Annabeth

"Piper!"

That was the first word I heard when I and the rest of the demigods who came from Athens landed in the camp of the Questers.

It had been a quiet trip to Astros; no monster attacks or any gods interfering. It was nice for a change. The trip had taken a little longer than Percy had thought, however. So the Questers had been waiting when we finally reached the outskirts of Astros. They had set up camp about a mile away from the town, shielded from view behind the crest of a hill. The pegasi touched down after circling the area once. Leo had taken the harnesses off the pegasi in Corinth, wrapping it into a surprising small space, and sticking it into his tool belt. Since the horses no longer had to carry the weapons, we didn't have to double up anymore. The pegasus I was riding dropped down next to Blackjack. Percy got off the black pegasus, then put his hands up to help me down. I gave him a small smile as I slid into his arms, which he returned tiredly.

I was concerned for him. He had been so bothered by that earthquake. I knew he beat himself up for it, and I wanted to help him, even if it was just stranding by his side each day. He was a good person. An amazing person. If only he could see that.

Also, he had gotten absolutely no sleep last night. Well, neither did I. As a matter of fact, he and I have been getting some rough nights of sleep, if we even got some shut-eye. I knew we had better get some sleep in. I could see dark bags under Percy's eyes. His eyelids looked like they had invisible hands that were trying to push them down. His clothes were dirtied and rumpled, and his hair was a big, ebony mess.

But he still looked incredibly handsome.

His eyebrows drew themselves together into a frown, and I realized I was staring.

"Something on my face, Wise Girl?" He asked jokingly.

I glared at him, but to be honest, my heart lifted a little, like a moping puppy when it hears a familiar voice. Percy had cracked a joke, and no matter how small it was, it was still a joke, which meant he wasn't totally distressed still over the past events.

I tore my gaze away from his sea green eyes, looking instead at the Questers around us. Jason had been the one to shout out the daughter of Aphrodite's name, and he now ran up to her, practically dragging her off her horse and into a tight embrace. I smiled at the sight. Thalia dismounted, rolling her eyes.

Frank and Hazel were next, Frank hugging his girlfriend fiercely, Hazel being almost squashed by Frank's giant bear hug.

Silena hopped silently off her pegasus, then looked around uncertainly, rubbing her arm. Charles Beckendorf walked up to introduce himself, and get her settled in.

Leo hopped off Guido, then spread his arms out wide, grinning like a madman. He waited for a second, then sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes toward the sky when nobody moved towards him. His eyes said, Your loss.

Percy exhaled largely, shaking his head at the fire user. He and I watched as the rest of the Questers came up, bringing an onslaught of questions with them. The son of Poseidon smiled, greeting them all, and held up a hand.

"Whoa!" He said, pausing the questions. "Yes, we got the weapons to the mermen. That's the big answer."

"What happened? How did you get the weapons?" Nyssa asked from the back.

Percy's eyes darkened, and I knew he was thinking about the earthquake. "It's a long story, and we need to get going. I trust Jason and Nico let you guys get some rest?"

They nodded.

"Good, so we can start up again. Everybody, let's get packed up, and we'll get going." Percy shooed them all away, and they left, complaining like little kids that they didn't get to hear the story.

I frowned at Percy. "Don't you think you should get some rest?"

"Nah, I'm good," Percy replied, shrugging. Then he paused, struck by a thought. "Unless you want some sleep. Did you want to pause and rest? We can stay here for a bit more if you need."

I put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine, Percy." He relaxed, nodding, but he still looked at me with concern. I almost told him he didn't need to worry about me, but I realized I was doing the same thing. Worrying about him, that is.

I sighed, then trudged over to grab my pack and get back onto my pegasus. More traveling.

"Alright everybody! It'll be about twenty minutes until they get here!" Percy shouted over the din of the Questers chatting with one another.

We had reached Neapoli, a small town on the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the sea. We were getting closer to Antikythera, where we would no doubt see a battle. Some of us were getting hyped up for it, while others were looking around fearfully, anxiety biting at them. Harley was one of those. He was hardly eight. Though I had seen him practicing with Leo, and I figured he would do pretty well. Demigods tended to learn faster than mortals. Their lives depended on it every day.

