Archive of Our Own ^beta

This is a story of a girl, and how she overcame everything she thought she knew about her life and found her freedom. It starts with the sun. 

Centuries ago, a single drop of sunshine fell from the sky. From that drop grew a golden flower, one which had magical properties - it could heal anyone of any sickness or injury. It was found by an elderly lady by the name of Athena who, instead of sharing this magical gift with the world, kept the flower a selfish secret. She found that if she sang to the flower, it could restore her youth. For hundreds of years, she remained young and beautiful.

Across the lake from the flower, a kingdom was built over the years. A princess was due to be born any day now, but the queen had fallen incredibly sick. The king ordered guards to search for the flower rumored to heal anyone of anything. After days of searching forests surrounding the kingdom, there was a miracle - they’d found the flower, and the queen was healed.

A healthy baby girl named Anna Elizabeth was born soon after. With soft blonde curls and her father’s bright gray eyes, she was her parents’ pride and joy. 

Athena had been wallowing ever since her magic flower had been plucked from the Earth, so she found she had no choice if she wanted to revive her youth. Late one night, she snuck into the castle. She found the sleeping princess, only a few months old. Gently, her fingers combed through the fine, golden hair. When she sang quietly, it began to glow. Those magical properties were still there, just within a new flower.

Carefully, she had snipped a lock of hair with a pair of scissors. The golden glow turned into a soft brown immediately, rendering it useless. Athena knew what she needed to do. Carefully, she had picked up the child. As she fled the castle, she was determined to keep her flower hidden from the world this time.

For nearly 18 years, she had managed to do just that.

--

Annabeth’s eyes scanned the room, hoping something would give away Pallas’s hiding spot. In the near silence, she heard it - the slightest ruffle coming from behind a pot. She walked towards it with quiet footsteps. “Aha! Found you!” she yelled as she picked up the ceramic, revealing her tiny owl friend. Pallas’s eyes went comically wide. Annabeth beamed, setting the pot back down as Pallas flapped his little wings, landing on Annabeth’s wrist. She thought for a second. “That’s 22 for me. What about 23 out of 45?”

Somehow, Pallas looked unimpressed. How he’d always managed to convey emotions in those big eyes was beyond Annabeth. Or maybe they just had a special connection in which they could understand each other without words. She sighed. “Okay, okay,” she relented. “What else should we do?”

Pallas chirped, flying over to the open window of her tower. It almost looked like he pointed to the outside with his wing, and Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Very funny, Pallas,” she said, walking towards him. She stuck her head out the window, the light breeze just barely tugging on her curls. Her eyes flicked down, a familiar eeriness washing over her.

From up here, it seemed like hundreds of feet to the ground, but her mother had always told her it was about forty. Still, it didn’t make the distance any scarier. She had been told a million times to never leave her tower, for the world below was a cruel place - one that would just use her for her gift, or even worse, destroy it. And Annabeth had told Pallas that a million times too, but he never seemed to give up on trying.

She stepped away from the window, nearly tripping on her hair. Even after all this time, she had never gotten used to having sixty feet of curls. She couldn’t cut it, of course, because then her gift would be gone. 

She stepped over the hair and stopped in the middle of the room. She’d cleaned yesterday, but she was sure there was dust somewhere, so she set to work. Pallas begrudgingly helped, using his wings to dust the higher support beams of the roof. Annabeth tried to take her time, but with a room so small, there was only so much cleaning she could do. Once they were done, Annabeth looked at her bookshelf, full of reading material, her paint supplies, and board games. 

Her eyes scanned the walls and she found a few blank spots, so she grabbed her paints and began filling in those few spots on the walls that were already covered in art. It wasn’t until she pulled back a curtain that hid the wall above the fireplace to reveal a huge empty spot that her excitement really set in. “Pallas, look,” she laughed, holding the curtains back on a nail sticking out of the wall. “How did we not see this sooner?” 

Instantly, she knew what she wanted on this wall and she began mixing her paints up. It was nice to have something to do that was time-consuming. Her mother had set out early this morning with the promise to be back later, though Annabeth wouldn’t be surprised if she was gone most of the day.

When she finally sat back to admire her work, she was filled with pride. In front of her was an image of the floating lights that she saw in the sky every year on July 12th. Pallas landed on her shoulder, chirping appreciatively. 

“There are these lights in the sky every year,” she explained softly. “They show up on my birthday, but I don’t know what they mean.” Annabeth held out her hand, and Pallas immediately flew forward to land on her wrist. She ran her fingers over his soft feathers.

“I think… I’m going to ask mother if she’ll take me to see them in person this year,” she said, anxiety churning in her stomach at the thought. Her mother had told her a million times to never leave the tower, but maybe if she could convince her for Annabeth’s birthday…

Right on cue, she heard her mother’s voice calling from below. “Annabeth! Let down your hair!”

Pallas immediately flew up to a high support beam and Annabeth took one last look at the painting before snapping the curtains shut. She rushed over to the window, glancing at her mother below. 

There were a million perks of having magical hair, but one of the top ones was its strength. She tossed her curls over the hook outside of the window so that she could use her hair as a pulley system, and she threw the rest down to her mother. A few seconds later, she felt the slight tug, and then Annabeth was hauling her mother up to the window of the tower. She was surprisingly light for a grown woman.

“Hi, mother,” Annabeth said sweetly as Athena entered the room. “Welcome home.”

“How you manage to do that every day without fail is beyond me,” her mother said, removing her cloak. “It looks exhausting.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Annabeth said, shaking her head lightly. Her mother walked past and Annabeth took a deep breath. She could do this. “So, mother, as you know, tomorrow is a very important day-”

“Annabeth, look here in the mirror,” Athena cut her off, pulling her closer gently. “You know what I see? I see a beautiful, strong young woman.” There was a pause, and Annabeth stood up a little straighter. Her cheeks flushed and she opened her mouth to reply, but her mother beat her to it. “Oh look, you’re here too!”

She let out a laugh immediately, pinching Annabeth’s cheeks. “Oh, I’m just teasing,” she said. That didn’t change the dejection Annabeth now felt, curling in on herself a little. She glanced up to where she knew Pallas was, and saw the almost imperceptible nod of his head. 

She forced a small chuckle. “Right. Anyways, mother, since tomorrow is a very big day, I-”

“Annabeth, dear, I’m feeling so tired. Could you sing to me first?” her mother asked, cutting her off again. “And then we can talk about whatever it is you’re on about.”

Annabeth held onto that last sentence, perking up a little. “Of course, mother!” She rushed around, pulling a chair out, then placing a stool in front of it. Her mother sat down and Annabeth quickly placed a comb into her hand before sitting on the stool. With her hair being magic, it didn’t get tangled but this was the easiest way for her mother to absorb its power. She sped through the song that allowed the magic to flow.

Flower, gleam and glow. Let your powers shine.
Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt. Change the Fates' design.
Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine

Her hair must’ve only glowed for a few seconds because her mother was then calling her name angrily, but Annabeth paid no mind to it, standing and turning around. “As I was saying, tomorrow is a very big day! And I know you know what it is, so there’s no point in making you guess, so I’ll just tell you,” she rambled. “It’s my birthday!”

Her mother blinked a few times before humming. “No, no. Your birthday was last year, I remember it.”

Annabeth didn’t let her mother’s teasing bother her. “Well, that’s the thing about birthdays, mother. They’re kind of an annual thing,” she said, forcing a smile. “And I was wondering if, this year, you would… take me to see the floating lights?”

“Annabeth, please don’t mumble, you know I hate that.”

She nodded, taking a deep breath. “I wanted to know if you take me to see the floating lights,” Annabeth asked, making sure that her words were clear and concise. Athena still seemed confused, though.

“The what?” she asked.

Annabeth jumped up from her stool, rushing over to the curtain she’d snapped shut earlier. She pulled it back to reveal the image of the lights. “The floating lights,” she said, desperation seeping into her voice. 

Annabeth watched her mother’s expression carefully, and she saw the annoyance that was quickly covered with a fake smile. “Oh! You mean the stars.”

“No! See, the thing about stars is that they’re constant. These lights, though, they only come out on my birthday.”

It seemed Athena could no longer mask the annoyance on her face. “Annabeth,” she sighed. “You know how dangerous it is out there.”

Not really, Annabeth thought. You’ve never let me leave to see it

“Yes, mother. But it’s just one night and-”

“Annabeth.”

“And we would come back right after, and-”

“Annabeth.”

“And you would be with me, so-”

“Annabeth! ” her mother yelled, effectively quieting her. Anger was clear as day on her face. “You have no idea what it’s like out there! There are people out there who want to find you to destroy the gift you have, I have told you that time and time again.”

“I know,” Annabeth said softly, but her mother kept yelling.

“And yet, you decided to ask to leave this tower? After everything I have done to protect you? There are- are dangerous men with fangs, ruffians, and thugs. People who will do anything to get what they want!”

“Mother, I only-”

“Enough!” her mother screamed, voice echoing off the walls. Annabeth shrunk back, flinching at her voice. Athena sighed, rubbing her temples. It was silent for a moment as she calmed down before walking closer and placing her hands on Annabeth’s shoulders.

“I have tried everything I can to protect you, darling,” she said, her voice much softer. She held out her arms and Annabeth only hesitated a second before hugging Athena. “You have no idea how dangerous people are.”

“I know,” Annabeth whispered. They stood there for a long moment, hugging each other as Annabeth fought off tears.

Finally, her mother leaned back with a soft, “Annabeth?”

She tilted her head up to look at Athena. “Yes, mother?”

Her soft smile transformed back into that annoyance, and her voice was cold when she said, “Don’t ever ask to leave this tower again.”

--

Jackson’s feet landed on the next roof and he broke into a run, Connor and Travis Stoll right behind him. “Right up here, boys!” he said, climbing up the stone wall. He’d done this enough times to know which stones stuck out further than the rest, making his climb much faster than the Stolls. He waited on the roof, leaning against one of the stone spires.

“I could get used to a view like this,” he said once he heard one of the brothers reach the top. His eyes flicked over the kingdom, watching the people below go about their day. He looked at the forests in the distance, and all the land that surrounded them.

“Let’s go, Jackson,” Connor said. Jackson just held up a finger.

“Hold on…” he said, taking it all in one last time. “Okay, I’m used to it. Guys, I want a castle.”

“You can buy your own castle if we get this job done,” Travis said, unamused. Jackson turned around finally, looking at where they had opened the panel in the roof, a rope in Connor’s hand. Jackson smiled, taking one end and securing it tightly around him. He’d perfected the way to tie it around his shoulders and torso so that he would be able to be lowered down easily.

He didn’t trust Connor or Travis in the slightest, but he knew they wanted to get paid for this tiara, so Jackson was sure they wouldn’t let him fall to the ground. Carefully, they lowered him down. The lost princess’s tiara sat perfectly in the center of a cushion on top of a pillar. Jackson wrapped his fingers around it, ready to tug on the rope to be lifted when one of the guards sneezed. 

He froze for a second, before he smiled. The unstoppable urge to be a smartass won out and Percy gripped the tiara tighter before asking, “Hay fever?”

The guard glanced back with a chuckle. “Yeah.” Jackson tugged the rope and by the time the guard realized, Jackson was already on the roof again. They quickly cut away the ropes around him as they heard shouting below them, and Jackson shoved the precious crown into the satchel hanging by his hip. One by one, they scattered down the stone wall again before jumping from roof to roof. He could hear commotion below them, but it was clear the guards didn’t know where they were yet.

Once they made it to the ground, they only had a small head start before the shouts were becoming louder. One quick glance behind them told Jackson that they were certainly being chased. His adrenaline kicked in and he let out a giddy laugh as he ran faster, crossing over the bridge that connected the kingdom to the surrounding forests. 

Connor and Travis were right behind him as they raced through the trees. Only once the voices of palace guards faded did they take a moment to slow down and breathe. Jackson leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. He lifted his head slowly and gasped, losing his breath for a new reason.

“No, no, no!” he whined, ripping the poster off the tree. “God, this is horrible!”

Connor and Travis looked at him, also folded in half as they heaved. Jackson turned the WANTED poster around, showing them the picture of his face. “They just can’t get my nose right!”

Connor rolled his eyes. “Really, Jackson?” he breathed, finally standing upright. 

“Easy for you to say,” he complained, ripping the other poster of the tree that had the Stoll brothers’ faces. “You guys look great!” The picture on their poster was uncanny, but the photo of him had a nose that might make Pinocchio jealous. He crumpled both papers, tossing them to the ground with a huff.

