Chapter Four: Annabeth

x x x

Annabeth kept her gaze fixed on the floor and a hand on her bandaged torso as Jason explained to the Almighty and the Trinity what had happened. She couldn't bear to lift her eyes and see the disappointment on the Almighty's face.

Her injuries were serious, but not fatal. Annabeth was still angry, though. She was so weak. She had bruises all over her body, as well as gashes on her face. Her back was torn up from the throwing star, which not only had double blades, but had ridged edges meant to inflict even more damage. The stab wound she'd gotten from Percy wasn't pretty either. Normally, angels weren't too concerned about their injured brethren, especially since immortals healed so quickly, but once news spread that Annabeth had been brutally attacked by none other than Perseus, the fallen trinity member, sympathy accumulated fast.

After Jason finished their story, there was a period of silence. Annabeth waited for the inevitable scolding.

All that came, however, was a 'hmmm'.

Annabeth dared to look up, and was surprised to see that the Almighty only seemed to be contemplating. She did not seem to be disappointed…

"Well, I assume that this was inevitable," She said finally. "Fighting against half of the Sins… It's a wonder that you made it back." She didn't say it, but Annabeth knew that there was a hidden message tacked on to the end of the statement: Especially you, Annabeth. "I am grateful that you are here safe. Now, we can regroup for our counterattack."

She rose from her throne, her humanoid form glowing brightly. "Hylla, with me."

The Almighty began to move out of the throne room, followed by a member of the Trinity: Hylla. The angel was tall and lithe, with light olive colored skin and long, caramel colored hair. Her hazel eyes scanned the angels before her, her expression calculating and wary. Her gaze seemed to linger on Annabeth, then on her stomach wound, before she turned on her heel and followed the Almighty. Hylla was the Protector of the Trinity. There was the Protector, like the Archangel Michael, the Healer, like the Archangel Raphael, and the Messenger, like the Archangel Gabriel. All three had faded millenia ago, so their vacant seats were filled with other angels. There was Reyna, the Healer, Malcolm, the Messenger, and Hylla, the Protector. Originally, Percy had filled the seat of the Protector, but positions were exchanged when he fell.

"That… wasn't what I expected," Hazel murmured quietly, still waiting to be reprimanded. "The Almighty didn't seem upset at all."

Nobody responded, but it was understood that all of them were in agreement.

"Annabeth," a voice called from the far side of the throne room. Annabeth turned to the voice, which happened to belong to her brother, Malcolm, another member of the Trinity. He filled the seat of The Messenger. "Could I speak with you?"

Annabeth bowed her head in agreement and went to join her brother. They weren't biological siblings; no immortal had DNA, so they technically couldn't be related to anyone. Instead, angels or demons created at the same time were called siblings.

Malcolm definitely looked similar to Annabeth, even if they weren't biologically related, a trait that was common in siblings, because the Almighty liked to create siblings who had similar appearances. Both Annabeth and Malcolm had light grey eyes, light skin, and honey colored hair. While Malcolm's was cropped short, Annabeth's was long and styled in ringlets that were freely tousled.

Malcolm led her to a small chamber adjacent to the throne room.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

Annabeth shrugged, then winced. "Not especially. My pride is a little wounded. I was no match for him."

Malcolm shook his head. "You're not expected to be. Percy's in a league of his own." His voice was full of bitterness, but Annabeth also sensed a sense of grudging admiration. "But… I think I can help you."

Annabeth's eyes widened and she straightened.

"I could train you, if you wanted. I'm not as good as Percy, not by a long shot, but maybe with some training you'd have a better chance," Malcolm said slowly.

Annabeth shot over to her brother and hugged him as tightly as her injury would allow. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Malcolm allowed a rare smile to appear on his face. "We'll start at first light."

x x x

Malcolm was brutal. Though Annabeth was still injured, her brother wasn't afraid to push her to her limits, banging her up in the process. By the end of the first session, Annabeth's fair skin was littered with black and blue marks and lines of red. One of her eyes was swollen shut, and she limped becuase of a cut on her ankle. She could feel blood trickling from her nose and from the corner of her mouth, but it hurt too much to move and clean it off.

She had refused to let any other angel see her in that state, so she went down to earth. She wanted to find a hospital, but that would only cause more problems. The best she could do was wander she streets until she found somewhere to clean herself up.

