Annabeth's POV

I take Percy's hand in mine, grinning uncontrollably. The pieces fall together in my mind as we run down the hallway. I know the perfect place where we won't be found.

"Where are we going?" He asks, bewildered. I can't blame him, I'm practically pulling his arm out of his socket, with no explanation whatsoever.

"Trust me, we're almost there. Just hang on, let me find it. I know it's around here somewhere."

"How do you know what you're looking for if you don't know what it is?" He asks. At first I think he's teasing, but one look at his face tells me he's completely serious. I shake my head as I continue down the hall.

We turn around again, heading back towards the way we came. Finally, I see it. The door is blocked by a potted plant, but it's there.

"Help me move this," I tell Percy. I try to lift it by myself, but it doesn't move.

"Why? What's this door doing here? I've never seen it before." When I don't answer, he falls quiet. He lifts the plant at the same time I do. Together, we move the plant to the other side of the door.

"How is it that I've lived here all my life, yet you find it after a few weeks? What's behind this door?" Percy isn't doing well with not knowing what's happening. I smile to the closed door.

"You'll see." I try the door knob and the door swings open. I take Percy's hand and drag him inside. Groaning, he follows me.

The room is pitch black. The only light comes from the hallway, and that is cut off by Percy and my shadow. With no light, I can't see how big it is.

"Where's a light?" I ask him, searching the wall next to me. There's no switch.

"How am I supposed to know? You brought me here," I can hear him searching as well. I almost trip over something laying on the floor.

"You're the one who lives here," I point out.

"I can think of more than a few other things that I could be doing right now. None of them involve scrabbling in the dark for a light switch. Then again, they also don't involve you, so I guess I'm staying."

For the first time upon arrival, I'm glad for the darkness, for it hides my blush. My hand connects with something on the wall and I flick it upwards. Light floods through the room and Percy gasps. I can't blame him, I almost do as well. I read about it in the diary of a past princess, a book that I found in the library. This used to be the main ballroom, before the palace was expanded and renovated.

Percy's voice comes in a hushed whisper. "How have I not known about this place?"

"Maybe you've been too preoccupied with thirty five girls fighting for your attention," I tease.

He gives me a confused look. "No one's fighting over me."

"Were you at breakfast a few days ago? I'm pretty sure that they were," I laugh. Then I stop. One of those girls was Rachel, and she's still in the Selection. And Percy has been on multiple dates with her.

The mood dampens. It's as if Percy can read my thoughts. He looks at the ground bashfully.

"How can you do it?" I ask softly. "You go on dates with me, and Rachel, and other girls. Why do you do it?"

"You think I have a choice. I'm supposed to narrow thirty five to one in the course of a few months. How else can I do that other than date around?" He immediately blushes. "Gods I know realize how self absorbed that sounds. The point is, I have to talk to everyone before I eliminate them."

"But why Rachel?"

"What do you mean? Why does she specifically matter?"

"Have you met her? She's awful, I can't stand her," I say honestly. How has he not realized how much I hate Rachel Dare?

"What makes her awful? She's nice, very friendly. And artistic. She can paint really well, and she's a good dancer. Rachel's funny, and really smart. What makes her such a bad person?"

I feel tears pricking the back of my eyes. I push them away quickly. Probably just left over from earlier with Luke and Thalia. I don't care that Percy is praising Rachel right in front of me. That doesn't matter, I'm not going to win.

"Can we just not talk about Rachel," I say exasperatedly. "Can we not talk about the Selection at all. Just for tonight? I don't want to think about it at all."

"What else is there to talk about? All we know about each other is I'm the Prince, and you're one of the Selected. I don't know what else there is to talk about."

"I know that. I don't know much about you, or your personal life. I know nothing about your childhood."

"I never grew up. I've been the same since I was five. My dad left, they say he died but I don't believe them. They never went into detail about his death. No one just drops dead at the age of twenty four. Not without a reason. He must have left, but I don't know why. Then my mom remarried Paul and that's that. What about you? What were you like as a child?"

Flashbacks fill my mind. Luke and I teasing Thalia about her new haircut. Me making fun of Thalia for her crush on Luke. Summer nights when we would sleep outside with nothing else but each other and the stars. Luke's body sprawled across the rocks.

"Just the average life of a Four," I say hastily. "Nothing fancy. You do realize that we're just standing in the middle of a giant ballroom, right?"

"What else are we supposed to do?"

His hand finds mine and pulls me close. My hand hugs around him until we're in a waltz position. Together, we sway across the ballroom floor without any music other than our heartbeats. They beat synchronized as we glide across the dusty ballroom.