"I'm home!" I call, as I rush through the door. My dad is sitting at the kitchen table, and he doesn't look very happy.

"Annabeth, where have you been?" He asks, "Thalia's picking you up in twenty minutes!"

I sigh. At least he can't lecture me since we're in a hurry. "I know, I know," I say, "I was with Percy, okay? I'm really sorry, but he needs me. Today of all days."
And that's not a lie. The Fandom Games are no laughing matter. I know Percy's really worried even if he doesn't show it. We both know that two people we know are never coming home again.

It's kind of rare for District One to win the games. The only victor from 1 is a centaur named Chiron. He trains all of the kids so they'll be ready if they get reaped.

I've been training since I was seven, but Percy doesn't come anymore. He started when he was twelve, and that's how I met him. But now he spends most of his time looking for jobs, so no more training. Not like he could fight in his condition anyway.

I pull the lavender dress off of its hanger and inspect it. The silky material make the dress shimmer. I put it on, and have to admit I look great. The long sleeves are tight around my arms, but still fairly comfortable. The skirt falls just below my knees.

It's not what I would have chosen, but it wasn't my choice. My mother picked my outfit. My mom is Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. That means I'm a demigod. Half human, half god.

That's why we life here in Fandom. It's a safe haven for demigods. Or at least it was. When I was about six, a new president took over. He put up magical barriers to keep the monsters out.

We thought all was well until we realized that the barriers were also there to keep us in. The President set up a new list of rules to oppress us. He put soldiers in every district to make sure we would obey him.

At first people tried to show The President that they wouldn't follow the rules. They broke them publicly in a show of rebellion. But that only resulted in execution. And in order to show them who was really in charge, he started the Fandom Games.

It was a simple concept. Every fall, each district would provide two "tributes." One male and one female, ages 16-24. After being pampered and prepped in the Capitol, they would be sent into an arena. An arena where the tributes would fight each other to the death.

And they make us watch it. Every citizen of Fandom is forced to watch their friends and neighbors die. If you don't show up to watch it in the square, soldiers come to your house to make sure you watch it. If you refuse, they have the right to execute you on the spot. Or keep you alive for torture.

I quickly brush my long blonde hair and then French braid it. If I had more time, I would do something fancier. But time is of the essence. If someone shows up late for the reaping, or doesn't come, innocent people will get hurt.

I hear a knock at the door, which means Thalia is here. Since the male and female reapings are separate, I'm going with her. I could go alone, but I'd rather not. It's hard to watch. I pull on a silver jacket and some matching flats, then run down the stairs.

I raise my eyebrows at Thalia when I see what she's wearing. It's the same silver outfit that hunters of Artemis wear all the time. I guess she didn't want to dress up.

She shrugs. "Hunters are allowed to wear whatever we want. Is that a problem?"

I grin. "You can wait outside, I'll be there in a minute." She steps out, and I turn to my family. I plaster a smile on my face, mostly for Magnus' sake. I decide I should tell them the big news before I leave, just in case.

"So," I say, "I've got something to tell you before I go." My father raises his eyebrows at this. Magnus looks really curious. "I'm engaged!"

My dad gives me a disapproving look, but then grins. "That's great, sweetheart!"
Magnus looks super excited. "Percy's gonna be my brother in law? Wow!"

I laugh at this. Sometimes I think he loves Percy more than I do. My father has a look on his face that clearly says "We will discuss this later when your brother isn't around." I hug Magnus one more time then walk out the door.

I tell Thalia about the engagement, and she's genuinely happy for me. I don't know what my dad was worked up about. Recently he's been making a big deal out of everything. I almost left, but I decided to stay. Not just for Magnus, but for Percy.

After driving for about an hour, we finally reach The Palace of the Gods. The original Olympus was destroyed when The President took over, so the gods live here now. There are two grand ballrooms, which is where they host the reapings.

They used to do one reaping ceremony, for males and females. But they decided it was more efficient to make them separate. That's why I'm here with Thalia, and not my family or Percy. I spot two empty seats near the front, and pull Thalia over to them.

I sit down and look up at the stage. I see Hera standing in front of the microphone. Behind her I can see Aphrodite, Demeter, Artemis, and of course my mother, Athena. Her cold grey eyes meet mine for a moment. It feels almost like she's looking into my head, and reading my thoughts.