We were all camped on the beach. The big question had been how in Hades will we get to that island?

"We could ask for a ship at the dock in Neapoli," Jason had suggested.

Frank shook his head. "We're trying to stay inconspicuous. If we do that, rumors are going to start, and then somebody will find out, and word might get to Luke and his cronies. We want the element of surprise on our side."

"Then we steal a boat!" Leo said enthusiastically, his eyes lighting up with a mischievous fire.

Hazel rolled her eyes. "No, Leo. We won't do that the people."

Percy had been quiet, thinking. "We won't be able to use a boat."

Leo added a sarcastic comment. "Oh, that's wonderful. We can just strut right up to the island and declare war. But wait... it's an island. Usually islands are surrounded by water. But no-oo. Let's just see how long we last walking out on the ocean." He started to walk to the shore dramatically, but Frank grabbed the cuff of his shirt collar and jerked him back while Percy answered.

"Hippocampi." The word Percy uttered was so quiet I thought he was just thinking out loud.

"Hippo-wha?" Leo asked, still in Frank's clutch. "That sounds kind of made up to me, man. "

Percy ignored him, turning to me. "I could get hippocampi. I bet I could." I knew what they were. They were the horses of the sea, swift and strong. If Percy could get enough, we could make it to the island in half the amount of time it would take by boat. I nodded, and he walked over to the sea, standing in the waves and looking out at sea.

Leo pursed his lips. "Well. Staring out at sea will definitely help us."

"Frank," Hazel said, making it sound like a command. Frank nodded and clapped his hand upside Leo's head. The fire user yelped, glaring at the big man holding him. He stuck out his tongue, wriggling out of Frank's grip. I turned my attention back to Percy. He was walking back already. That was fast.

"They should be coming soon," he said.

Leo raised his hand like a curious schoolboy. "Um, who is 'they'?"

The son of Poseidon frowned, standing by me. "I told you. The hippocampi. But there's not going to be enough for all of us. We'll have to double up."

I nodded, and Percy started to explain to the Questers what was happening. I frowned at the ground. We were going to have to travel lightly. Doing a quick assumption, I guessed it would take about four hours or so to reach Antikythera. By then, we'll have to fight. The force of how unprepared we were at the moment hit me hard, and my breath came out in a ragged gasp. What were we thinking? I looked around. There were about thirty demigods. I knew Luke had at least fifteen men with him; men who could fight. And that was just one party. Also, if he somehow was the one behind the dozens of hellhounds appearing in my room, then he probably had more monsters at his side. Plus, the gods were cut off from us somehow, so they would be no help. We had the mermen, sure, but they can't go on ground. They'll be helpful holding off attacks in the water, but the main attack will be on land. They won't be able to assist us.

My mind wandered back to my brothers, and what I had asked of them when we were retrieving the daggers for the mermen. If they could do what I asked, then we might stand a chance. But I hadn't seen or heard from them, not even one bit. Who was I kidding. Did I really think they'd be able to do that?

I watched the Questers bustling around me. Jason and Piper talking quietly; Leo setting Nico's ponytail on fire, then guffawing as Nico yelled and slapped at his own face, trying to put it out; Hazel conversing with Nyssa while Frank told Harley a story; Silena standing silently, Beckendorf's giant figure next to her. I wondered who was going to come out of this battle alive, if any of us were.

"Hey." Percy's voice came from behind me, and I spun around to look at him. His eyebrows were bunched slightly, looking at me in a bit of concern. "You okay?"

I nodded quickly, rubbing my arm. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I reassured him with a lie. I didn't want to talk about the fight coming up, so I just changed the subject. "How long until the hippocampi get here?"

Percy shrugged. "Should be any minute now. I- uh, do you want to ride with me? I just- I kind of want to talk to you."

