Annabeth

"Are you girls ready to go?" Mellie asked as she shook off Thalia's covers, crumbs flying everywhere. I chuckled at the look of disgust on her complexion.

"Just one more cookie, Mellie," Thalia said. She was still eating desserts and foods, but was on a different bed.

"Thalia, seriously. Don't be so inconsiderate. Mellie is going to have to clean these, don't make it any worse for her. Stop making the covers dirty," I reprimanded the hunter.

Thalia shot a look of apology towards Mellie, who smiled, and said it didn't matter. Thalia thought for a moment, then started to move towards the bathroom, the pile of cookies still in her hands.

I frowned. "Where are you going?"

Thalia glanced over her shoulder at me, mumbling through a mouth full of desserts, "Well, since I'm gonna get everything dirty here, I'm moving to the bathroom. I can eat in the bathtub, so if I make a mess, it won't matter. Goodbye."

Shaking my head, I turned to the door as I heard someone open it. Piper, Hazel, and Lacy all walked in. They had gotten a late breakfast, while Thalia and I had gone earlier. Though, obviously Thalia wasn't full yet.

"Hey, guys. How was the breakfast?" I asked them while I squeezed my wet hair, trying to make the bath water come out faster.

Hazel grinned, "Really good! And this time, we got to meet some nymphs. All of them are really nice, too."

I nodded in agreement, "I met a few this morning. The kitchen ones are nice, at least. And Mellie. But I don't know about the rest."

Mellie chuckled, "Why, thank you, Annabeth. And all the nymphs here are warm-hearted and welcoming. If one isn't, then they get jobs where they don't see demigods or gods. We try to keep the atmosphere friendly around here."

"Well, you guys are doing a good job." Piper said as she headed towards the bathroom to wash her hands.

I turned back to Lacy and was about to ask her a question when Piper interrupted.

She was standing in the doorway of the bathroom with a confused look on her face. "May I ask why Thalia is eating a dozen cookies in the bathtub looking like a five year old who doesn't want to share?"

Mellie and I exchanged amused glances, then we busted out laughing. I explained why, and Piper nodded slowly, with a look on her face that matched my thoughts of Thalia being positively weird.

"Whatever. I guess I'll use the next bathroom." Piper said, walking over to the doorway of the next room.

"You guys better hurry. The council starts in a half hour, and we better get there at least fifteen minutes early," I stated.

Lacy piped up, "Okay! Hey Annabeth, can I braid your hair for you? Please?"

I rolled my eyes, "Okay, but do it fast."

"Yay!" Lacy squealed. "I have a new way of doing braids that I think would look adorable on you!"

I plopped down on a chair by one of the desks against the wall, and gave Lacy my strip of leather. Sitting quietly, I kept my head still as Lacy pulled and tugged my hair into her desired destination for the strands.

Mellie, who had slipped out of our rooms to go and see if the boys were almost ready, came back inside. "The men are ready to go. We'll meet them at the council."

I snorted, "'Men'? More like immature boys."

Lacy and Mellie giggled.

"Alright, I'm done." Lacy exclaimed. "Come on, let's go look at it in the mirror."

We walked into the bathroom that Thalia was in. Well, I walked. Lacy kinda always bounces in her steps, making her look like she is skipping happily.

When I saw my hair, I let out a small gasp. It was beautiful. Lacy had done like a side braid that started at the top of my head, then came down and around and hung off my left right shoulder. It wasn't that messy, and where it was messy, it fit in, so it made the braid look even more pretty.

"It's gorgeous," I said, softly touching the braid.

Lacy smiled, then pulled a small brooch out of one of her bags sitting on the bathroom counter. It had a gray owl imprinted on it, and had two sea green gems that were it's eyes.

"I saw this the other day in one of the small towns, and instantly thought of you. Just think of it as a little friendship gift. Do you like it?" Lacy asked.

"I love it! Thank you, Lacy!" I said as Lacy pinned the brooch on the right side of my head, holding back my long bangs. She smiled at me, and I returned the grin. I felt a spark of friendship pass between us. Before, I had thought of Lacy as a friend, but now I realized that over the trip here, we had become quite good friends, and Hazel too. I felt a wave of happiness well up me like it does whenever I find a new best friend that I can rely on.