Hera begins to speak. "Welcome to the Twelfth Annual Fandom Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor." I groan silently at the introduction, the same one I've been hearing since I was seven years old.

I listen to the boring history lecture, about how The President "saved" us from the evils of the outside world. She talks about the former District 1 tributes, and the "noble" deaths they died fighting in the games. Finally, the real reaping begins.

Two servants bring forward a large box, full of slips of paper. Each person's name is in there at least once. The Capitol will pay you five dollars for each extra time you enter your name. It may not seem like much, but it's everything for some people.

Hera sticks her hand into the box and rummages around for a while. Finally, she pulls out a single slip of paper. A hush falls over the crowd as she unfolds it. She smiles wickedly when she sees the name then reads it aloud.

"Annabeth Chase."
Thalia turns to look at me, and I see tears in her eyes. She hugs me, then turns around and walks away. I'm not offended, I know this is upsetting her. As the guards lead me up onto the stage, there's only one thing on my mind. Percy.

How will he react when he finds out? And more importantly, what will happen to him if I die? I put on a fake smile and wave at the crowd. I wonder who the male tribute is. Of course, it's very unlikely that I know him. But I'm still curious.

The guards lead me to a small room where I will wait for visitors. I'll be in here for exactly one hour, then I'll get on the train. That's when I will meet the other tribute. Hopefully he's trustworthy, so we can be allies. Imagine if I did know him....

Percy bursts through the door and I run into his arms. I'm sobbing, and I can see tears welled up in his eyes. He pulls something out of his pocket, and hands it to me. It's a ring. An engagement ring. I don't know what to say.

"Percy, you really didn't have to...."

He cuts me off. "Yes, I did. And don't worry, I didn't have to pay for it. Tyson made it."

I examine the ring more carefully. It's a plain silver band, and when I look closer I see that there are tiny silver owls etched on the surface.

"Thank you. It's beautiful."

He looks me in the eyes. "Annabeth, I know you can win. You can, and you will. You can easily outsmart any person in that arena. I want you to know that even if you lose, even if you die, I will always love you. And as long as I live, I will never love anyone else. Do you believe that?"

I sigh. "Of course I believe it, but I don't agree with it. If I die, I want you to be happy. I want you to love again. Promise me that you will."

He nods. "I'll do anything for you, Annabeth. I will do anything for you, because I love you. And that is all that matters."

Then I kiss him one more time. I look at him, filing every detail away in my mind. "I love you." I say, and then he turns around and walks out the door.

Magnus and my dad come in as soon as he leaves. My dad hugs me tightly, but I pull away. "Promise me one thing," I say, "Promise me that you'll take care of Percy. Make sure he eats, and that he gets enough rest. Promise me."

Dad nods silently, and I pull them both into a hug. "I love you," I whisper, "I'm going to win, and I'm going to come home. I'm promising you that, and you know I never break my promises."

I turn away from them so they don't see the tears streaming down my face. I hear them go out the door, and someone else comes in.

I turn to look, and see that it's Thalia. Unlike the others, she isn't trying to restrain her tears. I hug her, and try to comfort her the best I can. She pulls away, shaking her head. "I should be the one comforting you," she says, "not the other way around! I'm a terrible friend."

I almost laugh at that. Almost. "Thalia," I say, "You are one of the best friends I've ever had! You were the only one who was there for me before Percy came along. You and...." I trail off. Thalia and I swore an oath never to speak that name again. His name.

She swears under her breath in ancient Greek. I can see the look in her eyes, and it isn't good. It's a look I've only seen a few times. When she was thinking about him. About how he betrayed her. About how we would never ever forgive him.

"Annabeth, I believe in you. I believe that you can win. But you have to promise not to trust any of the other tributes. Especially not..." Her voice cracks. "Annabeth, I need to tell you this now. The male tribute. It's... It's Luke." She bursts into tears, then runs out the door.

Only now do I process what she just said. Not only did she say the name, but she told me something that couldn't possibly be true. Could it? Thalia would have no reason to lie to me. She never has lied to me. So it has to be true.

If it's true, and I know it is, that means I can't make an alliance with him. That would be betraying Thalia. There will be other people, obviously, but can they be trusted? I will have to watch the other reapings, than figure out who I want. For now, I need to prepare myself for the cameras. And for Luke.