A Crown of Golden Leaves: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Capvt XX: Serva Me, Servabo Te

Capvt XX: Serva Me, Servabo Te

Translation: Save me and I will save you

ANNABETH made him feel strange. The realization came to Percy with an almost startling clarity the next night as he stared up at the ceiling of their chamber, slowly drifting off to sleep. He didn't know what it was about her that made him feel this way, but it was definitely there. He could feel whatever emotions he felt toward Rachel before she died three years ago swell and stir like a storm whenever he was around her. 

Maybe the thought should have should have made him worried, but as he rolled over so that he could how the moonlight made Annabeth's hair seem almost silver, he felt much too content and sleepy. No, this feeling was natural to him; in the way that the sky was blue and the world was flat.

Besides, she was his wife, even though they hadn't met under ideal circumstances or got married by choice. She wasn't really his first anything, not his first love or first kiss, but she was the one who had stayed, and wouldn't leave him alone. She was the one that mattered, and by the gods, he would do anything in his power to protect her.

And, as she rolled over so that she was so close that her hair tickled his nose and he could smell the trace of roses, Percy couldn't help but smile and wrap his arm across her shoulders. He wanted to be her hope, her dream . . . he wanted to be everything she needed.

~...~

"AHH!"

The screech and the kick that accompanied it caused Percy to fall off the bed. He sucked in sharply as his back jarred with the impact, more out of surprise than in pain. 

"What are you doing on my side of the bed?" Annabeth's voice was high-pitched and annoying. The blankets had tangled around his legs, but he ignored that as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He glanced out the window. The sun was high in the sky, and he wondered how they had slept in so late. He shook his head and locked his gaze with hers. 

"Your side of the bed? I'm not on your side of the bed—you rolled over last night to my side. I never kicked you off the bed though." He leaned over and gingerly rubbed his thigh. It would be black and blue later, he just knew it. "Ow. That hurts."

She didn't look particularly sorry or guilty, but she held a hand out. He ignored it. She was being mean. He wouldn't forgive her so easily— not this time. He would get his apology for once. Uh-huh.

"Stop pouting Percy," she admonished. He pressed his lips into a thin line and watched her pull her hair over her shoulder and weave it in some random pattern.

"I'm not pouting. You just kicked me off the bed."

She raised an eyebrow, then a slow smile spread across her face. "Someone's grumpy in the morning," she sang. It was entirely too cheerful for his taste. Actually, everything was too cheerful for his face. The birds shouldn't be singing right now, and the sun shouldn't be out. Ugh. Why couldn't he just go back to sleep? 

"You're irritating."

She beamed at him. He sniffed. They just woke up— how could she be so alert and cheerful? 

~...~

The meetings with pesky nobles and the Senate lasted until the sun went down and the stars had came out. Percy opened the door slowly and stepped inside, quickly and silently, worried that someone else would come with another complaint. 

It wasn't that he was trying to slack off, he just needed a break. He loved Roma, and he considered it his duty, not only as Heir Apparent but as a civilian, for all of his decisions to be in the best interests of Roma. He just hated the nobles and their petty squabbles. And he really wanted to go back to sleep.