Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Summary: Annabeth is tired of having her life controlled by her parents. And the only possible solution she sees to her problem is to run away from home. Devastated and wanting their only child back safe, her parents hire private detective Percy Jackson to track her down and bring her home.

Chasing

Chapter 1

Annabeth sat at the rococo decorated round table under the blossoming cherry tree. She looked around the table at her company and sighed. To her left sat her stepmother dressed in her frilliest pink dress and a large hat with a ribbon that tied under her chin in a bow. Annabeth herself wore a similar style of dress that she thought made her look like a living doll. Her blond hair spilled over her shoulders as she eyed the other women around the table.

Lady Aphrodite was dressed the most formal of the group and sat with her two daughters by her side, the fabulous Silena and the younger and shyer Piper. Silena happily sipped at her tea and took ladylike bites of her small cucumber sandwich while listening to the conversation of the older women. She seemed like she belonged at this type of gathering much more than Piper. The slightly younger girl hadn't touched her tea or cookies and wore a blank expression on her face. However, whenever a hummingbird flew by the table and nipped at the flowers by the tree the table was under, Piper's multicolored eyes would sparkle with amazement. Annabeth didn't really think that little birds were anything to get excited about. But at this posh and dreadfully boring tea party, Annabeth could understand Piper's desire to distract herself.

The lovely Lady Demeter with many flowers on her large hat chatted with Aphrodite and Annabeth's stepmother. Katie, Demeter's daughter, looked almost as comfortable as Silena in this environment. The fabric of Katie's bright pale pink gloves looked radiant when the sun poked through the shade of the foliage as Katie brought her teacup to her lips.

"Annabeth, darling, sit up. And please, no elbows on the table. You're a lady, my dear." The second holder of the name "Mrs. Chase" said gently but firmly. Annabeth's mouth scrunched up to one side in an expression of annoyance. She lifted her chin from her hand and her elbow from the table then scooted her chair in. The other daughters looked at Annabeth with friendly smiles on their faces but all Annabeth could do was give them a lazy half smile and then diverted her gaze towards the tree's leaves as the conversation between the mothers continued.

"Why Annabeth has grown into a lovely young lady, I must say." Demeter said but Annabeth wasn't listening. She took out a pen from her lacy skirt's only pocket and began drawing on a napkin.

"Agreed." Aphrodite replied, bringing her teacup up and toasting Mrs. Chase who laughed in gratitude.

"Yes, the poor dear has come a long way. When I first met her, she was covered in mud from playing outdoors." Mrs. Chase said while she moved a curl out of Annabeth's face to behind the girl's ear. Then she noticed that Annabeth wasn't paying attention and was instead sketching a building. While Demeter and Aphrodite closed their eyes lightly when they sipped their tea, Mrs. Chase seized the pen out of Annabeth's hand and stowed it in her own dress pocket. Annabeth sighed in frustration, making another curl fall over her eyes. Mrs. Chase swept it to the side.

"And you have done a find job with her, Mrs. Chase. She may be at the level my love Silena is at." Aphrodite smiled at Silena. Annabeth's curl fell back into her face and she blew it to the side nonchalantly. Hearing the blowing sound, Mrs. Chase shot Annabeth a disapproving look for making such a sound. Annabeth responded by slightly shrugging her shoulders to which Mrs. Chase returned to the conversation.

"Yes, Annabeth is reaching the age where we are seeking suitors. And by the time she turns eighteen in a few months, she will be married." Mrs. Chase announced with her gloved hands folded over her heart with a large smile on her face. Annabeth's eyes widened at her stepmother's words.

"What are you talking about?" Annabeth asked, standing up and slamming her hands on the table so roughly that her teacup spilled. Selina and Katie flinched and Piper's gaze was ripped from a blue jay towards Annabeth.

"Darling, please sit back down!" Mrs. Chase said and looked down to the table at the spilled tea. "Oh my, look what you've done, child." She put some napkins on top of the spill but the drink had already soaked through the tablecloth. Mrs. Chase sighed and stood up. "I will go fetch another tablecloth. Will you join me, ladies?" She addressed the other mothers. Aphrodite and Demeter nodded and carefully pushed their chair backs to sit up.

