Chapter 57

Piper couldn't help but be impressed with how easy it had been for Percy and Jason to get Poseidon and the captain to let them leave the castle with only Jason as "protection". Well, actually, she had no idea how easy it had been, but it had happened and that was a small miracle considering how over cautious the king had been since Leo's escape. Of course, it had been under the assumption that the three of them would be staying together, something they all knew they wouldn't be doing.

As soon as they were far enough away from the castle to not be noticed, Percy had ducked off to talk to Luke, leaving her and Jason alone. Piper couldn't really bring herself to be disappointed with his absence. She liked Percy, and enjoyed his company, but she also really liked spending time with Jason, and they seemed to be more genuine interactions when they were alone.

The only issue was, they weren't really alone. The streets were crowded, and while Jason was more relaxed than if they were walking through the halls of the castle, it was clear that he was still tense. Either because he was actually on duty or because of all the people around them. Possibly both.

So, they wandered around with only mild conversation, mostly just looking at places at random for a while, before Piper thought of something. "Can we visit the church where you grew up?"

Jason looked over at her with surprise and seemed to debate for a moment, before answering "If you want, but it's nothing special. Just a small church, nothing like the chapel in the castle. And we won't have a ton of time."

They had decided that they probably had at about an hour before Percy would be ready to meet up with them again. That had been at least ten minutes ago, probably a little longer.

"I want to," Piper assured, smiling at him "As long as you are comfortable with it. You've told me a lot of stories that take place there, I would like to be able to put a backdrop to them."

"Alright," Jason nodded and gave her a small smile as he did so "Like I said, we won't have a ton of time, but we could go look around a bit."

"Perfect," Piper nodded, smiling as she waited for him to start leading the way back through town.

As they headed towards the church the streets slowly started to get less and less crowded, and as they did Jason also started to relax more, much to Piper's relief. The walk to the church was longer than Piper had thought it would be, but with Jason more relaxed she couldn't bring herself to mind. They talked and joked like they did on their walks through the garden of the castle, causing a smile to linger on Piper's lips as the whole time.

When the church finally came into view, Piper noted that they were approaching from behind. Even from afar and the back Piper could tell that it was a much more modest church then any she had actually attended. However, there was something nice about the smaller size of the building, as if it were more intimate and personal as opposed to the grand buildings that made all of them feel small and insignificant. Piper couldn't help but wonder if that was intentional or just a happy coincidence of the materials available. Even the small graveyard that sat between them and the church seemed friendlier than most.

However, Piper still hesitated when Jason headed to the back gate of the graveyard "What are you doing?"

"This is the fastest way to get to the entrance," Jason shrugged, before raising an eyebrow "Unless you'd rather go around?"

Piper wasn't sure if Jason meant it as a challenge or not, but it felt like one. Asking if she was to scared to pass through the graveyard, which she wasn't "Not at all. I was just confused."

"Alright," Jason nodded and held the gate open for her to enter, falling into step next to her once she had.

They made it about halfway through when Jason suddenly stopped. Piper took a couple steps past him before she realized. Turning she saw Jason was looking down at one of the graves. Frowning, Piper moved back to him "What is it?"

It was only after she asked that Piper noticed what was written on the gravestone.

Esperanza Valdez.

Valdez.

Leo's mom.

Apparently Jason figured that Piper was smart enough to figure that much out on her own and just softly replied "It's gone."

Piper looked over at him curiously, but when Jason didn't continue she softly prompted "What's gone?"

"The flower," Jason was still looking at the grave, but after a moment seemed to realize he wasn't making sense and added "Leo made a flower out of scrap metal and left it on the grave for her."

"Oh," Piper sighed a bit, looking down at the grave, "We can buy flowers and bring them down later. I know it's not the same, but it's something."

"Yeah," Jason agreed, though he didn't sound all that excited about the idea "I just- I thought it would still be here, but there really isn't any trace of him left."

There it was. Why Jason was so bothered by the grave. Smiling slightly, Piper reached over and took his hand, squeezing it a bit "He's not just gone Jason, you'll see him again. Leo's not the type of person to let himself be scared away for to long."

"I know," Jason agreed, and for a moment he looked back at her and return the small smile "Thank you, Piper."

"Of course."

Despite the words Jason turned back to the grave, just looking down at it. Piper looked down at it as well, squeezing his hand again but not urging him to leave. Instead they stayed there, hand in hand, for as long as Jason needed.


"What the hell were you thinking?" Annabeth asked as soon as they were on the street and there was not chance of Luke overhearing "Please tell me you have a plan and didn't just bet your future on a whim."

"I'm sorry, I would have talked to you about it, but Luke was right there and it just clicked that it was what I needed to do," Percy shrugged, and to Annabeth slight annoyance he seemed completely relaxed as he looked over to smile at her "But yes, I have a plan."

Annabeth looked over at him for a moment, eyebrow raised "Well, are you going to tell me Seaweed Brain or just stand there smirking?"

"First off I'm not smirking," Percy replied, laughing a bit at that, before answering "Look, for whatever reason Luke doesn't want me to be king, so I was pretty sure that was what he was going to ask for when I made the deal."

Then Percy shrugged again, as if the rest of the information was clear and of course Annabeth was following his logic. Except she wasn't. At all.

"But why would you agree to that? You don't want to step down, and you can't know for sure you'll be able to beat Luke," Annabeth insisted. Percy was a good fighter, but based on what she had heard from others so was Luke.

"If I lose I abdicate the throne and we can run away somewhere else and be together, which is exactly what would happen if Luke just straight out refused. It might happen anyway depending on what Poseidon says when he finds out," Percy replied, shrugging again as if it wasn't a big deal at all "I'm not risking anything, it's not my fault if Luke didn't realize that."

Annabeth just looked over at him, not sure what to say. Percy had told her he would renounce the crown for her. He had offered as much the first night they'd talked about this when he asked her if she wanted to be queen, and insisted that if the king wouldn't let him court her he would step down. But part of Annabeth hadn't been completely sure. She loved Percy, and she had believed he believed he would give up the throne for her, but he also had the optimism to think things would work out. But they weren't just words. He had actually acted on them. He was actually willing to give all of it up. For her.

Without thinking about the street around them or the fact that anyone could see, Annabeth pushed herself up and kissed him "I love you."

Percy was clearly surprised, but he grinned, moving to take her hands "I love you too."

For a long moment Annabeth just smiled up at him, squeezing his hand a bit before reluctantly letting them drop "You should probably meet back up with Piper and Jason."

Percy sighed, but nodded, though he didn't move away yet "Are you going to be around the castle tomorrow?"

"I don't know," Annabeth admitted. Since the conversation with her father two nights before Annabeth had been avoiding him, staying with Sally instead. She had only gone to the castle the day before to see Percy, claiming she was bring her father something to get in, but really only staying long enough to speak with Percy and slip a letter under her father's door to let him know she was alright.

Slowly Percy nodded a bit "Well I'm going to talk to my father tomorrow, and I would like it if you were there afterwards so I could tell you what happens."

Annabeth took a deep breath. The plan had been to wait till everything else was worked out to tell the king, but obviously that was out the window now. He would find out about the duel, best he do so from Percy.

"I'll be there," She assured, smiling at him for a moment before shoving his shoulder "Now go. It's rude to keep them waiting."

"I'm sure they are more then happy with each other's company," Percy tease, but moved to kiss her cheek quickly "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Annabeth agreed, smiling at him, waiting for Percy to finally turn to walk away before doing so herself.