Percy Jackson:The Mountain Climbers

His Second Story: Annabeth

Alan was sitting on my knee so it made it easier to stop my leg shaking as Percy continued his speech.

All along in a row, the most senior members of Camp Half-Blood stood behind me and the rest of the Seven. Piper and Jason gave me a wink to let me know that Percy was doing great. Nico sure looked happy that Percy was speaking to the crowd - Nico was a lot happier that he had his arm around Reyna, who rested her head on Nico's shoulder. Frank and Hazel leaned in to listen to Percy.

I already felt proud that Percy was doing so well. Then again, I was already proud of him - after a year and a half of proving himself, he turned out to be an amazing father to Alan he was now my husband. The sapphire that was on the ring he gave me sparkled on my finger. My stomach was starting to show again, as I was pregnant yet again with mine and Percy's second child. It was a girl - I was so happy that I was going to have a little Serenity Jackson soon.

Most importantly, I was happy that Percy was there for me.

I was pulled out of my deep thoughts as Percy spoke again after taking a swig of his water bottle.

"My second story is about the beginning and end of the Titan War," he announced, a dark look appearing on his face. "After my first quest I was betrayed by a demigod named Luke Castellan, a son of Hermes who felt abandoned by the Olympians and sided with Kronos. During the next few years I have gone into conflict trying to battle Luke but he proved too strong and quick for me as I was only a beginner at that stage in my training. During those years however, I did so many things to solidify my legacy here at Camp. I journeyed into the Sea of Monsters to retrieve the Golden Fleece and brought it back just in time to heal Thalia's pine tree which protected the camp. That same year, I took the weight of the sky to aid Artemis in defeating Atlas so that he may be imprisoned again. Oh, a little tip for you - don't even think about trying to hold the sky. It freaking hurts like Hades!"

The whole camp laughed at Percy's joke, and laughed even harder when he exaggerated by rubbing his neck as if he could still feel the pain of holding Atlases burden.

"I then delved into the dark corridors of the labyrinth made by the genius Daedelus, so he could give us information on how to navigate the maze. And a month later after that, I was in my first real battle. I won't lie when I say that a few demigods had died that day, and all of them have gone into the Fields of Elysium. After that I started training nonstop as the war worsened. I took on the Curse of Achilles which made me invulnerable to most attacks, and this helped me in the Battle of Manhattan. But I knew I would end up fighting Luke, who had taken the role of being the host to Kronos's spirit."

My heart fell as I remembered Luke. I still felt guilty that it was my blade that killed him and it still hurt to remember him. He was one of my oldest friends to begin with and as each year came and went I started to lose him. I was grateful that he regained his senses and helped us in defeating Kronos, even though it cost him his life. As I thought about this, Percy continued.

"He died at the end of the war, helping us defeat Kronos though at the expense of his life. Before he died, he made me swear to make the gods recognise their children as they had ignored them for centuries. I honoured my word to Luke and rather than accept godhood from the gods as my reward for my part in the war, I made them swear on the River Styx that they will claim their children and honour all the minor gods. After that, I returned home to Camp Half-Blood, said goodbye to all of the friends I lost in the war, and started going out with Annabeth which turned my dark and gloomy mood into possibly one of the happiest days of my life."

The crowd of demigods cheered and applauded him after that. Even some of the older campers behind me clapped and whooped as Percy stopped to gain his posture. Alan was looking at his daddy as Percy took a quick glance behind him. He smiled at both me and Alan, which made us smile back at him. His sea green eyes sparkled playfully. He turned over a page and began to speak yet again.

"This had been one of the darkest times of my life, and I pray that something like this would never happen again for another few thousand years at most. The day after I started dating Annabeth, I started helping some of the nature spirits and campers create the new cabins to the minor gods and their children - I was happy to help and I think Annabeth was happy to redesign Olympus after the war. Looking back on the whole subject, I can tell you right now, with a bit more certainty, that it was pretty terrifying because a lot of pressure fell on me as I was the leader of the demigods that fought Kronos. But the weight of leadership was lessened as I had the support of my friends and a few of the gods. So if you were to have the burden of leadership placed on your shoulders, don't lose faith - you will find out that your friends will help you in that difficult time and you will find yourself at peace knowing that you are not alone.

"I consider myself lucky that I became a part of Camp Half-Blood because if I didn't come here in the first place I would've surely not come to the level I had come to. I'm not saying that the life of a demigod is easy - a friend of mine once told me that. It all comes down to fate and if you think that fate is messing with you, have the courage to say: 'My life isn't controlled by my destiny - I make my own damn destiny.' That will make all the difference in your life."

My ears were drowned out by thunderous applause once again. And once again, I was in awe of how influential my husband was - if was telling his own stories like he was using them as guidelines to the masses of demigods before him. He is teaching them; encouraging them and somehow making them feel calm about being here at Camp.

I never thought I would have a lot more kinder husband. Everything I needed was right there in front of me.