As always, these characters do not belong to me.

Chapter Five


Percy lurched to his feet, his chair screeching against the floor. He tried to focus on Miss C but struggled to keep his eyes open. "What did you do to me?" he demanded. His voice slurred. Annabeth leapt to her feet when he collapsed, struggling to rise.

"Gave you a sedative," she said unconcerned. "Only him, dear," she assured a shocked Annabeth. Miss C rose calmly to her feet. "My mother drank herself to death after what those men did to her, so I went after them. I did the same thing to them and they branded me a witch. Me! While they do the exact same thing and are branded heroes. I vowed that any man who crosses my path understands how pathetic and worthless they truly are."

Percy tried to fight against the sedative he was given but was losing. "You can't … judge … all … same."

"But you are all the same," she disagreed. She strode over to him, gently prodding him onto his back with her foot. "The moment you realise this, you'll want this too." Percy glanced once towards Annabeth, before finally succumbing to the sedative. Four servants ran in to half carry, half drag him from the room. Miss C faced Annabeth with a friendly smile. "I'm sorry we couldn't help you sooner, Annabeth. We couldn't let him suspect."

"How long would he be out?" she asked in a shocked voice.

"No time at all. Unfortunately, our metabolism burns through my concoction rather quickly, but he will be where he needs to be without incident," she answered with a smile. She sat back down, urging Annabeth to do the same as dessert was being rolled in on a cart. "Now, dear Hylla told me about your predicament with the young fellow. How he urged you to join him on his travels to avoid any other man's unwanted attention and how he wouldn't leave you alone while you were here. How terrified you must have been! Never to worry though, I can offer you a place here, at my home. You will be safe here, with no judgement, scrutiny or vile pigs harassing you."

Annabeth could see that Hylla had exaggerated Annabeth's one throwaway lie and turned Percy into a predator. She was in a dangerous position. She had to keep quiet while Percy was being prosecuted, if only to give herself a chance to get them both out. This offer wasn't one at all, but rather an ultimatum; join Miss C, who Annabeth was beginning to have a shrewd idea who she really was or join the ideals of men. So, she rearranged her face to be one of relief and fear, asking her host if she may have a night to think on it. It was a big decision, she reasoned, after having a lifetime of singular thinking. The hostess agreed and after their pudding, Annabeth was escorted back to her room.

Once alone, Annabeth set to work. Percy's only chance was for her to find a hidden hallway and sneak them away. She was not convinced Miss C had believed her and was almost sure that an extra number of servants would be moving around the house that evening. She predicted she would only have about an hour before one such servant would check on her. First though, she had to change out of the sandals she was forced to wear and slip back into her comfortable boots. Changing clothes would take too long so the dress had to stay.

Annabeth had already checked her bedroom and bathroom thoroughly before the dinner and couldn't find anything, confining her search to the sitting room. The fireplace she checked first, then the other walls but coming up bare. Panicking, she thought she had miscalculated how old the house was until she spotted the adjoining door Percy had been coming and going in earlier. Practically running, she took stock of his room, noting its near replica of her own and started her search. Bathroom, sitting room, nothing and she knew her allotted hour was almost up. The bedroom; cupboard was no good, as was the three paintings in the room. She was beside the end of the bed when she spotted it; a strange join on the frame. She twisted it and with a heavy groan and puff of dust, a small opening appeared on the back wall. Thanking the architect, she hurried to grab a lantern and enter the small hall.

Her next problem was trying to find where they took Percy. She could only assume that Miss C had a cellar or basement that she had transformed into a prison but having a hunch and actually finding it to be true were two different things. She shuddered at the number of cobwebs the lantern illuminated in the hallway, hastening her pace and praying that their makers were long gone. Taking on the various knowledge she had acquired, she followed the hallway, encountering a startling amount of crossroads but only having to backtrack on a couple of them. Finally, she could smell the dankness strengthening, a chilly breeze accompanying it and she knew she was getting close.

