Hello, readers! Another story's up!

Leo: Disclaimer: Read-Them-On doesn't own the PJO and HoO series and the characters. She does own the plot-line and the OCs!

Me: Wha- Where did you even come from, Leo?! Anyways, there are a few things I should get out of the way:

1. This is a prompt (Witchcraft) story for the Camp Half-Blood forum that I'm a member of (check it out!).

2. Word count (without A/N): 3450

3. This is an AU (alternate universe) story.

And the most important thing: Enjoy!

Love Prevails All

"Please, I beg you," Sally pleaded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "Don't do this. Please. Kill me instead."

"Mmph!"

The muffled sound came from her mother as she struggled against the gag and her bounds. She was looking at Sally with pleading eyes which conveyed a single meaning: run away and save your life. Her father, though, lay unconscious at her mother's feet.

Glenda Heliot threw her head back and gave a short, shrill laugh.

"You want to be dead, girl?" Her voice sounded like sharp nails being rubbed on violin strings. "Then stay dead from the inside!"

With a flick of her wrist, she threw the poison towards the couple and as soon as it made contact with their skin, they started withering away.

"NO!"

In front of a fifteen years old Sally Jackson, her parents died.

She fainted, while the witch laughed with glee.

When she woke up in a hospital a week later, the incident remained fresh in her mind.

Sally tried hard to make a new start: she began to live with her uncle Rich and worked as a part-time waitress after school to pay up her expenses. She nearly succeeded as well.

But what remained imprinted on the underside of her wrist was the burnt mark of a wand and a date.

The exact date on which her parents had been murdered.

"And the good witch went on hel bloom!"

"Witches are bad, love," Sally said as she held on to the toddler who was trying to run away in the hustle and bustle of the New York Central Park making his toy witch figurine fly in the air.

She had never wanted to buy him that specific toy, but the boy was as stubborn as a wall. The whole (stinking) 'witch community' lived a secret life. No one knew about the witches until they got directly involved with one somehow, and you couldn't tell anyone due to the weird incantations and spells that they placed on you. And unfortunately, all that the world knew about witches was stories like Meg and Mog and Winnie the Witch.

"Witch bad?" Little Percy asked in amazement, his sea-green eyes shining; the concept of a bad witch was certainly new to him.

"Yes," Sally tried to hold back her tears, "All of them."

"Swing, Mama?"

She nodded and watched her son run away towards the swings, his unruly black hair flying in the wind.

She let her tears fall, deciding to never let her child know about the truth of the cruel world they lived in, as long as he didn't need to.

"Mama!"

"Coming, sweetie!"

She sighed and walked towards Percy, who was attempting to get on the swing.

He was too much like his father and the physical resemblance wasn't the only aspect.

Her son was exactly like man who had gone missing in the seas.

The man whom she thanked every single day for giving her the lifeline she had always needed since that day.

As she gently swayed Percy on the swing, despite his urges to go faster and higher, she couldn't help but wince at the pain, the source of which was the unwanted tattoo from thirteen years ago.

"Excuse me?"

He looked up. The voice belonged to a girl about his age. Her blonde princess curls were tied into a ponytail and her eyes were stormy grey. They were also pretty calculating.

"You've got a unique eye color."

The words slipped out before he could stop himself. To his relief, she didn't seem offended.

"Well, nice greeting you got there," she said, smirking, "Do you always greet your customers like that . . ." Her eyes traveled to what he guessed was his name-tag. ". . . Percy?"

Percy Jackson felt his neck heat up, the only thought in his head being that he'd be a goner if she decided to file a complaint against him to the manager.

"Sorry, miss," he tried again, in the way he was told to greet anyone (and everyone), "How may I help you?"

Her expression changed into one of what he figured was secretive worry.

"I couldn't find the books that I want," she said and shoved a list towards him.

He squinted at the words, trying to decipher the names; sometimes he really wondered how he had gotten this job – at one of the most famous bookstores all over the country, nonetheless – even with his dyslexia. He figured it was because he was studying at the New York University and only worked at the store part time to pay up his expenses.

When he managed to read the titles, though, he was stunned.

"These books lie in the senior section, miss," he frowned, "Why would you want these? But hey, I've only worked here for two months and I have no idea what kind of books are in that section. You'd have to ask someone senior than me. And you'll find talking to them easier; they're all girls."

"Thank you."

He blinked and she was gone. More like . . . vanished.

