Oh, look at that. New chapter!

Let's do this. But just so you know… I'm writing this blindly. Meaning I'm going to decide their fates once I get to that specific paragraph. Wish me luck!

Chapter 35

Annabeth almost dropped the vials.

He was looking at her with those sea-green eyes. His lips were cracked and he was still as pale as chalk, but his eyes held a whirlwind of emotions. He was angry, sad, annoyed, hopeless, but above all he felt confusion.

He'd heard everything that went on around him, and he felt so completely useless. It had taken him all of his strength to wake up and have a good look at her. It killed him.

No, not literally.

It was just the guilt eating at him from the inside. He saw how desperate she was to save him. He saw how little he could do about it. He saw how useless he was, how stupid he was. He'd failed to save what mattered most in the end- Annabeth.

It would kill her...

It might kill her…

Oh, what's the difference? She'd be risking her life one way or another.

It was clear to Percy that she didn't want to talk about this or she'd break down. She just wanted him to drink her 'life force', the strange glowing light in the vial.

"Wh-what about it?" Annabeth asked, her voice quivering. Percy had almost forgotten his earlier question. Here she was, about to die, and still managing to look as beautiful as ever- another reason why he loved her.

"If you die…" Percy tried to speak as best he could. His throat was raw, his voice was raspy, but he still managed to talk. "If you die, then how… how will we be t-together?"

Annabeth looked like she was about to burst into tears. "I don't… I-it doesn't matter!" she half-screamed. Rachel, Nico and Apollo were watching the scene with interest and curiosity, but they didn't dare interrupt. "You… after everything y-you've done for me… at least… th-this is the least I can do to p-pay to back."

Percy shook his head defiantly. "No. That's… that isn't the way you should pay me back. That… that isn't the answer." He coughed. "I need you, but here, with me. I-I don't want you gone…"

"Percy," her voice was soft and quiet. She leaned in, offering him the glowing vial. He turned away. "Please, it's okay. Just let me go." She whispered.

He looked at her, complete seriousness filled the once happy-go-lucky eyes that now bore into her very soul.

"Never."

Then came the coughing. The blood. His wounds started to bleed again. There was pain, there were screams.

They had to hold him down as death was taking its toll on him, closing up his throat with his own blood, forcing his life force to face rapidly.

His lungs hurt, his neck hurt, hell his whole body hurt.

Annabeth knew she had to act now, or she'd fail. She took the vial as they steadied him. She let the liquid trickle out.

She didn't care about the blood, or how weak he was. All she knew was that she loved him, and that she wanted to save him. She threw the old 'as long as we're together' rule out the window. He deserved better anyway. Maybe someone who wouldn't drag him into all her problems and get him killed in the end.

He calmed down as the thick, silver-like syrup trickled into his mouth and down his throat. He swallowed hard and saw the red tinges at the edge of his vision fade to black. Then, it engulfed him. The pain stopped, his breathing stopped, his movements stopped, and time stopped.

Everything was still. Nobody made a sound, nobody moved.

Then she felt it.

It was just a nagging feeling of exhaustion at first. Then rapidly it grew into a full-scale energy-drain. Her vision blurred and her head pounded against her skull. Her legs failed her and she collapsed.

She was done for, she knew it.

Three days.

Three agonizing days.

Percy immediately woke up after Annabeth collapsed. They'd managed to sustain her and get her into her room after the physicians were done working on her. And Percy stayed there for three days straight.

He felt better. He was energized and healthy. His wounds had closed up and there wasn't a single bruise on him. Annabeth's sacrifice… it had worked. If only she would live to see it.

It was, apparently, her turn to fall into a coma. He really should have just died and this mess wouldn't have happened.

He honestly preferred the pain of choking on his own blood compared to being forced to watch Annabeth die slowly.

Her parents didn't blame him, though they grieved. There were times when her breath was so shallow it seemed that her breathing had stopped and Percy would panic. It was as if she was dead.

