Just a a couple of shots from Percy's point of view <3

***

The Grace's; before chapter 29

There was a small knock on my door, pulling me away from my thoughts on a new budget plan the council had come up with

I opened the door to a small young maid whose hands were shaking and she was blushing madly 

"Sorry, Your Highness. Urgent message from Dr Solace. He requires you in the hospital wing as soon as possible" Her voice was quiet and fragile

"Thank you, miss. I'll just grab my jacket and head down"

She curtsied and quickly scurried off

I chuckled to myself at her distress. Some girls were just fascinated by my good looks

I quickly grabbed my suit jacket and made my way downstairs to the hospital wing. As I got closer I started to worry and wonder

Why did Will need me? Did Tyson or Zoe hurt themselves? Was Paul and Mum okay? Annabeth? Was she hurt? What about the other Selected?

When the guards opened the door leading to the hospital wing I was greeted by the disgusting smell of antiseptics

Will swiftly walked up to me and grabbed my forearm leading me rather hastily down to a room

"What the- Let- Will!"

He pushed me into a room rather hardly and I smashed into some boxes with cabinets and files in them

I wasn't till I had fixed myself up did I realise we were in his office

He had a small window letting natural sunlight stream in. His walls were painted a pale yellow and his desk was a complete mess. Papers were everywhere and some equipment lay on the table. A coffee cup had fallen over and coffee was dripping down the side of the desk. Looking around more I realised how much of a mess the room was. On a small couch opposite his desk he had statistics pinned up on a board, he had newspaper clippings pinned up. Papers were scattered around the room and the bin was full to the brim

He had a picture of him and his family sitting next to his uneaten apple and he had different pictures pulled up on his computer

The first was a photo of my younger self with my dad, Poseidon. The second was one of dad and his mother, Rhea, who also died. He was young in the picture. Others were there but I couldn't see them

"What is going on, Will?"

He shhhed me and pushed me over the the couch, which I cleared of some papers and sat down. He sat down at his desk and placed his fingers in front of his face. Now I could clearly see bags under his eyes

"Is everything okay?" I asked

He shook his head and laughed "I don't know if this is bad news or good, Percy"

I scrunched my eyebrows together "What is it? What do you think it is?"

"Personally, I think it's great, but it will have consequences"

I made the signal to  continue with my hand

"Well, I got the results from all the test I did on the Selected. One that caught my eye was Thalia Grace"

I sat up a bit straighter "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, she's perfectly healthy. But her DNA results concerned me"

I titled my head, not seeing anything

"You know how I wanted to look at other results?"

I nodded my head

"I looked at-" he took a breath "-Jason Grace"

My jaw slowly dropped

"Grace?"

He nodded his head "Ever noticed those eyes before. Exactly the same, electric blue. And their DNA matches"

He passed me two pieces of paper. One read 'Jason Grace' the other 'Thalia Grace'. They both had a lot of things I didn't understand but one section caught my eye. They were exactly the same

"Brother and sister"

I looked up at him and he nodded his head "Yep, but then I was looking at pictures of them and I realised that I had seen those eyes before. They just looked so familiar but I couldn't place a finger on it"

I remembered a imagine of the shocking electric blue eyes that I'd seen so many times. I couldn't recall anything

He spun around the computer so it could face me

Like I saw before there was a photo of me and dad. The next one showed grandmother Rhea and dad. The third one was Jason's guard picture and the fourth Thalia's selection photo

I looked over at the Graces and their eyes. Something caught my eye. My grandmother.

Her eyes

All three pairs

Electric blue

I looked up at Will with wide eyes and jaw dropped as the realisation came to me. Rhea had another baby, my uncle Zeus, but we don't know exactly what happened to them. Zeus would have most likely had his mothers electric blue eyes. What's to stop my uncle from growing up and having two children?

He nodded his head and had a smirk plastered on his face, telling me that was I was thinking had been scientifically proven.

"I hope you didn't kiss her, cause she's your cousin"

The Selecting of the Selected; Before the Selection Starts

I looked around nervously, trying to see a flash of blonde hair or hear a snippet of the sound of her voice. All I needed right now was a smile from Annabeth, and even though it would cause me so much pain, it would make everything better

"Honey" My mother asked "are you alright?"

I laughed nervously "I'm about to pick 35 girls to come and live with me while I try and pick one to be my wife. Of course I'm okay!"