Annabeth came out of the passageway near a set of stairs, ducking back in when she heard voices. Waiting until she was sure they had gone, she peaked her nose out again, darting down the stairs, almost slipping in her haste to stop. She had found the cellar and she was right in thinking it had been transformed into a dungeon but what she wasn't expecting was the dozen pairs of eyes that met her from the dark.

"Percy?" she called out tentatively, moving from cell to cell trying to find him.

"Annabeth?"

She hurried to the last cell, sighing when he appeared unharmed and he too, smiled when he saw her. She wasn't the only one relieved to see her companion. He was holding heavily onto the bars, looking a little groggy from the sedative. The other prisoners, at least, had the sense to keep quiet.

"I'm sorry about not defending you," she said, checking to make sure he didn't have any further injuries.

"No, no, I understand why you didn't. Let's just get out of here."

"You were right about your suspicions," said Annabeth, pulling her the heel sole of her shoe apart. Percy kept his eyes on the stairwell. "Our host, Miss C is actually named Circe."

"I thought she was dead," said Percy after swearing angrily. He watched as she set about freeing him from his cage. "You keep a lockpick in your boot?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," she grunted.

"Isn't that uncomfortable? Right, keep quiet so you can concentrate, sorry," he added after Annabeth glared up at him.

The lock clicked and the door swung open with a loud screech from disuse. Percy tumbled out, waiting for Annabeth to re-attach the heel of her boot. He twitched a little as he waited, a possible side effect of the sedative. Annabeth hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, glancing back towards the other prisoners, another plan forming.

"What are you doing?" asked Percy, coming back to see her unlocking the closest one.

"We need a distraction," she told him.

"I don't think we have the time. They would have noticed you are gone by now and suspect where you are."

"Girl, if you get me out, I'll be your distraction," a gruff voice two cells down promised.

Annabeth made quick work of the six cells, each man thanking her before running off into the house. They could hear the first screams echoing down the stairs as Annabeth worked on the last cell. The owner of that cell was tall and broad, his dark hair and beard very overgrown.

"How'd the two of you get here?" he asked, his voice deep as Annabeth opened his cell.

"Horses," she answered warily, taking a step back. He slowly followed her, his eyes watching her carefully and Percy behind her. He clearly wasn't prepared to be a distraction.

"And where would they be, exactly?"

"Frightened away by the storm," Percy cut in, his voice as hard as his expression.

"Don't make this hard," the prisoner growled, pulling from his pocket a rusty knife. It was only then that Annabeth remembered her knife, probably amongst her discarded clothes in her room. She cursed, having never forgotten her knife before, ever. "I was saving this for the woman, but I have no hesitation on using it on the both of you. Let me have one of your horses and that will be that. Better be me than one of the others you released. She may be mad, but they aren't exactly moral citizens."

Annabeth's stomach dropped. She had released predators into a house full of women, most only wanting to escape a less than happy life. The screams they heard next had her wincing.

"As I said," Percy continued. "They ran off in the storm."

"Funny, I don't believe you," the man growled.

A loud bang rattled the house and Percy struck the man while he was distracted. He howled in pain and anger as Annabeth fled up the stairs, Percy hot on her trail. She found the passageway door, slipping into it as a couple of servants fled past them. She could hear the man's angered shouts as they ran through, Annabeth only just remembering to grab a lantern before they entered.

"Just give me a sec," said Annabeth, coming to a halt.

Percy waited patiently; his gaze fixated on the path they just came from. She got her bearings, deciphering where an exit point would be. Picking her route, she set off, Percy following. He exclaimed in disbelief when they flew down a small set of stairs and into a small open space, across from them a door. A small puddle of water sat around the bottom of the door and with both of them shoving with a mixture of grunts and swearing, they got the door free.

