~ 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵 ~
It had been three months since the war had ended, but the memory of it still left a bitter taste in her mouth. She had tried to forget, to move on, to just let go. They had won. She should be happy. But the empty bunks in each cabin were a constant reminder of everyone they had lost.
She fiddled with the beads on her necklace, specifically the one she had received for that year. Every person who had died in the war was written on it in print so small she could hardly read it, though she didn't need to. She had memorized every last name. Zoe Nightshade, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Lee Fletcher, Michael Yew...The list went on and her heart ached for them. They shouldn't have had to die.
And then of course, there was Luke. She wasn't sure how she felt about him. She had held onto the hope that he would come back to them for so long, then when she had finally given that up... it had taken only one word to shatter her all over again. She could still hear his voice in the back of her mind. "Promise..."
She found herself in the Hermes cabin, at the door of Luke's old bedroom. No one had occupied it since, even though it was one of the only actual bedrooms in the entire cabin. Annabeth couldn't blame them. Even now, entering the room just felt... wrong.
A thick layer of dust covered everything in the room, and for a moment, Annabeth was 10 again. It had been her birthday, and he had brought her here to give his gift. A small owl necklace he had made with the help of cabin 9. She had lost it long ago, but she hadn't told Luke incase he thought she was forgetful or careless.
A small piece of paper lying on his bed brought her back to the present. Her heart began to beat faster, though she knew it was probably nothing. Still, she picked it up gently, careful not to tear it. There wasn't very much written on the paper, and it didn't take her long to read. She blinked in confusion, rereading it. The words hadn't changed. It was a poem.
She took a shaky breath. She couldn't understand what it was saying, but it felt important somehow. In fact, it was almost worded like a prophecy- only one that had already happened. She tucked it into her pocket and silently left the room. She would think about it later. For now, she had sword fighting with the Ares cabin. She exited the cabin and headed over to the arena to get ready.