She gave me a dry look "Do not sass me young man"

I sighed and kissed her on the cheek as Paul sat down on her other side "Sorry Mum, I'm just really nervous"

She cupped my cheek, her motherly warmth fighting some of my nerves "Your father was nervous when he did this too Percy, and he found me and had two children. I was nervous as well, and I found Paul and now I'm blessed with Zoe. Everything will work itself out, everything will fall into place. All you have to do is read out 35 names"

I closed my eyes and all I could see was Annabeth

***

After my parents talked about boring news that I should have been paying attention too, they called me up to the stage

I smiled my most convincing crooked smile, buttoned up my suit jacket and stood at the podium, over 5 cameras facing me and all of Illèa watching

"Good evening Illèa" I leaned on the podium a little bit to steady myself "Is anyone else nervous?" I asked aloud, getting laughs from around the room "Well I can tell you, I'm extremely nervous right now" I read off the screen next to the main camera trying to act as if I wasn't about to faint "In less than 60 seconds I will start to pick out 35 lucky girls to come to the palace and try and win my heart. I think it will be more like me, trying to win their heart but whatever"

I stepped back and walked over to where a barrel was set up. The glass case held all of the entry's from girls in Allens, the first Provence that would be Selected today

"Before I start, I would just like to thank everyone for supporting me in this daunting next phase of my life. And good luck, to all the beautiful girls that have entered the drawing of the Selected. I hope we find a perfect lady to rule as Queen" I breathed out a long breath "From Allens" I said as I spun the lever to make the barrel spin. I put my hand in, picked a white slip of paper and pulled it out, opening it so I could read it "Riley Wilson, 4"

There was light applause as someone rushed over to switch the barrel to the Angeles one, the monitors around the room showing what people at home could see. There was a picture of a a girl, Riley Wilson I guessed, on the screen. Her smile was bright and she had a wide eyes. Okay, I said to myself, only 34 to go. This could work out

"From my home Provence of Angeles" I spun the lever watching the papers flying around. This was the most nerve racking. I prayed to all the gods I knew and hated that I would read Annabeth's name, even though she doesn't think of me like that, even though she didn't enter, even though she's my best friend. I wanted so badly to just stop this. I wanted to find her and run away and hopefully start a relationship with her. But it was against the rules, I had to go through with this stupid Selection anyways. I stuck my hand in and was about to pick up a piece of paper when I felt a tug on my heart. My breath caught in my throat as my hand moved to the left, picked up a piece of paper that seemed to be calling out at me and opened it up

Annabeth Chase, 2, Angeles

I stared at the paper, flabbergasted at what I was reading. My best friends name was on that piece of paper. She felt the same way. She had entered the Selection. She wanted to win my heart

"Percy, dear?" My mother asked from her seat concerned

I blinked multiple times, looking around at my surroundings snapping out of my daze. My heart was beating a mile a minute and I felt as if I was out of my body, that this couldn't actually be real

"Uh" I started looking into the camera hoping she was watching "A-Annabeth Chase, 2"

A collection of gasps rang out throughout the room shocked. The person ran over and changed the battle to the Atlin one as a picture of Annabeth flashed up on all of the screens in Illèa

I stared at the photo, smiling slightly at her huge big grin, taking a massive leap of faith. Her hair was framing her angelic face, her lips full and her cheeks flushed. Her eyes looked dead into the camera, a storm of grey. She looked beautiful

Throughout the rest of the Selecting all I could think of was, like a mantra in my head:

Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth

Sally and Paul's wedding; Aprox. age 11

I stood next to Paul at the altar, watching as people made there way to their seats

"You nervous?" I asked him then shook my head laughing "Of course you aren't. Marrying someone you love in front of the whole world and then becoming king on the same day. A walk in the park if you ask me"

Paul fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve "Might be a walk in the park for you Percy, it's certainly not for me"

I smiled, bumping him on the shoulder "Cheer up Paul, Mum will be here any second and you can finally be married"

He smiled as he looked at the door where my mother would walk in in only a few minutes "She'll be my wife"

I smiled brighter at his loving look "And I'll be your step son"

He turned to me and Tyson, who were his best men in his wedding "You both will be"

Trumpets blared and everyone quieted down in the large temple. Paul stood up straighter, putting his hands behind his back, Tyson and I following suit

The large, heavy gold doors opened, everyone standing up at the presence of the bride. She was wearing her white off the shoulder wedding dress, that hugged her curves and flared out near the bottom, creating a long train. A diamond studded tiara sat on top of her head, her brown hair cascading down her back. A long lace veil flowed behind her. Love welled up inside of me at the sight of my stunning mother, I snuck a quick glance at Paul and was not surprised to see a tear of happiness slip out of his eyes. I was about to start crying myself

