PeaceMaker

The next room was probably going to be Annabeth's favorite room in the entire palace despite the fact that she hasn't even seen more than 3. Why? It was filled with food. 

The room before has little snacks and such but since she missed a bulk of the food they served, this next room was like heaven. Lines of food lined the wall of the enormous room while an empty space in the middle was filled with people preparing to dance, and on the side, seated on some of the tables off to the side for resting were some nobles who simply preferred to watch over dancing. 

Those were probably going to be the seats she would stay in. That and the kid's room. 

It was usually very peaceful in the kid's room, there was no dragging her off to dance, there was no loud music and even more, no people trying to start conversations with her when she'd rather not even look at their faces. 

Besides, she adored kids in every way. Their cute faces, their adorable ways of talking, and the way they liked to cling to people. 

She was, however, well aware of the fact that any child in that room would probably come from a high-ranking family and even a smudge on their dresses might result in her receiving punishment. It was funny how the protective nature of the nobles, when they weren't even watching over their kids, that she hated, would probably be the same way her parents would have been at events like this. That was, if they had attended. They had taken the trap-at-home route and although that was a bit stifling, she liked it just a bit better than the lives those little kids would have to face when they grew older. 

Annabeth looked beside her at the crowd of people gathering or had already been there. It was a lot, an overwhelming amount really. Her heart thumped harder. She hated crowded places like this. They made her feel small, like she was being stifled in a yield of giants and later on forced to interact with her. 

Her head lowered and she started to tremble. The stress was kicking in. 

She kept walking forward though through her shivers with her head down and after her second shudder, she walked into someone's back. Her heart skipped a beat. 

"Ah… I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" she began looking up at the person in front of her when she froze, her face almost meeting that of the person in front of her. 

"What are you apologizing for?" Antonio asked, his head tilting to the side as he examined Annabeth's face. Moments later, his face twisted in worry. "Are you ok?"

Annabeth stared up at him blankly for a moment, her eyes tightly locked onto his. They stayed that way for a few moments. 

"What is it?" Antonio asked, "do you feel uncomfortable? Should we find you somewhere to stay that's not in here? You don't look well."

Annabeth looked down at where their hands were interlocked and her rapid heartbeat slowed down and she let out a sigh of relief. She had almost forgotten she wasn't alone in this room. 

"Hm? What is it? You do wanna leave?" Antonio asked, his eyes nervously running over her, "I don't think there's anything wrong with you physically… is it the stress? Too many people? You're making me really worried by not saying anything back."

Annabeth looked back up into his eyes, her deep-green gaze meeting Antonio's gray-ish blue eyes. Her shoulders slowly lowered, the tension on them reducing gradually as she looked into his eyes. 'What pretty eyes….' she thought to herself as she searched into his gaze. 

It was reassuring for him to be right there. His big figure standing over hers in a way that wasn't intimidating in the slightest but rather comforting, his body casting a slight shadow over her when he had leaned into her face to see if there was something wrong. Annabeth tilted her head to the side and almost systematically, Antonio's head moved to match hers. She tilted her head back and Antonio followed once again. 

A light chuckle left her lips.

"Yea… I'm ok," she replied, a bright smile flashing on a face. "Don't worry too much about me."

Antonio blushed, his cheeks growing a bit hotter as he looked away from Annabeth's gaze, a slight pout forming on his face. "How could I not be?" he muttered to himself. 

Annabeth flinched, hearing his comment. 

"Should we continue then?" he asked, locking eyes with her again. Annabeth stared blankly back at him and nodded her head. Antonio smiled, standing up straight again and turning around. "Make sure you walk behind me."

Annabeth's hand is pulled along when he begins to walk and she follows him, walking in his shadow as she was instructed.

It was weird. Usually, when she was told to walk in someone's shadow, it felt like an insult, like she was being inadvertently told that she was meant to walk in someone's shadow but... This time it felt different. It was comforting, his tall figure and broad shoulders that she looked up to when she was walking were like a shield. It was like she was being protected when she stood behind him. His bright smile was like a beacon of light for her to follow in the darkness of her vision. 

Her body was barely touched by others when she walked behind him, like the road was being parted in front of her and all she had to do was to walk on it. It was nice. But…

Annabeth tugged on his hand, pulling Antonio back. 

He turned to her with alert concerned eyes. "What happened? Did someone touch you in a bad way? Do you want to go somewhere else? Are you worried?"

She stared at him with curiosity. It was strangely rewarding to see his worried eyes when she did even the slightest thing like pulling him back. It was exciting and gave her a sense of importance and being noticed. 

"The baby room," Annabeth replied, her lips lifting up into a smile. "Take me to the baby room."

Antonio flinched, his eyebrow lifting in confusion at Annabeth's comment. "You want to go to the baby room?"

Annabeth nodded her head. "Mind leading me there?"

Antonino stared at her blankly for a moment before a blush spread on his face and he nodded immediately. "Of course."

Annabeth continued to walk behind him as he pushed forward, the warmth of his hand in hers a very calming feeling. She felt so… peaceful that the background seemed to melt away and all she could perceive was herself, his presence, and his warm hands. 

In a few seconds, they made it to the baby rooms and Antonio quietly pulled open the doors to the room, letting Annabeth in and following in behind her. As soon as the door closed, all of the sounds outside were pushed away and the scent of baby powder wafted up Annabeth's nose. 

They stood in the room for a moment and Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, most of the babies turning to her curiously. She stared down at them for a moment before a grin grew on her face and she walked closer, then kneeled on the floor and slowly approached them. 

"Hi loves," she muttered, waving to them. 

The babies stared back at her quietly and one brave baby crawled forward, a chubby hand being placed on Annabeth's thigh. He looked up at her with bright eyes filled with curiosity. 

Annabeth tilted her head and he copied her movements. She burst into laughter. "A curious one aren't you?" she chuckled picking him up. She held him up while his feet were on the ground and shook him gently, "I wonder what type of parents you have."

The baby stared at her for a second before giggling. It wasn't long until all the other kids started to approach her, greeting her with the soft touch of their tiny hands and she greeted them with the warmth of a hug. 

Antonio stood behind her, watching her quietly as she interacted with the babies. 'How cute…' he thought to himself as watched her cradle a little baby. 

"Antonio!" Annabeth called out, turning to face him with a baby in her hands. She looked up at him with a bright smile, her eyes shining brightly as she held the child. "Isn't she so cute?"

Antonio blushed immediately, his entire face heating up as he stared at her and the child in her hands. Then came the wash of awe when he noticed how comfortable she looked with the child in her hand. It was like this is where she was meant to be, her natural ground, a getaway that was made for her and brought out the brightness in her. 

He stared at her and the baby together, taking in the sight. "Yea… how beautiful," he muttered. 

Annabeth grinned, swinging the kids back and forth in her hands, the child looking up at her with adoring eyes, her little hands reaching up to touch Annabeth's face. "How innocent they are… the purest stage in their life, the stage where they look the most precious. They're so tiny and adorable."

Antonio nodded, his head tilted as he looked at her face. He smiled.. "Agreed."