When I was a child, I had flawed thinking. The world was mine, and no one else's. Now, mind you, I was a young Princess, and rightfully, so I thought I could hold it on my pinky.

I was friends with all and many, but most of all, a Prince from a nearby kingdom, his name was Perseus, I believe.

Well, not believe, I know. I have quite the memory. My father tells me I'm of the highest intelligence. Either way, we were the best of friends, skipping along the flowers outside of the palace, and smiling so brightly at each other, it hurt our little infant eyes.

At that age, I did not know of betrothal, I did not know of arranged love, nor alliances or necessary things like that. All I knew was that Perseus, was who I would like to be with.

By the time we were the age of seventeen, we were in love, despite the protests of my parents, seeing that Olympia, Perseus kingdom, was close to fall. We knew, the second we were of age, which was next year, we would a secret marriage.

And we did. That was years, age, when the political climate wasn't as rocky as now. Now I have more sense. But not enough the leave that marriage behind.

Perseus and I haven't talked in years, and now, I am twenty four, and betrothed to Prince Luke, of Titanist. He's charming, sure, but nothing against Perseus, whose eyes looked like the sea, and dusty raven hair was swept up messily like a beautiful night sky.

But enough of that. Luke is noble, and… here. Olympia has fallen, and Perseus is gone as far as we know. Even so, I am hoping that certificate will resurface. So that I won't be stuck with a man I don't love for the rest of my life.

But, it's a little too late for that. The wedding is tomorrow, and everything is prepared. I can't mess it up, that would ruin my family image. And my image, the image of an uprising ruler, prepared to take place, and control.

Today is the day we get ready to invite all in. My mother, the queen has called me just moments ago to greet the guest arising.

I have just finished a page of the ancient script I am reading, and have decided to head down now. I do, and my father embraces me with a hug, my mother smiles broadly, and the servants not respectively. My mother thinks I will make a fine queen.

I approach the entrance, with my biggest smile on my face, and greet the guest one by one, shaking hands, nodding and giving hugs. Once most have arrived, I go to the dining room, where our chiefs have created an amazing and extravagant dinner. The table is set with a red table cloth, fancy leather chairs dyed red also, and gold silverware along with white plates, as clear as the moon.

I sit down next to my mother and father, and once they serve themselves and me, the guests are served and we eat. The dining table emerges into joyess fun and laughter, and Prince Luke, who is seated next to me is charming as ever. He smiles and flirts, and I reciprocate.

A storm emerges in the middle of dinner, but our castle is safe, so there is no need to worry. I am scared for the stragglers that may be outside caught in the storm, and hope they will find they're way, or a place to stay until the storm passes.

Once everyone has eaten, the servants come around and pass out desert. Thunder rumbles and we hear the crack of lightning. I remember the days it would rain and thunder when I was a child. I was scared, but Perseus always comforted me. He would always make me feel pleasant when I was distressed.

The lightning keeps crackling, like a loose witch. The guest don't seem worried, as our reputation is esteemed and we will be sure to keep everyone safe.

Another loud sound emerges and the palace doors burst open, revealing the farcity of the storm. A young man, cloaked and hidden is in the middle his arms open and the water flowing beneath his feet. He looks tired and as he falls into the castle, the servants run over, closing the door behind him, and helping this man up.

My father speaks, and everyone is silenced. "Young man, what is your personage? Why are you here, interrupting the finest of nights?" I look over at the man, but can't see any revealing traits.

The young man speaks, and I am surprised by his booming, confident voice, which still sounds slightly guarded. "My personage? I am a prince" he says, and the room stills, "I was caught in the storm, which you have seen is so big and bad it could blow any man out of the way with it's winds. I am here, looking for refuge, a place to stay until the weather stills," he tries to stand, but collapse once more. "I am injured, so until I become healed, I cannot go anywhere."

My father speaks kindly, again, "What is your name?"

"My name?" the man says, and looks around the room, "That is one thing I cannot tell you"

"Answer my question." he says, not as kind as before.

"I cannot. If I were too, all hell would break loose," he says, still looking around the room till his eyes stop at mine. Still looking into my eyes, he repeats, "Please allow me to stay."

My father seems to be pondering this. His eyes filter around the uninvited guest until he seems to reach a consensus, "Fine. You may."

"Thank you, your majesty," he says, seemingly recognizing the power he says.

