Soo… procrastination is my deadliest vice. I apologize. Sort of. I should've finished this earlier. Sorry kind of.

This chapter is written by me (AprilSpirit), and the next chapter will be written by Soul (SoulHorse).

Also, know that we beta for each other when the other is writing the chapter. Proofread by the other author, Okay? Okay.

SoulHorse: Same here. Blame the procrastination. Finally! April finished the chapter! 'Bout time ;) Sweet! I'm a beta reader without applying? And I get a head start on this chapter? Icing on the cake :D

Disclaimer: Riordan. Troll Riordan. Rick Troll Riordan. That is not my name. Or Soul's for that matter. We are not millionaires who write cliffhangers and troll readers for a job. (I wish it was though…)

Soul's Addition to the Disclaimer: Nah. I'm not a dude. Thank the gods! I wanna be a millionaire though…yeah…you guys might hate us after this story…just saying…

3rd Person's POV

"You idiot!" cried George as he smacked Percy on the head. "I told you to stop making up stories and daydreaming on the job! If you're gonna tell stories, at least make them believable! Ugh, why did I get stuck with you as a helper? You're useless!"

"I swear on the River Styx, I wasn't lying! I saw the princess!"

"Shut up, you idiot! There are guards coming this way!"

"Oops…"

"Hey! you! Prissy boy! Stop right there!"

"Uh oh. Now you've done it. Head guard Clarisse La Rue is out to get you now. Behave, or we'll be banned from our chance of freedom with the Twelve Trials tomorrow!" snapped George I-can't-remember-his-last-name.

"Well, well, well…a prissy laundry boy says that he's seen the princess to the highest throne in the world?" Clarisse La Rue said, cracking her knuckles. "You'll talk, if you know what's good for you, boy."

Percy stood there with his mouth open, looking like he was going to drool any moment. Luckily, George stepped in.

"He's just a stupid laundry boy! He always says stupid things like that! He's a bit crazy, if you ask me! Pay no attention to him."

"We did not give you permission to talk, servant boy. We will leave for now, but if that boy goes around saying stupid things like that, there will be trouble." Clarisse stomped off.

"Whew! Thank the gods! How are you still alive with such a dumb brain? What is it filled with? Seaweed?" George groaned. "I covered for you once, but I'm not doing it again. Now stop making up stories and get to the servants' quarters. I heard that Queen Marie is issuing tasks to pass the time while the guards find the princess."

"O-okay," Percy stuttered. "Um. W-we should get going before we get a whipping from one of Queen Marie's ladies in waiting."

"Yeah! That's the point. Hurry up!" George yelled as he started to run.

As they ran to the servants' quarters, Percy couldn't help but picture Princess Annabeth's beautiful face in his mind. He was sure that he had met-no, ran into the princess, and he wondered where she was now. Even with the quick interaction, her face was still fresh in his mind, and besides, her face wasn't the worst thing to think about, anyways…

When the two boys got to the servants' quarters, the chores were still being given out. Percy was just in time to hear his name being called out.

"Perseus Jackson, clear all the rooms of the bedsheets and put them in separate baskets, then make up the beds! Perfection is mandatory!" a nasally voice read.

Ugh. What an annoying voice. I wish she could hear how annoying she is,Percy thought to himself irritably.

"This is your new headmistress, Madame Dolores Umbridge! Hurry up with the chores! I expect nothing but the best, and there will be severe punishments for those who tell lies about their chores!" Umbridge screeched.

Much grumbling could be heard from the crowd of boys. Percy felt deflated with the sheer amount of chores to do.

Ugh. I better get to it unless I want to be banned from tomorrow's opening for the Trials,he thought inwardly.

Just the thought of the Trials and the chance of freedom perked him up.

"This might be my last day as a slave. I'm going to do this!" he cheered to himself.

A small nagging thought came from the back of his head. You might also get a chance to see the princess,the voice in the back of his mind whispered.

"Wait, what? Where did that come from? My mind is seriously so jumbled right now." And with that, Percy brushed off the thought and went to start the chores.

Only halfway through changing the beds on the first floor of the palace, Percy was sweating bullets. He loosened the collar and unbuttoned the first two buttons on his ugly, tight, butler suit. As he moved to untuck the bedsheets, a hand shot out from under the bed and grabbed his ankle.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Percy fell to the floor face first. "Please don't hurt me," he whimpered.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you, laundry boy," a soft, feminine voice said. "I just needed your help. Do you recognize me?"