The door opened at the back of the house, darkness stretching ahead of them. Shouts and screams came from the side of the house, both Percy and Annabeth opting to run far from the house as possible. Percy led this time, following the river and only slowing when they reached the edge of the cliff Annabeth deduced there had been earlier that day. The river continued over the cliff and beyond, only the sound of rushing water giving to the river's vastness. More shouts came from the house and an angered yell; the long-bearded prisoner wanting to steal one of their horses had escaped the house. A lantern began to bob around from the direction of the front door, heading their way.

"You need to jump," said Percy. Annabeth just stared at him, too shocked to tell him he was crazy. "Aim for the broken water there, it will help diffuse the impact." Annabeth glanced down, then back to him. It wasn't a deep jump but still high enough to make her nervous. "Don't think," he stated. "Just jump." He took a step back to give her space as the yells got louder. "I'll be right behind you."

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth closed her eyes and jumped, keeping her scream from escaping. The water was cold on impact and the dress instantly weighed her down. Her head broke the surface as Percy leapt from the ridge, the current already pulling her downstream. She tried to call out to him, but the dress pulled her under, causing her to swallow a mouthful of water. She rose, coughing and choking when Percy grabbed her from behind, guiding her body back onto his, an arm wrapping around her chest and his fingers resting under her chin to keep her afloat.

"Just relax," he told her. "I can swim for both of us."

Percy kept Annabeth afloat on his chest, backstroking them with one arm down the river, letting the current do most of the work. Once the lights of Circe's house had long disappeared into the night did Percy guide them to the bank, making sure Annabeth got up first before crawling up beside her. They lay beside each other in the mud, trying to catch their breath after a whirlwind last several hours.

Eventually they got up, moving into the forest. It wasn't looking good for them. No horses, no supplies or weapons and Annabeth was stuck in a dress. She grabbed up a tuft of the soaking material as they walked after having to stop several times to unsnag it from a stray bush or branch. Percy whistled loudly, startling her so much that she nearly slipped. He waited a few steps before whistling again. When he did it a third time, Annabeth was about to reprimand him on keeping quiet when movement shuffled ahead of them. She dropped her dress, prepared to fight when a small dapple of moonlight revealed Blackjack, followed a little timidly by Silver Mist.

"That a boy!" Percy exclaimed with a smile, holding his horse's head in his hands, placing his forehead on his. He continued to talk to both horses, gently praising them for finding their owners.

"How?" Annabeth breathed.

Percy smiled at her. "A lot of training. But it was all worth it."

"Did you know we would need to make a quick exit?" asked Annabeth.

"A precaution," replied Percy, pulling packs from Blackjack's saddle and handing them to Annabeth. She released with a start that they were her own, inside her knife and clothes. She looked up to him for an explanation. "I wasn't sure whether the mare would stick around so I placed all your stuff on Blackjack. Turns out she likes you enough to stay."

"My knife? You took it off me when you leaned over to tell me what you were doing with the horses," she deduced. If she wasn't so tired, she would've punched him.

"Probably lucky I did in the end. Did you want to change? Figured you wouldn't want to ride in that dress."

They rode long into the night, wanting to get as far from Circe's house as possible. They didn't think they would have pursuers, but the prisoners would want to escape after having their fun and it was best not to be the first travellers they came across. Percy volunteered to keep awake and guide the horses. Annabeth suspected being sedated had something to do with it. She wasn't complaining, though she did find it difficult to get comfortable in her saddle, even after tossing the infernal dress into the river and slipping into something familiar. Percy had offered to hold her in his saddle at one stage when he saw her struggle but after their swim together, she decided heavily against it. She nodded on and off, hearing a strange sort of song in her bouts of consciousness.

Annabeth judged it was a couple of hours before sunrise when Percy stopped the horses, admitting he needed sleep. She took over, guiding the two horses forward at a walk while he seemingly fell asleep almost immediately after handing over the reins. Once the first streaks of light appeared on the horizon, Annabeth tried to judge the distance to the next town. She would have preferred to skip it, but they needed supplies, having lost a set of clothes and their cloaks back at Circe's. She also needed to check in with Luke and let him know of her progress.

