Percy looked from the cloaked figure before him to Annabeth. Her face had gone pale and she was clutching her heart as if someone had struck her. Did she know of this, Percy wondered. Did she take part in this?

     He refocused on the prisoner before him. Luke was not struggling anymore and the good of his cloak had fallen to reveal his pale blonde hair. His icy blue eyes looked cold and he sneered at Percy in a way that made him look more defiant than he should be while kneeling.

      "Why Luke?" Percy said. "Why would you poison the wells of Chestnutia?"

      "I have no love for Garlic City," Luke said, using the unofficial name.

       "What kind of petty revenge is this?" Percy asked.

       "This isn't an act of revenge," Luke replied.

       Percy clenched his jaw. What had Annabeth seen in this man? "Oh really, then what is this?"

     "A declaration," Luke said, "a declaration of the rights of peasants."

      "What do you mean?" Percy asked.

       "I mean that my execution will incite a revolt," Luke said, raising his chin.

       "You wish to be a martyr?" Percy asked, circling Luke as he spoke.

       "If it frees the peasants from the yoke of monarchy, then yes!" Luke said.

       "What yoke?" Percy said. "Peasants are taken care of by their nobles. They are fed during the worst famines by the church who also gives them medicine and clothes."

       "Have you seen the conditions of serfs?" Luke asked.

     Percy stopped walking. "Why do you care, Luke? You had a title and you still have wealth."

     "Bring stripped of my title opened my eyes to the truth," Luke said. "It taught me that the only difference between a noble and a peasant is a title."

       "You know that's not true!" Percy said hotly. "The knights and lords of Chestnutia follow the code of chivalry and the ladies are the most virtuous in the kingdom."

    Luke raised one eyebrow. "So that's why you sought to marry a serving wench?"

     Percy curled his fists. "Stop with the personal attacks and just answer my questions, Luke Castellan. Why did you poison your fellow countrymen?"

      "It was the only way of getting your attention," Luke said. "I knew that if I assassinated you, another king would rise in your place like a weed. I needed to take out the roots of monarchy and what better way then making you fail your duty as a king?"

    Percy froze. He realized what Luke had been planning and what might have happened if Thalassa has not sent him the dream. Luke had hoped that the plague would incite a rebellion,

      "You wanted your fellow citizens to suffer?" Percy asked. "War kills, Luke. People lose their homes, their friends, even their family members."

     "No, I wanted to give them a life worth living," Luke said. "You have no idea what the life of a serf is like. They cannot even leave the land they were born on without their lord's permission. They are little better than slaves!"

       "And so are you," Percy said. "You have shown yourself to be a traitor and you will be judged in court on the morrow."

     "I'm not afraid," Luke said as Frank forced him into a standing position, "because when I'm given the chance to speak, the people will know I'm right and your kingdom will soon be a fairy tale."