Chapter 63
So much had happened over the last three days that really Annabeth hadn't even thought about what to do when it came to her father. She had thought about how angry she was, and about what had happened, but not what to do next. There just wasn't time. But she knew that she wanted to speak with him before the king made his decision regarding Percy, or at least before he told anyone what that decision was. Which meant that it was now or never.
There was a small chance the king had talked to her father about what to do, but given the circumstances Annabeth was willing to bet that he'd picked someone else to advice him on it. The whole point of having an advisor that wasn't a lord was that they were objective, there was no way anyone would believe that Frederick didn't have an invested interest in this decision.
Really, she probably should have gone to talk to him about this the same day that Percy went to the king the first time, but her thoughts had been obsessed with figuring out what Luke wanted, and she couldn't go back in time. What she could do was talk about it now, so she took a deep breath and made herself enter the library.
Frederick was actually sitting at his desk for once, which probably shouldn't have been a surprise. Without her there to help him it made sense that he would have to actually be at the desk more often, but she hadn't really been expecting it. When the door opened he looked up, the annoyed expression changing to one of relief when he saw her. Before he could say anything Annabeth cut across "I'm still mad, but I want to talk to you before the king makes his decision. I assume you've heard about everything that's happened?"
"Most of it. The king has wisely chosen someone else to advise him on the matter, since anything I say could be seen as biased," He sighed, before motioning towards the door "Lock it. I don't want some lord barging in during this conversation."
Annabeth nodded, locking the door, before going to take the seat opposite her father. For a long moment she just looked at him. "Regardless of what the king decides I'm not going to marry Luke."
Of course Percy had made it clear to the king that the two of them were going to be together either way, but Annabeth was still hesitant to tell her father that exactly. There was still the chance the king thought they were bluffing, or would try to stop them from leaving, and the last thing they needed if that happened was her father to know what their plan was. All he really needed to know was that she was not going to marry Luke. Ever.
"I know," Frederick agreed, nodding a bit at that "And believe it or not I'm happy that Percy won, and not because his status makes him a better suitor."
"I do believe it," Annabeth agreed, looking over at him intently "And I believe that you thought I really would be happy, that you want me to be happy. What I don't understand is why you didn't talk to me about it. I know you don't like talking a lot, especially about this kind of stuff, but this was something really important, that affected my life a lot more than yours. You should have talked to me."
"I know. You're right, I should have talked to you. Andrea convinced me that talking to you would just scare you, that no matter who I had picked you would say no. We had to wait for the idea to come to you on its own," Frederick replied, and Annabeth knew there was some truth to that. It didn't make what he had done right, but she probably would have protested regardless of who he put forward, even Percy.
"So why push it at all?" Now that she was calm enough to talk about this, Annabeth wanted all of the information.
"I was under the impression it was a limited time offer. Luke didn't want to put forth the effort to court you without some sort of assurance that it wasn't a waste of time."
That made sense. Of course Luke wouldn't have called it off, but it was clever he would threaten that he would in order to get assurance.
"What do you mean, I don't like talking about things?"
Annabeth blinked as the question pulled her out of her thoughts. It took a second for it to register. "You just don't like talking. It's easier to get you to talk about history and facts, but even that you're not all that fond of. Forget personal stuff. You've always shut down those conversations, ever since I was little. At least- you do with me."
"I'm sorry," Frederick sighed a bit, seeming to think for a moment before speaking again, voice softer "After your mother died I was heartbroken. I shut down most of what I was feeling. Even after I had started to move on, not talking about it had become a habit, especially with you. You're right, I've never been particularly good at talking about personal things, but it's more that I'm bad at initiating conversations. I'll try to be better about it."
That caught Annabeth completely off guard. She looked at him for a moment before slowly nodding in agreement "Right-"
"And I want you to talk to me. But I'm not always great at starting conversation, so please, if you want to talk to me tell me, and I promise I will be better about listening and making time for it," Frederick seemed to hesitate for a moment before adding "Though it would be easier if you come home."
Annabeth hesitated at that too, but her father didn't say anything as he waited for her to think it out. The few days she had stayed with Sally had been really nice. They got along well, Sally seemed to really like having her there and Annabeth liked being there. But, what her father was saying also sounded nice, really nice, and she could always go back if things got bad, right? Going home also meant dealing with Andrea. But also, maybe it was time to stop running.
Eventually Annabeth nodded, "I will. Not yet, but soon. Over the next few days. But dad- things can't just keep going how they have been-"
"I've already spoken to Andrea," Frederick replied quickly, almost cutting Annabeth off as he said it "Things will be different Annabeth, I promise. As long as you are willing to let them changes."
"What?" Annabeth almost baulked at that "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you're like me. You're stubborn, and once you fall into a pattern you tend to stick to it," Frederick sighed a bit as he spoke "I'm not blaming you for what happened or anything with Andrea, but if you want things to change you have to be willing to let them, and change a bit to fit them. You can't just be snippy with her for no reason anymore. I know she's the one who started the whole mess, you were just a kid, but you haven't exactly been willing to help the situation improve. Especially in recent years."
Part of Annabeth wanted to protest, a stubborn, rebellious part wanting to laugh in his face or maybe list off every argument they'd had and how exactly it was Andrea's fault. Except, that was sort of what he meant, wasn't it? How she defaulted to being defensive, to assuming everything the woman said was an insult or jab. So maybe there was truth to the comments. As much as she would like to claim otherwise, a lot of the arguments over the last few years hadn't exactly been one sided.
"Fine. But should the king agree to all of this and I end up suddenly a noble or whatever, I don't want her at court. This whole mess with Luke is because she was trying to improve her status, so she doesn't get to do that, at least not until I say so. Which will only be after I see an actual change with the way things are at home."
Frederick sighed again, but nodded in agreement "That seems fair. I will talk with her again tonight."
"Good," Annabeth nodded, and there was a moment of rather awkward silence before she moved to push herself up "I should go. I need to speak with Percy again and I'm sure his mom will be waiting for me to come back soon and fill her in on what happened-"
"And if the king doesn't agree?" Frederick voice was surprisingly soft "You've talked quite a lot about if he does, but barely touched on if he doesn't."
Annabeth paused, biting her lip for a moment as she looked over at him, before shrugging her shoulders "I suppose we'll figure that out if it happen."
"I suppose, though I have to say, I hope that whole conversation we just had doesn't end up coming to nothing," Frederick gave her a soft smile, and despite the rather awkward way her father had spoken, Annabeth was struck with the feeling that he knew. He knew that if things didn't work Percy and her planned to leave.
"Me too," Annabeth replied simply. She hesitated for a second, before turning to leave. It was only when she reached the door that her father spoke again.
"I really am glad that Percy won. Even if the king doesn't agree," there was a slight pause before he added "and whatever happens, I hope it works out for you. I do want you to be happy, Annie."
"I know," Annabeth looked back to give him a small smile "I'll see you soon, dad."
