Chapter 7: A Civil Dinner

"Luke Castellan has arrived at the palace gates!" Annabeth heard, followed by a click, click announcing to the palace residents that Annabeth's future husband was here.

"That's today?" Annabeth asked Piper, her eyes widened.

"Annabeth!" Piper scolded. "Yes, it's today. April 24th! That's what I've been telling you for the last two weeks! Gods, what would you do without me?"

"I wouldn't do shit, which is exactly why I keep you," Annabeth said, trying to find her pretty sandals before running off to the main entrance with Piper trailing behind her.

Frederick and his wife were already standing by the main entrance, waiting to greet the guest. Annabeth stood next to them and smoothed her clothes. She met Piper's eyes across the lobby. There was a crease between her brows and a frown on her lips. Annabeth gave her a small smile in hopes of reassuring her worried secretary. She would be fine. Maybe.

The doors opened and Luke Castellan entered. He looked much more charming in real life, with a glint in his eyes you couldn't tell in photos. But something in that glint was making Annabeth nervous.

His button-down shirt was clean and pressed with the top button left unbuttoned. His sleeves were rolled up, displaying the veins encasing his forearms. The baby blue shirt was neatly tucked into his dark gray pants. The outfit did suit him splendidly and Annabeth wouldn't mind seeing him like that every day.

Luke smiled and bowed down, causing the king to chuckle. "Oh, please, save the formality."

He rose and said, "Well if you say so." His smile was winsome and mischievous, like a child who just got away with saying a bad word. "But meeting the royal family is a bit formal, isn't it?"

Frederick bellowed a laugh.

"Oh, how charming," said Helen, smiling.

It seemed her parents definitely liked Luke. But what did Annabeth think?

"And, of course, Annabeth Chase, it is a delight to meet you," Luke said, extending his hand out and reaching for hers. "You look wonderful in pictures but your beauty is incomparable when seeing you in front of me."

Annabeth smiled. She had to admit, he was quite the charmer. She reached out her hand and placed it in his, allowing him to place a kiss. "Pleasure meeting you, as well."

"You're just in time to join us for dinner," Frederick said. "Please, feel free to freshen up in your own chambers; Piper will take you there."

As Luke followed Piper to his room, Annabeth and her parents went to the Main Dining Hall. "So, Annabeth, what do you think?" asked Frederick.

"He seems...amicable," she said carefully. "But I don't know if he's the one."

"Does it really matter if he's the one?" Helen said, annoyed. "Don't you want to acquire the throne?"

"I'm sorry for being just a bit skeptical about marrying someone I've just met," Annabeth said, calmly setting her napkin to the side. "But I do have some morals and I don't intend to marry just any man I see."

Frederick sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can we please be civil, at least for this meal?"

Helen scoffed but stayed silent. Just then, Annabeth heard two pairs of footsteps and faint voices approaching. The faint sound of conversation became louder until Piper and Luke appeared in the dining hall. Luke smiled at Annabeth and took the seat across from her.

"I'd like to say, thank you for having me here," he said.

"Oh, no, this is nothing," Frederick said, swatting a hand in dismissal. "Thank you for joining us. I expect it'll be a pleasure having you with us."

Luke smiled before the waiters arrived with the food.

One of the waiters stated the food they had prepared before both of them left the room to go back to the kitchen.

At first, Federick had planned to have a full 12-course meal, but after Annabeth's desperate insistence, she had managed to convince him to have a more typical 5-course meal. She was not planning to scare away the guest before he had even spent a full night there.

As they ate, Annabeth made small talk. "So, how old are you?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm twenty-five," Luke responded. "I've been told my peak years are coming to an end." Everyone chuckled at that. Well, he sure knows how to entertain a crowd.

"I assumed you must be older than me," Annabeth said, subtly glaring at her father. "Not many people my age are really looking for marriage."

"You are almost eighteen, correct?" Luke asked, waiting for Annabeth to nod before he continued. "If you don't mind me asking, how come you are planning for marriage so young?"

"Well," Annabeth started. "Our kingdom has had a rule for ages that a princess cannot acquire the throne unless she is married by the age of eighteen. And this rule, apparently, has no capacity for adjustment."

Luke laughed nervously. "Hopefully that doesn't mean you're uninterested in me."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Annabeth said, smiling. "I certainly am interested. And I would never lie to you about it." Her words came out sharp, making Luke more nervous and simply causing her parents annoyance.

"So, Luke," Frederick said, attempting to divert the conversation. "I hear you're a pilot in the Air Force. That's truly remarkable."

Luke seemed to relax once again before responding, "It's always been my passion. I knew I wanted to serve my country and I was fascinated with anything that flies. So I thought, 'What better way than to become an Air Force Pilot?'"

"That's wonderful," Annabeth said. "You seem very passionate."

"Oh, I am," he said smiling. "I love what I do." That makes one of us, at least. But Annabeth had to appreciate his dedication. She wished she could be like that in her own work.

Annabeth truly did enjoy being a princess — sometimes. But at times, she had the fear that she would turn out just the same as her father. Not only was he not the best parent, but he also neglected his subjects. Hundreds of citizens of the kingdom would come to the palace weekly with their offerings to the king and pleas of distress. But their beloved king rarely involved himself in those ordeals.

When something was done to fulfill the citizens' needs, it was never the king's own work. It was always one of his secretaries. But the kingdom didn't know that. They always assumed that whenever their community was transformed in some way, it was the king's doing. And if nothing was done about their problems, they assumed that the king was just too busy to attend to their problems and that he would fix them as soon as he had more time.

The dinner ended after spending two hours talking about insignificant topics. Annabeth had expected as much. She wasn't ready for much more than small talk either. But Luke, from what she could tell, was a perfect candidate. She decided it couldn't get any better than that. He was practically perfect. If there was anybody she'd want to marry, it'd be Luke.

Yet...she had this feeling. She didn't want to think about it, but something felt wrong.

She brushed the thoughts away and headed for her bed before she fell into a deep slumber.

Word Count: 1213