AN: SO I KNOW A FEW WEEKS AGO CHEEZYGURL51899 TOLD YOU ALL THAT I WOULD BE POSTING THIS REALLY SOON, AND I WAS PLANNING ON IT. THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN ON MY MOMS LAPTOP, AND WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT SHE WAS DOING, DELETED IT, SO I HAD TO WRITE IT ALL OVER AGAIN. I'M SO OVERJOYED THAT CHEEZYGURL IS LETTING ME RE-WRITE THIS, BECAUSE I ABSOLUETLY LOVE THE STORY. SO COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THINK AND HOW I CAN IMPROVE IN THE NEXT CHAPTERS :) HOW ABOUT WE GET OVER 10 REVIEWS AND THEN I'LL UPDATE? MAYBE EVEN 15? SERIOUSLY THOUGH, COMMENT :)
This is the story of how I died-well, not really.
This is the story of who killed me-not that either.
I'm Annabeth Chase. I was the lieutenant of Artemis awhile back. I was her go-to-girl. Her back up and best hunter. Then, I made a choice. A choice that would change everything. A choice that involved my best friend, Percy Jackson. The choice I made wasn't easy, but it was needed. If I didn't choose like I did, then I would be missing out on some of the best times of my life…
"Annabeth." I heard a voice say. I looked up to see a girl around the age of twelve. I stood up straight.
"My lady, what is it?" I asked, bow in hand. Artemis smiled.
"I'm going to meet Apollo." She grunted. "I do not wish the other girls to join me, but will you come? I think my brother could get a lesson from you." She laughed. I grinned.
"As long as he doesn't say any poems." I joked. Artemis smiled.
"Now, that I can't promise. You know Apollo." She rolled her eyes. I laughed.
"I would be delighted to join you, my lady. I'll let Thalia know." I said, turning to leave. Artemis nodded.
"Meet me outside the camp in ten." She called, wiping her hair as she turned to leave. I stood up from my spot, where I was waiting for any game to wonder by, secured my bow and knife, and ran over to the camp.
There were girls everywhere, training. There were a few shooting at the targets, a few practicing hand-to-hand combat, and a few who were studying. I was usually among them. It is always useful to know what plants you can eat, or what monsters are actually worth killing. Today, Thalia was getting some shooting done.
Thalia, not only one of the best hunters in the group, is also the daughter of Zeus. There are very few of us that are actually a demi-god, and a huntress. She had spiky black hair and blue eyes that were almost like electricity. Just looking at them gave me shocks. She was wearing her jeans and usual "death-to-Barbie" t-shirt, with her silver huntress jacket on top. I smiled. Thalia was my best friend. Well, besides Bianca and Artemis.
"Hey Thals!" I called. She lost focus and ended up shooting the tree next to the target.
"For the love of Zeus. What?" she muttered. I smirked as thunder rolled across the sky.
"Artemis is going somewhere. Will you look after the girls?" I asked. Thalia was loading her bow.
"What, her right-hand-woman is not available? You gotta hot date or something I don't know about?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the target. She released the string. Perfect bulls-eye.
"Actually, she wants me to come with her. My date is tomorrow." I joked. Thalia smirked.
"Ya, ya, ya. Sure, I'll watch the girls. Where are you guys going exactly?" she asked.
"She has to meet Apollo and claims he could use a lesson from me." I repeated. Thalia laughed.
"It's true." She stated, loading another bow.
"I'll see you later, then. Don't let any lightning strike while we're gone." I said.
"No promises. But wait...who is this date? Any why haven't I met them?" she asked. I rolled my eyes.
"I was just kidding, Thalia. You know we can't date guys."
"Who said anything about it being a boy? I was expecting a sexy lady to show up." She said, releasing her string. Again, perfect.
"Well, sorry to disappoint then. I'm serious about the lightning." I said, as I turned around.
I heard Thalia laugh as I walked, making my way towards the outside of our camping grounds.
Artemis stood there with her bow attached to her shoulder.
"Ready?" she asked.
I nodded. "Let's go."
