25Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series.
"As the royal advisor to the most indolent prince to ever exist in our realm, I urge you to take your sorry behind off the bed and come get dressed," Annabeth declared, opening the sweeping, scarlet curtains to expose the luminous sun on the young prince's face.
"Gods, Annabeth," Percy mumbled, stuffing a pillow on his face to shade against the glares of the sun. "Can't a prince sleep?"
"Yes, Percy. You can. At night." Annabeth stated, pulling the blanket away from Percy in a tug of war match. "It's not my fault you were spending the night breaking your mother's finest china in an attempt to practice your so called 'swordplay'."
"I was not dueling the plates," Percy protested after losing his blanket and pillow to the determined blonde. "I was… hungry."
Annabeth rolled her gray eyes. "The ball is today, Percy. You must hasten to get ready or the preparations won't be organized in time for the guests to arrive."
Percy pulled himself out of the bed in a sleepy state and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Annab—"
"This is important," the girl interrupted, as she began picking up stray clothes from the floor and tossing them into the laundry bin. "This ball will determine who your future wife will be. Who the queen will be. Who will rule by your side—"
"Who will be the only person I can trust in times of hardship. Who will make the decisions I cannot make. Who the people will look up to," Percy said, finishing Annabeth's spiel. "I know, Annabeth. You've given me this speech more times than I can count."
"Well, you can't count very high so that really doesn't make a difference," she said jokingly as Percy stuck his tongue out at her. But then she continued, "It's not just that. I want you to be happy. I want you to fall in love with the most beautiful girl and get married and have a bunch of babies so I can take care of them, because obviously you need some care-taking skills," Annabeth stated with a disgusted look on her face, as she lifted a pair of blue boxers with a pencil.
"I am happy, Wise Girl," Percy argued, snatching his undergarments from her scrutiny.
Annabeth rolled her eyes for what she felt was the hundredth time. It was a surprise she even got the rebellious boy out of bed. Percy was a stubborn character that surprisingly did not accept instructions from anyone but Annabeth. Probably because Annabeth had been bossing him around since they were both very young.
"Put on the tie, Seaweed Brain."
"No."
"If you refuse to wear the damn thing, I swear to the gods I will strangle you with it and dump you over the terrace and into the fountain to your certain demise."
"Really, Wise Girl? Threatening the murder of a member of the royal household?" Percy let out a childish huff and began to tie the silk cloth around his neck. "You know, if you were talking to any royalty other than me, you would be accused of defamation and treason."
"It's a good thing I'm talking to you then," Annabeth briskly replied, fighting back a smirk, as she began adjusting and fixing the lopsided tie. She couldn't help herself. Everything needed to be perfect.
"I'm a warrior." Percy shook his head. "Send me into battle any day, but this... This is—"
"A whole new battle," Annabeth finished prepping the prince after brushing some imaginary dust off of Percy's shoulders. One would think that after eighteen years of attending royal dances and parties a person would develop some sort of tolerance towards the act, but to Percy it was the same reaction as the first event he attended. "At least now you'll be a fashionable soldier."
She took a step back to view her masterpiece and couldn't stop a small, rosy pink blush from manifesting on her face. As much as she made fun of the prince, she couldn't deny that he was handsome. Although, she would never admit it out-loud to anyone.
"Is this really the style?" Percy asked, examining himself in the mirror. "I feel like a circus clown."
"I don't know. Princess Piper gave it to you as a gift. You know, the daughter of Queen Aphrodite, from the kingdom of decor, luxury products, and cat videos? Who are we to judge her taste?"
"Hmm, fine," Percy grumbled, then he turned to Annabeth and smiled. "Great. Now I'm done. To anyone who will be looking for me I will be—"
"Smoothing and taming your godsforsaken head of hair," Annabeth interjected, pushing Percy out the door, giving his unruly hair a quick ruffle for good measure. "And for the love of the kingdom, brush your teeth. It smells like rotten fish."
