DESIGNER DARE

Annabeth's legs felt like mashed potatoes.

Her muscles ached from her journey, but she had long passed the border of Delphi. She had noticed the terrain differentiating from flatlands to hills to mountains. She had been on her wondrous adventure for a few days now, and she was sure the assassins had already made a move. Where would she have to go to chase after them next?

That was okay though because this journey was for her people. She was going to find out what they were up to, just to stop them from creating chaos among the kingdoms. She was on this mission for a reason, and that reason was getting her one step closer to her goal.

As Annabeth ducked under branches and slashed through the moss, her mind began to wonder. She knew her goals, and she knew her duty. Her goals already got set in mind the moment it got determined she was to rat out the assassins.

Dead leaves crunched under her boots, and mud splashed onto her clothes. Her shoulders burned from the weight on them, but she couldn't stop now. Her eyes scanned the area, eyeing any moving structure. She had to be sure she didn't run into any cougars or bears on the way. Killing or harming those beasts was not Annabeth's cup of tea.

Just as the knife brought down hanging moss, the princess spotted lights in the distance. There was no way she had been that close to the town's borders. She had only just entered the woodlands. Annabeth knew for a fact that the town rested on the side and top of one of the mountains surrounding the forest, but she was unsure of where.

In all honesty, she was shocked that the assassins still managed to escape Delphi even when running down a mountain. If anything, there should have been some kind of struggle. King Apollo even gloated how he trained his guards to jump over rocks and skid down tilted structures. From what she had witnessed the assassins were well-trained.

Had the king allowed the rebels to escape? Could the assassins have traveled that path so many times, they conquered it? Whichever one the real answer was only made Annabeth more upset. The rulers relied on her that much. So much that they let the hooded group escape their clutches. She was nervous about how the mission would end up, but not about it.

She believed in her capability to hold her own, but not to set the future. If she got found out, there would be no blood heir for Athens. Of course, having a Selection for a king would be the next option if she were to be killed or…

Whatever happened to her within the next weeks or so.

The lights in the distance flickered, causing Annabeth to snap out of her thoughts. She strained her eyes, squinting. She proceeded a few steps forward, orbs never straying from the lights. She cautiously stepped over the forest greens, tripping every once in a while.

The light was bright, a green haze following it. The green smoke strayed around the bright yellow light, and Annabeth paused. Did she want to see what caused the smoke? She had heard it all from her storybooks. Anything and everything to do about magic and spirits and witches. Although things like dragons and unicorns didn't live outside the books, those did. Things that could cause this green haze.

The two colors didn't mix well, creating an excruciating brown color. The sun didn't clear much of anything up, considering the trees blocking its pathway. Though, when small beacons of light did manage to break through the trees, she got temporarily blinded. Her eyes would take multiple blinks to adjust to the brightness. Then it would disappear once more.

That was what happened to the heir just then. She blinked her eyes, slowly making the sunlight seem normal. Then before her eyes, laid a lonely cottage in the woods. The large clearing was up ahead where it sat, making the sun rays beam onto the forest floor.

Annabeth's jaw dropped when she saw the scene. The green smoke got darker and thicker the closer to the cottage, making it nearly impossible to see. Annabeth wondered how she even noticed the wood structure in the first place. The sun almost vanished under the thick smoke.

The girl's heart beat faster in her chest. Her hands fumbled to grab her bow and snatch an arrow from her quiver. Her fingers trembled as she knocked the arrow, but kept the point facing the ground. Her grip was tight, causing her knuckles to go white. All she had to do in a case of danger was pull back, aim, and release.

The princess took cautious steps towards the log cabin. She wondered who she'd find inside; what she'd find inside. Who knew if it were human? It could be some kind of creature that a witch created, or maybe the smog was from a witch. Possibly sorcerous? The possibilities were endless for what magic holder was inside the home. A spirit wasn't going to be in there. The green mist wasn't dark enough to allow a ghoul to appear.

