Needless to say, I kept a close eye on Percy. It helped that I was tutoring him with Greek, but it didn't reDyonisusl me just who his parent was. It wasn't like he was giving me very obvious clues either. He pretty much sucked at everything, except canoeing, which was probably the lamest activity in camp, and the least likely to use when a monster attacked you. I was already hearing all the latest gossip on him, and it was not pretty. Ever since I caught Chiron talking about him with Dionysus, I kept thinking that Percy had to be Zeus' kid. But it didn't make much sense. Apart from killing the minotaur, Percy hadn't done anything that could label himself as the most powerful demigod of the century. Trust me, I met a spawn of Zeus myself a while back, and they're generally very powerful. Because it was Zeus, he would probably be like, Oops, did it again, silly me, and Poseidon and Hades couldn't even be mad at him for breaking the oath again. So at least that meant that maybe Percy was going to be okay, since no god would ever be foolish enough to attack him with Zeus watching over him. But Percy existing made a horrible thing resurface. The Great Prophecy. If Percy really is a Big Three, then he could destroy Olympus.

Watching Percy suck at every activity just infuriated me, considering he had already killed more important monsters than I did, even back when I was on the run when I was seven. I wasn't the only one disappointed in him. Nobody wanted Olympus to be destroyed, but they had expected for the reason as to how Olympus would be destroyed to be able to hit the target in archery practice, not hit the instructor. Percy had brought up a lot of mixed feelings for me too. For one, I thought about Thalia. I wondered what she would say to me and Luke if she knew another child of the Big Three, specifically her half-brother, was at camp. They'd either be best friends or try to kill each other. Especially knowing how Thalia was, and how Percy seems to be. At the same time, Percy seems to be the ticket to get me out of here, see the world properly.

With the answer so close, I just couldn't sit still. Percy definitely had to be the one to get me a quest and get me out of here. His parent could be whoever, as long as his dad got along more or less with my mom. Chiron was definitely nothing to tell me anything else. But, There was someone who had spent almost a year with Percy apart from Chiron. If there was someone who knew, it had to be him.

I looked for Grover in the Big House, where I found him, sitting in a chair next to Dyonisus, playing pinochle with him. A couple of Satyrs were also at the table. I must have not been very discreet, because Dyonisus saw me. He smiled, as if he found my presence amusing.

"Annabell, come! I'm sure that you're much more competitive than these three fools at Pinochle." He said. All the satyrs flinched, including Grover, though he was flinching because he saw me. He went pale. Ever since he had brought Percy back to camp, he'd been purposefully avoiding me. He was one of the only friends I had that I knew would crack under pressure and tell me about the summer solstice, but he'd been sent to a school for protector demigods business, and I didn't see him for a year. And when he comes back he brings Percy with him? He definitely knew about the summer solstice.

"I'd rather not. I just want to speak to-"

"Oh don't be sour, come on join in." He gestured me to sit down. Reluctantly, I sat down in an empty chair. Dyonisus pointed at one of the satyrs. "Okay you, I don't remember your name, you're excused." He commanded. The satyr robotically stood up and walked away slowly, out of Dyonisus vision where he started prancing joyfully.

"We'll play in partnerships. And-"

"Could I have Grover as my partner?" I asked.

"Why not. Sit across him." Grover started shuffling the cards, staring at me with a pale face. Chiron definitely asked him to avoid me. He knew he would tell me anything if I pressed him. Grover soon passed around the cards. I remember learning to play pinochle with Chiron when I was only eight. I remembered the instructions being messy, but when I played it, it was relatively easy. The thing is, that like any card game, it's just a matter of luck. I'd always preferred strategic games where you could actually control how well you play, but Pinochle wasn't a bad game. It was fun and easy to pass the time with. Once in the game, I tried my best to play badly, which was hard considering it was pure luck. The last thing I needed was for Dyonisus to insist on a rematch if I won, but I didn't want to make it too obvious that I wasn't playing well either. Even though I didn't see Grover's cards, he was still a terrible liar and I could tell he was doing the exact same thing as me. Maybe all the satyrs did this in order not to anger Dyonisus or encourage more matches. Whatever the case, me and Grover barely made any points. We tried to ignore the combinations we had for melding and ended up with about four hundred points. Dyonisus reached the 1000 points much quicker. When he declared the points, he looked at the both of us skeptically. Then, he stood up yawning.

