Annabeth's pov

We left Athena's house. I noticed that it was already morning, around 7am. I still had doubts in my heart because of last night's dream. Could it be possible that Kronos and Athena were conspiring to overthrow Zeus?

I remembered the story of Athena's birth. Zeus heard the prophecy of the three fates that his son with the goddess of wisdom Metis would overthrow him and take the throne. So Zeus swallowed Metis to ensure that he would not be harmed. But then Athena was born from Zeus's head. Was the prophecy of the three fates really changed just because Zeus swallowed Metis?

Fate is a much more unpredictable and unavoidable thing than that. That is a lesson that history has taught me. Could it be that the ancient prophecy would never come true? Is there anything that can't happen just because Athena is a girl? And if Zeus "absorbed" Metis and the two are now one, then aren't all of Zeus's future children technically the children of Metis and Zeus?

If Athena's deal with Kronos is true, then does Athena's partnership with Hades mean Hades is on Kronos' side? Or are these two partnerships not even related? But which is more likely?

Why did Athena return our weapons? I think it was because I was part of her plan, but what part and what role I played is the question. This makes me believe even more in the theory that Kronos and Athena (and possibly Hades) are working together, after all Kronos already invited me so maybe Athena is just trying to entice me? Does Athena know that I know nothing about her deal with Hades or that my (her) Godly Grandfather visited me in my dreams?

Should I tell Percy about this? Is there any chance he'll think I'm making this up and blaming Kronos and Athena? Now that I think about it, I never told him about the dream about Kronos. If I were him, it would definitely raise my guard. After all, we were all just looking for something and tagging along on the mission.

Not to mention that the prophecy said he would be betrayed by a so-called "friend". I'm not sure if he considers me a friend, probably not, although we did spend some time talking to each other. But that's different, you know? Honestly, the prospect of me becoming the "friend" who would betray him was not beyond my expectations when I heard about the prophecy.

I was lost in my thoughts until I tripped over a tree branch on the side of the road, and I suddenly regained awareness of my surroundings.

-Ah!

I fell to the ground, of course one or two falls or even hundreds of falls on the ground would not have done anything to me. It was just the fall that made me realize that I was so lost in my thoughts that I had not seen the tree branch.

I should never have let my guard down, that was the lesson that Luke, Thalia, and Hades had always reminded me of. But the recent events only made me more confused. There were so many possibilities and hypotheses that could happen, that I started to panic.

-Are you okay, Annabeth?

Grover asked me. He held out his hand as if to help me up.

I wanted to take his hand too, but then I remembered what I had heard. I wasn't sure, my heart was screaming at me to say it again and let him know how important it was. My head was protesting the opposite because it would just make things more awkward.

-Ah, no need. Thanks.

I said and stood up. Grover reluctantly withdrew his hand. He didn't really want to look me in the face. Neither did I...

Percy had been walking ahead of us, he had paused but now he was continuing on. He had been silent all this time. I could understand why and I figured I would leave him alone.

We continued on. The forest was strangely quiet. The sun was shining on my face. My skin was pale from being in the underworld and there was no vitamin from the sun there.

-So, are you okay Annabeth?

Grover started talking to me. He was still worried about me after I passed out yesterday. I felt a little warmed up by that.

-Oh, I'm completely fine! I was just tired yesterday! Um, did anything happen after I passed out yesterday?

I asked. Spending a night with a goddess (Please don't take it the other way) is worth hearing about, isn't it? And I wanted to spend more time talking to Grover.

-Huh? Well..

----------------------------
Grover's Pov

Annabeth had passed out. This made Grover panic, he knew Annabeth was tired after Shadow Travel but he didn't think she was this tired. But he tried to calm himself down. He was technically the oldest.

-Chase?! Oh my god, she's unconscious..

Percy screamed but lowered his voice.

-Oh my god? She's unconscious? You guys don't need help, right? Her face was already looking very pale.

The Old Lady asked. Grover knew the Old Lady wasn't human but somehow, she wasn't a monster either, at least according to Grover's nose. Grover really didn't want to be near her anyway.

-Oh, she must be really tired..What should we do now..

Percy Sighed. Grover turned his face to look at Annabeth's messy blond hair. Annabeth wasn't the type to care about her appearance, or even her personal hygiene, after all, Annabeth had spent more than a third of her life on the road.

-You can stay here if you want, I don't mind, you look like you've had a bad day.

The Old Lady said. And she was right, today was a bad day, Grover thought. Kidnapped, lost all his weapons, belongings, and almost died, lost in the woods. What could be worse? Grover didn't want to know the answer.

- Yes, thank you!

