Down in Flames - Rewritten Entirely

Chapter 10

Percy was persistent, she'd give him that much. For the rest of the day, he continued to find her as she worked and try to talk with her. Unfortunately, after lunch, she was left to work alone as Thalia—the woman that had shown her how to clean the duchess's rooms—had left. Annabeth wouldn't have minded, but it didn't take the prince—Percy, apparently—long to find her cleaning Duchess Clarisse's rooms.

"At least agree to be my friend," he insisted.

Annabeth attempted to ignore him. She yanked the sheets off the duchess's beds and dropped them in a pile on the floor. Standing beside her cleaning cart, the prince handed her the fresh set of linens with a smile. She scowled in return.

Snatching the fresh linens out of the prince's hands, Annabeth turned and started making the bed anew.

"Come on, Annabeth," he said. She bit back a smile at the slight whine in his voice and a sense of familiarity shot through her gut. "Just talk to me for an hour. If we're not friends by then, I'll leave you alone."

"Promise?" Annabeth asked, whirling around to face him.

With an excited grin, the prince nodded. "Promise."

The prince's idea of becoming friends was a tad different from her's, but she supposed that was to be expected. While she asked about his favourite colour and his hobbies, he asked about her family and begged her to join him in the hidden passageways.

"I doubt your council would consider that proper," Annabeth told him sternly. The prince's cheeks turned red and she smiled. "Help me hang these curtains and then I'll see if I have time."

Unfortunately, the prince was rather quick at hanging curtains. By the time they had finished Duchess Clarisse's rooms, there was still ten minutes left in the honorary hour she had given the prince. With a grumble, she parked her cart at the end of the hall and followed the prince into a small passageway.

"Haven't you already shown me these?" Annabeth asked, following him through the darkness. Save for the lamp the prince had lit before entering, they could hardly see anything.

"Not these ones," the prince replied. He glanced back at her then turned forward. "These lead up to the royal family's chambers."

As they walked, the prince continued to ask her questions. Annabeth wasn't sure when she stopped finding them annoying, but by the time they crawled out of the passageway and out into a large room, she couldn't say she was irritated.

"I'm an only child," she told him, grabbing the hem of her skirt and stepping over the edge of the passageway.

"You don't act like it," the prince said, glancing over her. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"You certainly do." She took a moment to look around the room and frowned. "Where are we?"

The prince looked around and shrugged. "An old guest room, I guess. It stopped being used when the war began, but I think it's been even longer than that."

Annabeth stepped further into the room, leaving the prince behind. They had climbed out into the sitting room, but it was still rather large. Much larger than Duchess Rachel's had been and clearly designed for someone of higher status. The old sofas were covered in dust, but there was a book resting on the tea table that Annabeth recognised.

Behind her, the prince continued to talk but she was hardly listening. The room was too familiar to her. Just like Chiron and the prince had been. It made sense that Chiron would be familiar in the same way, but the prince should not bring the same feeling of nostalgia as seeing her mother's old visiting room.

"—used by a neighbouring royal family, but I only ever remember Queen Athena visiting," the prince was saying.

Annabeth glanced back at him then stepped into the bedroom.

"Her daughter was my friend," the prince murmured, following after her. He frowned to himself. "At least, I think she was. I don't remember much of them."

Moving into the bedroom, Annabeth glanced around the room. Something on the dresser caught her eye and Annabeth broke away from the prince. He paused his rambling as she reached towards the piece of jewellery on the dresser with a frown.

"You probably shouldn't touch that," the prince said, coming up behind her. "It used to be my mom's."

Annabeth barely heard his words. Her hand reached towards the locket still hanging around her neck as she brushed the dust off the old necklace in her hand. Her breath caught in her throat at the engraving and she subconsciously pulled her locket out from under the collar of her dress.

"She and Queen Athena were friends," the prince said, glancing down at the locket. "That's Queen Athena's seal," the prince said, pointing to the familiar symbol. "But I'm sure you already knew that."

Annabeth nodded numbly, staring down at the scrawny owl and the corresponding letters: alpha, theta, epsilon. Her thumb traced the carving on her own locket. The trident was smaller and the letters were different, but the similarity between the two was clear.

"The lockets were made as a symbol of friendship and unity," the prince murmured, taking the locket out of her hand. "Queen Athena destroyed hers the day my mother was killed. We've been at war ever since."

"Why is it here?" Annabeth whispered, staring at the locket in the prince's hand. "Why wasn't your mother wearing hers?"

"She was," the prince said bitterly. He dropped the locket back on the dresser. "I don't think my father wanted to destroy something that my mother had loved so much though, so he brought it here when her body was returned."

"What if Queen Athena hadn't destroyed her locket?" Annabeth asked, turning to face the prince. "What would happen then?"

The prince shrugged. "It doesn't matter. The locket is destroyed and so is our alliance."

"But it's not."

Annabeth spoke before she thought and immediately regretted it. The prince turned towards her with a questioning look and although Annabeth wanted to take back her words, she knew she couldn't.

"It is," the prince said firmly. "My father said so himself. My mother's guards watched her destroy it before giving the order to kill her."

"That is not what happened," Annabeth said coldly. The prince's eyes narrowed. "Queen Athena didn't destroy her locket, but your kingdom can't fight a war without having a reason."

"My mother is dead," the prince hissed. "Is that not a good enough reason for you?"

With a scowl, Annabeth pulled her locket over her head and pressed it into his hand.

"Your mother was killed, but my mother was not the one to do it."