Still, despite all the things that could go wrong, Annabeth had a mission. Get to the assassins, and find out their plans. Find out who their leader is. If she caught the thing off guard, she could kill it with one or two shots. Then, she'd have a nice place to raid.

As Annabeth entered the smoke, it entered her lungs. They began to spark, but she steadied her breathing. She could feel her contacts keeping the smog out of her eyes, so she kept them open. She held her breath for as long as she could, before taking a deep breath. The sharp inhale of the fog made Annabeth's throat tickle. She refused to cough, opting to do the route where she breathed slower.

Continuing her path, it got harder and harder to see as she neared the home. With the smoke slowly thickening she had to be more on guard.

Her heart thumped in her chest faster than before, and sweat built under her clothes. She was glad her curls were shorter now, so they hung even looser around her neck. Otherwise, her neck would be as flaming as her lungs. Her eyes began to water, despite the contacts providing a comforting layer. The fog got tougher to avoid, even through coverage.

Pain seeped through her body, and she grunted as she stumbled, almost puncturing her foot with her arrow in the process. She gasped at the proximity, looking right behind her and seeing she tripped over weeds. She saw a rainbow of flowers, which all appeared to be dull and sunken and dead.

Maybe the house didn't have any food or water to ransack?

She soon saw a porch, trudging up the wooden stairs. They creaked and squeaked under her weight, but Annabeth could care less. The pain was becoming too much. It overwhelmed her senses. Her lungs screamed for air, even though her breathing was normal. Her eyes demanded hydration, even though the tears falling out of them would fill rivers.

Annabeth didn't have the energy to look through any of the windows for an intruder. She just wanted to stop this nonsense. She wanted to leave, but that would leave many mysteries unsolved. First of all, she wouldn't figure out who or what was behind the smoke, and anyone that came by the scene would fall into the same sickly feeling she did. That or their curiosity wouldn't get the best of them.

Without a second thought, the princess readied her bow and kicked open the wood door with a snap. A lock broke and the door slowly dragged open. A groan rang in the air, but Annabeth paid no attention. All her focus was on the juniper cloud across from the door. She aimed her bow without hesitation, pulling back at the source. This is what started all this crap.

A burst of determination broke through her sickly body, allowing her to get the strength to let the arrow fly. It found its mark with a loud thud, meaning the substance Annabeth hit was solid. Was her aim truly that terrible, or was she hallucinating? Although, her questions got answered when the smoke billowing from the hollow structure began to thin before fading.

With a breath of fresh air and a look around, Annabeth sighed. "Thank God,"

Her eyes began to hydrate, and her insides stopped twisting into themselves. Her strength appeared once more, and the feeling was great. It was as if sickness had spread over her body, but had left with the snap of her fingers. The feeling flowing through her body was accelerating.

After searching the empty room with my eyes, she shouldered her bow. The room was nothing much. It had rotting oak floorboards, with a dusty rug covering most of it. The only other thing in the room was the corpse. Inside of its open mouth was the arrow she shot. The mummy was limp, legs and arms stretched out before itself.

Annabeth hadn't realized that she had stepped closer into the house, and when the door slammed shut, she whirled around. She had whipped her knife out of her waist sheath, facing the door. A girl with big curls gulped at the knife pointed at her throat.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving me," She managed to choke out, before taking a deep breath.

Carefully, Annabeth brought her knife down. She placed it back inside of her belt but made sure to keep her hand nearby.

"You're welcome. What had you in danger?"

Her fire-red curls bounced as she cocked her head. Her eyes traveled up and down Annabeth's figure, but not in an odd way. Her gaze was curious, a look Annabeth recognized too well. It was as if she was studying everything about the heir's appearance and personality after two sentences.

She crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to her right side. "The green mist didn't affect you? You didn't feel lightheaded or queasy?"

