𝑹𝒆𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 [𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

32- The Trial

15 December, 2396

"What are all of you doing here?" I asked the group assembled in my room at three in the morning.

"Your trial is in five hours, so we came to help." Piper said.

"How are we going to gather proof, though?" Reyna asked.

"I think the answer is obvious." Percy said.

"What?" Jason, Thalia and I asked simultaneously.

He shrugged. "Camera footage. It will clearly show what happened, and viola, problem solved."

Jason facepalmed. "We don't have cameras in broom closets, Kelpface." Thalia said.

"Add that to the agenda." Hazel said from a corner.

"Maybe Will has medical evidence." Piper suggested.

"No, he doesn't." Nico said. "He didn't take any tests or anything when it happened. So he can't really say much."

"I can be an eyewitness."  Leo said.

"They will claim bias on your statement, since you are Annabeth's personal guard." Frank said.

"What we can do, is set the entire place on fire and-"

"No, Leo." Piper interrupted. "No." Leo huffed.

"Frank's right." Bianca said. "None of our statements hold any real meaning since we can easily be called biased."

"We have to do something. We can't just let her die." Jason argued.

"Annabeth and I can run away to another country." Percy suggested.

"And leave me on the throne?" Thalia said. "Absolutely not."

"Why?" Percy whined.

"Because then I'll have to marry a man, and that is disgusting." Thalia fake gagged.

"Well I wouldn't mind it." I said, winking at Percy, who blushed, causing everyone to laugh. "But, in all seriousness, I don't want to die."

Percy, Jason, Thalia and I exchanged a look, and Percy flashed me a smile. "You won't." He said firmly. "That's a promise." I smiled at him, and stared intently into his eyes.

"UREKA!" Percy shrieked and  rummaged through my closet, until he discovered a white bed sheet, a belt, and a lilac dress. My eyes widened. The bed sheet was stained in red, and the dress was ripped through. The belt was that of the uniform of a Palace guard.

"And you kept that hidden for so long? Why?" Hazel asked.

"Well... I wanted to surprise you all with it." Percy said, a childish smile on his face.

"You want a lollipop to go with that grin, Kelphead?" Thalia joked, and Percy stuck out his tongue.

"This is great. Now Annabeth won't have to die." Leo exclaimed. "And we can go to sleep."

________________________________________________________________________

15 December, 2396

The king had intentionally been avoiding me until the trial. The hallways seemed quiet when I passed by, no one stared or gasped, but quietly acknowledged my presence, as if they were seeing me for the last time, which, for all intents and purposes was highly possible.

"Ready?" Leo asked, offering his arm.

"How do I look?" I asked, giving Leo a sideways smirk. He rolled his eyes.