit. When he was done, Percy finally looked up, biting his lip a little as he waited for her response. To his surprise, she was smiling at him. The soft, comforting smile that seemed to be reserved for just him, and occasionally Annabeth. Slowly she reached over and placed her hand on top of Percy's squeezing it slightly "I'm so proud of the man you are becoming, one who is willing to risk his own freedom to help someone who needs it."

Percy let out a breath. He didn't know how to respond, and couldn't help but feel pride and joy build up in him. Even if he had known what to say, he wasn't sure he could speak for a moment. It wasn't that his mom had never told him something similar. He knew she loved him, that was never a question. But love and pride were two different things. He had never believed so fully that she was proud of him. It made him even more sure of what they were going to do.

"Even if it means I won't be able to visit you as much?" He couldn't help but feel guilt mix into his feelings even as he asked it. He knew she missed him, and he just wanted her to be happy. She had done so much for him.

"Of course," Sally assured, reaching up to gently push his bangs out of his face "You are risking something to help someone and do what's right. I couldn't be more proud."

"What if I get caught, and he decides to give up on me?" Percy asked softly, looking up and meeting her eyes for a moment "Decides this whole prince thing was a mistake and just picks someone else to be his heir. Is it fair of me to risk being able to help so many people, for the happiness of one?"

"This isn't just about Leo, is it ?" Sally asked softly, looking over at him. Percy wasn't really surprised that she had put that together, she knew him better than anyone.

"No," Percy admitted, sighing a bit but not saying anything else. He didn't have to. Sally knew what he was thinking. He didn't want to marry Piper. He would never want to marry any girl that Poseidon would select for him.

"I think that's a question that only you can answer," Sally said after a moment "No matter what you decide, it won't make me any less proud. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. No matter which way you go, I'll support you."

"But isn't it selfish of me to risk losing this opportunity?" Percy looked over at her, eyes searching his mother's face for any sign of what he should do "I mean, I might end up being a horrible king, but at least I could try to make things better. In a way I'll never be able to if I'm not in a position of power."

"You're allowed to be selfish sometimes," Sally assured, giving him a small smile "Especially when it comes to setting up the rest of your life. And besides, if you spend your whole life unhappy, I doubt you would be in a position to make good choices for others."

Percy wanted to point out that she hadn't been selfish. That she had married his abusive asshole of a step-father and been stuck with him for years before he finally got himself killed in some brawl. That even before he had died, she had worked for a scribe, mostly writing out copies in order to support them. She had done everything she could, just to try and give him a slightly better life than she would have been able to by herself.

Saying any of that probably wouldn't have gone over well though. Instead he just softly said "I want to be able to help you. You deserve everything the king is giving you and more."

"What I want more than anything is for you to be happy," Sally assured again, squeezing his hand a bit "Even if that means running away from all of this with Annabeth. As long as you're happy I will be as well."

Slowly Percy nodded, processing that for a moment, before shifting slightly so he could hug her, holding tight for a moment "Thank you."

It was more than just a thank you for the advice, or for the assurance that she didn't care what he did. It was for everything she had done for him, and he silently hoped his mom knew that without him having to say it.

Sally smiled, smoothing his hair down a bit as she hugged him back "Of course sweetheart."

For a moment Percy just hugged her, before reluctantly pulling away to look over at her "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart, more than anything," Sally assured, reaching up to push back his bangs again "And I trust you to make a decision that is best for you."

Percy nodded a bit, still smiling at her, hoping that she was right, though he was nowhere near as sure as she seemed to be.