Somewhere in the distance, the shouts of guards returned. “I think I know a way,” Travis said, nodding his head. They followed him deeper into the forest until they came up to the bottom of a short cliff, only about seven feet high. 

Jackson saw his opportunity and took it. “Here, lift me up first,” he said, holding a hand out. Connor shook his head, face turning into a sneer.

“Give us the satchel first.”

Jackson pulled a face at that. “What, you don’t trust me?” he asked, knowing full well that the lack of trust was completely mutual. “After all this time?”

Connor and Travis stared at him with blank faces, and Jackson sighed, taking the bag off his shoulder. “Fine, fine,” he relented, handing it over. Once the strap was hanging on Connor’s shoulder, they began to lift Jackson up. 

When he stepped up onto Connor’s thigh, he pressed his foot a little too high up, and in that same moment where Connor grumbled, “Watch it, pretty boy,” Jackson slipped the satchel off his shoulder quickly and climbed up the rest of the way. 

“Alright, help me up,” Travis said, lifting his arm. Jackson just closed his fingers around the satchel and grinned triumphantly.

“Sorry, boys,” he said, lifting the bag up above his head. “But my hands are full.” Jackson took off before they could find a way up without him, laughing at their shouts behind him. 

It seemed that this way wasn’t foolproof either, though, because, after only a minute of running, he heard the clop of horse hooves on grass and rock, and the voice of a rider. He glanced behind him just in time to see a guard on a black horse galloping toward him. Jackson ran faster, if that were somehow possible. He jumped over rocks and dodged through trees in an attempt to lose them, and it may have slowed them slightly but they were still hot on his trail.

Up ahead of him was a vine hanging and it wasn’t a foolproof plan, but he did it anyway. His fingers wrapped around the vine and amazingly, it supported his weight as he swung in a circle around the trunk of the tree the vine hung from. His feet crashed into the guard, knocking him off the horse, and Jackson took his place. His legs were fairly sore from it, but he ignored that, grabbing the reins and commanding the horse to go faster.

As if the horse knew this wasn’t his rider, though, he skidded to a stop, unmoving. Jackson looked down at him in disbelief. “C’mon, boy,” he tried, kicking his heel lightly against the horse’s side. “Forward!”

This horse was stupidly loyal to the palace, apparently. He turned his head and zeroed in on the bag hanging by Jackson’s belt. Jackson barely got to say ”Are you kidding me?” before the horse was trying to buck him off and bite at the satchel. 

“No! Bad horse!” Jackson shouted, holding the bag as far away as he could while still trying to keep his balance on the animal. The horse’s teeth closed around the bag and as Jackson tried to pull it away, it slipped from both of their grasps and flung it several feet away.

The good news. It got caught on a branch. The bad news. That branch on a tree that was hanging off a cliff. 

Still, Jackson tossed himself off the horse’s back and raced towards it. As he got closer, he realized the drop from the cliff was about ten feet to the treetops below. He crawled out on the branch, which was sturdy enough for him. However, it was not sturdy enough for him and the horse.

“What are you doing ?” he shouted, as the horse clopped its way onto the thick branch with him. Jackson’s fingers closed around the satchel but as soon as they did, they heard the incriminating snap. His head whipped towards the sound, seeing the crack form in the branch. He had just enough time to look up at the horse, who somehow looked guilty for causing the crack, and say, “This is your fault, you know,” before the wood snapped and they were falling.

The leaves broke Jackson’s fall, as did many of the branches beneath them. He landed on the ground and groaned quietly. It took him a moment to recover, but it seemed the horse, wherever he was, was still down too, seeing as he wasn’t here. Jackson stood, body aching and he shook out his limbs. Aside from soreness and some bruises, he was unscathed. 

He heard a quiet neigh from somewhere close and rushed to duck between a few rocks. He waited a few moments, hearing the quiet clop of hooves come and go before standing again. He sighed in relief, leaning against the rock behind him to catch his breath. Except the rock gave way and he fell backward, landing in the grass with a hard thump.

The vines that had been concealing this tunnel shifted back into their original position, concealing him from the world again. His face broke out into a smile as he realized that this meant he was safe. He glanced behind him to see that the tunnel continued and opened into a clearing. Jackson got up, dusting himself off before walking further into the tunnel. He stopped short when he reached the opening. To his disbelief, there was a tall tower in the center. He looked around for any signs of life, but there were none that he could see. He approached the tower quickly but cautiously, glancing back at the tunnel he’d just come from before shouting up, “Hello? Anyone home?”

No response. Jackson figured that it was safe enough. He didn’t see any doors, but the tower had a big window at the top and the structure was made of stone, and he had some experience climbing those - though, to be fair, he’d never climbed something this tall. He scaled the wall carefully, checking the sturdiness of each stone before putting his weight on it. Miraculously, he made it up to the top, pulling the window open and climbing inside. 

He placed his hands on his knees, hunched over for a second as he caught his breath. When he stood up straight again, he realized the room didn’t seem as abandoned as he’d thought from the outside. “Hello?” he called.

He didn’t get a response, but there was a loud pang, followed by pain exploding behind his head. He caught a flash of gold before the world went dark.

--

Annabeth was freaking out. Maybe she was dreaming, honestly. Because it seemed nearly impossible that a person had just climbed his way into her tower and was now trapped in her closet. She paced around the room, unsure of how to proceed. Her mother had left again after their fight, just to grab some things for supper, and, Annabeth suspected, to calm down as well.

Annabeth held out her wrist and Pallas flocked to it immediately. “Maybe this is what I need to convince her that I can take care of myself!” she said, glancing toward the closet. “I mean, I knocked him out with nothing but a frying pan, right? That doesn’t make me seem so helpless like she thinks!”

Pallas blinked his big eyes, and Annabeth took that as an agreement. She only had to wait another twenty or so minutes before her mother was calling down for her. Annabeth tossed her hair out of the window, tugging her mother all the way up to the window of the tower. 

“I brought parsnips home,” her mother said in lieu of a greeting. “I’m making hazelnut soup!”

Annabeth forced a smile, unsure of how to bring up the unconscious human in the closet. “So, mother, remember what you were saying-”

“Annabeth,” Athena sighed. “I had really hoped you’d moved on from the stars.”

“Lights,” she corrected, glancing over at the wardrobe. “And, not exactly. You were saying you didn’t think I could handle myself out there-”

“Oh, I know you can’t handle yourself out there,” Athena laughed.

“Well, about that-” Annabeth tried again, but her mother kept interrupting her. 

“Annabeth, we’re done talking about this.”

“But mother,” she walked towards the wardrobe, “if you would just listen to me-”

“Enough, Annabeth.” It was clear her mother was getting more irritated. If she would just give Annabeth a chance, though...

“But if you would let me show you-”

“Enough about the lights, Annabeth!” her mother shouted, finally turning around to shout. “You are never leaving this tower, ever! ”

Annabeth shrunk back, eyes flicking to the closet doors. Her shoulders fell as she realized she was never going to get to explain that she could take care of herself. 

Her mother sighed. “Great, now I’m the bad guy,” she said. Annabeth cleared her throat quietly.

“I just, uh, I know what I want for my birthday, mother,” she said quietly. Athena seemed exasperated as she looked at Annabeth. “Some more of those paints. The ones that came in the nice, leather case?”

Her mother’s eyebrows drew together. “That’s a very long trip, Annabeth. Almost three days time.”

Annabeth knew that. It was the reason she suggested it.

If her mother wouldn’t take her, Annabeth would go by herself. It would be so much easier and safer with a guide… but she could handle it on her own.

“I just thought it would be a better idea than the li- uh, the stars,” she said quietly, laying the anguish on thick.

Athena sighed again, and Annabeth knew she’d won this one. Her mother made them both dinner and they ate together in near silence, save for a few comments about how the soup was. Once they were done and the dishes were cleaned and put away, Athena looked over at her.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own?” she asked, the anger gone from her voice. Annabeth tried to hide her surprise. She hadn’t expected her mother to leave tonight, but she supposed the sooner she left, the sooner she’d return.

“I will,” Annabeth said, stepping closer to her mother. “Thank you.”

Athena placed her hands on Annabeth’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to her head. “I’ll be back in three days. I love you.”

“I love you more,” Annabeth said, but the words felt hollow in her mouth.

“I love you most,” her mother replied.

Once she was down on the ground and making her way out of the rock tunnel, Annabeth was snapping the window shut and facing the wardrobe again. She had been thanking her lucky stars the man hadn’t woken up at any point while her mother was here, or if he had, he hadn’t made any noise. She grabbed her frying pan and readied it before swinging the doors open, taking a quick step back and holding the pan out in case she needed to attack. 

But the man, still unconscious, fell face first to the ground. Annabeth winced, sure that was going to hurt when he awoke. She debated for a few seconds before she knew what to do.

Annabeth hauled a chair over and struggled to put his sleeping form into it. The man was a lot heavier than she expected but after years of lifting her mother into the tower, Annabeth could manage. She didn’t have any rope or anything, but she did have a lot of one thing: hair. She used her copious amounts of hair to bind him to the chair, making sure he was clear of anything he could use to cut it. 

Only then did she notice the satchel around his shoulder. She pulled it off him, opening it. There were only two things inside, a crumpled-up paper at the bottom and an object she’d never seen which she pulled from the bag. It almost looked like a big bracelet, with jewels adorning one side. She turned it over in her hands a few times before glancing in the mirror. It wouldn’t fit around her wrist, but perhaps her head. She set the object atop her hair, and it seemed as though it fit.

Pallas flew to her shoulder, looking at her for a second before he gave an imperceptible shake of his head. Annabeth frowned, taking it off and returning it to the satchel. Before she could do anything else, the man began to shift in his seat and Annabeth quickly tossed the bag into a nearby pot before moving back to hide in the shadows. She watched as the man regained consciousness, dazed and confused. He blinked sluggishly a few times before he realized he was bound to a chair.

“Is this… hair?” he asked, mainly to himself, trying to tug his arms free.

“Struggling is pointless!” Annabeth called, gripping her frying pan tighter. She wished she had a better weapon, but this one had served her well enough the first time. The man’s head whipped up, looking around for the source of her voice. She kept her voice as steady as she could. “I know why you’re here, and I’m not afraid of you.”

“What?” he murmured, squinting towards the shadows she resided in. 

Annabeth slowly stepped out of the darkness. “Who are you?” she demanded.

The man stared at her for a long moment, and she held the pan out. “Who are you and how did you find me?” she repeated.

He cleared his throat, clearly not threatened by Annabeth, which only made her a little mad. She was the one who had him tied to a chair, and yet she was the one scared of him. Though, based on everything her mother had ever told her - men with fangs, thugs and rapscallions, people who wanted to destroy her hair, which she assumed was what this man was after - she had many reasons to be afraid.

Finally, he started speaking. “I know not who you are, or how I came to find you. But can I just say… hi.” He gave her a dazzling smile.

Annabeth cocked her head back in confusion at his smooth voice. But the man powered forward.

“How you doing? The name’s Jackson. How’s your day going, huh?”

Annabeth groaned in frustration, recognizing his tactics as some way to avoid her question and she held the pan out until it was nearly touching his face. “Who else knows my location, Jackson?” she asked, her voice coming out a little stronger as she began to gain confidence. She had the upper hand here.

Still, he sighed, unthreatened. “Alright, blondie.”

“Annabeth,” she corrected. Pallas flew up to her shoulder, and the man balked at that for a second before moving on. He was tied up with hair. Surely a baby owl wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d seen today.

“Sure,” he shrugged. “Here’s the deal. I was in a situation, running through the forest. I saw your tower, and it was an easy way to escape my problems. So, if you’ll let me go, I’ll just be on my-” In that second, his eyes widened and he began to look around frantically.

“My satchel, where’s my satchel?” he said, panic in his voice. 

Annabeth straightened her back. “I hid it,” she said, a hint of pride in her voice now that she once again had the upper hand. She wasn’t sure he believed his story, but this bag and the object in it must’ve been important to him regardless. “Somewhere you’ll never be able to find it.”

He looked unimpressed, glancing around the room before zeroing in on the pot that the bag was in. “It’s in there.”

Annabeth blinked, before she did the only thing she could think of - she knocked him out again. Quickly, she took the satchel from the pot and searched for a better place to hide it. It took her a few minutes before deciding to hide it under one of the floorboards of the stair that led up to her mother’s room. This one had always creaked a little more than the others, and she’d noticed long ago that it was loose enough to lift. 

