A/N: I own nothing. Enjoy!
Annabeth let out the breath she had been holding in as she closed the door to the bedroom. She hadn't realized his eyes had been so piercingly green that it surprised her. Since he had been asleep for the past few days, she hadn't realized what color his eyes were. During her childhood in the magic tower, she had seen many beautiful and handsome mages. With a sharp jawline and an elegant nose, Percy was definitely among them.
Fortunately, the man, Percy, hadn't seemed hostile, though he held his guard up against her. Annabeth didn't fault him. She would be doing the same if she was in his position. In fact, he reminded her of a large wolf with sleek black fur and green eyes, relaxed but ready to pounce at any moment. If Percy knew that she could soak up the mana he produced, then it was quite possible that he would view her as an enemy to destroy.
But she was simultaneously curious about that strange ability of his, as well as the dark essence mingling within his body. What kind of battles had this man fought?
For now, Annabeth laid rest to her curiosity. Chirana had taught her to treat every patient well, regardless of their background and history. She would just have to be careful not to sap his mana by accident.
By the time she returned to the bedroom, Percy had finished the porridge. She held out his mended shirt to him as he was still bare chested aside from the numerous bandages wrapped around his torso.
"I patched this as best as I could. I don't have any male clothing that could fit you, but perhaps next time we'll be able to get you some new clothing at the village outside the Forest."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me. Let's check on your wounds. I'll try to be gentle, as this might sting a little."
Annabeth took out the new medicinal paste she had made and unwrapped his bandages. The smaller scratches had almost completely healed. The deeper gashes no longer had greenish tinges, though it would take a few more days to heal completely. This man must have had a strong constitution, as he was healing faster than the average human.
"May I?" Percy questioned. He held out his hand.
She looked up. "Oh, you want to put the medicine by yourself?"
Annabeth figured that he might have been uncomfortable with a stranger so physically close to him.
Instead, Percy shook his head and ignored the medicinal paste Annabeth was holding out for him to take. Instead, Percy gently clasped her hand that was holding out the medicine. She could feel the calluses on his hand from years of practicing the sword, but he held her hand with the gentleness and warmth of holding a delicate flower.
"You...really aren't affected," he murmured as he scrutinized her hand. "There's no ice forming."
"Um, yes."
Annabeth blinked. Percy seemed to be marveling over the fact that her skin showed no signs of frostbite. A sadness came over her heart. She could imagine that he hadn't had physical contact in a long time. Though she herself had a tough past, she at least had people around her like her brother and Chirana who would hug her and brush away her tears.
"You. What are you?" Percy's fingers laced together with hers.
Annabeth panicked silently inside. What was she supposed to say? She was just a witch who doubled as a healer for the small villages outside the Forest of Illusions. And unlike her father who was the magic tower lord, she hadn't inherited his powerful earth magic.
"I thought...I would die by the poison inside me," he continued to murmur.
"Are you saying that there's some kind of poison that's causing this condition?" She questioned.
Percy nodded solemnly. "Without an antidote, the poison would get worse and worse until it would eventually cause my death. I'm quite surprised that I survived this long without the antidote."
Annabeth thought about the peculiar dark essence mixing with Percy's mana. That was most likely it. Throughout the past few days, she had removed some of the dark essence, but there was still so much of it inside his body.
"This poison of yours...I may be able to remove it completely."
"What? Are you being serious?"
Excitement lit up in his blue eyes.
Annabeth explained her process of removing the dark energy. Percy looked as though he didn't believe her, so she decided to do it in front of him as he was awake.
Pouring her mana into him, she began the difficult process of trapping a small portion of the dark essence. She was beginning to be much better and faster at it than when she had first started. Percy's eyes widened as he watched her pull out the dark poison and then quickly destroy it.
His eyes that had previously watched her with caution now held a tinge of respect and gratitude. His guard against her had lowered, though not completely down.
"Thank you," Percy sincerely said. "I don't know how I can repay you, but I assure you that I will repay this debt with my utmost powers. How much would all this treatment cost?"
Annabeth blinked. She was too concentrated on saving his life than thinking about any sort of payment.
"There's no need to pay me."
"Still, one good deed begets another. I will pay this debt with my life if need be."
"I-it's alright, you don't have to go that far. It would be silly to pay back with your life when I just saved it."
Annabeth coughed and looked away in embarrassment. No one had looked at her like that. Even the villagers whom she had treated would say a perfunctory thank you before scampering away like she would eat them. This was the most sincere thank you she had received.
Percy finally let go of her hand. She had forgotten that he had been holding it for all this time. Finally, Annabeth continued the rest of her treatment but couldn't control a slight flush that grew in her cheeks. She realized that his man was dangerous for another reason.
When Percy had held her hand, she realized that she was quite close to Percy for the first time since he was awake. Despite being injured, he was really quite dazzling, especially when his face had been serious earlier.
After finishing his treatment, Annabeth had Percy rest and continued her daily chores. She was hauling water from the well when Percy came out of the cottage with Mrs. O' Leary trailing at his feet.
"Hey, I thought I told you to rest," she called out. "You'll tear your wounds open."
"I think I've rested enough, sleeping like a dead man for three days."
Percy stretched in the sun like a jaguar. Annabeth had known that he was quite tall from treating his wounds, but now that he was actually standing, she could tell that he was taller than her about a head's width.
