Forbidden Quests

Chapter 13

Annabeth

So far so good. Nothing that bad has happened, but it had only been two hours since we decided to team up with Percy's group. We were currently in the town of Larissa, but we were four hours early to meet Piper, so we decided to just go around town and hang out.

"I think we should go in groups of three or four," Thalia stated, playing with one of her arrows. "It probably wouldn't be smart if we all went together. It might draw suspicions." We were trying to travel incognito, because we didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Apparently, we had some pretty popular people in our group.

There was Darryn, whom I am pretty sure everyone knows. Thalia is surprisingly popular, ever since she saved the Duke of Nafplion (the old capital of Greece) and his family from a drakon that attacked them during one of their family trips.

Percy turned out to be very well known, but mostly among the commoners. That was something that surprised me. Usually, if you were as good a fighter as Percy, and your father was one of the Big Three, you would spend your time with royalty and gods and be arrogant and spoiled.

But Percy was quite the opposite. It appeared that he was popular to the commoners because he thought of himself as one. He focused on being with the commoners, helped them out, made friends, and was very kind to them. He treated them like family, even though he was born of royal blood, making it so he could be a king. I admired him for not thinking of himself as a superior being, rather bringing himself to be like those who are usually never noticed. It definitely bought more respect for him from me, even though I still didn't like him.

Anyways, everybody started grabbing partners. My three brothers were with Thalia (she was like another sister to them), my guards each split up, and everybody chose partners until I realized that I didn't have a partner, and the only other people there were was Jason, Nico, and Percy.

Just my luck.

The three boys grinned at me and Nico stated, "Well, looks like you're with us!"

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously, idiot."

But that only made Nico smile larger.

I looked helplessly at Thalia, who beckoned me over. "It might be good for you to get used to their company. They will be with us for three days, and it wouldn't do to have you uncomfortable and uptight around them. They are acting as extra body guards for you in return of letting them travel with us, so it is a nice deal. They travel with us, they get more protection, but they also help us with protection."

Therefore I reluctantly—very reluctantly—agreed.

So that's how I went off on an adventure that I was sure was going to be torture. However, it actually wasn't that bad. I learned that the three boys have known each other since they were born, so they were basically brothers. They had fun little conversations that I just listened to.

"So, Nico, how's Thalia? You guys almost have identical personalities and styles." Percy winked at me, letting me know that I was playing. I just shook my head at their playfulness as Jason continued with Percy's teasing.

"Yeah, and I definitely saw you checking out my sister. If . . . you know . . . anything does happen between you two, just make sure you tell me, because I am her brother." Jason said in a serious voice, but I could detect a hint of humor beneath the somber attitude.

Nico scowled at both of them, "What are you talking about?"

Percy looked at Nico blankly, "Thalia. I thought we made that quite clear." I turned my head so Nico wouldn't see my smile as I tried to hold back my giggles.