Hello to everyone who decided to read this. I'm very flattered. But to the point, I know I haven't updated Repeating Mythstory in a while, and I will finish up the next chapter soon (I hope). I had inspiration strike and had to write this down. Also, I tried to post this days ago, but for some reason it wouldn't let me. But now it will and I am very happy. This story is in Third person POV.
Artemis was quick.
For as long as she could remember, she was always fast, light on her toes. She could outrun anyone in a race, and made sure everyone knew it.
Artemis was strong.
She could take on any man, woman, or beast and be fine. In fact, seven days ago she had fought Ares, and he still in the Olympian hospital, while Artemis had a very small wound. It was located on her foot, from walking too much.
Artemis was smart.
She could read tracks like nobody's business, and knew how to stay safe, while hunting for beasts and being chased by mortal men, who never stayed human much longer. Many a night had she dined on jackalope stew.
Artemis was competitive.
Several years prior to the second Titan war, she and Apollo had been locked in a staring contest that lasted for a week. Thankfully, she had trained Zoƫ how to drive the moon chariot, so the nighttime was normal. Apollo however..., well, lets just say that scholars are still baffled about why a giant cloud covered the entire Earth during the day, but disappeared at night, only to return a couple of hours later.
And the fact that it lasted for a full, uninterrupted, seven-day long week.
Artemis was vengeful.
Especially when she lost a contest. Like when Thalia had refused to join her ranks the first time she asked. Even though all was forgiven, Thalia still had nightmares about demon silver stags that could run for days at a time without stopping.
Or when a man saw her hunt. That was a definite no.
Artemis was cunning.
She knew exactly what to say in order to get what she wanted, and knew how to get out of any situation. While that sometimes meant waiting for help, it was a way out nonetheless.
So when she walked into the meeting on Olympus only to find out that Zeus was making her marry, she kept her cool, for she knew she could turn this around.
"So father," she began, "You are saying, and I quote, 'You hate men too much for your own good. By Saturday, you will have chosen a man to be married to. On Sunday, you will be married to him.'"
"Yes." He replied.
"That is it? All I have to do is marry a guy?"
"Well, you can't kill him if that is what you are asking."
Artemis shrugged, hiding her disappointment. There goes Plan A.
"Or divorce him." Zeus added after a second.
There goes Plan B.
"Will you swear on the River Styx that all I have to do is marry the guy, and not kill or divorce him?"
Zeus looked nervous, as he should be. He knew his daughter was up to something, so he hesitantly said, "I, uh, swear on the River Styx."
He was so nervous that it sounded like a question.
Artemis smirked, before flashing to Hera's palace. This was going to be fun.
Artemis was bored waiting for Hera to show up at her palace. She had been waiting there for several hours, and had already eaten all of the ambrosia in the fridge. Finally, a bright light appeared in the next room. Walking toward it, she saw her stepmother sitting in a reclining chair.
"Lady Hera, may I ask you something?" Artemis asked cautiously.
"You just did," She replied, "but go ahead."
"I need your help." Artemis finally said. "I do not wish to marry, because I do not want to be stuck with a cheating man for all eternity, like, well, you are."
Hera sighed, knowing that was coming. "And how would, whatever you are asking, benefit me?"
Artemis pondered for a second, before declaring, "I can follow Zeus whenever he meets up with women, and tell them that I am his daughter and that his wife is looking for him. If the woman ignores that, I will turn them into a small dog for eternity."
Hera looked skeptical, but finally agreed. "So what do you want my help with?"
Artemis didn't waste a second before describing Plan C to the goddess of marriage.
As Artemis talked, Hera couldn't help but admire her stepdaughters ambition.
"So, Perseus, what's up?" Artemis asked, materializing next to him, while he sat on the beach with Annabeth.
He jumped when she suddenly appeared, going into a battle stance, then quickly bowed, a terrified look on his face.
"Relax. I'm not going to turn you into a jackalope. Maybe a porpoise, but only if you annoy me."
It didn't seem to calm Percy down though. Artemis just laughed quietly.
"So Lady Artemis, what is it that you want?" Annabeth asked politely.
"Unfortunately, it is something you are not going to like. Well then again, neither do I. Father has declared that I must be married on Sunday."
Annabeth looked a little guarded as she asked, "Who did you choose?"
"Perseus." Annabeth turned red with anger, but didn't say anything. Percy passed out. "Let me explain my reasons. I hate my father for making me do this, so I want a way to get back at him. What better way than to marry the son of his brother? Also, Perseus is the only decent man I have ever come across. This was the other reason I chose him, because I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt you. You see, Zeus laid out specific guidelines in an attempt to outsmart me. I am not allowed to kill or divorce him, but he never said anything about him divorcing me, and he never said how long the marriage must last, and he never said that I had to sleep with the guy. So by my calculations,all I have to do is marry someone, and get him to divorce me before anything happens, other than the wedding kiss. I haven't figured a way out of that one yet."
Annabeth still looked mad, but also relieved and impressed by the goddesses logic. She quickly said, "I think I know a way out of the kiss."
Artemis's eyes brightened up immediately, "Do tell, please."
Annabeth grinned. "Percy had been working more on his water control, and he can now form a layer of mist or water invisible to the eye. You can still feel it though. So I was thinking that if he put a thin layer between you two at the, um, kiss part, then it will keep you from actually kissing him. Don't get me wrong, it will look like you are kissing him, and feel really wierd, but your lips will never actually touch."
By the end of Annabeth's speech, the maiden goddess was smiling wider than Tartarus was deep.
This plan was going epic.