Only once it was secured under there did she return to the man. Jackson. Pallas flocked to his shoulder and looked over at Annabeth. She nodded, regripping her pan. Pallas looked like he was contemplating for a second before he leaned forward and bit Jackson’s ear. He jumped awake, scaring Pallas off his shoulder.

“What in the world?” Jackson muttered, tilting his head to rub his ear against his shoulder, eyeing Pallas.

“ Now it’s hidden where you’ll never find it,” she said, tilting her chin up defiantly. Then she stepped closer, beginning to circle him. “Now, what do you want with my hair, Jackson? To cut it?”

“What?”

“Sell it?”

“What? No! The only thing I want to do with your hair is get out of it… literally!” he said. Annabeth paused, inclined to believe him.

“Wait, you don’t want my hair?” she asked curiously. Jackson looked at her like she had grown a second head. 

“Why would I want it?” he asked, before shaking his head. “Listen, no I don’t. I was being chased, I saw your tower, so I climbed it.”

Annabeth glanced at Pallas, and an idea occurred to her then. She held her pan out, only an inch from his nose. “You’re telling the truth?”

“Yes!” he said, a bit of desperation leaking into his voice. There was a pause, and Pallas flew to the end of the pan, leaning even closer to stare at Jackson. He blinked, his eyes almost as big as the owl’s. Annabeth retracted the pan and Pallas landed on her wrist instead. She turned her back to Jackson and held her arm up so that she was face to face with her owl. One look told her that they had the same idea.

“He could take me to see the lights,” Annabeth whispered. 

Pallas blinked. 

“I think he’s telling the truth, too.” 

Pallas tilted his head. 

“He doesn’t have fangs. I mean, what choice do I have?” she asked. Pallas gave the slightest nod of his head, and Annabeth took a deep breath. She turned back to Jackson as Pallas returned to her shoulder.

“Okay, Jackson,” Annabeth said, crossing her arms. “I have a proposition for you.”

He sighed but didn’t say anything, motioning for her to continue. Annabeth turned his chair to face a different wall and she climbed up onto the mantle of the fireplace to pull back the curtain, revealing her painting. “Do you know what these are?” she asked

“The lanterns?”

Annabeth blinked, looking back at her painting. Lanterns. They were lanterns. She knew they weren’t stars. “What do you know about them?” she asked, looking at him again.

“Every year, the king and queen do this thing for their lost princess, hoping she’ll return. The whole kingdom sends a bunch of lanterns into the sky.”

Annabeth started to get excited. He knew about them which meant he knew how to get to them. “You’re going to take me to see them,” she said. “Then you’ll return me to the tower. Then, and only then , will you get your satchel.”

Jackson furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah, no deal blondie. The kingdom and I are not on very good terms as of late.”

Annabeth glanced over at Pallas, who narrowed his eyes. She climbed off the mantle and marched towards him. “Something brought you here, Jackson. Call it fate or destiny…”

“A horse.”

“So I have made the decision to trust you.”

“A horrible decision, really.”

“But trust me when I tell you this,” she said, her voice growing firm. She tugged on her hair so that the chair tipped forward, and she caught it with her hand, bringing them face to face. “You will never find your precious satchel. You can tear this tower apart brick by brick, but without my help, you’ll never see it again.”

Jackson studied her. It was exhilarating being so close to someone new. He had bright green eyes, and she wondered if she could mix up a color with her paints that would even compare to the hue of them. His dark hair flopped to the side and he had strong features. She didn’t really know what men were supposed to look like, but she wondered if they all looked this good.

“Let me get this straight,” he said. “I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back here, and then I can have my bag?”

“Yep.”

Jackson’s eyes flicked to Pallas, then back to her. With a sigh that ghosted across her face, he nodded. “Fine.”

Annabeth stood upright, clapping her hands together. “Really?” she said. She hadn’t taken into account that letting go of the chair would result in him falling forward. He groaned, and she grimaced. “Oops.”

--

How Jackson had gotten himself into this predicament, he wasn’t sure. He had just been trying to escape that stupid horse, and now he was tasked with taking some crazy blonde girl to see the lantern festival. He’d have to find a way to do it that required not facing any palace guards. He was waiting in the grass for Annabeth, leaning against the base of the tower.

“You coming, blondie?”

He wasn’t sure if there was another way down the tower, but he thought it was going to be pretty amusing trying to watch this girl climb down. She had a surprising amount of strength, though. She had turned him around in the chair with little effort. Just then, he heard a shout of glee and he looked up to see a whirlwind of gold curls and a flowy pale orange dress whipping in the wind. It was Annabeth… using her own hair to slide towards the ground. Of course.

Jackson had stopped dwelling on the endless amounts of hair. It would only raise more questions if he asked and he decided it was not worth it. 

Just before Annabeth hit the ground, she jolted to a stop. Carefully, like the grass was going to bite her, she stepped down slowly. It occurred to him then… had she ever left this tower? It would explain the lack of shoes she had now and the desperation of trusting a stranger to see the lanterns. Everything about this girl was an enigma to him, but he decided to let the questions die in his mind. In a day or two, he’d never see her again so there was no point in learning too much about her.

“You ready?” Jackson asked, watching as she had some kind of revelation. It was a little bit of a shame they’d never see each other again - she was quite pretty. A little out of her mind, though he supposed being in a tower for a potential lifetime would do that to someone, but very pretty. Perhaps in another life, he would’ve flirted with her. In this timeline, he’d have to settle for taking her to lanterns and bringing her home.

They walked through the rock tunnel and Jackson held the vines at the exit open for her. He watched as she took in the world, possibly seeing it for the first time. There was something mesmerizing about the way her eyes scanned the forest. The green of the trees and the blue of the sky reflected in her gray eyes. 

Finally, she smiled. The first time he’d seen her do that. His first impression of her had been that she was stunning, and she was, but it was another level with a smile on her face. Jackson looked away.

“C’mon, blondie,” he muttered.

He was expecting Annabeth to still be stuck in shock, but she took off with another shout of joy. Her weird little owl flew after her. He watched her go, blinking. This was going to be a long day.

At first, her excitement was clearly powering her body but it didn’t last very long. For at least an hour or two, Percy watched Annabeth have the worst debate with herself. She would go from running through the grass, climbing trees, and laughing, to nearly sobbing with guilt about how she was the worst daughter ever, then the whole cycle would start over again. Jackson wasn’t asking questions, but it was becoming clear that this mother of hers was likely the reason she’d never left that tower. Something about that didn’t sit right with him, but he didn’t know the full story so he didn’t say anything for a while. He let her go back and forth with herself for a while until she was curled up at the base of a tree, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her miles of hair were all around her in the grass. Jackson sighed, careful not to step on her curls as he sat next to her. 

“I can’t help but notice you seem to be a bit… at war with yourself here.”

She picked up her head, looking at him. Those gray eyes were full of sadness and he had to admit that he hated the way that looked on her. He cleared his throat. “Well, I’m only getting a little bit of info here. Overprotective mom, not allowed to leave, that kinda thing. But let me help you out a little,” he said, finally looking over at her again. “This is part of growing up.”

Annabeth sniffled. “It is?”

“Oh definitely.” Her owl, the one she’d referred to as Pallas a few times, landed on his shoulder but he swept it away. “A little rebellion will be good for you. I mean, sure it might hurt your mother when she doesn’t even deserve it, but it’ll be good for you.”

This didn’t seem to ease her consciousness very much. “It is going to hurt her,” she said, a little dejected. “Oh God, she’s going to be heartbroken.”

Jackson sighed, helping Annabeth to her feet. “I can’t believe I’m saying this… but I’m letting you out of our deal.”

She turned to him, wide-eyed. “What?”

“Yep.” He picked up the frying pan she’d brought with her and grabbed the owl, careful not to hurt it, and handed them back to her before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Here’s your pan and your bird. We’ll get you back home. I’ll get my satchel and you’ll get your mother-daughter relationship back. A fair trade.”

“No!” Annabeth stopped, shoving his arm off. “You’re just trying to get out of this!”

“What? No, ” he lied. He should’ve known she’d see through his plan, even if he’d tried to lay it on gently.

“I am seeing those lanterns,” she said. There was a certain beauty to her defiance, but it was still annoying.

“What is it going to take for me to get my satchel back now?” he groaned. 

Annabeth just lifted her pan. “I will use this.”

She didn’t get the chance to, though, because a twig snapped nearby and a bush shook, and then suddenly Annabeth was climbing onto his back. “What’s that? Ruffians and thugs? Have they come for me?”

A bunny emerged from the bush. “Careful,” Jackson deadpanned. “It can smell fear.”

Annabeth let out an embarrassed laugh, releasing him. “Oh… sorry. I guess I’m a bit jumpy.”

Obviously, he thought. Jackson wondered if he could scare her into going back home. Maybe not on his own, but with some help…

“Probably best we avoid ruffians and thugs, huh?” he asked.

“Oh, definitely,” Annabeth nodded like it was obvious.

“Right, right,” Jackson said. Then he snapped his fingers together as though he’d just gotten a great idea. “Hey, are you hungry? I know a great place around for lunch.”

Annabeth looked confused at the sudden topic change, but she nodded. “Uh, yeah, I guess so. Where?”

“You’ll know it when you smell it!”

The place was a bit of a walk away, but it was much quicker now that Annabeth wasn’t running around and climbing trees. Pallas sat on her shoulder, and Jackson heard her whispering to the owl a few times. From what he could tell, they understood each other. He would question it, but he fought a horse this morning for his satchel. Nothing surprised him all that much anymore.

Once he started seeing the familiar landmarks, he picked up his pace a little. “It should be somewhere around here… Ah! There it is!” he said, motioning towards the tavern that was tucked away in the woods. “Dove & Forge, very easy going. Perfect for you.”

Annabeth looked hesitant, but the tavern from the outside was very inconspicuous - a wooden house with a flat roof and stone path up to the front door where the white silhouette of a dove was painted on the wood. “Okay,” she said, a small smile gracing her features. They walked down the pathway towards the entrance, music and gruff laughter loud enough to be heard through the wooden walls. He glanced over to see Annabeth tightening her grip on her frying pan, and Jackson held back a smile.

Before she could protest, he swung the door open and placed a hand on her back to urge her inside. 

All eyes turned to them, and Annabeth shrunk back almost immediately as she stared into the faces of the ruffians and thugs she wanted to avoid so badly.

--

Annabeth was going to kill Jackson. Assuming these guys didn’t kill them first. There had to be at least two dozen men in the bar, all a minimum of a foot taller than her.

“Jackson…” she started to say, but he pushed her even further into the tavern. Pallas tucked himself into her neck, practically shaking. 

“You smell that?” he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders to keep her moving. “Really let it seep in, what are you picking up? I’m thinking it’s part man-smell and part really-bad-man-smell. What do you think?”

Annabeth gripped her pan tighter, ready to use it if she needed to. She felt a tug on her hair and whipped around to see a man holding up her hair, watching in awe as it kept coming. She pulled at it, gathering as much as she could into her arms before running further into the tavern, trying to get away from that man. Doing so proved a mistake as she nearly ran into several others. Annabeth backed against the wall, one arm full of hair and the other holding out her weapon.

“You don’t look so good, blondie,” Jackson said sympathetically as he stepped towards her. “Maybe we should call it a day and get you home?”

He wrapped an arm around her, beginning to lead her towards the door. “I mean, this is a five-star joint after all. If you can’t handle this place, I’d hate to see how you were in the rest of the world,” he said. They were only a few feet from the door when a large man slammed it shut. As if acting without thinking, Jackson stepped in front of her to put himself between her and the man. 

But it seemed the man wasn’t interested in her. His eyes narrowed at Jackson and held up a paper. “Is this you?” the guy asked, his voice rough.

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows at the paper. WANTED was written in bold letters at the top with a photo of Jackson beneath it. She had trusted a criminal to take her to see the lanterns. Wonderful.

Jackson just groaned. “God, they still can’t get my nose right!” he complained.

It seemed that confirming he was the man in the photo was an awful idea. Some of the men exchanged a few looks and then suddenly, Jackson was being tossed around like a ragdoll as he tried to avoid the knives and swords they all had. Annabeth heard someone say they were going to go find palace guards.

She had a choice to make here. On one hand, Jackson had led her astray multiple times and had attempted to get out of their deal. He was untrustworthy. But on the other hand, he was her only hope to see the lanterns. Without him, she had no way there and no way home. 

