Percy's POV

    Did that really just happen? Did I really just do that? Did she really say yes? Yeah, it happened.

    You might call it bad timing, now that we had to go protect the world and put ourselves in danger and all the other hero stuff, but I can't think of a better time. Who knows what's waiting for us on this quest. As much as I hate to think about it, I had to propose now because I literally might never get the opportunity again. If something were to happen to one of us, and I would have never asked... no, I can't think about it. We would be fine. We've done harder.

    "What do we tell everyone? 'Sorry guys, we have to go on a dangerous mission, don't worry about us, oh and by the way, we're engaged now.'" Annabeth asked while we walked back to the dining pavilion. A few minutes late, but oh well.

    "I didn't think about it...  I don't know, what do you think Wise Girl?"

    "Well... it's going to probably be a big deal. I mean, as far as anyone knows, this might be a first for demigods. And all of our friends will want to know everything, and Piper and Hazel will want to start talking about the wedding-" we both smiled broadly at the word "wedding" "-and then they'll get all excited and if something were to happen to us..." she trailed off.

    "Ok, let's not saying anything to camp. But there is someone I do want to tell."

    "Who?"

    "Paul. I want him to know, so he can tell my mom and everyone else in case something goes wrong." I hated doing all of this "in case we don't make it back" talk, but as a demigod, you had to. You never know which day could be your last. I guess this really applies to all people, not just demigods. Car crashes, fires, you name it. You have to make the most of every minute you have.

    "I think that's a great idea."

    "Well now that that's decided," I started to say as we neared the horde of demigods in a mixture of orange, purple, black, and silver, "you should probably take the ring off and put it in your pocket or something. We wouldn't want anyone to see."

    "Your brain really is made of seaweed if you think I'm going to take this off right after you just gave it to me," she countered, smiling at me. "I'll just stick my hand in my pocket." I smiled back and said something real intelligent like, "Okay."

    As Chiron spotted us walking towards to the group, he simply stated "A little late, now aren't we?" He didn't sound mad. I think he picked up our good moods, and even though I couldn't read faces as well as Annabeth, I could tell it confused him. This was certainly no reason to be happy. He must have shrugged it off, though, because before either of us had the chance to reply, he turned around to address everyone.

    "Heroes, I bring... disturbing news." You could literally feel the tension level go up. Everyone whipped around to stare at Annabeth and I. It must've been pretty obvious that this involved us, considering we were the only ones standing next to Chiron. Plus, it seemed that everything always involved us. Note the bitterness.

    Chiron started to explain the whole ordeal to the camp. I didn't even hardly listen. I pretty much spent the whole time staring at Annabeth. She was staring at me, and pretty often she would give me a small smile. I just can't even believe that we're finally engaged. A few years ago, the thought would have terrified me. I had had random bursts of visions of us in the future, but I always shut them down quick. It's dangerous to plan out a future that you don't even know you'll have. But now I let myself think about it. Even though the chances of us living through the next couple of days weren't very high, the future seemed more realistic and attainable than ever.

    I was just starting to think about Annabeth's blueprints that I had found when I was slapped back into reality. What I was hoping most would not occur during this meeting was just starting to happen before my eyes. Rachel's eyes glowed a blindly bright green and smoke of the same color was emanating off of her. She opened up her mouth and begin to horrendously chant:

The duo of the century journeys west

Following the bitter scent, they'll do their best

Old foes met and new ones too

Terror and pain will undoubtedly ensue

Starting alone they'll have to contend

But soon they will receive some help from a long-lost friend

For both pure and evil, it's a fight to the death

And someone from both sides will take their last breath

    A suffocating silence that blared in my ears settled down on the Dining Pavilion. It was hard to breathe. Rachel's eyes returned back to normal and she sat down heavily, like she was extremely dazed. I saw Jason looking at me with a shell-shocked expression. Piper had grabbed his arm and looked like she was struggling to think straight. Frank stared right at me, his expression hard but his eyes looked sad. Hazel had tears streaking down her face. Leo and Calypso both looked like they couldn't believe this was happening. Reyna and Hylla's faces were unchanged but I could tell it pained them, too. Finally I looked over at Thalia and Grover. Their mouths were hanging open slightly and both looked like they'd been slapped across the face. I didn't want my friends to worry about us so much. I hated when people felt pity for me. I could handle it... usually.