When their mothers were out of sight, Katie removed her gloves and placed them next to her sandwich plate.

"Now what was that about, Annabeth?" She asked, stuffing her face with two cucumber sandwiches. "Goodness, I'm starved." Katie said between sandwiches.

"Married?" Annabeth said to them. "I can't get married!"

"I don't see why not, dear." Silena said. Unlike Katie who shed her lady behavior as soon as her mother left, Silena maintained her elegance.

"I can't get married." Annabeth put her hand on her forehead, soaking in her situation. "If I get married, people will be expecting a baby and then I will have to take care of that baby and if it's a girl I'll have to teach her how to 'be a lady' like stepmother so generously taught me." Annabeth's voice was dripping with sarcasm and Piper lightly laughed causing Annabeth to direct her attention towards her. "Don't laugh, Piper!" But Piper's smile widened and she began to eat cookies. "Wait three years when you turn eighteen and you'll know how I feel."

"Sweetie, it isn't that bad." Silena tried to console her. "As women, we have a duty to fulfill to our families and we should carry out that duty with pride." Silena raised an eyebrow at Katie but Katie didn't care as she continued eating tiny sandwich after tiny sandwich.

"I know." Annabeth said and crossed her arms. "But I'm just not ready."

"I've already met several suitors and they seemed nice enough."

"Nice enough?" Annabeth questioned Silena. "I don't want to marry someone after just meeting them once or twice."

"Wow, what a pretty bird!" Piper interrupted as a white dove landed on their table and pecked at the bread of a sandwich Silena was about to put her hand on.

"Goodness!" Silena stood up and backed away from the table. "Piper, shoo it away!"

"Aw, come on, sister. It's friendly." The bird let Piper pet its wing. Eventually, the bird hopped onto Piper's hand and Annabeth and Katie took turns petting and admiring the dove.

"Ladies, get rid of that thing immediately!" Silena raised her voice at them but they paid her no mind.

Suddenly the bird fluttered its wings and lifted itself off of Piper's hand. It flew back to the table where it grabbed one of Katie's gloves and quickly flew into the tree that was shading them.

"Oh, look what you've gone and made it do, Piper!" Katie said as she snatched the other glove. "Mother is going to be so angry at me for letting this happen!" She looked up towards the bird. It perched on a branch about fifteen feet up.

"Throw the teapot at it!" Silena said and Annabeth was about to obey her, reaching for the kettle.

"No, don't!" Piper called. "And it's not my fault it went and grabbed your glove, Katie. Perhaps you shouldn't have removed them from your hands."

"What will I do?" Katie asked, glaring at the dove. It cleaned its wing and flew off, leaving the glove on a high branch. "Oh, darn!" Katie's eyes started tearing up. "Father gave me those gloves before he passed away."

Annabeth squinted as she looked up, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the glove. Then she sat down on the ground and started removing her high-heeled boots. The other girls gathered around her. Silena was hugging Katie.

"Why are you taking off your shoes?" Piper asked when Annabeth stood up again.

"I'm going to climb the tree to retrieve Katie's glove. Now give me a boost." She answered, walking up to the base of the tree. Piper complied and locked her hands so Annabeth could step on to them.

"It's a good thing I wore a shorter dress today." Annabeth said, climbing higher and higher up the tree.

"Annabeth, close your legs! We can clearly see your garter belt!" Silena called from below but Annabeth ignored her with a roll of her eyes. The important thing was to reach Katie's glove as quickly as possible before her stepmother and the others returned. Tiny branches scratched at her face while Annabeth weaved her way up. Finally, Annabeth reached the branch where Katie's glove lay. The branches got thinner along the length furthest from the base so Annabeth reached as far as she could without straying too far from the trunk. Annabeth stretched a little more and finally grasped the glove.

"Annabeth!" Mrs. Chase shrieked so suddenly that Annabeth lost her balance for a slit second and wobbled.

