Chapter 67

The night air was cool as it blew through the cracks and holes of the barn walls and roof. Percy was leaning back on his hands, one leg and shoulder against Annabeth's as they sat. It was nice, the warmth of Annabeth next to him in the slightly chilly air, the moon and stars above them.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Percy asked softly, breaking the comfortable silence that had drifted over them. There was no real reason to say it softly. They were alone, save for the guard stationed at the door of the barn, who was too far away to hear. It wasn't really something that needed to be talked about with seriousness either. There was just something about being up in the barn loft, the night calm around them, that made the hushed tone feel right.

"Ready as I'm going to be," Annabeth replied, laughing a little at the question "If you could do this then how hard could it really be?"

Percy felt a sort of warmth in his stomach when Annabeth laughed, and he couldn't help doing so as well. "Fair enough."

Piper and her escort had left early that morning. As soon as they were gone Percy had slipped away to take advantage of his first Sunday of freedom. Of course, he was sad to see Piper go, and Jason with her, but he was glad they were happy and it had seemed like a waste to spend the day being sad. The last thing Piper would have wanted was him moping about the castle anyway.

"Are you going to still have time to help me with my history lessons?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at her "I've been learning a lot quicker since you started helping me."

"We'll see how much work and time the lessons your father has laid out for me end up taking," Annabeth grinned a bit at him as she pushed herself up to sitting "I'd like to though. I really enjoyed helping you through it."

"We'll see," Percy agreed, pushing himself up as well and shifting slightly so they were facing each other "I don't want you to get overwhelmed."

He had been doing a lot better in history since Annabeth had started helping him, but he also knew how overwhelming all of this could be. Of course, Annabeth already knew more about court then Percy had, but knowing about court and suddenly becoming a part of it were two different things. At least it had been decided that it would be best if they waited a little while to start integrating her into court and social circles of nobility. Just in case it really was just the fleeting feelings of teenagers. Percy knew it wasn't, but his father and Mr. Chase were less convinced. He wasn't opposed to the idea though, figuring it would probably make the transition a little easier for her then it had been for him.

Despite that decision, they had also decided that Annabeth needed to start learning how to be a noble as soon as possible. Someone would be hired to help Mr. Chase balance his work and Annabeth would instead spend her time at the castle learning the ins and outs of court and how to rule, much the same way Percy was.

"You're sure you want to do this? Become queen?" Percy asked softly after a moment "We can still slip away if you want, I'm sure we could get passed the guard."

"I'm sure," Annabeth replied, laughing a bit as she leaned over to kiss him quickly "Though I'll admit it was weird to have a guy following us around all afternoon."

"You're going to have to get used to that, I doubt I'm going to get a guard as relaxed as Jason again," Percy replied, laughing as well "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find plenty of time to have to ourselves."

"Good," Annabeth grinned, reaching to mess up his hair "Believe it or not I like seeing your face every once and awhile."

"I'm glad, I really like seeing yours too," Percy grinned at her in return, before kissing her quickly again. Now that they were actually allowed to do that, Percy had found himself quickly addicted to it, and searching for an excuse to kiss her at every opportunity.

"God, we're actually going to be royalty," Annabeth said after they'd pulled away. Percy couldn't help but smile a bit at that. He understood what was going on in her head. The mixture of disbelief, aw, and terror at the idea. Feelings that were only just starting to wear off for him.

"Yeah, we are," Percy agreed, reaching up tap lightly on her head as he spoke "So get it through your head, Wise Girl. Tomorrow you start queen lessons. Don't worry it'll sink in soon enough."

"Right- because you got used to it so quickly," She teased in return "How long did it take you again? Six months?"

"Closer to eight."

"Right, so no time at all then."

"I'm sure it won't take you that long, you've always been a faster learner then I am," Percy replied, shrugging.

They fell into an easy silence again, Percy just reaching up to tuck some hair behind her ear as he looked over at her. There was a long moment before he softly said "I love you."

"I love you too, Seaweed brain."

Then they were kissing again. It was far more intense then the quick kisses they'd been sharing all night. Percy wasn't sure which of them had started it, they were just suddenly kissing. It was a long time before they finally pulled apart. As they did both were grinning, and they let their foreheads rest against each other's for a moment. Then sea green eyes met stormy grey ones, neither breaking the gaze.

"This isn't going to be easy. The lords will be upset, Piper's parents will probably be insulted, and Luke will still be looking for revenge, especially after the duel."

"Sounds like the beginning of an amazing adventure."