    I glanced at Annabeth through my peripheral vision. She wore an expression that I knew all too well. Jaw set forward, steely eyes. Suggesting it was okay, it wasn't a big deal, don't get too worked up, it'll be fine. I had worn that expression. I was probably wearing it right now.  I couldn't take it any longer; I had to say something.

    "Well, I guess we'll just get going then." My words hung in the air only for a moment before Grover stood up.

    "I'll go with you guys. You may be all grown up, but I'm still your protector," he stated confidently.

    "Me too!" Thalia added.

    "I wish you two could come, but you heard the prophecy. 'Starting alone they'll have to contend, But soon they will receive some help from a long-lost friend.' I don't know who that is, but it's pretty clear that Percy and I have to go alone."

    "Yeah, she's right. It hurts, but it has to be just us two," I tagged onto the end. Grover and Thalia looked disappointed, but they didn't argue.

    "You should probably leave tomorrow morning," Chiron started, "because we have no idea what time has to do with anything." We both nodded. Chiron added "Dismissed," and everyone returned to their activities, giving us sad looks. Our friends came up to us. Hazel embraced us in a hug first and everyone else either followed suit or spewed encouraging words.

    "Don't worry, we'll be fine. It isn't our first rodeo," I told them all. After a few minutes, they left Annabeth and I alone.

    "Let's go call Paul and get ready," Annabeth said softly. We didn't talk about the prophecy or what it meant. It didn't even seem important right now. So we walked back to my cabin to Iris-Message my parents.

    We preformed the proper ritual and asked to see Paul Blofis. Soon he appeared before us, discolored from the rainbow. He noticed us immediately and his face lit up.

    "Percy! Annabeth! How's it going?" The question was innocent enough, but he obviously was trying to ask about the engagement without giving it away in case it hadn't happened yet. Despite everything, I smiled.

    "Well, good news and bad news. Good news first."

    "Yeah," Annabeth agreed. She looked over at me for assurance before exclaiming, "We're engaged!" She held up her left hand to show him the ring.

    Paul smiled broadly and winked at me. "This is so great, I'm so happy for you two! Wait until your mother hears."

    "Actually, that ties into the bad news," I replied sadly. Paul's smile wavered.

    "What?" he asked.

    I proceeded to tell him everything that was going on, the prophecy, everything. Annabeth would jump in and help me a lot.

    "So, you're the only one that knows about the engagement. We don't want to excite everyone else in case... you know. But we want you to be able to tell them later, if that makes any sense."

    "Yes, it does. I just hope it doesn't come to that." The look on his face had continually become sadder and sadder each minute we kept talking. But he didn't say "I wish this wasn't happening to you two! You don't deserve it!" or something like that. We didn't appreciate it, and I was grateful he said nothing of the sort.

    "But don't tell Mom anything... she doesn't need to worry," I stressed to him.

    "I won't, I promise. But don't you guys want to talk to her?"

    "Yeah, definitely, but we'll just act normal," Annabeth replied. I nodded in agreement. Paul called my mom into the room, but my sister was on a playdate and wasn't home. That stung; I really wanted to see her before we left.

    "How are you guys? Ugh, I just wish I could hug you both right now!" was the first thing Mom said when she saw us. She asked about camp, all the usual stuff, and we told her everything was great. It felt absolutely terrible lying to her like this, but I also didn't want to tell her the truth. Even though I know she could handle it, I don't know if I could handle telling her and watching her reaction. Just when the IM was starting to fade, we all said goodbye, and I couldn't help but feel it was the last time.