AN: Hey, guys, sorry for the short chapter, but several people expressed interest in seeing what Annabeth is doing in the aftermath of Percy's death, so here it is.
Chapter 4: We All Have Secrets
Six Months Later
Annabeth woke up to the same dream again; the same nightmare that had tormented her every moment for the past six months: the death of Percy. Every night when she closed her eyes, she was haunted by nightmares of her actions. As always, when she woke up, she pushed those thoughts aside and focused on her tasks for the day. She had spent the last six months redesigning Olympus after Kronos trashed it, and the amount of concentration involved in designing each building took her mind off of everything else.
As she left her palace on Olympus, she grabbed her sketchbook and some blueprints and headed down to Athena's newest temple, which she was using as an office while she finished designing Olympus. She expected the temple to be empty, but instead ran into her mother and the last being on Olympus she wanted to see: Hestia. Ever since the Battle of Manhattan, Hestia had always been cold and distant to her, completely at odds with her warm, friendly demeanor to almost everyone else. Hestia had never told Annabeth why she was so unfriendly, but Annabeth couldn't shake the feeling that Hestia knew exactly what she had done.
"Annabeth!" Athena said, "I'm glad you're here; Hestia was just asking me how the memorial for Percy is going. I know you're busy with some of your more major projects, but I was wondering if you had any updates."
Annabeth swallowed the lump out of her throat before responding. "Of course, mother. It's almost complete."
"Great!" Athena said, and gave Annabeth a quick hug. "I have other matters to attend to; I'll see you both around." With that, she swept out of the room, leaving Hestia alone with Annabeth.
Hestia started to walk out of the temple, before she stopped, but kept her back to Annabeth. "It was such a shame that Percy died." Hestia mused quietly, almost to herself. She paused for a moment, before she started talking, this time obviously directly to Annabeth. "And it was such a shame how he died . . . stabbed in the back. A truly unfortunate end to a great hero." Her voice was so innocent, it was almost menacing, but Annabeth knew exactly what her words meant.
Annabeth turned as white as a sheet at Hestia's words, but Hestia didn't say anything else until she was at the door. "We all have secrets, Annabeth." She called out over her shoulder, and walked out without looking back.
Annabeth slowly released the breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding and took a few shaky breaths. Hestia knew what she had done, and it was obvious she had known for six months now. The question that stuck in Annabeth's head, however, was why Hestia didn't tell the other gods what she had done. Apparently, Annabeth wasn't the only one with secrets.
AN: I know this chapter is really short, but it could potentially be important for what will happen later; I'm still not sure. This was all I got done today because I was spending time with family for mother's day, but I figured I would give you what I have. The next chapter should be about Percy again, and as always, leave a review telling me what you think.