Queen of Atlantis - Rewritten Entirely

Chapter 5

Percy wasn't sure how Annabeth did it, but within two days of arriving in Athens, she had fully written and designed a handful of attacks. Where Percy had expected her to present at least a few typical strategies, she provided at least a handful that he would have never thought of. And very few of them relied on the element of surprise.

"They know we're here," she had said, "and they know why. If we try to catch them off guard, we'll only fall into their trap."

It was beyond clever and Percy had made sure to let her know just how much he admired her later that evening.

Unfortunately, it didn't take Percy long to figure out the reason she had so many strategies readily planned. With the majority of her job finished, she was free of meetings which meant she was hoping to go into the city. While Percy was trapped organising both armies with Queen Athena, Annabeth was not.

"You can't leave me with her," Percy whispered urgently.

Despite being alone in their quarters, Percy had the strangest feeling that Queen Athena could still hear them.

Annabeth laughed. "You're doing wonderfully, Percy. You don't need me."

Even though she kissed his brow, Percy was not reassured.

"She's terrifying," he told her, catching her hand when she tried to walk away from him. "It's like she's waiting for me to mess up."

"She probably is," Annabeth said, brushing back his hair. The casual way she said it made Percy narrow his eyes. "It's what she does. Once she learns where your limits lie, she backs off."

"She sounds like she was a wonderful mother," Percy grumbled.

Annabeth's smile was tense and Percy immediately regretted his words.

"I'm sorry." He pressed a kiss to her cheek to prove it. "Go have fun with your friends."

"Thank you."

Someone knocked at their door.

"That'll be Jason," Annabeth told him. She leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to his lips. "I'll see you for dinner."

Percy almost didn't let her leave, but she pulled away before he could convince himself to stop her. She was looking forward to this and he didn't want to be the one to take it away from her. Even if the thought of her going into the city with only Jason was panic-inducing.

"Don't try and leave him behind, please," Percy said, watching her walk across the room to the door.

"I promise."

She smiled at him then pulled open the door and eagerly grabbed Jason's arm. The door closed firmly behind her, leaving Percy to finish preparing for his meeting alone.

* * * * *

If Percy had tried to send any other guard into town with her, Annabeth would have figured out how to leave them within a matter of minutes. Fortunately for Percy, Jason was good company and didn't treat her as much like royalty as anyone else would. When she suggested they skip the carriage and ride into town on horseback, he'd been the one to acquire the horses and get them past the palace gate.

"I trust you know where you're going," Jason said once they were well past the palace.

"I wrote ahead to Hazel," Annabeth told him. "She'll meet us in the port square."

If Jason didn't like the idea of visiting the port, he didn't say so. Instead, he rode with her in companionable silence until they arrived at their destination.