Royally Screwed

Chapter 10

~Percy~

I awoke to the sound of snickering somewhere above me. I tried to sit up, but something on my chest was weighing me down. I saw a mat of blonde curls and instantly smiled as memories of last night came rushing back.

I had kissed her, and finally admitted (to both her and myself) that I loved her. I really had never stopped, and I don't know why I had said the things that I did that night when we were kids. Well, that's not entirely true. I was wound up because of my father's death in the kingdom's army, and I thought Annabeth and her family was to blame.

It was never Annabeth's fault. Boy did my life take a twist after that.

I gently lifted her off of me and glanced up to see Leo, Nico, Thalia, and the Stolls all looking at me with 'I told you so' faces and snickering. I stuck my tongue out at them and pulled Annabeth closer.

I saw Connor hold out his hand smugly while Travis frowned and handed him two apples. Wow. They bet apples on us. Real creative, guys.

Annabeth shifted in my arms but did not wake up, thankfully. I'd seen what she was like in the morning, and I'd like to live to see the next day, thank you very much.

Thalia rolled her eyes and dragged the rest of the guys away by their ears, careful not to make them squeal too loudly.

After three weeks of awkward tension between us, I had finally built up enough courage to tell her how I felt and why I had hurt her all those years ago. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest. Now I couldn't be happier. Here she was, the girl I loved, right here in my arms.

"Percy?" Annabeth's groggy voice jarred me out of my thoughts. I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Morning, beautiful."

Despite being sleepy, as she just woke up, she blushed. Her cheeks were tinged a rosy color, which looked absolutely adorable.

"Seaweed Brain."

We both stood up and stretched. I knew I needed to go on a food run today, but I really wanted to stay with Annabeth. I knew she wouldn't want to come with me, not because she can't, but because it would mean stealing from her parents' kingdom.

I took her hand and intertwined our fingers. "Hey, Wise Girl, I have to lead a food run today, and I know you don't want to go, so-"

"Percy," she interrupted me, laughing. "I'll be fine here. I'm not some helpless damsel in distress, you know."

I responded by chuckling, and hugged her before walking out of the cave entrance and leading the guys out. Thalia had decided to stay with Annabeth, seeing as they're close friends now. We marched through the woods and approached the village.

Looking around carefully, the Stoll brothers slipped into the bakery through the back door, and appeared a few moments later with a sack of bread loaves. I smirked at them and approached a fruit stand, where I swiped three apples and seven apricots while the lady had her back turned. I stuffed them into the sack, and we all took our usual route to the roof of the bakery to escape being caught.

You would think sneaking around like that and stealing in plain sight would be hard, right? Well, we had been doing this for years. It became part of a weekly routine, sometimes twice weekly. We had done it so many times, it seemed like a piece of cake. I'd learned to expect anything.

What I did not expect, though, was to find a note from the royal palace laying on the roof of the bakery.

Captors of the Dearest Princess,

We will pay the ransom. You must bring the princess here to this very spot and exchange her, or you shall not get the money.

Sincerely,
King Frederick and Queen Athena

I snatched up the paper and gripped it tight. Annabeth wouldn't want to leave... would she?

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

~Annabeth~

Sitting around a cave for two hours is really boring. I would definitely not go on a food run, though. However, that doesn't mean that I judge Percy for stealing. He has to, to survive.

Thalia groaned and slumped down on to a boulder. "I never realized food runs took this long!" She complained loudly. I rolled my eyes and sat up on my rock. "That's because you were always on the food runs, Pinecone Face."

"Would you stop calling me that? It was one time, okay?!" Thalia complained again.

Last week Thalia and I had a pine tree climbing contest just for the heck of it. Thalia took a header out of the tree and ended up sprawled out on her stomach on the ground with a pinecone in her mouth. Ever since I had started calling her Pinecone Face just to piss her off.

I held my hands up in defeat while laughing. "Okay, okay. I won't do it again. Maybe," I added, knowing very well I would still call her that nickname anyways. Thalia glared at me and I just laughed more.

At last she rolled off the boulder on to her feet and grabbed my wrist, dragging me out the door.

"What are we doing?" I asked her. She smirked at me and replied, "Rematch tree climbing contest."

I smirked back. "Oh, you're on, Pinecone Face."

"Owl Head."

"Shut up and climb the dang tree."

We both lept for the lowest branches. I grabbed on to one and swung myself up to the next one, landing squarely on my feet. On the opposite side of the tree, Thalia did the same.

I continued climbing until I had reached my limit. The few limbs above me would be too fragile to hold my weight. I looked to the other side of the tree and saw Thalia smirking back at me. "Tie."

I groaned but smiled. "Again?"

"'Cause we're just that awesome," Thalia boasted, looking proud of herself. I rolled my eyes playfully. "Whatever you say, Pinecone Face."

She stuck her tongue out at me and we both slowly shinnied down the tree. We trained with our weapons on some dummies for a while, stabbing the straw right out of them.

I finally felt happy. I had my Percy back, and I have Thalia. The only thing I miss about my old life is Piper and Hazel. But other than that, I'm as happy as can be.

Nothing could ruin my mood. That is, until Percy burst into the cave holding a note in his hands.