We Are Cursed (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 2

Chapter 12 || Annabeth

For the first time in Annabeth's life, she wasn't sure about something.

Annabeth took deep breaths as she looked over the ingredient list again.

Nectar, one square of ambrosia, 58 dragon scales from Ladon, 2 golden apples guarded by Ladon and the Hesperides, 3 feathers from Phoenix, the son of Agenor, Moonlace petals, unicorn horn powder, dirt from the Underworld, snake venom from Medusa's hair, hydra flesh from the head, Night Leaves from Apate's palace.

Directions: Mix unicorn horn powder and the dragon scales gently into the Underworld dirt until it is evenly mixed. Next, pour in the snake venom until the powder is dissolved. Dice the hydra meat and cook gently with dragon fire. Throw it into the mixture and add in two golden apples, diced. Then, add in three feathers from Phoenix and the Moonlace petals. Stir in a tablespoon of nectar and a square of ambrosia before crumbling five Night Leaves over the mixture. Heat again with dragon fire before serving.

She took a deep breath. She'd get through it. She was strong enough to do that. For her Seaweed Brain, anything was worth it. Putting the ingredient list away, she paced the floor. Only minutes away from the time when they'd meet up in the living room to escape. But she had to go see Percy, because she was one of the people in charge of wheeling him out and into the ship.

Racing down the hall, she opened the door to Percy's room. There he was. His beautiful sea-green eyes were closed and his breathing was ragged. Nothing move except for his chest as it rose and fell. Annabeth grabbed his limp hand in hers, almost panicking at the temperature of it. It was as if Percy had just sank into the snow, froze up for about an hour, and came back.

Kissing his knuckles, she sighed, looking at his face. Only then did she realize how peaceful Percy looked in his sleep. All the worry lines disappearing from his face. Every feature at rest. The only thing missing were his smile lines. The things that made him... Percy.

"Annabeth, are you ready?" Jason asked as he entered, looking at Percy's sleeping form.

"Yeah..." she said, still a bit numb from the events that had just happened. It all didn't seem real. It was as if it was fake. Too sudden. Too fast. She didn't even get the chance to say goodbye.

"We're on!" Leo whispered through the watch. "Watch the kitchen, though. I think Chiron is up and he's getting coffee."

Quickly, Annabeth and Jason began to roll Percy's cot out of the room, Hazel behind them as she carried all the medical supplies. Clarisse was right behind them as she kept watch for anyone coming. The only sound was their breathing and the slight squeaking of the wheels on the cot as they moved Percy towards the door. Once the whole cot was on the cement, they exhaled in relief.

"What are you doing with Percy?"

They all whipped around so fast it could've given them whiplash. Chiron was sitting there, staring at Percy with interest. That's when he noticed the battleship. Before he could say anything, Clarisse pushed Percy's cot out so that it rolled down the driveway.

"RUN!" she yelled as Annabeth grabbed Percy's cot before it could hit the tree.

Leo had a look of urgency on his face as he opened the door to the ship. Wheeling Percy's cot in, they made it on, but Clarisse wasn't so lucky. She was being held back by ten campers, the Hermes campers sprinting towards the ship.

"CLOSE THE DOORS!" she yelled. "YOU HAVE TO LEAVE WITHOUT ME!"

So they did. Closing the doors, Leo drove the ship out of the barrier just as the clock hit 5:00 AM. The campers stopped at the barrier as the ship took off into the sky. The Argo II, as Leo had called it, soared through the sky, above the highways and far away from the safe house. There was no turning back now...

"Okay..." Frank let out a sigh. "Percy's in a room now and he's all hooked up and ready."

"Great," Annabeth said. "We've gotta first look on the map Sabrina had in her notebook. I think she drew a route on it..."

Unfolding the map, she saw the pen marks.

"Our first stop is in... Lebanon. I think that's where Phoenicia originally was. And it's for the... Phoenix feathers. Apparently they have to come from the son of Agenor."

"Who is Agenor?"

"Some king..." Frank muttered. "I can't remember what he was the king of, but Pheonix tried to seduce his mother or something like that... It's weird if you ask me."

"You don't need to ask to know it's weird. It's Greek mythology."

"I'm getting the Argo II fixated on Lebanon," Leo said as he turned the wheel, rushing to the control room.

"Someone needs to put the sedative in Percy's IV. I think it's wearing off," Nico said.

"I can," Piper said, getting up.

She walked towards Percy's room and Annabeth sat there, sipping a mug of tea. There wasn't a thing she knew about this trip.

Percy needs you... You're gonna do it no matter what, Annabeth. It doesn't matter if you know right now. You have to do this, she thought to herself as she got up.

"I'm gonna go fill out our absence forms online. I'll just... call in for family issues or something like that. I'm pretty sure Paul Blofis will--"

"Paul!" Thalia gasped, sitting upright.

"What about--"

"No, we forgot to tell Sally!" Thalia exclaimed. "We didn't let Sally know we couldn't live with her anymore! She must be worried off her head for us!"

"Why don't we just call her--" Annabeth started before she cut herself off. "Oh... we can't use phones."

"We're passing over her apartment right now," Leo said. "Write down a note real fast and we can drop it in her window if we use weights."

"Cool," Annabeth said, scribbling down a note.

Thalia, Nico, and I are okay, Sally. We went where Percy went. And he's alive and well. Don't worry, we'll come back soon. I'm not sure if Percy's dad told you when he left, but it's something to do with the Olympians. We're all Olympians. If you don't know, don't stress. It doesn't matter. But we'll come back when we can. Love you, Annabeth.

"Does Sally know about the Olympians?" she asked, looking up from her paper.

"I don't know," Jason admitted.

She grabbed the note and hurled it down onto Sally's balcony, wincing as it knocked her potted plant off the edge.

"Oof..." Leo winced.

The Argo II took off, but Annabeth could see Sally coming out of the sliding glass doors, frowning at the note left on the balcony. She smiled. At least Sally knew they were all okay. Looking back at Percy's room, she corrected herself. That three of them were okay.