Behind my mother was someone who made my smile bright. Annabeth was holding my mother's train, slowly walking behind her making their way down the aisle. She was wearing a halter neck lilac bridesmaid dress, which flowed straight down her body. Her hair was done up in a crown of braids, her bead necklace placed like always on her neck. She made eye contact with me, smiling up at me. My breath was taken away because she looked so much like a princess

Paul rushed down the few stairs lined with red velvet carpet, holding out his arm for Mum to take. She handed her bouquet of flowers to Annabeth and took Paul's arm, smiling up at him as they climbed the stairs

Due to the fact that Mum's dad had died when she was 5, she decided to walk without anyone on her arm down the aisle, knowing that her father would be there anyway

Her smile brightened when she made eye contact with me and Tyson. She blew a kiss at us as she walked past. I hastily wiped at my eyes as tears started to form

Paul and Mum stood in front of the priest, holding onto each other tightly

Annabeth stood a few steps behind my mother, Tyson and I the same distance behind Paul. The priest started to talk about marriage, and thanked everyone for attending

I looked at the back of my soon to be parents and couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of joy. My mother had been through so much. She had lost her parents, lived a terrible life until she entered the Selection. She was the lucky one and married the love of her life, was blessed with two heathy children then went through the rough seas of her husband dying. But she stood tall, she fell in love again and now here she is. She had found someone to lean on, she had found someone who loved her with every fibre of his body. She deserved this happy ending, and so much more

The traditional ceremony of exchanging of the rings was made and then the I do's. They both choked up slightly, but said it with so much love. The last part of the ceremony took place

As Paul handed my mother an apple I felt peace, knowing he cared and loved her. As she took the bite of the apple, signifying that they were now husband and wife, I couldn't be any prouder of her

Things would work out well

Aw, so cute. I used a mix of today's wedding ceremony and Ancient Greece's (the apple part)

Perachel Date
*pukes*

Rachel and I walked in comfortable silence as the warm Angeles air hit our faces. We held hands as we walked, enjoying each other's company

"I bet I can draw this" I pointed to the view of the gardens "better than you"

She threw back her head, her red hair bouncing all around her, and laughed

"What? You think I'm a bad drawer?" I asked

She shook her head still laughing "No of course not!" Her voice was laced with sarcasm

"You just wait and see"

I left her surprised and walked up to the closest guard on duty

I looked at his name tag "Hey Beckendof, could you please get me two sketch pads and a box of coloured pencils please?" I asked my good friend

He raised his eyebrows "So, I'm guessing you don't want me to mention this little scene to Annabeth?"

"Oh, gods," I muttered "Don't even think about it"

He chuckled and left to go get the art supply's. I confidently walked back over to Rachel, my thoughts still lingering on Annabeth

"What are you doing?" She asked

"We're going to see who can draw better"

She narrowed her eyes and stared at me "You're on"

***

Rachel was a much better drawer/artist than me

My trees were just a brown line with green lines coming out of it, the sun was a large misshapen circle in the top left corner and my flowers were just coloured dots  

Rachel however, she can draw. She had drawn each leaf of the trees uniquely, the sun and sky melted into one and the flowers looked so realistic that I had to brush my fingers over them just to make sure she hadn't stuck the flower there

"Wow" I breathed "That's amazing. You have so much talent"

"Thanks" She smiled and shrugged "I'm pretty good for a five"

I squinted my eyes at her but didn't comment any further. All throughout our date, she kept referring to herself as a five, as if the stupid number defined her, made her less important or made her wonderful talent just meh

***

We passed by the silent doors of the other Selected as we made our way to Rachel's room after a fantastic day drawing and laughing

"Rachel?" I asked

"Yes?"

"Why do you keep referring to yourself as a 5?"

We slowed down as we neared her door. She placed her back on the door giving me a questioning look

"Because I am a 5, it's my caste number"

I gave her a small smile and leaned in closer

"Your not a 5 Rachel. Your an artist" I kissed her lightly on the cheek "Stop labelling yourself as a number"

She looked up at me with her wide, beautiful green eyes. As I studied her face the angle of her cheekbones became more dominant and the red freckles splattered across her nose and cheeks made her look like a red headed warrior (*shudders* *screams* *pukes* chokes* *dies*)

"Goodnight Rachel" I tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear, turned around and walked away

That was...
*dies*

The Summer Ball

"Please" A deep voice bounced off the walls getting everyone's attention "Welcome the Royal family onto the dance floor to dance the traditional Illèan Dance"

I stood in the middle of the dance floor watching as my parents and siblings got into position

I scanned the crowd, hoping to find my perfect dance partner. My eyes connected with hers. I found myself staring at her, which was stupid because I'd seen her a million times. Still, she seemed so much more mature. It was kind of intimidating. I mean sure, she'd always been cute but she was starting to seriously beautiful. I gave her a half smile as I walked over

"Lady Annabeth" I bowed

She smiled at me curtsying "Your Highness"

I stood back up and held out my hand "May I have this dance?"

