CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN:
"–some. Hey!" Percy spun around, lost. "Where am I? Arty?"
Artemis extricated herself from her position wrapped around Percy's torso and grinned up at him. "I'm keeping you separated from Apollo whenever you say that word. I don't need two of you at a time with that nonsense."
"Ah," Percy nodded wisely as he wrapped his arm around Artemis' shoulder. "Divide and conquer. Smart."
Artemis hummed as she burrowed into his embrace.
"Hey Arty?" Percy whispered.
"Yeah?" she mumbled back.
"Did you mean to bring Gaea with us when you made our great escape?"
Artemis snapped up as her eyes widened. "What?!"
Percy used his head to indicate behind them and, lo and behold, there was the crackling cage of energy surrounding the bound primordial. Artemis flushed bright golden when she realized her blunder. "Ah… we should probably send her to Olympus."
Percy shrugged and shook his head. "No need. You and I can probably just take her directly to the Primordial Council."
Artemis' eyes somehow managed to widen further. "You want me to go to the Primordial Council with you?"
Percy laughed at her disbelieving expression, earning him a punch in the shoulder. "Sure, why not? The worst thing that can happen is we get blasted off the face of the planet."
"That's very not good, Percy!" Artemis exclaimed, slightly alarmed.
Percy chuckled and patted her head. "Don't worry, dear Arty. Everything will be fine."
/
"Hmm, it's been a while since I've done this," Percy mused as he stood next to Artemis in an open clearing with Gaea hovering slightly behind them.
Artemis eyed him critically. "This was supposed to be the easy part of your plan, Perseus. And you can't even get us to the Council itself?"
Percy sighed in exasperation. "I said it's been a while, not that I can't, Arty"
"So you can get us there?"
"Well I didn't say that either, did I?"
Artemis groaned. "Since I unfortunately remain loath to turn you into a jackalope, I am going to go find something to shoot. Call me over when you are done wasting time."
In response, Percy conjured an armful of watches.
"I have plenty of time on my hands!" he declared proudly, then yelped as a silver arrow suddenly sprouted from his left foot.
/
"Hey Arty! I got the portal open!" Percy waved his arm back and forth as he called out from his place next to a dark, swirling vortex. On the other side of the vortex appeared to be a field of stars, twinkling placidly.
Artemis emerged from the forest with a thin sheen of sweat coating her forehead and a rather dead-looking jackalope slung over her shoulder, which she unceremoniously dropped on the ground. Wonder where he came from.
"About time, slowpoke." She sauntered over to Percy and gave him a lingering kiss on his cheek.
Percy grinned back at her. "Are we ready to go?"
Artemis nodded. "Ready when you are."
Once Percy grabbed ahold of Gaea's cage, he laced his fingers through Artemis' and together, they stepped through the trans-dimensional gateway.
/
As soon as Artemis' foot touched down on solid ground, she let out an involuntary gasp of awe. The City of Primordials was shrouded in a night sky, but glowed with its own brightness, as if life and power themselves were illuminating the glorious marble buildings that made up the extraordinary metropolis. She had never in her immortal life seen such beauty, even on Olympus, and was reverently taking in her surroundings with wide, unblinking eyes.
"Wow," she breathed.
Percy smiled at her dumbfounded expression. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Artemis gaped at him and scoffed. "'Pretty cool?' This is incredible!" she exclaimed, some childlike excitement shining through her usually stoic mien.
Percy chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. We can tour the city later; we've got an appointment to make," he said, gesturing to Gaea's still silenced and struggling body.
Artemis frowned suspiciously. "Did you actually make an appointment?"
"Never has a man more need of his intelligence than when a fool asks him a question," Percy responded sagely, quoting a Chinese proverb.
It took Artemis a few moments to turn the statement over in her head, before deciding to answer it by sticking a dagger into Percy's thigh.
"Gah!" Percy cried. "Violence, woman!"
"You called me a fool!" Artemis accused.
"I did no such thing," Percy declared indignantly. "I merely stated an old proverb."
