Annabeth didn't move from her spot on the balcony from the moment Percy left her rooms until the sun went down. Below, she could hear the sounds of castle workers, but she didn't bother to understand them. Her mind was too busy racing to find answers. She was pretty sure her brain hadn't stopped running since Percy had told her what the letter said. Even when she'd held her breath and suggested they get married, a million "what ifs" had been racing through her head. Her thoughts certainly hadn't slowed down when Percy left for dinner with a murmured goodbye and a kiss to her head.

To be fair, Annabeth was certain he hadn't meant to kiss her head. It had been a rather confusing day and she would sooner assume that it had been done unconsciously rather than by choice. That being said, he had to be at least comfortable around her in order to do anything like that unconsciously.

Sunset was a romantic time of the day, Annabeth reasoned. Perhaps that had affected him.

Even as she thought it, it sounded wrong. Although Percy had clearly shown that he was capable of rather hasty decisions, this hadn't seemed like something done carelessly. The tips of his ears hadn't even turned red like they normally did when he did something embarrassing or by mistake.

Right as Annabeth was about to spiral into a series of "what ifs", a knock at her door interrupted.

She jumped and stumbled through the balcony doorway, shouting "Coming!" as she tripped across the room. By the time she reached for the door handle, she had righted herself and regained her balance. It was a fortunate thing too as Duchess Rachel was the one on the other side of the door.

"Oh, Duchess." Out of habit, Annabeth curtseyed before the duchess could respond.

"I think it's me who should be bowing to you," the duchess said, dropping into a lower curtsey. There was an awkward pause as they both stood back up and stared at each other.

"What can I do for you?" Annabeth asked after a long minute.

Rachel motioned into her room and Annabeth hastily stepped aside. As Rachel moved inside to sit on a sofa, Annabeth shut the door. Rachel waited until Annabeth had sat down as well to explain why she'd come.

"Prince Percy and I are close friends," she announced simply. Annabeth blinked. "King Poseidon wishes for us to wed and if I'm honest, I wish the same."

In the split second between that sentence and the next, Annabeth's thoughts spiraled. She'd suggested the idea to Percy only a few hours before and she was certain he wouldn't mention it to anyone. As far as she knew, he didn't want to. In his own words, it was to be their backup plan. Backup plans were never shared unless they became necessary, so how had the duchess found out? When had Percy even gone to see her?

"But I know what continuing this war would mean," Rachel said, snapping Annabeth back to the present conversation. "He cannot start his rule with such instability and you are the only one who can change that."

"I beg your pardon?" Annabeth asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I do not wish to force you into a decision," Rachel said hastily. Her eyes widened and she began to speak faster, confusing Annabeth further. "I've seen how he looks at you, so know that he would love you if you were to marry him. I want nothing but peace for Atlantis, but I fear only you can allow it."

Rachel looked worried for even suggesting the idea, but Annabeth was still confused as to how she had ever found out about it.

Carefully, Annabeth asked, "Did Percy mention this to you?"

Rachel's lips turned down and she looked at Annabeth strangely. "No, he hasn't spoken to me for several days." Suddenly, her eyes widened. "He isn't trying to trick you! This wasn't his idea, milady, I promise-"

"No, it wasn't," Annabeth agreed, "because it was mine. Who told you?"

"No one did. It was my own idea."

Annabeth's confused expression matched Rachel's and for a long moment, the two just stared at each other. Rachel was the first to break their silence.

"You've already thought of marrying him?" she asked quietly. Annabeth nodded numbly. "When?"

"This morning. When we received my mother's response," Annabeth told her, her voice just as soft.

Rachel looked down at her lap. "When will you announce it? To the kingdom?"

"We aren't," Annabeth replied. Rachel glanced up at that, so Annabeth briefly explained how it was their last resort. They would do anything else first, but they would resort to a marriage if they must.

"It wouldn't be the worst thing, milady," Rachel said. She reached across the sofa and grabbed Annabeth's hand. "He would love you. I see it in his eyes. He's confused by it now, but he'll figure it out."