I nodded, trying to act nonchalant. "Sure. As long as you let me get some sleep," I replied jokingly with a small smile. Well, half-jokinly. I was really tired. He smiled back, making the day a bit brighter, then turned to go see how the Questers were doing. As he was walking away, I saw something glint out in the sea. I peered closer, squinting. It looked like dolphins skimming the tops of the ocean.

"They're here!" Connor said. He was watching the sea with his brother, and they started racing back to the rest of the demigods, shoving each other and trying to trip the other to get ahead. I rolled my eyes, grabbing my pack off the ground. I had already packed really lightly, so I didn't need to let anything go like some of the demigods had. They had put their extra clothes and bedrolls and such in a big sack, and stowed it on the shore in a clump of bushes, planning to come back once the battle is done.

I looked at the hippocampi. They were beautiful. Their scales glistened with multiple different colors, like the rainbows of the ocean. They looked proud and majestic, but also friendly and fun. There were about fifteen of them, all wading out a little ways from the shore. They whinnied at each other, dancing in the waves, their scales casting lights out on the water.

Shouldering my bag, I went to go find Percy. He was saying that he was going to summon the water forward so the hippocampi can come closer, then we all had to mount fast so Percy didn't have to do that for too long. They nodded, hugging their packs. Harley was beaming and pointing out the hippocampi to Nyssa, who was smiling fondly down at him and nodding like a mom to her toddler. Percy thrust his hand out towards the sea, then pulled it back slowly, fist clenched. The water responded. The waves receded, all bunching up with the water the hippocampi were in. The water started rising up. It was like a wall of liquid approaching us. The hippocampi rode the water, coming closer, until we could touch them.

I saw some of the Questers hop on, pulling their partner up with them. I glanced at Percy, asking him silently which one I should get on. He nodded at a far one that seemed to be waiting. It looked like the biggest, the leader. Percy didn't say anything, but I knew he summoned that hippocampus. The hippocampus came forward nobly, dipping his muscled neck when it reached me. I smiled timidly at the beast, then slung my hand around it's neck and lifted myself up. I was surprised to find that the seat wasn't that uncomfortable, because the back of the water-horse was arched. I settled in, swinging my pack around my shoulder so it was kind of in my lap. The mane of the hippocampus was the same colors as its scales. So basically it had all colors squished together, rippling like the sea. I tentatively touched it, finding the soft hair under my fingers. The hippocampus snorted and tossed its head, neighing at me. It sounded like he was letting me hold on. I clutched his mane tighter, then looked back at Percy.

Percy was watching the progress of the Questers. When the last two people had gotten on, he relaxed his muscles, and the water went back to normal. The hippocampi had drifted back slowly, and we all waited for Percy. The son of Poseidon jumped into the water, propelling himself over to me. I held out a hand to help him, and he grabbed it, pulling himself onto the hippocampus behind me. Percy was dry, not a drop of water clinging to him. He nodded, and the hippocampi started moving, spinning around and shooting out towards the south. They were fast and smooth, and I marveled at their speed. A spray of water went up behind us, but the hippocampi had split up so we were all in a sort of loose formation so no one got wet.

I couldn't help but notice Percy's arm around my waist. I know, call me a love-sick girly-girl, but I couldn't help it. He was holding onto my waist, but it felt more like he was securing me than himself. I cleared my throat.

"So, you wanted to, uh, talk." I grit my teeth at my voice, which was about an octave higher than normal. I forced myself to get it back together.

"Yeah," Percy replied simply.

"Well," I said, pleased to find my voice was normal, "Shoot."

Percy was silent for a moment, and his hand around my stomach shifted. I could feel puffs of his breath on my hair as well as his eyes staring at the back of my head, but I resisted the urge to turn around and look at him.

In the silence, his words from earlier echoed through my head. You are absolutely beautiful, my Annabeth.

First, he had called me beautiful. I didn't hear that a lot. Sure, Piper told me she envied my looks sometimes, and Artemis had told me I was pretty when I was younger, but I thought little of it. I assumed they were just trying to be nice. However, when Percy had said it, I'd heard it. Like, really heard it. He had utterly meant that he said, and it made peculiar feeling bubble up inside me, making my chest contract, but not painfully. Just thinking about it again, my stomach seemed to do a backflip.