Gazing upon her now, she reminded Percy of that old tale about Sleeping Beauty. The description fit- in a seemingly endless sleep, blond curls, beautiful princess, destined to be awoken by a true love's kiss…

Hmm… maybe if he tried that-

The silver oak doors groaned on their hinges as they were pushed open. Percy glanced up from his seat next to Annabeth's bedside to look upon the visitor.

The man wore a white suit decorated with a single stripe of navy blue. He had short cropped blond hair, sky blue eyes, and the unmistakable scar that ran from under his left eye to his jaw.

Percy recognized him immediately.

"Luke Castellan." He said coldly. He stood abruptly from his chair and glared at the prince. "What do you want?"

Luke raised his arms in surrender. "I'm no threat. I don't mean any harm." He said. "I just want to see Annabeth for a while, make sure she's okay."

"Well you've seen her. Now leave." He growled.

Luke looked dejected and had a hint of sadness in his eyes. He sighed. "I'm sorry, okay?" he said as he run a hand through his hair. "I just feel really guilty about playing at her like that. But I didn't love her, and I don't love her now." He looked up at the young knight who was still glaring daggers at him. "What I'm trying to say is, she belongs to you and my intentions are strictly innocent."

"She doesn't belong to anyone but herself." Percy sneered, his anger clearly having not died down. "Tell me what you really want."

"I want to say goodbye to her personally before I leave, and maybe be left alone with her for a while." He said cautiously. "You need a break, Percy. I know you haven't slept at all for three entire days. I'll watch her, I swear upon my life I won't let any harm come to her. I won't touch her or any of her things. She'll be fine, I promise."

Percy raised his eyebrow. He felt like he could trust Luke, despite how much he had thought Annabeth loved him. He needed a break, but he didn't want to leave her. But she'd want him to have a break, he knew that. He sighed, caving in.

"Thirty minutes." He said. "One hour tops. If she wakes up, ring the bells." He said and left the room, shooting one last glare at the prince.

He snuck down along the staircase. Annabeth and Thalia had taught him about the palace's secret passages. It was a big place, so there was a lot even the king doesn't know.

He spiraled down the narrow flight of steps and finally came to an old wooden door. There was no knob and had a tarp covering the other side. Percy pushed it open and dust immediately clouded his vision.

The kitchen was huge, roughly the size of Percy's own home combined with the neighbors'. Dim candle lights illuminated the kitchen and provided Percy some light after the dark stairwell. It was void of people, but filled with food.

The smell of freshly baked bread and hot stew filled Percy's nostrils. He immediately grabbed a prepared bag of cookies from the countertop lined with baked goods. He took an apple and a slice of guava from a fruit bowl. He took a swig of milk from a cup and dashed off with his stolen snacks in hand.

Percy climbed out of the kitchen and out the side-door that led directly to the gardens. He walked in and out of the hedges, taking large bites out of his apple. He'd thrown the core away a few minutes after he'd emerged from the kitchen. Yes, he was that hungry.

He finally reached the crumbled side of the palace's wall. He breathed in the familiar afternoon air. He finished off his guava, fastened the bag of cookies to his belt, and began to climb up from the base of the make-shift staircase all the way to the tree's biggest branch.

He laid there, panting heavily as he soaked up the afternoon sunlight. He stared up at the canopy of leaves above him and listened to them rustling in the wind.

After a short while, he opened the bag of cookies and began to munch on them one by one. He immediately finished them after about five minutes and tossed the bag off the tree.

Percy sighed and sat up, almost falling off the tree. He gazed outward, onto the kingdom…

… then he noticed the flash of blue.

It was a blue ribbon swaying in the wind. It tied a letter to a shorter tree branch.

Percy, confused, untied the letter and took it in his hands. It was a letter for him, from Annabeth.

He almost choked. She wrote him a letter…?

He just stayed like that for a while, gaping at the piece of folded parchment in his hands.

Then, he made up his mind to unfold it