Percy teasingly turned around and blew a waft of his breath towards her as she mimed gagging.
"I have a whole clipboard of chores to do, so if I hear any talk of you blowing off your responsibilities, you'll have to answer to the clipboard!" Annabeth threatened.
"I know!" Percy called out, running down the lengthy hall while accidentally bumping into the paths of the servants. "No disrespecting the clipboard!"
Annabeth leaned against the door frame of the energetic teen's chamber. She blew a stray piece of blonde hair from her face that had come out of her bun in the rush of getting the prince ready to face the day and let out a small smile full of love and affection for her best friend in all the land.
After a few hours of running, screaming, and yelling, Annabeth managed to sort, solve, clean, and organize every problem on her clipboard, although the refreshments looked more puke green than sea blue and she deduced that one of the guards was probably not completely sober. She now raced down the corridors in order to beckon the prince to his throne before the arrival of the guests.
Annabeth, phone in one hand and clipboard in the other, finally opened the right door to reveal the prince practicing with his sword.
"Hey Annabeth, I was just..." Percy trailed off, looking for an excuse as to why he was practicing when Annabeth clearly told him not to, until he realized that she was still on the phone. Annabeth silently beckoned for Percy to come forward as she agreed with the caller on the phone.
"Yes. Okay. I understand. Mmhmm," she said, rolling her eyes at Percy and mouthing 'mom'. Percy grimaced and nodded understandingly. "I promise not to conform to the barbaric ways of the Old Barnacle Beard and his Sea Spawn."
Percy snorted at that comment. "Hey, Annabeth," he spoke obnoxiously loud. "Don't tell your mom about all the cocaine that washed up on our shores!"
When the sounds of her mother screaming through the phone grew ten-fold, Annabeth made sure to quickly end the conversation, smacking her hand on her forehead for good measure. "Bye, mother," she said, turning off her phone and sighing with great exasperation. "Why, Percy? Why?"
"You know, your mom comes up with pretty good nicknames for such a stuck up person," Percy said with a ghost of a smile on his face. "Is she still mad that you have a job in the 'rival kingdom'?"
"Yeah, that and the cocaine you had to mention probably didn't leave a good impression either."
"I don't think it would matter what I say or do now. She will always see me and my father as the enemy. You know that."
"I know." She ran her hand through her hair, letting its curls fall out of her bun and down her back. "You'd think she would get over it by now! I mean, I live with my dad in this kingdom, so how else am I going to have an occupation?" Annabeth complained. Then she shook her head. "Never mind that, we have to go, the guests are almost here," Annabeth said in a haste. She took out a handkerchief from one of the pockets of her jeans and set about wiping the sweat off of the fidgeting prince. "Oh, stop acting like a child. It is your own fault for not listening to me when I said to not play with your sword," she berated as Percy tried to squirm out of Annabeth's coddling.
She and Percy rapidly began walking to the ballroom. "Percy, I want you to behave like the perfect, handsome prince that I know you are inside. Deep, deep, deep inside."
"So no cursing, swearing, or food fights?"
Annabeth sighed and looked up to the heavens as if expecting some kind of divine help to come assist her with the unruly adolescent. "You know, I'm starting to think my mother is right. Just... don't talk." After a few moments of silence she added, "And stay away from the burritos. I don't want to see any flying things."
"That wasn't even me!" Percy mock whined. "It was Grover."
"Percy, don't mess with the women."
"Good, I wouldn't want to talk to those power hungry demons anyway."
Annabeth fought back a laugh. "That's your future wife you're insulting. I put too much work into this ball, so you better not waste it. I worked out a system. Dance with any girl at least once. If you do that, you will make each of the princesses feel special even if you might not end up marrying them. That way it could open up possible alliances with other kingdoms."
"I'm sure father would appreciate that," Percy muttered under his breath.
Annabeth continued, ignoring the sulking green eyed boy, "Next, any girl you truly fancy, you can dance with again. The rest is or will be history."
