A Crown of Golden Leaves: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Caput II: When One Door Closes

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -J.K. Rowling

Caput II: When One Door Closes

ANNABETH let out a sigh of relief when she saw the clearing. She honestly was surprised at how far she had ended up running; it had taken him quite a long time to get back to the edge of the forestry... after quite a bit of backtracking and muttering of how he had grown up exploring these lands, he should know how to navigate it. 

To her relief, the sounds of fighting had stopped, and all she could hear was the birds in the distance whistling and Percy breathing. He was actually warmer than she had at first realized, though not uncomfortably so. It felt nice to her aching muscles, and she had to fight not to relax against his back.

Actually, she had sort of been expecting him to be cold like his personality.

She slid off his back carefully, not alerting anyone to their presence. The camp seemed to be fuller, but she had a suspicion that it was due to his party. Oh, she hoped no one had been injured too badly. She could smell blood in the air and she could see leftover monster dust. An arm went out, offering it as a support, and she tilted her head at it. He was considerate?

She took it and nearly gasped as her whole arm felt like it had been struck by lightning. The shock traveled all over her body, leaving her ears ringing.

"You all right?" He was staring at her, one of his eyebrows raised.

She nodded, trying to get her body under control. What in Tartaros was that? "Fine."

He tilted his head and pressed his lips together, then nodded, and they walked over toward the camp.

________________________

"Annabeth!" a familiar voice shouted, and she looked up from her staring contest with the ground. Thalia ran in front of her, stopping the two of them as her eyes roamed up and down her body. They went wide. "You're hurt! We thought we lost you when Jason said that place was infested with monsters."

He shot Annabeth an I told you so! look. She ignored it, focusing on Thalia, who seemed to have calmed down. "I'm fine, Thalia."

Thalia rolled her eyes and turned toward him. "Thanks for saving her, sir. I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him when he snorted, "It's just Percy." He didn't offer a reply to the second statement. Thalia froze and Annabeth shifted when her gaze flashed over to her then back at Percy.

"Wait, so you're..." She clapped her hands over her mouth, and Annabeth felt question marks dance around in her head and probably all over her face too. Percy stepped away from Annabeth, rubbing the back of his neck. Annabeth wonder why the air was suddenly felt chilly.

Thalia shook her head and her gaze went back on turned back to Annabeth. "You know, maybe we should have kept you here with us. You've got more injuries than all of us combined." She raised her eyes to the sky and walked up to her.

Annabeth snorted; of course her luck would be that bad.

"Come on, let's get you patched up," she sighed and wrapped one of Annabeth's arms around her neck and shoulders. Percy took the other side.

"We'll have to get back to Roma soon." He sounded tired for some reason. "The Caesar is expecting us back soon, and we're already running late."

Thalia glanced at him and smirked. "Jason said your comrades are ready to go back to Tartarus?"