Annabeth was furious. She had woken to find out that Percy had run off with Nico to who knows where. The men were already starting to pack up camp, although it didn't seem as though they were in any kind of hurry. Why would they be? Their commanding officer was missing. Annabeth fumed and with each passing minute became more irritable.

"Rider approaching!" The lookout yelled.

The whole camp stopped to see who it was. Annabeth saw a rider on a black horse speedily approaching them.

"Your, highness?" Otic said from behind her.

She knew he was looking for instruction. "It's him." She said tersely.

"Let him pass!" Otic called out.

Annabeth began building her argument as she watched him get closer to camp. She wanted nothing more than to yell at him for his poor leadership skills, leaving his men in the middle of the night, and not even warning her. By the time he reached camp, she was extremely riled up. He came to an abrupt stop in front of her, Otic and the rest of the leaders.

"Pack up the camp, double time. We've got to move now!" There was a wildness in his eyes and a sense of urgency. Annabeth's argument completely deflated. The men instantly jumped into action.

"What is it? Where did you go?" She asked as he got off Blackjack.

"I'll tell you on the way. We've got less than two days to get who we can out of Thebes." He headed to his untouched tent and began packing.

"Thebes? I thought we were going to evacuate Theseus?"

"Change of plans. Nico had his army were closer. He went on to Theseus."

"Where did you go?" Annabeth demanded.

Percy gave a frustrated sigh. "I will tell you everything. I promise. But right now, we have got to get moving." He looked at her with an earnest pleading look.

Annabeth left him without a single word. She strapped her already packed bag to her horse. All the tents had been collapsed and were being loaded. With Percy's urgency, it seemed the camp had been packed up in mere moments. Percy was helping the men load the last of the tents. Once he was satisfied, he got on Blackjack and called for them to move out. Everyone scrambled up on their horses, including Annabeth, to catch up with Percy. It was the fastest she'd seen the camp move.

She found her place next to Percy, who kept looking back to make sure that everything was moving and nothing was left behind. After a while he seemed satisfied. He moved them at a trot, going at a slightly faster pace then the previous days.

Annabeth kept looking at Percy, waiting as patiently as she could for his explaination. They rode in silence for a while, before he finally spoke. "Nico took me to Luke's mother's house." Annabeth gave him a surprised look. "She lived just outside Thebes." He paused as though trying to determine what to say next.

"And?" Annabeth encouraged him impatiently.

"And . . . turns out she and Hermes had an affair." He didn't look at her.

Annabeth processed this. "Wait? Are you saying Luke is a prince?"

"Illegitimate. Yes."

"Why didn't he say anything?" She asked herself more than Percy.

"My guess? Hermes refused to aknowledge him. His mom, she seemed to be living in two worlds. She kept saying that Luke and Hermes were out hunting or that she was the Queen of Thebes, and then she would just loose it and start crying, as if she knew it wasn't true."

Annabeth thought about what Percy described. "Can you imagine being told you're a prince your whole life, but then find out your father won't even claim you?" Annabeth pondered.

"Can you imagine knowing you're a prince and falling in love with a princess?" Percy murmured.

This startled Annabeth. She hadn't known that Percy knew of Thalia and Luke's relationship. "Do you think Thalia knows?" Annabeth asked quietly.

"I don't know." Percy kept his eyes on the road.

"So where did you get the two days from?" She asked.

"She mentioned that Luke was coming for her birthday, which is in two days, and that he would have fireworks."

Annabeth looked at Percy again. His hands were constantly finding things to do. Rubbing his neck, running them through his hair, adjusting his armor, fiddling with Blackjack's mane. 'He's nervous about returning to Thebes.' She thought. She fought the urge to tell him that she knew about his past, about how someone was trying to get rich from the information. She wanted to tell him that she didn't care about it, that she believed in him, that she would follow him. But she didn't.

Befor long, the entrance to Thebes came into view. Its gates were open, and it was business as usual. It was quite the contrast compared to Olympus. Percy called for the army to halt and ordered for them to make camp. He looked at the city as though it were a terrifying opponent as he put on his helmet as though preparing for battle. He pulled it as low over his eyes as it would go, as if that would hide him from view.

Annabeth sidled her horse up to his and asked in a low voice, "Do you want me to do the speaking?"

He glanced at her nervously. "Oh, um, I guess it would sound more official coming from you." He stammered.

She smiled encouragingly. She couldn't fathom how anyone could think him capable of being a cold blooded murderer. They took a handful of men and entered the city. "We should talk to who has been left in charge." Annabeth said. Percy nodded in response. He didn't say much the entire ride to the palace. While the city may have been open, the palace was not. Its gates were closed.

"Open the gates at once." Annabeth commanded.

"Who comes to the Palace of Hermes?" A voice demanded.

"Princess Annabeth of Athens does." Annabeth called back.

They didn't hear anything back, and they looked at each other questioningly. Then suddenly, the gates opened. A soldier stood on the other side. "Welcome, Princess Annabeth of Athens." He called out.

Annabeth smirked at Percy, who lowered his helmet again. They entered through the gates, which shut behind them. "I need to speak to who is in charge." Annabeth said in a commanding voice.

