FanFiction - Mark of Athena

Chapter 24

Ah- another part-chapter. This is dedicated to an awesome reader, who suggested to write a chapter about Annabeth and how she is. I found it a great idea and wrote it down. This will only be a little break from the order I usually go in, and Jason's chapter will definitely be next :)

I don't own Percy Jackson OR Heroes of Olympus- sadly. 

ANNABETH

THE MARK OF ATHENA WAS KILLING ANNABETH. It seared against her skin. As soon as she had left the Argo II, the Mark had stung against her skin, and the further she left from safety, the stronger the ring scorched her. She had a feeling that this was a warning, she was risking her safety. Annabeth Chase was being foolish.

Still, Annabeth didn’t care. For once, Annabeth didn’t rely on her wisdom. She wasn’t going to leave Percy to die, only because she didn’t want to be foolish.

But the ring wasn’t the only thing bothering Annabeth. Gaea was messing with her mind, taking over her dreams. The dreams didn’t make any sense, and that’s partially what scared her. They felt real, but they didn’t make any sense. They were mainly about Percy.

Annabeth was still thinking about her latest dream. She shuddered.

“Wisdom's daughter walks alone” Gaea’s face appeared in front of Annabeth. She stumbled backwards, horrified. Images squeezed into her mind. Annabeth screamed, clutching her temples.

A giant stood before Percy Jackson, his face full of hatred. “Come forward, son of Neptune. I will break you!” Then he slashed at Percy. Percy yelled out and fell to his knees. "You…you will die slowly," the giant promised. He stabbed Percy in his shoulder. The giant just laughed at his victim’s pain. "I will take you prisoner, Percy Jackson," Pholybotes snarled. "I will torture you under the sea. Every day the water will heal you, and every day I will bring you closer to death." The giant grabbed Percy, squeezing him, and ran.

The dream had been playing like an old film, scene by scene. Even now, Annabeth felt the images slowly leave her mind, she was forgetting. She knew this is what would’ve happened if Percy couldn’t kill the giant. Percy had told her everything that happened that night, and the giant’s words sounded familiar. But something nagged her about what the giant had said. It seemed like the giant had wanted to keep Percy for a while, and then kill him. For a hostage, maybe? Annabeth hoped so, because she secretly knew what the giant, and Gaea for that matter, wanted to keep Percy for.

Annabeth felt a rush of protectiveness for Percy. Why did everybody always have to mess with him? He was one of the best people Annabeth knew, and everybody wanted to kill him. That seemed incredibly fair. Annabeth shook her head.

Annabeth felt a bump in the wind, and realised that Blackjack had stumbled. She patted his neck and leaned forward, slightly pulling on her make-shift reins. Blackjack must be tired. This was their second day travelling non-stop. Annabeth saw scattered lights ahead, and decided to take a break in the city. It was dark and cloudy. Annabeth was slightly wet from the humid clouds. She realised she was shivering from the cold, thinking always got her caught up in her thoughts.

Unfortunately, she also realised the pain she was in. Annabeth quickly shut her eyes and grit her teeth. She was sometimes able to forget about the pain, but not this time. She knew now how it could be a curse. Annabeth had tried to take the necklace bearing the ring of many times. She had even tried cutting it, but it wouldn’t budge. She was glad she hadn’t attached the ring to her camp necklace; it would have been burnt by the heat. Annabeth brought out a flask of nectar and poured a bit on her hand, which she rubbed on her chest. It eased the pain well enough to land Blackjack in the city.