Royally Screwed

Chapter 17

~Annabeth~

I jump and turn around, my heart thumping inside my chest.

To my immediate relief, it isn't my mother or the general. Instead, it's Isabelle, one of the maids that cleans the palace. I've always liked her, as she is kind to everyone.

Her coffee brown eyes stare into mine, holding a concerned expression, and her auburn hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail under a black bandana wrapped tightly around her head, matching the maid's outfit she wears.

"Annabeth?" She repeats, bringing me out of my shocked stupor. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry," I stutter, blinking. "I just couldn't sleep, and got kind of turned around... after- after being away for so long," I lie.

Her expression softens and she puts a hand on my shoulder, steering me out of the room. "Of course, darling. Let's get you some warm milk before I send you back to bed."

I glance forlornly back at the keys, and let her steer me down the hallways and stairs and into the small maids' kitchen. I suppose fetching the keys will have to wait until later, to avoid suspicion.

I follow Isabelle to the small wooden table and sit dejectedly on one of the stools while she boils milk on the small stove.

"Now, try not to look so down, sweetheart," she says in a comforting voice. "You are getting married soon."

I sigh. "That's my problem," I admit, and she glances at me curiously as she fills a cup with the warm liquid. "I don't want to get married. Not to him, at least."

"Ah," she sets the cup down in front of me and sits on the stool beside me. "So there is someone else, yeah?"

I stare at her in shock, eyes wide. "How... how did you-"

"I can tell this sort of thing. I was in love myself, once," she says, sighing softly.

"What happened?" I ask carefully, just in case she does not want to talk about it. Quickly, I add, "I don't mean to intrude-"

"No, no, it's perfectly all right, sweetheart," she smiles at me warmly. "His name was Simon. Not much to the story, really. We lived together before he got drafted into the army, and I became a palace maid to get closer to him. One day he went off to war and never came back," she finished, wiping away a stray tear that had leaked from her eye and was trailing down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," I say, not out of pity, but I don't know what else I could say.

She places her hand on mine on the table. "It's quite alright, dear. Now, tell me, who is this guy you care for so deeply?"

After taking a sip of my warm milk, I giggle slightly. "That's another problem," I admit. "He... he's not exactly free right now, so to speak."

"Oh?" She glances at me curiously.

"Yeah," I breathe out of my mouth. "Promise me you won't..." I trail off, not wanting to sound silly.

"Judge?" She finishes, smiling slightly.

"Something like that," I laugh, and she laughs with me. "It's... it's Percy Jackson."

She stops and exhales, "Ah, so that time you spent with him after he kidnapped you..."

"We have a complicated history, I suppose you could say." I laugh without any humor. "But things happened..."

"And now the two lovers are separated by law," Isabelle finished for me. "Such a dramatic love story." She stroked my arm before standing up and moving over to the cupboards. "Do you want some cake, sweetheart? I find it usually helps with emotions like these."