Percy

Percy thought that Annabeth, without doubt, was the most beautiful girl in the world. He just couldn't help himself from thinking that. He had spent the last few hours trying to enjoy the fact that he was getting to burn a noble alive without any success and there she was, standing alone in the crowd of a million hostile rebels, speaking her mind. That was enough to make her look beautiful and that was the first time Percy saw her. Of course when he had carried her in his arms, the time she had been assaulted, he had seen more of her than he was proud of. But this time it was different. Percy realized that the beauty was in her bravery and he was impressed that she still managed to look brave and strong in a hospital gown (this one was a closed neck cotton frock with no sleeves) and a very muddy crape bandage around one of her ankles.

Now that he had seen her it was impossible for him to undo it, to make her just another girl. He couldn't make her invisible again in his mind and apparently neither could Octavian who shoved his own burning torch to Frank who clearly wasn't happy about having to hold on to two torches. Percy agreed. He was sweating like a pig due to it after all. He hoped Annabeth doesn't notice that.

"Well sweat heart!" Octavian said as he strolled up to Annabeth who rolled her big grey eyes. Percy had to praise her in his mind again. He would have puked at the 'sweat heart' comment if he was in her shoes.

"This lady stood calmly a few months ago when her husband killed about thirty-eight civilians with poisonous gas."

Percy saw Annabeth's eyes widen for a second. Horror seemed to clear the storm in her eyes and her earlier rigid and straight posture flattered for a second. Her surprise could have been his imagination as it passed in a blink. But Octavian sure had noticed her slip. And there in the crowd of aggravated people he sure had the upper hand. Also he was one of the leaders. He wasn't even close to being one of the big three leader (Percy was one of them) but he was one none the less. So as he held the forth highest rank among the rebels it was only natural that they would ignore Annabeth and worship him.

"Ah there. Now I guess you'll let us continue. After all any delay would only bless this tapeinós tsoúla with more life which she clearly doesn't deserve."

The crown cheered.

"Burn Her!"

"Burn her and feed her to the hounds!"

"Burn her slowly and painfully!"

"Make her scream in agony!"

And so on. Percy glanced at the women tied to the tree who had just been called a lowly whore by Octavian. She might have passed for one because the neck line of her dress had been very revealing even without the shredding. Jason had created an interesting situation. He had given the General false information about the location of the rebels and had made the general, his family and a horde of army camp just around the fringes of the forest. And the rest of the hunt had been pretty easy from them. There had been no casualty from their side and all the guards were killed along with the general. Percy had been permitted to join the hunt at the very last moment because of this. He hadn't really cared about burning the General's wife alive. He would have shot her other wise anyway. But that was before he had seen the kid. The kid who was going to loose his mother. Just like he had. And that had made the whole witch burning thing suddenly very gloomy and resentful. He had tried to vote against it but had been out ruled. The voting had ended up against the safety of the women in an alarming ratio of four to eight.

"No! You can't! What about the child? Isn't this just... insanely inhuman!?" Annabeth's voice rose against the cries of murder.

She looked way at ease there with her golden hair shielding her from the glares she was getting. She was beautiful all right.

"And you think them killing the innocent people just because they don't have golden hair and blue eyes is perfectly sane?" Octavian's voice sounded genuinely surprised. Percy knew better.

"Then you are saying that there is no difference between you and the nobles?"

Percy's eyes widened.

That had stopped the murderous cries. A hush fell over the ground. Everyone looked at each other and then at the tied up woman. They all seemed to feel guilty for the first time. Even Clarisse looked uncomfortable as she nervously fingered her pale blonde hair and pointed her brown eyes to the ground. Now that was a surprise.

"You know not what you speak of girl." Octavian's voice took a bitter edge which probably shouldn't have happened. People looked up at him with a kind of shock.

"All I know is what I see. You are deliberately burning a mother in front of her son and thinking of yourself as some great hero-"

"ENOUGH!" Octavian bellowed.

Percy's grip tightened around his torch. He looked at Annabeth intensely, urging her to back off. But she didn't meet his eyes. She stood her ground firmly... stubbornly actually.

"The council of leaders have voted in favor of this! Your sympathy with the enemy proves your allegiance. I say we burn her too!"

But before anybody could do anything else a strong harsh voice had spoken up for the first time,

"That's where you should stop Octavian. Lay a finger on her and maybe you'll not burn to death but I could promise you that you would drown to it."

