Down in Flames - Rewritten Entirely

Epilogue/First Look at Sequel

Annabeth should not have been as surprised as she was when, five days after her wedding and subsequent coronation, things promptly fell apart.

There were always difficulties when a new king was crowned, but there seemed to be an endless amount of them in Percy's case. While Poseidon had handed over the crown without any arguments, the same could not be said about the council and some of the court members. She had the sinking suspicion that she was the reason why.

Since Percy was otherwise occupied with the court and council, Annabeth offered to make the initial arrangements for the public apology to Queen Athena. After so many years of fighting the wrong war, a public apology was the only thing Athena would accept. It was pushing the line for Percy to issue it instead of his father, but when Poseidon had absolutely refused to do so, it was the next best choice.

Although Annabeth would arrange and write up the official letter, Percy would need to issue it himself. To Annabeth's horror, her part of the deal was not as easy as she had expected.

"How do we know," one of the court ladies huffed, "that this isn't a trick?"

"For all we know," another one chimed in, "the king's signature could turn this entire kingdom over to you!"

"It's just an apology," Annabeth exclaimed for the umpteenth time.

None of the attendants looked like they believed her. Annabeth sighed.

"Look," she said, "I understand you don't trust me, but Percy has made his stance on this very clear."

"You're tricking him," a court member accused haughtily.

As the court erupted into a flurry of accusations, Annabeth slumped in her seat.

Arranging for a public apology should not have to be this hard, she thought absentmindedly. All she needed was for the court to agree on a time to meet so that Percy could sign the parchment with the court members as witnesses. After that, it was just a matter of spreading the news and delivering the official parchment to Athens.

Reaching for the nearest item (which happened to be a book), she pounded on the table three times. Immediately, all eyes shifted to her, but it took several more seconds for the court to stop shouting.

"I have chosen three dates," Annabeth announced, sending a sharp look at a duke who insisted on talking over her. "If you cannot decide on one yourselves, then I will decide and mandate it as Queen—"

If she had thought the court had been yelling earlier, she was wrong.

The moment Annabeth uttered the word 'queen', several of the court members jumped to their feet in protest.

It took them another hour to decide on a time and once they had, Annabeth was the first to leave the room. There were muttered protests and a few grumbled insults, but no one stopped her from leaving and going in search of Percy.

Finding her husband—she bit back a smile at that—was not nearly as difficult as arranging a meeting. During the day, there were only a handful of places he ever went: his office, the council room, and occasionally their chambers if he really wanted to hide. Unlike some days where Annabeth had to search through nearly the whole palace to find him, today she found him on the first try.

Annoyed by the day's court proceedings, Annabeth didn't wait for the door to close behind her before saying, "Some of the court members are determined to undermine me."

With a huff, she shut the door behind her and looked up in search of Percy. Instead of meeting her husband's eyes, however, she came face to face with Poseidon.

"Oh." She stopped in her tracks.

"Problems in the court?" Poseidon asked. Annabeth nodded, glancing behind him to where Percy was seated behind his desk. "Percy has reported the same."

Ignoring his father, Percy got up from his desk and moved to Annabeth's side almost unconsciously. "Are you alright?"

"Annoyed, but otherwise fine," Annabeth assured him. Her hand found his and the tension seeped out of her shoulders. "We even managed to set a date for the apology, though I think half of the court will be absent."

Percy frowned and behind him, his father sighed. While Poseidon hadn't been overly welcoming, he certainly hadn't been her biggest problem which, in Annabeth's mind, currently made him one of her few friends in Atlantis.

"Those who don't come," Percy muttered, "will be replaced."

This time, Annabeth frowned.

"You can't very well replace half of your court," she told him. Percy didn't see why not. "You were only just coronated, Percy, and we're about to fight an unpredictable battle. Electing a new court will only destabilise you further."

"Doesn't matter," Percy told her. He pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth and Poseidon glanced away. "If they're defying you, they're defying me. I'll have them replaced."

"I'll leave you," Poseidon announced. He smiled at Annabeth then turned to Percy with a knowing look. "Think about what I said."

As if he had been threatened, Percy tensed. With a small frown, Annabeth glanced at him questioningly, but neither Poseidon nor Percy said anything further. Almost imperceptibly, Percy moved between her and his father under the guise of walking him to the door. If Percy hadn't remained between her and the door, she almost wouldn't have picked up on it.

"What did your father mean?" she asked, glancing back at the closed door.

Percy pursed his lips.

For a moment, Annabeth wondered if she'd have to coerce him into telling her. Before she could ask again though, he told her.

"He doesn't think you should go to Athens with us."

Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "And what do you think?"

As soon as Percy delivered the official apology to Queen Athena, they were supposed to go to Athens and arrange an army to fight against the remaining people from Tartarus. Percy had assured Annabeth that she would be joining them. Up until now, no one was bothered to suggest otherwise.

"I think it's still your choice," Percy murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist.

His fingers flexed against her back and she knew there was more that he wasn't saying.

"You don't want me to go," she realised. Percy bit his lip. "Why?" she demanded.

He had liked the idea before. Had even encouraged her to come. Whatever his father had said had, apparently, changed his mind.

"You're the Princess of Athens and the Queen of Atlantis," Percy reminded her without meeting her eyes. "If anything happened to you, both kingdoms would feel the loss."

"I can take care of myself just fine," Annabeth said haughtily, feeling more than a little upset that he was doubting her. "Athens is my home and Atlantis is my duty. You can't keep me from either."

Additionally, she had been the one to uncover the Prince of Tartarus's scheme to use the war against them. Aside from those that had been present when she'd first shared the information, no one else would be told that it was her who had heard talk of Kronos or seen him recruiting war orphans. It wasn't news they wanted to spread.

"I won't," Percy promised. "It's still your choice."

"And I'm still going."

She could see he had new doubts about her joining them, but he wouldn't have told her she could come if she couldn't.

"It'll be safe in Athens." She ran her hands up his arms and rested them at the nape of his neck. "I'll probably get bored."

"I have the feeling that's when you'll get into the most trouble," Percy grumbled. Annabeth bit back a smile.

"We'll be safe, Percy."