A/N: I own the plot. Enjoy!
The queen was resting on the red chaise that he had ordered to be placed in various rooms. Seeing him, she pulled herself up lazily and leaned against the one curved armrest. Percy sat down next to her, resisting the urge to pull her onto his lap. She was wearing that bright and fresh citrus fragrance that he liked. Sometimes floral fragrances were too cloyingly sweet, just like the perfume the dowager queen preferred to wear.
"I heard you met with Lord Christopher," Percy said.
There was an inkling of worry in him. What if it was revealed that he went to ask the wizard lord because of his suspicions that Annabeth was not who she said she was? All the trust he had tried to build up would be gone in an instant.
Of course, what he had thought was despicable. He didn't trust her, and yet was asking her to trust in him. A real hypocrite, that he was. His two lifetimes had taught him to trust barely anyone. As a man and husband, his actions could have been seen as unforgivable. As a king, he would have been praised as cautious and wise. But to balance both was always a difficult thing.
In addition, Percy was also pissed that the dark wizard lord had enchanted the queen without informing him. The lord had moved far too fast for Percy to intercept or protest. The situation could have easily turned dangerous had the wizard lord been an enemy. He felt useless again, unable to protect the people who put their trust in him.
But the dark wizard's answers had also directed Percy towards the route he sought. Perhaps even on the inside, he knew he was going to go down that path regardless of the answers he received.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. I suppose yesterday night's discussion didn't go as well considering I fainted." The queen replied.
Percy kept his expression steady. "It's no matter. As long as you are feeling well."
"Yes. That's what Lord Christopher wanted to meet with me for. He just wanted to check on me after I fainted last night."
He noted that the queen didn't say what the wizard lord wanted to meet her for at first. Percy didn't press her. After all, he had secrets, too, that he couldn't tell her. So he kept his expression neutral as the queen's gaze landed on him.
"Hmmph, it's almost as if Lord Christopher doesn't trust the physicians here to take care of you."
'Well, I did faint within ten minutes of meeting him," the queen said, dryly.
Perhaps it was time to switch topics. "The Festival of Bounty is approaching soon," he said.
"Yes, I've been preparing for it."
Eldoris had four large festivals, one for every season. Summer hosted the Festival of Bounty, right at the time where the vegetables and fruit were growing at their best. Usually, there would be a fishing or boating competition at the largest lake nearest the Eldoris palaces, after the fiasco of the boat flipping, Percy had nixed that idea. Instead there would be an equestrian and archery competition. He himself was never the best archer, but the competition was not for the royal family to succeed in, but for the nobility to compete in and receive gifts.
"How are your equestrian skills?" Percy questioned.
"Frankly terrible," the queen admitted. "I'm not sure how I managed to ride a horse that one time. I'm not sure if I won't embarrass myself at the festival."
Her form wasn't too bad, Percy thought. Who cared about proper posture if one had never learned and was running for her life?
"Let's go to the stables," Percy decided.
Standing some distance away, Sir Grover winced inwardly. There were still some documents to be looked over, though not too important that the king needed to look over them himself. Still, if Grover or any other aide brought this up, the king would just lift an eyebrow and say that's why he paid the aides generous wages. Perhaps they could promote one of the assistant aides to a more senior position to help with the work since the king liked to spend time with the queen instead of working.
Whatever made the king happy, Grover sighed, resigned to his fate of overtime once more.
Annabeth had only toured the stables once and that was when she discovered the structural deficits of the stable's renovation. It seemed like such a long time ago since she had the embezzling stewards thrown out.
"This is my horse, Blackjack." King Percy introduced.
Blackjack was a beautiful horse in the shade of the deepest, darkest nights. His intelligent eyes perked up curiously as Annabeth extended her hand, keeping her hand flat as she offered Blackjack some sugar cubes. The warm muzzle approached her hand as the horse accepted her offering.
"He's a good horse," Annabeth praised. "So handsome."
Blackjack snorted and tossed his mane, as if saying of course, he's handsome. What did she expect? Annabeth laughed as he nuzzled her for some more sugar cubes.
Living in Virginia and San Francisco, and then the city of New York, she never had an opportunity to be around horses. They were much bigger than she thought they would be.
"He's been with me for nearly ten years now," the king said with a hint of pride in his face. "My father gifted him to me for my thirteenth birthday. We've been through thick and thin since then."
Even though she didn't know much about horses, Annabeth could tell that Blackjack had been well taken care of with his coat so shiny and his mane silky. To the king, this horse must seem like family.
"Here's the two horses you can choose between. Queen, meet Guido."
The king showed her a pure white horse with a gentle temperament.
"And this is um, Porkpie."
Annabeth blinked. She thought it may have been her dyslexia, but indeed, the nameplate on the next horse said Porkpie.
"I, um, was quite young when I named him Porkpie, and he doesn't respond to any other name now," the king said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "But despite his name, Porkpie is a very gentle and loyal horse."
"Er, I'll guess I'll go with Guido then."
Annabeth had nothing personal against Porkpie, but what if people found out that the queen was riding a horse called Porkpie? Where would her dignity go? Annabeth apologized with all her heart to the innocent Porkpie munching his hay.
The equestrian teacher for the day turned out to be the king himself. Annabeth glared at the king, who only smiled. He was probably only teaching her to avoid work, she thought. The actual equestrian teacher, a young and dazzlingly beautiful lady named Lady Silena Beauregard, enthusiastically took the day off and wished the two to have a nice date.
As the king and queen took out their respective horses, a pair of dark eyes narrowed as they watched the pair go, taking note of which horse the queen had.
The king was a diligent teacher, just like he had been when teaching her swordsmanship. Soon, Annabeth was able to mount properly and know the basic equestrian commands and moves.
