Royally Screwed

Chapter 22

Disclaimer: Because a 11 year old girl with no money and social anxiety could totally own something like PJO.

Annabeth

I wish I could say I slept peacefully despite everything that had happened in the last few hours... but I would be lying.

Shattered images appeared before my mind; soldiers and guards dead and fatally wounded, Luke's devilish smirk, the murderous glint in his eyes, and a solid mass of darkness over the castle.

I can slowly feel myself rising to consciousness, and suddenly I'm sitting up gasping and sweating. "Shhh." A hand gently presses me back down on to the pillows. I feel a cool cloth being dabbed on my forehead.

"Easy there, sweetie," I recognize Isabelle's voice as she brushes my hair out of my eyes, sticky with sweat. I breathe a sigh of relief, "Isa."

Isabelle smiles gently and squeezes my hand. "We've got your leg all wrapped up, thanks to your friend... oh, what was 'er name?"

"Thalia?"

She snapped her fingers. "Yes, that's it!" she exclaimed. I laughed a little. "What about the others?"

Isabelle seemed to get visibly excited. "Oh, those young 'uns have been helping the queen out. She's declared they aren't criminals anymore," she spoke quickly.

My eyes widened. "Really? That's... that's amazing!"

Truthfully, it sounds like the last thing my mother would do. However, I guess the whole ordeal with my suitor killing her husband and trying to kill her must have changed her perspective a bit.

My dad.

A knot formed in my stomach. "My dad... he's really..."

Isabelle smiled sympathetically. "Queen Athena wanted the burial to wait until you were awake," she informed me softly.

I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing through my nose and willing any tears to stay in. "Can you go tell my mother that I am awake?"

Isabelle nodded, "Of course, Your Highness," she ducked out of the room, leaving me alone in my fluffy bed.

I pulled the covers down to inspect my leg wound, and found my lower thigh wrapped in a white bandage, the blood barely seeping through.

I sat up, ignoring the initial dizzy spell and attempted to stand. A sharp pain shot up my leg as soon as I put weight on it, causing me to hiss.

The door creaked open. "Whoa there," Piper cautioned, rushing to my side and pulling my arm over her shoulders, allowing me to lean on her.

I laughed and winced. "What are you still doing here?"

"Well, we couldn't just leave you when you were being attacked, now could we?" Piper smiled good naturedly and I managed to grin back. "So Hazel's here too?"

"Of course!"

I whistled. "Man have I got introductions to make," I commented, and Piper agreed with a nod.

"Well let's get you dressed in something suitable first. You can't go out in just your nightgown."

I looked down at myself and realized that I really was only in my nightgown. My cheeks burned as I imagined if I had gone out without dressing.

Piper giggled. "Blue or purple?"

I rolled my eyes. "Purple, I guess. Thanks, Pipes," I sat back down on the bed while Piper brought a simple but elegant purple gown out of the dresser.

After lacing up the back of the bodice, she ran a brush through my hair until it flowed down my back in silky ringlets.

She allowed me to lean a bit of my weight on her as we made our way down the halls. As we passed one of the windows, I caught sight of Beckendorf along with the others helping clean up outside, and breathed a sigh of relief. At least they made it out alive. Beckendorf could finally go back to Silena. The thought made me smile.

Hazel met us in the main hall, clad in a light pink gown. She lifted her skirt and sprinted to us, "Annabeth! So glad you're okay!" She wrapped her arms around my in a hug, which I quickly returned with a laugh.

I gestured to the door that lead to the courtyard. "Come on, I want to introduce you to some of my other friends."

They were still working when we entered the courtyard. Leo spotted us first, trying act suave, as usual. "Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakes."

I rolled my eyes and whacked him on the arm. "Shut it, Repair Boy. Guys, this is Leo," I introduced, "and Leo, this is Piper and Hazel."

Before Leo could respond, Thalia came rushing over, pausing whatever work she was doing. "Annabeth, you're awake!"

This, of course, attracted the rest of our little group. I didn't see Percy until I felt his arms slide around my waist from behind. I squealed in surprise, causing him to chuckle.

"So this is the famous Percy Jackson," Piper smirked, causing us both to blush bright red. I brushed my hair out of my eyes and smiled sheepishly at Percy.

Percy smirked, resting his chin on my shoulder, "Famous?" he teased. I punched him in the arm. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his arm. Yeah, that would definitely form a bruise. Oops?

Percy cracked a playful smile and slid one arm back around my waist. I stumbled a bit, still unsteady on my leg. Percy sucked in a breath. "How's your leg?" he asked, accidentally allowing a sliver of worry into his voice.

"I'll live," I reassured him, giggling. I reached out to poke him in the side when he flinched away.

A look of hurt flashed across my face before I remembered Percy had been slashed there during the battle. "Percy, what about your wound?"

He pulled up his shirt, showing the bandages wrapped around his torso, and grinned teasingly at me. "I'll live," he repeated me. I rolled my eyes, "Shut it, smartass."

Everyone in our little group was chuckling, even Thalia. In a moment of giddiness, I pulled Percy's head down and kissed him. His arms encircled my waist, and we ignored the fake retching (Thalia and Nico), the catcalls (The Stolls), and the shout of "Yeah, get some Perce!" (Leo).

When we pulled away, Piper and Hazel were both giggling. I glared at them both, causing them to giggle harder.

"Well," Beckendorf interrupted, "now that we're all awake and reacquainted, we need to go see the queen."

Like I said, not my best chapter.

So either I do the sequel whenever I have spare time and don't have writer's block, or I start a series of random oneshots from this AU, and I'll post whenever I get an idea. It's totally up to you guys, so comment!