Artemis let out a huff and shook her head in exasperation while Percy grinned inwardly. His diversion tactic worked beautifully. A knife in the leg was easily worth not admitting that he had, in fact, not made an appointment with the Primordial Council.
/
As they finally reached the throne room, Percy was unsurprised to see the council of primordial gods already seated, seemingly awaiting their arrival.
On one side of the room, seven thrones seated Eros, Chronos, Erebos, Aether, Pontus, Tartarus, and Ouranos.
On the other side, Chaos sat at the end throne at the head of the room, while Ananke, Nyx, Hemera, Thalassa, and Akhlys sat opposite to the male primordials. One seat at the end of the row of female primordials was empty; one that appeared to be made from earth with rich, green vines snaking their way around the blooming flowers that lined the throne.
"I thought you were supposed to be cut to pieces," Artemis couldn't help but blurt out when she laid her eyes on Ouranos, who was lounging in his throne at the end of the male side. As soon as she realized what she had said, Artemis clamped her hands over her mouth, horrified, before starting to gush apologies.
Ouranos just waved her off lazily. "Bah! As if a titan's weapon could truly wound me."
"Hah!" Pontus chortled. "You cried like a little godling for half a decade while you were recovering!"
Ouranos glared at him while the other primordials just laughed at his expense. "At least my domain isn't being polluted by puny mortals!"
The other primordials laughed even harder.
"But it is!" Nyx managed through gasping breaths.
Artemis and even Percy, who knew what to expect from his previous visits to the Council, were slightly taken aback by the casual banter between the semi-omnipotent beings.
Regaining his bearings, Percy cleared his throat loudly. Once he saw that he had the attention of the Council, he addressed the Queen of the Primordials directly. "Lady Chaos. I assume you know why we are here today?"
The primordials regained control of their mirth as Chaos studied Percy with a cocked head. "'Today'… such a Terran concept. But yes, I recognize your motive for appearing before the Council, son of Poseidon. An interesting case, you are, Perseus. I sense my power in your body, suggesting that I somehow assisted in your frolic across the timeline. It is for that reason only that I have yet to smite you for your transgressions against the laws of nature."
Percy shifted a little uncomfortably under the scrutiny of the powerful goddess. "Well, if that's all, I'll leave Lady Gaea in your care, then."
Percy flicked his fingers and the cage containing the Earth primordial floated into the center of the throne room.
Chaos nodded. "We will deal with Gaea's treasonous actions. Fear not, young godlings. There will be no further interference in your world from any on this council," she reassured them with a warning glare directed towards her fellow primordials.
"Thank you, Lady Chaos. We will take our leave."
With a half-bow from both Percy and Artemis, they left the throne room hand in hand.
/
"It is regrettable that this place is not a viable wedding venue," Artemis mused as she strolled leisurely along the streets of Primordial City with Percy, their hands linked and arms swinging between them.
"Hmm…" Percy hummed. "I think your father would take it as a personal insult if we deemed that 'Olympus was not good enough' for our nuptials to take place on."
"Likely true," Artemis admitted.
"And I don't think that the primordials would be too happy with the boisterous chaos that usually comes with Olympian parties," Percy added.
"It is impossible to know," Artemis reasoned. "Primordial parties could be even more rambunctious."
Percy laughed. "It's difficult to imagine, but possible, certainly."
Artemis just hummed and hugged herself into his side.
/
Hera had agreed to preside over Percy and Artemis' wedding, and was currently standing at the head of the altar, donning a set of deep, royal purple robes, embroidered with golden stitches depicting her various godly symbols.
It was nice to have at least a lukewarm relationship with the Queen of the Gods this time around. In his previous life, she had held a nearly century-long grudge against him for something that he and Annabeth had said when they were 14. He guessed that one of the perks of immortal life was that you had all the time in the world, so there was no rush to 'get over it.'
Percy was standing slightly to the side of Hera, next to Apollo, who he had asked to be his best man. It came as quite a surprise to the cheerful sun god, but Percy was rather close to his brother-in-law in the future and hoped to rekindle that friendship somewhere down the line.
