Annabeth's POV:
I had a plan. I always had a plan. I...I just hadn't perfected it yet. It didn't help that no one was giving me any space to think. They were all under the outrageous thought that I was scared and needed company. I was not scared. I just wanted to be left alone. Sadly, that was one thing no one was giving me.
"Annabeth." My boyfriend Percy called me. Why? I groaned and glared at him.
Sadly, it seemed as though he was neutral to my glares. "I heard you've been busy snapping at everyone who tries to talk to you all morning." He said as he raised his eyebrows and sat down next to me.
I glared at him some more. "Geez Seaweed brain, when was the last time you were the spokesperson for the Greek camp and were in charge of maintaining peace among two camps and a hunt along with a daughter of Apollo?" I asked him sarcastically.
He raised his eyebrows, "You mean Dria?" I nodded. Dria was a great person. I'd gone to get her myself, along with Piper. She was really sweet and giving but she wasn't exactly my first choice for a spokesperson, so it was up to me.
He sighed. "Yeah, I know. You have an important role to play and you'll do great. I just know it. Come on, I call you Wise girl for a reason, don't I?" He offered me a smile.
"But Percy, I don't have a plan. How can I do this without a plan?" I was doomed.
"Come on Annabeth, you've done loads of things without plans. Like...like when you fight a monster, you don't always have time to make plans when the monster is waiting to eat or kill you, right?"
I looked at him icily. "I haven't gone to a single battle without a plan." I informed him. "You don't get it Percy, Athena is all about strategy. Without it, Athenians are nothing. I don't know what to do. What if the Roman's decide to come and throw a surprise attack on us? What will we do then?"
Considering the fact that her hadn't given up yet, Percy had become pretty good at arguing with me. "First of all, Chiron, Lupa and Artemis have given their word that we won't fight unless provoked. I don't think anyone will go against their will. Second of all, if that happens do what I do." He grinned at me.
"Run into battle like a maniac?" I asked him. "Yup. Not that you'll need to do that anyways." He replied confidently.
"I thought Rachel was the oracle. How come you're spouting the future suddenly?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "I'm just great like that." He gave me his signature grin. I smiled. Seaweed brain.
Just then Dria ran up to us. "Hey guys!" She said, panting and grinning at the same time. "I just came back from visiting Juniper. She gets lonely without Grover." I smiled, "It's nice of you to keep her company. Any word from Malcolm?" Malcolm was my closest half-brother and I was really glad that he was dating an awesome person like Dria. It could've been much worse. I mean, not all of the Aphrodite campers are like Piper. Her grin became a sad one and she shook her head. I could see she missed him.
Just then an iris message flashed in front of us. It was Piper. Her sleeve was torn and there was dirt on her face. "Annabeth can't talk. We'll be late, ok?" Piper said with a grim look on her face. "What is it?" I asked her. "The Nemean lion. First one today. Phoebe!" She shouted and cut the connection. Dria's face was grim. "I should go." She said and ran off.
I sighed. "Normal day for the hunters, huh?" Percy asked me. "I don't know. It's almost noon and if this is their first monster, the hunters are having pretty drab day." I said and he laughed. I liked how he made me feel better. I put my head on his shoulder.
Just then Chiron came galloping up. "Annabeth, Percy. Our Roman friends have arrived. They are landing their chariots next to the strawberry fields. Hurry!" We didn't need to be told twice. We ran towards the Strawberry fields at full speed. (Naturally I beat Percy).
We arrived to see a dozen huge chariots docked there. They were...exquisite. Each chariot was so elegantly carved and had beautiful designs on them. Were they hand carved? Those designs would look so beautiful on a temple wall. Suddenly, Percy pushed me. Everyone was looking at me and waiting for me to say something. I blushed. This was not a very Athena moment. I cleared my throat and said, "Welcome Romans. I am Annabeth, the spokesperson of Camp Half-Blood. I hope your stay with us will be very pleasant as we are all one, children of the same Gods and Goddesses merely in different forms. If you have any difficulties, just contact me. We just have to wait for a few minutes till our other visitors arrive." I finished. I was proud of myself. That wasn't hard at all. Percy squeezed my hand as if to show that he was proud of me too. I blushed.
Just than a girl in raven black hair and a purple toga stood up. "Greetings, I am Reyna. I along with Jason here," she stopped and pointed to a golden haired boy in a similar toga who nodded at us, and then she continued. "We are the Praetors of the Twelfth Legion. I, along with Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto, am the Roman camp's spokesperson, the voice of their rights. I notice we are already mingling." She gave us an almost smile. Sure enough the Greeks and Romans were now scattered into small groups and talking. Some people were already fighting with each other. I wasn't sure whether that was a good sign or a bad one. "But shouldn't there be one more of you?" Reyna asked quizzically.
I was going to answer but a faraway voice said, "Present." Dria came running into view, her brown hair flying behind her. "Sorry for being late, I got held up."
The other boy, Jason looked at us. "We were told six names-Annabeth, Percy, Piper, Thalia, my sister, Dria and Chiron. We are supposed to have a meeting now, right? What other visitors? I thought we were the only ones."
Reyna nodded. "Yes, we were not informed about them."
Dria looked at them, confused. "No one told you about the hunters?" They shook their heads.
"They are a group of the Goddess Artemis or Diana who roam the wilderness tracking down monsters. They are immortal and have to swear off on dating." I could hear collective groans in the background.
"Wait, my sister's in the hunt. Her name is Thalia Grace." Jason said, now really confused.
I smiled. "Thalia told me to look after her brother. It's good to meet you. As for your earlier question, I'm Annabeth, my boyfriend's name is Percy, this is Dria, second spokesman of Camp Half-Blood, Piper is the lieutenant of the hunt and Chiron is this camp's activities director. We will have our meeting as soon as they arrive." I told the two Praetors.
They nodded at me.
Just then, Leo ran up, panting. "They've arrived. They don't look good Annabeth."
I cursed. I motioned Percy, Reyna, Jason and Will Solace to follow me. Dria didn't need to be told, she was already running in Leo's general direction. "Lead the way Leo." I told the son of Hephaestus.
He nodded and ran. We followed him to the clearing near Thalia's pine. What I saw there made me choke back a sob. I looked at Dria. Her face masked mine, they certainly did not look good.