Chapter 59
The sword landed on Percy's shoulder. Jason was breathing slightly harder than normal, but not nearly as hard as he should have been. They had been going at this for a long time, and so far Jason had won every round "You need to focus, Percy."
"I know, I'm sorry," Percy sighed, shrugging off the sword as he turned to look at Jason. Taking a step back he raised his sword again "Let's go."
Jason shook his head, letting his own sword fall rather then raising it to meet Percy's "That won't do any good. Something's off with you today, you haven't won a single round. Your movements are stiff and sloppy. What's going on?"
"I don't know," Percy admitted, sighing as he lowered his sword as well.
For a moment Jason just looked at him, hesitating before speaking. Percy had never gotten upset at him for speaking plainly, in fact he tended to encourage it, but this was a touchy subject. Still, it had to be said. "You're worried about fighting Luke, and letting that worry dictate how you fight."
"Of course I'm worried about it," Percy agreed, though he seemed slightly confused as he looked back at Jason "There's a lot on the line with this duel. Even if there wasn't, it's my first duel ever, let alone my first duel as a prince. The last thing I want is to make a fool of myself."
"You're thinking to much," Jason decided after a moment "You're to worried about fighting nobly, it's affecting your ability to win. Instead of taking opportunities you're hesitating because you're worried it won't be honorable, something you don't usually care about. I get it, you're going to have a lot of people watching you, you want to make a good impression, but that won't matter if you lose. You're a natural at sword fighting, you know how to move and what to do without thinking to much. Your instincts are your strength, trust them. Especially when fighting someone like Luke."
"Why especially with someone like Luke?" Percy asked, watching Jason, making him almost wish he hadn't said anything at all.
"Luke is a good fighter, but he's not anything amazing from what I've seen and heard. Yet he's won almost every fight he's ever been in," Jason admitted, trying to figure out how to phrase what he was trying to say "He's unpredictable, and there are rumors that he's not afraid to fight dirty. You need to be ready for the unexpected to happen, not worried about being honorable."
"So, what do I do?" Percy asked, still looking intently at Jason. It made him rather nervous. What if he was giving Percy the completely wrong advice? What if everything he'd heard about Luke was wrong? "Just say screw it and not worry about fighting 'properly'?"
"I don't know. If you're fighting for your life than I say yes, do what keeps you alive, but in a duel it's trickery," Jason admitted, shaking his head again "There is a balance there, but if I'm being honest I don't know where it is or how to find it. It's something you'll develop with time. For now trust your instincts, don't try to out think him to much or be to worried about being honorable, but also don't intentionally fight dirty. And I wouldn't expect Luke to follow the rules of swordsmanship."
"Right, got it," Percy said, in a way that made it clear he did not, in fact, get it. Jason couldn't blame him, he wasn't sure he even understood what he was saying himself.
Luckily, before he had to respond, Percy had raised his sword again "Shall we?"
Jason nodded, raising his sword as well. Then the blades met, and they were fighting again, the practice swords clanging together.
Percy had told her not to worry about it. That it didn't matter why Luke was so determined to marry her because it wasn't going to happen. But Annabeth had never been very good with unanswered questions. Especially questions that had to do so directly with herself. So, despite what Percy had said, Annabeth found herself standing outside of Luke's house again, for what she hoped would be the last time for a long while.
Taking a deep breath, she reached up and knocked on the door. It was late in the afternoon, and she hoped that Luke would be home. Annabeth hadn't actually been planning on coming. She had gone to the castle to talk to Percy about what his father had said as planned, and was on her way back to his mother's house when she'd passed Luke's. The temptation had gotten the better of her.
It was the maid that opened the door, of course, and there was obvious surprise on her face "Miss Annabeth, we weren't expecting you today. Master Luke is in his study working on some things, but I can see if he is free if you like? Please come in."
"Thank you, that would be wonderful," Annabeth replied, smiling at the woman as she entered, letting the woman close the door before speaking again "Please give him my apologies for the unexpected arrival."
"Of course. Please make yourself comfortable in the sitting room while I go speak with him."
Annabeth just nodded, watching the woman leave before going to the sitting room and taking her normal seat. Her mind was racing to put together the pieces, but try as she might she couldn't figure it out. There was some piece of the puzzle she was missing, and Luke was the only person who could give it to her.
It was a few minutes before the door finally opened and Luke entered the room. Annabeth pushed herself up to greet him. Luke nodded to her and motioned for her to sit again, and he took the seat across from her before speaking "Good afternoon. I'm happy to see you of course, but I'm afraid I only have a few minutes to talk. I'm rather busy at the moment."
"Then I won't dance around the subject," Annabeth replied as she took her seat again, looking over to meet his eyes "What do you want, Luke?"
"I'm sorry?" Luke tilted his head and made a face that was certainly not his confused face "I'm not sure what you mean?"
"Yes you do," Annabeth replied in annoyance "It's me Luke, cut the whole formal act and tell me what's going on."
She watched as a moment of hesitation crossed his face, but to her relief he nodded and physically relaxed a bit "Very well. Which part are you confused about? You're a smart girl, always have been, so what haven't you managed to figure out?"
"Obviously you don't like Percy, and you think you can get something from marrying me," Annabeth eyed him. This felt like one of the games she used to play with her father, one where he had all the answers but refused to tell her, making her figure it out on her own. She hadn't minded as a kid, liking being able to put it together. Now it infuriated her. The question came out sharply "What can you possibly gain from marrying me that Percy couldn't give you."