"No problem. Do you like it Thalia?" Lacy asked with a glance towards the hunter still eating in the bathtub.

Thalia shrugged, "I think it's pretty and fancy."

Mellie stepped into the bathroom. "I think it's very beautiful. And it's okay to be a little fancy. Actually, the gods requested that you all wear dresses."

Thalia jerked her head around at one of her most hated words. "Dresses?" she spat.

Mellie smiled at the hunter's reaction. "Yes, dresses. But after a few convincing conversations, I got them to let you all wear just nice tunics instead."

Thalia stumbled out of her bathtub seat and gave the nymph a huge hug, praising her, "Oh thank you so much, Mellie Belly! You are now one of my favorite people because you saved me from having to wear those cursed things!"

The nymph giggled, wriggling her way out of Thalia's grip, "Alright, alright. You're welcome. But please don't call me Mellie Belly. Mellie will do just fine."

Thalia shrugged, then said, "So do we get new tunics? Because mine is nasty and dirty."

Mellie nodded. "Yes. I laid them out on your beds for you."

I walked over to mine, and saw a nice silk tunic. It was light grey, with black leggings. Thalia had an all black one, Lacy and Piper each had cream-colored tunics, and Hazel got a gold, matching her eyes.

I picked mine up, feeling the smoothness of the fabric. My eyebrows rose. "Wow. This is really good quality fabric. How did you get these, Mellie?"

Mellie came over to me, "Oh no, dear. I didn't get them. I simply delivered them. Your godly parent each got you these, and picked them out."

"Oh. Well, that's nice of them," I said, my mind replaying the argument that was the latest conversation between me and Athena. I felt a little guilty, but not that much. After all, she can't decide things for me and govern my life.

Slipping into the bathroom, I quickly got changed. The outfit fit nicely, and hugged my form not in an immodest way, but just enough so it felt snug. After I came out, I strapped on the grey sandals that had come with the outfit. The sandal straps wove around up to the top of my calf.

"These are kinda tall, aren't they?" Thalia asked. She was getting hers on too. "And they don't cover much. Think of what would happen if somebody broke in and started shooting arrows. One hit at your calf, and there's no protection. You can't really move without your legs. You're done for."

I agreed with her. We were used to wearing hard leather boots that would at least dull an arrow or sword's penetration. Then we usually put on greaves after that. This did feel like I was exposed.

But Mellie shook her head, and reassured us, "They aren't that tall. Nobody is going to break in, either. It is Mount Olympus, after all. Besides, you two both look very elegant."

Thalia muttered under her breath, but I was close enough to hear her say, "Let's see how elegant I look with an arrow sticking out of my shin."

Rolling my eyes, I lightly smacked her, then stood up. I glanced at Thalia's hair. I was about to ask her if I could do something with it, like pin it back or something, but I decided I would get a negative answer, along with a glower. She had brushed it, and I think that's the most we would be able to get out of her. Piper had braided small braids throughout her hair, one of her favorite hairdos, and Lacy's was just curled. Hazels mass of hair was lying around her shoulders.

Everybody was ready. Thalia and I walked over, and Mellie lead the way out into the hallway.

The boys were all sitting around, looking bored. Nico and Jason were playing rock-paper-scissors, while Percy and Leo were playing a game that looked like tic tac toe, but the winner got to punch the loser as hard as they could. The bee, which I'm guessing was Frank, was flying around, with a few guys chasing him, and the rest of the boys were trying to catch a moth with one hand.

Our great group of demigod heroes. I snorted.

The boys turned, and Nico said, "Finally! Lets get going!"

Mellie raised her eyebrows, "Why didn't you boys leave earlier?"

Jason shrugged, "Our nymph got called somewhere, and said to wait for you to show us, Mellie, because none of us know our way around here well enough."

"Uh, doesn't Percy know his way around here?" I asked frowning.

Nico turned slowly and glared at Percy, "Seriously, dude? You know your way around here? Why didn't you lead us to the council room?"

Percy spread his hands out defensively, "I thought we were waiting for the girls! I didn't know we could go at any time."

