Okay… I'm sooooooooo sorry! My updating has taken years (well not that much but you get my hyperbole :D) Look my junior year has been nothing but tough this year with all my AP tests and preparing for senior year. I'm really sorry but summer's around the corner! That means more updating! Yay!

Chapter IV

Secrets

"Thalia, can I talk to you?" Percy knocked on his cousin's bedchamber door for the tenth time in four days. And like the ten times he tried, no response. Percy was getting worried for his cousin. She lost her father and brother on the same day. Percy could only imagine what she's feeling right now. He would be lost without his father to set him straight and without Tyson to be there for him… Percy would have no idea what to do with his life. That raised the question though: if he cannot live without his family, why would he go through such lengths to escape their grasp?

The answer was quite simple. Although Percy loves his family to his dying breath, didn't mean he liked being a prince. He could never do anything by himself. Heck, he apparently needed help getting dressed because if not, the servants would think he would wear his pants as a hat. However, with a crazy terrorist group on the loose assassinating monarchs willy-nilly, Percy decided to leave his antics behind him, for now. There were so many things rushing through his mind. He really wanted to talk to Thalia about it even though it would probably be tough for her. Every time Percy's mind was full of questions, he thought of her. Annabeth, just by looking into her eyes, her mind seemed full of questions too all jumbled together. This might be foolish but Percy wanted to talk to Annabeth about this whole situation, somehow he had a gut feeling that she would do everything to help.

And boy, Percy needed it. Something seemed off ever since his father told him about the Titans. Why would Luke be so willing to share the information he was part of the Titans? Usually, confessing that you were part of a terrorist group was not only a death sentence for commoners but also a huge embarrassment to noble families. It's not like Luke had anything to lose either. A monarch dying desired drastic attention and information. It's not that Percy was trying to accuse his fellow prince being a traitor or anything but it was in Luke's nature. Prince Castellan ran away from home several times, been accused (but never followed up on) of speaking treasonous things, but he won the heart of Percy's most dear cousin, Thalia. So, he must not be all that bad.

"Prince Perseus?" Percy jumped out of his skin when the too familiar voice brought him out of his brooding. "Might I remind you that you were supposed to be in the study one hour ago? Does practicing your calligraphy disinterest you?"

"Oh, Chiron…" Percy turned towards the Duke who looked very impatient with Percy right now. Duke Chiron volunteered to tutor Percy in the roles of being a prince but they were all so boring to Percy. There was only so much books can tell you about running a kingdom when compared to real life, they are complete opposites.

"No matter, I know how much you despise calligraphy." Chiron shook his head; despite his frustration Chiron was very understanding. He looked up at Percy with gentle brown eyes but strict frown and said: "I was actually thinking about how you need to practice your sword skills. Since you know, dangerous times it is."

Percy got excited. Combat, something he was good at not like the silly lectures and book stuff. He actually found this subject interesting. "Then I should fetch Frank then—"

"Fetching? What are you? A squire?" Chiron raised an eyebrow. He then signaled Percy to walk with him as he summoned a servant to fetch Frank, some other soldiers, and finally, Chiron asked the servant to retrieve Tyson.

"Why my little brother?" Percy asked as the servant scurried away. Percy defiantly didn't want Tyson to worry about fighting. Tyson was permanently blinded in one eye since birth. Percy still remembers how many bullies he had to fight of (and they were all members of the upper class) that made fun of Tyson. He was very protective over his little brother. Although Tyson was much better at book stuff than Percy was, he wasn't suited for combat despite his large, hulking body. Maybe that was because a certain scribe named Ella was often seen in the grand library or the study.

"We need to make sure you two are no easy target." Chiron explained. "We have to teach these bandits that the princes of King Poseidon are not ones to be messed with."

Percy was soon reminded of Jason "What do you think happened to Jason, Chiron? Is there any way we can somehow… I don't know… rescue him?"

"Well, we need concrete fact that he is alive." Chiron sighed; Percy saw more bags under his eyes than usual. He certainly wasn't brushing this aside. "Prince Grace is one excellent fighter, a little oblivious at times but no idiot. It must've been one good fighter to manage to kidnap him. Well, I hope he was kidnapped. Gods know that Thalia suffered enough loss…"

Percy looked behind to see them traveling farther away from Thalia's bedchamber. She hasn't come out of there or even responded in four days. Luke brings her meals from the kitchen but he seems just as shunned out of her life like the rest of her family. If only she—

"Wait, what's that?" Percy halted and spun around on his heels.

