So here is the next chapter! A lot gets explained in this chapter, so make sure you pay attention! Enjoy!
Annabeth was still sitting in her room idly when the metal around her windows started to rise. It wasn't just the sudden sunlight that bothered her, but also the fact that her protections were rising as if on their own accord. While she hadn't heard much from the creepy men outside her room recently, she really didn't want to take the chance that they were still out there. At least her door was still locked.
It was as if fate was laughing at her when she heard the lock click out of place as well. Sighing Annabeth looked up at her ceiling to ask God why he thought it was so funny to toy with her. She had done nothing she could think of to deserve being forced into marriage, into the mob, and shot at. She had cheated on a few tests, but in her defense, they were pop quizzes, and any type of surprise was just unfair. She couldn't study if she wasn't warned.
Then the strangest thing Annabeth had ever witness happened. Percy walked into her room, and she sighed in relief. That's right she was happy to see him. That was when Annabeth knew the stress was getting to her. Percy was still in her Nemo pajamas as he made his way toward her, but that was the least of her worries. Instead she was checking for blood or any other sign of the fire fight that has taken place below.
Annabeth continued to stare at him until he finally spoke up. "Are you alright? You were able to make it up here and activate the room properly?" It took her a few moments to register what he was saying.
"You literally just had some type of weird gun battle in your foyer, and you are asking me if I'm okay?" she choked out in disbelief. There had to be something that he should be doing downstairs.
"I'm used to that type of thing; we all are. You are not though, so I need you to tell me that you aren't going to faint, or vomit, or anything like that. I also need to know that this room works. You are the first person to ever use it," Percy said never taking his eyes off her. It was like he was trying to gauge her reaction, or at least see if she was really going to vomit.
"I am not going to faint or vomit Percy. If I was going to do that I would have done it by now. And yes, your weird room works. I found the button and the metal came down. It's bullet proof by the way if you weren't sure," Annabeth said back. If he was being honest Percy was surprised how well she was handling all of it. He was for sure that she would be screaming by now.
"I did know that it was bullet proof seeing as I am the one that designed it, but I wasn't sure that it was really going to work. I've never been in the room when it closed because I'm one of the only ones with the password," Percy was somewhat grinning at her, and Annabeth couldn't stand it.
"What do you mean you are one of the only ones with the code?" This time Percy wasn't smirking. He looked down and brought his hand to the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Well, I had this room built for my future wife and kids when I took over," Percy said taking a quick glance at her face. "I knew how dangerous all of this was," he said gesturing around what Annabeth assumed what the whole house, "and I didn't want my family to not be safe. So I built a room that was safe from everything short of a nuclear explosion. To get into this room once it is on lock down you have to pass a fingerprint scanner, a handprint scanner, and know the code to the door. That gets the metal to rise, but you still have to have a key to the room to enter. Only 3 people are allowed access to this room," Percy finished.
It took Annabeth a moment to register what he was saying. This was a room designed for her. It was meant to keep her safe. "Who are the three people?" she asked quickly.
"Me, my father, and a fellow boss I have known my whole life. I trust both of them with my life, and in turn yours. They are spread out across the country so one attack can't wipe all of us out and keep you trapped in here," Percy promised her. However, it did little to calm her.
"Isn't there a way for me to get myself out? What if something happens and no one will be able to help me for days? I could die!" she screamed at him. This room may have been cool, but she was seeing one major downfall.
"One, calm down there is a way. I'm just not telling you what it is so you don't try to get out while you are in here. If you are in here it is for a serious reason, and I don't want you to be able to waltz out of here. If there ever is that type of emergency I will call you and explain it to you," Percy told her calmly. Once he had finished he stood up off of the bed and held his hand out to her as if he wanted to lead her somewhere. Annabeth started at his outstretched hand but didn't take it. Instead she stood quietly and gestured for him to continue.
Percy lead her over to a closet that had been locked when she first tried to open it, but Percy pulled a key from his chain and quickly unlocked the door before leading her inside. "You will also have this if you have to stay in here for more than a few hours," Percy said swinging his arm in a large circle. The closet was stocked with food. Everything for crackers to canned vegetables. There was enough food in the small space to last her a month if she really needed it, and at that point Annabeth was sure that she would rather be dead than stuck in such a small space. "I expect this to only be used in emergencies, not when you are being stubborn and don't want to come down for a meal," Percy said sending her a pointed look.
"I will only use it in emergencies Percy," Annabeth said sending the look right back at him. "There isn't any food in here for Sadie," she said turning back to him.
Percy rolled his eyes, "do I really have to get food for the cat?" Annabeth nodded. "Can't she just eat crackers or something?" This time she shook her head. "Fine I will order a bag of cat food," Annabeth would never let it show, but internally she was jumping up and down. He may not be her ideal mate, but at least he was somewhat caring.
