Royally Screwed

Chapter 11

~Percy~

We all sat in a circle on the cave floor as I read the note out loud. I examined Annabeth's face, but she remained expressionless, her gray eyes seeming to burn a hole in the off-white paper.

She sat next to me, and Leo sat on my other side, bouncing up and down like he was hyped up on enough sugar and caffeine to make a full grown hippo go into cardiac arrest. I knew he wasn't jumpy because of the note, though. That kid is just really ADHD.

I finished the note, and an awkward silence took over the group. You could hear the wind blowing and the birds singing outside; that's how quiet it was.

For a moment I asked myself what would happen if Annabeth decided to go back. Bad idea.

I would probably go back to just going through the motions, stealing everyday with Nico, Thalia, Leo and the Stolls. Not that I don't love them, it's just, Annabeth stole my heart. If she returned to her kingdom, she would probably marry a rich prince. I would be brokenhearted.

After a few moments of silence, Annabeth spoke up. "I'm going."

I sat there, shell-shocked. She... she wanted to leave me? "But Anna-" I started desperately, but she cut me off.

She slid her hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. "Relax, Seaweed Brain. I'm only going to tell the guards that I don't want to go back to the palace."

I sighed and relief and kissed her on the mouth. She laughed against my lips and put her arms around my neck as mine went around her waist.

"EW! SAVE THE PDA FOR LATER, LOVEBIRDS!" Thalia exclaimed as she and Nico slapped their hands over their eyes.

I rolled my eyes but pulled away. "So what exactly are you going to tell the guards? 'I fell in love with my captor who happens to be my best friend since I was eight so please drop the death penalty.'?"

She whacked me across the chest then crossed her arms. "Yes, because that'll definitely convince them." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes but pulled her on to my lap, wrapping both arms around her waist while she rested her hands on top of mine.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Could you two stop being all lovey-dovey? It's gonna make me puke."

I glared at the goth kid, who just happened to be my cousin. Family can be annoying. Annabeth just laughed and leaned back against my chest. I rested my head on top of hers and continued to glare at Nico, who put his hands up in surrender, making Thalia bust out laughing.

"So when do we meet the guards there?" Annabeth asked.

"Tomorrow," I decided. "That way we can all get some sleep." I added, since I noticed it was already getting dark outside. Wow, time passes fast.

•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•

The next day, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia and I set out for the village. We ultimately decided to leave the rest of the gang there, because this is supposed to be a fairly short mission.

Annabeth walked close beside me, her hand tightly interlocked with mine as I swung them back and forth. We walked in a comfortable silence, partly because Nico and Thalia declared there would be no PDA on this little mission.

We finally arrived at the village a fifteen minute walk later. I saw a few villagers out and about, so I jerked Annabeth behind a building. Luckily, she caught on really quickly. Yep, her intelligence is showing, and it's adorable.

Nico and Thalia stood beside us, peeking around the corner and giving us a signal that meant all clear. We crept out from behind the building and walked down the street, still alert.

"Percy?" Annabeth whispered to me, quietly.

"Yeah?" I whispered back. I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles, just because I could.

She brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and turned her head to face me. "What if the mission goes wrong?"

I sigh and kiss her forehead. "We'll find a way. We always do."

"I thought I said no PDA." Nico whispered furiously. I rolled my eyes and made it a point to kiss Annabeth's cheek while she laughed quietly. Way to ruin the moment, Nico.

We dodged around another corner just as a guard appeared on the street. What are the guards doing out this early?

"This is bad." Nico said. Thalia flicked him on the forehead. "No shit, Sherlock." She said as Nico glared at her and rubbed the place she flicked him.

I rolled my eyes at my strange cousins and turned to Annabeth. She frowned. "The guards aren't usually out this early, Percy."

I nod as I peek around the corner, to see two guards conversing near the bakery. We need a plan to climb up there from here so we don't get caught.

I explain this to Thalia, Nico and Annabeth. Annabeth begins to look around until her eyes lock on something behind me. I turn around and am very surprised to see a bunch of stacked boxes.

"Do you think we can do this?" I ask Annabeth. Those boxes look pretty unstable to me. She nods, and I exhale through my nose.

Annabeth and I start climbing, and I turn back to Nico and Thalia. "Stay here just in case we need backup, okay?" I whisper-yell. I think they heard, because they both nod.

Annabeth is already almost to the top. I glare at her playfully, and she smirks back at me, her gray eyes shining in the sunlight. Gods, I'm completely in love with her.

I follow her up and flip on to the roof, taking Annabeth's hand hostage once again. She rolls her eyes but squeezes my hand and starts walking, dragging me with her.

Four guards are standing at the rendezvous point, weapons ready. We slowly approach them, and they seem to be focused on our intertwined hands. Bet they weren't expecting that. Haha. Losers.

Annabeth steps forward, letting go of my hand. "I'm not going back. So just forget about bringing me back to the palace."

She's about to step back to me, but a guard grabs her arm. She tries to struggle free, but is soon held by two guards that are just too strong for her.

"ANNABETH!" I yell, charging towards her and reaching for Riptide. The remaining two soldiers jerk my arms back, but I continue struggling.

"PERCY!"

I'm almost out of their grip... so close...

WHACK.

One of the guards smacks me in the head with the hilt of his sword, and my vision goes fuzzy. Black dots dance around my line of vision and I faintly hear Annabeth calling my name. I only have time to yell one thing before I go under.

"I love you." I hope she heard me.

Everything goes black.

Wow.

Didn't expect that to happen, huh.

I might not update as much because I'm sick =(

Buuuuut, that also means I don't have to go to school!! =) *everyone claps and cheers*

See ya next time!

-Ms. PercyPotterGames