"Why would you suggest this?" Annabeth asked. "You said that you wished to marry him yourself. Why give up?"

Rachel shrugged half-heartedly and Annabeth squeezed her hand.

"Atlantis isn't my kingdom," she said, "but I know what it needs. Besides, you seem to make him happy."

The room fell into an empty silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, but Annabeth wasn't sure it was friendly either. She had only talked to Duchess Rachel twice before and both times were wildly differing. She had felt unsure of what to say then, but now it seemed even more difficult. Especially when the topic was about a potentially arranged marriage.

"You're a good person, Rachel," Annabeth murmured, glancing across at her. "And an even better friend to him."

Although Rachel didn't reply verbally, she did briefly smile at her and for now, that was enough for Annabeth. At least she had one lady of the court on her side.

* * * *

Percy arrived back in Annabeth's chambers immediately after he had finished dinner. Although she was invited once King Poseidon learned who she was, she had decided it would be better to take her meals privately. There was no need to dine with the king so long as their two kingdoms were at war. Staying in his palace alone would hopefully send a clear signal once the world found out more about who she was.

"My father's letter was sent this evening," Percy announced, walking into her chambers with hardly more than a knock. "I paid off the messenger to carry mine as well." With a sly grin, he said, "Hopefully that wasn't just a rough draft that you wrote up earlier."

Annabeth bit back a laugh, but couldn't hold back her smile.

"I can assure that it was not," she replied, looking away from her book.

Percy's grin widened and he joined her on her sofa with a careless flop. The momentum jostled her and she nearly tumbled into him, but she righted herself before she landed on his lap. The last thing she wanted was to wind up in an unexplainable position with him. Even though the odds of someone walking in on them were low, she had the strangest feeling they would increase the moment they found themselves in a difficult-to-explain situation.

"Rachel came to see me," Annabeth told him. She carefully memorised her page number and closed her book before turning her full attention to him. "Right after you left, in fact."

Percy's brow raised curiously.

In a near whisper, Annabeth told him, "She suggested we marry."

Percy's eyes widened and if he hadn't already been sitting, he would have tripped over his own two feet as he rushed to say, "I didn't tell her, I swear! I never would have told her without asking you-"

"I know," Annabeth said, putting her hands on his arm to calm him down. "She told me you hadn't. She just-said some things to make me think about it more."

"Gods, Annabeth," Percy groaned. He ran a hand through his hair and Annabeth bit back a smile at how he messed it up. "Did she tell anyone else? What did she say?"

"She was perfectly pleasant," Annabeth assured him, dragging his hand away from his hair. He'd already knocked his crown off, but the least she could do was make sure he didn't leave his hair sticking up in every direction.

"What did she say?" Percy repeated, looking at her worriedly.

Annabeth paused, taking a moment to look at Percy as her and Rachel's conversation echoed through her head.

"I've seen how he looks at you, so know that he would love you if you were to marry him."

She didn't see it. He just looked worried. Concerned, perhaps, that Rachel had said something to insult her. It was a reasonable fear. After all, if Rachel insulted her or tried to talk her out of a marriage, there would be no way to save Atlantis. He was worried about his kingdom and if their conversation had put it in danger.

"He would love you. I see it in his eyes."

She was looking in his eyes though. The only thing she could easily make out was worry. Worry, she realised, that had been brought on because there was a risk that Rachel would tell someone else of their plans.

"Why are you so worried?" she murmured, pursing her lips. "She didn't try to talk me out of it. You'll still be able to save your kingdom."

"Oh, yeah." It sounded more like an afterthought, but Annabeth was too busy trying to make out the dozens of emotions that flickered across his face. "I just-Rachel can be a lot sometimes. I wanted to make sure she hadn't said something that went too far."

And there it was: what Rachel had been talking about.

Annabeth watched as his face softened and the worry morphed into something closer to embarrassment. The worry she had thought was for his kingdom. He hadn't been worried about Atlantis, though, because he'd been worried about her instead. And now she had embarrassed him for it.

"She didn't go too far," Annabeth promised, her own face softening to match his. "I think she just wanted to help me find a new point of view."