Down in Flames - Rewritten Entirely

Chapter 7

Annabeth hardly said a word for the entire ride back to Atlantis. Although Percy felt a little guilty about it, he doubted he could be of any help. He'd honestly thought she'd at least recognised him before, but if she really hadn't known who he was, then he could understand the shock. Nevertheless, she was under his protection so even if she didn't want to speak to him, he'd make sure the rest of his troops knew to stay away. He had the feeling the troops hadn't heeded his earlier order to let their prisoners go immediately.

The trip to Atlantis was long. Percy wasn't sure if it was better or worse to make the trip with Annabeth sitting behind him, but he certainly wasn't going to walk. Blackjack was a big horse. He could easily carry the both of them, but Percy knew the soldiers would talk and he didn't want to make Annabeth the topic of gossip before they even arrived at the palace.

When they finally passed through the palace gates, the troops were starting to grumble in the heat. Even Percy was starting to get antsy. Annabeth, however, stayed silent.

While Octavian led the troops down to the stables to unpack and groom the horses, Percy rode up to the palace doors. They got a few stares as he rode past with Annabeth behind him, but he didn't stop long enough for anyone to ask about her. Even as they stopped at the bottom of the palace steps, Percy only stopped long enough to ask a servant to take his horse down to the stables.

"I'll show you around," Percy said, turning to Annabeth as the servant took Blackjack's reigns.

"Would it be possible to get clothes first?"

Percy blinked and only then did he remember she was still wearing a nightgown. It was tucked under his cloak, but he doubted she'd feel comfortable walking around the palace in nothing but her nightgown and his cloak.

Nodding, he led her towards their servant's quarters first. "Of course."

It wasn't too difficult to find something that would fit Annabeth. There was always a stack of available uniforms available so after finding one that fit Annabeth, he took her back up to the main floor of the palace. It was only fair that he give her a tour of the palace after burning down her home. That along with the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling he knew her.

There was no reason for them to have met before. In fact, Percy was pretty sure that if they had met before, he wouldn't still be looking for a wife. At the very least he would have remembered her. No matter how hard he tried to remember, though, he couldn't recall ever seeing her before. He'd thought about it for the full trip back to Atlantis, but the best memory he could come up with was vague. A flash of blonde curls, the gift of a locket, and a snippet of conversation between a very young girl and his mother.

The last memory was the craziest, of course. His mother had died before the war and she had rarely visited the city. Aside from the palace, the only place his mother had ever visited in Athens was a small bakery that she insisted had the best bread in the country. He'd loved the trips to Athens as a young boy and had been sad when they'd stopped, but surely his memory was faulty. If he'd met Annabeth before or if his mother had ever talked to her, he would remember it. Right?

In an attempt to shake the faulty memories from his mind, Percy talked. He talked about the portraits hanging in the halls, he talked about the throne room renovation, and he talked about the many servant passageways he and his younger brother liked to explore. Even as they passed servants or guards in the hall, Percy didn't stop talking. If it annoyed Annabeth at all, she didn't say anything.

It took a while for him to finish giving Annabeth the palace tour but eventually, they were done. He hadn't shown her any part of the west wing or the royal chambers, but he felt confident that he'd shown her every other part of the palace.

"Chiron will help you get settled," Percy explained, walking with her back down to the servants' quarters.

"Chiron?" Annabeth echoed. Percy nodded and Annabeth frowned. "I recognise that name."

Before Percy could ask where she'd heard it, they stumbled upon the man himself.

"Your Highness!" Chiron bowed to him.

"Chiron, this is Annabeth," Percy said, gesturing to his right. Just like Annabeth had, Chiron frowned. "She lost her home in Athens after Octavian burned it. I offered her a job and a room to make up for it."

Chiron hummed, giving Annabeth an unrecognisable look. "Athens, you say?"

"By the port," Annabeth said hastily. "My father and I lived by the port."

"Very well," Chiron said after a moment. "We'll find you a bunk and a job."

Percy stepped back and let Chiron guide Annabeth down to the maid's chambers. With a nod, Percy turned around and headed up to the dining hall where he would have to face his father. If the gods favoured him in any way at all, they would not have Poseidon already hear the rumours.

* * * * *

As it turned out, the gods did not favour Percy in any way. He had hardly sat down at the table before his father turned to scowl at him. Percy immediately averted his eyes and glanced to where his younger brother, Tyson, was waiting eagerly for the meal to start.

"Percy is here, Daddy!" Tyson said, eyeing the food in front of him. "Can we eat now?"

"You may begin, Tyson," Poseidon said.

Tyson didn't seem to hear the concealed anger in Poseidon's voice, but Percy did. While Tyson watched happily as a servant dished up his plate, Percy sat stiffly in his seat and waited for his father to scold him.

"I've heard rumours," Poseidon finally said, "of you bringing back a girl. A prisoner."

"She's not a prisoner," Percy said quickly. Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "She's not a prisoner," Percy repeated, less defensive this time. "Octavian went out of control and killed her family. I offered her a place here with the servants and she accepted."

"And you thought that was wise?"

Percy looked down at his plate.

"Percy, what exactly were you thinking when you brought an Athenian into our home?" his father asked. At that, Tyson looked up with a slight frown, but he didn't stop eating long enough to ask what they were talking about. "We attacked their home to end this war. Bringing back a girl will only make things worse."

"She was a nobody, father," Percy protested. He told his father how he had encountered her near the port, but he kept out the part about recognising her. "Athens won't notice her absence and she did agree to come willingly."

"Did you at least consider how the troops would see it?" Poseidon asked sharply. Percy frowned. "They'll take their own prisoners now."

"They already were." At that, Poseidon frowned. "They've been taking prisoners this whole time. None of them leave the camp though."

"How do you know?"

After a moment of hesitation, Percy said, "Annabeth told me."

Something flashed through his father's eyes at Annabeth's name, but it was gone before Percy could determine what it was.

Poseidon cleared his throat and motioned for the servants to serve him and Percy. The room remained silent as Percy waited for his father to say something else, but Poseidon waited until the servants had finished dishing up their plates and stepped away from the table.

"I would like to meet her," Poseidon said shortly. Percy opened his mouth to protest, but his father gave him a look that left no room for argument. "I want to exactly who you brought into my palace."