"You may" She placed her hand in mine and I lead her to the dance floor

We got into position as the fast paced music of the national dance started. We started to move in a circle with the rest of the family. Flashbacks of all the years we had learned to dance together flashed across my mind

"And why did you chose me to dance?" She asked

"I heard that your the best" I winked

She rolled her grey eyes at me but smiled

"You know," I said "I was momentarily speechless when I saw you at the start of the ball"

She raised her eyebrows surprised "Oh really? And why is that?"

I stared at her face "You look absolutely stunning, gorgeous and beautiful tonight Wise Girl"

She cutely blushed "You don't look to bad yourself Seaweed Brain"

I spun her out, her dress flying out around her as the other boys of the family did the same. As she came back in my eyes swept over Luke Castellan standing guard at the door

"How did you go with Luke's files?" I asked

She placed her hand on my shoulder shrugging "I didn't find anything I wanted, it just created more questions" She said disappointed "Thank you by the way"

"About the article-" I started

"No" She interrupted "I don't want to even think about that tonight"

My eyes search her face more emotion. She tried to hide it but I knew her too well. She was hurt and upset, and even though seeing her like this caused me pain I didn't continue because she didn't want to

"I'll see you soon" I smirked as I spun her out, letting go and taking my mother's hand

"So" Mum said as she placed her hand on my shoulder, the other in my hand smiling

"So?" I asked smiling at her

"Annabeth is dancing with us today"

I groaned "I can see that mum. She does every year, why would this be different?"

"Well, I'm glad that she is"

I spun her out and pulled her back in "I'm glad too"

She squealed quietly "This is so exciting. I can't wait for the wedding"

I rolled me eyes "Mum"

"Okay, okay" She gushed "I can't wait for the proposal"

"Mum!"

She giggled as she spun towards her other son and I turned my face to see Zoe smiling brightly spinning towards me

"Hey Blue!" She greeted me as she stepped on top of my feet, holding her hands up for me to steady her

I stepped to the beat with her on top of my feet "Hello Zoe"

"Have you seen the sparkles on the dresses?" She giggled "They're so pretty"

I felt a wave of love for my sister as she spun out and stepped on my toes again

"Yes I have, but I think you have the most sparkles"

She smirked at me "I know! It's the best"

I nodded smiling "How's your colouring going? I saw it this morning whilst you were outside, it's looking pretty good"

She looked over at Annabeth who was dancing and talking with Paul "I invited Bethy to come and look, she's proud of me"

I smiled at Annabeth even though she couldn't see "I'm proud of you too Zo-Zo"

I waved goodbye to Zoe who spun over to Tyson for the last leg of the dance. I smoothly took Annabeth's hand and pulled her closer to me

"Can't get enough of me can you?" I smirked

"Oh you wish Seaweed Brain" She rolled her eyes

I smiled at her, my eyes shining

The last part of the song started, and I dipped Annabeth gently, as did Paul and Tyson with Mum and Zoe, bringing her up again

Applause broke out around the room as the music stopped. I stared into Annabeth's eyes, watching the storm of grey because we were so close. All I wanted to do was kiss her, feel her lips and hair and smell lemons

But I sighed and stepped back, knowing a kiss in front of everyone wasn't a good idea. I bowed "Lady Wise Girl"

"Prince Seaweed Brain" She smiled sadly at me and curtsied

We stood back up and I gave her a crooked smile

She sighed, taking a step closer, her hands reached out to fix the crown on my head that was about to fall off "Honestly Percy, don't you take classes on how-"

A chill made its way down my spine, my instincts telling me something was wrong. I pulled Annabeth into my embrace, forcing her head near my chest, and crouched down protecting her from harm

"What the hade-" she muttered into my chest before she was interrupted by the sound of alarms warning us of Rebels

I stayed with my body protecting hers as we heard chaos unfold. I watched guards rushing for the balcony doors, metals shutters being pulled down to protect us. Screams and shouts were voiced from everyone around the room. The only thoughts running through my head were: I need to get us to safety, Annabeth can't get hurt

"Honey!" My mother called

I moved my head to look over at my family who were surrounded by a ring of guards

I started to move towards them, leading Annabeth over too

"No Percy" She tried to remove my grip on her shoulder "I'm not meant to-"