"Your father, of course," Luke said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world "He's the king's advisor, and also an older man. I'm already working my way into the king's trust, so I should already be a consideration to take his place. An endorsement from your father should seal the deal, and why wouldn't he if I'm his son in law? Besides, I assumed you would be happy about the situation, you always did have a bit of crush after all."
"That was a long time ago," Annabeth muttered as she thought over the rest of it, and to her annoyance found that she was still confused "Percy could make you a lord, he could give you land and a title. The power you always wanted."
It was a general tradition in the kingdom that the king's advisor wasn't nobility. The position needed an objective eye, not someone who would benefit from one trade route over another or the defense of a specific land. Someone who understood the people, but was also educated enough to understand the workings of court and the world around them.
"I know you're not this stupid Annabeth," Luke said, looking at her as if she was, in fact, that stupid "Who has the most power in the kingdom?"
"The king," Annabeth replied without thinking, and then part of it clicked "And by extension the man who has his ear. A lord has more power in practice, but the king's advisor has a more direct line to the king himself. He has far more sway."
"Exactly."
Annabeth wanted to smack the smug grin off of his face. "So why duel Percy, why not just ask him to make you his advisor when he becomes king? He would have agreed."
"But he never would have actually trusted me, and I need the king's complete trust to do what I need to," Luke replied, and Annabeth got the feeling that he was intentionally being vague to make her ask him what he was talking about. He liked this. Liked having her dependent on how much he was actually willing to tell. Part of her wanted to storm out and figure it out on her own, but she stopped herself. Two could play this game. He wanted her confused, wanted to feel clever when he laid it out in front of her. As long as he kept talking, what did it matter?
"Besides, Percy was never going to trust me. He was always going to be a problem. I thought when the queen died without an heir things were lining up perfectly. The lack of succession would throw the kingdom into chaos as the lords fought for who gets to be king. By the time it came to a head I would already be in a position to advice on the subject, and to help sway the lords into fights. The unrest caused would destroy them. But then the king had to go pluck some bastard no one had ever heard of out of thin air."
"But why do you want that?" Annabeth insisted "You'll be in a position of power, so why throw that away to cause chaos."
"It was never about getting power. It was about getting even and putting the king and all of his lackies in their place." There was anger in the reply, but Annabeth could tell it wasn't actually directed at her. "You should know that better than anyone."
"Thalia." All of the answers finally clicked together in her head, the missing piece falling into place "You want revenge for what happened to Thalia."
"I want justice," Luke corrected as he met her eyes "And I can't understand how you of all people don't agree with me."
"I miss her too, Luke, but taking down the entire kingdom won't fix anything," Annabeth protested, not moving her eyes from his "The king wasn't responsible. Go hunt down the people who killed her if you want justice."
"What good will that do? Get rid of one group of raiders?" Luke almost spat as he asked the question "The king is responsible for everything that happens in his kingdom. He might not have swung the sword, but he should have stopped them. The town was under his protection, it should have been safe. And it's far from the only one to suffer from raids or attacks. He doesn't care about anything outside his city. He neglects the towns, and the people who live their pay the price. Thalia paid the price. It's time someone made the king and all of his lords pay the price instead."
"You're crazy," Annabeth replied before she could really think. It wasn't true, Luke clearly had thought out his plan, and honestly? It could work. The fact that he thought it was needed, that he was so desperate for revenge that he was willing to take down a whole kingdom, that was crazy.
"Why are you telling me this?" Annabeth asked before he could respond, eyes searching his face. Looking for some sign of the boy she had known all those years ago. It was the same face, and yet, somehow, there was no trace of him "If Percy wins then your game is up."
"Percy's not going to win," Luke said, almost snorting a bit at the thought of it "And if he did, he never would have trusted me anyway, and I'm still not convinced he will actually become king. As for Poseidon, I would like to see you try and convince him not to trust me. Who do you think he'd believe? A man who's been talking trade routes and helping with the kingdoms finances for years, or the daughter of the court historian?"
There was a pause as the two looked at each other, before Luke spoke again, disgust clear in his voice as he did "And I honestly I thought you were going to agree with me. That this was something we could do together. For Thalia. I didn't realize you were so obsessed with Percy, with the prime example of why the whole system has to go, that it blinded you. That you could possibly forget her."
"I haven't forgotten anything Luke, but Percy had nothing to do with what happened. He was seven years old with no idea that he was a prince," Annabeth replied, anger in her voice "He had nothing to do with Thalia. You're spiraling, blaming people who were in no way responsible."
"This isn't just about one person, Annabeth, it's a system. A system that puts a boy who's never even been to court on the throne. A system that allows the king to ignore the people who need him the most. A system that killed Thalia. A system that needs to be completely destroyed before it can be fixed," Luke shook his head and pushed himself up "I thought you were smart enough to figure that out. If you're not, then I don't have time to explain it to you. I'm sure you can see yourself out, I will see you tomorrow. Perhaps we will have some sort of celebration after I defeat the bastard."
Then he was gone, leaving Annabeth to sit there for a long time, her brain spinning as she processed and thought about everything that Luke had said. Everything he so firmly believed, and it left her with one terrifying fact.
Luke wasn't entirely wrong.