Piper, Katie, and Silena turned their heads from looking up at Annabeth towards their returning mothers. Katie ran out of Silena's arms to the table and ate one more cucumber sandwich. She tossed Piper a cookie which she quickly swolled.

"Darling, come down immediately!" Mrs. Chase ordered. Annabeth nimbly climbed down. When she was on the last few branches, she tossed the glove down and Katie caught it and put it on. Annabeth was just about to jump when she lost her footing on the bottommost branch and fell. Mrs. Chase screamed and ran to try to catch her but she was too far away. Katie, Piper, and Silena scrambled around with their arms out. Their arms broke Annabeth's fall but not entirely. Annabeth landed on her bottom, her dress now grass stained. She sat there for a while with a large smile on her face. Then she laid on her back and spread her arms over her head. The other girls looked at Annabeth in bewilderment. Annabeth just fell from a tree and she was smiling about it.

Annabeth stood up as she started laughing. "Did I look like a total fool falling?" She said in between chuckles.

"Are you okay?" Katie asked ignoring the silly question and picking leaves out of Annabeth's hair.

"I'm fine." Annabeth said, dusting off her dress. Their mothers hurried over to the girls, Aphrodite's hand over her heart and Demeter's eyes wide.

"Child, what in Heaven's name did you climb a tree for?" Mrs. Chase examined Annabeth's body and made sure that she was well. "What if you were to get hurt? You're a lady, Annabeth! You know better!"

"Relax, I've climbed this tree a hundred times." Annabeth said dismissively as she patted the tree trunk. "A little fall isn't going to hurt me."

"She was getting my glove back, Mrs. Chase." Katie explained.

"Hush, my love." Demeter said to her daughter. "Only speak when spoken to." Katie merely nodded.

"Annabeth, get your shoes and go to your room. I will send your father up to talk to you while I see our guests home."

"But-"

"Now." Mrs. Chase commanded.

Annabeth sighed loudly but obeyed.

Annabeth lay on the foot of her canopy bed where she had a clear view of her window on the fourth floor overlooking the yard and the tree she just climbed. Mrs. Chase was helping the maids clean up the table after she said goodbye to Aphrodite, Demeter, and their children.

The young girl didn't see what had Mrs. Chase so alarmed. She was telling the truth after all. Annabeth had climbed that tree for years. Maybe not in recent years since she had to focus on being a "lady," but still, a few extra feet in height doesn't really make any difference to her.

"Annabeth." She rolled over on her bed to look at her father.

"Yes, dad?"

"I was told what took place during the tea party." He said and sat on the bed next to his laying daughter. She didn't answer. "Your stepmother said she caught you drawing again."

Annabeth turned her head to look at him and sat up on her elbows. "Mom always encouraged me to pursue what makes me happy."

"I know, darling. But that was such a long time ago." Annabeth dropped back on her back. "You're old enough to hear this now. I know you want to be an architect, but who in their right mind would hire a woman?" The way he said it made it sound like his heart was not entirely invested in his words. "You will not be able to support yourself properly. That's why you are going to meet suitors."

"But, dad!" Annabeth sat up straight. "Suitors! Why?"

"You know why." Mr. Chase said. "You're my only daughter, my only child. You need to continue the line. Otherwise who would take over the company?"

"Can't you hire someone? Or why are you in such a rush for me to have children? You've got another few years in you!" Annabeth was angry. Her father was basically telling her that the only thing she was good for was to make children. And Annabeth could feel the disappointment radiating off of him that she didn't want to go through with this. But she was so young. She still had things she wanted to do.

"From what your stepmother told me, we can't present you to your suitors."

"Great! Problem solved."

"Which means more lessons for you. Your suitors will visit in two months. They are the sons of some of my business partners so I expect you to leave a good impression and be on your best behavior."

"But what if I don't like any of them? Or what if they don't like me?" Annabeth looked down at her feet.

"Who could not like you, my dear?" Mr. Chase tried to stroke Annabeth's face but she backed away from his hand.