"No, I did," Annabeth responded, leaning back a bit at the posture of the redhead. "But the mummy had something to do with it."

The girl in the mossy green dress held out her right hand with a bright smile. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

The blonde panicked but kept her expression cool. Her mind rushed for an answer and said the first thing that came to mind. "Bethanny Grey."

She wanted to wince at the name. If you didn't look very deep, it wouldn't be tricky to find the underlying meaning of it. 'Beth' was the second half of her name and 'Annie' was the first part. Grey had been her mother's maiden name, which wouldn't take a genius to figure out. Luckily, Rachel didn't mention it and they shook hands.

"Sorry to scare you there,"

"No, you're fine."

The girl's pale skin got dotted with freckles, and Annabeth noted how the color of the freckles correspond with her hair perfectly. Her green dress contrasted with her flaming curls, but the color combination didn't make Annabeth think of the winter. She had a bracelet on her wrist, the thick band textured with paint splotches, dots, and puddles. It reminded the princess of dried paint.

Rachel's emerald eyes sparkled, and Annabeth grinned at the girl. "I assume you're from around here?"

"Yes, Delphi." She responded, glancing behind Annabeth and towards the mummy.

"I'm not from here, so does the mummy have to do anything with culture?"

Rachel shook her head. "Nope. In fact, I'm normally the only person who can find this place."

That got Annabeth thinking. How come this redhead was the only person to find the cottage in all of Delphi? She found it pretty easily, just a little walk through the woods then it's right there. Did people not normally come down this way or what?

Will had never mentioned a cabin in the woods to her at any time. Even when they were kids, he never said anything about it. Not even when she had met with him almost a month ago, had he said anything about a glowing green cottage with a rotting corpse inside. He was the prince, Annabeth would think he'd know about it. Maybe people didn't know about it.

She opened her mouth to mention that to Rachel, but just remembered she wasn't Annabeth Chase. She was Bethanny Grey until further notice, and she had to be an assassin. She had to take on perspective and the role of a peasant from Pylos. It was the best kingdom to go with, considering how close she was to Silena.

Instead, she managed to say, "I heard the news that Prince William had gone missing. Do the guards searching for him go through the area?"

"Yes, they do. I make sure they do." Rachel's eye twitched, but Annabeth paid more attention to her sentence.

"You have permission to talk with the royals?"

Annabeth didn't realize how offensive the comment sounded until it was out of her mouth. Although, Rachel didn't take any offense from it. Or, if she did, it didn't exactly look like she did.

"When the prince and I were little, he managed to escape from the castle gardens. I live near the castle's walls and was outside drawing. We kicked it off. He managed to get me into the palace with him, and I didn't get returned to my parents until a few days later."

"You and I seem to have similar parents. Maybe we should get them together sometime."

"They probably didn't notice I was gone. For… however long I've been here." She glanced around the windows of the cabin nervously.

"Please, I could spend the day with them in the same house and they wouldn't notice my absence." It was partly true, but Annabeth knew that they only called for her when it was time for her duties. Other than that, they pretty much let her do whatever they wanted. Well, except for going outside the palace walls, or outside in general for a long while.

"Hey, I'm sure they're worried about you. If you're unsure how long you've been here, I'm sure it's been a while. They've noticed by now, trust me."

"I hope you're right."

Without much hesitation, Rachel Elizabeth Dare deeply gasped, falling to her knees on the floor. Her chest heaved up and down as she hugged her stomach. Her long curls hung down over her face. She seemed to be muttering things under her breath, but all of it was unintelligible to Annabeth.

"Rachel!"

Annabeth stepped forward and collapsed to the floor beside her friend. She wrapped her arms around the girl, rocking her back and forth. Rachel didn't merely acknowledge her presence but continued mumbling quietly.

Suddenly, she inhaled again, and her head snapped up in time. The craziest thing Annabeth had ever witnessed happened, and she froze in shock. She watched as Rachel perked up. Her green eyes gleamed, but they didn't stop. They began to glow a faint shamrock green, the same color as the mist before.