She dropped her hair in a heap and let out an angry huff. “Let him go!” she shouted, pulling at one of the guys. “Hey! Stop it!” They were all stronger and taller than her, though, so she was at a disadvantage. Annabeth climbed onto the bar and hit one man on the head with her pan.

“Put him down!”

Her voice carried over everyone else’s, and they all stopped, turning to look at her. Jackson was in mid-air with three different people holding his limbs.

“I need to see the floating lanterns tomorrow night and I need him,” she pointed her pan at Jackson, “to take me because I’ve been dreaming about them my whole life! So please let him go! God, find your humanity! Haven’t any of you ever had a dream?” Desperation leaked into her voice and it was a little embarrassing, but she needed them to understand.

They kept their hold on Jackson, and one guy turned to her, pushing through people to walk towards Annabeth. He had a hook for one hand, which made Annabeth swallow hard. The man stopped in front of her. Since she was on the bar, he was looking up at her, but that didn’t make her any less terrified.

Suddenly, his angry expression dropped. “I had a dream once…”

Annabeth blinked. The guy looked almost sad and longing as he sighed. “Take a look at me. I’m mean and scary, yeah? But… despite all that, I wanted to be a famous pianist. But with the way I look and this,” he held up his hook hand, “it just wasn’t possible for me.”

Annabeth frowned, a pang of sadness going through her. She sat on the bar, her feet dangling. “I’m sorry,” she frowned. She looked around at the other men. If it worked for one, it would likely work for the rest. “Does… anyone else have a dream? Something that they love? Come on, everyone does, right?”

Another guy held up his hand and Annabeth smiled, nodding her head toward him. This guy was much lankier than the man with a hook hand, and his nose took up half his face. “Well,” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve always wanted to find love. I know I’m not the… most attractive fella out there, but my dream is to find someone who loves me for me.”

Annabeth’s heart swelled. “I’m sure you will,” she promised.

One by one, the men who seemed so frightening on the outside went around and shared their passions. One wanted to be a florist, another loved interior design. One wanted to be a mime, one dreamed of owning his own bakery. Knitting, sewing, puppet shows. One man, maybe the biggest of all, loved to collect mini ceramic unicorns.

With each confession, Annabeth was becoming less and less scared of these guys because really, they weren’t all that different from her on the inside. Finally, the only person who hadn’t shared was Jackson.

“What about you?” the pianist dreamer asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m sorry, me?” Jackson asked. Someone had hung him up by the back of his shirt on a hook, so he was waiting with his arms crossed for everyone to be done.

“Yeah. What’s your dream?” someone else asked, picking him up off his hook and setting his feet on the floor.

Annabeth placed her hands on the bar, leaning a little closer. She was so curious about this man, desperate to learn anything she could about him.

“Sorry boys, I don’t have one,” he replied coolly, leaning back against the wooden pole he’d just been hanging from seconds prior. Acting as one, several men drew swords and knives, pointing them at Jackson. He looked bewildered, his eyes flicking to Annabeth who just shrugged, lips lifting into a smile.

Jackson held his hands out in surrender, aware she wasn’t gonna save him this time. “Alright, alright,” he said. The swords lowered. “I want to own an island. Somewhere remote and alone, where I can be surrounded by all my money.”

Annabeth tilted her head, unsure of what to make of that. It didn’t seem as personal as anything else anyone had shared today, but she supposed he wasn’t keen on sharing his deepest wishes with the men who had wanted to turn him in only moments ago.

“I’ve got a dream,” Annabeth said, if only to get the men’s attention off Jackson. They all turned their attention back to Annabeth, and Jackson looked a little grateful for that. 

“The floating lanterns in the sky every year, I’ve wanted to see them my entire life,” she said, crossing her ankles and swinging her feet. Her eyes landed on Jackson as he began to cross the tavern. “And honestly, I’m so glad I left my tower if it means I’ll be able to see them.”

His lips lifted in a small smile as he took a seat at the bar, placing his chin in his palm as he looked at her. Annabeth turned away from him, looking back at the men.

“We’re not all that different, really,” she said. “Even if our looks are, we’re all similar at our cores, you know?”

All the men cheered, lifting their cups and mugs, clinking them together. Annabeth smiled before opening her mouth to continue talking, but just then, the door of the tavern burst open. “I got the guards!” a guy shouted. Jackson was faster than her, grabbing Annabeth’s arm and pulling her over the bar. They’d just ducked under the counter when they heard the voices of palace guards.

“Search every inch of this place.”

Annabeth’s eyes were wide as she looked at Jackson, unsure of how to get out of this mess. But it seemed someone else had that covered. The man with a hook for a hand leaned over the counter, holding his fingers to his lips. He used his hook to pull a lever behind the bar and some of the floorboards opened downwards into a tunnel.

“Go,” the guy said quietly, glancing over his shoulder. Annabeth really wished she’d gotten his name.

“Thank you,” she said as earnestly as she could. And then Jackson was pulling her along. Pallas followed closely behind before he landed on her shoulder. The opening shut behind them, leaving them in near darkness. There was a light coming from up ahead, so they walked towards it with no other options. There was a small lantern hanging on the wall, offering a hint of light. Even further ahead was another.

“You know, that was pretty impressive, Beth. I didn’t think you had that in you,” Jackson said after a moment of walking. Annabeth felt her cheeks grow warm, whether it be at the praise or the nickname, she wasn’t sure.

“I know!” Annabeth said before realizing how excited that had come out. She cleared her throat. “I know,” she repeated, much calmer.

Jackson looked like he was trying to hide a smile. They walked for a few more seconds before Annabeth asked, “So Jackson, where are you from?” she asked. If this supposed criminal was taking her to a kingdom, it would be a good bet to at least learn something about him.

Jackson, however, held up his hands. “Woah, woah, blondie. I don’t do backstories. I am becoming very interested in yours, though,” he said, glancing back at her. “Now, I’m guessing I’m not supposed to mention the hair.”

“Nope.”

“Or the mother.”

“Uh uh.”

“Honestly, I’m too scared to ask about the pigeon.”

“Owl.” Pallas ruffled his feathers on her shoulder.

“Here’s my question, though. If you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven’t you gone before?” he asked, looking back at her again.

“Oh,” Annabeth said, tucking a curl behind her ear. “Well…”

She wasn’t sure how to casually explain that her mother had kept her locked away in a tower for her own safety, because she wasn’t sure that’s something he would understand. Luckily, or unluckily, they were interrupted before she had the chance. The ground shook as footsteps and shouts grew closer to them.

The guards.

At the same time, their eyes widened and he pressed his hand between her shoulder blades. “Run, run,” he urged. Annabeth began to pick as much of her hair as she could, with Jackson’s help, and they took off. Somehow, the guards had found out about their escape route. 

There was the familiar break of daylight on the floor soon enough, signaling that they’d reached the end of the tunnel. It opened out to a cliff inside of a ravine, though. They were trapped. The drop below had to be at least fifteen feet, and the rock walls above them were far too high to reach the top. Down at the bottom of the ravine, there was a tunnel that looked to be their only escape.

A few feet away from that tunnel, there was another one that was blocked off by wooden planks, which two men suddenly burst through. Annabeth didn’t know them, but they narrowed their eyes at Jackson. “Who’s that?” she asked cautiously.

“They don’t like me very much.”

Behind them, the guards exited the same tunnel they’d just come through.

“Who’s that?” Annabeth hoped for more insight as to why he was being chased and why they wanted him.

All Jackson said was, “They also don’t like me.”

Then, of all things, a horse came from that same tunnel. He looked just as angry as the guards, glaring at Jackson. Annabeth was almost afraid to ask, “And that?”

Jackson looked at her. “Let’s just assume everyone here doesn’t like me!”

Annabeth noticed there were wooden structures in the valley, like there was an old gold mine in it. There was another cliff on the other side of the ravine. She hit her pan against Jackson’s chest. “Hold this.” Annabeth found the end of her hair and threw it up at a wooden beam above their heads, the magic curls wrapping around it. She gave it an experimental tug, and found that it would hold her weight.

With that, she held her hair and jumped, the momentum allowing her to swing across the ravine and land on the other side. Annabeth turned back to see Jackson using her pan to fight off the guards with swords, knocking them out one by one. She watched as the horse picked up a sword, and began fighting with Jackson. Annabeth was almost too shocked to even do anything, watching in awe, until the horse somehow managed to knock the pan out of Jackson’s hand, making it fall to the floor of the ravine with an echoing clatter. 

The horse was closing in on him, so Annabeth had to act fast. She wound her hair around part of the rock that was jutting out from her cliff edge, leaving several feet of the ends to work with. “Jackson!” she called.

“Jackson!” she called, throwing her hair across the ravine. Instead of landing on the ground over by Jackson, he grabbed the end of the curls. She wasn’t sure what he was saying to the horse he’d been fighting, but a second later, he jumped from the cliff and Annabeth held her hair tight as she swung him. 

The two men from earlier that had burst through the wooden planks were below, though, so Annabeth had to pull her hair hard to give him enough lift. She heard Jackson’s voice echo through the valley as he shouted, “Ha! You guys should see the look on your-”

His voice was cut off as he slammed into a rock wall, only a quiet groan escaping his mouth. He landed on a wooden structure that looked like some type of slide used to carry water down to the bottom of the ravine. Annabeth noticed the top of it was connected to a big wooden wall, where the water supply seemed to start. 

None of it was making much sense to her, but they had bigger issues. Across the ravine, she heard a repeated heavy thumping noise and she looked over to see the horse kicking down a tall beam. Water streamed out at the top where the support beam broke off, and the end of it landed on her clifftop, creating a bridge between the two sides of the ravine. The horse immediately began to trot across it.

“Jump, Annabeth!” Jackson called. He was still holding the ends of her hair, meaning he could swing her from the structure he was on. If she measured it right, she’d be able to swing just low enough to get to the bottom of the ravine. She didn’t have much time, and she still didn’t even trust Jackson fully, but she held her hair tight and jumped. Pallas’s little claws were digging into her skin uncomfortably at her shoulder, but she didn’t mind the reminder that he was there.

Just as she planned, she was able to swing down with only a few inches between her feet and the ground. She landed unevenly, rocks biting at her feet, and broke into a run. Jackson began to run down the wooden slide he was on. She heard crashing behind her, but she didn’t need to look back because he landed next to her, running right beside her. Up ahead, there was an opening in the rocks, another tunnel, so they sprinted forward.

Behind them, there was a loud sound followed by the rushing of water. Annabeth glanced behind them to see the biggest wave possible. “What happened?” she yelled, forcing her feet to run faster. 

“The dam broke,” Jackson said, picking up as much of her hair as he could. “It holds water back, we need to run faster.”

Annabeth wasn’t sure she could run faster, but the fear of being taken by that wave did something to her and her feet moved on their own accord. She refused to look behind her again, no matter how loud the water and how close the sound of rocks breaking were. It seemed like just in time, they made it into the tunnel. Some rock must’ve fallen to block them in because the water wasn’t immediately closing in on them. Instead, it was filling the cave at a steady pace.

Which would’ve been a better thing had they not been at a dead end.

The cave was small, only a small incline upwards to solid rock, and it was already up to their ankles in water. It was near impossible to see anything in there, which meant finding an exit would be even more difficult.

She and Jackson clawed at the walls, pulling on any rocks they could find. He even cut his palm open on one, not that he let that stop him from trying again and again. Annabeth used the frying pan, which had miraculously been pushed into the same cave by the water, to hit at the rocks, trying to find a weak spot.

But it was hopeless, they were trapped. Water kept pouring in and they tried to find rocks that would open into another tunnel or cave, and there was nothing. Jackson ducked under the water for the fifth or sixth time, which was at their waists by now. “I can’t see anything down there,” Jackson said once he stood up, reaching up to pull at more rocks above them. But Annabeth wasn’t giving up. She dunked her head under, only for Jackson to lift her out again. “It’s hopeless, Annabeth.” He pushed her wet curls away from her face. “It’s pitch black down there.”

Annabeth couldn’t stop the tears that fell down her cheeks as she leaned against the wall. “This is all my fault,” she sobbed. This was how they were going to die. “I’m so sorry, Jackson.”

There was a beat of silence. “Perseus,” he said quietly. Annabeth sniffled, looking at him.

“What?”

“My real name is Perseus,” he said, looking at her. He shrugged. “Figured someone should know.”

Annabeth let out a tiny laugh. “I have magic hair that glows when I sing,” she offered. A secret for a secret. 

His eyes widened in shock. “What?”

