Royally Screwed

Chapter 7

~Annabeth~

I struggled to move, yet I could not. I peeled my eyes open and gazed around, surveying my surroundings. I was in a regular bedroom, as large as the ones in the Royal Palace. I was lying in a bed, staring up at the white ceiling. At least my clothes weren't too restraining; I was simply wearing a blue dress that came to my knees.

I struggled again, this time looking at my wrists; they were chained to a bed, so that I could not move my wrists or my ankles.

My eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Why would I be chained to a bed in the palace? It made no sense! Unless...

The door opened with a soft creak, and a man stepped through the door. I gasped when he turned so I could see his face. He had a long scar running from the corner of his eye to the corner of his lip, and his eyes were cold and cruel. Luke.

He took a threatening step towards me, his eyes going up and down my body. I screamed and jerked my wrists, trying unsuccessfully to escape. No, I would not let this happen to me!

He took another step closer and I flinched at his cold stare.

Three steps to go. I screamed again.

Two. I tried to kick out of my ankle restraints. It didn't work.

One.

I jerked awake in a cold sweat. I bolted upright on the cold stone floor, my chest heaving as I struggled to take ragged breaths. He's not here. I continuously told myself, not that it was working. My heart rate hadn't slowed.

Adrenaline coursed through me, not allowing sleep to overtake me again. So I sat on the hard, icy floor of the back cave. Percy and the others apparently don't trust me at night with a dagger, so they took it and threw me back here. Not that I blame them. After all, they are criminals.

Maybe my kidnapping could be a good thing. At least, if I think selfishly. This will seriously harm Athénienne's economy. I doubt my mother and father have enough money to pay the ransom. Thinking selfishly, I won't have to marry Luke until they pay the ransom, which may be never.

I sigh and lay back down, my arms sticking out to my sides, so I make a giant X on the floor.

The rock blocking the entrance to my small cave moved, and a girl with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes appeared in the doorway. "You okay?" She asked me, and surprisingly, her voice was laced with concern. I gave her a confused look, but waved off her concern. "I'm fine."

Thalia stepped inside, leaving the rock open so she wouldn't be 'locked' inside like I was. "Please," she said as she rolled her eyes, "you're all pale."

Why is she doing this? We're supposed to hate each other. After all, her cousin, my ex-best friend, did kidnap me.

Thalia sighed when she saw my confused look. "Look, I know I'm not supposed to make friends with a prisoner of sorts, but you're really not who I thought you were."

I raised my eyebrow, beckoning for her to go on. She rolled her eyes, but continued. "I thought you were supposed to be a prissy princess, all stuck-up and snobby. But you're not."

"Thanks." I finally replied. This sure is a change from hostility coming from every direction. Except for that Leo kid, but I'm pretty sure he's a pyromaniac. The only point of hostility that really bothered me was Percy, but I pushed the thought from my mind.

·*·*·*·*·*·*·*·*·*·

"Okay. Thalia, you'll be staying here with Annabeth. Make sure she doesn't run." Percy said the next morning. I rolled my eyes. Like I would try to run. Hah! I don't even know where the hell I am.

Thalia sent a look my way. "Sure."

"Good. Then we're off." Percy finished, and he, Nico, Leo and the Stolls bounded off into the woods, on another of their 'food runs', whatever those are.

Thalia and I walked back into the cave and sat down on a couple of boulders. A shame I was confined to the cave. It's really a beautiful day out. The sun shone through the canopy of leaves, which created weird-shaped shadows on the ground.

"So... how's being a princess in distress?" Thalia asked teasingly. I rolled my eyes and whacked her on the arm. "It's all unicorns and sunshine." I said sarcastically, and Thalia laughed.

Strange, I had become friends with one of my captors. Since when was that supposed to happen?

"So why do you steal from innocent people for no reason anyway?" I asked, more out of curiosity than hostility.

Thalia's expression hardened. "We have reasons, Annabeth. All of us have different reasons, too. Take Nico and Leo for instance. They both have girlfriends who have no money, no way to get food. They help keep Sarah and Bri alive."

I blinked in surprise. "They're dating village girls?"

"Yeah."

I narrowed my eyes. "Then... what's Percy's reason?"

Thalia looked at me curiously, then spoke, "His mom and step-dad are really poor. Mine, his, and Nico's fathers all died in battle."

"Oh."

Percy never mentioned a step-father. Of course, his real father, Poseidon, probably died after he and I stopped meeting each other. I suddenly felt a pang of guilt for what I said to him. He was just trying to get money for his parents, so they could survive. I doubt he knew about the kingdom's looming bankruptcy.

Maybe I was wrong about him.

·*·*·*·*·*·*·*·*·*·

~Percy~

The food run had been successful, as always. We had already dropped off most of the food, and like usual, we were heading back through the woods. It usually took us around half an hour to get back to the hideout, so Nico and I talked while walking beside each other.

"So what's up with you and the princess?" Nico asked out of the blue. I stiffened a moment in surprise, but replied smoothly, "What do you mean?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Please. You two obviously have some kind of history. Even I can tell."

I sighed. Knowing Nico, I was not going to get out of this one. "We were actually best friends when we were kids. Up until I was eight, at least."

Nico raised his eyebrow, urging me to go on. "And...?"

I rolled my eyes. "And we got in a huge fight and never saw each other again. The end." I said with sarcastic enthusiasm.

We stopped talking after that. The only noise was our feet crunching the dead leaves on the ground, and the wind whistling through the trees. It would be quite peaceful, if it weren't for the thoughts running through my head.

That comment that Annabeth had made yesterday, about me not knowing her anymore, really bothered me for some reason, and I couldn't pinpoint why. I used to know everything about her, back when we played tag and hide and seek everyday. I knew that she had a serious obsession with architecture, and her dream was to go to the Parthenon in Greece one day. I knew that she absolutely despised makeup and dresses, despite the fact that her mother forced her to wear them all the time. Maybe those things about her aren't different, but maybe I really don't know her anymore.