𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[4] George wants a rat

Tantalus was going to die.

At least, that's what Percy wanted most at that time. According to the old man, the Stymphalian birds had simply been minding their own business in the woods and would not have attacked if Annabeth, Tyson, Percy and Y/N hadn't disturbed them with their bad chariot driving.

They were all sentenced to kitchen patrol scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that lovely sparkle and kill 200% percent of all germs, so Annabeth and Percy had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons.

Tyson and Y/N didn't mind, though. They plunged their bare hands right in and started scrubbing, but Annabeth and Percy had to suffer through hours of hot, dangerous work.

"If he's really found it," Annabeth murmured, deep in thought, "and if we could retrieve it..."

"Hold on," Percy said. "You act like this... whatever-it-is Grover found is the only thing in the world that could save the camp. What is it?"

"I'll give you a hint. What do you get when you skin a ram?"

"Ooh! I know! A fleece!" Y/N interrupted excitedly.

Annabeth rolled her eyes "Yes. A fleece. And if that ram happens to have golden wool..."

Percy's eyes widened. "The Golden Fleece. Are you serious?"

Annabeth scrapped a plateful of death-bird bones into the lava. "Percy, remember the Gray Sisters? They said they knew the location of the thing you seek. And they mentioned Jason."

"Grey sisters?" Y/N questioned, inspecting an especially dirty spoon.

"Long story." Percy replied.

"Three thousand years ago," Annabeth continued, "they told Jason how to find the Golden Fleece. You do know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?"

"Yeah," Percy said. "That old movie with the clay skeletons."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, Percy! You are so hopeless."

"What?" Percy demanded.

"Just listen. The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important."

"It was probably important to her." Y/N mumbled.

"The point is, when Cadmus got to Colchis, he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree in the middle of the kingdom. The Fleece brought prosperity to the land. Animals stopped getting sick. Plants grew better. Farmers had bumper crops. Plagues never visited. That's why Jason wanted the Fleece. It can revitalize any land where it's placed. It cures sickness, strengthens nature, cleans up pollution—"

"It could cure Thalia's tree." Percy finished.

Annabeth nodded. "And it would totally strengthen the borders of Camp Half-Blood. But the Fleece has been missing for centuries. Tons of heroes have searched for it with no luck."

"But Grover found it," Percy said. "He went looking for Pan and he found the Fleece instead because they both radiate nature magic. It makes sense, Annabeth. We can rescue him and save the camp at the same time. It's perfect!"

Annabeth hesitated. "A little too perfect, don't you think? What if it's a trap?"

"What choice do we have?" Percy asked. "Are you going to help me rescue Grover or not?"