Annabeth realized what she’d just said as she stared into the darkness. “I have magic hair… that glows when I sing,” she repeated. The water was up to her neck, but she quickly broke into the familiar song. She only got a few lines out before she was forced to intake a heavy breath and the water covered their heads. She kept singing in her head and suddenly, they were bathed in light. Perseus let out a gasp before covering his mouth, realizing he should save his air.

When they looked down, they noticed her hair gravitating towards some rocks. It was draining from there, pulling her curls along with it. At the same time, they both swam down and began to pull at the rocks. Annabeth felt a small tug on her hair and glanced over to see Pallas holding onto a chunk of it with his talons. 

They kept digging at the rocks, and Annabeth genuinely thought she was going to pass out, but finally, the pressure of the water broke through and they were being dumped into a river. Annabeth flailed, doing everything she could to keep her head above water. Pallas gripped onto the sleeve of her dress. Perseus must’ve realized that she couldn’t swim, and despite the exhaustion she knew he was feeling, he wrapped an arm around her waist and used the movement of the stream to push them ashore.

They both collapsed against the grass, coughing and wheezing as they tried to catch their breaths. Annabeth didn’t know owls could breathe heavily, but Pallas rolled onto his back and wheezed just as much as she was. 

“We made it,” she finally said after a while of laying there, disbelief coursing through her. Perseus lifted his head, blinking at her. 

“Your hair glows.”

She ignored him. “We’re alive. I’m alive!” she said, getting up.

“Her hair glows, why does it glow?” Annabeth glanced back to see Perseus talking to Pallas in shock, who looked helpless.

“Perseus,” Annabeth called, and his head snapped up. She held up some of her curls. “It doesn’t just glow.”

Annabeth didn’t answer any more questions, though Perseus had a lot. They made their way into the forest until they found a clearing. Perseus made them a fire after she promised to explain everything after. The sun was almost set by the time they sat down by the fire. 

Her curls, untangled as ever, ran around them in piles. Annabeth held out her hand, but he just looked at her. “Give me your hand,” she explained. “The one you hurt.”

Perseus only looked more confused, but he obliged. The cut on his palm was an angry red, but it wasn’t bleeding any more. Annabeth picked up her curls and began to wrap them around his hand.

“You’re being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand…” Perseus said. Annabeth’s lips turned upwards in a brief smile before she looked up at him.

“Okay, just… don’t freak out, please,” she said. Perseus nodded, though he still looked unsure. Annabeth took a deep breath and began the song that enabled her hair’s healing powers. The glowing started from her roots and traveled down to the ends, enveloping his hand in light. When the song ended, Perseus unwound the hair from his hand to find unharmed skin.

His jaw fell open and his breathing became heavy. He sounded like he was building up to a scream, but Annabeth held out her hands. “Please don’t freak out!”

Whatever scream had been building died in his throat. “No, I’m not freaking out.” The words sounded forced. “I’m not freaking out, I’m just very interested in your hair that glows and heals things. How long has it been able to do that?”

Annabeth twirled a few curls around her fingers, giving an awkward laugh. “Forever, I guess. When I was a baby, mother said people tried to cut it. But when you cut it,” she moved her hair to the side to show the one lock of light brown hair in the back that was only a few inches long, “it turns brown and loses it’s power.”

She tucked her hands back into her lap and shrugged. “When you have a gift like that, it needs to be protected. That's why mother never let me… that’s why I never…”

“You never left that tower,” he finished. He didn’t pose it as a question, like it was something he’d already suspected. Annabeth just nodded. Perseus tilted his head. “And you’re still going to go back?”

“No! Yes… I don’t know,” Annabeth said, covering her face with her hands. This taste of freedom had been the best thing she could’ve ever hoped to experience, and the idea of going back to that little tower felt painstaking. But it wasn’t safe for her out here, and her mother couldn’t return to find the tower empty. 

Annabeth tabled this internal debate for now, dropping her hands to look over at Perseus who had been studying her quietly. “So, Perseus, huh?”

He chuckled, waving it off. “Oh yeah, I’ll save you the sob story of poor Perseus Jackson, it’s not a fun one.”

Annabeth just scooted closer, placing her chin in her palms and waiting patiently. Perseus smiled, shaking his head. “My parents died when I was young, but I remember my mom always reading me these stories of Captain Jackson, a fearless pirate who sailed the seas and fought enemies. And he was pretty good with the ladies, not that he’d ever brag about it.”

Annabeth laughed quietly, enthralled with the way he talked. His hands moved animatedly, like he couldn’t sit still. “Was he a thief too?” she asked softly.

Perseus shook his head. “No,” he said, “he had more money than he knew what to do with. He could go anywhere he wanted. And it stuck with me after I lost my parents because, for a kid with nothing, that seemed like the dream.”

Annabeth smiled. “For what it’s worth, I like Perseus much better,” she said, twisting her fingers together. Then she cleared her throat. “Or even Percy?” she suggested softly.

He blinked a couple of times, a slow smile growing on his face. “Percy, huh?”

Noting that he didn’t hate it, Annabeth lifted her chin and nodded. “Percy,” she repeated. He had called her Beth earlier in the day and after things had calmed down, that name had been jumping around in her head and she’d wanted to find a nickname of her own for him. 

In the firelight, it maybe looked like his cheeks were flushed. She hoped as much, at least. He turned his head like he was trying to hide a smile, clearing his throat. “I’m gonna, um, I should go get us more firewood. I’ll be back.”

“Okay,” Annabeth said, curling her toes into the grass. She watched him walk away, glad that he couldn’t see the smile she wasn’t trying to hide. Pallas flew up to her knee, giving her a knowing look. “Oh hush,” she whispered, waving him away with a small laugh. 

The joy she was feeling was short-lived, though, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Well, I thought he’d never leave!”

Annabeth’s blood ran cold and she stood up, whipping around. “Mother?” she asked, astonished. “You- how did you find me?”

“Oh, it was easy,” Athena said, walking closer. “I just followed the sound of complete and utter betrayal until it led me to you.”

Annabeth curled in on herself, wrapping her arms around her torso. “Mother…” she said quietly, unable to look Athena in the face.

“We’re going home now, Annabeth.” There was no room for argument, but that had never stopped Annabeth before.

“No, mother, you don’t understand! I’ve been on this amazing journey. And I… I met someone.”

“Yes, the wanted thief. I’m so proud,” she deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. Annabeth wanted to argue immediately that Percy was so much more than that, but she wasn’t sure that was a priority right now with the way her mother was reaching for her wrist, but Annabeth took a step back.

“No, you don’t understand, mother,” Annabeth pleaded. “I think… I think he likes me.”

She was terrified to say out loud, in fear of jinxing herself. But she remembered the way he’d smiled at her when she’d called him Percy, the way he had told her all about his past, something he didn’t seem to talk about at all. He liked her to some degree and she was determined to find out how deep that ran.

“Likes you?” Athena asked incredulously, as if that were the most outrageous thing she’d ever heard. “Annabeth, don’t be ridiculous! Why would you think that? You’re delusional. It’s time to go.”

“No!” Annabeth said, curling her hand into a fist. She’d gotten this far, she wasn’t going home now.

“No?” Athena asked, placing a hand on her chest in shock. “Oh, I see how it is then, hm? You think you’re so tough now? You think you can take care of yourself now, running around with a wanted criminal?”

Annabeth sighed. “Mother, I just…”

“You think he likes you? That alone shows just how naive you are!”

“I’m not naive!” she argued. 

“No?” her mother asked. She reached into her cloak and pulled out the last thing Annabeth would’ve expected: Percy’s satchel. “This is the reason he’s here.”

“Where did you get that?” Annabeth whispered.

Athena didn’t answer, she just tossed the satchel to Annabeth’s feet. “Go ahead, give it to him. He’ll leave you immediately once he’s got that bag.”

Annabeth picked it up. “No he won’t,” she said, though she wasn’t very confident. This was what he wanted after all, even if he had grown to like her. Would he leave her once the satchel was in his possession? She didn’t convey any of these thoughts to her mother, though. 

“Give it to him, then. You’ll see,” her mother said, tilting her head up defiantly.

“I will,” Annabeth replied, tightening her grip on the leather. 

“When he leaves you in the dust, don’t come crying to me,” her mother said, beginning to retreat into the forest. “I’ll just say I told you so.”

“Mother,” Annabeth said, but Athena vanished into the woods with a flourish of her cloak. Annabeth sighed, staring into the dark trees her mother had disappeared into. She looked down at the satchel, opening it to see the shiny tiara inside. 

She closed it again, buckling it shut. She would give it to Percy. Just… not yet. If he did run off, she wanted this dream to last a little bit longer. 

Annabeth stepped into the strap of the bag and pulled it up to her waist underneath the skirt of her dress. She tightened the strap as much as she could until it fit around her waist, the satchel hanging by her hip. She dropped her skirt, smoothing out the thick material that thankfully hid the bag. She jumped a couple of times to ensure that it was secure and sure enough, the bag didn’t move much. 

She sat back down, and Pallas flew up to her shoulder, snuggling into the crook of her neck. “It’s okay,” she murmured. Only a few moments later, Percy returned with several logs in his arms. 

“Hey, random question, am I gonna get super strength in my hand or anything?” he asked, the smile present in his voice. Annabeth tried to focus on that, but it was hard with the weight around her waist now. Percy noticed immediately that she was off. “Hey, you okay?”

Annabeth straightened her back, standing up to help him with the firewood. “Yeah, sorry. Just really tired,” she lied, smiling a little. He might’ve noticed something was off, but he didn’t know her well enough to pick up on when she was lying.

“Yeah, we’ll settle down after we get some more wood in the fire,” he promised. “Anyways, so will I get any super powers or anything, because that would be kinda awesome?”

Annabeth laughed quietly. “No, no powers for you.”

“Maybe it’s for the better, I would’ve used them for evil.”

Annabeth didn’t believe that for a second, but she kept that to herself. They put a few more logs into the fire before laying down in the grass. It was chilly so they both laid close to the fire. 

Annabeth cleared her throat quietly. “Goodnight, Percy.”

“Night, Beth.”

--

Percy woke up to something wet dripping on his face. He blinked blearily a couple of times before he focused on the black horse above him that was drooling. Okay, gross. Percy wiped his face.

“Well, I hope you’re here to apologize,” he said, shutting his eyes again.

The horse was not there to apologize. He bit down on Percy’s vest and began to drag him through the grass. “Woah woah!” Percy yelled, trying to wiggle his way out of the horse’s grip. “Let go!” He pushed on the horse’s nose, which was enough to loosen the bite. 

He turned onto his stomach, beginning to crawl away, but the horse bit down on his boot and dragged him by it. By now, Annabeth was awake. “Perseus?” she called, following after him. Percy kicked at the horse, once again doing enough to be set free, but the horse grabbed him by the other boot just as quickly.

“Hey, let him go!” Annabeth shouted, catching up to them. Percy kicked himself free again, turning and scurrying backward. Annabeth jumped in between him and the horse, blocking the animal from moving any closer to Percy. How she could be so fearless when that horse was so clearly insane was beyond him. 

“Woah there, woah there,” she said, holding her hands up in front of her. Percy watched in awe as the horse calmed down at her command. “Sit. Hey, no- sit.”

Like a dog following orders, the horse sat. “Good boy,” she soothed. Percy got up, dusting himself off. “Good boy… Blackjack.” He noticed her gentle fingers soothing over a golden tag built into the leather harness.

Even though the horse - Blackjack - was calm now, he was still glaring at Percy. Annabeth scratched behind his ears. “See, you’re a big sweetheart, huh?” she said softly. “Look, today is the biggest day of my life, okay? So I really need you to not get him arrested. Just for today.”

Blackjack whined indignantly, but Annabeth wasn’t phased. Considering her best friend was a baby owl, this didn’t surprise Percy. “And it’s also my birthday. Just so you know.”

Hearing that shocked Percy almost as much as the way Blackjack deflated at the words. He’d forgotten today was her birthday, despite that being what their entire trip was about. Blackjack seemed to concede at that, though he still seemed to glare at Percy whenever Annabeth wasn’t paying attention.

“Well, since we’re all up,” Annabeth said, turning to Percy. “Should we go?”

“Might as well,” he replied, shaking off his residual sleepiness. There was nothing left at their little campsite now that Pallas had joined them, perched on Annabeth’s shoulder, so they were off again towards the kingdom. It was still hours away, but they had time. Blackjack followed a few paces behind them.

“Hey, uh, happy birthday, by the way,” Percy said softly.

Annabeth turned her head to look at him. A faint blush spread over her cheeks. “Oh, thank you,” she said softly. She cleared her throat softly. “Uh, when’s yours?”

