Forbidden Quests

Chapter 31

Annabeth

I never woke up in the middle night, and never dreamed. I just slept. It was awesome.

But my body is used to waking up early, cause I practice almost every morning at home. Consequently, when I woke up, it was still dark, and I couldn't hear anything, so I'm guessing everybody was still asleep. I heard loud snorts and snores coming from Thalia, whose pillow was on her head. I chuckled silently at the hunter's dozing noises.

I laid in bed for a little, seeing if I could get back to sleep. I am kinda on vacation, so I don't really need to practice. And I would think I deserve a break.

But I was awake now, and I couldn't get back to sleep. So quietly, I sat up, and tiptoed over to my dresser. It was kinda hard to see what I was grabbing in the dark, but I rummaged around, and managed to find some black leggings with a grey top. I pulled those out, then slipped into the bathroom.

After changing, I braided my hair again, and then went back into the room. Nobody had woken up yet. I silently grabbed my seized my pack of armor and my knife, and stepped out into the hallway, softly closing the door.

I didn't know where the fighting arena was, so I just wandered around for a little bit. The boy's door was closed, and so was Mellie's. I would've asked her to show me, but I didn't want to wake her up, so I kept on walking. I was able to trace my way back to the door of the dining room. I looked through the small windows, and saw some nymphs in there. Slowly, I opened the door.

Instantly, the three girl nymphs turned towards me, and one rushed to the side, pulling out a deadly looking butcher knife from the cabinet.

I held up my hands, dropping my blade and armor pack onto the marble floor, "Whoa there! It's just me!"

The girls visibly relaxed and sighed in relief.

The blonde on that had pulled the knife out said, "Sorry. You just scared us."

I smiled warmly, "Sorry for scaring you. I was just wondering if you could tell me where the training arena was. I thought maybe I could get in some practice before the council."

The other one, this one had black hair that laid down her back in curls, said in a sweet voice, "Of course! I'll take you there. We were just cleaning, but that can wait for a little while."

I gave her my gratitude, and she and I walked out the door. She started to drift down the hallway towards a door on the left.

I was following the nymph when she said to me, "My name is Chara, by the way. I'm a nymph that works in the kitchens."

Smiling, I replied, "Well, hello Chara. My name is Annabeth."

Chara stared wide-eyed back at me, "Wait, you're Annabeth Chase? The cause for the big council?"

I frowned, "Yes. Why?"

Chara grinned, "Well, that means you are also the one who defeated the Drakon with Percy Jackson. And your father is one of the main reasons for the rift between Poseidon and Athena. And the girl nymphs from Athena's temple, who us nymphs from Mount Olympus like to talk to a lot, say that you are one of the best girl warriors that they have seen. Also, they say you are really nice and pretty. They were definitely right. You're beautiful!"

I blushed, "Aw, thanks Chara. But have you looked in the mirror before?"

Chara laughed, "Thanks to you too, Annabeth. Here we are!"

We stepped into a large indoor arena. There were no stands or anything, just a dirt arena. An archery field stood at the back, with a rack of bows and many quivers full of arrows. Straw dummies were placed at my left, and to the right of me was a ring where people could spar.