Beyond the Shining Lights (Percy Jackson Barbie's Mariposa AU)

Chapter 17

"Okay, we're here." Percy said, flying towards the back with Annabeth.

"I... Have a weird question for you. Was your room-"

"Dark and oddly pointy?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm assuming yours is the same way?"

"Uh huh."

"Now I'm concerned about the types of stories they heard about us if they think that that's what Halfling looks like..."

Annabeth nodded in agreement as the doors swung open, revealing a man with black and grey hair sitting in the center throne.

"Introducing King Jupiter of Romanacus!" Frank said happily. "Your majesty, this is Prince Perseus of Halfling and his companion, Royal Historian of Halfling Annabeth Chase."

Annabeth looked over and saw Reyna and Jason sitting down in identical thrones as a boy with tan skin and curly hair sat in the corner, fiddling with some contraption. Annabeth smiled happily. "Hey!"

"Hey?" King Jupiter asked. "Is that how you address the prince and princess of Romanacus?"

"No, sir." Percy said quickly. "In Halfling, we believe that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of status."

"I didn't mean to offend them." Annabeth said quickly. "I was just greeting them like we do back home."

"Father, we should at least try to honor their customs since they're honoring ours." Jason said, waving at Percy and Annabeth. "Hey!"

"Hey." Reyna said, smiling a bit.

"What up royalty?" The boy in the corner asked. It was at that moment that Annabeth realized that he didn't have any wings. Most crystal fairies had completely see through wings, so she originally thought that her eyes were tricking her.

King Jupiter sighed. "Jason, what did I say about your friend being allowed in the throne room?"

Jason looked over at the boy sadly. "You know the drill, Leo."

Leo sighed. "I'll see you later, Jason."

As the boy walked out of the throne room, King Jupiter turned his attention back to Annabeth and Percy. "Clearly, I have much to learn about your customs. Shall we go out to the terrace for tea?"

"Of course." Percy said as Reyna boarded the pegasus Annabeth saw earlier and start flying outside. As Annabeth and Percy followed behind, Percy leaned over to Annabeth. "I'm assuming that Jason and Reyna were the window people?"

"Yeah. I... Got a bit excited. Sorry."

"No problem." Percy said, smiling at Annabeth happily.

As the group went outside for tea, Percy quickly flew over and pulled out a chair for Annabeth to sit in.

"Thank you, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, noticing at the last second that she accidentally called Percy by his nickname in front of other people.

Percy just smiled. "No problem, Wise Girl."

"You two have nicknames for each other?" Reyna asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. They're... Inside jokes."

"You two must be very close then." King Jupiter said.

"Well, you tend to get close to a person after sending them on a quest to go get the antidote that will save your father from dying because your father's own people kidnap you." Percy said, shrugging.

"Your father almost died?" Jason asked curiously. "We didn't know. How long ago was that?"

"Four, five months." Percy estimated.