Third-Person POV
Aphrodite checked herself out in the mirror and kept adjusting her make up even though it wasn't needed. She was just putting on her lipstick when Artemis came bursting through her door which caused her to smear the lipstick across her face.
"Aphrodite, we've got an emergency!"
"What is it Artemis? It's extremely wrong to walk in on a girl when she's working." She turned around to face her and Artemis exploded into a fit of laughing at the make-up disaster.
"Yeah, making yourself look good is the only work you do." Artemis said in between a state of catching her breath.
"What was that?" Aphrodite asked, not fully hearing what she had said.
"Oh pay no mind to what I said. But you've got to come and see this."
Artemis ushered her just outside the conference room where the door was left slightly ajar. They peeked inside to find Poseidon and Zeus talking in hushed tones that were just barely audible to them.
"Poseidon, do you really think that is necessary? He's only a mere child in our eyes." Zeus bellowed in his deep, commanding voice.
"That may be true, but I surely think he shall become a god in about two months time and by then, I will have picked out a bride for him." Aphrodite gasped which made Zeus look in their direction. They quickly hid behind the doors in record time. Artemis glared at her then tuned back in to the conversation.
"How are you so confident that he will achieve godly-hood so quickly?"
"Zeus, you and I both know how great he was in his battle with Ares, although his sword did seem to have a small glitch in it, but it's fixed up now. For some reason, there was a trace of one or Ares' inventions."
Aphrodite quietly cleared her throat quietly and turned her head. Artemis gave her a look that said 'what did you have to do with it?' She shrugged.
"Not much, I just used my feminine charm and got Ares to give Percy's sword a small touch-up. He was pretty surprised to see it make him that much stronger." She whispered with an innocent look. Artemis shook her head in response and continued listening.
"But do you really think he should get married right after that?"
"Of course, no son of mine will be seen without a woman at his side! My children are known for being vixens." Zeus shook his head with a small smile.
"Actually those are my children." They both laughed a little. "Very well, brother. If you insist I will grant the marriage of Percy."
"Thank you Lord Zeus. I shall pick the bride myself but just so you know it can't be any of your daughters." Zeus looked like he was about to say something but Poseidon disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"Oh my gods, this looks bad!" Aphrodite said in a panicked tone.
"Yes I know. That idiotic, conceited sea god will ruin Athena and Percy's relationship!"
"Oh yeah that too…" Artemis gave her a questioning look.
"What were you thinking was the bad news?"
"I broke a nail!" Whined Aphrodite showing her beautiful, long hand with a chipped fingernail. Artemis slapped her own forehead in frustration.
"Look, we have to tell Percy about this. Will you forget about your looks for once?"
"Of course not, I have an image to keep up but you're right, we must go warn him." Artemis sighed and zapped herself to Athena's palace, soon followed by Aphrodite.
Percy's POV
I was practically drenched in sweat by this point and ready to pass out on a couch, but Athena was the most competitive woman I've ever met. She insisted that we have a one-on-one fight, just to see who's stronger. So far, the odds were in my favor but I doubt I was going to hold the advantage for long.
Suddenly, Athena pushed me to the ground and had her sword at my neck. Like I said, I wasn't going to win against a master strategist, which is actually an understatement. She lend out a hand which I took and helped me up.
"I was going easy on you in the beginning, but looks like I underestimated you."
"Odd that the Goddess of Wisdom would underestimate someone huh?" She rolled her eyes and moved closer so that her face was only about two inches away from mine.
"Well, you probably deserve a prize for almost beating me.' I found myself smiling a little and leaning closer to her lips but as soon as I was only a few centimeters away, she pushed me back. I gave her a puzzled look and she just smiled.
"First of all, don't let your guard down and second, Aphrodite and Artemis are paying a visit." I was still confused but then I noticed the Goddess of Love and the Goddess of the Hunt standing in front of us.
"Sorry, did we interrupt anything?" Artemis asked while Aphrodite looked worriedly at her hand for some weird reason.
"No, not at all. Just a battle, care to join us?" Oh my gods, was she crazy? I couldn't fight Artemis, it's like suicide.
"Sorry, but I can't fight off a million arrows, let alone shoot one." I sad in my defense. Artemis snickered and simply ushered me over with her index finger.
"Mind if I take him off your hands for a while? There's something awfully important we need to discuss." Athena pondered this for a second while trying to catch her breath.
