Down in Flames - Rewritten Entirely

Chapter 14

When Annabeth woke up on the fourth morning, she was tense. She was tense through breakfast and through lunch. Even when Percy came to see how she was doing, she was tense.

She spent nearly the entire day by her window. Although her view of the front gates was partially blocked, she stood by her window and waited anxiously for the royal messenger. Part of her knew there was a chance he wouldn't return until the next morning, but that didn't stop Annabeth from pacing or keeping an eye out the window. It was nearing dinner time before anything changed, but Annabeth spotted the difference as soon as it happened.

A lone rider came galloping through the front gates, but Annabeth had seen him when he was still a couple of paces away.

"He's here!" she shrieked, pressing her forehead to the window pane.

Behind her, Percy jumped in surprise and barely moved out of the way as she went barreling past him. He raced out after her, letting the heavy door slam behind him.

As far as Percy knew, Annabeth still didn't have a foolproof plan. Unless Queen Athena was kinder than Annabeth had predicted, Percy was worried that they were running towards bad news. It wouldn't be the first time a messenger had come back with something bad, but as the days crept towards his coronation, Percy found himself fearing possible bad news more and more. It would be difficult enough starting his reign in the middle of a war that he now knew was a lie. Suddenly, the weight of both his upcoming coronation and inevitable marriage was much heavier than before.

By the time they arrived at the palace doors, there was already a crowd gathered. Annabeth pushed past some of the lingering servants and guards, but Percy grabbed her arm before she shoved past a councilman.

They watched from a few meters away as the messenger handed the nearest councilman the letter. To his right, Annabeth sucked in a breath and Percy nearly did the same. There was a tense silence all around as the first councilman read Queen Athena's response. When he stuffed the letter into his tunic and turned around, Percy held his breath.

The councilman said nothing. Rather than address the gathered crowd or reassure them that they wouldn't be attacked, he walked past them all and returned to the palace. The remaining council members followed while Annabeth turned to Percy with clear confusion.

"They said nothing."

Percy nodded.

"How could they say nothing?" Annabeth exclaimed, glancing in the direction the men had left in. "Everyone here is waiting for news, but they said nothing."

"We'll find out soon enough," Percy said, "I'm sure."

Annabeth frowned. Before she could draw more attention to them, Percy steered her back into the palace and in the direction of his father's office. The councilmen were sure to have brought the letter straight to the king so if they wanted to find out what was in it, they needed to follow.

The councilmen moved quickly. It was all Percy and Annabeth could do to catch up to them without running. By the time the door of King Poseidon's office closed behind the men, Percy and Annabeth had just rushed around the corner.

"We'll never hear them!" Annabeth exclaimed, slowing her pace. Percy didn't slow down.

"I'll go in," he told her, briefly glancing over his shoulder. "They won't think anything of it if I go in alone."

Annabeth's brow pinched together. "You want me to wait out here?"

"They don't trust you," Percy reminded her. Annabeth's frown deepened. "If it's bad news, they'll think of your arrival as a threat. I'll go."

Percy could see on her face that she didn't want to be left out, but Annabeth nodded. Taking a step back, she gestured towards the door.

"I'll stay out of sight then," she promised. "Come find me after."

As Annabeth turned back down the hall and disappeared, Percy pushed open the door to his father's office.

Just as he'd expected, the councilmen and his father all looked up at his entrance. Shortly after they realised he was alone, they turned back to the matter at hand: Queen Athena's response.

"Your Highness," a duke said, "if we assemble our armies now, we can be well defended by midnight."

From behind his office desk, King Poseidon looked around the council coolly and said, "Athena has said we have three days."

"Three days before she acts!" a man chimed in. Percy couldn't spot him amongst the cluster of councilmen until he spoke up again. "She'll act by attacking us!"

Loud murmurs started up around the room and Percy used the distraction to approach his father's desk. The letter had rolled itself back up, but it was close enough to the corner of his father's desk that Percy could take it without suspicion. Rather than risk taking it away from the council, he unrolled it behind his father's desk and looked down.

To say the letter was not good was an understatement. Although it was short and precise, Percy knew they were in trouble. Just as Annabeth had feared, Queen Athena would not end the war without a public apology from Atlantis. In the queen's own words, "Either the King of Atlantis issues a public and clear apology for the blame placed on me, or this war will grow beyond your control."

"She will not accept a private meeting," Poseidon murmured. Percy jumped, nearly dropped the letter. His father's lips twitched into a small smile. "Athena has always been proud and I will admit we have made a grave mistake."

"So apologise," Percy suggested. His father's face darkened, but Percy had known it was a foolish suggestion even before he'd spoken it. He owned it to Annabeth to at least try, however.

"I will not be made into a fool simply so she no longer feels like one," his father hissed. Turning away from Percy, he addressed the council as he said, "I will send another letter. Perhaps it will convince her and grant us more time."

The councilmen nodded in agreement, but Percy had spoken with Annabeth enough to know otherwise. While his father called a scribe to write down his response to Athena, Percy slipped out of the office to find Annabeth. If his father wasn't willing to sacrifice his pride to save Atlantis, then Percy would need to do everything in his power to prevent an even more brutal war.