Percy had kept his voice low to make it more threatening and sure it had worked. Octavian had backed away from Annabeth. And so had the people who were glaring at her before. Everyone just seemed to remember who her guardian there was. And Percy sure as hell squared his shoulders a little more to make himself more intimidating. No one was going to mess with his charge... again.

Annabeth seemed stunned for a moment, as if she couldn't believe Percy had just spoken up for her. But of course he had. She was his responsibility there. He would do anything to keep her alive and whole. Annabeth was going to open her mouth again but was interrupted by the sound of screeching wheels.

All the heads turned as a new figure emerges out of the corridors and into the fields. The boy pushing the wheel chair was short and grim and the girl sitting in it was as pale as her brother with a sundress on. Her long brown hair was open and her eyes were happily taking in the huge gathering. She looked perfectly at ease in the middle of the chaos.

Bianca smiled at Percy from her wheelchair as Nico pushed her to the foot of the log (Percy noticed that it wasn't really a tree). Everyone parted to make way for her. Of course they had, not only she was the girl with sever anemia but she was also the Chiron's Junior. She was important after all.

"I ask to end this drama, Octavian and his fellow leaders." She said politely as she smiled kindly at the woman. That's Bianca for you. All happy and bright. And sure the woman also took her to be sunshine as she squinted at her sight and then broke down to tears. But of course no one noticed, Even if she was spared today she would still be a pest.

"We take direct orders only for Mr. D and Chiron's orders are eligible for voting. As you are none of them and beneath our rank Junior the council will not change it's mind." Octavian looked down at Bianca through narrowed eyes as she smiled back at him. Her smile was endearing and after a moment even Octavian's glare morphed into a look of confusion.

"As Chiron is away and has left me as his Acting Director my orders are eligible for voting too."

Octavian clenched his Jaw. She was right and he was not.

"Also," Bianca pulled out a fat book from behind her seat and flipped through it until her brown eyes brightened as she had found what she had been looking for, "Witch Burning needs the affirmative vote of all the eligible leaders according to the constitution of rebels." She handed out the book to Octavian and urged him to read.

"So now you shall vote." She said cheerfully.

Octavian turned to the ring of leaders and through his clenched jaws he muttered, "All in favor raise your hands."

Eight hands shot up including Octavian's. He watched the four leaders in disdain as he yelled, "Zhang is that a no?"

He must have thought that Frank's occupied hands would have kept him from voting but that was not the case. Frank shook his head to demonstrate his denial.

"McLean? Levesque?"

Both the girls raised their eyebrows at him which made Octavian look away quickly and at the last person who had refused to vote. Percy had been half expecting Octavian to say 'et tu Jacksone?' but to his utter disappointment Octavian didn't. A sly shadow downed on Octavian as he looked at Percy.

"Jackson, isn't this how your mother had perished? Of course she wasn't tied to a log, she wasn't expecting to burn but-"

What happened next was a blur of movement and falling bodies. Everyone knew that the big three leaders were strong and it was wise not to mess with them. The crowd observed the scene in front of them in awe. The flashing green eyes of their leader was way to intimidation to look away from.

In a matter of moment Octavian was pinned to the ground. Percy had thrown his torch somewhere in his furry (which, by god's immense mercy, had been rescued by Tyson) and was standing with his foot on Octavian's chest. The whole crowd, the women, the kid even Annabeth... everything forgotten. He looked down at Octavian like he had looked down at the first Noble man he had shot. He was just a beast. A beast who would kill the faggot for bringing up his dead mother. For comparing her to a wretched noble woman. He was going to kill Octavian, he was going to break his neck and all his bones and-

"Percy get off him!"

Annabeth pulled him away to soon but Percy stepped down from Octavian's chest without a fight. Even tough he had wanted to kill Octavian he had known that he wouldn't be able to. After all he was a fellow rebel and that too a leader. But still... the blood was still hot in his head and he was staring at his black hunting boots. His mind was ringing. He couldn't really think straight as the images of a burning ranch came back to him. He could almost see the servants in white aprons running and screaming and could almost feel his mom gripping his hand tightly... pulling him away to safety.

From somewhere far away he heard Bianca dismissing the gathering and ordering some guards to put the woman in a prison. The murmurs and the whispers and the looks of sympathy that people threw his way were somehow blurred. He could barely concentrate on where he was going as he bumped into random people whose faces all looked similar and blank and...