"Oh well. I have some duties to attend too" He said, which probably meant he was going to take a nap. He disappeared inside the Big House, while the other satyr stood up and gave me a handshake, muttering good games and thank yous and skipped to wherever he was going. When I turned around, Grover was already gone. I cursed myself for getting distracted. I grabbed my Yankees cap from my back pocket, a gift from my mom, I put it on and turned invisible.

I followed the rustling and vibrating bushes and leaves that Grover left in his wake. He was fast, but at some point he stopped to take a breath. I could see him now, resting his hand on a tree and looking around for me. I approached him and took off my cap. He jumped.

"Jesus Annabeth! You scared me."

"You know who Percy's father is." I simply stated.

"Why did Athena ever give you that thing?" He moaned.

"So you do know! Is he a Big Three? Does he have something to do with the summer solstice?"

"It's a complete invasion of-" He stopped. "You know about the summer solstice? Why am I not surprised?" He continued complaining.

"Is he? Did he steal the thing?" I knew I was overloading with questions but I had been desperate to find answers since winter.

"What? No!... I hope not. How do you even know all this?"

"Let's just say the satyrs and nymphs around this place don't know the meaning of the word, 'discreet'"

"Look Annabeth, I don't know why you want to go on a quest. Just being a protector and going out looking for demigods is a job that requires you to be chased by bloodthirty monsters!"

"I don't think me wanting a quest is any of your business, Grover" I crossed my arms. Grover looked a little hurt, but I was honestly just tired of everyone telling me that I should never be on a quest. I wanted to go out anywhere, not to feel trapped here anymore. Grover continued.

"I can even understand you wanting a quest. But trust me, Percy is not who you're looking for. Stay away from him." He warned. There was no irritation or rage in his voice, just fear.

"If he's the one that gets me out of here, I won't stay away from him, Grover. You know that." I said, uncrossing my arms. I was pushing Grover pretty far, but he needed to tell me all he could do. We stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, he sighed in defeat and sat down in the grass.

"I'm such a terrible protector. First Thalia, and now Percy. Why am I even called a protector?" He moaned and and buried his face in his hands. I sat down with him.

"You know that was not your fault, Grover. Don't torture yourself. Thalia sacrificed herself for us." I replied. He still didn't look me in the eye.

"My one job was to keep her safe, and I couldn't even do that. And now, I'm afraid the same thing will happen to Percy, Annabeth. I can't bear to lose him." He looked like he was about to cry, his voice on the edge of cracking.

"You don't know that, Grover." I stared at him. "Do you? Why do you want me to stay away from him?" This time, he looked me in the eye, staring at me morosely.

"I saw the Fates, Annabeth." He said. "They looked at Percy... and snipped a life cord." There was a tear threatening to fall in his right eye. He clasped his hands together in a praying positioned, almost imagining Percy's funeral. Percy was going to die. Like in the Great Prophecy. He was a Big Three.

"So he's a son of Zeus?" I asked although I feared I already knew the answer.

"I... I think so, yes." He said quietly. He was looking at the floor now. Honestly, I didn't know what to do now. I wanted to reassure him, tell him that he was a great protector, even though I knew he would just stare at me like I was crazy, and just accept my compliment but not truly believing in it. Instead of that, I opened my arms waiting for him. He accepted the hug, wiping some fallen tears in my shoulder.

"That's some luck you got there."

"Yeah." He laughed, pulling away. "Say, are you ready to kick butt at capture the flag?" He asked, changing the subject, being not very subtle.

"Oh, I'm ready." I replied, smiling. Grover seemed to relize what I was saying.

"Oh, I hope Percy's ready then."