Honestly Annabeth had no idea what she saw when she was out. But it was like flashes. She saw herself practice battling with Luke, her hanging out with her friends, her and Percy talking to each other.
She didn't know what she was supposed to do. It was like she was awake, but she was in a different world, sitting on the sidelines of her life so far. She watched herself experience things she didn't know she remembered. But even though she was supposedly asleep, all she could think about was Percy.
At first, she had felt angry. Percy should understand that she did what she did for her dreams. He should know that she did it so that she could experience things she never could have experienced. But then, she realized that it was selfish. She lied to her friends just for herself. If that wasn't selfish, she didn't know what was.
The only thing that kept her going was the fact that she at least did the right thing, fighting for the kingdom. She hoped that at least, even if Percy didn't forgive her, he would be okay and unhurt.
Suddenly, the memories faded away. And Annabeth felt someone slightly shake her. She opened her eyes and blinked. Everything was blurry.
"Annabeth! Do you need anything?" Piper's voice said.
She tried to talk, but her throat wouldn't work. Piper nodded and brought her a glass of water. After Annabeth drank it with the help of Piper, she could finally speak a little bit.
"What- what happened?"
"Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're okay!" Piper said. "There was a rebel attack, and you saved everyone. You fought with Luke and everything, and you beat him! He's arrested and currently imprisoned along with most of the rebels. Annabeth, you saved the entire freaking kingdom of Thalassa."
"Wow." Annabeth was shocked. She thought she had saved a few people's lives, but the entire kingdom? Maybe she wasn't as worthless as she thought. "Then... why does my gut feel like I've been impaled?"
"Well, that's because you have." Piper grimaced. "Luke stabbed you with his sword but you brought him down anyway. Thankfully that heavy corset you wore took most of the damage or else you would've died immediately."
Wow, that thing actually came in handy for once.
"Then... how did you guys save me?" Annabeth said, looking at her stomach, which was tied up with gauze, cotton and bandages. Her entire body felt numb and her head was throbbing.
Piper grinned, a real grin. "Well, you were losing a lot of blood, and Percy saved your life! You guys both have a blood type of B positive. I think it was an apology for the cold shoulder he kept on giving you."
Percy had saved her life?
Annabeth rolled her eyes. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. Probably because her body had gotten so used to that eye motion. "Him apologizing. Huh. Well, there's a first time for everything. But I have to apologize too. Can I see him now?"
"As much as I ship you two, he's in a council meeting to determine action after the wedding and attack. Plus, everyone got no work for this entire week in honor of you saving everyone. So afterwards he can come see you. Well, visitors can come only from next week, but I'll make an exception for him. And Jason- I mean all of your friends too of course!" Piper blushed.
Annabeth smirked at her. Yet another action not causing pain. "After you get me and Percy together, Operation Jiper is coming up."
Piper's blush still hadn't faded. "Deal."
;;;
A few hours had passed. For the rest of the morning, all Annabeth did was read. She hadn't got a lot of time to read recently, and it was a good break to finally read and catch up on schoolwork. After doing a project on architecture, she thought that it seemed pretty interesting. Hmm.
First female architect. She liked how that sounded.
For lunch, Piper made her eat some corn and broth. "No actual solid food for some time." Were her exact words. Sigh. After she was done, Piper told her to chew on mint leaves. Apparently it helped with the pain. Then, after some squealing, Piper told her she was going to go find Percy to come see Annabeth.
While she was gone, Annabeth assessed her pain. The throbbing in her head had gone down a little bit, but her body was starting to feel less numb and ache a little bit. She anxiously waited, trying to remember how she was going to apologize to him.
Finally, the door opened, and Percy walked in.
His hair had grown a little bit longer, and it was wavy and covered his eyes. His ocean-colored eyes sparkled when he saw her. She realized she probably looked pretty ugly at the moment, and could feel the heat rush to her cheeks.
Ugh! This isn't you. Stop freaking out Annabeth. You're only saying that 'cause you're in love with him.
Haha, not gonna deny that now.
She finally found her voice. "Percy- I'm sorry. For lying to you, and for pretending that I wasn't who I was. I should have told you, but I was scared. I thought that if I were different, you wouldn't like me anymore. I thought I would have no friends and that everyone would hate me. But I did it so I could have the opportunities I've never gotten before. And I want you to know that..."
"Annabeth." Percy said, grinning up at her. Her heart skipped a beat. "You're right. I actually didn't really know about the fact that girls didn't get to do as much, being sheltered in the palace and all. But I'm glad I know now. And we can change that. I'm not mad at you. Well, I was, but now... I get why you did it. Plus I like you too much to be mad at you for that long."
Annabeth felt the butterflies in her stomach again. "Wait... you love me?"
"Always have, always will." Percy smiled his sarcastic, sweet, troublemaker smile, one corner of his mouth turning upwards.
"Thanks for saving my life," Annabeth whispered.
She leaned forward and their lips connected.
It was like sparks flew. Everything turned more vivid and bright. Annabeth felt exhilarated, like she could take on the world. She pulled away, a bright grin on her face. Percy's face mirrored her own.
Yup. Together they could change the world.