"So there is absolutely no way out of this?" She looked into her father's eyes for any trace of hope.

Mr. Chase stared at Annabeth for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "No, darling."

Annabeth gritted her teeth. "Fine, please leave me alone then." She turned away from her father and glared at the wall.

Mr. Chase took a deep breath and patted Annabeth's head. "All right then."

As soon as he left Annabeth rushed to her closet and grabbed her largest bag. It wouldn't be considered large from other people's perspective. It would be considered small to medium. But it was the biggest bag she had so she would have to make do. She opened her closet and examined the clothes. All that was in her closet were long lacy dresses that Annabeth would never wear of her own free will. Closing her closet tight, she journeyed to her drawers and opened several. She hardly ever wore these clothes. They were only to be worn when she went out to town with her best friend Thalia and they got to be regular girls. Annabeth grabbed several random pants, plain shirts and underwear and stuffed them into her bag when she suddenly stopped.

Thalia. If Annabeth went through with her plan, she may never see Thalia again. But if she stayed her, got married and raised a family that she wasn't prepared for, she wouldn't have the time to see Thalia anyway.

Annabeth took a deep breath. She knew she was being selfish. But she couldn't go through with her parents' plans for her. There was so much she needed to see and do. Annabeth tried to convince herself that after she saw the country, she would return and peacefully and willingly get married. As much as Annabeth tried to tell herself that she would come back, there was a large part of her telling her she was lying.

"I'll… I'll come back." Annabeth whispered to herself and continued packing.

After she stuffed the bag to full capacity, she stashed it under her bed and sat on her bed, waiting for nightfall. While she waited, she tied several extra blankets and bedspreads together in a long rope.

Her father always had guards outside the front and back doors, even the side doors, to make sure his family was safe. There had been rumors around town that crime was dramatically increasing because local crooks were now banding together in organized crime. Instead of robbing drugstores, they were now more elaborate crimes taking place.

After constructing her escape rope, Annabeth put it under her bed and went out to get cow meat from the kitchen. The maids looked at her strangely when Annabeth grabbed a raw steak but Annabeth just smiled at them innocently and went about her business.

When night fell, Annabeth made sure to kiss her father and stepmother on the cheek before she retired to her bedroom. Annabeth knew the real reason why she kissed their cheeks. It was not a "good night and goodbye for now," it was a "good night and goodbye forever."

After a few minutes and when she was sure Mr. and Mrs. Chase were fast asleep, Annabeth grabbed her supplies from under her bed and headed to the window. Making sure there were no guards patrolling the yard, she opened the window careful not to make the hinges squeak. When the window was wide enough for her to climb out, she tied her rope to one of her bed's canopy pillars. Pulling several times to test the knot and satisfied, Annabeth placed the letter she had wrote to her parents explaining her disappearance on top of her pillow.

"Don't worry, I'll be back." Annabeth whispered the only sentence she had written down.

Sighing heavily, Annabeth slipped her bag's strap over her head to rest on her shoulder and began climbing down the makeshift rope. She climbed down the way a rock climber would descend a mountain, jumping down while letting the rope slip through her hand then gripping tightly ever so often when her jump ended. She was five feet from reaching the ground. One more jump ought to do it. When she loosened her grip on the bed sheet rope, she forgot to jump so she fell the last five feet.

Her body sprawled on the ground ungracefully and she moaned in slight pain then rubbed her head, sitting up.

"Opps." She whispered. Thank goodness she had stopped herself from screaming and yelping when she hit the ground. But she's had worst falls, like the one this morning, for instance. Annabeth blew several waves of blond hair out of her face.

Two falls in one day? See what these "lady lessons" have done to you, Annabeth? Get it together! She thought to herself in agitation.

She heard barking in the distance and the source was approaching quickly. Annabeth surveyed the yard for guards but there were none. A large black hound raced towards Annabeth and stood above her with its large paws on either side of her hips. It growled in Annabeth's face then licked her excitedly.