"Hmm?" Chiron looked where Percy was looking. He saw it too. A shadowy figure darting across the end of the corridor. As soon as they saw it, it vanished. Usually everyone was very friendly in the castle. Many servants that passed by would say a brief hello or even stop to hold some small talk over castle matters. But that figure seemed like it didn't even want to be seen. It was like it was even supposed to be here.

"Follow me, sire." Chiron said in a commanding voice and grabbed Percy by the arm and instead of hastily walking, he ran with Percy in toe. Percy couldn't help but look back at the corridor where the shadowy figure was spotted. But now, there was something new at the corridor and it was blood.

…

Annabeth was crawled up against the windowsill in her room. Her favorite spot to read if she ever got the time but today she just stared blankly outside, in the slight hope she might see Percy strolling around in the town square. It made her feel embarrassed that she was infatuated with a stranger but Percy somehow put some hope into her dreadful life. As weird as it sounds.

"Annabeth, how's this?" Rachel asked her and Annabeth turned around to see Rachel's painting which she been painting on a piece of plywood for two hours now. They were both hanging out in now their shared room upstairs in the tallest tower because Lady Hera and Drew were dress shopping. It was peaceful. A gentle breeze blew through every creak and crevice that made the stubborn heat of the summer almost tolerable.

"I didn't know you liked to paint." Annabeth stated, aweing at her beautiful horizon landscape she crafted with only berries for paint. Rachel, despite being punished, has blossomed into something greater. She learned how to stick up for herself and do what she wants to do, not what her mother tells her to do. Even with soot on her face, hair in a beehive mess, and paint splattered all over her raggedy apron, she was a ray of sunshine.

"Well, I didn't really have time to practice with my mother dragging me places." Rachel shrugged. "It's nice to kind of be… I guess, free."

"It's a fantastic painting. Maybe we can hang it somewhere." Annabeth suggested with a smile for she was actually bonding with one of her stepsisters. But as soon as Annabeth said that comment about her painting Rachel paused. She took a minute a grasped her neck in search for something, but suddenly it was like she remembered.

"What?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"You're the second person to compliment my painting."

"Neither your mother or your sister seen your work?" Annabeth asked out of curiosity.

Rachel merely shook her head "Well, yes and no. Mother always told me painting is unladylike since a lady is supposed to be quiet and polite, not painting her feelings and getting paint all over her dress. Drew always told on me when I was a kid if I even tried to paint so I gave it up. The only time I got to paint was in the castle."

"The castle?" Annabeth gasped. "You've been in there? You painted in there?"

Rachel looked at Annabeth and smiled since Annabeth was acting like an awe-stricken five year old. "When I was little, Queen Sally started a movement for female education. Me and many other girls sat in the very room with Prince Perseus in order to get a decent education. The Queen held the classes at the castle since many of the school teachers did not support this movement. However, due too many girls fawning over the prince instead of using the education to their advantage, it was shortly cut."

Annabeth laughed "I guess that would be awkward for him."

"Actually, that man that you fixed up, looked a lot like him now that I think about it…"

"Percy, a prince?" Annabeth sneered. "You got to be kidding me. His clothes looked like they haven't been cleaned in years."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders "Anyway, I'm surprised you weren't part of the class since you are my age. You do remember Queen Sally announcing education for females, right?"

Annabeth paused for a second. That was strange. Annabeth had the ability to read and if she really wanted to she could write. She had to be part of the movement Queen Sally made and was taught at the castle. Honestly, if Annabeth thought about it she couldn't even remember how she got an education. Her father never actually taught how to read. And she has lived here all her life. Or did she? Now that she thought about it, she could not recall any memories of her past when she was little. But yet she remembered her father vividly well.

"Well, maybe we should hang this somewhere." Rachel suggested, getting out of this awkward silence. Rachel got up; brushing what mess she could off her dress, and rummaged through Annabeth's chest full of stuff she collected over the years. Annabeth was never allowed to go shopping or even purchase a dress so she always picked up a thing or two that lied about on the streets when she was allowed to go out.

"There should be a nail and hammer in there." Annabeth commented as she returned to staring outside. She noticed something peculiar. A crowd of civilians circling around the gallows. Usually thanks to King Poseidon's gentle rein a criminal is not punished by death unless under dire circumstances. The gallows are now really used for the town crier.

"Ah! Here you are!" Rachel picked up the hammer and a rusty nail. She began to proceed to hang it on Annabeth's blank wall. She chose one of the wood frames to hand it because the rest was stone.

"KING ZEUS OF OLYMPUS HAS BEEN ASSASSINATED!" The voice of the shrieking town crier reached even in the chateau.

Rachel hurt her thumb.

I was going to add more to this chapter but you guys waited soooo long for an update I wanted to show you I'm still writing. See ya soon!