"Thanks. Are you going to tell me what all of that was about, or are we going to ignore it?" She asked taking a seat on her bed. Annabeth wasn't quite sure that she wanted to know, but in the long run it was better that she knew what was going on. She wasn't going to be able to protect herself if she didn't know what was after her.
"That was Kronos. He's the man that your mom pissed off," Percy told her. He was looking at her like he just expected her to understand what that meant, and Annabeth was sure that she had no idea what he was talking about.
"And?" she asked raising her eyebrows. Percy didn't fail to notice her wave for him to continue.
"And, he was here to take you back with him. I'm not quite sure how it got out that you were here, but I will handle that as well," Percy didn't look to bothered by her question, but Annabeth was still lost.
"Percy, I get that it is some stupid hour in the morning, but I need you to explain this all to me. I don't know anything about this life, so what you tell me is all I am going to understand," she said looking down at her hands. Annabeth never liked having to admit that she didn't understand something, and admitting it to Percy was slowly killing her.
A look of understanding seemed to cross Percy's face. "I totally forgot about that," Percy said smiling. "So in the mob there is a head of each family, and each head has to name an heir. Usually the heir is the oldest male," Annabeth scoffed, "but not always. In your case your mother named you her heir." Annabeth nodded at that. Her mother has always thought that she was more mature than her brother, so she had made sure her legacy would live on. "When a head owes money that cannot be paid it falls to the heir." Percy said studying her face for any sign of understanding.
"Falls to the heir how?" she asked. Annabeth had a feeling that she was not going to like where this was going.
"Well, the heir can either pay the debt, but I doubt that you would have been able to do that. You were in high school, and not earning much money," she nodded. "Or the heir's life can be taken as payment," that time Percy stopped completely. He watched her as all of the color drained from her face. Annabeth looked like she hadn't seen the sun in weeks.
"They are going to kill me?" she whispered quietly looking up at him through her eyelashes.
"No!" he jumped to answer her question quickly. Percy wasn't sure what it was, but something in him felt bad for the girl sitting before him. Annabeth hadn't known about any of this, and now she thought she was going to die. "There are laws about this type of situation that are set up to protect you."
"What laws? Isn't this the mob? There are no laws," Annabeth had never been so close to crying as she was in that moment. It felt like her whole life was crashing down, and she wasn't even sure that she was going to her to keep living it.
"Okay, laws was the wrong word. They are more like mob laws. Mob families have to follow them, and there are serious consequences if they are not followed," Percy was still watching her, but all she did this time was nod for him to continue. "The heir's life can be taken, but there are a few things that can be done to protect them.
"If the heir is a male, well then he is shit out of luck. A male's life can be taken no matter what. However, if the heir is female it isn't that easy," that caught Annabeth's attention. "If the female heir is unmarried she is fair game, but if she is married she cannot be killed. Once the heir is married she is no longer a part of the family that the mob is after, she joins the family that she is married into," Percy paused to let Annabeth ask him any questions.
"That's why I had to marry you isn't it? That's why I didn't get a new identity like Malcolm did," it seemed like she was talking more to herself than him, but Percy decided to answer her anyway.
"Yeah that's why we got married. Now you are technically a part of my family, so Kronos cannot come after you. Killing you would declare war on my family, and that is a war that Kronos knows he cannot win. So you are going to be perfectly fine," Percy said giving her a small smile. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, but he also knew not to push his luck.
"What about Malcolm? Are they going to go after him now?" The panic rose again in Annabeth's voice. They may not have gotten along when they lived together, but she didn't want any harm to come to her younger brother.
"Kronos cannot go after him. If you kill a one of the head's children that is not an heir as revenge, the murderer's family is turned over to the other head. So Kronos would have to give his entire empire over to your mother, and there is no way he is ever going to do that. Kronos may be out for blood, but he isn't going to lose everything that he has worked for," Percy said. This time her did reach out and take Annabeth's hand. She didn't have to like him, but Percy wasn't going to ignore that she needed comfort.
However, Annabeth had other ideas. She launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. It took Percy a moment to realize that she wasn't trying to kill him, but instead she was hugging him. As soon as he realized that he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to his body.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," Annabeth kept repeating over and over again into Percy's shoulder. He wasn't sure what had come over her, but there was no way he was going to complain about it. This was the first time that Percy wasn't afraid that his wife was secretly plotting to kill him, and that was something that he was not going to waste.
Neither of them was sure exactly how long they sat on her bed hugging, but it was Annabeth that eventually pulled away. She didn't say or do anything for a while, but Percy remained staring at her, looking for any sign of emotion. After about ten minutes of staring at her hands Annabeth looked up at him and said, "I am grateful for what you did for my family and I, but I still don't like you."
And there it is! So does it all make more sense now? Percy only married Annabeth to save her life, and I think that is pretty heroic. In the next chapter Annabeth will meet some of the "family," and we will see how that goes. Until next time please fav, follow, and review! I love to hear what you have to say!
Emily