A Tale of Romans and Slaves | PJO/HOO

Chapter 27: Percy

The moonlight glistened on her blonde hair.

Her gray eyes stared into mine, full of longing. Her arms were around my neck, and my arms were around her waist. She brought her lips up to mine, and I kissed her back. And in that moment, there was nowhere I'd rather be.

But then she broke away from me. The beach we were standing on melted away, turning into something else. Annabeth's body was changing, turning into someone else.

And then we were in the arena, and Jake was in front of me, my sword in his stomach.

I woke with a gasp, sweat beading on my forehead. That had been my fourth nightmare.

I'd been having them ever since I killed Jake. I had to do it, but that didn't make the guilt any worse. I knew he'd haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.

I knew that Charles was haunting Tyson's. It was common for Tyson to scream from his nightmares in the night.

I curled up on my bed. What I didn't get was why Annabeth was always in my dreams. It was always romantic, too.

The last time I had seen her was in the arena. I knew I'd never forget the look of horror in her eyes when I killed Jason.

I had heard from the new girl that Annabeth was the princess' new handmaiden, which meant she would be with her at all times. So now I had a black haired, green eyed girl who's nightly fights with Travis had become everyone's favorite entertainment.

I leaned against the wall. I wanted to talk to Annabeth, to anyone. But I couldn't.

The only sounds I could hear was everyone's snoring. We had finished training an hour or so ago, and almost everyone had naps right after. I tried not to, because of my nightmares, but sometimes I was so exhausted I couldn't help myself.

I heard footsteps, and I turned my head towards the hallway. Was it dinner already?

But when the person came into view, I knew it wasn't. This person was wearing a hood that concealed their face, and had no food in sight.

They knelt in front of my cell, and lifted their hood. It was Annabeth.

"Am I hallucinating?" I asked.

She smiled. "No."

"Then why are you here?" I asked as I walked over and knelt before her.

"I wanted to talk to you," She said.

"But how did you get here?" I asked. "I thought you had to be with the princess at all times."

"Thalia pretty much lets me do what I want," She replied.

I tilted my head at her. "You call her by her first name?"

"She asked me too," She replied. "She's pretty awesome, for a Roman."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said honestly.

There was a brief pause.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I could be worse," I replied. "You?"

"I'm fine," She said. "I've just been worried about you."

I smiled. "And why is that?"

"Because you're my friend," She said. "Any more stupid questions, Seaweed Brain?"

I laughed. "Seaweed Brain?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Because, you know, your a fisherman's son. And an idiot."

I gasped, which made her laugh. "I'm so insulted!"

"Get used to it."

We smiled at each other for awhile. It was the first time I'd smiled for two days, and it felt good.

"I have to go," She said suddenly. "Katie will be here with dinner soon. I'll come back afterward."

"Okay," I said as she walked away.

Just as Annabeth said, the girl with the food, who I assumed was Katie, walked into the hallway. After her normal bickering with Travis, she got to my cell.

I ate my dinner quickly, waiting for Annabeth. She'd probably come back once everyone was asleep again, so I leaned against the wall.

For the next week, Annabeth kept coming to see me. Before Katie brought dinner, and afterward. Her visits quickly became the highlights of my day.

Plus, my nightmares were going away, replaced with sweet dreams of her.

On her eighth day of visiting me, she brought me a piece of cake.

"It's your birthday," She said.

I looked at her. "It is?"

"Yeah," She said. "August 18th. You told me yesterday."

"Oh," I said. "So I'm eighteen."

"Yeah," She said.

The cake was blue, which was my favorite color.

"Happy birthday," She said.

"Thanks," I said.

"I also have some unhappy news," She said once I finished eating it.

"What?" I asked.

"Lord Dionysus has officiated the next shipment to the colosseum," She said sadly. "You're in it."

My eye widened. "What?"

There were tears in her eyes. "It's two weeks from now."

Two weeks?

"I don't want to lose you, Percy," She sobbed.

"You won't," I said, cupping her face with my hand. "I promise."

We stared at each other for awhile. My mind was a battleground. Two weeks. Two. Weeks.

"You promise?" She asked weakly.

"Yes," I said. "I'll always come back for you."

She smiled at me. Then, slowly, she brought her lips to mine.

I kissed her back, slipping my arms through the bars and putting them around her waist. She did the same, throwing her arms around my neck.

We both ignored the bars that were pressing against our faces. All that mattered was each other.

I don't know how long we stayed like that. But eventually, we heard the door to the hallway start to open. Then we broke apart, and Annabeth sprinted off.