"Unfortunately Miss Chase, this is far too close to your fight," the man in front of Annabeth stated. His quiet voice only dimmed the more that he spoke. His gaze moved to the right, where an agitated Piper was pacing back and forth. Then, it flickered to the left where a silent Lupa stood. "There is no way we can reschedule."

"She can't fight on an injured ankle!" Piper protested again. The man shrunk back into his chair. Piper took a deep breath and raised both of her hands. "There has to be something we can do."

"There are a few options, but you won't like any of them," the man said. He took a deep breath and pulled at his collar, and Annabeth just stared right at him. She wasn't mad. Not at him. Not at anyone in particular really. She just hated that this was her twist of fate.

"First, Miss Chase can participate in the fight and hope for the best," the man continued. "Second, she can request that Miss Arachne allow the fight to be pushed back, but that still requires the permission of our commissioner. He will not approve. Third, Miss Chase can forfeit her title."

"No!"

"Like hell she will!"

Lupa looked at both of the girls and held up her hand. She turned back to the representative and spoke in a soft voice, "I thought the league cared about injuries."

"We do," the man insisted. "The problem is that this occurred during training, nor is it serious enough that Miss Chase absolutely cannot fight. Either the fight happens or Miss Chase forfeits her title. The commissioner has already stated this and would like your answer soon."

"Tell him I will have a meeting with him," Lupa said. The man gulped and nodded. Annabeth slowly stood, wincing from the slight pain in her tender joint.

"And tell him that I will be defending my title. I should get ready for the face off," Annabeth said, and she turned away. While she wanted to storm out of the office with her head held high, she settled with carefully walking out and not looking back.

Piper followed right behind her, ranting about how stupid the league was. Annabeth turned to look at her, "Hey, it's okay."

"It's not okay, Annabeth. You can barely walk!" Piper snapped. Annabeth quickly looked away. "Wait. I'm sorry. I just wish I could help you."

Annabeth smiled at her friend as they walked down the hall. She heard Lupa taking up the rear and could feel the anger radiating in waves off of the woman. Annabeth glanced back at her trainer. She knew that Lupa cared greatly for all of her fighters, but she seemed to be taking this one personally.

The three made it to the locker room, and Annabeth stepped inside. Her gaze swept to the right where Reyna was sitting, staring down at her phone. Upon hearing the door, her gaze flickered up. She quickly stood, "What did they-"

"That Annabeth must fight on an injured ankle," Lupa interrupted. She walked toward the other side of the room and grabbed an ice pack. "I hope you're happy."

"What?" Reyna asked. Her gaze moved to Annabeth and then Lupa. "Of course I'm not hap-"

"Your recklessness has once again hurt someone around you," Lupa scolded harshly. Reyna visibly tensed, and her jaw clenched instantly. Annabeth slowly looked between the two. "You should know better. No, you do know better. You just don't care."

"I do care," Reyna insisted through gritted teeth. "It was a mistake!"

"One that could cost Annabeth her title," Piper chimed in. Annabeth grabbed her friend's forearm and squeezed tightly. Piper looked at her, and Annabeth shook her head.

"Annabeth, you know I wouldn't hurt you on purpose," Reyna began as she looked at Annabeth. There was barely disguised anger on her face.

"Reyna," Annabeth began. It was silly to think that Reyna would want to soften her up before the fight, but there was always going to be that little thought in the back of her mind. It also could have been a product of Reyna's anger slipping out again. She hadn't seemed mad during their sparring session, but she never did until it slipped out.

As Reyna's jaw tightened even more, Annabeth realized she had waited too long to continue. Reyna turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. As she flung the door open, she nearly ran into Frank who stood there with a small box.

"Hazel wanted to surprise everyone with cupcakes," Frank began. Then, he seemed to read the room. Reyna slipped past Frank and stormed away. "Um..."

"Tell Hazel thank you for the cupcakes," Annabeth finally spoke up after a moment. Frank nodded and sat the box down. He looked around awkwardly. Annabeth moved her gaze to Piper, and she lowered her voice. "You didn't have to jump in."

"I'm sorry," Piper said softly. She grabbed a cupcake but just examined the decorations. "I just get protective of you."

"I know, and I love that. I just don't want Reyna to feel ganged up on for what has to be an honest mistake," Annabeth explained. Piper didn't look convinced. "I know what Lupa said, but..."

Annabeth swept her gaze over to Lupa, who was pacing slightly. Lupa was pissed at Reyna, and the injury to Annabeth only seemed like part of it. Was Lupa frustrated with Reyna not wanting to talk to her about what had happened between the two? Did it make Lupa bitter, or was there more going on?

A sigh left Annabeth as she sat down and propped her leg up with assistance from Piper. Lupa handed her a pack of ice. Annabeth thanked both of them and studied the wrapping around her ankle. It was supposed to keep her ankle stabilized and hopefully keep her from noticeably limping.

"Try to rest until the face off," Lupa said. Annabeth nodded and studied the older woman. Reyna refused to talk to Lupa unless she absolutely had to. She would not let Lupa apologize or explain herself.

And, it almost felt like Lupa was lashing out. Like she was trying to anger Reyna. So, Reyna could lose her temper and confront Lupa? Or even just yell at her? Was Lupa that desperate to have some semblance of a conversation with Reyna? There had to be a better way to do it.

As much as Annabeth wanted to help, she had to focus on her fight. She also had to focus on not showing any weakness during her face off. Arachne could not know about her injured ankle until the moment the bell rang. Annabeth closed her eyes and tried to relax.

"Can we talk?" Annabeth began as she looked at Reyna. Her teammate had her arms crossed and was just glaring ahead of herself. They were only a few minutes from the last face off. Annabeth had spent the time trying to relax and eating a few cupcakes. Reyna did not come back to the room. She only joined them a minute ago.

"What does it matter?" Reyna muttered. "You really think I would hurt you?"

"I never said that," Annabeth argued.

"You never denied it," Reyna grumbled in response. Annabeth looked down. "I can never do right, can I?"

"Reyna," Annabeth said.

"Just save it," Reyna dismissed as she shook her head.

"You're not being fair," Annabeth began. Reyna snapped her full attention to her.

"I'm not being fair?" Reyna demanded. "That's bullshit!"

"Just let me talk for two seconds without throwing a temper tantrum!" Annabeth snapped back before she could stop herself. Reyna stared at her, but her eyes were quickly narrowing into a glare. Annabeth knew she hadn't said the right thing.

"Fuck you," Reyna seethed. "I didn't mean to hu-"

Reyna cut herself off abruptly as her gaze shot to the right, but Annabeth was too upset to notice. The blonde spoke, "Lupa thinks you meant to hurt my ankle.

"Oh. Your ankle?"

The voice made Annabeth freeze in place. She slowly turned to look at the newcomer to their argument. Arachne met her eyes. Then, her gaze moved down to Annabeth's ankle.

And a cruel smile came to the challenger's face.