Hey there everyone! This is NotUrAverageMusician with my very first story! Hope you guys like the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Heroes of Olympus/ Percy Jackson characters those are all Rick Riordan's.

Piper 1

Being the princess is so annoying.

I mean I never get to do what I want. I have to wear frilly, pink dresses all the time. My mother doesn't seem to care about what I want, and my best friend is my servant!

My name is princess Piper of Lovetopia, but you can call me Pipes. I really don't think the royal life is for me, but I was born into it anyway. My mother, Aphrodite, is the greatest Queen in all the lands and so I have royal blood. I live in a castle on a high hill looking down at all the peasants and I am as rich as rich can be.

But, I hate it.

Leo thinks I'm crazy. He says that he would love to be a prince sitting on a throne, ordering people around and eating all the food he could ever eat. It's funny how people outside the royal life think it's the best thing in the world.

Leo is my best friend. He is also my servant. Things can get pretty awkward him having to do stuff for me all the time, but Leo's the best guy I know. He is the son of a god, Hephaestus, which would make him very powerful. Sadly, Hephaestus is not a god that is not worshiped anymore and people who hate his dad kicked Leo to the streets.

Anyways, Leo is the only guy I know. I really want to see the outside world, but my mom won't let me step a foot out of the castle much less date anyone. I sigh as I lean on the sides of the porch on the castle roof watching the sunrise. I like to come up here and get a breath of fresh air when I'm stressed. I like to fantasize that I really am down there in the village, hanging out with friends and playing games and eating normal food. I really love pizza. Sometimes Leo sneaks me a piece from when he goes into town.

Today should be one of the happiest days of my life. Today is my sixteenth birthday, but all I feel is sorrow.

Today three princes from the wealthiest neighboring kingdoms will compete to become my betrothed. The one problem with that is that I don't want to be married. My older sister, Drew, turned sixteen two years ago and she became married. She says that she has the best husband in the world and that marriage is great, but I don't think that marriage is for me. Especially if I have never met the guy I have to marry. The royal life is very unfair.

I heard footsteps running up the stairs really fast. Someone is coming, I thought. I can't let anyone see me up here. This is my one spot of privacy! I hid behind a large potted plant on the side of the balcony.

A guard of my mother's emerged from the stairwell. He was a husky man in shiny armor with a long gold sword.

"I think she's up here!" He announced. I sunk lower into my hiding spot.

I heard more footsteps coming up the stairs. Oh no, I thought, not more guards!

Then Leo's face appeared out of the stairwell. "Really?" he said, "Why would she be up here. I mean, it's totally off limits to the princess." He looked around and I waved my hand a little to show him where I was.

When Leo found me hiding behind the plant and he gave me a look that said: you owe me one then he raced over to the guard and placed himself so he was blocking the guard from seeing me.

"I think we should check the parlor again," Leo said, "I mean, she loves to read, I'm sure she's just reading there and lost track of the time."

"We already checked there." The guard insisted, "I think she's up here. I thought I saw her come up this morning."

"I doubt it," Leo replied snappily, "It doesn't seem like her to-"

"Are you saying I'm wrong?" The guard threatened.

"Oh of course not! I um… just remembered! We haven't checked the kitchen! I'm sure she's there." He gave a weak smile.

"My gut tells me she's somewhere up here." The guard continued. Leo leaned to the side to block me some more when the guard turned towards him.

"Okay then, why don't you check in the kitchen and I check up here." Leo suggested.

"I don't know if that-"

"Oh, it's fine!" Leo said, practically pushing the guard back down the stairwell, "If I find her up here she's gonna be in heaps of trouble." I sunk down even more in my hiding spot.

After the guard had left Leo stormed over to me as I got out from behind the plant.

"Why are you doing this to me!" Leo said with his head to the sky.

"Haha, thanks for that, Valdez," I said, "I would be toast without you!"

"Or dead." He replied.

"Or dead." I confirmed.