He felt like closing his eyes and covering his ears and screaming in frustration. He wanted to get out of that trance and be done with that night for once and forever but his mind was not listening to him. It was like he was living in two worlds at the same time. In one he was running away with his mother and in the other he was being pulled to the infirmary by Annabeth for some reason. He wanted to get out of the first world because he knew what was going to happen and he didn't want to live it again he didn't want to loose her again.

Annabeth made him sit on a hospital bed as his nightmare continued and finally... after what seemed like forever it ended for that time. The end of the nightmare just meant the end of his former life which he yearned for every night. He put his face on his open palm and squeezed his eyes shut, his elbows resting on his thighs and back bowing down by the weight of his past. He knew he was not crying, he had stopped doing that a few years back, but he couldn't help the shaking. It was horrible and he was not alone. He wished he was as it was easier to calm down like that. It was easier to just slip back completely to reality when no one was looking at the weaker him.

"Are you even listening to me?"

Percy's eyes flew open as Annabeth pushed his hands back and pinned them on his sides to the fourposter. He looked up and took in a sharp breath which he wished she hadn't heard. Her face was floating inches from his. Her hair was flowing down her shoulder touching his upper arms. They smelled like fresh lemon and soda. Her eyes looked strained and tiered but attentive too. She was too close for him to hide his fear and he knew that she could see them. And he waited for her to ask the questions which she probably already had and he had failed to hear them.

But he wasn't expecting her to say what she said next.

"Take your shirt off."

He blinked.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes and took a step back and pointed at his left arm, "You burned yourself when you so heroically tossed the burning- no blazing torch away."

"Oh"

Was all he could say. Now that she had mentioned it his left arm really was killing him. He winced as he removed his smoking jacked but gave up when he saw that his shirt was sticking to his skin in a rather ugly way. Broils were oozing from where a patch of his upper arm had blackened. He quickly looked back at Annabeth. She sighed and stepped towards him again.

"I'll help you... just relax."

Well it was not everyday a girl told him that she would help him with his shirt. But none the less he tried to relax. Annabeth rolled her eyes again at him but he could see that she was also smiling. She slowly and very carefully pushed his shirt up, her fingers lightly grazing his stomach making him feel really hot all of a sudden. Then she tore the part above the burned patch and motioned for him to get out of the rest. He wriggled out of it, wincing twice. Annabeth was fiddling with the medical supplies. Percy tried to think of how to treat a burn but his mind was not ready to come up with anything helpful yet.

She finally found a pair of forceps and plucked out a little chunk of cotton with it. She dipped it in a clear liquid and pressed it against his burn. He had been cut and burned before a lot. One would expect him to just get over the pain by now but it was impossible. It hurt him each time. He just never fully revealed it.

"You know what you are doing?"

"Of course!" Annabeth looked offended for a moment as she tilted her head too look at him. Then she went back to rubbing the gash. The room went back to being silent again. And after a moment the silence became too heavy for Percy.

"Were you a nurse before this?" He asked while carefully watching her feet shifting ever so slightly as she cleaned his wound.

"No I wasn't. I was taught first aid in school."

"You went to school?" Percy asked incredulously. The commoners had barely any money to survive. Only a very few of them ever saw the face of any school. Doesn't mean they were uneducated or illiterate. You could always read at home.

Annabeth tensed for a moment. Then stepped back and flew open the doors of the cupboard so that half of her was hidden behind it.

"Yes. Haven't you?"

Percy looked away. Of course he had when he was young and even after that to infiltrate the noble institution. But that was not a school but more of a college. The last time he had properly been to school was when his mom was still around. He looked at Annabeth carefully as she fished out a roll of clean gauze bandage and a tube of some ointment. She come back again and slightly lifted his left arm. He exhaled sharply before he replied.

"I have. But most of the commoners don't really earn enough to pay for schools."

He decided to turn his head towards her and watch her work. Something about the way her hands were so steady and her work was so organised soothed him. Then she switched the cotton on the forceps with another one and started to apply the ointment. Percy bit his bottom lip to keep from groaning.

"Aren't you a commoner?" She asked as she threw the cotton away, "Lift your arm."

Percy complied. Annabeth twisted her nose in disgust and said, "When was the last time you took a bath? You reek!"