"Get off me, Mrs. O'Leary!" Annabeth whispered to the dog. Mrs. O'Leary licked her face once more and moved back. The dog was so large that standing on its hind legs it would be taller than Annabeth. She barked again. "Shush, Mrs. O'Leary!" The dog jumped around Annabeth excitedly, wagging her tail. "I know what you want!" Annabeth reached into her bag and retrieved a plastic container holding raw steak. "You want this, girl, you want this?" Annabeth uncovered the container and waved the meet side to side. "Yes you do, yes you do!" Mrs. O'Leary jumped around more then sat down in front of Annabeth trying to be a good girl. "Fetch, girl!"

Annabeth threw the steak as far away from her as possible. Mrs. O'Leary took off faster than an arrow shot from a bow, leaving Annabeth alone.

"Bye, girl." Annabeth said sadly.

Annabeth ran towards the wall blocking her father's property from the rest of the neighborhood. She didn't dare even check the front gate because that's where the greatest concentration of guards always was. Grabbing one of the vines that cascaded down the wall, she climbed up. The wall was only about ten feet tall, nothing Annabeth couldn't handle and a drop she could certainly survive.

When she finally made it over the wall and had a unsteady landing on her feet, Annabeth took off running as fast as she could down the road. There weren't many people out and none of them seemed suspicious of a girl running, especially since Annabeth was dressed much more simple than her usual style of dress. She wore pants and a jacket that was slightly too big for her. Annabeth was sure that if Mrs. Chase saw her outfit, her stepmother would faint.

Annabeth ran through the district housing many bars. A tall dark-haired man exited one of the bars with his curly brown-haired friend laughing. They blocked Annabeth's path and she tried to run around them but the dark-haired man, obviously drunk, stumbled into her way and Annabeth ran into him, knocking him off his feet with her falling on top of him. His head hit the pavement in a loud thud.

"Percy, are you all right?" Percy's friend asked but not making any move to help Annabeth or Percy up.

Percy moaned in pain in reply. Annabeth gasped, stood up and helped Percy to his feet.

"Are you okay, sir? My deepest apologies!" Annabeth said to him while Percy rubbed the back of his head. Annabeth tried her best not to stare at him in awe. He was, to say the least, gorgeous.

"I think so." He said and for the first time looked at Annabeth's face. Her gray eyes flashed with sorrow and innocence and her cheeks were pink from running for so long. He wasn't paying attention when she ran into him and was about to yell at her but seeing her made him blush. "Uh, um." Percy couldn't find any words to say to her.

Annabeth gave a sigh of relief seeing that Percy was all right. She dusted off Percy's jacket and gave him an apologetic smile before continuing on her way.

Running faster but more carefully, Annabeth raced to the docking port where she knew a steamboat would be taking off. She took a hat out of her bag and put it on, stuffing her golden locks into the hat as well and adjusted the hat so the rim was directly above her eyes. At first glance, she could be mistaken for a young man with the hat on and her style of dress. Calmly, she walked up with a group of people boarding, looking like she either belonged there or she worked on the ship. No one stopped her and she got onto the ship.

Annabeth smiled. She made it. The boat would take her far enough away that no one would be able to find her.

Percy woke up with a hangover. He coughed a few times before heading to the bathroom to vomit. After performing his morning routines of getting ready for the day and putting on a fresh suit, he went to the kitchen.

Grover was reading the newspaper at the kitchen table. Percy took a seat next to his best friend and rested his forehead on his palm. Grover peaked over the top of the paper and smirked. "I told you not to have so many drinks."

Percy looked up to glare. "Shut up." He said simply. Sighing, Percy closed his eyes. The face of a beautiful blond girl flashed in his mind. "Hey, Grover."

"Hm?" Grover said when he returned to reading his paper.

"Did I meet someone last night?"

Grover smiled and put down his paper and poured Percy a cup of coffee. "What do you mean?"

"Just tell me, did I meet anyone new last night?" Percy said impatiently, guzzling down the coffee and pouring himself another cupful.

