Royally Screwed

Chapter 18

~Annabeth~

Two days before the wedding, my nerves are getting out of control. All of the 'what ifs' and worst possible scenarios manage to worm their way into my mind, causing me to stay in my room, pacing and planning for the majority of my time.

So, here I am, rolling out of bed two days before my involuntary marriage to Luke. Even before I look outside at the sunrise I can tell that it's still early, probably around five or six in the morning.

Blinking the sleepiness out of my eyes, I quickly slide on my robe and slip out the door, hoping no one else is awake so that I can make breakfast for myself and Percy, because they really do not feed him enough in that dreary cell.

The cold floor chills the bottoms of my feet as I pad slowly and tediously down the long hall. I stop in my tracks when I hear movement in one of the rooms to my left.

Luke is there, in the room that I presume is the room where my father and General Ares usually plan battle strategies. Most of the time my mom is there too, being this kingdom's number one strategist. She was not named Athena for nothing.

Before I can stop myself, I'm peeking in and watching him move about, examining the maps on the wall and seemingly calculating something. His eyes are narrowed in concentration and the scar on his face twitches as he changes expressions.

Sooner than I expected, his piercing blue eyes met mine and he crossed the room in three long strides.

"Spying on me, sweetheart?" He smirks.

I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. "What are you doing in here? This kingdom has not declared war on any country recently, Luke," I reminded him accusingly.

Luke hesitates for a moment, causing me to smirk. "Well, I am going to be ruling this kingdom one day. Might as well learn the various battle strategies for future reference," he says.

He is a very good liar, I'll give him that.

"You have not been married into this family yet, Luke," I practically spit his name, like it is a foul taste on my tongue. "And if I have any say, you will never be married into my family in any way."

Without waiting for an answer or reaction, I turn and stomp off down the corridor, not looking back.

How can he act so arrogant? I'll never understand why people are so egocentric. As far as I know, egocentrism is never a good thing. It typically backfires, which I thought an 'intelligent' man like Luke would have already figured out.

My annoyance does not wear off by the time I get to the kitchens. Instead of making breakfast, I just grab two apples (because there is a high possibility that I may wreck the kitchen) and make my way down the hall to the dungeons.

I suppose everything that has happened in the past week is just now causing me to snap, and Luke's annoying self-importance was the last straw.

With a nod from both guards watching over the dungeons, I pad down to Percy's cell, still barefoot and in my nightgown and robe.

~Percy~

"Percy?" I hear a soft but somehow urgent voice in the darkness of the dungeon. I sit up from my place on the floor and glance out the small barred window and am surprised to see that the sun has not even risen yet.

I can barely see Annabeth's golden curls as she bounces down the stone steps barefooted with just a nightgown and a robe on. I immediately get some very... interesting thoughts involving Annabeth without her nightgown and robe, but I push those out of my mind. Those thoughts can wait.

For now.

"Annabeth? Are you all right?" I whisper as she gets closer and tosses a red and yellow apple through the bars. I catch it with one hand even in the darkness, and watch as she tosses the other apple into Beckendorf's cell.

She then plops down cross-legged in front of my cell and pulls a strand of blonde hair, curling it around her finger like she does when she's irritated. "No. I couldn't sleep, so I got up and thought I would get you and Beck some food," she starts.

I reach my hand through the bars and take her hand, rubbing my thumb over her knuckles and smiling when my small gesture seems to calm her down a bit.

"It was Luke," she continues. "He was in the war council room alone, and he looked like he was planning something, but I don't know what."

I freeze. "Why was Luke in that room, of all places?" I ask, and Annabeth shrugs hopelessly. "Unless he's planning some sort of attack on Austria, I have no idea," she answers.

We sit in silence for a few moments, me munching on my apple and Annabeth seemingly contemplating something. Finally she lifts her head up to meet my eyes, and I can see the determination and well hidden fear in her silvery eyes.

"We're getting you and Beck out tonight," she states confidently, offering a smile. I grin back and rap my knuckles on the wall behind me.

"Hey Beck, you hear that? We're escaping tonight!"

"Hmm?" Comes Beck's sleepy reply, sounding groggy like he just woke up.

Annabeth laughs and says louder, "I'm getting you and Percy out tonight!"

It's like I can suddenly feel Beckendorf's energy as his excited response is heard through the stone wall between us. "Silena!"

Annabeth's expression visibly softens, and my stomach does flip flops as she smiles that brilliant smile of hers. It drives me insane that she can do that to me. How does she make me feel this way?

"Yeah, you can see Silena again," she says softly, in a reassuring voice towards Beck, and I smile at her.

Beck's reply is softer as well. "Thanks, Annabeth."

Again I apologize for my lack of updates, and also the shortness and slowness of this chapter. But trust me, the action picks up next chapter. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

Hopefully you guys won't throw me in Tartarus for what I have planned.

Damn, now I sound like Uncle Rick O_o