"Did what I think just happen, just happen?" Piper asked the next morning.

"It happened." Hazel said happily. She hugged her dress to her chest and laughed. "The best day of my life." She muttered.

"We're actually going to a ball!" Piper exclaimed.

Out of pure rage, the queen had locked all three of them in the attic and had thrown in their ball gown in too. They were to go without eating the whole day and were to stay inside there till the upcoming hours of the ball.

But the girls were no where near unhappy. In fact, they doubted that the Queen would or much less could do anything that would make them any less exited.

Hazel looked at Annabeth who had been smiling but silent. "Annabeth? Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Fine!" She said quickly. A little too quickly.

"Thinking of the prince?" Piper asked mischievously as she edged closer to her.

Annabeth scoffed. "Like you're the one to talk. I saw the way you looked at the blonde haired one, what was his name? Oh Jason."

"Oooh." Hazel taunted.

"You guys are so immature." Piper muttered.

"Look who's talking." Hazel retaliated, sticking her tongue out for good measure.

"Besides," Piper said nonchalantly. "He's probably going to get married to some foul, consented beast like your stepmom. He's a prince. I'm a servant girl."

"You're a beautiful, kind and wise servant girl. There's a difference." Annabeth replied.

"You're worth more than all the princesses in that castle." Hazel added.

"Cheesy. You know that right?" Piper said but she was smiling.

"I know." Hazel agreed. "So let's wait our time out here."

"Queen Helena's trying to punish us but this is more of a rest break than anything else." Annabeth said.

"I know." Piper said.

They told each other scary stories and fairytales and out waited the time. Talking, running around and having a straw fight seeing as they were lacking on pillows.

When they were tired out, they lay down for a bit of a rest.

"Annabeth?" Hazel asked, a bit tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"If you're father was the King, shouldn't you be the rightful heir to the throne?" She asked.

"I dunno. But Queen Helena claims that they were married soaps long as she's here, my life is gonna be hell."

"Except tonight." Piper reminded her.

"Except tonight." Annabeth agreed.

* * *

"Mom!" Percy groaned at dinner time that day, only a few hours from the ball. It was a light dinner, seeing as they would be eating again soon.

"No Percy. You two are grounded..." Sally said. Percy and Jason seemed relieved till she finished her scentense, "...from dessert until the ball."

"What!?" Jason asked incredulously. "But I need my dessert!"

"It's my life!" Percy added. "I'm not going to survive the next hour. Might as well die. Mom, look, I'm dissolving! It's already taking its toll on me! I need dessert!"

Sally smirked at the two boys. "Absolutely not. You had me so worried last night! You didn't come back until midnight! And where were you? At Queen Helena's palace dining with her! Only yesterday, you were complaining to me about how much you hated her! If that wasn't enough, you didn't come back till so late last night! I come home and my two sons are missing! I stayed up the whole night, waiting for you two to come back and would've sent out the guards to search the world of your father had not stopped me-"

"Whoa! Mom. I'm sorry." Percy said. "But-"

"But he met this girl." Jason said, cutting him off leisurely.

Sally's eyes lit up. "Punishment's off. Details. Now."

Jason fist bumped and stood up to go some ice cream. "Not you, Jace!" Sally shouted.

"But I met a girl too!" He protested.

"Did you like her?" Sally questioned.

"Yes!" Percy shouted. "He was making big googly eyes-"

"Shut up!" Jason said.

"This is going to help you get that ice cream, man."

"Okay continue." Jason said, sitting back down.

"So," Sally said excitedly. "Who, when, where and how?"

"Well, who?" Percy started. "Her name's Annabeth Chase."

"That girl you're always talking about!" Sally realised.

"Yeah! I told you she was real!" Percy said.

"Now, describe her." Sally said.

"Gorgeous blonde hair." Jason mimicked Percy's voice teasingly. "Amazing grey eyes that sparkle before my own. Oh, the flushed cheeks and rosy lips. Long eyelashes and that nose! That beautiful nose! It is nearly as good as Voldermort's himself! That nose is like the beacon of my hope. Oh, that nose is-"

Percy shoved a cream cake in Jason's face. "I shall get you back for this Perseus-" Jason spluttered out until he realised what the cake was. "Mmm. This is yummy."

The rest of the evening went along in the same way. That is to say, Sally interrogating them, and the boys making fun of each other. But they decided that they would keep the visit from the three girls and those two guards, Leo and Frank, to themselves for a bit of a surprise. They made it known though, that an extra carriage should be sent for Queen Helena, though they didn't tell why.

Soon enough, they were getting ready for the ball at hand.

* * *

"Oh gods. I told you is dress was a bad idea!" Annabeth complained. "I'll hardly be able to walk! Let alone dance!"

"Chill out, Annie." Piper said, braiding a tiny braid at the left side of her hair.

"You look beautiful." Hazel agreed as she braided a tiny braid on the other side of Annabeth's hair.

The two girls were already decked out in their new dresses. Piper's one was a beautiful red. The bodice glittered with deep red stones studded in. A thin, white ribbon was wrapped around her waist and the rest of the dress flowed down freely in a curve. The top bit of the skirt part of the dress had the material gathered together, held together by diamond clasps, forming lovely upside down V shapes that cascaded down.

Hazel's one was a glittery golden colour. The long sleeves were made out of a golden mesh. The too of the dress was a darker molten colour but it faded into the same colour as her eyes. The thin fabricated ribbon around her middle was dark black. More black fabric were clustered together between the gold to make the skirt.

The girls were styling Annabeth's hair. They joined up the two little braids they had weaves together at the back of her head, letting the rest of her long blonde hair fall down her back.

Annabeth looked at the dusty mirror in front of her. It was cracked and caked with grime but she could see her reflection clearly.

Her dress was a dark sea green colour. The bodice was studded with green stones, that Percy had claimed, looked like they had come from the waves of the vast sea itself, when he bought the dress for her. A white misty band wrapped around her waist like the foam created by the waters. The skirt was a mix of two types of fabric, all clustered together. One was the same sea green as before and the other and deep blue mixed in with a bit of glittering grey.

She had to admit that the dress was beautiful but she wasn't sure if it suited her.

And she was starting to get scared and nervous. This was her first ball. And Percy was going to be there.

What if she acts like a fool at the ball? What if everything goes wrong? What if something terrible happened?

She cast away all these thoughts and made the sole decision to enjoy herself at the ball with her two best friends.