"Of course. And for your hurts, my self will be your surgeon. Daughter," he says, beckoning towards me with a slight frown, "Please show him too an empty chamber."

"Of course father." I say, and smile at Luke, "I will see you tomorrow,"

"And at that time, you will be wearing a dress as white as a dove, hair tossed up majestically, eyes bright and smiling, walking down the aisle to me." he says.

"Yes." I say shortly and carefully get out of my chair. I adjust my posture as I walk over to the man identified as a Prince. "Hello, Prince. Follow me."

"Gladly." he says, and stares at me.

"Do I know you?" I say.

"Yes. You once did." I keep walking and he follows.

"Why won't you identify yourself? That wouldn't be so dastardly." I say.

"You cannot know who I am. It would ruin the wedding." The Prince says.

"How do you know about that?" I am beginning to think this isn't such a conceident after all.

"Check your bed tomorrow morning. Maybe you'll figure it out" We approach an empty chamber, and he sweeps the hood out of his eyes, sea green. He smiles, and walks in without another word.

I go to sleep, dreaming of what I might find the next day on my bed. When I wake up, I don't think about it at all, until I have dressed and go to pick a quill off of my bedside table. And a certificate is there. Of marriage.

What does that mean? And, why is it on my desk? I don't think much else about it, as it does not seem of any uttermost importance. Today is my wedding day, today is about me.

But what if… it's something more? Or, if it is not real. Or if this is a dream, and there's no certificate in front of me. If someone pinches me, I won't wake up.

But I know that I will.

I push those thoughts out of my mind, although a lingering idea still fades back and forth in my mind. Once this is done I resume to my original task of preparing for the wedding, and am led downstairs by a servant for my makeup. I have instructed the artist to not put too much on it, just enough for my face to look pristine. Light red substance is put against my lips, and then, I am done.

I came downstairs to get make-up done, without my dress as to not get it dirty, and so now, I must get my dress on. It is long and white and fits my body well, as it is being put onto me, I imagine how it will look when Luke sees me walking down the aisle.

Hours later, it is time. Time for me to walk down the aisle. Once I have, we say the vows and when the priest calls for objections, I cross my fingers hoping nothing will happen.

But with my luck, something does.

"I object!" shouts the booming voice of a man. It is the a nobleman waving the wedding certificate, official and all in the air. "This certificate, is official. It states: By order of the priest: Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson are united, in a vow of marriage, forever."

Voices cry out from amongst the seats.

"She cannot be married to two people!" one says.

"This is preposterous, that vow must be fake" another states.

"She'll have to divorce that Perseus" another says, presumably from Luke's side.

I see a head popping out of the castle. The man from the night before scanning the crowd. It must be Perseus. We haven't talked in years. This shouldn't be possible.

"Silence!" Yells my father. "We may have to delay the wedding for Princess Annabeth's mistake. She will get a divorce with Perseus, and we may resume next week. All will be well."

The crowd stops, only the sound of distant murmuring among shows. The wedding stops suddenly. I am asked to speak with my father, and the chairs go up, the people walk away to their stayings. I walk over cautiously to my father and try to smile. "Yes father? You wanted to see me?"

"I did Annabeth. Marrying that Perseus, was a big mistake on your part. Yes, his kingdom is falling but he is alive. I have figured out who he is-"

"Yes, the man who arrived last night. That is him, I'm sure of it."

"Don't interrupt me, but yes. It is. You must go upstairs and talk to him."

"I will father." He nods at me to leave, and I walk to Perseus quarters. Once I arrive I knock on the door, and it opens.

"Yes?" his voice says. He appears in the door frame, and grins a bit. "Princess, you are very welcome."

"What? When did I thank you?" I say sharply and push into his room, sitting down on one of the chairs. "You ruined my wedding day with that petty marriage certificate. What did you want from that? I may not be in love with Luke, but I know what I have to do to keep my kingdom safe. Something your father did not know."

"I… I keep it with me, you know? And when I heard you were getting married, I had to see you. And when I did, I knew I would have to do this. I am sorry that I ruined your day, but please Princess, let me be your Prince once more. I know that is quite cliche, but we can run away, we don't have to-"

"Stop!" I responded, "We just need to get a divorce, so my family can have powerful allies." I pause, "We need that okay? Marriage these days… isn't about who you love or who you don't. It's powerful political decisions that cement the relations between kingdoms."

