Rachel's POV
Screams echo down the hallway, the same hallway Percy and Piper disappeared down. Should I follow? I don't want to get in trouble again.
A few guards shoulder me aside as they run to where the screams are coming from. I push my red hair behind my ear and jog after them, a feat that's near impossible in a long dress and heels.
I finally see the other guards, Piper McLean, and the prince leaning over two figures lying on the ground. I rush over to Percy, but he stands up before I can meet him. He lunges at the guard who is holding a whip.
"Why would you hurt them?" he shouts at the guard. "They did nothing to you, and they were unharmed! Silena is a lady of the Selection!"
"She was, but not anymore. She has to go back to where she came from," the guard growls. "Now the dirty, filthy little-"
I almost miss another guard hit the whip-holding one. The new guard is handsome, with blonde hair and electric blue eyes. The blonde guard holds the other one in place.
I've never seen Percy this angry. There's a fire in his eyes and his hands are clenched tightly, forming fists. Since the start of the Selection, I've seen a caring and sympathetic Percy. I don't know who this Percy is.
"No harm will come to Silena, or the guard," Percy says slowly. "They will return home safely and resume to their normal lives. This doesn't leave the room, understood?"
"Your highness," the blonde guard says just as the Prince turns away. "It was announced while the Report was being aired. The information has already been broadcasted to the homes of everyone in Illea."
Percy spins around and punches the wall with an audible force. I gasp in shock and for the first time, he looks at me. His eyes seem to clear a bit, as if there was a fog that I managed to eliminate.
"Rachel? What are you doing here?"
I straighten up and smooth down my dress. "I'm here to help. When the guard came and shouted, I wanted to find out what was wrong."
"So you're just here because you were curious?" His voice is accusing. "Just go away, Rachel. I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do to help."
"How do you know? All you've done lately is ignore me, and I'm sick of it," Percy lowers his gaze back to Silena and the guard. "Look at me!" I shout.
His eyes snap back to me. I see the fire that was in his eyes is back, this time directed at me. "Rachel, go back to your room or so help me-"
"Both of you shut up!" A new voice shouts. I look down, surprised to see Piper. I thought she left. "Silena and Charles Beckendorf are dying, and all you two are doing is arguing! After this is over, have at it. But now, I need one of you to go to the hospital wing and get help," she snaps.
"Officer Grace, take Justin to your head guard, then go to the hospital and get all the doctors and two stretchers," the Prince says. "And do it quickly."
The blonde guard, Officer Grace, drags the other guard down the hallway and disappears from sight. I turn back to Percy, only to find that he's on the ground next to Piper. I edge closer to them, hoping to hear a bit of their conversation.
"...were right, you know. I'm sorry to have lost myself so much. I'm just angry that things like this keeps happening. First it was Willow who attacked you, and now a guard attacked Silena. Is this a sign that I should end the Selection?"
"No," Piper says firmly. "If you end it, you're world will be one of 'what if'. If you end it now, you'll regret it later. Trust me, you'll regret it if you leave words unsaid."
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...