"When are you dancing at the ball?" Percy asked.
Annabeth scoffed. "I'm not royalty, so it's not appropriate for me to dance at the ball. Plus, I have too much work to take care of. Did you know that one of the guards is walking around drunk? I bet you it's Dakota."
"That's not fair," Percy said.
"Perce, I know we live in a kingdom where we are all equal, but everyone knows that's just not true. The women that I have invited for you are intelligent beyond compare. They are beautiful warriors and scholars and… royalty. I'm just… me. I accept my place in society. I've accepted my place a long time ago. When will you begin to accept yours, your majesty?" Annabeth asked quietly. She bowed along with the other servants, as Percy walked into the ballroom and took a seat on the throne.
Percy clenched his jaw tightly, hating the fact that Annabeth believed that she was lower than him.
Soon enough the orchestra began to play lively ballroom music and the guests filed in one by one. Each person bore a fancy piece of jewelry and had exotic feathers or ornamental designs adorning their silk dresses. The entire room glowed with laughter and chatter. The walls shined, the food was good… mostly, and the music made Annabeth, herself, want to dance.
Annabeth and Percy watched as Tyson, Percy's younger brother, tried convincing a girl to dance with him, even though the red-haired maiden was much too immersed in her book to notice. They both cheered when the bewildered young girl finally agreed to take part in a dance with the sweet boy.
Annabeth smiled and reminded herself to give herself a reward for putting together such an amazing ball. She would write it on the clipboard for later. Right now, she had to search for women that might come close to the expectations Annabeth had for the perfect wife for Percy.
Finally, after a few minutes of searching, she spotted a free candidate. "That's Calypso from the Island of Ogygia." Annabeth pointed out.
"Ogga-what?"
"Go dance with her," Annabeth stated, her face sported a mix between a glare and wistfulness. She pushed him forward and tried to hide her smile when Percy tripped over his feet in a way that was "classic Percy".
And so, Percy danced.
He danced with Princess Calypso and had a wonderful chat with the sweet and polite girl. But that's all it was. Polite. Strangely, arguments and banters with his royal advisor dawned on his mind.
He danced with Lady Drew from the Kingdom of Queen Aphrodite, she seemed… extremely interested in him, to say the least. She was resplendent, no doubt about it. Drew held a certain air of confidence that turned the heads of men wherever she walked. Rumors once spread that this maiden stole the heart of Prince Jason himself, but Percy knew that Jason was much too loyal to Piper to betray her. Dancing in such close proximity with the girl allowed Percy to smell the alluring perfume of nutmeg and pine. A wonderful mix, but Percy could only think of the lemony aura of a certain blonde friend.
He danced with General Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, he danced with Princess Zoe Nightshade, although he and she didn't like it very much, and he danced with Princess Hazel from the dreaded Kingdom of Hades.
His father particularly emphasized that forming an alliance through marriage with Hades would be extremely valuable, especially since Hades was well… Hades and downright terrifying. Hazel seemed nice enough, but whenever Percy tried to have a conversation, the girl kept bringing up a 'Frank', and then tried to hide a blossoming blush.
"Another song is starting," Percy said, after Hazel finished another tale of how Frank accidentally angered her horse. "I must go, but you should know that your Frank is a very lucky man to have a special lady like you." He took Hazel's hand and kissed it.
"Oh, we-um… Well we aren't any-um… no it wouldn't work…" Hazel stammered.
"You don't know that for sure," Percy said as he turned around and crashed into a mass of red hair. "Whoa, I am so sorry." Percy apologized profusely as he helped the girl from the floor.
The girl just grinned and held out her hand. "That's okay, I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare from the—"
"Let me guess, Kingdom of the Dares?" Percy asked, grinning as he pulled the girl into the next dance.
"How'd you know?" Rachel inquired in mock wonder while she handed her cup of punch off to one of the waiters.
"Don't tell anyone this," Percy said, leaning in. "I'm psychic," he whispered and Rachel giggled.