It was another day before they could see the town in the distance. They rode in, Percy giving her space to check in. She was grateful to have some time alone, just to process the events of the last couple of days. Guilt continued to gnaw at her. She didn't even hesitate or stop to think when Percy had been taken; and that scared her. Would he do the same? Judging his character, yes, he would but that wasn't Annabeth. Annabeth was the logical one, the one that needed to have plans on top of plans before putting them into action. So far, her only plan of retrieving the Crystal had taken a sideways turn, detoured again and ended almost at a complete stop.

She needed to get back to the task at hand. Her focus had strayed, and it couldn't any longer. Resolved, she went to find Percy, grabbing something to eat in the process. The town they were in, a small town with a name Annabeth hadn't bothered to remember, was vibrant with colour and noise. Many children ran through the streets with long colourful ribbons as music played in a small square ahead. Annabeth, leading Silver Mist, followed the children, unable to stop the smile coming to her face.

Percy was standing in the shade of a large tree on the opposite side of the square, watching a performance on the small, makeshift stage. He looked bemused as he watched, shaking his head often. The crowd was so thick that Annabeth could only see the performance when she got to his side after placing Silver Mist with Blackjack. Two men, identical down to the wave of their brown curls, had everyone rapt with their skit, doing everything the same, popping up throughout the crowd before disappearing again, only to reappear back on the stage.

"May I present, the Stoll Brothers," Percy introduced.

"Stole?"

Percy smiled. "The irony doesn't pass them. I think they chose it themselves. S, T, O, double L, though."

Annabeth continued to watch, not missing the sleight of hand skill. It reminded Annabeth of a teacher long ago when she was on the streets, struggling for food. She had seen the woman before but this time, the woman had spotted Annabeth. Annabeth's curiosity had her following the woman, watching in the shadows as she met with the locals, her hands slipping into their pockets and withdrawing coins. Awed, she continued to follow the woman out of the town, who called out to her when they were a safe distance from the townsfolk. She proceeded to show Annabeth a few tricks to keep her at least from going hungry, citing her skill from a particular leader and his faction.

"They were apprentices of Hermes?"

"One of his best," Percy confirmed. "Or so they boast. It's easy to fool the unsuspecting when your brother looks exactly the same."

"Don't you mean 'twin'?"

"Nah. Travis is a year or two older than Connor. And looks like you're about to meet them."

The brothers moved through the crowd, coming towards them. The crowd were loving the theatrics of the main brother, who distracted the people long enough for his brother to reach into their pockets. What surprised her though, was that the brother only stole from select members of the crowd, ignoring a several people close by to filch from riskier villagers.

"And what do we have here?" the main brother said loudly, sidling up to them. "These two don't looked happy."

"We can change that," the other said, sidling up beside Annabeth.

Annabeth grabbed his hand, tight enough that a slight twist would break it. "Put your hand there again and I'll chop it off," she warned, glaring at him.

Startled, he snatched his hand back, slightly impressed that she had caught him. Percy suppressed his grin. "What do we say folks? Shall we leave them be?" he asked the crowd, moving seamlessly back into a happy façade. The people cheered in response and the brothers moved along, entertaining a small group of children with their antics.

"Come on," said Percy quietly, leading her back onto the road. "They're going to meet us at the tavern once they're finished."

Annabeth assumed the other brother communicated this with Percy during the attempted pickpocketing and was happy to sit down with a couple of pints of ale in front of her. Percy glanced towards her periodically, bemused as he sipped his mead while they waited. Annabeth was on her third when the brothers entered the tavern.

"Thought you would get here a few days ago," the first brother said, sliding in beside Annabeth.

"Waylaid at a house south-east of here," replied Percy.

"You went to Circe's?" the other chortled, handing out drinks before taking his seat next to Percy.

"You knew?" he demanded.

"Course we did," he replied after taking a sip. "Why are you surprised?"

"Information about a witch who hates men could have been useful to know for a travelling man."

