Spies-in-Training: A Royal Problem | Percabeth AU

Chapter 2: Details and Preparations

Annabeth's POV
"Wonderful!" Sanderson beamed. "I'll let Alexander give you the details then."

Alexander cleared his throat before starting. "As you know, our kingdom of Astére is ruled by King Paul and Queen Sally."

"Yes," I confirmed. "They have two sons called Prince Percy and Prince Tyson, both from our late King Poseidon, who was killed by the rebels, forcing Queen Sally to remarry. She ended up marrying King Paul and had a daughter, Princess Zoë."

"That's right," Alexander confirmed. "But recently, we have been having a rebel problem. Many people do not have good living conditions and they believe that they must kill the royal family and place one of their own on the throne in order to instill change. We have been investigating these rebels and our spies have informed us of the possibility of some rebel spies inside the castle. It will be your job to root out these spies before they can make a move to assassinate one of the Royal family members."

"All right," I said determinedly. "I will do my best, but it would be good to have some kind of backup."

"I agree," Alexander replied. "This is why we have approved the activation of some of your fellow spies-in-training. We have a few spies in mind, but we would like to have your opinion first."

Slowly, a smile stretched across my face. I could take some of my friends along as well! "I think Piper McLean, Jason and Thalia Grace, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang would be great on this mission," I said. "Connor and Travis Stoll and Eric Baker would be helpful as well."

All of those agents-in-training were my friends. We would walk, talk, and laugh together. They weren't like the other people in Spy School, trying to be friends with me so they could take advantage of my popularity. No, these were my real friends. And one of them, Eric Baker... I may have a slight crush on him. Okay, a huge crush. He was an amazing spy, second only to me. He's way older than me, though... he's a Level 5, in fact, about 17 years old. Still, he would be helpful on this mission. I'm not just taking him along because on my crush on him! Argh, maybe I should just stop thinking about this now.

"That's perfect!" Alexander beamed. "Could you please go call them for me, Annabeth?"

I nodded, and set off to the common room, where I knew all my friends would be, since it was now free period.

"Hey Annabeth, What took you so long?" Piper asked when she saw me.

"Yeah, we thought you had graduated the hard way!" Leo cackled. He wilted upon everyone's glares. "Joking, joking... jeez, can't you take a joke?" He muttered.

Ignoring Leo, I looked around, taking account of all the eavesdroppers nearby. "Not now," I replied. "I'll explain, but first, where is Eric?"

"Ooh, Annie wants to have a private talk with her boyfriend, does she?" Leo teased. The others all laughed. Some friends, I thought. Laughing at my expense.

"Shut up, Leo!" I retorted, my face burning.

Piper pointed, still giggling, towards a corner where Eric was reading a book about spying techniques. I gave everyone one last glare before I went towards Eric.

"Hey, Eric," I said, trying my hardest not to blush.

"Oh, hey, Annabeth," he said, looking up. "What's up?"

"Um... I can't really explain right now, but can you come to the principal's office? He'll explain everything there."

"Sure," he said, getting up. He followed me as I returned to my so-called friends, who were still giggling about something. It was then I realized that I was blushing as red as a tomato. I took a deep breath, trying to return my face to its regular color.

"Follow me," I ordered them.

Confused, everyone got up and followed me back to the principal's office, where Sanderson explained everything. After all the Wow!'s and Cool's and Oh my God!'s on my friends' part, and a simple nod from Eric, I turned back to Alexander.

"When does this mission start?" I asked him.

"Well, the sooner the better, so... do you think you could be ready by tomorrow?"

I considered it, then nodded.

"I'll do my best," I promised. The others agreed, and we turned to leave, but before we could, Sanderson called us back.

"I must remind you, this mission is Security Level AAA4, no one, and I mean no one is to speak of this mission outside this room until you reach the castle tomorrow. And even then, you may only discuss your mission in a private room, so it would be preferable if you could find a secret meeting spot as soon as you reach the castle."

After a chorus of Yes, sir's, we finally left the office. We headed back to the common room and acted as if we hadn't just received a classified super-important mission. We went through all of our regular classes and packed our bags in our free time.

***

It was 8 o'clock now, which is curfew. Piper and I were finishing up the last touches to our packing, with the door connecting our rooms wide open. I had already packed my spy suit and all kinds of weapons and spy equipment. I had also packed in some regular clothes and toiletries, and all those necessities. I added a couple books about the history of Astére and put in some novels as well. At the last moment, I put in some of my most precious architecture designs and some personal photos of me with my family and friends. I zipped up my sleek black suitcase and went to help Piper.

"I'm done," I told her. "How much do you have left?"

"I'm almost done, just some last-minute things."

I nodded and sat on her bed.

"Strange, isn't it?" She asked suddenly.

"What is?" I asked her, confused.

"We're just Level Ones and we're activated on such an important mission!" She clarified, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Yeah, but we're probably the best for this mission, you know. We're talented, capable, and we have our... um... special abilities, too," I said, glancing towards the door to make sure no one overheard us.

"I guess you're right," she admitted, "but still, it's a lot of pressure."

"No kidding, and I have the most pressure. I have to succeed. My career, reputation, and the lives of the Royal family are at stake! Plus, my whole family is expecting me to succeed. It's like, hey, guess what, you got a mission! And if you fail, the whole Royal family will be murdered, your career and reputation as a spy will be ruined, and your family will probably disown you! No pressure, though!

"Its a lot to take in, but we can't give up. People are depending on us, and like it or not, we are the best agents for the job. So if we don't succeed, that means no one else will be able to either, and the mission would be a failure. People need us right now, and we have to be determined not to fail them."

Piper smiled. "Since when did you get so good at inspirational speeches?" She asked, laughing.

I laughed along with her. "Well, apparently I'm the leader and primary agent here, and the leader always has to make inspirational speeches. I might have been practicing that speech all day."

Piper laughed again. "You're one of a kind, Chase."

"I'll take that as a compliment, McLean," I smiled. Then I turned to walk into my room. "Get some sleep, Piper. It's a big day tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Annabeth," she yawned.

"Goodnight, Piper," I replied, before I shut the door connecting our rooms. (I'm just going to call it a connecting door now)

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That marks the end of Chapter Two! I hope you guys liked it, because I sure liked writing it!

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO. I do not own Spy School. And I do not own these characters, except the teachers, principal, Alexander, and Eric!