Annabeth
Annabeth couldn't help but worry.
It had been a week since Nico went to look for the four monsters. It wasn't a quest, and that was one of the reasons Annabeth and the rest were against it. The other was that he wanted to go alone. Percy tried so hard to convince him not to go, but it was no use.
She was pacing back and forth, and she could feel her boyfriend's eyes following her. They were at the edge of the forest, despite it being dark, as it was dusk. He was seated under the tree, with the same look of concern she had on her face.
"He's seventeen, Annabeth," Percy finally said, breaking the tense silence. She stopped and faced him. He continued, "He can take care of himself. And besides, we've also done dangerous quests, even before we were seventeen. It's normal."
"We weren't alone, Seaweed Brain," She snapped, as she continued pacing. "We all have somebody to cover our backs every time. Nico is alone. And the monsters he's chasing down aren't exactly easy to defeat."
She glanced at him, and she felt bad. She should have heard the uncertainty his voice held, because then she wouldn't have said all those words that made him look guilty. After all, Percy treated Nico as his younger brother, and he was protective of him too. She sighed, sat beside him, and took his hand.
Then suddenly, they heard a rustle from behind them. Both stood up quickly, and pointed their weapons at the bushes.
"Woof!"
"Mrs. O'Leary!" the couple exclaimed as the hellhound appeared from the bushes and jumped straight to Percy, instantly flattening him to the ground. As he tried to get up and calm down his pet, Annabeth heard something else. Without waiting for Percy, she made her way through the plants.
What she saw was something she was expecting, at the same time not.
"Nico?"
There he was, their cousin, lying on his back, with a pained look on his face as he clutched his right arm. His black sword was lying a few feet away from him. Worry and panic immediately enclosed her heart like a fist.
Then before she could make another step, she felt the tip of a sword against her chin. Surprise replaced the worry and panic in her heart, but it didn't show in her face. She held her breath for a moment, and then slowly released it, as she carefully tilted her head slightly to her left.
Her gray eyes met with blue ones, the same shade as Luke's.
There was a clang, snapping Annabeth out of her shock, and the sword went skittering away from her. Another sword came to view -Riptide, she realized- and it was pointed to the stranger's chest. She took a few steps back to regain her composure, and glanced at Percy, who looked angry. Her eyes then traveled to the stranger, whom she had a clear view now.
The face that held those blue eyes were of a beautiful girl's. Her fair complexion contrasted with her black hair, which fell in soft waves down to her waist. She was wearing a black jacket, which was zipped up midway, a white shirt underneath, jeans, and boots.
She was scowling (which didn't make her look ugly), but not at Percy or Annabeth. She was looking at Nico's direction.
"Nico," Annabeth thought, and she mentally slapped herself for forgetting her cousin. She immediately turned to him and ran to his side. "Oh gods, Nico, what happened? You're hurt!"
"This is nothing, I can stand up," he replied through gritted teeth. Despite that, she helped him sit, and eventually, stand. She picked up his sword and handed it to him, then got the stranger's sword. As they faced both Percy and the girl, she noticed Nico's face light up with triumph.
"I told you, I could force you to come here to camp," he said. The girl's scowl deepened, as she retorted, "And I told you, I won't come without a fight."
"Whoa. Things sure are heated here," Percy said, still not moving from his position. Meanwhile, Annabeth asked, "Who is this girl, Nico?"
The son of Hades just shrugged his shoulders, and this irked Annabeth. How could her cousin bring a girl, out of force, to a camp when he didn't even know her? Her boyfriend glanced at her, and she knew that he was able to read her expression, as he said, "Good luck, bro."
"NICO DI ANGELO! Why did you bring a girl without knowing who she is here in camp?"
Nico flinched, and turned to his cousin with fear in his eyes. When he heard a snort, he glared for a second at the girl, and then he slowly spoke up, obviously choosing his words. "It's only her name that I don't know, Annabeth! I'm pretty sure she's a demigod! Hades, who can attract and defeat four monsters by herself?"
Stunned silence met his words. Nico looked triumphant once again, but there was still fear in his eyes as he watched his cousins. Slowly, the couple looked at the girl, who just raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and said, "I'm pretty attractive, so that's normal, isn't it?"
From the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Nico face palm. She let the comment pass, but Percy didn't. "That, we can see very well."
It was now her turn to raise an eyebrow. Percy saw that, and he immediately knew he was in danger. He kicked Nico at the shins as their cousin was laughing his head off, then coughed and said, "I didn't mean anything by that. I said it sarcastically, for gods' sake, Annabeth!"
She glared at her boyfriend for a few more moments, then went back to the girl. She studied her, not because she was thinking of her boyfriend's comment, but because she was analyzing how the girl could have brought down monsters by herself. She noticed the aura of confidence the girl had around her.
The stranger shifted uncomfortably, and that made Annabeth smile slightly. All of her friends had told her that whenever she stares at someone, it's as if she's taking each piece off to analyze, and it takes away all the confidence they have. Even those who are very confident were of no match. She tried it on Percy once, but it never worked. Probably because he already knew what she was trying to do.
Annabeth let out a sigh. She wanted to know all the explanations of what happened, but she knew Nico wasn't the type to repeat his story again, so it would be better if they went straight to Chiron and the others and hear the story there.
She turned to him, smiled, and said, "Explanations later at the pavilion. It's dinnertime, anyway. And we have a surprise for you."
Her words caught him off guard. His eyes widened, but before he could ask about the surprise, she already looked back at the girl and resumed her position. Finally Annabeth, still giving that look, asked her, "What's your name?"
The girl obviously didn't want to say it, but she didn't have any choice.
"My name is Cassandra."
A few ummm...notes.
I can't think of what the four monsters are. so yeah, I just refer to them as the four monsters. They're of no importance anyway.
Let's have a little game. I want you all to guess who could be Cassandra's godly parent. I'm not posting the third chapter (where the answer could be found), until there are enough guesses. :)
So, please review your guesses, comments, suggestions and opinions! I really need them!