"Still much smarter than me." he mumbled and then speaks louder. "Titanis took down our Kingdom," I gasped. "We have been struggling to fight back, to build back up, but we can't they are strong. We need allies. I am not saying you, but… I need to get away from the fighting. It's been non-stop and I am the powerhouse. I seem to be the only one losing hope. I need to run away from it all."

I pick out the pieces of paper my father handed me, that signify divorce. "Then you are a coward," I say and plop them down on his bed. "Fill these out in three days, and you will be fine."

"Annabeth, you know I still love you… right?" My frown turns up a bit. He never calls me Annabeth. Always Princess or Wise Girl.

"Yes Perseus, I do. If I could I would return that love I would, but I cannot. Not anymore." I say, and regret it. I was trying to say that I would tell him that I love him, but I cannot, but what it came out as is that I did not love him anymore.

Which I did not mean.

"Percy." he said, "Call me Percy. I wouldn't want you to waste a breath on my entire name. Perseus, would agree with what you are saying, Percy does not, and wants to talk to you outside of the palace tonight at nine of the clocks. Will I see you?"

"Will you? Possibly. Take the chance, I guess," I respond and walk out of the door.

Of course I will go outside at nine. I am not rude, not one bit of me… well, many would dispute that, but that is besides the point.

After dinner, in which Perseus is not invited to, I stay in bed until the sun sets in a way that makes me know that it is nine. I take my time, as this trip is not necessary, and soon walk outside of the castle, unnoticed. By now, it is I assume fifteen past nine.

Perseus… Percy, is sitting on the hill several meters away from our outdoor bathroom. I walk over to him.

"Hello Princess. I did not think you would come." Perseus says.

"I would not want to be rude Perseus- er Percy," I respond. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"

"Remember, how when we were children, we would sit here and look out at the night sky, pointing out constellations? We would stay here until morning, and once the stars were gone, we'd point out the clouds. Our parents were furious we stayed out so late."

"Yes, I remember that being quite pleasant."

"Drop the niceties Princess." He sharply says, "No need for manner. I brought you down here to try to spend one last night together before I have to leave."

"You can't leave tomorrow morning! We still need to figure out the divorce…"

"That's the point. If I'm not there, and the paperwork isn't signed, then they can't make us do that."

"What if I don't want that?!" I shout at him. "What if I just want to secure this alliance, okay, so maybe they have made your kingdom fall, but I want to make sure that this doesn't happen to mine."

"I'm sorry Princess, but… even if I may be being selfish, I can't do that."

"We will find a way to stop you."

"But it won't work." he says and smiles in a way I haven't seen in years. It's the smile that always made my heart tighten, and it still works now.

"I-I… think I still love you," I murmur, and his smile widens. We lay on the ground, and although currently our ideals aren't the same, we spend this last night together. He turns his face and we are kissing now. Kissing on the ground, my hand wrapping around his neck and his hand around my back.

We sit there, kissing until daylight and I feel the way I haven't for a while. Elated. Even so, I still know what must happen.

When he is asleep, I go to my parents and tell him his plan, how he wants to run away. They send a guard over immediately and collect him, putting him into the jail. When he wakes up, he will be there with the papers and a note.

We will let him go once he signs them. If he doesn't he will stay there. With no options, only bread and water.

This is not what I wanted. But it is what came upon him, and when he wakes up, he will no longer love me. He will hate me.

When I woke up, I was in a prison cell. But I woke up happy. Then I opened my eyes. And I was alone. In a cell, with a bench, scattered papers- divorce papers, and a lingering smell of lemons.

Her. Annabeth. She did this. She broke our promise. She left me here to waste away. This is her fault.

Her fault. What did I do? Take a chance. What did I get? Betrayed. And all for politics. All for her family's approval. At the expense of the Princess. My Princess.

I will make her suffer at the sight of me. I will make her regret everything she has ever done. I will not sign those papers, and I will waste away in this cell.

Then she will waste away in her room. She will waste away knowing what she has done. And I will suffer. I will suffer because of her hurts. The one's I should not care about.

I may die in this room.

I am exhausted. I am alone. I sit on the bench my legs by my chest waiting. For what? Waiting for help. For someone. For her.

We kissed last night. We stayed with each other. We had something. We shared something. Now that something is gone. I don't know how or why but it's gone.

And it's not my fault. It's hers.

