ATTENTION: THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE IS LONG, BUT I RECOMMEND YOU READ IT.
Hellooo, everyone! Chapter 22 is now here!
And guess what?
IT HAS A SONG ACCOMPANIED TO IT! I know, right? Since when?
I've found the perfect song for this chapter. Absolutely perfect.
It's called "Arrival of the Birds" by the Cinematic Orchestra. There's actually a certain video that you need to click on, because others have the song "Transformation" tagged onto it, and you don't want that.
The video thumbnail is a blue background with several flamingos walking through water. On the top it says "Les Ailes Pourpres", and the small logo of Disney Nature.
You want this video. It has a million views. And I think its the first one to show up. I'm serious. You want this one. It ties everything together. USE THIS VIDEO.
Also, I timed this chapter to the video. (Wow! I know! It took a while, too) Of course, it is timed to my reading speed, so I don't know if this will work, but I REALLY hope it does. You should finish the chapter right when the song ends, if I timed it correctly. I checked and double checked. Put the song on repeat just in case I read faster than you. I'm crossing my fingers hoping this will work. You don't understand. The song needs to end when the chapter does! IT JUST HAS TO. AHSDLGFKJ. I'm actually getting nervous! Whew!
Let it commence. (and I'm praying this works...)
SO START THE SONG NOW!
Annabeth
I took Percy's hand. My heart was pounding out of my chest, I was so nervous. What was my life like before? Did I have a family? Brothers and sisters? Where did I live? Was Percy even supposed to be my boyfriend?
What if he was dating someone else?
The questions were starting to give me a headache. I tried to clear my racing mind by focusing on the feeling of Percy's hand in mine.
"Hypnos, we've returned," Percy said loudly.
The breathing stopped. I found the flashlight and clicked it on just in time to see Hypnos materialize into the room.
His black eyes widened, and then he squinted at us. His wings fluttered agitatedly, sending feathers flying soundlessly to the ground. "Again with the flashlight? Don't you know I can't see in the light?"
"Uh, sorry," I apologized. "But I want to see what's going on. I'll just muffle the light." I put the flashlight under my shirt. I could hardly see Hypnos, but I saw him relax a bit.
"Have you done what I've asked?"
"Yes," Percy said. "We've killed the leukrokottas, and we…"
He trailed off, and I saw the color drain from his face.
"What is it?" I hissed. I didn't like that face. That face meant we didn't do something. That face meant we were one step away from getting back our memories.
"Oh, no…" Percy muttered.
Hypnos's face was expressionless. He just stared at us with his black pits of eyes.
"Percy. What? Is? It?" I said through clenched teeth.
"The spoil of war."
"The what?"
"We were supposed to get the spoil of war!" he suddenly shouted angrily. "I forgot the spoil of war, okay? And now we can't get them back! You can't get them back! It's all my fault…"
He let go of my hand and covered his eyes with fists. He rubbed his forehead with both hands and his fingers ran down to his cheeks, pulling the skin down. He stared at the ceiling with the most horrible look of guilt on his face.
I stared at him wordlessly, my mouth hanging open. He never said we had to get a spoil of war. I was knocked out when he received the quest. If he had just told me, we wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!
Anger boiled up inside me. He was irresponsible! Completely stupid! How could he even forget? Didn't he know how important this was for me? I had been talking about it nonstop for days. I thought there was a chance that we would make it. And here we were, standing in the cave where we could get them back, and it was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.
We'd lost our chance.
I sank numbly to the ground and sat down, wrapping my arms around my knees. Percy wouldn't look at me, and I swear he started to tear up.
"Annabeth…I'm so sorry. I am so sorry. This is all my fault…all my fault."
His hands fell limply to his side, and he turned away from me.
"You probably can't even look at me."
My anger washed away. Instead all I felt was sadness—sadness because he was sad. It wasn't his fault at all. We'd both been so caught up in each other. I would've forgotten, too. I stood up and took his hand again, and he turned to look at me, surprise on his face.
"Annabeth, I—"
I interrupted him by pulling him into a hug.
"Shh. It's okay. Don't worry. We've still got each other, and that's what matters, right?"
"No. It's not okay. I—"
"Just shut up, Seaweed Brain."
And then I kissed him.
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:')
DID THE SONG WORK? DID IT TIME PERFECTLY? OR DO I JUST READ TO SLOW/FAST? DID YOU LIKE THE SONG? PLEASE TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS IF IT WORKED. I WANT THIS TO WORK. IT HASTO WORK.
Please calm my heart and let me know. I have to know. I'm seriously freaking out. Can you understand why I'm freaking out? This is a big deal, guys! A big deal.This is the most climatic part in the entire story! I built it up to this moment, and the song just HAS TO WORK. A:LKFHSDLKAJ.
If it did...sigh, thank goodness. I wrote this chapter to this song, and I rewrote it over and over just so it could time up perfectly. Thank goodness it worked for you.
Phew.
OHMYGOSH THEY JUST KISSED.
THEY KISSED.
THEY KISSED.
THEY KISSED.
THEY KISSED.
FINALLY.
AFTER TWENTY-TWO AGONIZING CHAPTERS, THEY'VE FINALLY KISSED. THANK THE GODS. THANK THE OTHER GOD. THANK EVERYONE.
They finally did it. :')