I looked at her in the eyes protectiveness washing over me "I don't care what anyone says tomorrow. You're coming into that protective circle wether anyone says so or not"

The guards moved aside as Annabeth and I were surrounded by my family

I checked to make sure no one was hurt as Annabeth watched the scene unfold. I kept my hand resting on her back protectively

We learnt some weird information about the Rebels. How they stayed outside the palace, that they didn't enter. It was chilling

The guards forced me to be separated from Annabeth. I doubled checked she wasn't hurt and gave her a quick kiss on the hand, wanting so badly to kiss her on the lips

I walked back to my room but paused when I opened the door. Even though I had just danced with her, I need to see her again

I walked past the guards situated near my room trying to pretend I wasn't the prince. It failed

"Your Highness-!" One shouted trying to stop me from leaving

"Don't follow me!" I shouted over my shoulder back at them "I'll be fine. I can stab someone if necessary!" They didn't follow

I slowly made my way to Annabeth's room, giving her time to wine down. It also gave me time to think

When I saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs when I first walked into the room, I was overwhelmed with the memory of Paul and Mums wedding. When she walked down that aisle, she looked like a princess. Tonight she looked like one even more. She was wearing a dress that complemented her figure and the flower corner made her look like royalty. I wondered what she would look like with an actual crown on her head

I stopped in front of Annabeth's room, wondering if she would be okay with this. I knocked anyway and when she opened the door in her pj's, I didn't let her think as I smashed my lips onto hers

My sense exploded as she put her hand around my neck and I put mine around her waist. I brushed one hand through her hair loving the silky feel as she played with my hair at the bottom on my neck. My mind floated to the picture of her wearing a diamond crown, looking regal as Queen

Breathing heavily we pulled apart, still wrapped in each other

"What was that for?" She asked looking into my eyes

"I didn't get to kiss you before" I shrugged smiling "Is that okay?"

She surprised me by pulling me down for another kiss. I gripped her waist tighter as she cupped my jaw, her thumb running along my cheek bone leaving goosebumps in its trail

"More than okay" She whispered

Telling Nico; 13 years old

I walked away from the hospital wing numbly, the feeling of grief crashing down on me like a tsunami on a beach

Tears silently fell down my cheeks as I made my way to the library, sure that was where I would find Annabeth

I heard foot steps and looked up, my heart sinking as I saw Nico running towards me with a big grin on his face, his cheeks red from running. I stared at him blankly, suddenly realising that he didn't know

"Hey!" He stopped in front of me "Where's-" He looked at my face and then down at the blood on my shirt "Where's my sister?"

I looked up at the ceiling, a tear falling down my cheek not wanting to do this, but I owed it to Bianca "Hey, Nico" I placed a hand on his shoulder "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk"

His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion "Percy?" He asked slightly scared "Where is Bianca?"

I sighed, stopping in the main lobby and wiping beneath my eyes

"Where is my sister?" Nico asked again

I looked at his little face, hating myself for not protecting Bianca like I promised when we were younger. I promised Nico I would look after his sister when she stayed at my palace for a few months last year

"Rebel attack" I explained "She fought them off amazingly. We thought we had knocked them all out, but-but we didn't. He stabbed her N-Nico. She die-died in my arms" Tears flowed down my cheeks like a river. I held up my arms helplessly "She told me to tell you that she-she loves you and-and that she's sorry"

He took the news in silence, which somehow made it worse. I kept talking, trying to explain that we didn't know. That we thought that we were safe, that I tried and I had failed

"You promised you would protect her" Nico said in a small voice, his fist clenching

He might as well have stabbed me with a rusty dagger. It would've hurt less than reminding me of my promise

"I tried Nico. I really did! I didn't-"

"You promised!" He was glaring at me, his eyes rimmed with red.

"You lied to me" He closed his eyes "I trusted you"

I stepped closer to him "Nico-"

"I hate you!" He screamed stepping back "She's dead because of you! She's dead!"

I imagined large fissures mades out of his anger opening up from where he stomped his feet, swallowing me up and sending me to the Underworld

Nico ran away, towards the hospital wing sobbing. I knew that Nico had changed, and that he would never be the same

"Tell Nico I'm sorry"

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL SO SO SO SO MUCH!!!

50k READS IS SO UNBELIEVABLY INSANE. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH 

Why does the world have to be like this? Why won't America change their stupid gun laws? Why? Thinking of Las Vegas in this terrible time <3

Why must Australia be the way that it is? Why must people be so ignorant and spread hate? Why? (I'm so embarrassed to be Aussie right now :( )

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Chapter still coming this weekend

- Squirrel