Annabeth watched Percy and Princess Rachel dance from afar and felt a strange clawing at the pit of her stomach. All she wanted to do was take the puke green punch and pour it all over her hellfire hair.
Then, she shook her head and wondered what she was thinking. She assured herself it was only because an alliance with the Dare family would be a bad decision. The house of Dares was chock full of family drama. Their kingdom was so small nobody even cared for that family. Annabeth wondered why she even invited that horrible, disgusting bi—
"Hey, Annie!" A feminine voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Don't call me—" She turned around to see who it was. "Thalia! Grover! I didn't know you guys were coming."
"And not be there for my friend on the worst night of her life?" Thalia dramatically placed her hand on her forehead, "I would never do that."
"It is not the worst night of my life," Annabeth replied, clutching her clipboard closer to her chest. Somehow, she didn't sound very convincing.
"Watching your one true love dancing with a bunch of women? That sounds like the worst day ever."
"And you would know, Thals. How's your 'swearing off men' going?"
"Perfect," the black haired girl shot back. "I'm not in your situation."
"I'm fine, Thalia." Annabeth said, resignedly as she checked the food table to see if everything was restocked and fresh.
Something about the putrid punch still rubbed her the wrong way, she only had a sip before being called to take care of other business, but even one sip made her feel slightly on edge. She figured it was the nerves of setting up the ball and hoping for its smooth execution. Still... she couldn't help but grimace when she looked at that muddy green hue.
"Do you know if this punch is okay? I don't think it is, but everyone seems to like it?"
Annabeth looked around the room and studied all the guests having a good time... All the guests with a drink in their hands... The party seemed lively... almost too lively... The royal subjects were socializing and dancing and they weren't behaving like they had a stick up their you-know-what. They actually seemed to be enjoying themselves...
Having a sneaking suspicion of why that might be, Annabeth eyed the drink in her hand and the off-kilter soldier wobbling near the door. "When was the last time you spoke to Dakota about his drinking problem?" Annabeth asked Grover, who was the official gardener of the kingdom and the unofficial therapist. "I knew hiring a soldier from the Kingdom of Dionysus was a bad idea. This doesn't even taste like it was spiked right!"
Thalia and Grover exchanged odd glances, before Thalia stated, "Now you're just changing the subject. We are talking about you and Percy and your destiny. You two are fated to be together! I hate love, but I love your love!" she finished dramatically.
"It's not—"
"Appropriate," Grover and Thalia said at the same time. "We know."
Annabeth nodded vaguley to her two best friends, but her eyes kept straying to a happy duo.
"Grover and I have some pretty snazzy dance moves that can totally break up those two." Thalia said, nodding to the laughing Percy and Rachel. "We call it 'The Chainsaw'."
"Or the 'Gently push away the girl and not kill her' move," Grover interjected. "We're still working on the title."
Three songs had passed, yet Percy was still talking and dancing with the same girl. "He's breaking the system," Annabeth mumbled, as she cleared the dishes.
Annabeth turned to face her helpful friends who were more than willing to break a dance (and a possible alliance) up with their moves. "Percy is happy. This was the whole point of the ball. Now I just need to worry about the wedding decorations." Annabeth forced a smile on her face.
"The whole point was to find Percy's true love, Annabeth." Grover said, quietly. "It's pointless, cause he's already in love. He's already found true love. With you."
Annabeth froze and then finally with tired eyes, turned her back and headed towards the kitchen. "It's not appropriate."
Thalia followed Annabeth in angry defiance. "Appropriate my—"
"Hey, guys," Percy said, catching up to Annabeth and her friends. He sounded out of breath. "Annabeth, I just met—"
"Get out of the kitchen, Sire," Annabeth said, placing the dishes into the sink. "And follow the system."
She brushed past a confused Percy and made her way around the room, a clipboard clutched firmly to her chest.
Percy looked at Grover and Thalia confused. "Was it something I said?"