It was a pity that he was wearing his shirt patched up with her poor sewing skills. Even with his broad shoulders and the light shining onto his black hair from the early spring sun, she could still tell he had the bearing of a great knight. She had already guessed from the sharp sword inlaid with precious mana stones that Percy appeared to be a royal mage knight. Of course, Annabeth didn't dare do anything with the sword other than carefully putting the weapon in a safe location.
"Do you need help with getting water?" Percy asked, seeing that she was pulling up the bucket of water.
"That's alright. I can't let a patient work."
"You're not accepting any money, so I feel burdened somewhat. Please, at least let me do this much for you, especially as I want to ask the favor of having you heal me completely from the poison. I'm aware that it will take some time."
"Ah, well…"
And so Annabeth acquiesced. With that, Annabeth stepped back and let Percy take hold of the rope. But unlike what she expected, Percy waved his hand and summoned a ball of water that landed in the bucket.
"Anything else I can do?"
In the end, Percy ended up helping to sort the dried herbs Annabeth had made. It was an easy job for him after Annabeth forbade him using mana again in his weakened state. She reminded him of a mother hen, clucking and nagging at her little chicks.
Uncharacteristically, the thought of that lifted the corner of his lips slightly. How long had it been since someone had fussed over him so much? He didn't even remember the touch of his own mother. Because of his curse, no one had dared to touch him, much less care for his well-being.
While his hands worked on the herbs, Percy focused his mind on thinking over the events over the past few days. Though he had shed his jacket deliberately in the river, he was sure that Octavian would not believe his death unless Percy's body was before the prince.
Here in the Forest of Illusions, he might be safe for a while, even with a strange but kind witch and her cat. Besides, Percy had nowhere else to go. After being on the battlefields and moving from location to location for all these years, he already knew that there was no "home" for him.
Percy frowned as he thought of what had occurred that resulted in Octavian and his men attempting to kill him. People called him a beast, but whenever Percy thought of what Octavian was doing to the innocent villagers, Octavian and his subordinates seemed like the lowest of animals. If a tyrannical man like Octavian ended up becoming king, then Galvador would surely fall into ruin.
What Percy needed to do was to get his mana back to a stable rate so he could expose what had happened.
Percy carefully reworked the mana in his circuit. Whatever poison was given was still in his body, so he needed to rely on Annabeth for the time being. He would stay a few days more under the witch's care before he could gather enough strength to leave and survive.
Thinking of Annabeth, Percy thought the witch was a strange one. Most people knowing about his cursed ability would stay far away from him.
He looked over several feet away, observing the pretty witch happily weeding her vegetable garden and talking to her cat. How different the rumors and the reality of witches were.
Well, it wouldn't be too bad to stay a little while longer.
The sixteenth king of Galvador moaned in relief as he soaked in his daily medicinal bath. But even this was temporary. King Polybotes scowled as he thought of that damn old witch who had cursed him to this condition. Black marks like inky tattoos covered his body, causing him chronic pain and headaches. His fiery temperament only grew worse like a tyrant's throughout the years. Ever since the curse, he had not touched another woman.
If it wasn't for that blasted witch and her daughter…
Polybotes closed his eyes. No matter how he tried, he couldn't get rid of the memory of her soft flesh on his, the teary pink eyes that begged him to stop that only served to make him more excited. It had been over thirty years since he had showered his favorite concubine with love and allowed her the privilege of giving birth to a son.
Yet, she had hated it. He could have given her anything she wanted, including the position of Queen by his side. But she had died, leaving him alone with the leech and a terrible secret.
Polybotes 's curse and headache had only begun there. His eldest daughter was a worthless female whom he abandoned after imprisoning her mother, the Queen. His second-born son, Octavian, shared his personality and looks, but had no mana of his own.
And then there was his youngest son… so much like Polybotes's favorite concubine. His youngest son had immense mana but was the one who had driven his concubine to death. It would be better if the youngest was dead.
Polybotes sneered. First, he would have to deal with that bitch of a witch who cursed him. If Octavian succeeded in bringing Chirana's head, Polybotes would ensure Octavian's place as crown prince.
A/N: When Percy was saying that he would pay back his debt to Annabeth with his life, I was thinking, yeah, Percy, you'll pay her back by being her husband lol. But that's gonna be many, many chapters in the future.
Some of you all noticed that I had Adrian accidentally mentioned in the past chapter. Adrian is the original character name for Percy. I just wasn't careful enough and thought I had replaced all my original names with PJO characters correctly. My bad, ya'll, for not being thorough with my editing.
Adrian/Percy = chose Adrian because the name has Latin origin for water/sea
Evelina/Annabeth = Evelina in many countries means life/light
Neer/Octavian = Neer also has connotations for water, I know Neer is a villain, but I find the name pretty and suitable. Since this name relates to water, this signifies that Neer and Adrian (Octavian and Percy) have quite a relationship with each other.
Avaritia/Polybotes = Avaritia is Latin word/personification for avarice/greed
Morena/Chirana = Morena, I made a small derivative from Morgan the witch from King Arthur tales, Chirana as the female name of Chiron
Eclipse/Mrs. O' Leary = the adorable but sassy and judgy black cat, I also like the song "Eclipse" by GOT7 lol but has nothing to do with the story.
Anyways, let me know how this story is coming along. See you all next week!