I'll tell you the story of how my dad met my mom. Well, actually just the story of how he asked her to marry him. It might be a bit tough to understand unless you have actually met my dad. He can do unbelievable stuff like shadow travelling. He tried to teach me many times, but all I can do is make shadows twirl around me until I'm covered in them. My dad says it's not a bad thing and that hiding is pretty important too. But he can do all kinds of stuff with the shadows. He can disappear into them and pop out somewhere else. He used to do that all the time and mom used to complain of that a lot. She said he should be able to face his problems and that he's being a coward by running away whenever he was scared. But I think my dad is really really brave. He said he'll always be there for me whenever I'm in trouble. He promised he'll never run away when we need him the most.

Now what I'm about to say might trouble you a bit, but it's completely true. You probably didn't notice it yet because you weren't looking closely. Monsters exist. Yes, all kinds of ugly creatures that are bent on killing you. Well, not much of humans, but they love demigod blood and demigods always find themselves fighting to survive. But then not all monsters are bad. Uncle Percy has a half brother who is a Cyclops. But he's gentle and childish though he's big and strong. I call him Uncle Tyson. Percy says Tyson has a little trouble facing the harsh realities of the world. Aunt Annabeth said that was because he can see the good in everybody and doesn't naturally suspect people. Percy told me that Annabeth used to be scared of him because of another cyclops had tricked her friends and separated them from her when she was just a little kid. I love hearing these stories, more than their own kids do. Oh, I didn't tell you about them yet? They are my best friends.

The eldest in our gang is Joshua, Percy's son. He is 16 years old now and he's an excellent swimmer. He's really strong too, but then again, we all are, thanks to years of training with our parents. He's really tall with dark brown hair and looks a lot like how Percy used to look when he was younger. Then second is Uncle Jason's daughter Jessica who is 14 years old. Jessica has long blond hair and bright blue eyes. I think she has the most beautiful voice a girl could ever have. Just listening to her feels like she's telling you the truth and that you must believe her and obey her. Aunt Piper can do that too. She calls it charmspeak and says it can be very dangerous if misused, but Jessica is not at all naughty. She's just an angel. Then next in line comes Uncle Leo's twins, Luis and Pedro, both aged 13- the definition of mischievous, often aided by the mastermind himself. If Uncle Leo burst in while they are planning something, he would point out their faults and fix the whole plan and make it even more exciting. If Aunt Calypso came in, then everyone found responsible for it will be doing chores for a full week. But Uncle Leo has no complaints about that, he's just happy to be doing something with his hands.

Then there's me- Avery Di Angelo at the magical age of 12, just about to step into my teenage years on November 9th. What can I say about myself? I like singing and running. I won a few championships before in athletics like Joshua did in aquatics. He would come and cheer me on when there was a race and I would do the same for him. We're really close that way. I have long dark black hair and dad's black eyes. Dad tells me I remind him of his sister, Bianca. Bianca died years ago when dad was just a little boy. It was really harsh on him and everyone says he was really depressed and scary back then. Am I deviating from the topic too much? I'll just introduce the last 2 and continue the story.

Arrow's next in line. She's Percy's 10 year old daughter. She has short brown hair in a ponytail but stormy grey eyes like her mother. She loves reading, but will always jump at every opportunity to play with us. She is the main victim for the twin's pranks because she's the one who rarely falls for their traps. And they just love a challenge like that. And last is my cousin Ruby. Ruby is only 9 years old and she's really shy, but she's always following me around whenever we're together.

Okay, so now I'll go back to the story. Mom was actually very rich and she built her own apartment at Los Angeles. There's a sign outside too that says voí̱theia. It's greek for help and it's a safe home for all demigods when they're here for business. Mom actually goes out of her way to offer help. She roams around the city like a tourist looking for monsters and lost demigods. That's when she say him. She hadn't seen him for 8 years, but she recognized him immediately. Dad was 22 at the time. Peatweet, mom's golden bird flew to him and sat on his shoulder. He looked up and found her and slowly walked up to her without saying a word. Then they walked back home together and mom showed him into a room. He lay down on the bed and grabbed her hand just as she was about to leave and asked her to stay with him. So she lay down on the other side of the bed and said, "It's been too long Nico."
"I know."

"I missed you."