She didn't smile or frown. Her expression was blank as she stared at the mummy across the room. Her eyes were blank, but the glow of them begged to differ. Her mouth opened to speak, but before any sound came out, the green mist did.

This made Annabeth jump, but she quickly settled down. The mist was different this time. It flowed around Rachel and her, swinging up and down in a zigzag-like pattern. Rachel's slumped posture ended, her back straightening. Her arms flashed to her sides, as words finally fell from her mouth.

'Heir of Athens to be wed…'

Annabeth's heart thumped in her chest. Her mind started to go one thousand miles per hour. Her fingers twisted around Rachel, as she readjusted her arms for the girl. The voice was ancient and old, like the mummy that laid on the floor. It was airy and light, almost like a whisper of its true voice.

She was the heir of Athens. She already knew that her parents were trying to get her to marry, but the voice was trying to tell her that she was going to get married. Of course, she knew it would happen, so how much was the voice trying to tell her?

The old voice spoke again. 'Battle with no victory…'

The line confused Annabeth. What battle? The battle with her parents? The battle of royals against assassins? The battle against green smog? Annabeth's mind tried to comprehend what the cracky voice was saying, let alone what the hell was going on.

'Annabeth Chase…'

How did she know her name? Her eyes searched the room as her breathing picked up. Her hands became clammy, and her legs went numb. Her head spun with dizziness and her eyes burned. She felt like electricity was running down her arms, and they slowly began to shake. They spasmed so bad Annabeth figured to let go of Rachel.

Rachel stayed in the same position as Annabeth scrambled towards the door. Her fingers shook as they searched for the doorknob. Tears leaked at the edge of her ears. She could barely stand on her own two feet and was relying heavily on the wooden door.

'You shall wed your greatest enemy. You shall be disgraced by your people.'

Annabeth could feel it in her bones; she had a panic attack. She didn't know what caused it. She tried to steady her breathing, but nothing worked. She had to guess it was the smoke. Rachel mentioned that the smoke made her feel something like this. Maybe the smoke had affected her too?

Whatever it was, Annabeth couldn't calm down. Her fingers were trembling so bad that she couldn't find it in her to turn the doorknob. She didn't even know if the door was all the way closed. All she could see was the glowing fog around Rachel.

"Rachel, stop!" The princess cried, desperation breaking in her voice.

'But you shall rise from the ashes, Heir of Athens.'

"Please, stop!"

The blonde tried to logically think. Her body got completely shut down, but she couldn't find it in her to give up. Blood rushed through her ears as she attempted to push the melody of the old woman's voice. Her head pounded with a raging pain, and she pushed her hands to her ears, falling to the floor.

Tears raced down her cheeks. In the deeper corners of her mind, she wondered what caused the extreme panic. The smog, the unknown? She hated not knowing things, but not to the extent of a panic attack. She had never felt something so terrible before. It was a feeling of despair collapsing on her chest. It weighed her down like nothing before.

The weight of everything sat on her shoulders. It was like the mass of the world. Even on the moon, it would stay the same. She had to change Athens for the people. She had to do everything in her power to keep her people safe and to make them happy. She wouldn't leave anyone in the dust. She wouldn't let them leave her alone.

All the kingdoms relied on Annabeth to figure out the secrets of the assassins. They had to know every single thing about them, and if Annabeth left with any piece of information missing, things wouldn't end well for her. She'd have to be a different person, use a different weapon, steal from her allies. All for the kingdoms.

Annabeth had to marry against her own will. She thought that maybe she could learn to love Conner Stoll or that they could be really good friends. She thought that he'd be a great option. Her mother didn't like the idea of all the attention Annabeth had shown him. How was Conner her greatest enemy? Would her mother not let her marry Conner, or many men or boys like him?

