Annabeth gets an ew Necklace

All right, so Annabeth totally amazed me with the way she handled the Kraken. A mermaid was offered to show us to the most sufficient rooms in the Atlantis palace for a goat, two half-bloods, and a Cyclops.

I realized that mermaids had "water" sidewalks, paths of deep water for them to travel through so they could maneuver around the city. Annabeth and I followed up front while Grover and Tyson stayed behind. "I'm sorry for my dad, he wasn't really acting like himself," I whispered to her.

Annabeth shrugged and gave me a smile, "It's all right Percy. We're in the middle of a war remember? I'm pretty sure Athena has a hard time trusting you- more so actually. They're on the same side but they're still pretty nervous because they hold on to grudges pretty badly." Sometimes, I wondered what I would do without Annabeth to make sense out of everything.

We were in the middle of Poseidon's palace. The walls were high and made of marble that arched over. Parts of the walls were half-pillars and placed in front of them were statues, portraits, and tapestries dedicated to my father over time.

"Daddy just scared is all Percy," Tyson piped in from behind. I looked over my shoulder and gave him a smile. The Sea God scared? Well, it could happen. If they could love, be angry, or be sad, why not be scared?

"I'm scared too," Grover mumbled. He was busy looking about hesitantly at everything. I adjusted my backpack to better rest against my back. "Underwater, just as bad as underground. You're lucky there's plant life even down here Percy or I'd be have hysterics right now." Grover was being a bit over-dramatic. He had done perfectly well in the Labyrinth once he got past the fact that he was below the surface.

"What took you so long down there in the water?" I asked Annabeth. We took a right as the mermaid spun ahead. She had blue hair and a blue tint to her dark skin. She appeared to be in her twenties and she was pretty. Annabeth hit me when she caught me looking. I turned towards Annabeth as we continued to walk. "So, why did it take you so long after you killed the Kraken?" I asked again.

Annabeth looked around as if she was being watched and then she reached into her pocket to pull out what looked like the top of a parakeet's beak. "I made sure to grab my prize. This is what I receive for defeating it. Unlike the Minotaur, the Kraken vitalizes in the depths of the ocean by Poseidon's command so it just leaves behind a piece of it." The beak transformed into what looked like an octopus's leg curled up with a necklace strap around it. For the moment, she placed it back in her pocket.

"Daughter of Athena," the mermaid hissed and we looked up at her. Beside her was a small door with a rusted doorknob. "You shall sleep here." Then the mermaid lifted her finger towards another door opposite of Annabether's, it was similar as the first, "Goat, you shall sleep there. Annabeth headed towards her door and Grover mumbled insults that the mermaid couldn't here as he headed towards his. "I hope Tyson, that you can lead him to the proper hall. Children of Poseidon, as you know, are the only ones allowed down it. That's a rule."

"Me show brother room," Tyson nodded his head with all seriousness. He placed a hand on my shoulder, "We go later." He seemed to know that I still wanted to talk to Annabeth. He turned around and went to go help Grover. They were the best of friends it seemed.

I stepped into Annabeth's room. It was a lot like the Hermes cabin back at camp. The room had seen a lot of people and use so it was worn down. The bed was creaking even though nothing was on it and the dresser sagged a bit like the porch of a beach house from years of being doused in sand. I could smell salt water all around me which was soothing to me. Annabeth didn't like it because her nose was all wrinkled up in a cute kind of way.

"Hey, you should wear that around your neck." I noticed she had taken the Kraken's beak transformed into a necklace out. She stared at it, the rope was actually tweed and reminded me of something you would by at a beach. "You could keep track of it better." It reminded of me when I got a lion's pelt that turned into a bulletproof coat. "It might help you later."

I walked over to her and held out my hand. Understanding what I meant, she handed it towards me. Her hair had fallen out of its ponytail so she had to use her hands to hold up her hair. I undid the simple clasp and brought the necklace around her neck. I brought the two ends back together. "There, now you can't lose it."

Annabeth turned and looked at me, "You should go with Tyson now. Go Seaweed Brain, we should rest and then figure out where we're going to go from there." She gave me a smile, one with a little hint of sadness and I wondered what she saw down there in the depth of the water. Did it remind her of the last time she was in the water and she had seen what she wanted to see?