A person enters the room. My eyes flicker up to see who it is and it's him. The king. Him and her. Her. The Princess. My Princess.

"Hello Perseus," The King says, sourly.

"Greetings your highness." I respond, biting back my tongue from the curses. "What do I owe you the pleasure of visiting me here?"

"Perseus. I am only here for my daughter, the Princess to speak with you. She wants to say one last thing to you before you sign those papers."

"I will never sign those papers."

"Yes you will." The King says, and leaves me to be with Princess Annabeth. She sits down on the stool across from the cell and speaks.

"Listen carefully Perseus. This is my fault. I know I have broken a promise between the two of us, and even if I do regret doing so, we are in this situation, and I know how to get out. Sign those papers, Percy. Please do this. It will make everything less complicated."

"You are heartless." I simply say turning away from the Princess. "You betrayed me. You broke this promise. And now, you expect me to just sign those papers?" I took a deep breath. "I don't think so. Please leave."

"No. My father says that you must sign those papers." She repeated.

"Do you even remember last night? I thought that maybe you perhaps felt what I did." I shift toward her, to let the hurt in my face shine through. She melts, and my face softens. "You know, you could help me. We could get out of here." I softly say. She looks at me, and I almost see her eyes shining.

"You know I cannot do that Prince." She puts her head down. "As much as I would like, I cannot."

"And how do you know that if you have not tried?"

"Maybe I do not know. But I cannot." Annabeth said. "Prince, now if you will excuse me, I have to go."

"Wait!" I called, as she was about to close the door behind her. She turned around, and the Princess's curls flopped over into her face, which she quickly brushed away. "Please Princess. Please my Wise girl. I need help. You know that I will never sign those papers. Please, I need help."

She paused for a moment, and then looked into my eyes. She looked sad and disappointed. In what? Herself. "I cannot." She turns around once more, and walks out of the door.

I understand this. I was once a highly esteemed Prince and had duties, important ones to attend too. I am no longer important in this story. My kingdom has fallen and I no longer matter.

I cannot do anything but wait now. For something. I won't sign those papers. I never will.

I may just do. I must get out of this. I need to-

The door opens. Out comes… my Princess, Annabeth Minerva Chase. "I can get you out, but you need to be quick," She flicks her hair around and grasped at a hatch that had the key in it. "Follow my lead, and do not stand out." She unlocked the cell, and beckoned me out. I stepped out with lifted spirits, but…

"Princess, why are you helping me?"

"Please my Wise Girl" She murmurs and pushes me toward the door, locking the cell once more and putting the key back in the original position. She opens the door in front of us, still pushing me out and closes it.

"And where are we headed?" I ask.

"Show me your horse." she says, and eyes me. "I know you have one. You got here during storm for my wedding, and that means you have Blackjack."

"Oh, right," I nod and we escape out of a back door and while on tiptoe, I lead her toward the place I stowed my horse. I mount it, and when she brings up her hand, I pull the Princess up too.

I kick Blackjack to move, and he starts to trot. Once we get just slightly out of the palace grounds, I hear a loud trumpet noise.

And then an army of horses coming toward us.

"Did you do this Princess?" I snarl at her, and she shakes her head.

"No! I swear on my grandfathers grave I did not!"

"You did not have a care for your grandfather and I am quite aware of that. How am I supposed to trust you?"

"Fine, that is a good point. But I did not. I swear on my father's life I did not."

I sigh in relief, but am still aware that we need to get out of range from these horses. I turn Blackjack towards the sea which separates the four kingdoms, and gallop toward it. We arrive at the ocean and once in deep enough, we turn and race across it. I've always been better in water than on land.

We get far enough away from the castle, and stop at a forest. Sitting down, I offer a hand to the Princess, but she shook it away. "Perseus I need to tell you why. I realized that I was wrong. That this was not right, and that we were forcing you to do something you did not want to do, and frankly, something I did not want you to do.

"It was because, well Prince, after all of this time, I have still loved you, and yes, maybe I broke our promise, but I wanted to mend it. The only way to do this was to save you."

"Really?" Confused hold out my hand once more, and she takes it.

"Yes." She finally responds after a length of silence. After her words, the silence regains its place. We settle on the ground heads against each other, listening to each other's breath, in, out, in, out.

Soon we are asleep once more, underneath a blanket of stars. I close my eyes, not worried about anything, for all I need right now, is to have my Princess with me.

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