Princess 2: Poison
Hey! So this is the other chapter from the Princess!AU I had going. It isn’t sequential, and takes place much farther in the future. Percabeth is an established thing, has been for a while. Again, this won’t be a series any time soon, you guys just requested the other chapter I had in mind, and this was it! More after! Oh, and shoutout to @cakesnomnom for convincing me to actually write it up.
Annabeth peaked out the window with a sigh, watching the forest pass by them as they trotted along. Now normally, Annabeth would have preferred to ride out in front on a horse with them, next to Percy, but he had thrown a fit. They were traveling to a neutral village to have peace talks with their neighboring country. They had been in a slow war for a few years now, neither side willing to fully invest themselves into a massive assault.
Hence, the fact that they were traveling outside of the safety of their borders.
Percy, being the overprotective boyfriend/knight he was, refused to let her ride out in the open. Now while she had the authority to do whatever she wanted, she was the princess after all, it was clear how much it worried him. He had started rambling on about ambushes, archers, traps. He had even started warning her about the dangers of poison ivy. To shut him up, and get rid of her least favorite expression he wore, one of concern and fear, she had kissed him and agreed to ride in the carriage. At least once they had crossed the border.
So now here they were, just a few minutes outside of the village. Percy had put his helmet back on, and was riding in the front. Unfortunately. Annabeth hated that helmet. When he wore it, she couldn’t see his expressions, his messy hair, her favorite smirk. Most importantly, it hid his beautiful eyes. She had actually ordered him to never wear the helmet unless they were in some sort of official or public business. Luckily he didn’t seem to mind, claimed it was too stuffy anyway.
Annabeth was about to get out and just ride the rest of her way when she heard his voice cut through the forest.
“HOLD!” His voice was clear and precise. “Jason, Frank, on Annabeth.” He ordered as he hopped off the horse.
Peering out the window curiously, Annabeth’s hand grabbed her sword just in case. The hell if she was going to be protected while she sat in a little box while her friends risked their lives. Looking farther down the lane, Annabeth’s heart skipped a beat. There was a little girl, her back against a tree as she sobbed, two thugs looming over her. She couldn’t hear the conversation, but they said something, the girl flinched, then Percy stepped up. Words were exchanged, and Percy glanced back, as if asking for permission.
Hardly debating a moment, Annabeth nodded, as she placed her sword back down and rested her arm on the window to watch. Percy said something to the thugs, who both drew their swords. A few minutes later both of them were on the ground, and Percy was stowing his sword as he turned to the little girl. The little girl said something, and Percy knelt down. A small smile played at Annabeth’s lip as she saw him speak to her, before rustling her hair, then she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. A warmth spread through Annabeth’s chest. Percy really was good with kids, and some part of her imagined seeing him with kids of their own. Blushing, and shaking out her head, she saw him walking back. Eating… something. Quirking an eyebrow, she looked on until she saw he was munching happily on an apple. “She was delivering them to her grandparents. Made me take one as thanks for saving her.” He offered with a shrug. He climbed back on the horse, and soon the caravan was finishing up the last few minuets of the journey. Realizing she actually had to get back into princess mode, Annabeth took a deep breath and pushed idle thoughts of domestic life out of her mind.