"I know that you're going to be mad, but I have to take you to your mom to get you ready for the joust that those stupid princes have to do in your honor."

"Ugh." I stormed over to the side of the balcony again. Oh how I wish I were one of those peasants on the street laughing and smiling and most certainly not having to site through boring dinners with the prime minister of whateverville. "Please tell me another story, Leo!" I said hopefully. "Please, just one. It will make me feel better and then I will go straight away to mother and not even complain to you about anything ever again."

"Well that is some opportunity, my princess. Not even having to hear you complain one more time ever! I guess I can't pass that up. Here" He gestured to the seat on the bench next to him. I walked over and sat.

"Okay, I'm gonna be honest now, since you're sixteen and all. Don't be mad at me, but I haven't been exactly telling you the full stories of life in the village below."

"What!" I yelled.

"Jeez Pipes," He continued, "I didn't want to scare you or anything or crush your dreams since you are so into having a fun life in the village. And yes, I'm aware that I promised to take you down there this year and I'm going to, but I just want to let you know what you're in for."

I looked down. Leo's stories were always the best. They were about people playing games in the parks, going to school, and holiday festivities. I always thought they were too good to be true, I guess they were.

"Go on." I said, trying to sound brave.

"Okay. Well, I've told you about how I used to work as a blacksmith, right?" I nodded my head. "Well, it was more of a sweatshop where orphaned kids had to work to pay off debt."

"Leo!" I exclaimed shooting up from my seat, "That's awful!"

"Please, my princess, no interruptions. Anyways, when I lived down there I was working off the debt that my mother borrowed from the blacksmith to feed me. It was barley enough for us to share a room with a bunch of other families."

I've rarely heard Leo talk about his mom. When we were littler I used to ask him about her all the time, but as the years had gone by I learned to give him some space. I could tell that this was a serious matter to him.

"So when my mom died I had to live with the awful blacksmith who used to beat me all the time and treat me like his prisoner. I had to buy my own food too. I became his apprentice and I worked from dawn till dusk everyday."

"Why didn't you stand up to him?" I asked incomprehensively.

"I tried to once…" then he stared into space like he was debating whether to continue. "Oh what the heck." He murmured. Then he said to me, "When I was ten I had just made this amazing sword that I had worked really hard on. I thought I'd finally be out of debt. But when he saw it he said that I was not finished with him and that I needed to work even more and that I was never going to leave this place because I was too valuable a workman."

I nodded knowing as a son of Hephaestus Leo had amazing building skills.

"Then he took the sword from me and sliced me all the way up my right arm. Here, I'll show you." He pushed up the sleeves of his right arm to reveal a nasty looking scar that spanned his entire arm.

"Oh no, Leo that's not good at all. How can he treat you like that!" I felt really bad because I've never so much gotten a scrape on me much less a horrible scar wound.

"I don't know," he said looking off into space, "I just don't know. That night I ran away and slept in the streets, two days later the palace security found me and said that I belonged to the state and they made me become your servant."

"No, no, no, no, no." I said looking down at what I used to think was a beautiful village. "That can't be. The palace would never make you become a servant, that's totally unfair."

"Well how do you think I got here?" He said.

"Umm… I never really thought about that."

"It's okay though." He said coming to stand next to me, "I am so much better off here than I was out there. I probably would be dead now if it wasn't for that job opening. And I get to hang out with you everyday, Pipes." He smiled at me jokingly. "Besides, if I wasn't here, who would keep you out of trouble?"

"I guess you're right. I'm glad you're here, Leo."

"Same here." Then he leaned in to whisper in my ear, "We leave for your trip to the village at nine o clock tonight. Meet me in the garden and we can sneak out."

We started going down the dark stone stairs. "Thanks." I said. And I meant it.

"Hey," He replied somewhere behind me, "I have to let you have your last taste of freedom."

The way that he said it made me realize that he was right. Tonight is the competition and I shall be married by tomorrow night. To further emphasize my point, I hate being a princess.

Keep checking in for more chapters!

- NotUrAverageMusician