Percy didn’t normally offer up information about himself, but Annabeth was already the exception to that rule. “August 18th.”

Annabeth nodded, and they fell back into silence. Percy wasn’t sure if they would still know each other a month from now, but he didn’t mind her knowing things about him anymore. And, if he was being honest, he wouldn’t mind still knowing her a month from now. 

“Oh, stop it, Pallas,” she muttered suddenly, shooing her owl away. He flew back and landed on Blackjack’s head, something the horse wasn’t entirely happy about. 

“So… you can talk to the owl?” Percy asked. He’d be lying if he said that hadn’t confused and intrigued him from the moment they met.

Annabeth laughed quietly. “Not exactly. He can understand me, and I can pretty much understand whatever he’s trying to say back. It’s always been like that, I couldn’t really explain it if I tried.”

“How did you find him? If you’ve never… left the tower?” his voice got quiet at the end. He wasn’t sure how sore of a subject it was for her, and he almost immediately wished he hadn’t added that part at all. Annabeth didn’t seem to focus on it, though.

“My mother brought home a few eggs once, maybe about six months ago. They were for our breakfast, but I took one. Just out of curiosity, because I had read somewhere in a book about birds coming from eggs. So I made a little blanket nest in my drawer, kept it warm. And Pallas was born,” she shrugged. 

“That’s kind of incredible,” he said honestly. Annabeth tucked a long curl behind her ear, that pink blush making its way back onto her cheeks. Percy wished she didn’t turn away when she blushed because he was really starting to enjoy the way it looked on her.

“Well, what about you, Percy?”

Percy. The nickname allowed an old warmth to spread through his chest. He’d never tell her, but she’d managed to pick the same name his mother used to call him. He would’ve thought hearing that name would only bring pain and longing, but he found that he enjoyed it coming from her lips. Perhaps she would be an exception to every rule he had.

“What about me?” he asked. 

She nodded her head back towards Blackjack. “You mean to tell me there’s no weird connection between you and that horse?”

Percy glanced back at the horse, who was glaring at him. He sighed, looking forward again.

“Definitely not.”

As he’d suspected, it took them a few hours to reach the kingdom. As they got closer, Percy and Annabeth had needed to rip down a few WANTED posters with his face on them - none of which had his nose right, unsurprisingly. 

As they crossed the final bridge that connected the forests with the kingdom, Percy couldn’t help but watch Annabeth’s reaction as everything came into view. In truth, the kingdom was quite beautiful and he would imagine that after being locked away in a tower for 18 years, it was the best thing she’d ever laid eyes on. 

Her eyes were wide as they took everything in. Then they shifted to him, and her smile grew even wider. “It’s amazing,” she whispered. 

Percy nodded, unable to disagree with her. “Wait till you see the village up close,” he replied. 

The village on a regular day was beautiful. Shops and homes close together, people moving about, kids playing in the streets. It was the sense of community Percy had always longed for but never found. The village on the Lost Princess’s birthday was something else entirely.

Music played from every direction, and the town was decorated with banners of all sizes, ribbons, and flowers. All of the banners were a deep orange with a golden sun on them. Food was being sold at every corner, people were dancing in the center of the town square, and there were chalk drawings of the same sun design on the ground.

“This is incredible,” Annabeth murmured as she watched everyone in the square switch partners again in the dance. Percy smiled, trying hard not to stare at her. He glanced over at a bench outside of a flower shop to see three girls in a row braiding each other’s hair. 

“I have an idea,” he told Annabeth. Her hair was dragging along the streets, probably getting stepped on as they spoke. He whistled loudly, calling the attention of those girls. Then he bent down and scooped up an armful of Annabeth’s hair. Their eyes lit up and they dropped their task at hand to rush over to them.

It took about thirty minutes, and even with Percy watching, he had no idea how the girls managed to do it, but eventually, Annabeth’s long hair was put up into a thick braid. The end of it just barely brushed the ground and there were flowers of all kinds decorating the strands. He watched as she thanked the kids profusely, kneeling down to their height and cupping each of their faces. 

She was so graceful with the way she spoke to people, it was hard to imagine she had been tucked away from the world all her life. Percy would’ve imagined someone in that predicament would be cold and hard, afraid of everything. But she wasn’t - she was warm, kind, fearless, brave. 

Percy heard a quiet huff next to him and looked over to see Blackjack and Pallas, both looking at him with what he could only interpret as smug expressions. “Oh, shut it,” he muttered, shoving Blackjack away. Annabeth stood back up and turned towards him again.

“Well, what do you think?” she asked, swishing her braid from side to side.

“Much better, now the village won’t be tripping on it,” he replied. It wasn’t the full truth of his thoughts, but it’s what he was willing to share. 

Annabeth grinned. “Hey, I’m starving. Can we get something to eat?”

Percy felt a little bit like a kid again as they joined in on the celebration. They ate lunch, visited the shops and the library. She seemed to know a little bit about everything. It was a little bit of a marvel to see how her mind worked. 

He stood on the sidelines as she joined the children drawing with chalk. She was smart, fearless, and artistic. She created a huge mural on the ground of the golden sun surrounded by orange flowers and swirls. Multiple times, she’d tried to pull Percy in to help but he insisted he would only ruin it. He didn’t have half of the skill she did. 

When she finally finished, she dusted the chalk off her hands and stepped back. Her shoulder brushed his as she looked over the drawing. “Looks good, huh?” she asked, turning her gaze to him. Her eyes were sparkling and her smile split her face in half. 

“Looks incredible,” he said earnestly. “You did a really good job.”

He said it because it was true, but also because he hoped it would make her blush again. It was a victory he kept to himself when she did. 

The music in the square got louder and there was some cheering. Annabeth reached for his hand, dragging him along. “Come on!”

There was another dance starting, everyone switching partners every minute or so. After a bit of watching the same steps repeated over and over again, Annabeth jumped in. She was a little off, but no one cared as they accepted her into the dancing. She twirled around, changing partners and giggling whenever she misstepped. 

She met his eyes and waved him over. “Come on,” she pleaded when she was close enough. Percy just shook his head, a smile forcing its way onto his face.

Before she could plead again - thankfully, because it probably would’ve only taken once more to convince him - he was being pushed into the circle. He caught a glimpse of Blackjack, practically laughing at him, before he was swept away into the pattern of dancing with a random woman. He’d been watching Annabeth long enough to memorize the steps.

Annabeth was close to him and each time they switched partners, they’d get closer and closer together. He’d almost gotten to her once, their fingers brushing as they reached for each other, but they’d both been pulled away by other partners. Percy tried not to be too disappointed, and just continued trying to get back to her. 

Finally, finally, he reached her again and took her hand with his own. But just as they drew each other close, the music came to a close. Everyone around them cheered as the dance ended, but they were both stuck there for a moment, lost in their own bubble of space and time. It wasn’t until someone bumped into Percy that they broke out of their trance, smiling at each other sheepishly. He started to drop her hand, but then thought better of it. The sun was beginning to set, which meant the lanterns would be set off soon.

“I have an idea,” he said. He led her out of the square and along a few roads until they reached the docks. There was a small boat, perfect for the two of them. 

“Is this… yours?” she asked as he helped her into the boat. 

“No,” he replied, sitting down beside her carefully after untying the ropes. “We’re borrowing.”

He glanced over to see her smiling. Pallas flew over and landed on the metal hook that the ropes attached to, leaving Blackjack alone on the docks.

“We’ll be back,” Annabeth promised him. Blackjack looked a little sad, but he sat there as if he were a dog waiting for his owner to return. Percy used the paddle and pushed them away from the dock. He rowed them out to the center of the lake until they had a clear view of the castle.

He looked over at her, hoping she would still be in awe of the kingdom, but she looked oddly upset, her gaze on her fingers. “Hey, you okay?” Percy asked softly.

“Is it weird that I’m… nervous?” she asked. 

“Why are you nervous?”

“Because this is all I’ve been dreaming of my entire life. What if it’s not everything I’ve been hoping for?”

“It will be,” he promised. Percy had seen the lantern festival before and it managed to take his breath away each time.

“And what if it is?” she whispered, looking out at the water. “Then what?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? What would happen after all this was over? Would she return to her tower? Would he never see her again? He swallowed all of those questions down and answered hers instead.

“Well, then you get to find a new dream.”

Annabeth smiled slowly. He was sure that blush was dusting her cheeks again, but it was getting too dark to see it. 

“They did a good job on your hair, huh?” he asked softly. Annabeth reached back to touch the braid gently. 

“Yeah,” she chuckled. Her fingers got caught on one of the flowers and it fell from the curls. “Oh no,” she muttered, trying to stick it back in, but it wouldn’t sit right.

“Here,” he shifted closer, taking the flower from her palm. Instead of tucking it in the thick braid, though, he set it down gently in the water, letting it float on the surface. “You have a bunch in there, this one can float here.”

She looked at it before reaching back to take a few more out. Percy furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you doing?” 

She shrugged, a little sheepish. “That looks pretty, I wanted to put more in the water.”

Percy smiled and reached over to help take out some of the flowers. He held them in his palm, allowing her to take them as she pleased. She was so careful with the way she handled the flowers, methodically placing them in the water. He watched her silently, just admiring her.

He wasn’t ready to say it aloud, possibly only because of the fear of what came next, but he could admit to himself how much she had grown on him. He really hoped she chose not to return to her tower, because he didn’t want this to be their last night together. He wasn’t sure he wanted any night to be their last night together. He would be content having a million more nights with her, if she allowed it.

Suddenly, Annabeth’s head snapped up, drawing Percy out of his thoughts. 

In the dark sky, a single lantern burned bright.

Annabeth dropped the white daisy in her hand and stumbled towards the front of the boat, rocking it slightly. More lanterns rose into the sky and while she was sufficiently distracted, Percy slipped out the two folded up lanterns he’d snuck into his vest. He’d bought two of them and some matches while she’d been creating her chalk mural.

He carefully and quickly unfolded the lanterns, before striking a match and lighting them both. He felt oddly nervous as he cleared his throat. Annabeth turned her head, the gold light reflected in her eyes.

There were thousands of lanterns in the sky by now, almost creating the effect of daylight again with how bright they glowed. She carefully made her way back to the seat in front of him, a smile curling on her lips. 

“I have something for you too, actually,” she said, a little nervousness in her tone. She reached back behind her seat and pulled out Percy’s satchel. His eyebrows furrowed, unsure of where she had been keeping that or why she was giving it back now.

“I should’ve given it to you sooner, but I was just… scared,” she admitted softly. “But the thing is, I’m not scared anymore, you know what I mean?”

And he did. For so long, Percy had been scared of getting close to anyone. The only people he’d ever loved were his parents and they were gone now. He hadn’t been able to bear the thought of losing someone else, so he’d never given anyone the opportunity to hurt him in that way. But Annabeth had wormed her way into his life, and now he couldn’t imagine it without her.

He shifted the lanterns into one hand, and reached forward to push the satchel down. It was no longer important to him, for he’d found something much better. “I’m starting to,” he told her. Annabeth set the bag down, gracing him with a smile and those pink cheeks he adored.

He handed her one of the lanterns and together, they wordlessly pushed them up into the sky. 

Many of the lanterns that had been set off in the kingdom had found their way over to the lake, bathing them in even brighter light. They looked a little like stars in the reflection of her eyes, and Percy couldn’t tear his gaze away. Her hands were resting delicately in her lap, and Percy took a leap of faith. He reached forward, taking her hands in his. This brought her attention back to him.

“Is it everything you dreamed?” he asked quietly.

Annabeth chuckled, but she didn’t take her eyes off him. “It’s amazing,” she breathed. “Thank you for bringing me.”

Percy shrugged a little. “You did kinda force me,” he said lightly, making her laugh quietly. “But I’m glad you did.”

“I am too,” she said. 

One curl had fallen a little loose, so Percy reached up and tucked it behind her ear. Annabeth watched him with wide eyes, and she leaned into his touch ever so slightly, but he caught it nonetheless. Instead of dropping his hand, he pressed it to her cheek, cupping her face.

Maybe he was imagining it, but it felt like her breathing had quickened a little, possibly in anticipation. For a split second, he thought he was being too hopeful, but then her eyes darted to his lips and it all became crystal clear. 

Percy kept his hand on her cheek as he drew her face closer. Annabeth’s eyes fluttered shut, and his almost did too. 

But then something caught his eye.

