Hallo everybody. Today, we will be filling gap you wanted filled since chapter thirty something. Percabeth. Healing. Prrobably death. Blood. Life. Amen.

Chapter 34

Two days…

Those two days end tonight.

You're not ready…

She's readied herself enough.

A great toll on you…

She's prepared to sacrifice it all. As long as she gets to save him. As long as he's alive. He'd done so much for her, now she returns the favor.

Annabeth folds up the letter she'd written for her friends and family and places it on top of her mattress. She looked around her room, silently saying goodbye to her only solitude within the palace. Her bare feet skim across the silver carpeted floor as she made her way to her shoes.

She was wearing a plain white long sleeved shirt, regular trousers, her red belt and had her hair tied up in a way that it still spread around her shoulders, but more controlled than it usually was. She felt grim and determined despite what would happen tonight.

After slipping on her leather boots, she made her way to her desk and sat down without making a sound. She knew what she needed to do. She knew the costs. Her hands rested nervously on the dark oak only a few inches away from the readily-spread sheets of parchment. Exactly like the parchment Percy used to send that letter all those years ago…

She choked back a sob and grabbed one. Her other hand reluctantly went for the feather quill. She took it, her hand shaking as it hovered over the parchment. She had to do this. She couldn't just leave him without a word.

She sighed dejectedly and brought down the quill, her only light being the small orange flame of the oil lamp on her desk. She tried to write as legibly and simply as she could. She knew Percy had a hard time reading, and she understood how difficult it was for him even though she made fun of him for that at times. She wanted him to read this for himself.

Dear Percy… she began to write. But then she shook her head. It was too formal. She thought of what would work best for about five whole minutes. Finally, she just decided to write as though she were talking to him directly. She decided to write casually and without worry. After all, this was Percy.

She crumpled up the parchment and flung it down the side of her desk. She took another sheet of parchment and dabbed the tip of her quill in ink.

Hey Seaweed Brain,

By the time you'll find this letter, I'll probably be gone…

She tried not to cry as she wrote, her hands shaking every now and then. Once she finished signing it, she folded it up neatly and started to rummage around her drawer. Finally, she pulled out a silky blue ribbon and tied it around the letter to keep it nice and sealed. On the outside, she wrote

Percy

and signed her name in a smaller font on the bottom. She took a deep breath and stood up from her desk, making her way to where she'd decided to place the letter.

Rachel waited nervously outside the palace. She put Argus and These to sleep with some poppy powder and signaled Annabeth with a flare. She thrust the rod upwards and it exploded like a firework just above her balcony. It made no sound and only flashed a blinding white light that lasted for about two seconds.

She saw the princess's blond head peak out the side of the railing and waved at her, then signaled for her to wait.

Rachel shivered, letting out a shaky breath. It was cold at night. She wrapped her cloak around her shoulders tighter and pulled her hood down lower over her face. She didn't want to do this, but she wanted to save Percy. She had to admit he had earned her fancy. Once she even thought that she loved him, but she saw how happy he was with Annabeth.

Now that was true love. No truer love than what they had.

But she had no intention to take him for herself. She fancied him, but didn't love him. It would break her own heart to see him and Annabeth drift apart. She wanted to help, but she wasn't so sure if she was doing just that or causing more pain.

She was pulled from her thoughts when the princess landed on the ground next to her, feet perfectly positioned and glove-covered hands wrapped firmly around a rope that seemed to be tied up to the balcony's railings.

"Let's go?" The princess inquired. Rachel nodded and the two picked their way across the grassy courtyard, careful not to stumble on any rocks or bumps.

They passed Argus and These, still slumped against the gate, and turned left away from the cobble stone road. They passed in between the houses and stores as to not be seen.

It was dark. Their only light sources were the fires of the lamps and candles that could be seen flickering within half-closed windows. Rachel had her hand around Annabeth's wrist, leading her steadily through the houses. They were passing the Den now, and Rachel did her best to avoid the Jacksons' house.

They made their way around town past the Den, heading for a grassy hill close to the inner walls of the kingdom.

Even in the almost nonexistent light of the moon, tents could be seen placed about the hill. It had a gentle slope that could've easily passed for a slant in the road. Only dim lights could be seen flickering inside some of the tents. No one seemed to be awake- and that was good.

Annabeth and Rachel drew closer to the clump of tents for the wounded. There were green ones, blue ones, red ones, and purple ones. They were improvised cloth made to withstand the wind and rain. They were of a thick material so they could absorb sound quite well. It helps to keep out evesdroppers and lets people grieve in peace for their loved ones.

Then they found his tent. It was about ten feet tall, as with the rest, and was made of a material that could have once been velvet, now worn and filled with patches. The two slipped in the flap and left no trace of their presence behind them.

Inside, Annabeth was surprised to find the place all set up. There were two lamps flickering dimly on wooden tables placed on either side of the bed. Nico Di Angelo stood by one, dark hair plastered on his face and eyes looking sad and weary. He seemed to be clad in all black, making his ghostly complexion stand out.

Lying on the bed was the motionless form of none other than Percy Jackson. He was even paler than Nico and didn't seem to be breathing at all. Bandages were wrapped around his body- his torso, arms, legs, and head. Some of his wounds still bled and looked newly inflicted. Annabeth knew his condition was getting worse by the second.

