The Unknown Allegiance

| Chapter 14 || Meeting of the Guardians |

Chapter Fourteen

Meeting of the Guardians

*First Person Point of View ~ Perseus*

"Ow," was the first word that slipped out of my mouth as I woke up. I'm not ashamed to admit it because the pain was unimaginable.

"Percy!" I heard a muffled voice cry, and I suddenly felt soft hands on my chest. Small fingers ran over my bare torso, feeling along my ribs and up to my collarbones.

I coughed as the fingers pressed gently on my left side, where I was sure the ribs were broken. My breath stuttered in my throat as I refrained from inhaling, as the air would stretch my lungs and therefore my ribs. The pain was replaced by an empty feeling in my lungs, but at least I could no longer hear the grinding of my broken ribs.

"I'm okay..." I muttered, opening my eyes. I blinked a few times as my eyes were assaulted by bright lights. My retinas were screaming in agony just like the rest of my body.

Once the images in front of me turned from blurry shapes swimming in the sea of brightness into Thalia and Korrina, I tried to sit up. I was immediately forced back down by both the terrible pain in my chest and a strong hand on my shoulder.

My eyes flickered up to see Korrina. Her arm was stretched out to block half of my vision as she pushed me down.

"Stop," she ordered, "Lay still. Moving will just cause more damage." Her eyes were narrowed in a glare and her mouth was set in a firm line.

I laid back in bed, nodding my head. "Okay," I said, my voice scratchy, "Okay."

"Good," Korrina said, her glare disappearing. "Wouldn't want you tearing your new stitches, would we?" Her teeth gleamed as she sent a smile my way. I averted my gaze - it was like Apollo himself with his mega-watt smile.

"What's happening?" I asked as I caught a glimpse of the other guardians in the background. They were all shuffling around and shifting between their feet, fiddling with their fingers. "What's wrong?"

"Percy," Aikaterine began, her voice surprisingly soft. She walked towards me so that she was in my direct view. "I've called a meeting. We must discuss the recent events."

My eyes narrowed in confusion. "What recent-" I paused. Everything suddenly came back to me, a rush of images flashing before my eyes. I groaned as the images only added to my killer headache. "Okay," I managed to get out, "Then let's discuss it here. Forgive me if I don't do much talking as listening, Katie."

I got a few laughs.

"No problem," Aikaterine said, a look of relief on her face. I wonder why. Maybe she thought my sense of humour was broken, too, just like my ribs. Maybe it was my use of her nickname - the one that only her closest friends know.

"Perfect! Then let's begin. Everyone pull up a chair." Kleopatra, the guardian of my father and daughter of Hermes, was her usual bubbly self. Her eyes gleamed mischievously as always, but I could tell that she was hiding a flicker of concern behind her façade.

As suggested, the guardians all pulled chairs up around my bed, and Korrina pressed a few buttons on a remote, causing the bed to tilt up so that I could look at all of them without straining my neck.

"Well, to start off this meeting, Percy, where have you been? We've all been so worried," Aikaterine started. She was sitting in the chair directly to my right and her hand rested on the bed. Her fingers were just barely brushing my arm.

"Some more than others..." Kleopatra muttered. Her voice was just loud enough for me to catch it. Of course, that was only because she sitting directly beside Aikaterine, and had her body facing my legs.