Percy

"Thank you for joining us, Questers." The deep voice of Zeus carried across the room. It was the next day, and after food and a night of sleep where we could rest without worrying about monsters or raving mad demigods, the Questers all looked and felt better. We were dressed in fresh clothes, and freshly bathed. Most of us felt like we could take on the world with our new selves. We sat in the throne room, each by our parents who were on their thrones, looking regal and proud.

"Today we will discus first Luke Castellan's fate." He looked down at Luke, who was seated, hands bound, on a chair in the middle of the room. Luke, upon hearing his name, glanced up at the Lord of the gods, facing his coming verdict with stubbornness and resolve. "The most likely punishment would be death onto the criminals. Most of his accomplices are already out of this world, though. However, it has come to reasoning that Luke knows of other people against the gods. He would be able to help us, but we don't want to let him go so easily. A solution to this would be to send him with Hades, who has already agreed, to be held custody down in the Underworld, facing punishments where hopefully Mr. Castellan will give us the desired information soon."

People winced all around, realizing that that punishment was almost worse than death. It was, like, an extended version of dying. There were quite a few nasty things down in Hades' realm. Luke paled. Obviously when he made the bargain that he knew things he thought he would just be put in jail somewhere in Mount Olympus, maybe find a way out, but not living too shabbily. But no, this is way worse than he could've dreamed up.

"All in favor, raise your hand," Zeus said, his hand going up. Hades was next, as were most of the Questers and gods. Annabeth, after a slight hesitation, raised her hand as well. I took a deep breath. Sure, Luke had been my friend for a while, but what he had done, and what he just did, was unforgivable. He deserved every ounce of this punishment. My arm came up. The vote was unanimous, and Zeus, when seeing this, clapped his hands. The doors opened, and the three Furies themselves came to collect a now scared Luke. He gave me one last glower filled with all the hatred he could muster, and I returned it with more. His footsteps, slightly dragging because of his hurt leg, sounded off the silence of the room as we waited for Luke to be gone. I clenched my fist, holding it tight until the doors clicked shut once more.

The whole room seemed to let out a huge breath, then Zeus continued talking. "One thing is that tonight, Aphrodite has requested a celebration in honor of your return." I made a face. Celebrations meant dancing and dressing up and lots of talking... but it did have a lot of food, and the nymphs here knew how to cook. So I guess its alright.

"Another is that it has come to our attention that you should be rewarded, after all you've done for us."

Blah blah blah. They say we get rewards, then when we ask for something, they frown down upon it, like why in Hades would you do that? But hey, they said we could have anything, like an unlimited amount of desserts for a week. I think I gained twenty pounds when we chose that. We couldn't really think of anything, and then Leo just spouted that out and the gods accepted it before we could protest. Oh, well.

My eyes roamed about the room, focusing on random things. Ares was trying to discreetly pick his nose, and Hades and Nico were doing spitballs across the room at their target: Demeter. I think she thought it was raining, she kept glancing towards the ceiling with an irritated look. Apollo was writing in a scroll- probably some more horrible haikus, Artemis was whispering with her Lieutenant, Thalia, and Dionysus was drinking wine (surprise surprise.) I think the only one paying attention was Athena. She was sitting upright, shoulders back, watching her father as he droned on and on.

She caught my look, and man, she was scary looking. Not the don't-mess-with-me scary, though she did have that too. But her look was more like I-will-incinerate-you-and-send-you-to-Tartarus-for-breathing scary. Annabeth could copy that glare pretty well. Ran in the family.

I glanced at said daughter and saw her looking at me, eyebrows raised expectantly. A quick scan around the room showed everybody else doing the same. Zeus was waiting, not speaking.

"Uh, what?" I asked timorously from my seat by my dad. I heard Athena sigh and she rolled her eyes. Annabeth was trying to hide a smirk.

Zeus clenched his jaw. "I asked what you wished your reward to be. Being the captain, you are first."

"Anything?"

Zeus looked like he was fighting the urge to send his eyes towards the sky. Which, I guess, technically speaking, would just be eye level since we were in the sky... but yeah. Zeus said through clenched teeth, "Yes, that's what I said."

So I said the first thing on my mind, the thing that had been bothering me since the end of the war, and ultimately, the thing I wished for the most. Without hesitation, I spoke. "I want the Forbiddance Law to be lifted."

Silence, then, as expected, Athena protested. "No."

I turned a glower to her. "He said 'anything.' And he is the Lord of the gods, so I think he out rules you. Sorry, not sorry." Annabeth's mouth twitched, and she looked down at her lap.

"Don't you get all smart on me, boy," Athena growled.

"Oh, don't worry," I reassured her, everyone's eyes on me. "I'm not that smart." I gave her my signature smirk.

Yes, I was feeling better than yesterday. Yesterday was just extremely exhausting and hard, but after a meal, Annabeth's hug, and seeing my mom, I felt so much better. Those three things were pretty much the deciding factor on my mood.

"Yes, I know that," Athena replied, malice glittering in her eyes. "You're even dumber than average."

I spread my arms out like, what can I say? "I get it from my dad."

Poseidon was laughing at our little dispute, but he paused mid-guffaw and frowned indignantly at me. "Hey! What's that supposed-"

"Oh, shut up, Poseidon. For once I agree with the spawn," Athena said venomously. My dad huffed angrily, then crossed his arms and pouted like a two-year-old. He completed the act with sticking his tongue out at Athena. Annabeth rolled her eyes, then stood up, facing her mom.