Percy shrugged it off. Maybe he had just imagined that part.

He thought that he'd never see her again.

He was wrong.

"Watch where you're going, moron!"

Percy frowned. Who the hell did she think she was?

"Well, sorry," he spoke with evident sarcasm, "But in case you didn't notice, we are not in the middle of any street, which is bustling with pedestrians or somethin . . ."

That's when he took a good look at her and stopped mid-sentence.

"You're that strange girl which came to the bookstore!"

She whirled towards him, nearly knocking down five other people.

"Oh!" Now the irritation in her voice was blatant. "And you're the boy who had no access to the senior section!"

Percy huffed.

She turned around and started walking away.

"Not nice," he said as he picked up his pace with her, "I'm Percy Jackson, by the way."

She didn't reply and started walking faster.

"I know you vanished from the store!"

This made her stop dead in her tracks.

And suddenly, Percy was standing in a cosy looking apartment.

It had a nice décor and the furniture looked super modern. The walls, though, were of a dull grey colour, nothing like the stormy eyes Percy had been dreaming of all week.

Whoa. Where did that come from?

He shook his head from side to side, trying to clear his mind. Speaking of the 'stormy grey eyes', their owner was sitting on the couch nearby.

"What did you see?"

He came out of the stupor.

"Huh? What do you mean what did I see?"

She stood up and started to walk towards him. He stepped back.

"I get a strange aura from you," he tilted his head but didn't dare speak the rest of the sentence, which would have told her that he found her aura weird yet . . . appealing.

"You would."

She stopped dead in her track but the next moment she wasn't in front of him anymore.

He looked all over the room frantically, searching for her.

And in an instant, she was whispering in his ear, "You can't know the truth."

"I'm not feeling wary of you."

"You would be if I told you who I really am."

"Tell me your name, then."

The words made her smile.

"Annabeth."

And he was back to the spot he had vanished from.

"Well, Annabeth, I'll find you again."

He couldn't find her for days.

"Aw, man. Didn't know finding someone on Facebook was such a hard job."

Percy sat up and stretched, leaning back slightly on the couch of his and his mom's cosy home.

"Well, who's the lucky girl you're madly searching for on your phone since last week?"

He looked up at his mother sheepishly.

"I'm not 'madly' searching for anyone."

Sally laughed sat down next to him. She patted his hair.

"You didn't deny that it's a girl."

He grunted with fake annoyance.

"Come one, Mom," he said, resting his head on his mother's lap, "Now that you know that it's a girl, why don't you help me find her?"

Sally smiled; Percy had never seemed that adamant on finding a girl before.

And then a thought occurred to her.

"Dear, what if she isn't even on Facebook?"

There was a long silence before . . .

"Damn it!"

The first time they met was probably coincidence.

The second time was maybe luck.

But Percy was sure that the by the third time, it was destiny.

He stared her down from across the street and she looked back at him as if scrutinizing him.

Then she started walking towards him and he did the same. Fortunately, they had green light and the traffic was currently unmoving. They stopped in the middle of the crosswalk.

"Hello again, Percy Jackson."

It was she who started the conversation this time.

"Are you on Facebook?"

The question made her do a double take; she was not expecting that.

"I am, yeah," she replied, "why?"

"Aw, shit," he swore, rubbing his eyes. He knew he looked bleary.

"I've been searching you on Facebook since the last time we met," he finally admitted, "But enough about me. What about you and your wacky powers? Are you a superhero or something?"

She didn't get to answer her question; at least not on the road.

Because just then, all the automobiles on the road were given a green light. And they came speeding towards the pair, honking like crazy.

Annabeth grabbed his hand and in a split second, he was in her apartment.

Percy did get the answer once he was in her house.

"I'm a witch."

He looked at her speechlessly for a minute. Then for a whole lot of five minutes. Finally, when he didn't seem to move at all for whole ten minutes, Annabeth decided to speak up.

"See? That's why I wasn't telling you about my ident-"

He starting laughing. Hard.

"You . . . hahaha . . . are a witch? Come . . . Come on, Annabeth. Stop messing with me."

It was her turn to stare him down.

". . . For real?"

She simply nodded.

"B-but . . . are there more witches or . . . just you?"

Annabeth nodded again.

All of his follow up questions were like a child: Were all the witches immortal? Was she a bad witch? (Both the answers were 'no'.) Were there any bad witches in the world? (There were some of them.) Do witches eat humans?

