Hey. This is my first FanFiction Story. I hope you guys will put up with me, and that I'll at least get two reviews for each chapter. I will try to update at least once a week, and if you're lucky, twice to thrice. I already have the second chapter written, but I'll only upload it if I get some reviews for this chapter. So, ENJOY!
By the way, I just have to say that this idea was based off the book: 'Book of a Thousand Days' by Shannon Hale.
Title: An Eternity of Solitude
Main Characters: Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson
Status: In Progress- Chaptered Story
Oh, I totally forgot to put a disclaimer the first time I posted this. So, disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson's world.
A couple of days after I posted this story, I found a story similar to mine. I'd like to apologise to the author of that story, and say that I did not take your idea- we just must think alike.
So, enjoy. :)
Chapter 1:
6 Long Years
The blond haired girl stared out of the high window with a longing that words couldn't describe; her sunken, faded grey eyes skimmed over everything with a hungry desperation. Her skeletal fingers clutched at the flimsy faded grey curtains with a strength that her small, skinny body couldn't have possibly possessed.
Once upon a time, this faded bag of bones with the long, limp and colourless platinum blond hair, the pale and shadowed skin that was drawn tightly over her skeleton, and hunched over figure had been a gorgeous, vibrant girl who always had a joke to crack, or a way to break the ice in an awkward situation- a girl who was in love with life itself; a girl who would smile every minute of every day and always had something optimistic to say.
Now if you asked her what tomorrow would bring, she would say, "Nothing but darkness, misery and longing for something that will never be mine. Someone once said, 'What you put into life, you will always get out of life'. Well, that's a stupid quote. No matter how much I put into life, I will never get anything back because the Fates are cruel, and life is against me. Now don't disturb me again or I'll bite your head off."
A real heart- warming motto, right?
But she wasn't bitter without reason. At age twelve, her father, Lord Frederick, who was King Zeus' top adviser in Court, had told her these exact words: "War is coming, my daughter. The treaty between King Zeus and King Kronos has been broken. There is one option left, and if you do not agree, our two separate nations will be thrown into a havoc that will take years to undo. I know I'm asking a lot, my daughter, and at such a young age, but think carefully before you answer." Annabeth's father had knelt before her, pleading with his eyes to make her understand something. "My Annabeth, you are the only eligible lady born of nobility left in this land. I am asking you- no, our nation is asking you to accept a marriage proposal from Lord Luke Castellan of Othrys, the land in which Kronos rules. You are the key to peace! The king currently doesn't have an heir, and I, being his closest advisor, offered my daughter as the peace keeper." Annabeth remembered every word with clarity and precision.
But her memories stopped there. She knew that she had had some insolent and unwise reply. Her father had immediately sent her to her room. And after a few weeks, Othrys and Olympus, King Zeus' land, were at war. And about that time, Annabeth had been ordered to choose a maid, pack up all her belongings and that the General of the Royal Guard, Octavian, would escort her to her new pris- home.
For six long years, she had been locked in the tower, hidden from the world by her father, a ruthless and merciless man who would do anything for his nation, which was honourable in principle, but did that make it right to lock his daughter in a tower until Zeus- knows- when?
So Annabeth was doomed to eternity in a boring little round room, as her father had decreed that she stay locked in the tower until a man of sharp wit and intelligence could rescue her by his own means. Lord Frederick had promised a hefty reward and an acknowledgment from King Zeus to the man who could rescue his daughter, and many men had rushed to take on the task. But not one man had succeeded thus far. And so the years had dragged by. Slowly people had forgotten about her. Lord Frederick's mysterious daughter. Over time, to those who remembered her, she became known as The Forgotten One.
A bird chirped outside her imprisonment. The Lady leaned out the high window for a better view of the outside world. A tear dropped from her eye. She listened to the plop as the salty drop of water hit a pebble on the ground. The tears came after that, one after the other. It was like a salty tidal wave. It was uncontrollable. For six long years, she had been locked in a tower with only a maid for company. In six long years, she hadn't shed a single tear. And now they came. She cried for many hours, for once relishing in her endless solitude.
"Milady?" Thalia the maid asked timidly after a while. Usually, the two addressed each other not quite so formally, but it was in times like this that Thalia was reminded that her friend Annabeth was actually royalty. It was best to play by the rules when the Lady Annabeth was in a bad mood.
"What?" Annabeth snapped, wincing at the croak in her voice. It was obvious she had been crying.
Thalia wasn't stupid; she knew that her Lady just wanted to be left alone. "It's nothing, milady. Just the weekly food supply has been delivered. I just thought you might want to know, in case you wanted me to make you a snack." Thalia whirled on her heel, but just before she walked out the door, she turned to look at Annabeth with sympathetic eyes. "You know, Annabeth," she said. "I'm always here if you want to talk." Annabeth just turned away, the tears still flowing and her emotions showing clearly through the wall in which she had built around herself. She was glad that Thalia hadn't pushed her into talking.
Thalia stalked out of the room, a heavy feeling in her heart. However bad she sometimes thought she had it, having been imprisoned in the tower with Annabeth, she knew Annabeth had it ten times worse- her own father had ordered her exile from the Court.
After Thalia left, Annabeth sighed and furiously wiped away any evidence of the little pity- party she just threw herself. Nobody would ever come to her rescue- she knew that long ago. So why should it start to matter now?
So, what did you think? Should I continue? I'll only upload if I get some reviews. Constructive criticism welcomed. :)