Revenge of the Duchess

Epilogue 1

A/N: I own nothing but plot. Enjoy!

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Annabeth's footsteps echoed on the stone floor as she walked through the halls. The air here was chilly, and the temperature never changed regardless of the season. Annabeth could never have imagined that there was a prison tucked so far underneath the castle floors. Percy had told her it was reserved for the most dangerous of prisoners, either for the Cuoran citizens' or for the prisoners' safety.

The ordinary Cuoran commoners had received the news of the coup poorly, allowing their support for the Cuoran royal family to grow. For far too long, the commoners had been under the thumb of the aristocrats who levied heavy taxes. There were many who were eager for the opportunity to take a crack on the imprisoned aristocrats.

Annabeth had received special permission to speak to two such nobles. The prisoner guard led her down another flight of stone stairs, lighting the way with a torch.

"Careful here, Your Grace. The floor is slippery."

With a shake of his keys, the guard opened a heavy metal door. Inside was Kelli, messily sitting down on the cold floor. Her dark hair, that Kelli loved to put up in curls and jewels, was grimy. Kelli looked up as Annabeth entered the cell.

"Have you come to laugh at me?" Kelli sneered. She laughed derisively. "Go ahead, then! Laugh!"

Annabeth stared at her cousin soberly. If she could have her way, she would never want to see Kelli and Luke again. But she found that there was some part of her that still needed closure before the nightmares of the past could end. She found herself recalling her childhood memories. When they were young, she and her cousins would play blissfully by the lake on her grandparents' land. That was a happier time, before money issues tore the family apart.

"Did you really think I didn't know what you were planning to do?" Annabeth asked, softly. "You and Luke were planning on slowly killing me after my marriage to Luke and then gain all the financial benefits from it. And perhaps if I had a son, you would take him from me and raise him as your child so you wouldn't even have to undergo the pain of childbirth. A pity for you, but fool me once, you won't be able to fool me twice."

Kelli widened her eyes in disbelief. Quickly, though, the disbelief was replaced with denigration. "Who cares if you knew. Luke still chose me over you! If it wasn't for the fact that my father was the second son, I would have been in your place to get engaged to Luke!"

Annabeth smiled at this. "And yet, Luke dropped you the moment he figured out you weren't profitable enough for him, didn't he? Isn't he engaged to Lady Soleia Elucard now? Beauty, money, and reputation. You could only offer your beauty, but Luke's greed was far attracted to wealth then he ever loved you. In the end, all you could be was the mistress, and never the true wife and Countess. You picked the wrong man, Kelli."

Kelli's eyes turned red with rage as she tried to jump forward, but the metal chains around her ankles attached to the wall stopped her from lunging at Annabeth. But Kelli's expression told Annabeth her cousin's anger was far more directed towards Luke for abandoning her.

Annabeth continued. "Those personality flaws of Luke are exactly why my engagement to Luke fell through. You must have thought it odd when I suddenly broke off all talks about being engaged."

"Ha! So it was just another political marriage when you got engaged to the duke right after. I wonder how all the nobles would think when they know that you and that bastard duke were married for money instead of for romance like they all think you did."

This time, Annabeth smiled. "Then it's a shame for you to know that Percy and I truly do love each other. But I don't care whether you think that it's true or not."