"Wow. Thanks a lot." Jason said, picking himself up off of his seat against the wall. All of the boys were also wearing nice tunics, mostly grey and black. We all started following Mellie down the halls.

I was walking behind Thalia and Piper when I felt someone come up next to me.

Percy looked sideways at me, saying, "I like your hair, Wise Girl. It's really pretty."

I blushed, and was instantly mad at myself for blushing. Why could such a small compliment from him make butterflies start racing and my face heat up like crazy?

Trying to contain my blush, I replied, "Thanks, Seaweed Brain."

He grinned, but kept walking beside me. And rather close, I noticed. Occasionally his hand would accidentally brush mine, and my cheeks would flare up again. I hoped we were getting closer to the council room, because I couldn't stand being right next to Percy and blushing so much. I am a horrible, sappy mess. I told myself.

As if in answer, Mellie stopped in front of two large doors, outlined in celestial bronze. "Here we are! Good luck, dears!" She then floated away without another word. Nobody moved, we just looked at the big and intimidating doors.

"Well, let's go guys." Jason said, then he and Nico stepped forward, pushing open the double doors. We all started walking in as one big group.

The council room was huge, but had no windows. Despite having no windows, the room was still light inside. Columns supported the roof, and placed in ordered intervals up the columns were torches. More torches were around the room, but they weren't randomly placed, they were perfectly ordered. A large map was up on the wall, illuminated by torches set up around it. I instantly recognized it as Greece.

Twelve thrones were placed in a U-shape around a big table. The open side of the line of Thrones was pointed towards the doors we had just walked through. I forced myself to look at the gods sitting in the thrones. I knew almost all of them, but my gaze was drawn to the ones I knew the most. Apollo and Artemis were sitting side by side, smiling slightly in my direction. Artemis had a long dress on, and she was in the form of a middle-aged adult, as was her brother, and most of the gods, I realized.

My eyes caught on the sight of my mother as well. She had no expressions on her face, but I knew she was studying each and every one of us. I hate to admit it, but she looked pretty impressive. Her white strapless dress was adorned with a gold chain wrapped around her waist a couple of times, and gold bracelets hung on her wrist. Her blonde hair was back in a long braid, resembling mine, but Athena's looked much fancier. Gold was weaved into her braid as well. She sat up straight, and looked beautiful, regal, and scary, all in one picture.

I also saw Poseidon, and the god of the seas caught my gaze. He winked at me, then looked at the rest of the group.

We kept on walking forward, every one of us knowing that we needed to acknowledge the king of the gods first.

Everything was silent.

We reached the spot about ten feet before Zeus's throne. I could tell it was his throne even if he wasn't sitting there. There was an air of electricity around it, and my ears popped. I looked up at the god, and saw that he didn't look that much different than from when I saw him at a council a few years before. The tall god's long brown hair was currently tied back, and his blue eyes resembled Thalia's almost perfectly, except that, no matter how mean Thalia was, Zeus was colder. His eyes were more of an icy cold blue, while Thalia's was sky blue.

The group of demigods bowed to Zeus, and we all muttered, "Lord Zeus."

The king of the gods studied us for a moment, then said in a gruff voice, "You may go to your parent."

I stood up, and walked over to my mother's throne. My brothers soon joined me, and together we bowed to our mother, then took a seat at the side of her throne. The thrones were all placed about ten feet apart, so chairs had been stuck in between. I sat on the right side of Athena, and Darryn sat next to me, with Malcolm and Castor farther down.

I watched as the rest of the demigods walked to their parents, bowed, then took a seat. I caught Percy's eye, and he grinned at me. I returned with a small smile, then looked at Zeus as he started to talk.

"We have gathered today to approach a dilemma that has been brought to us by Lady Athena. Exactly thirty-nine days ago, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, was the victim of an attempted assassination. She recovered, and the assassinator has been captured. Over the span of the last few weeks, information has been forced out of this assassinator. I won't share any of it until every one of you swears on the River Styx that this will all stay private."

My eyebrows rose. Swearing on the River Styx was a life swear. If you break it, you are basically dead. This must be pretty useful or bad information, if he want's all of it to stay quiet.