Second was that he said "my Annabeth." My. Like he was claiming me, but not a commanding way. More like he was reassuring himself that I was there, with him. I was his friend who would stick by his side.

Friend? A little voice inside me questioned. I tried to shove it down. That voice had been pestering me about Percy for the past week or so, demanding to know my status with Percy. But the problem was, I didn't know. We were definitely friends. Best friends. But then the gods had forced us apart, and we had kissed (I tried to calm the frantic butterflies raging around in my stomach as I recalled that), and parted. But then he showed up at the War Games, and I have to say, seeing him again made me feel so happy and relieved, more so than I had ever felt upon seeing a friend after a long time. Then I take in the confusing feelings I know I have for him, despite how many times I might deny it, and I think maybe we're more than friends. But we aren't, and what if he doesn't even feel the same way? I couldn't just ask him to tell me how he felt, and tell him how I felt.

Then there are the people who keep telling me I need to tell the people I love that I love them.

Woah, I thought. I was getting ahead of myself. Love? I loved Percy? Unlike a lot of people in the world, I took that word very seriously. Love to me was a commitment, something so strong I thought most people never felt true love. Love had been watered down over the centuries, so now it was way too overused. But it still meant something to me. Meant a lot, actually. I don't know if I felt that much about Percy. But, at the same time...

Gods, things are complicated.

"I was thinking of my sister." Percy's words pulled me out of my thoughts and into reality. I cocked my head a little to hear him better.

"After she... she died," Percy said, his voice trembling slightly, "I brought her to Olympus, planning to rant and rage to the stupid gods. But once I got there, I just collapsed. I couldn't say a thing, the sorrow was too overwhelming. The gods seemed shocked. Some were more sympathetic than I expected. They tried to make it up to me, offering me anything." Percy paused, and I kept my gaze ahead. But I let my left hand fall down to hold his hand which wasn't around my waist. He clenched it, and continued to talk. "For a second, I was temped to ask them to take my life."

My hand tightened almost imperceptibly at this, but Percy noticed, and he gave my hand a small reassuring squeeze. A splash of water came up, covering our hands, but Percy's stayed dry, and he kept my hand dry as well.

"But I thought better. I couldn't do that to my mom. She already lost her daughter, why would I take her son from her as well? But my mom... she was the only reason then. I wanted to die." I didn't know why he was telling me this, but I let him. If he needed to tell someone, needed someone to help him with his burden, then I was more than willing to help him.

"Instead," Percy said," I asked that they let Calista into Elysium, and that should my mother have another child, he or she would be protected from the life of a demigod. The gods agreed, and that day I buried my sister." Percy's breathing was heavy. I couldn't blame him. He was sharing something personal and tragic. With me.

Percy's hand tightened around my waist, and he leaned his forehead on my shoulder, silent for a minute. His head came back up. "Calista was always one of the most precious things in my life, and when she left, I became obsessed. I still clung to her, too tightly. Even though she moved on, I never did. I was always tied to the guilt- that losing her was my fault."

I opened my mouth to protest to that, but Percy held up his hand, stopping me.

"But I've realized something." Percy paused, and I waited. "In the recent past, I've been undoing that knot that made me cling so tightly to that day. I'm- I'm finally letting go, bit by bit. I will never get over what happened, but I've learned to... accept it. It was what the Fates destined, and I can't change that. Calista is still precious to me, and my memories with her can never be replace. But... something- or more like someone- else has started to fill that gaping whole Calista left. Actually, that person has kind of filled it up so much, it's overflowed into something different."

"Annabeth," Percy started uncertainly. My hands were getting sweaty. What was he trying to say? "When I first saw you- well, I thought you were beautiful. But to be honest, I just didn't give you much though. I thought, with your beauty and wonderful mind and title, that you would be the snobby girl with a line of adoring men you would just play with.