Artemis and I got there in a few hours, killing a few monsters on the way. Apollo stood tall, talking to someone. I couldn't tell who that someone was.
"Artemis! Annabeth! How lovely it is to see you." Apollo said, with open arms, like he wanted a hug. I just readjusted my bow and rolled my eyes. Artemis did too.
"Apollo, it's good to see you too. Chiron tells me you've been busy. Your cabin is getting too full; he wanted me to tell you." Artemis said. Apollo laughed.
"Hey, things happen. People meet, and then we have a child. Nothing I can do about it." He said.
"How about you stop being such an obnoxious flirt?" I suggested. The kid, who I could now make out as a boy about 17, standing next to Apollo smiled a bit.
"She has a point there, Apollo." He said. "I've never seen so many archers. Or heard so many poems." He grumbled the last part. Apollo just smirked, looking pretty pleased with himself.
"So is he the kid?" Artemis asked her brother. Apollo beamed and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulder.
"Yes he is. Ladies, I would like you to meet Percy Jackson." I raised my eyebrows.
"The Percy Jackson? Son of Poseidon?" I asked.
"The one and only." The kid-Percy- winked at me. I raised my eyebrows higher. He had some nerve to do that.
"Nice try with her, Perce. Annabeth is a difficult one to crack." Apollo said, grinning. Artemis nodded.
"All of my girls are. But you'll be spending enough time with us to realize that." She said. I turned toward her.
"Enough time with us? My lady, you don't mean…" I started. Artemis nodded.
"Annabeth, Percy here is going to join the hunt."
I stared at her, with my mouth open.
"J-join the hunt? But he can't do that! He's a boy!" I exclaimed. Percy smirked.
"Thanks for noticing." He said.
"Shut it, Jackson." I snapped, glaring at him. Artemis took ahold of my shoulders.
"Annabeth, I can understand that you are upset. But it's only for a little while. Percy is a great warrior, and he needs to train you girls. There are hard times ahead." She soothed.
"The hunters already have great warriors. Artemis this is a tradition that is going to be ruined! For thousands of years we never even looked at boys." I shot back.
As if I needed anything else, Apollo wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
"Annie, calm down. This is something that was planned. It's not just a rash decision. Have some faith in him." He said calmly. I sighed and looked at Percy through the corner of my eye. He just smiled at me.
"Fine. I'm still not okay with it though. And good luck trying to get the other girl's to go with it." I said.
Artemis looked at Apollo. "I think we should go. Thank you Apollo."
"No problem sis. Try not to let Annabeth kill the kid though." He muttered. I laughed at the thought.
"Percy, Annabeth, let's go. Nightfall is about to come forth, and that's the last thing we need." Artemis said when she turned toward us.
The walk back to camp was even longer than the one to get Percy. The kid kept stealing glances at me, for the most part, I ignored them. But it started to get annoying after a while. Artemis was a few paces ahead of us.
"Will you stop?" I snapped at him.
"Stop what?" he asked innocently.
"Looking at me. I'd really rather you not." I spat.
"Sorry, it's just that you're so interesting to watch. I can tell your thinking. Your face gives you away."
"I wasn't trying to hide the fact that I was thinking." I said.
"What were you thinking about? Be honest." He said his green eyes boring into my grey ones.
"You." I told him, quietly.
"Me?" the booger seemed pretty pleased with himself. I rolled my eyes.
"Yes. Why did you even want to come with us? A bunch of girls who can't stand the sight of a boy. What pleasure could you possibly get out of this?" I asked him.
"Actually Apollo told me some of the girls. I do know Thalia Grace, and Bianca Di'angleo." He said. I shot him a crazy look.
"How?" I said. Percy shrugged.
"I was on a quest for Camp Half-blood. I ran into a couple of girls one night in the forest, and befriended them. They helped me, and I helped them. Their names were Thalia and Bianca. They told me that they were looking for Artemis to join the hunt. Bianca had her little brother with her. She made me promise to get him back to camp safely, because they were both children of Hades. It was only two years ago. I'm sure they still remember me." He said. I stared ahead.
