Royally Screwed

Chapter 15

~Annabeth~

"Thalia? What in the name of Zeus are you doing here?" I whisper-yelled, leaning over the side of the balcony. The wind blew a few strands of blonde hair in my face.

Thalia grinned from her position on the rope, her spiky hair almost glinting blue in the moonlight. "Hey, Annie," I scowled at the nickname. "We came to see what happened to you and Percy. You know, after the guards took you. You seem okay. Where's Percy?"

I could see the Stolls, Leo and Nico all staring at me with hopeful expressions, and I couldn't help the tears that were gathering in my eyes. "Actually, I'm miserable. Percy's in the dungeon, and my mother is forcing me to get married to Luke, the son of Lord Hermes," I let out a frustrated sigh as I explained my predicament.

"Percy... he's in the dungeon?" Thalia whispered, looking shocked, her electric blue eyes wide. I nodded slowly, allowing one tear to streak down my face.

Nico's expression hardened. "Then we'll have to get him out," he stated. Leo glanced at the dark boy then back up at me. "But what about you? You don't want to marry this Luke dude, right?"

I shook my head. "Never in a million years," I assured them, and they visibly relaxed. I felt touched that they would care for me as well, when their leader is currently behind bars.

"Okay. So we break both of you out," Connor summed up, matching his brother's troublemaker smirk. I almost laughed at their antics. "It's not as simple as that. There's guards twenty-four seven, and yes, I could just climb down off the balcony, but how would we get Percy out?" I pointed out, my optimism at the situation draining like a milk carton with a hole in the bottom.

"Well, yeah..." Thalia trailed off. "That could be a problem."

I mentally agreed. How could we possibly free my Percy? They wouldn't survive to reach the cells, anyway. Thalia, Nico, Leo and the Stolls would be killed on the spot, while I would be taken back to the palace to get married despite the efforts. The only way we could, is if I somehow snuck into the- wait a second... AHA!

"What?" Thalia said, peering curiously at me. Did I yell that out loud?

"Yes, you did, so out with it, princess," Nico commanded. I did the mature thing and stuck my tongue out at him. "Well, I could sneak into the guards' base and snatch the keys to the cell. This is a fairly old palace, so there's tons of secret passageways, and I'm sure I could find a way out, with careful planning," I explained thoroughly.

Leo hesitated. "They might be expecting that. What reassurance do you have that there won't be guards posted at the entrances and exits to the passageways?"

"That's the thing," I gestured with my hands and fingers, a habit I had developed from my time with Chiron as my teacher. He has a crippled leg, so he uses his hands more for emphasis. "I haven't done anything suspicious. Other than what my mother would expect of me, of course. I could easily trick them. Just watch me." I showed them a toothy grin, becoming more confident with my plan by the second.

The Stolls smiled mischievously. "Need any distractions?" Connor asked hopefully, and Travis added, "as in pranks?"

I thought for a minute. It would be nice to have a diversion, I suppose. To draw the guards' attention away from me while I steal the keys. Finally I nodded in agreement. "If you two could cause a diversion of some sort, I'd be happy to let you prank someone," the Stolls silently cheered as I agreed.

"When do you want our services, your highness?" They bowed mockingly, and I rolled my eyes. "How about..." I paused. "Two days?"

This is it. Our plan is in action.