"Just this morning." Percy said before quickly covering his lie with, "I am not a commoner."

Percy felt the light fabric of the bandage fall on his aching skin. Annabeth's hands were that of an experts as she continued to wrap it around his arm lightly. It was tight enough or loose enough. It didn't stop his blood circulation and that was something.

"Then what are you?"

Percy ignored her question because there was one burning inside him. Did she already know? Then why wasn't she showering him with tears and words of condolence and promising him that everything was going to be absolutely alright? He didn't want to trigger his delusion again. But still, he wanted to know how much Annabeth knew. If she were clueless she should be asking him questions. He kind of got the idea that she wasn't afraid of him. So he dropped the act of a terrifying leader and asked,

"Do you already know about my mother?"

Percy waited for the delusion to start... but nothing happened. Annabeth tied a knot to secure his bandage and stepped in front of him to face him. His tilted his neck back to look at her. She was bent over slightly with her hands on her knees and looking intently at him with her sharp grey eyes. It was as if she was calculation the amount of time she would need to throw Percy off his feet in a battle field.

"From what I heard from Octavian-" Percy snorted,

"I think she was killed in a fire which was probably started by the nobles." She continued, "And you have seen it haven't you?"

"Yeah. But that's not the worst part I mean I know it's pretty sad but-"

Percy tilted his head to the side and stared at his gauze bandage. He couldn't believe he was talking to someone about his past. That too a girl.

"What is it?" Annabeth prompted. Percy turned his gaze back on hers. Her grey eyes were shining with curiosity and she had leaned closer. Percy wondered if she noticed that there were only a few inches between their faces. So he swallowed hard before replying,

"I don't really know. but whenever I'm reminded of her my mind kind of splits and-" He bit his bottom lip before continuing in a whisper.

"I have to relive the fire, the night the screams. At those moments I loose my grasp on reality. I fear if it happens on a hunt or- or in a battle or war then... I would- would drag a whole squadron down."

"Are you hallucinating now?" Percy shook his head and gave out a little nervous laugh.

"You strangely don't push me back to that time. It happens with almost everyone else. I wonder why you are any different."

Annabeth stiffened and blurted "I am human."

Percy's eyes danced with amusement as he pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. He wondered why he was tempted to laugh. He hardly found anything funny now a days. Even the best pranks and jokes cracked by the Stoll brothers were pretty dull for him.

"What's so funny?" Annabeth asked in an offended tone.

"Nothing. How's your leg?" Percy managed. He figured Annabeth would not like being laughed at.

"It's fine!" She snapped. Her face was burning up as yet again Percy was trying not to laugh at her outburst. Then a sly shadow fell over her face and Percy narrowed his eyes.

"You know the best way to pull your brain out of a shock?" She asked in an animated sweet voice.

"What?"

"It is to get another shock."

Percy got confused. How was that even supposed to work? But then Annabeth started closing the distance and all Percy could say was

"What are you-"

But her lips were already on his, soft and supple and a tentative pink. It was just the brush of her soft plush lips against his but it had a drastic effect on his mind. He had never like fire being the water boy of the family but at that very moment the burning sensation was almost sweet and very electrifying. It was melting his brain and pushing him from the world of war and destruction to a buttery and slippery one. He was feeling like his favorite blue fish, swimming and warming up in a hot sunny patch of water. Even when she had pulled back and had smiled evilly at him he had felt the lingering burns and the goose bumps. He knew he must be looking utterly stupid with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open but ... what was that?

Annabeth swung back at the door and looked at him with an amused smile and said, "Hope that works." before she went away.

Percy sat there, thinking what had just happened. But one thing was very clear. Annabeth Chase was not your regular shy ladylike girl. Which ruled out her possibility of being a snobby noble. And she had guts. She had enough guts to startle the leader of the second squadron, Percy Jackson, that too by... kissing him.

The shuddering and the burning night and the creams were totally replaced by those soft and beautiful lips that had stolen his a moment ago. No one had ever come so close him... ever.

Little did Percy know that Annabeth was hitting her head on the wood of her room and blushing tomatoes as she thought, 'Was it really a good idea to kiss the guy she was going to live with?'

I have never treated a burn before (I have used ice packs for really minor ones) so don't judge my first aid skills please. But please tell me if this is going good or you know not good so I do no I'll just well... IDK! Please tell how it was!