ANNABETH'S P.O.V

It was the night of the Yule Ball. I had just gotten ready with the rest of the girls.

The dresses all of us wore were mostly the same. All of us from Camp Half-Blood wore orange dresses, while everyone from Camp Jupiter wore purple dresses.

Our jewellery was also quite standard, with earrings made of different gemstones, and heavy necklaces that sparkled. Piper opted to wear beadwork instead of gemstones to embrace her Cherokee heritage.

Aphrodite also got us tall matching heels. I just hoped I wouldn't stumble with them.

We made it to the Great Hall just in time for the music to start. The place was bursting with life. People were laughing and dancing with their dates. The four house tables were placed to the side, filled with food.

Just as I was taking it all in, someone tapped my shoulder.

I turned around and found Percy smiling at me.

He was wearing a suit with an orange undershirt and sea-green tie, with blue sea glass earrings.

"Wow," he said. "You look…good."

"Come on, Seaweed Brain," I replied. "We need to go dance."

We started dancing, just like Aphrodite taught us to. Percy seemed a bit nervous, even though Aphrodite had assured him that he wouldn't step on my feet.

After a while, we sat down, drinking some butterbeer. We should really get some imported to camp. The stuff was legendary.

"Why are you so nervous?" I asked.

I caught him off-guard. He scrambled together a response. "Uhh…I'm not nervous."

"You are, Seaweed Brain. You look like you're constipated."

"Come on, Annie. Prissy always looks like he's constipated." Clarisse called from where she was dancing with Chris.

"Don't call me Annie!" I yelled at her. She just stuck her tongue out.

"So, what's going on?" I asked him.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I am not nervous. Not at all."

I raised an unimpressed eyebrow before sipping some of my butterbeer.

I looked around to see what all my friends were doing. Piper and Jason were dancing. Will, Nico, Reyna and Thalia were talking together. Connor and Pollux were blushing profusely. Travis and Miranda were drinking orange juice. Katie was showing Neville the collection of plants she had. Malcolm and Hermione were engaged in a fast-paced conversation. Ron was talking to Rachel about art. Everyone else were either sitting around or playing Truth or Dare.

I made sure to stay away from the game of Truth or Dare, because it just wasn't worth my time.

The rest of the night went away in a blur. I danced some more with Percy, drank even more butterbeer, and had dinner with my friends.

The next thing I knew, it was midnight. Most of everyone was still in the Hall, but a few people decided to go back to the dorms and sleep.

I was talking to Thalia when Percy tapped on my shoulder.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain?"

The next thing he did shocked me.

He knelt down on the floor, before taking a box out of his pocket.

He opened it, and inside was the most beautiful pearl ring I had ever seen.

"Annabeth," he started. "I met you when I was twelve years old, and ever since then, you've been by my side. I would raze the world to the ground to be with you, and I know you would too. So, on this fine day, I ask you a question: will you marry me?"

I was on cloud nine. I hugged him and said yes.

The Hall erupted into applause and cheers. Percy kissed me, before placing the ring on my finger.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and someone walked in.

On closer inspection, he had sandy blonde hair and a scar that ran from the bottom of his eye till his chin. A very familiar scar.

"Sorry to interrupt at this hour," he began. "But I am Luke Castellan, the son of Duke Noah. I have urgent business with the Royals."

HARRY'S P.O.V

The strange man, who called himself Luke Castellan, seemed to be related to the Royals.

Many of the Royals looked shocked, but some of them looked very confused. How could this person have an effect on some people but not others? Was he a threat or could he be trusted?

The Royals went out of the room with the strange man. Malfoy followed them.

I went back to Hermione and Ron.

Hermione looked flabbergasted. She kept looking at the spot where the man had stood with wide eyes.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"That man…he shouldn't be alive."

Now it was our turn to be flabbergasted. "What do you mean 'he shouldn't be alive'? Have you met him or something?" I asked.

And then Hermione revealed it all. How she found books about the Royals in the Mythology section and read all of them, thinking it was fiction, before realizing it was true after seeing the Chimera look exactly like it was described, and how the Royals seemed to destroy it in a matter of seconds without anything.

"That…that makes sense. I've got dreams about these guys defeating many things, and some of them dying."

"So, what, you two just hide important things from me now?" Ron asked.

"It's not like that, Ron. I wasn't completely sure if they were real, and I'm sure Harry thought so too." Hermione said.

"But how does any of it relate to this 'Luke Castellan' person?" I asked.

"You see, in the Second Titan War, in which some of these Royals presumably fought, this guy was the one who was leading the enemy troops. He later killed himself after realizing all the wrong things he did."

"But he killed himself. How is he alive?" Ron asked.

"That's what I want to know too. I don't think any of them performed necromancy to bring him back, seeing as it is a tremendously difficult process. Then how is he here?"

"I don't know, but you said he was the leader of the enemy troops. Is it safe for them to be with him?" I asked.

"But the Royals are trained, aren't they? I think they would've had some training against Imperious curses, which means they went willingly. Why?"

"Only one way to find out," I spoke. "Let's sneak in."

A/N: Y'all, I'm sorry I haven't updated in SO LONG. I hope you liked it. I may start updating more, but as usual, it's not guaranteed. I wonder if there are still some of you who came here a year ago. If so, please claim your 'I was here during the frequent updates' ticket in the comments by typing 'HERE'. And as always, R&R and I'll see you next time. Love you guys!

~Annabeth McGrace