He hesitated a little, as if he was embarrassed, but mom was too angry to think it was cute, "I- I missed you too."

"They would have given you my address if you asked at camp. You should have stopped by."

"I was too scared."

"To ask? I waited so long thinking you would come to say hi, at least for the sake of our friendship. And you were too scared to ask?"

"No. I was scared of what I would do if they said you had died."

He now looked straight at her face, all traces of embarrassment gone. He thought that would silence her for good. But this is my mom we're talking about. The one and only- Atalanta.

"You should have known by now, I'm a tough one to kill."

"Fine. It's all my fault. Happy now?"

"Oh, just shut up and sleep."

"Fine, whatever you say, your Majesty."

My mom is the queen of the sun army, but my dad is not lesser than royalty himself. He is the king of ghosts. And they often tease each other this way. The next day mom came and slept next to dad on her own, without him having to ask. And she kept coming for the next few days. She knew he needed someone to help him fall asleep peacefully. Then after a week, while they were lying down hand in hand, he asked her, "You're doing this a lot. Every night you come and sleep next to me. Are you sure about this?"

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted me too."

"I do want you to, but do you really want to?"

"Of course. I'd love to spend every day with you."

"Good, then I have something for you." He put the lights back on and showed her what was in his other hand- a tiny silver ring with a diamond on top.

Mom gasped and he said, "Stay with me forever then. Please, Atalanta, I never realized I had missed you so much. I thought staying away from you so that I won't know when you are dead would make me feel better, but I just felt worse and even more worried. But I swear, I'll stay here, no matter what you say and make sure you never do. Atalanta, will you marry me?"

"Yes." She gave him her hand and he put the ring on it. He felt so happy he wanted to hug her, but she said, "Now, switch off the lights."

"What? Don't I get a hug?"

"Just switch off the lights and go to sleep."

"What? Fine." He sighed and turned them off. Then he felt her arms wrap around him and her face nestled near his neck.

"I love you, Nico."

"I love you too."

"I know"

And then they kissed. I know, gross. Why do parents keep doing that in front of kids? But that's not the interesting part. Dad actually disappeared the next day and Mom was really angry. After all, he had just promised he was never going to leave her. So mom set out to find him. Dad was actually busy fighting some monsters and mom went and stood behind him. The monsters ran away after one look at her face. Dad rubbed the dirt of his hands, "Ha! Scared now, are you?" Then he turned around and saw her standing there with her hands on her hips and a ferocious frown on her face and he screamed.

"Nico! You think it's funny running away before we get married. No more. Come with me. It's all ready at your sister's place. We're getting married today and it's final."

She then dragged him back to Aunt Hazel's where Percy, Jason, Leo and Frank took over. By then, Percy had already married Annabeth and Jason married Piper, both on the same day. Aunt Calypso was still new to the whole idea of marriage and she only got married a year after mom and dad did. They men were getting Nico ready in one room whereas the ladies were fussing over Atalanta. Piper was pregnant at the time and Percy was carrying a young Joshua on his shoulders.

Percy said, "Nico, you ready?"

"I don't know. It's all happening too sudden. And she looked so angry."

Jason continued, "You had no chance to even breathe."

Nico nodded.

Leo sighed, "Well, if you're not going to marry her, someone else will have to do. I would have offered, but I only have eyes for the most beautiful goddess in the world."

Frank asked, "Venus?"

Leo gagged, "My best friend's mother-in-law? Eww…no. No offense, Aphrodite. But I'm in love, so you should understand that when I say most beautiful goddess, I can only refer to Calypso."

Nico rolled his eyes, "I do love her, but I don't know what's exactly wrong. Did you both feel this way too?"

Percy and Jason first shook their heads, then they looked at each other and back at Nico and nodded. Percy said, "You have the pre-wedding jitters. You're just nervous."

Jason added, "Yeah, relax. It'll be fine."

Frank then led everyone else outside, "Yeah, it's almost time. We'll wait for you downstairs."

Nico was now alone in the room. He looked at the mirror and took a deep breath and then shook his head and slowly walked out the door.

Percy was the best man at the wedding. Nico was shaking uneasily as he waited. Then he saw Atalanta dressed in white, slowly walking down the aisle. He was too stunned to move. It was all over before he knew it. Even the gods had attended this wedding. They were making it too chaotic but everyone was just too happy to notice.