Luke believed in her to carry out her opinions. To let them get heard even when they seemed wrong to most. He trusted her to take him to someone who could heal him. He trusted her with the plan to get him out of the castle and into town. If she could tell Luke what mission she was going on now, he'd have no doubt. She'd receive encouragement from him, and he'd tell her to express her emotions and how she feels while she can.

Not to think about her friend in Pylos, but Silena volunteered her for the role. She suggested that Annabeth would fit better as the spy than any other person could. One of Annabeth's life-long friends had had just as much hope in her as someone she met months back. The soon-to-be Queen of Pylos had confidence in Annabeth. She knew Annabeth's capability to use her brain out of tricky situations.

'Annabeth Chase, your fate has been chosen…'

Everything all fell back to her. Although, there were people out there that trusted in her. There were people out there in the world that had hope in her. She was going to choose her fate according to what she likes it to look like.

Annabeth sees herself ruling Athens. She spots herself happily married. She looks over the kingdom she fixed with satisfaction. The poverty rate is the lowest of all the kingdoms. Then, maybe she'd be willing to have a child, an heir of her own. She'd put a stop to the rebels, either putting them in jail or hearing out what they had to say.

She'd fight for a good marriage. She'd fight for her kingdom. She'd fight to stop the assassins. She'll fight with all she had and with all her believers behind her back. Annabeth Chase would choose her fate. She knew she could do it now.

Rachel collapsed, blinking her eyes. Her body landed on the floor with a thump, the green mist gone. She rubbed her head slowly as she sat up, peering around the room.

Annabeth steadied her breathing. She regained feeling in her legs, and her fingers stopped shaking. Her shoulders felt relieved of the previous weight on them. Annabeth felt fresh and anew. She felt better than she ever had before.

"What happened?" Rachel croaked, sitting up and leaning on her bent legs.

"I don't know. I can't even explain, Rachel. But I think we need to get out of here."

She nodded, and Annabeth came over and helped her up. Her strength was back, so it was fairly easy. Rachel leaned on Annabeth, but before she opened the door, she mumbled something.

"What?"

"Somebody is coming."

"Who?"

Rachel didn't reply, and Annabeth saw the deep lines under her eyes. She carried Rachel's weight but kept her upright in case the people were bad. She slammed the door behind her, stepping off the porch. The sun hid behind the clouds now, but Annabeth could tell there was some daylight left.

The girl in her arms got drained, and despite Rachel not remembering anything, her body and mind were still affected. Annabeth felt bad for feeling scared of the girl, even if it was only for a moment. Don't get her wrong, Rachel seems terrifying in her way, but whatever demon possessed her was her version of scary.

Maybe Annabeth had been wrong when she assumed a spirit wasn't in the log cabin.

The weight of the world seemed to return when she heard the joyful laughs of teens nearby. They were familiar, so Annabeth took a deep breath. No more panic attacks for her. Although, one seemed to still stir in the pits of her stomach. Even though she felt refreshed, she knew it'd always be in the back of her mind. The laughs got closer, and Annabeth froze.

"Shit." Her heart stopped, along with the loud laughter of the teens.

Words: 4,015

It's the fact that I wrote 90% of this chapter today, and it's not that good but I didn't want all this work go to waste, for me. :) If I really didn't like this chapter, I would revise it more when I edit it, or I would completely rewrite it so, it can't be that bad. Besides, I like to give you guys the best quality of material that I can. I just know I can write better and longer than this, so that's probably why.

Although, I feel like Annabeth had development in this chapter. I think it's a small piece of her overall character development, but it shaped her character alone in this chapter. I tried to show how something seemingly bad or unimportant can quickly change you and/or your life. Yes, I know I'm not very sentimental.

Okay, I'll shut up now. :) Also, Happy PRIDE MONTH!

[ANY RECONGNIZABLE CHARACTERS GO TO RICK RIORDAN]

-Bookworm-2026