Grover gave Percy a sad knowing look as Thalia said, "Percy, it was everything you said since you were both twelve years old."
At 4 am, all of the guests had finally cleared out and the ballroom lost its glimmering shine. Empty cups and plates were thrown around every which way and the only sound that could be heard was the scuffle of feet as the servants hurried to clear the room so they could rest.
Annabeth, exhausted from the entire ordeal, took a seat on the golden staircase and placed her clipboard on her lap. She looked around at the last remnants of the ball and rather than feeling proud, she only experienced a sense of haunting dread. Putting her head in her hands she tried to calm her breathing. Percy was probably off having fun with the Rachel girl and here she was moping like a prissy girl.
Why should she be moping? She was happy... right?
Then, a revelation hit her like a ton. It felt like the entire Earth's weight just fell on her shoulders.
Once Percy was married to a princess, more responsibilities would be given to him. He would need to be strong in order to earn the respect of his people. He would be spending time with government officials, kings, lords, soldiers... his wife. There would be no time for his control freak advisor.
Now, the ball did not appear as a matchmaking dance, but rather a funeral. A funeral for a long, wonderfully beautiful... friendship.
Annabeth rolled her eyes; her cataclysmic thinking was depressing her. She needed something to drink. Pronto.
Anything but that punch.
While in the midst of her brooding, someone had taken a seat next to her on the staircase. She slowly lifted and turned her head to see that it was Percy, worn out from all the dancing. Percy, who wasn't married yet. Percy, her friend.
"Hey," she said, giving the yawning boy a soft smile.
"Hey," he replied back as he swirled around a cup of the green punch in his hand.
"How was the ball?" Annabeth asked, but Percy just shrugged still staring at the whirlpool of the toxic-looking drink. "That bad, huh?" she inquired after his indifferent action.
"It's not my fault! You just have a terrible taste in wives," Percy argued. "And a terrible taste in punch. What in the kingdom of Hades is this?"
"It was a disaster, wasn't it? Tell me you had at least a little fun," Annabeth groaned, putting her head in her hands. "Even with the Dare girl." She lifted her head slightly up and had a pouty look. "And despite the gross punch."
"Rachel? Oh, she was nice. You would not believe how many times she stepped on my foot." Percy said grinning. "And actually, the punch is not that bad after the first sip." Percy took another swig. "It kinda grows on you."
"Oh, like you could dance any better." Annabeth said, nudging him, taking the cup out of his hands and taking a sip of his drink. She gagged. Nope. It was still disgusting.
"I totally can!" Percy said, "I'll prove it to you." He stood up, setting the cup of punch to the side and holding out his hand for her to take.
At Annabeth's hesitance, Percy added, "There's nobody here except the servants and who are they gonna tell?"
"There's no music," Annabeth said, cautiously.
"There's always music!" A voice came out of nowhere. To the side, Grover pulled out his reed and started to play a beautiful, mellow tune.
"Oh, good," Percy said. "I thought I was going to have to sing."
Annabeth laughed. "We wouldn't want that."
"You have no excuse, Wise Girl," Percy said, his hands still outstretched. "Can I have this dance?"
Annabeth bit her lower lip and looked at Percy in his expensive suit and herself in her t-shirt and jeans. "It's not appropriate."
At that statement, Percy grabbed Annabeth's hands and pulled her up without warning. "Shhh," he said, placing a finger to Annabeth's lips.
"You really don't like that word, do you?" Annabeth said, her face betraying a smile.
She placed both hands around Percy's neck and intertwined them as Percy placed his hands on Annabeth's waist. "Let's dance," she declared in happy resignation.
They danced and twisted and twirled. Percy even managed to show off his wonderful skills at the Chicken Dance.
It was the best dance that they both had ever experienced.
They kept dancing, even after Grover stopped playing. They swayed in one spot with no music, just the two of them in each other's embrace.