"Well, not really." Percy exhaled in disappointment. "She kinda just ran into you, said she was sorry and left." Grover continued.

"She didn't say her name?" There was hope in Percy's voice.

"Nope."

Percy's heart fell. "Damn, too bad." Percy sat back in his chair. "She was lovely." He smiled to himself despite his searing headache.

The doorbell rang making Percy's headache throb. "Gah! Grover, get that, will you?" Percy complained and held his head still.

Grover got up to get the door and came back into the kitchen quickly. "Percy, it's for you." Percy groaned but got up anyway.

"Can I help you?" Percy asked the gentlemen at the door.

"I am here to take you to the Chase Estate, sir. A case is waiting for you."

Percy nodded and followed the man into a car.

Percy was taken to one of the largest houses in the city. He had never been to this part of the city before. Most of Percy's clients were from the middle class. And lately, Percy had been given what he considered to be petty cases like finding lost pets and searching for evidence of adultery for worried housewives. But they were all still work so he took them.

He was led inside to a large study where a woman dressed in a fancy dress was sitting at a sizeable desk, sobbing into a blue handkerchief while what seemed to be her husband had his back facing Percy because he was staring out the window.

"Mr. Jackson." The man said not facing Percy. "I am Mr. Chase and this is my wife."

"Pleasure." Percy bowed in respect.

"So, you're the young detective that recovered my colleague Zeus's missing treasure. Zeus named his treasure the master bolt. Correct, Mr. Jackson?" Mr. Chase asked, finally turning around.

"Yes, sir."

"You are a lot younger than I pictured. How old are you, young man?"

"I will be nineteen very soon."

"Ah, and you're already so successful. Good for you." Mr. Chase turned to face the window again.

"Thank you."

"I've called for your audience because something terrible has happened. My daughter has run away from home." Percy couldn't see Mr. Chase's face but from the rich man's voice, Percy could tell he was hurt. "I need you to find her and bring her home."

"Understood, sir. May I have a name and description?"

"Her name is Annabeth." Mrs. Chase said through sobs. She took one of the smaller circular picture frames that sat on the desk and opened it. "Here is a picture of her." Mrs. Chase hesitantly handed the picture, about the size of a woman's compact powder, to Percy.

Percy sharply inhaled when he saw the picture. She might be a year or so younger in the picture, but this was definitely the girl Percy vaguely remembered from last night. Percy could never forget that face or those distracted eyes or how her blond curls poured over her shoulders.

"She's stunning." Percy said under his breath.

"Did you say something, Mr. Jackson?" Mr. Chase turned to face Percy.

"I said I will do my best, Mr. Chase."

"Thank you and as a reward, I'm willing to pay you this amount." Mr. Chase took his checkbook out of the inner pocket of his coat and showed Percy a check that was in the young detective's name but still needed to be signed by Mr. Chase. Percy's eyes widened at the amount.

"Understood, Mr. Chase." Percy bowed once more and turned to head out the door.

"One more thing, Mr. Jackson." Percy stopped in his tracks, turning around to see Mr. Chase put his hand on his wife's shoulder. "I'm sure you are aware of the happenings that have been going on around this city and all around."

"You're referring to the recent increase in organized crime and criminal activity?"

"Yes, these law-breakers are getting smarter. Somehow, the news of my daughter's disappearance will spread. I don't know how or why, but word always gets out." Percy nodded, agreeing with Mr. Chase. "I fear the worst. If–" Mr. Chase paused and corrected himself. "When they find out, I'm afraid they may try to obtain her first and hold her ransom."

"In that case, are you sure your daughter ran away and wasn't instead kidnapped?"

"She left us a note." Mrs. Chase cried. Percy stared at her.

Wow, Percy thought, this Annabeth has guts. To run away and leave a note…

"So please, bring her home as soon as possible." Mr. Chase said and gripped Mrs. Chase's hand. Mrs. Chase let out a new wave of sobs. "There, there, my love."

Percy took one more look at Annabeth's picture and then slipped it into his wallet. "Understood."

Thank you for reading and please review!