"No, we do not, Percy!"

He put his hands up in a forfeiting gesture.

"Don't get your wand in a knot."

She started laughing and soon he joined in as well. When their laughter turned into giggles and sniffles, Annabeth looked at him. Then suddenly they were sitting on the couch, facing each other.

And the next second, their faces were slowly inching closer and closer.

"Well, can witches kiss a human?" His voice was a mere whisper.

She nodded again.

He caught her lips in his in a sweet kiss, filled with thousands of emotions. Her lips fit perfectly against his, like jigsaw pieces. When they broke apart, Percy pecked her nose.

"So . . . can witches date a human?" His sea-green eyes had a hopeful gleam.

"Who cares?"

She kissed him again.

For the next few months, there always seemed something different about Percy when he came back home after college or the store. He seemed happy. Well, happier in general.

And even though she had a suspicion, Sally had decided to finally ask him about it.

"Percy?"

"Yes, Mom?"

"Introduce me to Annabeth."

It wasn't a question; it was a statement. He gulped.

"Okay, Mom."

He had been pretty confident about the whole thing. When the day came, however, he was fidgeting a lot.

"Percy!" Annabeth whispered-shouted at him, "Everything will be alright! Open the door!"

Taking a deep breath, he did as he was told to.

His mother was at the door, smiling at the couple.

"Come in, Percy, Annabeth."

They both stepped in and then Annabeth introduced herself.

"Hi, Mrs. Jackson, I'm Annabeth Chase. It's nice to meet you finally!"

Sally smiled kindly at the blonde.

"Sally's fine, dear. And it's so nice to meet you too!"

They both stepped towards each other for a hug but Sally stopped mid-way.

"Dear, what's that on your arm?"

"It's a . . . er . . . tattoo." Annabeth held her wrist up.

Yes, Percy had definitely noticed the mark in the seven months they had spent as a couple, but it always was nothing compared to her captivating eyes. His lovely girlfriend had told him that it was a mark – sort of a brand – which marked her as a witch. It also had a date which she told him was her birth-date.

Sally took Annabeth's hand in her own and a scream escaped from her mouth.

"You're a witch!"

The couple's eyes widened simultaneously.

"M-Mom, you know abou-"

Sally fainted.

"I-I'm sorry, Annabeth. But if Mom doesn't want me to date you . . . then I-I just can't."

Annabeth tried to hold back the tears.

"But I-I thought you l-loved me, Percy," she spoke with so much sadness in her voice that Percy started to feel his eyes pool up.

"I do, Annabeth. I love you. But you gotta understand," He cupped her cheeks with his hands, "Mom never told me this until yesterday, but she had her parents – my grandparents – murdered by a witch. That tattoo on her hand? It's the same mark that you have, except it was forced on her skin. She told me that she could never trust a witch again. I tried to reason with her that you're not like some of them are . . . But I've . . . Ever since my father di . . . got l-lost at the sea . . . Mom's been the only one I've ever had. I can't lose her, Annabeth. I have to do this for her."

Annabeth took in a deep breath.

"I understand, Percy."

She was gone the very next second.

But not before kissing him softly on the nose.

That made Percy rethink about the whole thing countless of times.

He shouldn't have let her go. But he did; for his mother.

And he knew Annabeth was proud of him for that.

Sally didn't understand how that could've happened. It was already bad that she had found herself in this predicament before. But the fact which was worse was that she still wasn't any good at handling the situation than she was before.

Now they were both in a dungeon/basement located who knew where.

"LET HER GO!"

Percy screamed loudly as he struggled against the ropes. His face was covered in grime and dirt.

The witch gave a shrill laugh which sounded exactly like Glenda Heliot.

"Let her go,you say?" Her eyes shone red, as if they held fire in them. She walked towards Percy in a mocking way. "I won't. You wanna know why? MY MOTHER, THE GREAT GLENDA HELIOT, DIED BECAUSE OF HER!"

Despite of her state, Sally frowned. The witch must have noticed it because she took the liberty of explaining.

"You don't know, Sally Jackson?" She drew a finger over Sally's cheek menacingly. "You had something in you which made my mother's wand wither away after she put that mark on you, taking her along with it!"

Half of her was listening to their captor, but the other half was trying to get her son out of this situation.

But how?

The witch threw her head back and screamed in content.

"And now I, Wihnhilda Heliot, will avenge the death of my mother!"

