Vicious Femmes (a Percy Jackson AU)

Math Warriors

The afternoon was long and Drew had retired to her bedchambers for some rest. Silena was flirting with some comely courtier named Michael and Nancy had gone to her room to check on her curls. I was sketching out a plan of how I would design a palace on a piece of parchment. There were two things I liked most in the world and they were architecture and math. I liked math because it was logical and I liked architecture because it allowed humans to transform the emotional into the logical.
As I dipped my feather pen into the ink and worked on the towers I would order to be built, I heard footsteps and I looked up to see a courtier approach me. From her finely cut dress, glittering diamonds, and velvet kirtle she appeared more like an empress than a noble lady or even a queen. She had a haughty expression that rivaled when that of the king's pompous brother, Zeus, who was known for bedding almost as many women as the king and treating them more callously. At least the king rewarded his mistresses with gifts, marriages if they were single (once their affairs ended), and titles. Zeus rewarded them with his hag of wife's fury.
I gave a small smile to this handsome woman — for she was not beautiful, but handsome with carved cheekbones, a sharp and striking nose, broad shoulders, and thin eyes that looked almost like that of a wolf's. She had dark hair and skin as tanned as a peasant's. No one would dare call her form or face dainty, but that only made her beauty seem more formidable. No one could look at her and dismiss her like they dismissed Silena.
"My name is Lupa," she said. "And you are Annabeth?"
I nodded. I had heard of her before. Drew had told me that Lupa had been the one to ask her husband to marry her.
"You are drawing?" she asked.
I let her see my plan and I saw her smile slightly.
"This is fine," she said. "How did you learn to draw like this?"
I swallowed.
"My tutor," I said.
I did not tell her that Luke was only seven years older than me and had given me knowledge beyond what was necessary. He had been expelled from the house after my father realized he had tried to seduce me, though I had begged my father to let him stay. Luke was sent off and I had not seen him for over a year. My father had hired another tutor in his place, but Madame Dodds was sour as vinegar.
      "Do you know math?" she asked.
         I nodded. Luke had taught me basic arithmetic and Madame Dodds had tutored me in geometry and algebra.
      "Would you like to join the Math Warriors?" she asked. "It's a group of courtiers who compete in math competitions. Not everything at court has to be silly."
     "I'll think about it, Countess Lupa," I said.
      She smiled at me and I went back to my drawing. When I was finished, I decided that I should find a tutor at court. I just needed to figure out whom.