"Sounds good," I stretched my arms back and pretended to yawn. "I'm proud of you," I told her and she blushed. I wondered if Luke ever thought her capable of doing something like that. Annabeth could do a lot on her own. She was stronger than most girls and smart. "I knew you could do it."

"Then why did you jump in after me when you saw the blood?" She crossed her arms and gave me a hard look. There was still a hint of a smile.

"When will you learn? I'd jump into the pits of the Underworld for you." That made her wrap her arms around me quick and plant a really long, nice kiss on my lips. I slipped my arms around her waist just as she stepped back.

"No, no. We need to focus." She smiled and held her hands behind herself as if she didn't trust herself. There was a deep red on her cheeks and her hair fell down alongside her face. I was thinking she should wear her hair down more. Her grey eyes had a beautiful spark.

"All right, you win. Good night," I gave her a smile. She lifted a hand and waved me off. I laughed and she sent a harsh look that I better watch myself. That's more like the Annabeth I know

Annabeth's POV

I had trouble sleeping so I sat up and got out of bed. I watched Tyson led Percy back to their room just down the hall and on the left. I was sure I could find him if I tried. I couldn't explain but I needed to see him.

Outside in the hall, the lights were out as if everyone in Atlantis needed to sleep. I know that most of the creatures did but some also did not. My hair was already up in the comfortable ponytail but I could deny the way Percy eyes lit up when he looked at me.

Taking up the last of my courage, I made my way down the Children of Poseidon's hall way. Percy, I could literally tell where he was. Every since he disappeared for those two weeks and I thought I had lost him, I had made sure to tell where he was. It was similar to Grover's link with Percy but different in the way that Percy didn't know where I was or if I was in danger. This was just something I felt.

I stepped into his room, a golden door. I walked inside to see why only the kids of the Sea God got these rooms. He was sleeping in a large bed with gold sheets and gold headboards. Mostly everything was gold. Anything else that wasn't was blue or white. He had thrown his sheets aside and was wearing long pajama pants but no shirt.

I never noticed before how he had such nice muscles. I blushed and told myself maybe I shouldn't be here. Ugh, who am I kidding? I wanted to be here and I've seen him without a shirt before. It wasn't that big a deal.

Black hair was messed on the back of his head. His face was pressed into the pillow and he was drooling a lot. I giggled as I walked over to him. I shook his shoulder, "Percy." He mumbled something in his sleep and swatted at my hand. He still was asleep.

"Percy," I ordered this time. My voice finally woke him and he jerked and turned on his side. Groggy and a little cranky, his sleepy eyes opened up to stare at me. The green of his eyes was so intense I always had to suck a breath in from amazement.

"Whatsamatter?" He mumbled rubbing his eyes. Slowly as he woke up, he adjusted himself so he was sitting up. I opened my mouth and I couldn't think about it. I shut my mouth then and he smirked. "Forgot?"

I nodded my head and he reached his arms out for me. I fell into his embrace so willing. He was cool and I don't know if he knew this but I could feel the pulse of the water beneath his skin. When his arms wrapped around me, I felt his muscles tighten. I smiled wide and laid my cheek on his chest.

All those feeling I had for Luke, psh, they were gone. I couldn't think twice about him. I couldn't get lost on the memory of his scent or his smile. I don't think I ever really did. I had thought that the choice would be hard; Percy or Luke but I only had to think about who was the one holding me now and who wasn't. I had been told by the Great God Pan that I would play a role that I did not expect in this war. As long as I never betrayed Percy or hurt him, I would do just that. Forget Luke though, even if he hadn't been dead, he was the past. Percy was the present and future that I loved and needed.

"I remember now," I whispered lightly and realized I sounded sleepy. Percy hand was smoothing over the spot between my shoulder blades. I felt him laugh. It was such a beautiful sound.

"Hmm? What is it?" Percy smelled of the ocean, not bad like the room I was living in. He smelled of the edge of the lake at Camp Half-Blood or the Sea of Monsters. The aroma of him brought me to all these memories between us. His smell was slowly putting me to sleep it was so soothing.

"I love you Percy," I murmured, my lips grazing his chest.

Oh Hades, did I just say that?