As she spoke, the figure came out from under the bed. A mane of curly blonde hair emerged, and she lifted her head to show stormy grey eyes.

"I am Princess Annabeth, heir apparent of Greece, Rome, and next ruler of the world. But don't be scared, I needed your help."

"M-m-my help? But y-you-you're the princess. Everyone's looking for you. Why do you need my help? Uh-Your Highness, I mean," added a rather nervous Percy.

"I needed to get away from them. That was the whole point. I'll explain. And call me Annabeth. Just Annabeth."

"O-okay," stuttered Percy. Her eyes are breathtaking,he thought to himself, awestruck.

"So what happened was that I was basically forced to come here by my mother to see potential er-suitors. Knowing my mother, it's basically an arranged marriage, and I don't want to do that. So I escaped from the guards to get away from all the pressure and dumb expectations. Got it? And I need your help to navigate the castle, because you should know where everything is, and that will help me stay out of my mother's eye. So are you in or not?" she explained in one breath.

She smiled alluringly, as if that would draw him into her plan. It only sort of worked.

"Wait, wait, wait. What? Yeah, I mean, I get it. But what are you going to do after hiding? You can't stay away forever. Besides, you're going to get found out, and then you'll be in an arranged marriage for sure." Her smile is stunning.

"Yeah, well, I was working on that part. Huh. You're smarter than you seem, uh- your name?"

"Perseus. Perseus Jackson. Percy if you're my friend."

"Percy it is. I think you," she stopped in the middle to huff in resignation. "Are right. There's nothing I can do anyways. It would have been pretty awesome if I pulled it off, though, huh?"

"Yeah. Totally. Sorry for bumping into you earlier by the way. I was actually, uh-hurrying to see you arrive. Heh. What a coincidence, huh?"

"Yeah. Well, I'll see you around, Percy. If you ever need my help, I'll be in the second biggest suite of the palace. And there's always the breakfast in the banquet hall tomorrow morning. You're signing up for the Trials, right?"

"Yeah." Gods of Olympus, she's gorgeous.

"Cool! I'll see you at the opening ceremony, then! Good luck!"

"Thanks."

Princess Annabeth rose to go make her presence known. She reached over to Percy and gave him a goodbye hug. But being the klutz he was, Percy tripped. Over air.

As he struggled for balance, Percy fell completely and knocked over Princess Annabeth. As they toppled over, their lips brushed together, and Percy ended up with his nose on Princess Annabeth's hair and lips pressed on her cheek. Mmm. Her hair smells like lemons,he sighed inwardly. Wait, what?

It was sooo awkward.

They quickly scrambled up, faces flushed; Percy apologizing profusely, and Princess Annabeth accepting his apology and quickly leaving the room. But not before Percy caught a glimpse of a smile, sparkling eyes, and rosy cheeks on her face.

"Gods of Olympus, she's beautiful," he whispered under his breath.

"I think I'm going to like these next few days. Maybe I'll even talk to her at breakfast or the opening ceremony," Percy then muttered out loud.

Even with his clueless personality, Percy had to face the facts. He really, really liked the princess. Percy dazedly finished his chores, and at the end of the day, he collapsed into his woodpile bed with a dopey grin on his face. Even the stick-in-the-mud George wondered why Percy looked so out of it.

As for Percy, he dreamt about tomorrow's events and his chance for freedom. But most importantly, he dreamt about a certain blonde, curly haired, fierce, gray eyed girl, by the name of Princess Annabeth Chase.

And… done! What do you think?

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I only know if you review! And favorite. And follow. K I'm done.

Just kidding. A little bit more.

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RRFF!

Until unicorns raid the stores and eat all the Nutella,

~AprilSpirit

SoulHorse: Well, that was really something April. Oh wait…SWEET I GET TO WRITE ABOUT THE TRIAL OPENING! *fist pump* YESSSS! Wait a sec…I might end up writing some filler chapter lol. How the heck am I going to…oh well. Whatever.

Great chapter by the way. You know how many times I got in trouble for trying to edit this? Twice. Maybe three times at this rate. Who cares.

Percy seems like…a klutz. A bit OOC maybe…oh well. It's a FANFICTION. We can do whatever the Hades we want.

So, RRFF everyone! Hope you enjoyed April's chapter! Next chapter: my turn! Good luck to me…better not procrastinate XD Until next time!

~ Yours in demigoddishness, SoulHorse