Chapter 51
Percy couldn't stand still. To be fair he had never been good at sitting or standing still, but right now it wasn't just hard, he couldn't do it. So instead he was pacing around the room, trying to calm down his thoughts and nerves.
It had been four days since Leo's escape, and things were finally starting to calm down and go back to normal. At least more or less. Poseidon was still acting odd around him, and the guards were on higher alert than usual, but Percy couldn't bring himself to wait any longer.
The conversation with his mother had brought up thoughts that had been circling in his head ever sense. He had done his best to push them away and focus, and that had been fairly easy when he was being chased through the woods, but once he was tossed in a cell with literally nothing to do but think for hours, they had quickly overtaken him and refused to go away until he'd gone over all of them. They kept coming until he finally came to a decision, and the conversation with Poseidon had wiped away any lingering doubts he'd had.
For four days Percy had been thinking and rethinking the best way to do this. There had been several times he had found himself muttering different phrases under his breath and imagining what Annabeth's response would be. It had taken a lot for him not to just start talking about it as soon as he saw Annabeth over the last few days, but he had pushed it away. Things needed to calm down first, at least a little bit. Now that they had, he couldn't bring himself to wait any longer.
When the door opened, Percy actually jumped a bit with his nerves and anxiety so high. Jason was of course standing there, and he could see Annabeth standing behind him. "Annabeth is here to help with your lessons."
"Thank you Jason," Percy nodded, not missing the slight smirk that was playing on Jason's lips. They both knew he hadn't had any lessons for the last few days. He was sure they would pick up again in the next day or two once everything else was finished calming down. Despite that, Annabeth had continued to show up. "You don't have to stand outside my door all day you know. I'm sure I'm perfectly safe in my room, especially well Annabeth's here. She's pretty tough."
His voice was teasing despite the truth in it. The comment just made her smirk "Tough enough to take you."
"I'm sure you are," Percy replied, laughing a bit, mostly out of nerves, before looking back over at Jason again "Anyway, point is you must be bored out of your mind, and for no real reason."
"I am," Jason assured, stepping aside to let Annabeth enter the room "Unfortunately I'm under strict orders to stay here. Everyone is still a bit on alert, and while I don't doubt Annabeth's abilities, I don't think my captain would be as understanding when he heard that's the reason I left."
"Fair enough," Percy nodded to him. Jason just smiled at him and nodded in return, before moving to close the door behind Annabeth, leaving them alone.
"Your father is really concerned about your safety, huh?" Annabeth teased as she walked over to his desk to start looking over the papers that were there.
"Or he's really concerned about making sure I can't sneak out again," Percy shrugged in response "If that's the extent of what he does about it I can live with it."
"Fair enough," Annabeth agreed, continuing to shift through papers, "Have your lessons started back up again? We should probably still go over some stuff even if they haven't. Can't have everything escaping from your brain before the do."
"No they haven't," Percy tried to push down the nerves that were still playing through him "And I was actually sort of hoping to talk to you about something."
"Sure," Annabeth went over to sit on the edge of his bed, seemingly unconcerned. After a moment though, she leaned back on her hands and tilted her head, looking at him more curiously. Percy had no doubt she had finally picked up on the nerves and anxiety he was trying, but probably failing, to hide. "You alright Perce?"
"I'm fine- I've just been thinking," Percy wanted to keep pacing, but it felt more natural to go over and sit on the edge of the bed as well. He took a deep breath, before letting it out and looking back at Annabeth "About what you said that night in the barn. How there were consequences to my decision to become a prince that I hadn't thought about, but over the last few weeks I've been thinking through what the results were. Firstly I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't think about how it would effect you, or really anyone other than me and my mom. It wasn't fair of me."
"Percy," Annabeth sighed a bit as she heard that, and Percy was scared she was going to shut this down like she had before, but to his relief she nodded "Thank you, but you don't have to apologize. It was your choice to make, and you made it."
"And I was wrong," Percy replied, looking over to meet Annabeth's eyes, and for a long moment they just looked at each other before he spoke again "I've thought through it properly now, and I made the wrong decision, and now I want to try and make it right."
For a moment Annabeth just looked at him, and Percy could see the confusion on her face, the way her brain was working to figure this all out. The way the gray of her eyes seemed to almost be moving with her thoughts. Than she shook her head, and when she spoke she didn't sound angry. It was closer to tired "What are you talking about Percy?"
"I'm talking about us- I choose being a prince over you, and I'm sorry. I didn't realize at the time that's what I was doing, and if I had I would have chosen differently," Percy explained trying to catch her eye again "So now I'm choosing you, if you'll have me."
Annabeth's eyes searched his face, before shaking her head and pushing herself up to start passing the room "It's not that simple Percy. You already agreed to being a prince- you can't just back out."
"Why not?" Percy asked, watching her as she started to pace, but not getting up himself. She was thinking, and he took that as a rather hopeful sign "Less than a year ago there wasn't a prince, I'm sure the kingdom will be just fine without me."
"But you won't be," Annabeth stopped to look at him for a moment "Despite everything, all the claims you made that you didn't want this, you do want to continue being a prince. You want to be king someday, if for no other reason than you want to be able to help people."
"You're right," Percy agreed, nodding a bit "Over the last few weeks something changed, this isn't just about making sure my mom is looked after anymore. I want to be king. I want to help people, especially after what happened with the druids and Leo."
He wasn't really sure when the transition had happened. So much had happened over the last few weeks, so many things that he had felt powerless to control but also a need to try and fix. It was only when he had gotten in the argument with Poseidon that he realized, for the first time, that he did want to be king. That the idea, while still daunting, no longer terrified him as much as it had just a month before. But there had also been a moment during that conversation where he had thought he would be stripped of his title, and he had found that he hadn't been disappointed by that idea either.
"But I also want to be happy, and I won't be if I'm not with you," Percy finally pushed himself up. Annabeth had stopped pacing and was just looking at him as he took a step towards her. Her eyes were stormy, her thoughts likely flying a mile a minute, but her face gave away very little of what those thoughts were "So, I'm choosing you, if you'll have me, even if that means giving up being a prince."
There was a pause, and Percy found himself holding his breath as he waited for Annabeth to respond. There was nothing more for him to say, at least not without hearing a reply from her first.
Slowly, Annabeth stepped towards him, reaching forward to take one of his hands in her's and squeeze it. Looking down, his eyes met hers' for a long moment. "Are you sure Percy? Completely sure? Because I can't lose someone I care about again."
"I have never been more sure of anything in my life," Percy replied, squeezing her hand in return and giving her a small smile "I want to be with you Annabeth Chase, regardless of the situation surrounding it."
Annabeth didn't respond. Instead she just gave him a small smile as well, before pushing herself up to kiss him. It wasn't like the subtle secret kiss they had shared in the barn, it was much more than that, and this time neither of them pulled away. They just stayed there for a long moment, before they naturally came part, both of them grinning.
"I love you," Percy said before he even thought about it, still smiling as he looked down at her. He knew that was probably to quick, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. It was true, and besides, this was Annabeth. If anything, it felt like something he had been holding back from saying for far to long.
There was only a second of hesitation, before Annabeth squeezed his hand again "I love you too, Seaweed Brain."
Warmth and joy moved through Percy at the words. In that moment, he couldn't remember ever having been happier. Still grinning, he reached up and pushed some of the hair that had fallen loose out of her face "So, Wise Girl, I guess it's your turn to make a choice."
"What's that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him, but even as she did, Annabeth was still smiling. Her eyes, which normally seemed to be full of movement, were remarkably calm.
"Do you want to be queen someday?"
