Separated

Chapter Nine: It Was a Rhetorical Question

I knocked on Percy's door precisely fifteen minutes later, wearing a knee-length pastel yellow dress with nude heels.

"Come in." came a female voice. I walked into the room, greeted by Percy and all my other friends. The boys were dressed in casual morning suits, and the girls were wearing dresses much like mine.

"What took you so long?" Jason asked, fiddling with his tie.

"I woke up fifteen minutes ago."

"And her alarm went off at four. I heard it ringing for ten minutes, so I went to see if Annabeth was okay, and she wasn't there!" Piper waved her hands around. I blushed.

"I was–um–in the bathroom. And I fell asleep on the toilet because I was so tired." I stuttered, trying to think up an alibi.

"Mhm." they nodded, not really believing me.

"So..." Percy said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Leo! I dare you to go on the balcony and sing 'All by Myself'." Reyna said, breaking the awkwardness.

"I have a girlfriend you know," he said,  opening the glass double doors and stepping onto the balcony.

He cleared his throat. "Excuse me? To everyone in the gardens right now, I am currently–" he started singing in a bellowing voice. "I'M ALL BY MYSELF!"

"Shut up!" shouted a man from the gardens.

"We're trying to set up. Leave us alone!" shouted another man. 

"You, Reyna Grace, must really hate me." Leo shook his head.

"What did you just call me?" Reyna grabbed Leo's shirt collar menacingly.

"N-Nothing." behind them, Thalia was about as red as beet juice,  covering her face with her hands. She dropped him and walked away, arms crossed.

"Guys we've got to go down to the gardens now...we are five minutes late."

***

"Annabeth, you seem tired. Did you sleep okay after the ball last night?" asked Rachel, walking up to me. I had been trying to hide how tired I really was, after only three hours of sleep.

"I slept fine, really," I said, adjusting my hat.

"Are you sure? I heard voices coming from your room before I fell asleep–did people break-in?" I paled.

"No, no one broke in. I was just talking to myself."

"Oh really?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. Princess, it's been lovely talking with you, but my friend Piper is calling me over." I walked over towards Piper.

"Pretend we are having an amazing conversation," I whispered to her.

"Annabeth, I have the biggest news to tell you."

"What?"

"Last night at the ball, Jason told me that he loved me." she smiled.

"You're kidding?" I grinned, not believing it.

"No. We were dancing and it was like he couldn't stop talking, and it just fell out of his mouth."

"Did you say it back?"

Piper nodded. "Of course I did! How could I not? How did your night go last night?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Fine. Talked to Percy at the ball, went back to my room..."

"How come you weren't in the room when I went to check on you? And don't say you were in the bathroom, because I checked."

"I was on a walk because I couldn't sleep," I said. Piper left the subject alone after that.

"Miss Chase?" came a stern voice from behind me. I turned.

"King Poseidon." I greeted.

"Miss Chase if you would come with me..." he beckoned for me to follow. I obliged. "You were at the engagement ball last night, correct?"

"Yes, I was."

"And you have made yourself acquainted with the Princess of Pictoribus?" 

"Yes. We've spoken."

"Then I'm sure we can find a way to make you useful. You could help Rachel plan the wedding, of course. I'm sure she'd love that. She really needs the help, since it's in three weeks." my eyes nearly popped out of my head.

"Your Majesty...all due respect but–three weeks? That's not nearly enough time to plan a wedding."

"Oh, it's plenty. Before Percy and Tyson were born, my ex-wife, Sally, and I had our wedding a month after we met." 

"I'll do it, your Majesty," I said with a pained expression.

"Good. I think that you'll get to know the princess very well."

***

"Hey...what's wrong?" Percy asked, peeking into my room. I looked up, realizing I'd been glaring at the wall for the past half hour.

"O-Oh yeah," I said. "Just thinking."

"About last night?" Percy wiggled his eyebrows, grinning.

I laughed weakly. "No. But it was pretty great. We should do it again sometime."

"Definitely. Now, what's on your mind?" he sat down next to me, dipping the bed down.

"Your father told me that I'm going to be your wedding planner." I looked down, not wanting to see his face.

"He what?" 

"You heard me." I laughed bitterly.

"I can't stand that man...couldn't you refuse?" Percy clenched his fists.

"Calm down, Percy. It was a rhetorical question." I rested my hand on his shoulder. I felt him relax at my touch.

"Okay. Okay." he sighed. "Tonight, do you want to go back to the lake?"

"Of course. Last night was so much fun." I smiled.

"I'll be here at midnight."

***