With a speed too fast to comprehend with only the eyes, she now stood over to Percy, her wand on his throat, mumbling an incantation.

Sally was stunned; she couldn't even cry out of sadness.

Percy's body started to heat up and he doubled over, yelping in pain.

"NO!"

Her screams begging the witch to stop were futile. The incantations didn't stop and neither did his pain.

Sally clenched her eyes shut. She couldn't see that happen again.

All was over now. She had her parents and her husband taken away from her. And now, she wouldn't even have her son.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash.

Sally looked at the source of the sound and her eyes widened.

There was a huge hole in the wall. And standing in the center of all the rubble was none other than . . . Annabeth Chase.

"Wihnhilda! Let them go!"

This broke Wihnhilda's concentration. The fire in her eyes seemed to have increased its intensity.

"Who are you to tell me that?!" she yelled out in anger.

After that, it was a blur of blinding flashes of lights and spells and curses and jinxes and hexes and whatnot.

Until finally, Annabeth pinned the witch down with a spell.

"I'll give you a last chance, Wihnhilda," she said, her voice raspy and tired, "Take the oath to never harm anyone, especially Percy and Sally, again."

"NEVER!"

Annabeth's eyes hardened.

"I gave you a chance. You didn't take it."

With that, Wihnhilda Heliot was gone.

Annabeth didn't waste any time in freeing Sally from the enchanted ropes. Then they both rushed to Percy.

Sally knelt down and put Percy's head in her lap. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she looked at Annabeth. Her eyes were bloodshot too.

"W-Will he b-be fine?" Sally sobbed out, caressing her son's unruly black hair.

"He'll be alright, Sally," Annabeth replied. She was holding his right hand in hers. Gradually as she spoke reassurances to Sally, her hand started to glow with a soothing white light. When the light subsided, she drew in a shaky breath. "He should be conscious in a minute."

He came to after exactly a minute. Sally and Annabeth helped him sit up in a more comfortable position.

"Wha?"

Annabeth and Sally chuckled.

"I remember! That-that witch was trying to -" His sentence stopped short as he finally registered the fact that the blonde girl was present there as well.

"A-Annabeth?"

The said girl smiled. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a pair of lips . . . on her mouth.

Then Percy remembered that his mother was also there and broke apart abruptly.

"Oh! Mom! I-I'm sorry . . ." he trailed off, trying to find a reason of his actions. Well, he knew it was because of the love and gratitude he felt towards her, but he couldn't tell that to his mother.

"You can date her, dear."

"Oh, okay."

Then cue the double take.

"Wait, what?"

He looked at Annabeth. She looked equally taken back as well.

"Annabeth," Sally continued, grasping Annabeth by her shoulders, "I don't know how to thank you for saving Percy, dear. You've made me realize that I've been blinded by my past and the stereotypes. For that, I'm really sorry. That's why, if you like, you may date Percy."

Annabeth couldn't believe that this was happening. She knew (from the past ten months of dating him and the slack-jawed state that he was in) that he was as shocked as her.

"Really?"

She choked back tears as Sally nodded, a small smile on her lips. Annabeth leaped towards the woman and clasped her in a tight hug. Sally hugged her back as firmly. With a loud 'Woohoo!' Percy stood up in excitement . . . only to fall back on his butt again.

"Ow!"

And as the ladies helped him up again, Percy sneakily pecked her on her lips.

"I love you."

Annabeth whispered back a quick 'I love you, too!' but it didn't go quite as unnoticed as they would've liked.

"Aww, you both are so sweet!"

As the couple blushed bright red, Sally Jackson grinned widely: at last, hopefully, their family could be complete again.

Sure, there were people who did wrong things, horrible even. But there was always good amongst the mass too.

Sally Jackson couldn't be happier for her son and her daughter-in-law.

As the three of them sat on the couch together at the couple's house, watching TV, Sally couldn't help but think about everything that had happened in the past.

Then she came to a decision. Sally had always wanted to write a novel. And she would, finally.

Her first novel would be about Annabeth and Percy.

She even had the title in mind: Love prevails all.

And it certainly did for them.

And done! How was it, dear readers?

Percy: Whoa . . . Are you really a witch, Wise Girl?

Annabeth: *sigh* No, Seaweed Brain.

Me: Gods, Percy. This was an AU! Well, lovely READERS, please REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW the story if you liked it! Show me some love!