Shock,
That was all she could feel—well, not really; she could feel a lot of things right now. To say that she was overwhelmed would not be an understatement.
She is currently experiencing disbelief as her mind struggles to reconcile the truth she has just heard with the new information she has received.
Annabeth acknowledges that she was experiencing a significant amount of fear at that moment. And rightly so, she tells herself. Fear is exactly what she should be feeling upon hearing the news that her brother shared with all of them.
But, unexpectedly, hope is the emotion that is currently overriding all of her others.
Hope for forgiveness.
Hope for reconciliation
Hope for friendship renewed
'Hope for more than friendship, perhaps,' a small voice at the back of her mind whispered. It took all her mental strength to silence this voice.
Shaking her head inwardly, she attempted to formulate plans for moving forward with all the available information. However, despite her best efforts, her mind consistently returned to a single thought.
Piper, Hazel, Mother, Malcolm, Leo, Percy, no-stop mission, young campers, schematics, books, Percy...stop it, training, Chiron, Dad, Sally, PERCY!
PERCY!
PERCY!
PERCY!
PERCY!
Her mind was on a roller coaster ride. Only this one has no end in sight. It continues to revolve around a single, unending thought. PERCY!
She finally let her mind lead her to the morning of the same day, which surprised her. Her thoughts drifted back to the beginning of the day.
She wakes up feeling numb, as she has done every day since she lost him seven years ago. She has spent every day since being wracked with guilt so severe that she couldn't escape from it. She doesn't want to escape. Every day, she compelled herself to rise and navigate the day as if everything was alright. Hurting, but fine. But she was anything but fine. She was the furthest from being fine.
She remembers this morning starting just like every other morning, waking up to a heaviness in her heart. She forced herself to get up and organize her cabin in preparation for breakfast. She converses with her sister Bea, who is assuming Malcolm's role as co-councilor during his absence.
She remembers leading her siblings in prayer for Malcolm's safety, already late in coming back. Then, she proceeded with her daily schedule, completing her tasks almost robotically. She was merely performing routine tasks.
She recalls that the day nearly unfolded in the same manner as before, until Travis approached her to share news about her brother and his situation. Travis informed her that they were on their way back. They scheduled the meeting for dinner later. She almost expressed her gratitude to Travis, but a camper who had lost his footing on the lava wall diverted her attention.
Then she remembers spending time at the beach, the only place where she finds peace and feels connected to him. She reminisces about their "spot," where she and Percy used to be together. She remembers smiling as she looks back on everything they went through.
She smiled through the pain of remembering how she broke his heart. The pain only intensified when he disappeared from her sight. She never imagined that her feelings for him would grow to the point where his absence would cause her physical pain.
'Absence makes the heart grow fonder,' she thought.
She never gave any credence to that saying, but here she is. Her heart is aching for her lost love. She yearns for the happiness she lost.
As she gazed longingly at the sea, she remembered being shocked by the conch sounding off her silent prayer to Poseidon. That day, during dinner, a nymph summoned her to a meeting at the grand house.
Finally, she remembers the meeting they just had. She had a series of revelations that deeply shocked her. Which brings her to the present.
Leo's declaration dropped another bomb on her as she struggled to calm her mind and heart from thoughts of Percy.
"I found Piper!"
With those words, her mind finally gave up trying to make sense of how today went. She closed her eyes as she sent a silent prayer to her mother for guidance, as well as to the Fates, a heartfelt plea for a chance at happiness, one more chance, one last chance.
With being with Percy