Chapter 5

Annabeth yawned, sitting up, and stretching her arms over her head, before standing, and making her way into the kitchen, where Sally and Paul were sitting.

"Good morning, Annabeth," Sally said cheerfully. Annabeth smiled.

"Good morning, Mrs. Blofis," she responded. "Where's Percy?"

"A delegate from Camp Jupiter came to talk to him," Grover explained, as he walked in the room. "No clue what about, since they both said they needed to speak in private."

"Why is Percy talking with a Roman?" Annabeth asked. "Not that I'm against Romans, it's just, diplomacy has never been one of Percy's strong suits."

"No clue," Grover said, as he shrugged, and sat next to Annabeth. "All I know is the Roman didn't look too happy to have to talk to a Greek."

"Probably sent by Reyna than," Annabeth mused. "The only question is why."

"That's classified," a new voice called from the doorway. The two mortals, satyr, and demigod turned, to find a young boy of about Percy's age, standing in the doorway, clothed in a purple shirt with the letters SPQR written across the front in gold lettering. He turned around to Percy. "You said what I needed was in your room?"

Percy nodded, pushing the Roman passed the kitchen, and down the hall, his bedroom door closing a second later. Annabeth looked over at Grover in confusion.

"That was...interesting."

"You know," Grover said slowly, tapping his chin with his finger. "Now that I think about, Percy's been Iris messaging with Reyna a lot over the past few weeks."

"Any idea what they were talking about?"

"It had something to do with the second Praetor," Grover explained, before shaking his head. "But they always stopped talking when they realized I was listening."

"Isn't Frank Zhang the second Praetor?" Annabeth asked. Grover nodded.

"Yeah, but from what I was able to gather from Percy and Reyna's conversations...nevermind, it's probably nothing."

"No, what is it?" Annabeth pressed. Grover sighed, running a hand over his face, and shaking his head.

"It sounded like Reyna was offering Percy a Praetorship, but why would she do that if she's already got Frank?"

"Maybe she's stepping down," Annabeth suggested. "But why would she pick a Greek? Surely there's a Roman who would be better suited to lead the Romans."

Grover shrugged. "We should ask Percy."

"If he's trying to hide something from you, he's not going to answer," Sally said. Annabeth snorted.

"No, but he has trouble lying to me."

"Who has trouble lying to you?" Percy asked, as he walked into the kitchen."

"You," Annabeth answered, before looking around. "Where's the Roman delegate?"

"Left," Percy answered. "Just needed to tie up some loose ends with Reyna, and she didn't want to do it over Iris message."

"What were you talking about?" Annabeth asked sweetly, as Percy sat next to her, and took a sip of his water.

"The Praetorship," Percy answered. He placed a finger on Annabeth's lips, before she could speak. "And before you say anything, I only told you, because I know for a fact that Grover overheard our conversation."

Grover blushed.

"Isn't Frank the other Praetor?" Annabeth asked. "Why does Reyna need to discuss it with you?"

"Like the Roman said," Percy answered cryptically. "That's classified. Not my rule, it's Reyna's. You really want to know what we're talking about, ask her."

"Okay, I think I will," Annabeth said, slight hurt and frustration in her voice. Percy dropped his gaze as Annabeth pulled out a drachma and turned the water on, creating a rainbow with a few empty glasses of water, and a flashlight. "Oh fleecy, do me a solid, and show me Reyna, at Camp Jupiter." (1)

The Iris message flickered for a few seconds, before clearing, to show Reyna sitting on her throne (2) talking in a hushed voice with Frank. When she caught sight of Annabeth through the Iris message (3), she cut Frank off abruptly.

"Annabeth," she said, her gaze drifting to Percy, and lingering there for a few seconds, before she brought her attention back to the Daughter of Athena. "What can I help you with?"

"Percy was just talking with a delegate from Camp Jupiter," Annabeth explained calmly. "And when I asked Percy about why he's been speaking with you, he said you told him he couldn't tell anybody."

"That's correct," Reyna said, nodding at Frank when he whispered something in her ear, before standing and leaving. "What of it?"

"I want to know what you've been talking about," Annabeth demanded, slight jealousy leaking into her voice. Reyna's lips twitched slightly, at a small hint of a smile.

"I see," she said, trying not to break out grinning. "And um, what was it Percy told you, when you asked him?"

"I said it was classified," Percy confirmed, speaking up for the first time since Annabeth had started the conversation. Reyna nodded at him.

"Then there's my answer. I don't understand, Ms. Chase, why it wasn't clear coming from Perseus."

"Please don't call me that," Percy said, shaking his head. Reyna smirked, before looking back to Annabeth.

"Are there any other questions?"

Annabeth sighed, before shaking her head. "No, I guess not."

"Good. And Perseus?"

Percy glared at her for a few seconds. "Yes?"

"Does midnight tonight work?"

"Give me a week," Percy answered, and it was obvious he knew what Reyna was talking about, despite how cryptic she was. "I still need to talk to Chiron."

"Alright," Reyna said, nodding. "One week. Also, have the nightmares stopped?"

Everyone in the room turned to stare at Percy, shock adn hurt were painted on Annabeth's face, when she realized Percy had told Reyna first. Percy nodded, as he shrugged.

"Didn't have one last night, but if the cause of it is what you say it is, then it's just going to come back ten times worse."

"Keep me updated," Reyna demanded, before ending the Iris message. (3)(4)

As soon as it was gone, Annabeth turned to Percy, trying to control her anger.

"Percy, why'd you tell Reyna about your nightmares, but not me?"

Percy sighed, and shook his head. "She figured it out. I never told her."

"I don't believe you," Annabeth whispered, before standing, and rushing out of the room. Percy sighed, dropping his head into his hands, and groaning.

"What did I say wrong?" he asked softly, looking up at his mom adn Paul. Grover had followed after Annabeth, to make sure she was okay.

"I'm sure she's fine, Percy," Sally said softly. "She's just a little hurt right now."

"But I'm telling the truth!" Percy cried, though he was well aware he was lying.

"Have you ever lied to her before?" Paul asked. Percy shook his head adamantly.

"No," he said, before thinking it over. "At least, I don't think so. I never meant to anyway."

"Give her a few hours," Paul said softly. "I'm sure she'll come around."

Three days later, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were getting ready to head back to Camp Half-Blood. And Annabeth still hadn't come around. She rarely spoke to Percy, and whenever she did, it was short, simple words. Needless to say, by the time they made it back to Camp, Percy felt like there was a huge rift between him and Annabeth.

"Annabeth, Grover, Percy!" Chiron said, as the three made their way up Half-Blood Hill. The centaur clapped a hand on Percy's shoulder. "How are you feeling, Percy?"

Percy shrugged. "I feel a lot better, and haven't had any nightmares since going to my mom's."

"Well good," he said, smiling. "I'm glad to hear it."

(1)I know this isn't an Iris message, but I can't remember what they actually say for those.

(2) I was always under the impression that Reyna had a throne. Am I wrong?

(3) I know this isn't an Iris message, but that's what I wanted it to be, plus, if it's fleecy, I'm not sure what to call that.

(4) I know I had this twice, I just didn't want people getting ticked at me or whatever.

Please Review!

If for whatever reason something say 'adn' instead of 'and' I'm sorry. I type too quickly, and for whatever reason, spellcheck on my google docs doesn't pick up on it. I try to look through and find it, but sometimes i miss it. So please know that I am already aware, if you wish to comment on it. Thanks.