"Then maybe you should have asked," the other said. He turned to Annabeth. "We know everything about everyone and what's happening everywhere."

"Except for you," Percy's companion observed. He was watching her with fascination, which led her to believe he was the one who attempted to rob her.

"And you never will," she countered, with a sarcastic smile.

"Give us a day," he winked.

"Dig into my past and I'll dig your intestines out."

"She warms up," Percy assured the paling brothers.

"Can't wait or can," one said with a confused shake of the head. "We need to talk to Percy, alone." Annabeth's eyes narrowed and she saw him flinch slightly. "Nothing personal."

Percy gave her an apologetic look. "Can you please go and entertain yourself for a few minutes?" he asked. Annabeth glared at him. "It's not about what where we're going, I promise."

With a roll of her eyes, Annabeth moved towards the bar, flagging down the barmaid. Making sure she appeared preoccupied, she waited until Percy was focused on the Stoll's and carefully shifted down the bar to be in earshot. Ignoring the leering looks of a drunkard two stools away, she took a sip of her tankard, finding their voices amongst the other noise.

"Your girlfriend needs to loosen up."

"You can go and tell her that," Percy retorted with a grin.

"Oh, I would pay for that," the other one chortled.

The first of the Stoll brothers grinned before saying, "we heard rumours that Luke is sending some of his posse North again."

Percy sighed. "He is."

The brothers looked at each other, one leaning towards Percy. "How do you know …"

Taking a sip, Percy gave a subtle gesture towards her. She hurried to appear interested in the crowd, scowling at the drunks in the corner for good measure.

"Oh Perce …"

"I know what I'm doing," he stated flatly.

"Alright," the one sitting across from him said, though he didn't sound as though he believed Percy. "Problem is, the rumours about Luke going after the Crystal is bringing out every wannabe gang leader, bandit, usurper –."

"Religious fanatics," Percy added sourly.

"Octavian is back?"

"Yes Trav. I've already had the pleasure of that meeting."

"You would think one of these days he would realise no one, literally no one, likes him," Travis, who sat beside Percy observed. "And that he should just relocate anywhere else."

"Do we need to send someone to track him?" Connor asked.

Percy shook his head with a sigh. "Reyna is already tracking him."

"Reyna? As in Jason's …" Travis left it hanging after Percy's long stare.

"Continuing on with my information," Connor stated, glaring at his brother. "We're about to have a lot of skirmish's and petty crimes occurring in the majority of towns."

"I was afraid Luke's antics would stir up problems," Percy admitted. "Try and keep your noses to the ground."

"We planned as much," Trav said. "Don't worry Perce. We know what to do."

"There's something else," Connor added. A man belched right into Annabeth's ear so she couldn't hear the name, but she caught the end of his sentence. "– asking for you."

Percy sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I know it's been a long time. It's getting harder to find reputable work. Did she say why?"

Connor shook his head. "It's coming up to winter," he offered with a shrug.

Percy nodded in understanding. "Were you two heading that way?"

"In the next week or so," Travis confirmed.

"You'll get there before me. Take this." He pulled from his pocket a large burlap bag. "It should ease her concern."

Connor inspected the bag. "It should tie us over until spring at least."

"I'll follow and stop by in a couple of weeks, if luck is with us." Percy paused, thinking. "Have you seen Nico?"

Travis replied, "Last we heard he was the head of a bandit group. Will went with him."

Percy nodded. "Can you get a message to him?"

"It's a bit insulting that you still ask that."

Percy ignored the jab. "Get him to head North with the other factions and clans if he hasn't already. We may need an extra set of eyes and fighting hands before this is done. In the meantime, I think it's time to let the eagle fly."

The brothers looked at each other. "Are you sure?" Connor asked concerned.

"If they've noticed what you have, I suspect they're already on their way as we speak," Percy stated. "Who doesn't love reunions?" Annabeth couldn't be sure without staring directly at him, but she thought that the smile he gave the brothers didn't reach his eyes.