Jar Of Hearts
Summary: Pharaoh Poseidon's son, Percy, is of the perfect age to get married off. Although Percy was male, he's been raised and marketed as a princess his entire life, due to a blessing from the goddess of childbirth Tawaret, in the day of his birth. And now, it was time for him to choose his suitor. Nicercy. Egyptian AU.
Warning(s): Feminisation of the character Percy Jackson, Mpreg, Crack-ish at times, Angsty at others
Author's Note: For Takara Phoenix's Nicercy Summer Contest. Loosely (very loosely) inspired by 'Dark Horse', Katy Perry, and a Chinese History Lesson on Ancient Egypt.
Prologue
Percy knelt in front of his father, listening quietly—the very picture of obedience—as his father told him about the courting proceedings that he would have to go through. However, though Percy was calm on the surface, his emotions were bubbling like an inferno within. He had just found out that he would have to get married off soon, that there would be a man who would be taking him as 'his wife'. And he was scared, to say the least.
"The Introduction Ceremony should be held the following week—"
Percy knew that he should be thankful that his father, the Pharaoh Poseidon, had waited until he was sixteen before marrying him off, and that he was even giving Percy a choice, but the anxiety still buzzed in his veins. Since he was considered a woman in the eyes of many—he wasn't though, and he still detested the fact that some people treated him as such—Percy should have been married off at age twelve, or at the latest, fourteen. He also should not have a choice in his suitor at all. Usually, if a man wanted to get his chosen one as his wife, all the dealings would be made through the father.
"—I expect you to know all of the necessary procedures—"
He wasn't a normal case though. Percy was born a male citizen (Prince, actually, but he didn't want to think about that right now) of Egypt, but his was different from the other men. Percy could get pregnant.
He didn't really know why he had the ability, but he knew what his parents told him. Apparently, the Goddess of Childbirth Tawaret had blessed him on the day of his birth with the ability to bear children. And from then onwards, Percy had been raised as a Princess, instead of the Prince he was. Which meant he stayed in the castle and learnt how to tend the household with his mother while his brothers went to school and apprenticed for a variety of trades. His older brother, Triton, was in the process of courting his own chosen at the moment, at the common age of twenty.
"—your mother will show you the ways you should act—"
Percy had wondered before why he could not just be treated as a male. He was one, after all, in all the technical sense of the word. The only thing that differentiated him from the rest of the male populace was his 'blessing'. And that secret could have been easily kept, no one would have known if his parents have not announced it to the entire kingdom.
His father had explained his reasoning to him when Percy had brought it up in a moment of impulse once. Ignoring Percy's blessing would have been considered a sign of disrespect to the goddess and she would have cursed the land with infertility if he did not utilize his ability. And the natural course of action would be to raise Percy as a female so that he could get married off and bear the children of a noble—or another prince from some other kingdom.
Percy saw no fault in the reasoning. He would have to do his duty to his kingdom. He would not subject the kingdom to a curse by disagreeing with his father's decisions and better judgement. He just wished—
"—I will show you which are more appropriate according to their social standing—"
Nothing. He didn't wish anything. It was not his place to wish.
It isn't all bad though, Percy tried convincing himself. He would get to choose his partner, even if they would be the ones bringing him gifts and singing his praises, not the other way around. Some people would even say it was a privilege. Percy ignored the fact that he didn't feel that way at all.
At least I am not adverse to the idea of being with a man. Percy had never experience sexual desire before. He doubted he was supposed to. He had never felt—what did Triton call it?—a stirring in his groin when he looked at the female form. And he hasn't been in the presence of many men besides his immediate family, so his attraction might lean towards men. Which is good.
"Do you understand, Perseus?" Poseidon finally ended his briefing (although, if Percy could use any word to describe the speech, it would be anything but 'brief'), staring at him, eyes sharp and piercing.
Percy bowed forward, his head touching the ground, and answered, "I understand father."