At that point, Athena, Artemis' maid of honor, was making her way down the aisle with a cool mask of indifference painted on her face, covering the emotion that everyone knew was boiling away somewhere beneath the surface. Deep beneath the surface.
Percy exchanged a brief nod with Athena when she reached the altar, before returning his attention back down the aisle.
And suddenly, there she was. The love of his life, the light in his night, the moon in his sea. Wait what? Did that analogy even make sense? It didn't matter, because she was there.
Smiling radiantly, Artemis wore a simple white dress with thin straps that displayed her tanned, toned shoulders and ended just below her knee. While lacking any superfluous decorations, the dress was made of fine silk and could by no means be considered 'plain.'
Percy knew she probably had at least two knives sheathed along her thighs and under her dress, despite the fact that it was her wedding day. It would be her if she didn't, after all.
Walking her down the aisle was her father, the King of the Gods. He looked hilariously conflicted still– seeming to be happy for his daughter, but unsure about how he felt about his favorite child getting married, and to a son of his brother no less.
Percy paid him no heed though, as he stared at the woman who was to be his wife by the end of the day. He grinned brightly, enraptured by her beauty, and earned himself a sly wink from her in return.
When she and her father finally made their way to the altar, Zeus shook Percy's hand, then found his way to his seat among the rest of the guests.
"Dearly beloved," Hera started, "And those not so beloved–"
Light chuckles rippled through the crowd of assemblees.
"– we are gathered here today to witness…"
Percy tuned her out as Hera made the standard opening remarks, sprinkled liberally with her own brand of cynicism and misanthropy. He only reluctantly turned his attention away from staring at Artemis when it was finally his turn to speak.
After exchanging their vows, Percy turned and retrieved the rings from Apollo, the very same that he had carried back from the future around his neck. That would've been a weird paradox if he wasn't simply rewriting the timeline entirely.
"With this ring, I thee wed, and with it, I bestow upon thee all the treasures of my mind, heart, and hands." Percy slid the ring onto Artemis' left ring finger.
Artemis smiled at him. "I will forever wear this ring as a sign of my commitment and the desire of my heart."
She then took his own left hand and placed the ring on his fourth finger. "I give this ring unto thee as a symbol of my heart. As it circles thy finger, may it remind thee always that thee art surrounded by my enduring love."
Percy clasped her smaller hand in his. "I will wear it gladly. Whenever I look at it, I will remember this joyous day and the vows we have made."
Hera nodded in satisfaction from her spot in the background. "I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Without hesitation, Percy scooped Artemis up in his arms, spun her around, and dipped her low, pressing his lips against hers amidst the cheers and clapping of the audience.
/
After the insanity of the Olympian party that could only grudgingly be called a wedding reception in name, followed by an equally insane afterparty among the Hunters, Artemis had finally returned with Percy back to his newly-constructed palace on Olympus.
When they reached the master bedroom, Artemis dropped onto the bed and stretched out languidly, looking up at Percy seductively.
"What do you say we get to work on starting our own little family, oh husband of mine?"
Percy raised a curious eyebrow.
"We have all the time in the world to have children; are you sure you want that now?" he asked, before cringing internally as he realized that it was exactly that line of reasoning that led to his distinct lack of children in the future.
Artemis just stared deadpanned back up at him.
"Fair point," Percy conceded and grinned as he pounced on his wife. "It's not like I'm complaining."
END
/
AN: Well, we're done. Finally. I'm sorry if the story seemed a little rushed, especially towards the end– that's because it was. But I promised myself that I would see it through, and so I did. I hope you all enjoyed it anyways.
Thank you guys so much for sticking with me all the way here. The journey was incredible and was far more than I ever could've expected. Your words of support have lit up what has been a rather dark time for me, and I greatly appreciate that.
I am working on some other stories, Harry Potter ones this time, but I'm not sure if I'm going to end up posting them. At least one of the one-shots is ready. But until then, goodbye for now!
-MP