By moonrise on Sunday, all of the gods (except for Hades, who was watching through an Iris message) were gathered in the throne room. Percy stood by the altar, nervous about the plan. He knew he was doing nothing wrong, especially since Annabeth was the one who told him the plan, but he still felt guilty.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermes laughing quietly with a minor god and goddess. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were Dolus and Apate. He almost laughed aloud with them, finding it funny that the king of the gods was oblivious to their plan, but that the god and goddess of deception and the Olympian known for his pranks were able to figure it out within minutes of arriving. He was knocked out of his thoughts by the sound if the wedding march.
Gazing down the aisle, he saw the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, but then she moved off of the aisle to make way for the actual bride. Percy sighed, wishing that Annabeth was the bride, not the flower girl. He couldn't wait for this to be over.
Waiting through the ceremony was torture on his ADHD brain, but he kept himself busy by playing with the water. No one in the room noticed except for Poseidon, who chuckled briefly.
When the kiss part of the ceremony came, Percy quickly brought the water between the two of them. He could see Poseidon frown in confusion, then widen his eyes in realization, before returning to normal in less then a second.
He leaned in and kissed Artemis, closing his eyes and imagining Annabeth so he would feel less guilty.
Everybody cheered, and Percy pulled away, letting the water vapor dissipate.
Artemis winked, mouthing "Nice job," making Percy blush. She smirked before mouthing again, "Ready?", to which he nodded.
"Dear," she started off loudly, "We need to go officially introduce you to the Hunters, so they can learn to like their new, ah, brother."
Percy lifted his eyebrow, responding with "Why did you hesitate before saying brother?"
Artemis found it hard not to chuckle at how bad of an actor Percy was. "Well," she drawled out, "the hunters are not going to like you very much, and you will probably end up being more of a butler than a brother."
By this time, a small crowd of gods and goddesses had formed around the newly weds.
"Oh Hades no!" Percy yelled. "I will not be the personal slave of the hunters for all of eternity."
The two could hear 'oooohs' in the background, along with what sounded like a 'BURN!' coming from Apollo.
"Well too bad!" Artemis yelled right back.
"You know what? That's it. I don't care that we have been married less than one minute. I want a divorce." Percy almost laughed at how quiet the throne room had gotten instantly.
All of a sudden, Hera appeared next to the two young actors and asked, "Did someone say divorce? Goddess of Marriage, at your service."
Artemis faked looking hurt about how quickly things had 'changed'. "Fine then. If you want a divorce, you got one. Lady Hera, disband the marriage please."
Artemis paused for a second, letting her eyes get misty, before she hardened her voice. "You know what? I can't believe I thought you were different. You just a typical male."
Hera took that moment to 'ease the tension,' saying, "The marriage has been disbanded."
"Good." Percy said, before storming away. Passing Hermes, Dolus, and Apate, he quickly whispered, "Not a single word about this will ever be spoken," before getting in the elevator and riding it back down to the streets of New York.
Several days later as Annabeth and Percy were sitting in the beach, Artemis once again went to see them, but this time Hermes joined in. The moment they materialized, Hermes was already raving about how mad his father was, and how hilarious the whole situation was, while Annabeth and Artemis went farther down the beach to talk uninterrupted.
"Never in my whole immortal life have I ever seen such a well executed plan! It was brilliant! Father is really mad that Artemis managed to find a way around his decree, but there is nothing he can do about it. Artemis really managed to peeve him off this time, and she is gloating all the time to Apollo that she was able to be more annoying than him. Agh. Wow. Hats off to you Percy."
"Oh it was Annabeth's idea. The two of them planned while I was passed out from shock. But it was awesome. It was so hard not to laugh the whole time. By the way, how many gods know?"
"Just me, Dolus, Apate, Apollo, Poseidon, Hera, and Athena. Oh, and every single other god or goddess in Olympus. Plus Hades, since he lives in the underworld, not Olympus." Hermes listed off.
"Wow. I only knew about you, Dolus, Apate, and Poseidon. How did the others find out?" Percy asked, stunned.
"Well," Hermes started, "Apollo knew because he is the god of prophecies and could therefore see this coming, Hera knew because she was in on the plan, and Athena is just a very smart woman who was mad at you for 'leaving' Annabeth for Artemis. She asked Annabeth about it, and could tell that she was holding something back. Then at the wedding, she noticed Annabeth trying not to laugh at the unfolding drama, and put two and two together. After that, Zeus asked Artemis how she was feeling, and when she said she was feeling fine, he figured out that it was all a plan. Then he got really mad and called all of the gods and goddesses onto Olympus, except for Hades, who watched via Iris message again. So that, my dear cousin, is how everyone found out."
"Oh." was Percy's smart reply.
Leaving Percy with Hermes, Annabeth walked along the beach with Artemis.
"How are you?" Artemis finally asked.
"Umm, okay, I guess. I know that Percy doesn't feel anything toward you like that, but it was still unnerving watching him marry you."
Artemis looked at the girl, before saying, "If it helps any, Percy was freaking out the entire time. He felt guilty that he was marrying me, even though you agreed to the plan. He was thinking of you at the end, and when you were walking down the aisle as the flower girl. He was wishing that you were the bride."
Annabeth visibly brightened and blushed as Artemis talked. "Yes, it does. Thank you, Lady Artemis."
"Oh please, call me Artemis. No need for formalities, niece. I consider you as a sister."
Annabeth looked at the goddess, shocked, before hugging her suddenly. "Thank you."
"No. Thank you."
"Artemis! I hate you!" Zeus yelled out across the sky, two centuries later.
Hera chuckled. He wouldn't be in this mess if he hadn't made his daughter marry, causing her to help Hera keep Zeus faithful as payment.
He would never learn.