The town was deserted, which was good. Annabeth wanted to stay as under-the-radar as possible, in case some soul decided to drag her to a hospital as an act of kindness, although going to the hospital was the last thing Annabeth wanted in this situation.

The angel switched out of her white tunic and sandals into a large blue sweatshirt and jeans. She pulled up the hood over her face to hide the damage. She kept her gaze on the ground.

That's why she didn't notice the figure approaching her until they crashed into each other.

Annabeth inhaled sharply as their heads bashed into each other. When their torsos hit, Annabeth almost screamed at the pressure on her wounds. She took a stumbled step backwards before tumbling backwards onto her butt. She heard a curse as the person she'd hit did the same.

Annabeth looked up, hoping to apologize, but the words died on her lips as grey eyes met emerald green.

What is he doing here? Annabeth cried mentally.

The person she'd crashed into was none other than Perseus, the demon who had run her through with one of his katanas only days before.

They both stared at each other with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Luckily, they both seemed equally as stunned, because, as Annabeth realized later, she had left herself wide open for an attack.

After she got over her initial supruise, she was able to look at the fallen angel more closely. The wicked sparkle that Annabeth had seen in his eyes as he'd toyed with them during the confrontation, now his eyes were only empty, even if they were wide with supruise.

In her surpruise, she almost didn't notice the large, gaudy necklace nestled against his chest.

Then, everything clicked into place.

She'd heard the stories: every demon given special attention by the Dark One, like Percy, ended up dead.

So that's what he's so preoccupied with! Annabeth decided. He knows that he's going to die. She couldn't help but snort. So, maybe the bloodthirsty demon actually does have some feelings apart from hate. Well, it's just self-preservation, but still.

"Holy shit," Percy managed. He put his face in his hands and rubbed his face tiredly. Annabeth still hadn't reacted. She was frozen in shock.

"Look," Percy said finally. "I'm not in the mood for this, and it doesn't look like you are, either. You look like shit. If we fight now, you'd die. So let's make a deal: I'll go my way, you'll go yours."

Annabeth stared at him. Was he serious? There was no way. Annabeth was completely certain that if she agreed, she'd end up with a katana through her torso (again) as soon as she turned around to walk away.

"I'm being a hundred percent serious," Percy assured. Annabeth's eyes widened as she saw something in Percy's face that she never expected: honesty.

Annabeth snapped her mouth shut, her lips turning white from the force she held them together with. "Fine."

Percy rose, giving Annabeth an appreciative nod before stalking off.

Annabeth stayed on the ground for a long time after that, just thinking about what had happened.

x x x

"I swear," Annabeth argued, looking up at the three angels in front of her. "I saw him!"

Hylla, the leader of the Trinity, pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "Let me get this straight. You just happened to run into Perseus, one of the Dark One's closest servants, and survived because he suggested that you both part ways without fighting since he wasn't in the mood."

Annabeth nodded sharply, clenching her teeth. She could tell that none of the Trinity believed her, not even Malcolm. Her brother was looking at her sympathetically, as if she had made a childish error.

"He had the artifact around his neck," Annabeth remembered to add.

All three of the Trinity frowned. They exchanged glances. That information helped to explain why Percy would avoid a fight, but still, the story was extremely unlikely.

"We'll talk to the Almighty," Hylla said finally. "She will be informed of this. Thank you, Annabeth."

Annabeth could hear the hidden meaning behind the angel's words: they were just humoring her. Annabeth gritted her teeth in frustration, before remembering that she couldn't let anyone see her angry.

She didn't understand why, but Annabeth had what she considered a curse: emotions. She could hate, she could love, she could become rebellious, bored, disobedient, or lethargic. Most angels had emotions, but they had a much, much smaller range: their feelings ranged included only mild irritation, submission, apathy, and mild pleasure. For Annabeth, though, every emotion she felt was that much stronger since she was an angel. She'd learned quickly to keep it hidden, not let anyone know, but it wasn't easy, especially when she just wanted to yell at someone. Having emotions meant you were different, and being different meant you were a threat. Most angels, Annabeth knew, would be wary of an angel that had the ability to be rebellious and defiant. Angels were meant to be loyal to the Almighty unconditionally.

What Annabeth didn't understand, though, was why she was like this when she was specially created by the Almighty, just like all the other angels. If it was anyone else, she could chalk it up to a mistake, but the Almighty didn't make mistakes.

So why could the Almighty have possibly decided to make her like this?

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edited aug 23, 2014

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