Just one dance, Annabeth kept convincing herself. One selfish moment with my best friend. Then he's going to get married and be best friends with his wife. That's how it is supposed to be and that's how it will be. Just one more dance, she thought, as she wrapped her arms as tight as she could around the oblivious boy.
"You put so much effort into this ball to help me find my true love, but I already found her. I found her when I was twelve years old and about to pass out from my first dueling practice."
Annabeth froze, her hand unwinding from Percy's neck. Percy took both of her hands and cupped them in his own hands. "I just saw a mop of blonde hair looking straight down at me and I knew, then and there, that I was a goner."
"You took care of me and fed me," Percy continued when Annabeth still stared. "You believed in me when I dueled King Ares, you helped me when Circe threatened to turn our royal family into hamsters—"
"Guinea pigs." Annabeth interrupted, reminiscing and smiling at the memory that was once terrifying.
"Guinea pigs," Percy rectified. "You have loved, encouraged, believed, and accepted me when no one else would. When everyone else respects me and bows, you punch me in the face and call me Seaweed Brain."
Annabeth giggled. "Cause of that time you fell into the water and came out with a head full of seaweed."
"It was one time and I needed to rescue Bessie," Percy replied, sticking his tongue out. "I know who my queen will be. Who will rule by my side. Who will be the only person I can trust in times of hardship. Who will make the decisions I cannot make. Who the people will look up to."
Percy paused and looked into Annabeth's eyes. Sea green met stormy gray. "I don't need a ball to show me who I'm going to marry, because I already know who I will marry… If she says yes."
There was nothing but silence for a daunting 30 seconds. "Sooo," Percy spoke nervously, "Are you planning on saying anything or are we just gonna stand here in awkward silence?"
"Are you really proposing to me in the middle of an empty ballroom, at 5 am in the morning when I'm in a t-shirt and jeans?"
"Yes?" Percy said, questioningly. "And if you say it's not appropriate, I swear to the gods—"
"CAN YOU GUYS JUST KISS ALREADY? I'M TIRED AND I WANT TO GO HOME!"
All of the servants had come from the kitchen and were watching the couple. Thalia and Grover both held a bag of popcorn as they viewed the drama in front of them.
"Yes, Seaweed Brain. I will marry you." She pulled Percy in for a kiss. "Screw 'appropriate'."
Annabeth hardly even thought of how mad her mother would be when she discovered her daughter was the soon to be Queen of the Kingdom of Poseidon. Percy hardly even thought of what his father, the king, would think of this unforeseen proposal.
They barely heard the wolf whistles and the exchanging of bet money from the servants for they were stuck in their own universe. Their own sweet, wonderful, perfect paradise.
"So, ah, we're not gonna tell those two that we went around telling everybody that they were already engaged, right?" Grover asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope," Thalia replied, a sly grin sneaking onto her face. "Definitely not."
"Good," Grover said, bringing a cup of the punch to his lips for a celebratory drink.
Thalia quickly batted the cup away from his hands and let the drink spill on the floor.
"Hey!" he protested, looking sadly at the wasted refreshment.
"I just saved you from a terrible hangover," Thalia explained, kicking the cup to the side for good measure.
Grover's eyes widened comically in realization. "Dakota."
The blue-eyed girl nodded, confirming his suspicions that Dakota had indeed spiked the punch. "But, I heard he decided to up the ante. Why all the royalty were so... loose today. Why they didn't suspect a thing."
"What?" Grover asked. "Did the Kingdom of Dionysus invent a new kind of wine?"
"Better." Thalia tossed her arm around Grover's shoulder as the both of them walked over to interrupt their two best friends' love bubble with a few congratulations and a multitude of I told you so's. "Did you hear about what they found washed up on the beach shores of Poseidon last week?"
The End
Author's Note: If you don't understand the last line, I would recommend going back and re-reading the phone conversation between Annabeth and her mom (and Percy's rude little interruption).
Would love it if you leave a review and let me know what you think!