After confirming that she knew the right commands, the king suggested that they take his horse for a brisk trot around the fields and then have a picnic for dinner. Guido was put back in the stables.
"I'm afraid that it may be a bit too far for a beginner horse rider," the king said. "We'll ride separately next time, but for today, let's just go on Blackjack."
He helped her mount the dark horse first before following suit, sitting comfortably behind her. Automatically, Annabeth felt that this was a bad idea. It wasn't that she was scared of riding horses, but she was feeling her back press against the king's chest. Every time he spoke, she felt warm puffs of air behind her ear, tickling her and making her chest tighten. She must have been still feeling shy from that makeout session in the library.
"Won't Blackjack be tired?" Annabeth asked, searching for an excuse to get off the horse.
"You're making light of Blackjack's talents. He's a very strong horse and his stamina is unrivaled. You're just a feather to him. Here, why don't you try practicing holding the reins?"
Her hands moved to hold the leather grips while his hands moved to hold her waist instead. It was just like when he was holding her to dance, but why was it that she seemed hyper aware of every sensation again?
"Don't let the reins slack so loosely, my queen." The king reminded her.
With a start, Annabeth tightened her grip again. His larger hands soon covered hers as if fearful she would forget to hold the leather reins properly. Even though they were both gloved, she could feel the warmth of his body heat permeating towards her. Somehow, it felt natural. Annabeth blamed it on letting the king act so lovey dovey to her these days for the sake of pretense that she had actually gotten used to his physical proximity.
Annabeth breathed in the summer air, feeling invigorated by the warm sunshine. Here and there, clouds drifted lazily across the sky.
It was hard to believe that she was in another fictional world since it all felt so real to her. But her conversation with Lord Christopher had led her to think that perhaps there were other worlds or parallel universes out there. That, or Clarisse had some supernatural powers to create worlds or something.
As to how to escape this world… Annabeth pondered back on her conversation with Lord Christopher. Fulfill the wish of the original soul. That is, she wanted to have her family's love.
Annabeth glanced at the king behind her. Did that mean that she had to try and win the king's love?
Catching her stare, King Percy smiled. The wind picked up at that moment, ruffling his thick hair. Not a prince on a white horse, but a true king on a majestic black horse. The scene looked like it could have only come out of a movie or novel or at the very least an Instagram filter, but here it was before her very own eyes.
Maybe it was because Blackjack had been galloping for a while, but her heart was beginning to pound in her chest. Annabeth turned back to the front, not wanting her flushed cheeks to be seen.
So be it. If she wanted to go back to her world, the faster she had to act to capture the king's heart. As for creating a family… Annabeth felt her cheeks couldn't redden anymore as she thought of her unbridled actions that day in the library.
"Shall we eat here?" The king proposed.
"Hmm? Oh, sure."
They had arrived at the edge of a pond with floating pink lotus flowers. There were trees around, creating a nice shade around the pond to rest from the beating sun. The lands owned by the Eldoris king were really widespread as even this piece of land was still within the bounds of the Eldoris palaces.
The king had dismissed all the escort knights for the afternoon so it was up to the two of them to set up the picnic. Still, it was nice to not be constantly surrounded by people again, even if she had a tyrant king by her side.
The said tyrant king split a chicken salad sandwich and handed the larger half to Annabeth.
"Eat, eat. Food is nice to look at, but it's better in your stomach," the king told her.
Tell that to all the food bloggers and Instagrammers. They would have been dying to eat at such a scenic spot.
With the good food soon in her stomach and the warm air soothing her senses, Annabeth couldn't help but stifle a yawn.
"Why don't you take a nap?" The king suggested. "I'll be here to keep watch."
Annabeth nodded. A nap would be nice. She leaned down on the blanket with her head on the king's lap and was out like a light.
For a brief moment, she thought she had returned to the modern world. Her mother and father were in the study, arguing over who would take care of Annabeth. Then, the scene dissolved and Annabeth was informed her parents were going to divorce. She felt guilty as a child, wondering if she had done something wrong so her parents were going to leave her.
Then her father brought in another woman who introduced herself with a smile. Annabeth rebelled, even running away from home a few times. Eventually, she got along with her new stepmother, who was patient throughout Annabeth's rebellious stages. They learned about each other and their likes and dislikes. A pair of twin half-brothers were born. Even though they were small, they liked to clamor for Annabeth's attention, showing her their new toy cars or cutely begging her for some snacks.
Family, Annabeth thought. This was what familial love was supposed to be like. Families were messy. Relationships were messy. That was how life was. But a true family regardless of blood relations was one that supported each other through difficult times, no matter how messy it could be. And if that meant stepping back sometimes, then that was okay.
Comparing her modern family to that of the original Kiran princess', Annabeth felt that she had lucked out. Even if her parents were divorced, all members of her blended family cared for her. She could feel why Princess Annabeth wanted to experience even a fraction of that same love.
There was a sense of raw emotion that seemed like it wanted to burst through Annabeth's chest. The lingering feelings of sadness and hurt blended into Annabeth's emotions like they were leftover from the original soul's.
Something wet flowed down Annabeth's cheeks. Was she crying?
Annabeth opened her eyes to darkened skies releasing their rain and a pair of warm hands wiping droplets from her cheek.
A/N: Prepare yourself for the next couple chapters. Very NSFW so DO NOT READ IN PUBLIC. That is not a challenge. Please don't take this as a challenge. I am not responsible for any sudden nosebleeds out in the public lol.
Anyways, guest reviewer mentioned that perhaps this story will turn out like Chronicles of Narnia. Granted, my memory of Narnia is very fuzzy, but there's no correlation, hehe.
As always, stay warm and healthy. See you all next chapter!