AN: Here is another instalment. I hope it's good. Please let me know if I should change anything.
After hauling themselves out of the frigid river, Percy and Annabeth had gone further inland of the river and started a fire to get warm and dry off. Percy gathered some wood, while Annabeth placed rocks in a circle under Percy's instruction. They dried their clothes, and were just starting to warm up as darkness fell. Percy had been favouring his injured hand all evening, and this hadn't escaped Annabeth's notice. She gently guided him over to a fallen log.
"So, you're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand." Percy said. Annabeth pulled gently but still Percy grunted in pain as it was just a little too tight.
"Sorry," Annabeth said, cringing. "Just don't...don't freak out." She then began to sing the song,
"Flower gleam and glow
Let your power shine.
Make the clock reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates design.
Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine,
What once was mine."
As she sang, Annabeth's hair began to glow, starting at her roots, and gradually making its way to her ends, where Percy's hand was wrapped. Percy felt a slight tingling where his cut was, and resisted the urge to scratch it. After the song ended and the glow faded, Percy removed the hair wrapping and noticed his hand was completely healed. He opened his mouth in a gasp and was about to cry out,
"Please don't freak out out!" Annabeth stopped him, trying to keep him calm. Percy stifled his cry.
"I'm not freaking out, are you freaking out? I'm just very interested in your hair and the magical qualities it possesses. How long has it been doing that exactly?" He said all of this very fast.
"Uhh, forever i guess." Annabeth said, a little uncertainly. "Mother said that when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves. But once it's cut, it turns brown and looses its power." Annabeth showed Percy the lock of brown hair, "A gift like that, it has to be protected. That's why mother never let me..that's why...I never left.." Annabeth hesitated.
"You never left that tower." Percy finished her sentence. " And you're still gonna go back?" Percy asked her, not understanding why someone would willingly go back to their prison. He knew he wasn't going to go back to his without a fight.
"No, yes, it's complicated." Annabeth said putting her face in in her hands. Then she looked to Percy, remembering his confession in the cave. "So, Prince Perseus of Atlantis, huh?"
"Ah, yeah, I'll spare you the long boring story of young, spoiled Prince Perseus." Percy said, wanting to avoid the heartache. Annabeth just moved closer, paying close attention. "There was this book, a book that my mother used to read to me every night when I was young, 'The Chronicles of the Prince'. A poor farm boy, who, even though he had nothing, was very happy and found his own adventures. He saved damsels in distress, and brought down the bad guys." Percy said wistfully.
"Was he a thief too?"" Annabeth asked.
"Well, no. Actually, he would never do anything to harm or belittle someone else. Everyone loved him, and he got to go anywhere he wanted. And for a kid who was always stuck at home, never getting any freedom, this just seemed like the better option." Annabeth gave him a smile, her grey eyes giving him warmth he hadn't felt since his mother died. "You can't tell anyone about this okay? It could ruin my reputation."
"Ah, you wouldn't want that." Annabeth said.
"Well a fake reputation is all a man has." Percy winked at her. Annabeth blushed a little. Percy blushed as well, then changed the subject, "I, uh, should get some more firewood." He got up and began to walk into the forest for wood.
"Hey," Annabeth called, causing Percy to turn back, "For the record, I like Percy Jackson much better than Prince Perseus of Atlantis."
"Well, you'd be the first," Percy said. He had hated lying to everyone he met, and had begun to hate the alias he gave himself. "But thank you." He said and walked off.
Annabeth smiled a little to herself, and was just thinking about how mesmerizing his sea green eyes were when the firelight reflected off of them, when she heard a voice from behind her, she never expected to hear.
"Well, I thought he'd never leave." Annabeth's eyes went wide and she stood up quickly,
"Mother."
AN: Dun dun DUN! Cliffhanger! there you have it, please read and review.