On the shore, several yards behind Annabeth, there was the small glow of a lantern - but not the bright burn of the floating lanterns. This one was the darker, more sinister glow of a hand-held light. Percy squinted and could just make out two figures.

The Stoll brothers. 

His eyes flicked down to the satchel on the bench beside Annabeth. They were still after that, and they’d likely stop at nothing to get it. 

“Is… everything okay?” Annabeth asked softly, turning her head to see where he was looking. But Connor and Travis had disappeared behind some of the large rocks on the shore.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. Everything’s fine,” he assured her. His eyes flicked to the satchel, to the shore, then to Annabeth. Her eyes were wide with concern. “I just… hold on.”

He pulled away from her, despite how every part of him screamed not to. As he picked up the oar and began rowing them to shore, every part of him told him to stop and put it down, to stay here with her. But he knew that if he didn’t get this satchel to the Stoll brothers, they would only bring the fight to him and he didn’t want Annabeth to be a part of it. 

If he brought it to them, he could return to the boat afterward and they could part ways, and Annabeth would stay out of it.

“Percy, what are you doing?” she asked. Pallas flew over to her shoulder and tucked himself into the crook of her neck.

“I need you to trust me, Beth,” he said gently, unsure of how to explain this to her. If he told her anything, she’d insist on sticking with him and that would defeat the whole purpose of keeping her away from the boys. Annabeth looked unsure, but she didn’t say anything else. 

When they reached the sandy shore, he jumped out and pulled the boat forward a little to ensure it wasn’t going to drift away. And then he grabbed the satchel by her side. 

“There’s just something I need to take care of,” he said. Annabeth’s confusion only grew more obvious as she looked at the bag, then back at him. But he had asked her to trust him, and it would seem that she did.

“Okay,” she said, a small smile pulling at her lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, hoping that the conviction he put in those words would settle her nerves. His fingers tightened on the leather and he walked along the sand towards the rocks the Stoll brothers had ducked behind. On the other side of them, both of them were waiting around, Travis leaning against the rocks and Connor sitting on a log, idly messing with their knives.

“Well there you guys are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you guys since we got separated,” Percy said. No response. He cleared his throat. “Okay, well, I just thought I would come and drop this off for you.”

He tossed the satchel on the ground, towards Connor. “I have no use for it anymore, so it’s all yours.”

He took one step back and was met with a solid surface. Travis. 

“Holding out on us again, Jackson?” Connor asked, getting up from his log. “We heard you found something much more valuable than a crown.”

His blood ran cold as he realized he’d walked right into their game. They weren’t after the tiara anymore. They wanted Annabeth, and he had brought her right to them.

“I don’t know what you mean, boys,” Percy said, not letting them know how shaken he was. 

Travis placed his hands on Percy’s arms, his grip firm and sending a clear message. Percy was trapped. Connor just chuckled as he walked closer. “We want the girl.”

Percy didn’t get the chance to reply because the next thing he saw was Connor’s fist connecting with his face, and then everything went dark.

He woke up bound in ropes. He blinked a couple of times, his lips forming one word before his brain had even processed it. “Annabeth.”

Finally, his eyes focused on the situation that was unfolding. He was tied down to a boat with the princess’s tiara roped into his hand. Guards were already making their way down the docks, shouting his name. The Stoll brothers had tricked him, sent him to his death, and were off with Annabeth in their clutches.

“Annabeth, Annabeth!” he yelled, struggling against the ropes. A few guards hopped into the boat, cutting away the restraints and taking the crown from him, but Percy didn’t care about that. He struggled against the hands of the guards. “No, you have to let me go, she’s in trouble! Annabeth!” 

He knew she couldn’t hear him, but that didn’t stop him from screaming his throat raw and trying to fight his way out of everyone’s grip. It became apparent to everyone that Percy wasn’t going to cooperate, so for the second time that night, he got knocked out.

The next time he woke up, he was in a jail cell and the sun was rising in the sky. The cell door was shut tight and no amount of shaking the bars would free him. No amount of yelling at the guards on duty would free him. Nothing would free him.

Eventually, he just sat on the ground with his head in his hands. He had played right into Travis and Connor’s hands and now Annabeth was in trouble, and it was his fault. He replayed those last few minutes on the lake in his head, wishing he had ignored the Stoll brothers and just kissed her like he’d wanted. 

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the cell door opened. He looked up to see three guards. “Let’s get this over with, Jackson.”

“Where are we going?” Percy asked, getting to his feet. The guard who’d spoken before just tilted his head, giving him a knowing look. Panic seized Percy. They planned to hang him for his crimes. He should’ve known this was his fate - he was foolish to ever think it would end differently for him. 

Percy didn’t fight. He let the other two guards hold him by the arms and lead him down the hallway. Most of the cells were empty as they passed by them except for one that held… Connor and Travis.

He broke free from the guards, the unexpected movement giving him a few seconds of advantage. In those few seconds, he reached through the bars of the cell door, grabbed Connor’s shirt, and pulled him against the bars.

“Where is she? What did you do with her?” he asked. His guards were already pulling him away.

“It wasn’t us, it was the old lady!” Connor replied, eyes wide. 

“Old lady?” Percy muttered, releasing Connor. The guards pulled him back finally, holding him even tighter this time. Percy racked his brain for any old lady, and it clicked suddenly. Annabeth’s mother. He’d never met her, but after all he’d heard of her, he was certain she had to be the one behind this plan. He had no idea when the Stoll brothers could’ve crossed paths with her, but that question was not his top priority.

He began struggling against the guards’ hold. “No, she’s in danger! I have to go, I have to go!” he pleaded. He was about to be hanged and Annabeth was going to spend the rest of her life thinking he’d betrayed her. 

The two guards on either side of him came to a stop as the one in front of them got a door slammed shut in his face. He banged on it. “Hey, open up.”

The sliding hatch on the door slid open, but Percy couldn’t see who was on the other side. He just heard, “What’s the password?” before it slid shut again.

“What?” the guard yelled.

The peephole opened. “Nope.” Then it closed.

“Open up!”

Opened. “Not even close.” Closed. Whoever was on the other side was toying with the guard. Both of the ones holding Percy were just as confused, their grips loosening a little as they tried to get a look at what was happening. 

“I’m going to count to three,” the guard in front said. “One.”

The door to Percy’s left opened, and a set of hands reached out, grabbing the guard that had ahold of him and pulling him into the room.

“Two.”

Then the door to their right opened and the same happened to the other guard, leaving Percy alone in the hall with the final guard. He turned around, as if realizing there was commotion behind him. “Three…”

Percy simply waved at him. The guard was in the three-way intersection of hallways, and coming from his left was a large figure. It only took Percy a split second to recognize him as one of the men from the Dove & Forge. He barreled into the guard, leaving Percy alone. 

The door in front of him opened, revealing another man from the tavern who waved him along. Percy followed quickly. He was unsure of how these men had come to his rescue, but he certainly wasn’t going to stop to question them now. Percy was led down a series of hallways that lead into a clearing in the center of the building, a noose on a platform in the center. Several men from the tavern were there, an array of weapons in hand. More guards were rushing down some stairs that led to the clearing. 

The only thing that stood out was a single animal amongst the men. Blackjack. 

The man he’d followed through the halls ushered him onto the horse’s back. “Blackjack?” Percy asked. “You led them here?”

The horse nodded. Percy was almost at a loss for words. “I- thank you.”

Blackjack nickered, as if to say Percy didn’t have to thank him. “No, really. Thank you. I feel like maybe we got off on the wrong foot or something.”

Blackjack looked unimpressed and the guards had reached the bottom of the stairs. Percy was wasting time thanking a horse. “Yeah, you’re right, we should go.”

He held onto Blackjack’s reins and they took off, galloping through the archway in the wall. They bolted through the village, dodging people and carts, and finally reaching the bridge. “Alright Blackjack,” Percy said. “Let’s see how fast you can run.”

--

Annabeth sat on her bed silently as her mother picked out the last of the flowers in her hair. They had traveled through the forest all night and her mother had practically passed out from exhaustion once they were back in the tower. Annabeth hadn’t though. She had stared silently at her ceiling, tears streaking her face as she replayed the events from the night.

Percy had done exactly what her mother had predicted, and worse. Not only had he run off with the crown, but he’d also handed her over to two other thugs who just wanted her for her hair. Her mother had shown up, though, because she’d followed Annabeth after being so worried and had used a large stick to knock the two men out. 

Her mother had awoken about a bit ago, well rested. Annabeth had only gotten an hour or so of sleep. After her mother had made them breakfast, she’d begun to take the intricate braid out of Annabeth’s hair, which left them where they were now.

“There,” her mother said, placing the last flower in a basket. “Like it never happened.”

Annabeth felt the weight of those words on her shoulders. It was like it never happened. She would only be left with the bittersweet memories of her few days with Perseus Jackson.

Athena stood, carrying the basket of flowers. “I’m going to go wash up, and get ready to make lunch,” she said. Annabeth just stared at her balled up hands that rested in her lap. She heard her mother sigh quietly. “I really did try to warn you, Annabeth. The world out there is dark and cruel. If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it.”

With that, she slid the curtains of Annabeth’s doorway shut. Annabeth bit her lip and uncurled her hands, revealing the small square of orange fabric with a golden sun on it. 

Like it never happened, her mother had said. But Annabeth had a souvenir and she intended to hold onto whatever good memories she could. 

She leaned back on her bed, holding the fabric above her head for another few seconds before she held it close to her chest. Above her were all of her paintings that covered every inch of the walls and ceiling. Annabeth squinted up at a flower on the wall, sitting up. Something about it was eerily familiar. She held the fabric back up, and it clicked then.

The center of the flower was the exact shape of the golden sun. She dropped the fabric as a rush of memories hit her. Some were blurry -  flashes of her being in a cradle, a man and women leaning over her with adoring smiles; a mobile embellished with a golden sun above her head. There was another memory that was much more clear because it was from just yesterday - looking at a tile mosaic of the queen and king with their baby princess. Their daughter had golden hair and gray eyes, which at the time had made her feel oddly uneasy but she’d been pulled away by Percy too quickly to focus on it.

It all made sense why her mother had been so intent on keeping her locked away in this tower her whole life. Though she supposed mother wasn’t the correct word for Athena.

Annabeth stood up from her bed and drew back the curtains of her room. Athena was standing at the sink, drying off her hands. “Ah, my flower, I was thinking-” Athena turned around then and noticed Annabeth’s expression, “oh, what’s wrong?”

“I’m the lost princess,” Annabeth murmured.

“Oh, Annabeth, don’t mumble. You know I hate when you do that.”

“I’m the lost princess, aren’t I?” Annabeth repeated, loud and clear. Athena was shocked into silence and Annabeth lifted an eyebrow. “Did I mumble, mother ? If I should even call you that.”

Athena laughed, a little nervously. “Oh Annabeth, don’t be ridiculous! Why would you say such a thing?” She stepped closer, reaching out to touch Annabeth’s arms, but she shrugged Athena off.

“It was you! It was all you.”

Athena’s expression grew cold. “Everything I did was to protect you.”

Annabeth shoved her way past Athena. “Annabeth!”

“I’ve spent my entire life hiding from people who would want to use me for my power,” she said, pacing angrily. “But I should’ve been hiding from you.”

“Where will you go?” Athena asked, raising a sharp eyebrow. “ He won’t be there for you.”

It occurred to Annabeth then that Athena had something to do with Percy’s sudden disappearance. She knew he wouldn’t have just abandoned her. He had asked her to trust him and she did.

“What did you do to him?” she asked, hands curling into fists at her side. 

“That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes,” Athena said. Pain blossomed in Annabeth’s chest, as if the words had physically shot through her heart. 

“No,” she whispered, stumbling backward. 

Athena stepped closer while her guard was down. “Now, now, it’s alright,” she soothed. “Everything is as it should be.” Her hand moved to rest on Annabeth’s head, but she caught it in midair. She kept an iron grip on the woman’s wrist.

“No,” she said firmly. “You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me!” She pushed Athena back, causing her to stumble into the mirror. It tipped over, the glass shattering into several shards, but Annabeth paid it no mind.

“And I will never, ever , let you use my hair again.”

Annabeth moved towards the window, the quickest escape from this tower, but she never even got close. Athena was suddenly grabbing both of her wrists, dragging her backward. 

“You don’t understand, Annabeth!” she said, but Annabeth only screamed at her and struggled against her tight grip. “I am trying to protect you! This is for your own good!”