"I have been put in charge." The soldier replied. "I am Captain Hadley."

Annabeth got off her horse with the rest of the company following suit. "We have come to evacuate this city. If we pool our resources to Olympus, we'll stand a better chance of fighting Kronos' oncoming army."

"Your highness, We have sworn to safe guard this city. We will defend the palace to our dying breath." Annabeth looked closer at the soldiers within the palace walls. They looked resigned.

"Do you have any idea what you are up against?" She asked.

"Better than you do." He said in an sad tone. "Follow me." He led them into the palace. Percy motioned for the soldiers that they brought with them to stay in the courtyard. The soldier led them all the way up to the tallest tower. A couple of soldiers were posted there. He wordlessly handed her a looking glass. She looked through it toward the south. At first she could only make out a haze, then she realized the haze was the dust being kicked up from the oncoming army. She took a closer look and sucked in a breath.

Percy took the glass from her and looked through it. "That's more than a hundred thousand." Percy said tensely. "How many men do you have?" He ask the soldier.

"Twenty thousand was all that Hermes could leave." He replied.

"Twenty!" Annabeth said in surprise. "He knew they were coming, and he could only leave twenty?"

"Why did he take soldiers to Orthys at all, if he knew Kronos was coming?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Because Zeus told him to. Hermes tried to offer us help in defending Olympus, but mother turned him down. She was still upset at him from our last visit."

"You have to come with us." Percy pleaded. "The city is lost. You're only chance for survival is to come with us."

"We can not. We have pledged our lives." The captain remained firm.

"Your lives are worth more than this." Percy argued in frustration.

"Evacuate as many as will go with you among the citizens. We'll take out as many of Kronos' army as we can before they get to you."

Percy looked at them in disbelief, then he looked at Annabeth as if he hoped the she could make them break their oath. She looked at the brave captain and the soldiers with him and asked, "Is there any way we can change your mind?"

"I'm afraid not, your highness." She had never seen someone so resigned to die before. It was a sad thing to see.

"No." Percy refused to accept the fate they had chosen for themselves. "I order you to evacuate the city."

"You have no jurisdiction here, Percy Jackson. But I appreciate the sentiment." He motioned for them to leave the tower.

Annabeth ushered Percy out, who looked like he was about to argue again. When they were back in the courtyard, they got on their horses. "Anything I can do to change your mind?" He asked the captain.

The captain shook his head. "Good luck, Percy Jackson. I believe you are the legend and will bring peace to the people." As he spoke several families with all their possessions came out of the palace. Several soldiers hugged and kissed their wives and children. Annabeth realized that, the soldiers were sending their families with them. Percy looked a bit taken aback at the captain's proclamation, but said nothing.

Annabeth led them out of the palace gates. Percy was the last to leave watching as the palace gates fairly closed behind them. "Layland, escort these people to our camp. Let them know we leave in twelve hours."

"Yes, sir." Layland saluted and rode toward the group of people.

"The rest of you spread out in partners to the different parts of the city." Percy ordered. "Get the word out that we are evacuating the city and headed to Olympus. They have until tomorrow at dawn to get to our camp for us to escort them to Olympus."

The soldiers saluted and went their separate ways. Now it was just Annabeth and Percy, alone in Thebes. They silently made their way to the market, where the most people would be. Annabeth kept glancing at Percy with concern, who kept lowering his helmet over his eyes. The market was full and busy. No one here seemed concerned about Kronos' army. Percy glanced nervously at Annabeth, which she took to mean he wanted her to talk.

She cleared her throat and yelled in a loud voice, "Thebens, can I have your attention!" There was little response. "Can I have your attention!" She said louder. There was still no response other than a woman or two glancing her way. "Kronos' army is headed this way as we speak. You need to leave the city. Our army lies north of the city. We will leave at dawn." A ripe tomato hit her square in the chest, startling her.

"Go home, Royal, and pray Kronos has mercy upon you." A man booed her.

He went to throw something else at her, but Percy moved Blackjack between the man and her. "Throw that and I'll cut Of your hand." Percy threatened.

The man lowered his arm quickly. "So the puppet of the royals, the one they call legend, speaks?" Several men laughed.

Percy eyed the man. "I am no legend, I am just a soldier," Percy said evenly, "and I have a voice. So you have sided with Kronos, and you think he is better than the Olympians? That's your opinion, but let those that have not made a deal with Kronos come with us." Percy challenged.

Annabeth watched with bated breath as the man seemed to ponder Percy's words. "Why not? We will have purged the city of the weak before he gets here." He seemed pleased with himself.

Percy nodded in agreement with him, then said in a loud voice. "Good people of Thebes, I urge you to leave this place. Come with us to Olympus, where we will defeat Kronos. We leave at dawn. If you are not at the north gate by then, you will be left behind." Percy turned toward Annabeth and asked in a low voice, "Are you alright?"

"It's just fruit." She smiled reassuringly back, while trying to wipe it off her armor.

"I hate Thebes." Percy glared at the surrounding city.

"Let's get back to camp." Annabeth drew his attention from the city.

Percy nodded and they headed back, letting everyone they met know about the evacuation and where to meet.