Annabeth's POV
The lights go out and the room is cast into darkness. I stand up, trying to remember where the light switch is and how to get there. I take a step and run into someone.
"Trying to leave? But the ball has hardly begun," the girl hisses in my ear. I'm not at all surprised at who it is. Drew has my arm in her hand and she begins to drag me away.
I'm shocked for a moment and she manages to pull me a few inches. Then I regain my bearings and do the only thing that I can. If no one can see, the only thing I have is to make enough noise that they can hear me. I release a scream, a loud one so that Drew will have to stop it, and then everyone will know that it's an attack.
Meanwhile, I wrench my arm free from her grasp and pull away from her. I hear footsteps pounding in what I believe to be the hall.
"Get her and make her quiet," Drew says, almost silent.
I'm about to ask her who she is talking to when I feel a pair of arms wrap around me. One of the hands stuffs a napkin into my mouth. I kick and try to break away, but I can't. It's not that easy to walk in this dress, much less fight in it.
I grow limp, hoping that he will think I've stopped fighting. I hear Percy's voice shouting and a few girls respond. I want to tell him what's happening, but I can't. There's no way to other than to moan, and I will not stoop down to that level. Besides, I don't need any saving, I can do it just fine on my own.
"Come on, before any guards get here," Drew snarls at the man holding me. He moves quickly and I feel a door open. I reach my foot out to try and wedge myself in the doorframe, but my foot kicks empty air.
The halls are also dark, but a few lamps here and there are burning. I try to twist to see who's securing me, but his grip is like iron. Drew walks ahead of us, her bird wings fluttering as she walks. She keeps twisting her hands, her face has a look of worry on it. I hear her muttering as we walk down the hall.
"...can't touch me, I got her captured...I have to be safe now...no one suspects a thing..."
We reach a tapestry and Drew moves to go behind it. A different one than where Piper was attacked, but I'm sure it'll share the same purpose.
This is my last chance to fight. I kick my foot back as hard as I can and I feel it connect with the man's shin. He grunts and during the moment of confusion, I flex my arms out and push against his grip. It weakens and I push harder. I kick back again and he lets go of me.
I spin towards Drew and she turns around, confused. I punch her in the jaw, then again in stomach. I made her dress, I know exactly how to break it.
I reach towards the part near the waist, where she made us keep altering it due to it not flattering her figure. That's where it's the weakest. I tug and she gasps in surprise and pain. I throw myself forward and start to run back to the ballroom. Then I stop. If they're trying to take me, that means that the one behind Piper's attack is probably where they were taking me.
The person is behind the tapestry.
I turn around and see that the guard is starting towards me again. He has a mask on, but I can see blonde hair, just like Luke's.
Luke. It can't be him, why would he help Drew hurt me? He would never betray me. He's my family.
I dodge him and go back to the tapestry. I fumble with the doorknob for a few seconds. Finally, I open the door and practically fall over the threshold.
"Hello, Annabeth," says a familiar voice. Willow is sitting in a chair, shaped like a throne. Her peacock wings extend past the throne. She smiles a smile that is just...wrong. My heart pounds when I look into her eyes. They're filled with hatred, jealously, and something deeper. Madness.
"Shut the door, Drew. Don't want any princes to come running after a Selected," she snarls at Drew, who does what Willow says.
I see the guard standing in the corner, out of the way. It isn't Luke. It can't be.
"I bet you're wondering why you're here, Annabeth," she begins.
"Most likely because you realized the prince liked me more than Piper, so you decided to get someone he would be more willing to barter for. I'm guessing that you want the throne, or maybe to just win the Selection. Right now, you're about to unveil your master plan while I wait here. Then, you'll continue to hold me captive until you get what you want," I say smugly.
Willow's mouth stays open for a few seconds. I bet she wasn't expecting me to have watched any movie or read any book.
"In a way, yes. Because this has been in plan for many years. I have been waiting for this for many years. But don't worry, because soon, it will all be worth it," she's talking more to herself than to me.
"That sounds like a lot of meticulous planning on your part, but I don't believe that this will actually work," I bluff, trying to think of a plan. There always is a plan, always a way to get out of something. I just have to figure it out.
"It will," she says, lacking a little confidence.
"What is going to keep me from escaping? I can easily take you, Willow."
"Possibly. But I don't think that we will have to figure that out. Because I know that my step-brother will protect me."
The guard is her step-brother? Strange.
"Then I guess that I'll have to take him too. I already did in the hallway."
"That won't happen again. Right?" She asks the guard, with a warning in her voice.
He nods, but makes no sound. Willow laughs, like he's being silly. She shakes her head at him and beckons for him to walk closer.
"Now, now, don't be so shy. Let Annabeth meet you," she smiles at him.
Slowly, he lifts up his mask. My heart stops for a second. Then it completely shatters.
Luke is the guard. And is also Willow's step-brother.
YOU ARE READING
The Demigod Selection
Fanfiction" the old gods were dying " Shadows had followed Annabeth Chase her entire life. They leaked into her dreams and chased her out of her home, causing her to run into two others, Thalia Grace and Luke Castellan, who had the same shadows. They form a s...