"Neither of them ever mentioned a 'Percy Jackson' to me." I muttered.
"Awe, feeling left out, Annie?" he said mockingly. I dug my knife out of my pocket and shoved it under this throat. He stopped dead on his tracks.
"First thing is first. Don't ever, ever, call me Annie. Got it?" I growled at him.
"Apollo called you Annie." Percy pointed out.
"He is a god. I can't really do anything to threaten him, now can I?" I asked him. Before he could answer Artemis' voice rang in my ears.
"Annabeth! Stop trying to kill him." She pleaded. I grunted and shoved my knife back in my pocket. The rest of the way to camp, Percy walked with Artemis. She explained to him all of the rules of being in the hunt, and what our everyday lives were like. Percy wasn't really paying attention though. Even the littlest things distracted the kid. ADHD, no doubt.
Soon, though not soon enough, the camp came into our view. I walked in and saw Thalia, she was with Bianca. Bianca was a girl who was just about 14 when she joined the hunt, so she will always look that old. She had long dark hair and big brown eyes. She too, wore jeans and a silver jacket over a plain white t-shirt. She was the daughter of Hades.
"We're back. And we got company." I said. They looked confused and glanced over at Artemis who was just walking in with Percy.
"Is that Percy Jackson? Thals, you remember him right?" Bianca asked. Thalia snorted.
"How could I forget? My little cousin had some nerve back when we meet him." She said. I glared at him.
"He still does."
"What's he doing here?" Thalia asked.
"I'm sure Artemis will explain everything." I muttered, and stalked away to my tent. The only place I could actually be alone. I was in there for a few minutes trying to sort out my thoughts, and then a showdow crossed the entrance of the small space i sat in.
"Hey, Annabeth? It's Bianca." A voice said at my tent.
"You can come in." I told her. She came in and sat down next to her stuff.
"I'd hope so. I share this thing with you, and Thalia, remember?" she said. I managed a smile.
"Look, I know you're pretty pissed about this whole Percy thing, but trust me it's for the better-"she started.
"How in the gods names is it for the better. He will just end up distracting everyone!" I said. Bianca sighed.
"I wish I could tell you." She whispered, obviously not meant for me to hear.
"Tell me what?" I asked, anyway.
She paled and looked at the floor. Bianca was never a good liar.
"Nothing." She promised.
"Bianca, what do you know that I don't?" I urged. She sighed.
"Listen to me, Annabeth. Percy maybe a dork, and a loser, and not the brightest one, but he is an amazing fighter. He defeated Kronos. You have to give him that. He will make us better with hand to hand combat. The girls kind of lack that area of expertise. And who knows? Maybe you'll get something good out of it. Maybe Percy and you will become friends." She pressed, like she was trying to get me to understand something. Well I didn't.
I snorted. "As if." I said.
Bianca sighed. "I tried. By the way, Percy knows Thalia and I. So he is probably gunna hang around us. The other girls are still getting used to the idea of having a boy here. The point is, try not to be cold when he is around." She said. I shrugged.
"I'll do my best." I told her. She smiled.
"Good. Oh, and by the way… He is staying in our tent. Bye!" she said, and left before I could scream at her face.
I settled for the pillow instead. This was just perfect.
Percy Jackson. The boy who ruined my life.
I came out of my tent only for meals. All of the girls knew how I felt about this situation. And none of them wanted to bother me. I got my food and offered a portion to Artemis, and my mother, Athena.
I searched the grounds for Thalia and Bianca, and I saw them. Eating with Percy.
If we are going to do this, we better do it now. I thought. I walked over and sat next to Thalia.
"Hey guys." I said. Bianca looked pleased with me, Thalia grunted and continued to eat her food-normal behavior there- and Percy smiled at me. I looked down at my food.
"So, what did Artemis say before dinner?" I asked. Thalia looked up from her food.