Percy said and walked straight inside. Grover was surprised because he didn't understand why Percy decided to do that after everything that happened at home.. Medusa. Grover didn't want to mention it either, you know he almost died from poison? And there was another reason that Grover didn't want to tell anyone right now. He shouldn't have done that.

But Percy wasn't stupid. And Grover knew that, he definitely had some purpose, Grover actually didn't find anything strange (except the old lady who wasn't human of course) that alarming.

Grover swallowed his saliva and walked in while carrying Annabeth and Percy. He hoped that tonight would be a peaceful night. Although he doubted it, who would forbid people from dreaming, right?

The room was quite normal. He could see that the room was painted red. In the middle of the room was a yellow sofa. And of course, with a chair, there had to be a table. On the wall was a large 4K LED TV. Grover didn't expect the old lady to like watching TV so much when she bought one.

Percy looked around the room and then stopped and stared at something on the wall. Grover turned his head and saw a spear hanging on the wall? Okay it was strange but many old people also have a hobby of collecting antiques. Grover would think so if this Old Lady was 100% human. Maybe the Old Lady was a former Amazon warrior or even a former hunter of Artemis.

But suddenly talking about the mythical world was strange, what if Grover was wrong and this Old Lady was just a normal person? Then if he asked and got a look like he needed a psychiatrist, Grover would definitely die of embarrassment.

Percy turned his head, continued to observe the room and then he caught sight of the television. Grover guessed he would find it quite impressive.

-Woah?? You have such a big TV? You like watching TV? I've never seen a bigger TV in a house.

Percy Cheered. Percy had a tendency to fake it and act around people he was wary of and strangers, but the cheer was real. Although Percy had attended a few private schools for the rich, he had only attended them because they were the only ones that would accept him (for the money..). Grover's heart ached for his friend.

Percy's astonishment at Saint Louis, too. It was the genuine expression of a poor boy who had never ventured too far from his own nest. Grover had traveled to more than six states in the US to fulfill his duties as a protector and demigod escort (though he had only received two), and there was a time when he just wanted to stay at camp forever.

- Not really, but there are some interesting movies.

The old woman answered. She led Grover, Percy, and the unconscious Annabeth into the kitchen.

-What's your name, anyway?

Percy asked, and it was true that Grover and Percy had never known her name, and she had never known theirs. Grover had forgotten that, but Percy didn't seem to.

-Just call me Thea Liam.

Old Lady, Thea said now. She pushed up her glasses.

-I'm Percy Jackson, and this guy is Grover Underwood. And the unconscious girl is Annabeth Chase.

Percy introduced Grover instead. There was a hint of excitement in his voice.

-Okay, I'll remember that. You two can carry your friend to the room next to the stairs, that's guest room 1, and guest room 2 is upstairs, where you two will sleep.

Thea said, pointing to the stairs, or rather the room next to the stairs. Percy and Grover hadn't said anything about how they wanted to help or whether they wanted to stay, but the old lady had already left, so they had to give up. The room by the stairs, well, that reminded Grover of that book about witches that had the Apollo kids going crazy about two or three years ago (they were still crazy about it, but more discreetly). It was about witches and magic, Grover remembered, he hadn't read more than half of it.

Grover and Percy carried Annabeth in and laid her on the bed. Grover wondered if he should take off Annabeth's coat. After a few seconds of thinking, he took off her dark red-brown coat and left it on the table.

-Good night, Annabeth

Grover said. He figured that if Annabeth fainted from exhaustion, it would be best to let her sleep. Then he turned off the lights and followed Percy to the kitchen where the old lady was waiting.

-Do you two want something to eat? It's already 6 o'clock,

The old woman asked, walking to the refrigerator and opening it without waiting for the boys to answer.

-No, ma'am.

Grover said. But his weak refusal was cut short by the growl that came from his own stomach. Grover could feel his face burning with embarrassment. He hadn't eaten since last night and had been walking since morning until late at night.

-I know how people feel after a day of being lost. Don't be shy.

The old woman said. She took out some cold pieces of ice and warmed them up for the boys. But you're not human, Grover thought.

Percy pulled Grover to the dining table. One thing Grover had noticed since entering the house was that almost every wall was painted in warm colors like red or yellow. This old woman, despite being old, seemed to be the competitive type. Even the tablecloth was gold.

Grover had always imagined his afterlife to be a house in the woods (of course) decorated in soft, soothing colors, away from technology and humans, but now he guessed that living in a house with all warm colors, with a big, probably expensive TV in the middle of the woods was also an option.

He was still curious about why Percy would want to go in this stranger house. He must had some other puporse.