Annabeth woke up to something- er, someone, shaking her.

"Rise and shine, Annabeth! Time to get dressed! If your late to breakfast, i'm sure that Ms. Usoro will-" Julia was cut off by Elizabeth slapping her arm.

"Sorry about that..." Elizabeth said, an apologetic smile on the face. "It's almost time for the day to begin, so lets get you all ready!"

Annabeth rubbed her eyes, wishingvfor a extra ten minutes. With a guttural sigh, she pulled her thoughts together.

She didn't have time to register the dream fully. She didn't want to. Annabeth kept on pushing the thoughts out of her mind fully, desperate for her to forget.

Annabeth got up and stretched, walking to the bathroom. Dana had prepared the bathroom so it was clean as new. More new soaps had arrived, like the smell of tangerines and cherry blossoms.

She looked at herself in the large mirror, eyeing herself.

She had a quick shower this time, but it still felt great. Afterwards Julia kept Annabeth's curly blonde hair as it was, but made sure it perfectly rested on her shoulders.

As for her dress, the three girls picked it out. They had amazing taste.

She now wore a light coloured dress that was a colour of very light pink, like the pink was fading away. It reached her ankles and had ruffles making it look like waves and the shoulders were cut off. Surprisingly, it was light which made Annabeth like the dress even more.

I could probably train in this dress, She thought. Annabeth tried swishing her legs. Then she twirled around.

"Wow, this is so..." Annabeth trailed off.

"Beautiful?" Dana asked.

"Perfect?" Elizabeth said.

"Both," She said, smiling. "Now, what time did you say breakfast was at?"

"Both of those. Thanks, guys!" Annabeth said, after looking at the time. "Oh, its 8:27. What time did you guys say breakfast would be at?"

The three girls looked at each other alarmed.

"Breakfast is at 8:30, I believe so." Julia said. Then she gasped in realization. "You have to go! You'll be late!"

"Right! O-okay. Uh, bye guys!" She said before rushing out frantically. No one else was in the hallways, and Annabeth had trouble remembering where the dining room was in the huge estate.

Annabeth had just arrived before she was too late. Panting, she quietly rushed over to a seat, not wanting to be noticed. Hopefully, Ms. Usoro would not acknowledge her.

Thankfully Ms. Usoro just let out a sigh and tap her watch. Annabeth guessed that maybe the universe was starting to have some mercy on her.

She spotted Claypso on the other side of the table waving to her. Annabeth waved back.

Back on the topic of breakfast, it was amazing as usual. Annabeth chose fluffy pancakes with sweet maple syrup, and some bacon.

"Today you'll be doing interviews. Reporters from all over the kingdom will be arrested at 2 sharp, so I expect you all to be ready." Ms. Usoro said.

A girl raised her hand. "Excuse me, but what exactly will the interview be about?" She said.

"You'll all be asked questions about why you entered, and questions about yourself personally. " Ms. Usoro responded. "Now, you can use this time for yourself. Just make sure your not late." She looked at Annabeth.

Ms. Usoro dismissed all the girls to their rooms. Everyone had permission to go to the castle as well, including permission to go to the village too.

Calypso said something about wanting to go check out the palace, so Annabeth let her do that. Annabeth went to her room to call Percy.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed through the phone. "Why haven't you been answering your phone?!"

"S-sorry! Sorry!" Percy said back. "Its just that I've been busy lately with... Things."

"Should I ask what things are?" Annabeth asked suspiciously. "You know what, nevermind that. Interviews are in a couple of hours, and I'm freaking out."

"Well, what are you so nervous about?"

"Theres one thing I'm worried about. You know how I entered for your 'Moral support'?"

"Yeah..?"

"The reporters are going to ask why everyone entered, so what do I say? That I only joined because the foolish prince couldn't be without his bestfriend?" Annabeth groaned.

"First of all, I'm not foolish." Percy said. "Second, just make a good excuse. Listen to what other people say, like 'I'm madly in love with the hot and gorgeous prince!' or something." He said, mimicking a high pitched voice.

Annabeth's eye twitched, and right there she wished she could slap her best friends face.

"Next time I see you, seaweed brain, I'm am going to destroy you." Annabeth said before hanging up.

She flopped on her bed, shutting her eyes. The three maids weren't there, which made everything quiet and calm. That was the exact opposite of what was going through her mind.

To calm herself, (Which she did a lot more now,) she went on a walk.

Annabeth had been meaning to check out the gardens lately, so she put on her shoes and went out, still in the dress from before.

It was a clear day. The sky was cloudless and the air was cool. The roses were bright colors of red and pink, like her dress. The grass was a lush green and the trees where matching.

She sat on a bench, smelling the sweet air.

It's going to be a long day, Annabeth thought. I wonder what Percy is doing right now.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the voice talking to her.

"Hey, you have a bug on your head." A girl said to her.

Annabeth yelped and swatted her head, try to get the 'bug' off her face.

"Just kidding!" The girl smiled jokingly. "Can I sit here? The garden seems to always be calm."

Annabeth frowned at the girl. She had brown, shoulder length hair and a glowing red dress. And her eyes were... Kaleidoscope? Annabeth had never seen eyes like that.

"Um. Yeah. Go ahead." Annabeth said cautiously.

"Thanks!" The girl grinned and sat beside her. "What's your name? I'm Piper."

"I'm Annabeth. Its... Nice to meet you." Annabeth said, still a little irritated at Piper. Had she made the right choice of letting her sit here?

"Sorry if I'm a little annoying," Piper said. "I'm just not having a great day."

"I can relate," Annabeth scoffed. "I'm so nervous about the interviews. As if I couldn't be nervous enough."

"Totally!" Piper said in a understanding way. "I'm not sure why I'm even here."

Annabeth was confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I already have an eye on someone. He's not here anyways. My mom made me enter." Piper said.

Annabeth felt some pity for Piper. Sure, they hadn't got off at a good start, but Annabeth felt comfortable with her.

For a while they talked. They talked about their families back home, and Piper talked about her so called special someone.

She had said his name was Jason. That name felt familiar. Maybe Percy had mentioned it once?

After a while, Piper's phone rang so she excused herself to go awnser it.

"Gods..." She muttered. "Sorry about this. I have to go now. You know how pesky people can be."

"No, no, it's okay. Bye!" Annabeth said.

Okay, so Annabeth had made two friends. At least Annabeth hoped Calypso and Piper were her friends.

So much for low-profile.

Thats chapter seven!

So, my mom has covid. Which sucks. Don't worry, she asymptomatic which means she doesn't feel the effects.

Instead of goin to in person scho like I usually do, im staying home because im pretty sure i have covid. Oof.

Anyways, next week I'll be posting a Christmas one shot to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

Thanks for reading!