THE FALSE KNIGHT | Percabeth AU

10: A Colorful Breakfast

Percy's POV: Afterwards, I was pretty happy with how I won. But for the entire rest of the day, as I went to a Council meeting, set up the groups, and did my homework, I couldn't stop thinking about Andrew. The only time I could stop thinking about him was during my lessons with Luke. I was better than him now, and could beat him at any second. But my thoughts were clouded. Why did I almost lose? Why was he so close? And most importantly, why were his fighting styles so similar to mine?
I even almost lost to Luke in the process. Afterwards, I helped him up, and we walked back to the castle in silence. "Hey Luke? Can I ask you something?" I said. "Of course, Your Highness," Luke said. "You know that Andrew kid? Keep a closer eye on him for me. There's something...off...about him." I said. I didn't want to reveal the fighting styles' similarity yet. Luke nodded. "Yes, Your Highness."
Thankfully, when I went to bed that night, an idea bloomed in my head. A way to keep a closer watch on Andrew.
And it involved groups.

Annabeth was really annoyed. She'd been fighting her whole entire life, yet she'd lost against the Crown Prince. Even though Percy acted really dumb on the outside, she could tell now he had a lot more depth to him. Her mistake was to underestimate him, and she wouldn't make it again.
The wake up call came up at 5 am. At least, it sounded like one. Annabeth now knew to never make Hazel scream. She had a surprisingly loud voice, and Annabeth was pretty sure that she was now deaf in one ear.
Thankfully, she wasn't as tired as some of the other knights-in-training were. She could hear random bangs across the hall, which was probably Leo bumping into random objects.When you were a peasant girl who secretly trained to be a knight, you were used to late nights and early mornings. She quickly showered, taking a shorter time than the day before, and got dressed into another outfit that she had brought with her. Note to self: sew up the low seams so people don't get suspicious. She hoped Luke wouldn't recognize her outfit.
Once she was ready, she checked the clock. 5:27. Good, she still had some time to eat breakfast. She went over to the twin beds to make hers and realized Jason was still asleep. How, after Hazel's screams? Annabeth decided to take the matters onto her own hands.
She pulled a table onto the bed, then blew in Jason's ear. Jason quickly shot up, and banged his head on the table. Annabeth couldn't help it: she burst into giggles. Jason looked at her, confused by her high voice, and Annabeth quickly sobered up.
"Come on, Andrew. Why would you even- you lifted that thing on the bed by yourself?" Jason said, staring up at the large, heavy coffee table which had now fallen to the side. Annabeth shrugged. "I'm stronger than you think. Now get up. You're gonna be late." She pulled Jason off the bed, making sure to use a firm grip, and pushed him into the bathroom. She locked the door behind Jason and walked away, then called, "This is going to keep happening, unless you can wake up on your own from Hazel's calls."
Thankfully, Annabeth did wait for Jason, who took a surprisingly short time. They walked outside to find Hazel, annoyed, tapping her foot on the floor. The lunch table had already realized that they shouldn't cross the sweet-looking maid, if they wanted to keep their sanity. "What took you two so long?" She frowned. "Well, Jason decided not to wake up on time, so I had to...use my own methods." Annabeth smirked. Hazel raised an eyebrow. "Guess I'll have to work on my screams then." Jason quickly shook his head. "No thanks. Anyways, what's for breakfast?"
"Nice attempt at changing the subject," Annabeth teased. Hazel shrugged. "Anyway, we ARE at the dining room."
It was a huge room, and Annabeth was shocked. She and her mom ate after the boys on a bench or sometimes on the floor. She had no idea people ate off of such high tables and chairs.
Is this how...Percy eats every day?
There were decorations and wall paintings everywhere. Annabeth carefully followed Hazel to a section labeled, "Blue Knights." Annabeth looked at Hazel, who explained. "Every single meal group gets their own color. You guys' color is Blue."
Annabeth nodded and sat down. It was weird, sitting at an actual table and eating. But she did it anyway. Jason sat down next to her, and she suddenly heard Leo sitting on the other side. "Hey Leo, you excited?" She said, trying to get to know him. She hadn't had a lot of chances to get to know them, even though she was sure she knew enough, she had to make an effort.
"Definitely. I hear Prince Percy's gonna show us how he fights. And we get to have practice battles!" Leo said. He was fiddling with his hands. Annabeth could tell he had more spare energy than she did. Frank sat down, and the Blue Knights dug into the warm oats and bread and milk.
Annabeth hadn't had such good food, but she knew that if she ate too fast, she would throw up. She carefully and slowly made sure to eat the food, savoring the delicious taste of every single bite.
After she was finished eating, Hazel tapped her shoulder. "Come on, Andrew. It's time to go." Annabeth followed Hazel, the three boys trailing after her. Jason was joking around while Frank and Leo were laughing hysterically. Annabeth was glad to see this kind of Frank in front of Hazel. It meant that she would most likely finally see how Frank actually was, and maybe like him for who he is.
Hazel led them all to a bench in the front row. Annabeth sat down, the boys sitting down next to her. She could see Percy come up to the front. He talked about how they were going to do a practice fight today between everyone. Whoever wins gets to go up to the final round. The final winner would battle against Percy. Everyone was excited since this would mean they would get to see how the Crown Prince fought. Annabeth could tell them that truthfully, he was hard to beat.
"Here, Andrew, this is your armor," Hazel said. She passed out more armor to the other Blue Knights. Annabeth quickly pulled her armor on top of her clothes and grabbed a training sword. Her nervousness faded off as she saw some other initiates holding their swords to the wrong side. Nobody made a move to help them, and Annabeth realized that it was because they wanted to see what they can do, not teach them just yet.
She went to the outside training circle where all the others were waiting. Jason, Frank and Leo stood next to her. Jason and Frank had figured out how to hold their swords right, but Leo was grasping it the wrong way. "Leo, you're doing it wrong," Annabeth said. She adjusted his hand on the sword. "Thanks Andy," Leo said. "Don't you dare call me that." Annabeth glared. Leo rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. Sorry, man."
People stood against their opponents. There were 53 initiates, and there were only 30 spaces allowed. "Everyone, grab a partner!" Percy said from the center ring. He was waiting, sword in hand. Annabeth quickly walked away from her friends, not wanting to verse them yet. She found a short, sniffly boy who looked about 15. He had mousy brown hair and bright brown eyes. Annabeth felt bad for going against someone like this, but she knew she had no choice, or else she had to go back to her unfair, sad, home.
"Go!" Luke said, standing beside Percy. Annabeth didn't even try. She even tried to fail, but the boy barely even tried. Annabeth had him disarmed and down in a matter of three seconds. She helped him up. "Thank you, sir." He said. Annabeth nodded and moved to the next ring. If I didn't pretend to be a boy, I wouldn't have even got this opportunity. Soon, people drifted forward along with Frank, Jason and Leo. All three of them. Thank gods.
She quickly stood next to an opponent more to her size this time. It was only fair. But she quickly disarmed him. It kept going on. Soon, Leo fell back. They were on the third to final ring, and Frank fell back too. Second to last. First to last. Now she had to go against Jason, the last remaining member. They thrusted and fought. Annabeth was out of breath. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, but she knew she had to keep on going.
Jason was almost as good of a fighter as Percy. At the last second though, she managed to disarm him. She panted, out of breath, as Jason grinned as she helped him up, and nodded at her. She glanced at Percy. It was the same thing as before. Only this time, in front of everyone else.
This time, she was going to win.