Royally Screwed

Chapter 9

~Piper~

It's been three weeks since Annabeth has been missing.

Three weeks.

Hazel and I had begged our parents to stay and help King Frederick and Queen Athena search for the kidnapped princess. My parents were totally fine with it, but Hazel's parents were harder to convince. They finally allowed her to stay after another discussion with the King and Queen over dinner, when Queen Athena finally persuaded Lady Levesque to let Hazel assist in the search for Annabeth. Then, Hazel's and my parents left, and we stayed here.

It hasn't been the same here without my best friend. Hazel and I have been occupied with lessons from Chiron, which our parents insisted on us having.

I woke up to yelling outside the door to my chambers. The shouting moved farther down the hall, then out of earshot, but I was already awake. I sat up slowly and stretched my arms out, yawning. My hair felt like a rat's nest, and I'm sure I don't smell fabulous.

I get out of bed sluggishly and mope on over to my private bathroom. After a nice long, refreshing shower, I decided to finally get dressed and go into the throne room to see if there's any news on Annabeth's capture.

I heard a knock on my door just as a finished getting my dress on, so I tied the ribbon around my waist and opened the door.

There stood Michael Yew, one of the palace's guards, with an urgent look on his face. I nodded at him, beckoning him to speak.

"Your highness," I rolled my eyes at the useless formality, "the king and queen request your presence in the Throne Room immediately."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I cocked my head to the side. "What do they need?"

Michael just shook his head and took off running down the hall towards Hazel's room. I blinked and slipped my shoes on, then rushed down the hall, only stopping to grab an apple from the kitchen.

I entered the Throne Room, and took a seat at one of the tables in the middle of the room. Apparently, only important people were summoned, because it was just me, the king and queen, Chiron, General Ares (the army general), Hazel and I. Guards were stationed at every entrance to the room, so I can assume that whatever we are discussing is not to be spoken elsewhere.

Once all of us were seated, the king and queen in their respective thrones, and the rest of us in various chairs around the tables, the discussion began.

Queen Athena clasped her hands together. "Frederick and I have called this urgent meeting to discuss two matters,-" Hazel and I glanced at each other in confusion -"one of which involves our daughter, Princess Annabeth Minerva Cynthia Chase."

I listened intently to the queen. She had a slightly worried but confident expression on her face. King Frederick put his hand on top of hers, urging her to go on. Queen Athena took a deep breath, and continued. "Good news first. I'm expecting twins."

"Congratulations, your highness." I said, both politely and genuinely. Queen Athena smiled at me. "Thank you, Piper, dear. How many times have I told you to just call me Athena?"

I smiled kindly back at her while Hazel offered her congratulations as well.

"Now on to other matters," Athena said, standing up from her throne. Her husband stood up beside her as she spoke. "I have decided to send a group of soldiers to the ransom point. We will send a faux message telling Annabeth's captors to meet us there, then send a throng of soldiers to arrest the kidnapper."

My eyes widened. Hmm. This could work. Of course, Athena is widely known for her strategy skills, so I had no reason to doubt her planning.

General Ares stood up from his seat and bowed to the queen before speaking. "I would be happy to send some of my best soldiers to capture the kidnapper and rescue the princess. But when shall I send the faux message, your majesty?"