"Well, while you were throwing a tantrum, I guess you should know that what she told us, like she does before every meal is that we need to pack up. We are leaving tomorrow. Artemis is looking for a new monster. She said she wants to do it alone, though." She told me. I was stunned. Artemis always asked for at least some assistance. Especially from me.
"All alone?" I asked.
"Yep. She made that pretty clear." Percy answered. I shot him a look.
"Annabeth, when will you ever like me?" he asked, shifting his weight to his arms, and leaning back.
"I'll let you know when I do." I told him. Percy grinned.
"Thanks for the heads-up." I rolled my eyes, and continued to eat. The four of us talked for the rest of the hour.
Okay. So, Percy wasn't such a bad guy. He was pretty funny, and had some intelligence in him. But, he was still a boy. And not just any boy. Poseidon's boy. Another reason for me not to like him.
I noticed that Percy resembled his father quite a bit. They both had dark black hair, and sea green eyes. They even had the same trouble-making smile that got on my mother's nerves so much. The kid was good looking. But that didn't mean a thing.
"Annabeth, you do know I'm bunking with you right?" Percy asked cautiously. Thalia and Bianca were getting all of our stuff together, for the move. That way in the morning, we can get up, pack the tent, and go.
I nodded, not trusting my voice. The thought still out-raged me. But I had to deal with it.
He smirked. "Don't worry; I'll make sure I don't come near you during the night. And if I do, I give you full permission to kill me." I laughed at the thought.
"I'll keep that in mind. I'm not bad with the knife, Jackson." I told him.
He rubbed his throat where I almost killed him. "I can tell." He stated. I grinned.
"I actually have Annabeth Chase smiling. Who would of thought?" Percy sounded too pleased with himself.
"I'm not smiling at you, Seaweed Brain. I'm smiling at the fact that I could kill you if I wanted to." I smirked.
"I'm not denying that you can, Wise Girl." He said.
"Wise girl? You do have a seaweed brain." I told him. He smiled a bit.
"So can you please tell me what I did to make you think I was such a bad person?" he questioned. I rolled my eyes.
"Percy, I know you are a good guy. You defeated Kronos and saved the world. You just annoy the hell out of me sometimes. And it's not like we are supposed to like each other." I told him. He looked like he was about to say something, but I got up and left him with his mouth open.
Where I was heading to? I had no idea. My tent? No, I've been there all day. The shooting range? No, those were already packed up. Artemis. Perfect.
I walked into her tent and sat in front of her.
"I thought you would be coming sometime soon, Annabeth. Talk to me." She said.
I sighed. "Why is he here?" I asked Artemis. Artemis looked down, like she wanted to avoid the topic.
"You know why he is here. Percy is going to train you girls." She told me.
"Why not some great female warrior? Why does it have to be Percy Jackson?" I questioned.
"Annabeth, I can't tell you why it's him. You will try to change what the fates have already planned out." She said.
"What are you talking about, my lady?" I asked.
"Please. Drop the subject." She sighed. "Percy is going to be with us. The end. I don't want to hear from it anymore." She told me.
"Fine. Anything for you my lady." I grumbled. Artemis rubbed my shoulder.
"Lighten up Annabeth. There is something else on your mind. What is it?" she asked.
"Why are you going alone tomorrow?" I asked. "I always go with you. Did I do something?" I asked cautiously.
Artemis smiled. "Annabeth, you can't possibly think that. This is too dangerous, even for you. It's something only the gods can handle right now. This monster is too powerful. After I leave tomorrow I should meet with Apollo in a couple of days." She told me.
"A couple of days? That's how long it will take?" I questioned. She nodded.
"It will take a while, Annabeth. You will be the head. That's another reason I'm not taking you. Someone needs to look over these girls while I'm gone. You're the best." She told me. I sighed.
"But you have Thalia for that job." I said. I didn't know why I was arguing with a goddess. A lot was on my mind.
"Annabeth, if you are with Thalia, then I will defiantly know that the job is getting done. I trust you. You should really go. Long day tomorrow." She said. I nodded.
"Goodnight, my lady." I said, as I was leaving.
"Goodnight, Annabeth." She said.