AN/ Hey guys! There is a poll on my profile, so please vote by Friday.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan does.

PERCY

It seemed as if the entire city of Athens had come to the feast. There were dozens of tables for everyone to sit on, but I was surprised to find out I would not be sitting with the royal family. My parents and the king sat at the head table, my friends and I sat at a table to their left, and Princess Annabeth sat with her friends to their right.

I tried to enjoy myself at the feast, but I felt anxious and nervous as I still had not spoken to Annabeth. I guess it was a simple enough to, but I just couldn't do it. Soon enough, my friends distracted me, and I joined their conversation.

"Do you remember when Leo locked Nico in a storage closet?" Jason asked the group. He seemed happier than usual, and I wondered why.

"Ha ha," Nico replied sarcastically," Very funny." Even though they were making fun of him he also seemed happier than usual.

"What's going on," I asked myself, "Am I the only one who's not happy?"

I noticed Annabeth leave, and I decided that this was my chance to speak to her. I stood up from the table and decided to follow her.

"Hey guys," I told my friends," I'm going for a walk, okay? I'll see you guys later"

"Ummm... Okay." Leo said completely confused and with a general nod in their direction I made haste and followed her out of the grand ball room.

Princess Annabeth was long gone, but her friends, Thalia and Piper were barely leaving, so I decided to follow them. No I am not a stalker, if that's what you're thinking. I followed them because they were talking about the princess.

"What's wrong with her? She should be happy." The one I thought was Piper said, she sounded worried.

"She should have joined The Hunters when I asked her too." Thalia said.

"Not all women hate men, Thalia. My mother has a say in things, you know. I mean, what would this world be without love?" I was so confused when she said that. I had absolutely no idea who her mother was or why she was important.

"Still," Thalia shot back, "She would not have to go through this if she had joined The Hunters."

"Great," I thought," Another thing to add to my conscious."

Piper and Thalia walked the rest of the way in silence, and I was grateful for that. They started to slow down and so did I. They went off the main path and pushed some bushes aside to reveal a small, hidden path. The small path only went on for a short distance, but it revealed a beautiful garden. Flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors were everywhere. The strange thing about the garden was that there were moon laces too. Moon laces are extremely rare and magical, so I had a reason to be even more confused. Princess Annabeth was sitting alone on a bench was sitting alone, but Thalia and Piper went to sit next to her. I was still hiding, but I could hear perfectly. Apparently, the princess had heard Thalia and Piper following her, so she was expecting company. Princess Annabeth was trying to laugh and smile, but it felt half hearted. After a little while, Piper and Thalia left. I wanted to go talk to Princess Annabeth, but I couldn't move. I was just frozen in place.

I was trying to move, but I just couldn't. After I gave up, I heard the princess talking again. "Thank you!" She said, "You're a blessing from the great goddess!" After she said that, I couldn't hear what she said.

I heard a flapping sound, like a bird flying away, and then the princess shouted. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

I walked out from behind the bushes and said, "Hello, Princess. I've been looking for you."

When I walked out of the bushes, I could have sworn the Princess had a dagger in her hand, but I thought I was going crazy as the next moment her hands were empty. Why would a princess carry a dagger I thought to myself?

"Hello, Perceus." She said. She motioned for me to sit down.

"I need to talk to you." I said with urgency evident from my voice.

I put down my helmet and grimaced, "I hate that thing. It brings back bad memories." Not realising what I had just said I quickly made amends and turned to face her, "Anyway, I wanted to say sorry."

She looked shocked, but she managed to say, "Why?"

"I wanted to say sorry, because I messed up on the proposal. I sounded like I was reading from a script, but I wanted to tell you that I really meant what I said." I said. I guess I really did surprise her.

"Apology accepted." she said with a faint smile, but I felt as if it was genuine.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me." I felt so relieved that she had accepted my apology.

"Well, Perceus," she said, "It's late. I must go to my chambers."

"May I walk you there, Princess?" I asked her.

"You may, and please, call me Annabeth." She told me.

"Of course, Prin- Annabeth." Leave it to me to mess up.

I was worried she might get mad at me for almost calling her princess, but I was surprised when she giggled.

We walked the entire way to her palace in silence. It wasn't awkward though.

When we arrived at her door, I paused and said "Annabeth, I enjoyed talking with you. Do you mind if we go out for a stroll in the garden again?"

"I would love too." She answered with a sweet smile.

"I'll see you after sunrise, then. Goodnight, Annabeth. I smiled, bowed, kissed her hand, and left.

I walked all the way to the shore. I was supposed to stay in the palace as a guest with the rest of the Spartans, but I had asked my mother to let me sleep on the ship. I went into my room and fell asleep thinking of the next day and what was to come with it.