Athena let one wrist go, but then a few of her fingers were being pressed into a pressure point on Annabeth’s neck, and she felt herself go dizzy. That gave Athena the advantage she needed and she pulled Annabeth back even further. Each time Annabeth began to regain her strength, Athena would push down on that spot again. It never fully knocked Annabeth out, but her vision was dotted with black shapes and her footsteps fell out of line.

Before she knew it, Athena had her hands bound behind her in metal cuffs with chains attached to them. “No! Let me go!” Annabeth screamed, uselessly pulling at the chain.

Athena shook her head, wrapping a strip of cloth around Annabeth’s head to cover her mouth. “I warned you Annabeth,” Athena chided. “This would’ve never happened if you had just stayed in the tower.”

Annabeth pleaded, but it was muffled by the gag. Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head desperately. Athena opened a hatch in the floor that had a staircase leading downwards - the same staircase they’d used to get into the tower last night. Annabeth protested harder, but Athena paid her crying no attention. She’d only begun to drag Annabeth towards the hatch when a shout interrupted them.

“Annabeth? Annabeth, let down your hair.”

Percy. The smallest burst of hope washed through Annabeth. She wasn’t saved yet, but he’d come for her. She still had a chance. She screamed against the cloth covering her mouth. Athena cursed under her breath.

“That boy will tear this tower apart looking for you,” she said, gritting her teeth together. She contemplated for a second before gathering Annabeth’s hair in her arms. Annabeth could only watch in stunned silence as Athena threw the window shutters open and tossed her hair out the window. 

She was letting Percy climb up, which could only mean it was a trap. Athena stepped back into the shadows and as she did, Annabeth caught the glint of metal flash in the light. A knife. Panic seized her as she understood Athena’s plan. She screamed and tried to loosen the gag, but it was hardly budging.

At last, Percy’s hand reached the window sill and he climbed into the tower. He looked both relieved and worried all at once. She tried to warn him, but Athena was too quick. In one quick move, she stepped out of the shadows and drove the knife into Percy’s back. He gasped and doubled over before collapsing to the ground. Annabeth struggled harder against her chains.

Athena placed her knife back into her cloak and stepped over Percy like he was nothing. She reached for the chain that connected to Annabeth’s cuffs and began dragging her back, but Annabeth fought back with everything in her. Desperation and adrenaline kicked in. She noticed Pallas, who had been hiding in the shadows, fly out and pull at the hem of Athena’s dress. Athena kicked him away without a second thought.

“Our secret will die with him,” Athena said. Annabeth’s gag loosened a bit as she moved her jaw. “Now we will go somewhere no one will ever find you! Stop fighting me, Annabeth!”

The gag fell around her neck. “No!” she said, looking up at Athena. “I will never stop fighting you. I will never stop trying to get away from you.”

Annabeth glanced back at Percy, who was clutching his stomach. “But,” she said, “if you let me heal him, I’ll go with you. I won’t run, I won’t fight. It’ll just be us. But please let me heal him.”

“Annabeth, no,” Percy grunted. Athena narrowed her eyes before dropping Annabeth’s chains. She pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the cuffs. Annabeth watched as she took the chains and restrained one of Percy’s hands to one of the support poles.

“Just so you don’t get any ideas about following us,” Athena sneered, dropping his hands to his chest. Annabeth crawled over to him immediately, cupping his face.

“Hey, hey, it’s gonna be okay,” she said gently.

“Annabeth, you can’t do this,” he said, his voice raspy as he fought for breaths.

“I can’t let you die,” Annabeth replied. Tears were still streaming down her face. 

“But if you do this, then you will die.”

Annabeth bit her lip, brushing her thumb over his cheekbone. “It’s gonna be okay,” she promised. She gathered up some of her hair, ready to press it to his wound.

“Wait, Beth,” he murmured. Annabeth turned to face him again, leaning close. His next movement happened so fast, Annabeth didn’t even register it until it had been done. He’d taken one of the glass shards of the broken mirror and had reached up to slice through her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. The bright gold softened into something a few shades darker and she gasped.

The shard fell out of his hand and he relaxed again. “What did you do?” Annabeth whispered.

But her words were drowned out by the loud scream of “No! What have you done? What have you done ?” from Athena. She was desperately trying to gather up the curls in her arms, but they were turning brown in her grasp. Her dark hair began to turn gray, then white, and her skin became wrinkly. She stumbled towards the shattered mirror, letting out a broken scream at her aging reflection. With each second, she gained another ten years to her appearance. 

Athena pulled her cloak over her face as she let out a wail of despair, still stumbling around blindly. She unknowingly moved towards the open window and Annabeth watched as Pallas picked up some of Annabeth’s hair on the floor in front of the window, pulling it taught. Athena walked right into it, and tripped, falling out of the window. Annabeth gasped softly as Athena’s ragged scream echoed and faded into nothing as she fell.

Annabeth stared blankly out the window for a few seconds before she remembered what was happening. She whipped back around to Percy as he coughed quietly. “Hey, hey,” Annabeth whispered, reaching over to cup his face. “You’re okay. I’m right here, look at me.”

She lifted his hand to her hair, and began the song that would normally make her hair glow gold. This time, the curls stayed their new shade of warm brown. 

“Annabeth.”

“No. You’re okay, you’re okay,” she pleaded.

It was clear that he was not okay though. He was dying and it was her fault. If she’d just stayed in her tower, they would’ve parted ways and he wouldn’t be dying in her arms right now.

“Hey, Beth,” he murmured. “You were my new dream.”

Annabeth let out a broken sob. “And you were mine,” she whispered.

Percy graced her with one last smile before he fell still. Annabeth pressed her forehead to his. After a few minutes of getting her unsteady breathing under control, she lifted her head to look at him. Her fingers brushed over his cheek and traced his jaw.

“Heal what has been hurt,” she whispered, finishing the lines of her song. They’d never fit more perfectly than they did now. “Change the Fates’ design. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine.”

Annabeth broke down again, as she softly repeated the last line. “ What once was mine. ” Her tears spilled over for the millionth time that day, and they fell onto his cheeks.

She felt the warmth of the glow before she saw it. Her eyes fluttered open to see swirls of gold rising from the wound in his stomach. They swished around her, filling the room with light. Annabeth watched as they danced around her before slowly diminishing back into the wound. Annabeth gently opened his vest. No more blood. 

Annabeth reached for Percy’s face, cupping it. “Percy?” she asked softly.

For a split second, nothing happened. And then his eyes fluttered open. “Annabeth?” he whispered.

She gasped, unsure if this was a dream or not. “Percy?”

He smiled slowly, starting to regain his senses. “Did I ever tell you I’ve got a thing for brunettes?”

Annabeth let out a laugh and launched herself into his arms. He still had one hand chained to a pole, but the other arm wrapped around her waist, strong and steady. She pulled back just enough to see his face. He was smiling and the vibrant green of his eyes were alive with light, and Annabeth couldn’t help herself anymore. 

She took his face in her hands and kissed him. Percy held her face with one hand, ever so gently. It was everything she’d dreamed of and more. She broke away to press her forehead against his again, letting out a watery laugh. “You’re okay,” she breathed, reassuring herself more than anything.

“I’m okay,” he replied, just as soft. Annabeth nodded, leaning back. Percy cleared his throat and lifted his hand with the cuff still attached. 

“Do you wanna maybe free me?” he asked.

“Oh, right!” Annabeth laughed, getting up. As she walked over to the counter where Athena had left the key, something felt different and it took her a few seconds to place what it was.

She brought her hand up to her curls. They fell to her collarbones now, and then it just… stopped. There was no weight to them anymore. She wasn’t dragging several feet of hair behind her. It was freeing, in a way.

She returned to Percy’s side. “It feels weird now. My hair,” she said as she unlocked his cuff. His wrist was a little pink but it wasn’t bad.

Percy tucked a curl behind her ear. “I’m sorry for cutting it,” he said, but Annabeth shook her head.

“No, it’s okay. You saved me,” she replied. “Although it would’ve been nice if you had let me save you first. I… I lost you for a bit there.”

Now that both of his hands were free, he reached for Annabeth and pulled her against him, her legs thrown over his as they curled into each other. “You saved me too, though. So it’s okay.”

She nodded into the crook of his neck. They sat there for a few moments, soaking in each other’s presence, before Annabeth heard a quiet hoot. “Pallas,” she perked up immediately. Her owl was still waiting in the shadows, unsure if he should interrupt their moment. Annabeth held out her arm and he flew up to her wrist. “Are you okay? Did she hurt you?”

Pallas shook his head, but there was still something akin to regret in his big eyes. He glanced over at the hair on the floor - the hair he’d used to trip Athena which had resulted in her falling out of the window. He must’ve thought Annabeth would be upset with him for that. She stroked the feathers on his head gently.

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “You did what needed to be done. Thank you.”

Pallas blinked a few times before he flocked to Annabeth’s shoulder and cuddled into her neck. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever understand this relationship,” Percy said, but the words didn’t match the adoring smile on his face. She felt Pallas’s head turn and Percy sighed. “Great, now he’s glaring at me.”

Annabeth laughed softly, pressing her cheek against her owl’s head.

“So,” Annabeth said quietly. “What, um, what happened after you left the boat?”

Percy’s eyes filled with regret as though he just remembered everything that happened. “Oh Beth, I’m so sorry. I was trying to give them the crown because I didn’t want it anymore, and I wanted them to leave us alone, but I walked right into their trap.”

“It’s okay,” she took his hand. “I’m not mad. They were tricked too by my- by Athena.”

He nodded, though he still looked upset. “They knocked me out and tied me to another boat with the crown and sent me back to the kingdom. I was captured then, thrown in jail for a while. But Blackjack brought the men from Dove & Forge, and they broke me out. And then I came here.”

“Wow,” Annabeth whispered. Percy nodded slowly, then looked at her. She realized this meant it was her turn to share what happened on her end. “Those guys, the ones who you were gonna give the crown to, tried to capture me but Athena was there. She’d knocked them out, which probably should’ve been the first indication something was off. I’m not sure how they were working together, but she definitely wouldn’t have been able to take them on in a fight.”

Percy chuckled, but didn’t say anything else. So Annabeth continued, “We came back here and slept. I was playing with the little banner you got me, the one with the sun, and I… I realized I’d painted that symbol all over my room somehow. And I remembered some things and I realized I’m, uh, the lost princess.”

Percy stared at her. “You’re the what?”

Annabeth laughed quietly. “Athena stole me when I was a baby, I guess, and kept me locked away in here. She kept me for my hair so I could keep her young,” she said, her eyes dropping to her lap. Pallas cuddled further into her neck. 

“I’m so sorry,” Percy murmured, pressing his lips to her temple. Annabeth leaned into his touch.

“It’s okay,” she promised, looking up at him. “She’s gone. I’m okay now.”

“Good,” he said, lifting his hand to brush his thumb over her cheekbone. “So what now?”

Annabeth sighed, reaching over to interlock her fingers with Percy’s. “Now we go home.”

And they did. The next day, they made their way back to the kingdom. Blackjack had still been waiting for the at the base of the tower so they rode him back, making it out of the forest in record time. They rode right up to the gates of the palace.

Percy had originally been worried that they would arrest him again, but Annabeth assured him that the man responsible for finding and delivering the princess back to her parents would be pardoned for his crimes. She would make sure of it. 

The guards let them into the castle and led them to a balcony overlooking the village where they awaited the king and queen. Annabeth was nervous. She shouldn’t have been, these were her parents, but they were also strangers. She kept her fingers woven tightly with Percy as they waited.

Finally, the doors behind them opened and Annabeth took a deep breath before turning around. She very clearly got most of her looks from her father, including the sharp gray eyes. Her mother was the one with the soft brown curls that Annabeth’s hair now matched. For a heavy, stunned silence, they all just stared. Her mother crossed the terrace then and cupped her face gently. They both smiled slowly, and her mother’s eyes got teary, before they pulled each other into a hug. Another set of arms wrapped around them both and she glanced up to see her father.

Annabeth looked over to see Percy leaning against the balcony railing with Pallas on his shoulder, watching her with a smile. She grinned at him too, and just as it should, all the pieces fell into place.

--

Once the lost princess had returned, the kingdom rejoiced. The celebration lasted a full week. Annabeth was home, with a real family now. In the following years, she began to lead her kingdom with the same grace and wisdom as her parents did before her. 

Perseus began going by his real name again, for he had no reason to wish for the life of Jackson anymore. As Annabeth had promised, he’d been pardoned for his crimes, which stopped altogether. And after a few years, Percy and Annabeth were married.

And, of course, they lived happily ever after.