Nobody spoke for a little bit, then Lord Zeus said, "I swear on the River Styx that I will not share this information with anyone out of this council."

He sat down, then looked to his right. A goddess with long brown hair and brown eyes. Her simple white dress didn't stop the beauty and power radiating from her, though. I instantly knew that she was Hera, wife of Lord Zeus, and queen of the gods.

"I swear on the River Styx that I will not share this information with anyone out of this council." Hera gracefully sat back down, and the next god stood up. One by one, all of us, including the demigods, sword that we wouldn't spill this information.

Once the vows were finished, Lord Zeus stood up once more. "Thank you all. Now, to be forward, there has been a rebel against the gods."

Silence. Then all at one, everybody started talking. And with everyone talking, nobody could hear each other, so they tried yelling to get their point across. I just sat there, stunned. Yes, there has been rebels and threats made against the gods, but those were usually small, and easily taken care of. To be announced in a council as a big reason wasn't normal- to be noticed by any of the gods actually wasn't normal. Usually some demigods just take care of the threat. But... this has to be pretty big.

The shouting grew to an almost unbearable volume. Gods were arguing, and demigods were speaking to each other frantically.

Lord Zeus was trying to quiet everybody down, "Quiet, please! Everyone!"

Then he just rolled his eyes, lifted his Lightning rod, and shot a mini blast into the air in front of him. Even though it was mini, it still produced a bright flash and a loud crack.

Everyone froze, and looked at the king of the gods, who sighed audibly and said, "Sit down."

Plops could be heard as all the gods quickly put their rumps into their thrones, not wanting to anger Zeus anymore.

Zeus nodded, "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, there has been a rebel against the gods. For the demigods who don't know anything of the little uprisings against Mount Olympus, I will quickly sum up the events of the past few months," he looked at all the demigods, who were curiously staring back, waiting for him to explain. He continued, "Four months ago, someone broke into Mount Olympus. It can't be a monster, for the boundaries of Mount Olympus wouldn't allow it. It either had to be a god, or a demigod. Lady Athena, after that incident, went to all the gods that we found suspicious, and figured out if they were the culprits or not."

My mind flashed back to four months ago. I remembered that Athena had suddenly left for two weeks, and when I had asked where she had gone, everybody had said that she had to do a task. It didn't sound too, exciting, for Athena had tasks to do all the time, so I hadn't pushed for more information. Now I knew where she had gone.

Pulling myself out of my own thoughts, I brought my attention back to Zeus, who was still talking, "She was successful, and found the information that none of the gods she interrogated were the criminals. That leaves us to one conclusion: The criminal was a demigod. However, recent events have begged to differ our conclusion. About two months past, five Fire Bombs were stolen from Hephaestus's forgery in Mount Olympus. I am sure that you all know only gods can handle these Fire Bombs, so this left us thoroughly confused. We made yet another list of skeptical gods, and Ares carried out the task. Once again, all the gods we questioned were innocent."

I frowned. This was confusing.

"Even more recent is the attempted assassination on the life of Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Supposedly while Ms. Chase was practicing in the early hours of the morning, a crossbow bolt was shot, hitting her in her upper back. Nymphs that were at the training arena were able to subdue the assassinator long enough for other demigods close by to come and arrest him. Ms. Chase recovered, and the assassinator was brought to Mount Olympus. Since then, we have learned that his name is Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis. He was working for someone, this wasn't his idea. But we can't get any information out of him about who he was working for. He is quite a stubborn demigod.

"More current happenings have been approached. On their journey here, the group of demigods got attacked by a hydra, three serpents, and a drakon. The three serpents were dispatched, and the hydra would've also been, had a bomb not been dropped. A Fire Bomb, to be exact. Even more interesting is that the Fire Bomb was aimed right at Annabeth Chase. Ms. Chase would not be with us today if Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, hadn't pushed her out of the way, then shielded her with a strong water shield. Our thanks to you, Captain." He nodded at Percy, who bobbed his head in return.

I glanced at Athena, and saw her eyes go up in a roll. My eyes sent daggers toward her, but she ignored my glare. I let out a huff of air, turning back to look at Zeus once more.