"The law lifted- that's what I would want to," she said. I nodded along.

"No. Anything but that."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at her mother's words. "Now you're just being annoying, Athena. Seriously, what is so bad about Percy? He's saved my life more times than I can count, plus he just saved Greece! What is your problem?"

"My problem is that he is the son of my enemy. How many times must I remind you?" the goddess of wisdom countered. She stood, going eye-to-eye with her daughter. Both of them had their arms crossed and were glaring down their noses at each other, striking the perfect picture of complete obstinance.

"Mom, stop being ridiculous. Even if you don't agree, I'm still going to see Percy. Somehow, I will."

I tried to hide my smile at that, but I could see the rest of the Questers looking on anxiously. We'd back up Annabeth any day, but facing a frustrated goddess with a runaway temper? Yeah, no thanks.

"I will know, and I will stop you," Athena said matter-of-factly in a snide, irritating voice that grated on my eardrums. I silently cheered on Annabeth.

"Mom, will you just let me do something for once?"

Athena scoffed. "I let you do things all the time, but not this one. He's a threat to you, and I won't danger come into your surroundings."

I raised a hand timidly, and Athena turned a piercing glower onto me. "Um," I started. "I would never hurt Annabeth. I swear on the River Styx I would never intentionally hurt her." A distant thunder backed up the truth in my words, and for a moment, Athena just stared at me, probably wondering why I was so foolish as to make a statement like that- such an unbreakable oath. But it was true. I would dive into the Styx itself before I let Annabeth get hurt.

"Still, it's not safe," Athena said, and Annabeth threw her hands up into the air.

"Listen here," Annabeth growled, her eyes glittering menacingly. "You were torn apart when my dad was killed, right?" Athena winced at the memory. "Right?" Annabeth pestered, and Athena nodded slowly. "So you're just going to do the same thing to me?"

"But I loved him, more than anything!" the goddess said.

Annabeth cursed, then said, "And I love Percy, too, mom! Gods, I love him, probably more than you loved my dad." Yeah, take that Athena. Waait... what? My mind, upon saying that, went totally blank, like a wiped canvas. I couldn't think right. A silence had overtaken the room. My jaw slowly dropped as I stared at Annabeth, who was breathing hard and glaring at her mom. Then Annabeth suddenly blinked, like she realized what she said. But she didn't look embarrassed or even regretful, she just looked more determined.

"I love Percy," she repeated, making it sound like a song in my head, "and if you forbid me to see him, I will never be able to look at you cordially again. You will not be my mother in my eyes."

My mouth was still hanging open, my mind trying to process the words Annabeth was saying. I dimly heard Aphrodite let out a shriek and start to go crazy, smiling so wide it looked painful. The goddess of love punched the air, singing, "Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes." She started dancing in her chair as everybody else watched Annabeth and Athena, who were glaring daggers at each other. Some glances were sent to me, but my gaze was stuck on Annabeth, her curls running down her back like golden waves.

"You do not, and you wouldn't," Athena tried, her voice weak but asking.

"Yes, I do," Annabeth said forcefully. She wasn't going to back down. "And I meant every word, about you and Percy." Who knew someone could say my name in a way that sent tingles up and down my spine, and made a smile want to grow on my face?

Athena was quiet. Then she said, "It doesn't matter anyway. You wouldn't ever see him; he's always gone on quests, and you're at the temple."

I cleared my throat loudly, standing up. When Athena looked at me, I saw hatred in her eyes from the information she just learned. "What?" she spat.

"Well, the Questers and I just held a meeting," I said, looking around. "We wanted to ask for permission to let Annabeth into the group of Questers, if she wanted to. Piper as well, but Thalia's already with the hunters."

Piper grinned in the corner of my eyes, beaming at Jason, who smiled right back. I continued, "The Questers all found a friend in both girls, and we would be honored if they would accept. We could use two more good fighters, and an excellent planner as well."

"There, mom," Annabeth said to Athena. "All figured out."

Athena looked long and hard at her daughter, then at me, then at Zeus. Aphrodite was on the edge of her seat, waiting nervously for Athena's next words, which came after a long quietude. "Will this make you happy?" Her words seemed forced, directed at Annabeth.

Annabeth said with complete confidence, "Absolutely."

The goddess of wisdom exhaled, closed her eyes, then said, "I will revoke the law, and approve of you joining the Questers. As long as!" she added on, making Annabeth wait before celebrating. "As long as you visit, and don't forget about your life at the temple." Annabeth grinned at her mom, saying thank you and jumping up to give her a hug. Aphrodite almost fainted, pointing at us both with one hand covering her mouth, taking her fingers away once to mouth, "So cute!"

Piper squealed, leaping up and running to Jason. Once he had her in his arms, she leaned up and gave him a strong kiss, surprising him for a moment before he leaned into the embrace. Aphrodite this time did faint while Zeus just rolled his eyes at his son. Athena had sat down, breathing deeply and keeping her composure. Most of the Questers were whistling at Jason and Piper, who were still going at it, but I couldn't take my eyes off of Annabeth.

She was smiling at the couple in the middle of the room, but she seemed to sense my eyes and looked at me. My mind finally wrapped around what she had said, and a huge smile grew on my face. But then again, things between us had been weird lately, like on and off. Annabeth's lips curled as she looked back at me. Annabeth just saying what she said reciprocated my feelings for her. Something between us was different. I didn't know if it was good or bad, but I was hoping the former. Hoping with all I had.