Here's chapter 3 finally!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, blah, blah.

3. I meet Pointy Ears very briefly

Annabeth

As Annabeth woke up, she could hear voices. She didn't open her eyes, so that she could gauge if she was in danger. She remembered being given a quest by Athena and being shot by a bright light from Hecate and ending up unconscious. She realised that she must be in Camelot. The surface under her was soft. She remembers that she had landed on something soft, which must've been grass. The softness under her right now felt different. Perhaps a blanket or a mattress. She must have been carried here. The thought made her uneasy. She could've died several times in the time she had been unconscious. She mentally cursed Hecate for it. She concentrated on the voices surrounding her.

"..unconscious because of lack of water. Pass that canteen, would you Merlin?" An elderly female voice asked. Merlin? She found him already? Well that was quick. Not that she was complaining. She had thought she would have to go around asking for him. Deciding that she was under no immediate threat, she opened her eyes. She had to blink a few times to adjust to the light.

"She's awake!" A young boy exclaimed. Well he looked a year or two older than her. All the heads around her whipped to look at her. An elderly woman sat next to her on the bed. She assumed that she was the woman whom she'd heard speaking earlier. She had a kind look on her face. She reminded Annabeth of Sally.

"Where am I?" She asked, pretending to be clueless. She was kind of clueless. All she knew was that she was back in time. She couldn't even be sure she had ended up in Camelot.

"You're in Ealdor." The boy said. He had a mischievous face and pointy ears. The sparkle in his eyes reminded her of Percy before Tartarus. That same mischievous smile and the same look which made anyone around them trust them. But Annabeth didn't trust him. He had done nothing wrong yet, but after Tartarus she had a hard time trusting anyone. "Do you remember how you came here?" The boy asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Annabeth shook her head. "All I remember is traveling towards Camelot with a few Knights," she lied.

A girl who had been standing quietly to her side said, "I'm afraid you're in Cenrid's Kingdom. Camelot is on the other way." She had chocolate brown skin and curly hair. Annabeth mentally cursed again. Hecate had said she'd be in Camelot, not some kingdom she's never heard of.

"What business do you have in Camelot?" A blonde man behind Pointy Ears - she really had to ask them their names. Calling him Pointy Ears was getting annoying - asked. She noticed that he was wearing better clothing than the rest of the people in the room. He must be important here. She decided to answer him without pissing him off. After all, she had to get these people to trust her so that they'd show her to Camelot.

"I am Princess Annabeth Chase of America. I was running away from my kingdom when it was attacked by a neighbouring kingdom. A few Knights had accompanied me but we were attacked by bandits. Last I saw them, only one was left and he helped me escape. I ran as far as my feet would take me. I must have fallen unconscious at some point." Annabeth said. She'd definitely worked on a cover story before going to sleep the previous day, in case Hecate didn't give her one. But now with the seal Hecate had given her, her story would sell easily. She dug around in her jeans' pocket and found the scroll and seal, and handed it to the blonde man. He took it and read through the scroll.

While he did so, Annabeth took the opportunity to properly look around the room she was in. It was cramped with the number of people in it. She caught the eye of the girl who had told her she was in Ealdor. The girl smiled. Annabeth gave her a small smile in return before looking away. The woman sitting next to her handed a canteen of water. She gratefully accepted it and drank from it. The woman had been right. She was parched and probably would have passed out from dehydration if she hadn't passed out because of Hecate's spell. She knew that it was dangerous to trust others but since these people had been trying to help her, she decided that they wouldn't be poisoning her.

The blonde man handed back the scroll and seal to her. "I'm Prince Arthur Pendragon of Camelot," he said. Annabeth's eyebrows shot up. He took her hand which rested on the bed and kissed it. She flinched slightly before blushing. No one had done that before. She nodded at him. She would've bowed but she was sitting on the bed. "We leave to Camelot in two days. You are welcome to accompany us," he said.

"Thank you sire. I would be most grateful to accompany you," Annabeth replied.

Just then, a girl dressed in royal clothes, like Arthur, entered the room. "We need to start planning," she said. Arthur nodded.

He looked at Annabeth and said, "Get some rest, Princess. We will talk later. Gwen here," he pointed at the girl next to my bed, "will stay here with you. If you need anything, just ask her." He turned to look and Pointy Ears and said, "Come on, Merlin. We have work to do." With that, he left the room with the girl with royal clothes and Merlin. MERLIN. Pointy Ears was THE Merlin. Annabeth closed her eyes to process that. He wasn't an old man with a beard. She opened her eyes when the woman who sat at her bed introduced herself as Hunith and told Annabeth that she would be in the kitchen if she needed anything, and left.

Annabeth then turned towards Gwen. "Hey Gwen. I'm sorry you're stuck with me. You can leave if you want to. I'll be fine here."

Gwen looked surprised. "No, my lady. I don't mind accompanying you at all. You should get some rest. I'll wait right here if you need anything."

"I'm alright, Gwen. I don't need rest anymore," Annabeth told her. "Why are you just standing there? Come, sit." Annabeth patted on the bed beside her. Gwen looked surprised again, but she smiled and sat on the bed.

After a few awkward moments, Gwen said, "My lady, I will get you some proper clothes."

Annabeth was confused for a moment before she realised that she was just in her jeans and t-shirt. She shook her head at Gwen. "There's no need for that. In my kingdom, women are allowed to wear trousers if it pleases them," she said.

Gwen simply nodded.

"Can you tell me what's going on? What is everyone planning?" Annabeth asked.

"Kanin and his men attacked Ealdor. Merlin's mother came to Camelot seeking help from King Uther. He denied to help Ealdor as the village is in Cenrid's kingdom and sending soldiers here would be an act of war." Gwen explained.

"What is Arthur doing here then? And who was that girl who came in before?" Annabeth asked.

"Arthur, the Lady Morgana - the girl who came in - and I came here to help Merlin. Uther doesn't know that we're here. The Lady Morgana is the King's ward. I am her servant." Annabeth's eyes widened a fraction at the mention of Morgana. She would have to befriend her. Morgana didn't seem evil right now, so perhaps there was still time to prevent her from going dark.

"Arthur and the rest of them are making a plan to defeat Kanin and his men. They will attack tomorrow and we need to be prepared," Gwen continued. At this, Annabeth sat up. This would be the perfect time to make everyone trust her. She could help them in the fight. Besides, she wasn't about to let a barbarian pillage these poor villagers.

"Hey, Gwen?" Annabeth said. "Let me help. I want to fight tomorrow too. You have all been very kind to me and I want to pay you back. Take me to Arthur."

Gwen's eyes widened. "No my lady!" She exclaimed. "Arthur would never accept your help. You are our guest here."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You look like you could use all the help you can get. Besides, I'll be very helpful. After all, I'm the battle strategist and key fighter in my kingdom," Annabeth said and swung her legs over the bed, and stood up. Gwen looked shocked. Probably that the Princess would fight. Annabeth smirked. "So are you going to show me to the Prince?"

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