"Sure, just have him back here soon. One of us needs to win." She winked at me and I found myself blushing. Artemis nodded at her and dragged me away with Aphrodite walking slowly behind while still looking at her hand.
We were in the Palace of Artemis, which I found an honor considering she probably never let a male in here. It still amazes me how she's a maiden when she's so beautiful with her tall, athletic frame and long, silky, auburn hair.
Her palace was large like all the others but still showed a bit of her personality. It was white and silver with wilderness décor and surprisingly, there were animals roaming around her place. Wild stags, bears, falcons, and of course, her huntresses that kept eyeing me as though I was the devils spawn. Geez, what does Artemis tell them about men? We're not all so bad.
There was an easy-going vibe in the room along with the etchings in the walls of a crescent moon that really made me relax. But the laid-back atmosphere disappeared when Artemis eyed me with urgency.
"We've got a problem Percy. And Aphrodite would you stop looking at your nail! It's not that bad." Oh of course, a broken nail. Typical love goddess.
"Fine I'm done nothing a manicure can't fix. Should I tell him or you?"
"Wait, tell me what? Don't confuse me. I'm already lost enough about this whole 'being a god thing'. And how come your huntresses are eyeing me like that?" I said glaring back at one of them in an ultimate stare-off.
"Oh don't mind them, but there is someone that would like to meet you." She gestured to the entrance of the archery range where a girl was standing with stunning electric-blue eyes and short black hair. She wore a tiara on her head, complimented with the huntress uniform.
"Hey Percy, man you look good. If I weren't a maiden I'd be after you." She laughed as Artemis gave her a stern look. "It's alright Lady Artemis I'm just joking. I know he's taken by a certain ex's mom." She eyed me knowingly.
"Good to see you too Thalia. It's been a while but you haven't changed a bit." I said with a small chuckle. "Do you have any idea what's going on?" She shrugged and took a seat next to me on the white couch designed with small moons on it and gave me a small hug. I raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you allowed to do that?"
"Of course you're a friend and I missed you. Besides, Artemis even admitted that she would-" Artemis cut her off.
"Don't you think that you should be helping the younger huntresses with their shooting practice?" Thalia smirked and walked off. I raised an eyebrow at Artemis who just cleared her throat and looked at Aphrodite to continue.
"You know… I think I should see how good Thalia works with young girls." Before Artemis could say anything Aphrodite ran off. She was most likely going to get Thalia to finish what she was saying.
"Anyways Percy," Artemis started as she sat where Thalia was previously. "Aphrodite had Ares do some work on your sword but he was surprised to see that it made you stronger. According to him, it wasn't supposed to help you that much."
"So that's what was wrong with Riptide. How come he didn't expect it to make me so much more powerful?"
"Well, it turns out that most of the energy you emitted during the fight was from you and not from anything Ares did. Anyways, Poseidon found this out and is determined to have you become a god in about two months."
"That doesn't seem so bad. With all the training I've been doing lately it seems possible."
"The real problem is that as soon as you become a god, you have to get married to a woman of your father's choosing. He specifically said that it can't be any of Zeus's daughters, which I found offensive. I have the mind to shoot an arrow through him." I laughed a little at her outburst
"Stay on topic Artemis. And I knew he was looking for a bride… but I never thought it would be so soon or that he wouldn't let me marry a woman of my choice." Surprisingly, she laid a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"We just can't tell Athena about this. I know about my sister's anger issues and if she finds out that your father's getting you married… well there's going to be a problem."
"Aw man, you're right." I said running a hand through my hair in distress. "I'll just try to avoid the subject with dad whenever he brings it up and reject every girl he chooses." Artemis nodded in a agreement when suddenly we heard Aphrodite bursting into laughter. She walked in holding her gut and wiping a tear from her face.
"Artemis, you told Thalia that you'd like to do what to Percy?" She was practically rolling on the floor and gasping for breath. "To think that the maiden goddess would want to-" She stopped to take a breath but didn't get to finish because Artemis had bolted from her seat and jumped Aphrodite to shut her up.
"You better get going Percy. It's not exactly safe right now." Thalia called from the door
"Um… yeah good idea." I agreed while slowly backing out of there. Getting involved in a cat-fight that includes Artemis isn't a smart idea.
A/N: Sorry if some of you might be mad because I'm kind of including Artemis x Percy in here, but that's because I like that couple pairing too. I'll probably have a fan-fiction out for those two soon too and if you're interested stay tuned for that! Don't worry though, this story is strictly Percy x Athena.