Hidden partially in the shadows was a man Annabeth didn't recognize. He had a lean and tall build. He seemed to be clothed in white garments and his blond hair was fixed up. His eyes were the color of the morning sky- a blend of turquoise and gold, which seemed to amaze Annabeth. But he stared at her intently, as if deciding her fate in a court trial.

"Apollo," Rachel spoke, her voice soft and cautious.

"Rachel," the man, Apollo, replied. His voice was smooth and kind, but held a hesitant edge. "Princess Annabeth." He nodded in her direction. Then he turned his attention back to the redheaded girl. "You do know that this will take her life."

"Maybe not." Rachel defended. "She's stronger that most. She will live through."

"She might live through." The man corrected. He gave the princess a once-over and continued. "But I do not doubt your judgment. She has a strong spirit, and if we do this correctly…" he trailed off, examining Percy now.

In the silence, Annabeth silently tried to recall anything she might have heard about Apollo. Rachel mentioned her mentor. No doubt, this was him. Rachel talked about him as carefree and playful, but Annabeth guessed she was seeing his professional side. He was serious about these things, and maybe a little hesitant. She couldn't blame him. He was restoring one's life by taking another.

"You don't have to do this." Nico suddenly spoke up. His voice was solemn and quavered a little. "I-I can try to-"

Apollo cut him off. "For the last time Nico, you can't!" his sudden outburst startled Annabeth, but the dark-eyed boy didn't even flinch. "Your life force can't sustain him. He's far too gone to be brought back by anyone other than her." He gestured to Annabeth. He took a deep breath and turned to the princess. She guessed the two have had this argument before.

"Princess Annabeth," he said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Something stirred inside of her. She suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline and determination. She wanted to save Percy, and she was going to do just that.

"Yes." She said it surer than she'd ever said anything in her life. "I love him."

It was brief, but she thought she saw Apollo smile, just a crack before he was grim and serious again. But as for Nico and Rachel… they were grinning like crazy. Maybe she would've smacked them if she wasn't about to die.

"Rachel," Apollo spoke to his apprentice. "You know what you have to do."

Rachel nodded and plucked two vials from Nico's hands that Annabeth didn't notice he was holding before. They were just a tad smaller than her palm. One had strange blue liquid inside while the other was empty.

Apollo and Nico stood to the side, partly covered in the shadows, ready to watch.

Rachel took her place on one side of Percy's bed and motioned for Annabeth to stand opposite of her. She looked down on Percy's face and felt her heart pound loudly against her chest. She thought of everything they could've had if only… if only she lived. She knew in her heart that she wasn't going to survive this. But she was ready for that.

"This is how it's going to work." Rachel said. She held up the empty vial. "We need to get your life force into this. And to do that, you have to drink this first," she held up the vial with the strange blue liquid. "Then you'll feel like you need to spit something out or feel like you're going to puke. Just spit it out in this empty vial, and Percy needs to drink that up."

"Ew." Annabeth muttered.

"It's your life force. But it won't be truly taken from you yet when you put it in the vial. It has to be you and only you who makes Percy drink it. That way, you're willingly giving up your life to save him. Only then will you feel it draining from you and only then will your fate be decided." She paused, handing Annabeth the blue vial. "So, are you sure about this?"

She took it. "More than anything."

She brought the vial to her lips. It smelled like mint and roses, but something else altogether. Up close, she could see the small foamy bubbles forming as the liquid sloshed around its glass container.

It was cold and smooth. She let it flow down her mouth and throat. It tasted like water, but thicker. It was like drinking water-flavored syrup. She drained the vial and handed it back to Rachel.

"Do you feel anything?" Rachel asked, glancing nervously at Apollo.

"I-" she got cut off when she felt something warm stuck in the back of her throat, like some spit she needed to get out. She coughed once, twice. Then she felt it rising up her throat, ready to launch by the third cough. She grabbed the empty vial and spit whatever was in her throat into it.

"Ugh, what the heck…?"She trailed off, seeing what was now in the vial. It was glowing silvery-gold, like there was a firefly stuck inside, but the light was constant and brighter than any firefly's light.

Annabeth was speechless, and so was Rachel.

"I did it right." The redheaded girl muttered. She looked up at her mentor and was pleased to see a satisfied grin upon his face. It was that look that said good job, I'm proud of you. She wanted to squeal right then and there, but she remembered the task at hand and wiped the giddy smile off her face.

"Annabeth," she said. "It's up to you now."

The princess knelt at the fallen hero's side. She cupped his cheek and gazed at him, maybe for the last time. She kissed him, tears forming in her eyes. She knew what she had to do.

"I love you, Seaweed Brain…" she sat up and held the vial, her hands quivering. She closed her eyes. "As long as you're okay…"

"What… What happened to 'as long as we're together'?'"

Ha. Haha. Longest chapter and I still managed to end it with a cliffhanhger. Hahaha.

No, seriously, this is good. I'm very, very, very, undecided if Percy lives or not so please send in some reviews about that. There's still time to save him…

~ Apollo'sFabDaughter