Percy tried not to make eye contact with anyone after he and Selene finished their dance, which Apollo decided to make the first dance of the Gala. Coordination on the battlefield did not translate well into coordination on the dancefloor for Percy. It seemed to be genetic since Selene, Anita and even Poseidon stumbled a lot when they danced.

"Good to know I got my dancing skills from you," Percy half-heartedly chuckled when Poseidon sat down beside him at the big table.

"Yes," Poseidon chuckled back, keeping his eyes on his plate, "Zeus made sure that our branch of the family would have terrible dancing skills during godly get-togethers so as not to out shine him."

"Is there a God of Dance that makes sure of that?" Percy asked sarcastically.

Percy didn't get an answer as Artemis pulled him out of his seat and behind her throne.

"What now?" Percy asked, irritated with Artemis' constant explanationless pulling.

"Why didn't you take your chance when I was in your bed?" She asked, looking more disappointed than angry.

"You feeling alright?" Percy asked, putting his hand on her forehead, "you're acting strange. Almost as if you're... Wait, you're not under Aphrodite's control again are you? Wait here, I'll make sure she releases you."

"I'm not under her control," Artemis assured him, "that's never happening again." She took a deep breath and sighed before continuing, "father gave me until the end of the summer to marry you or..."

Percy waited for Artemis to continue, but she stayed silent. He read her expression and came to a conclusion.

"Or you'll be turned mortal?"he asked, receiving only a nod in response, "You should have told me. This isn't just some trivial matter, this is about your godly status."

Artemis looked away, but Percy made her look back at him. He looked her in the eyes, using only a look to tell her that everything would be fine. When he removed his hand from her face, she closed her eyes and leaned closer to him, pursing her lips, causing Percy to stagger backwards. Percy's heart nearly skipped a beat at the sight of Artemis waiting patiently for Percy to make his move. He hesitantly closed the distance between them, nervously gulping before leaning in and kissing her. The instant their lips made contact, she wrapped her arms around him. There was no turning back from this choice. After a few moments, they separated, looking into each other's eyes in a way neither had before. Percy's attention shifted when something tickled the back of his ear. He instinctively reached to grab whatever it was, only to have it latch onto his hand before it got near his shoulder.

Bringing his hand in front of him, he saw that it was Kira. She was clutching into her stomach while her tail wrapped around Percy's finger.

"So you're hungry?" Percy asked.

Percy walked out from behind Artemis' throne and made his way back to the big table. On his way, he was swarmed by girls, both in the harem and otherwise.

"Dance with me Percy," a girl from one of the minor gods cabins said, trying to reach Percy.

"Harem members first!" Khel exclaimed, smacking several girls away with her wings.

"In that case it's my turn," Annabeth stated.

Percy had a panicked look on his face. He looked down at Kira, who looked ready to collapse from hunger.

"Go find grandpa," Percy told her, shoving his arm up so she could see.

Kira flew off just as Percy sank beneath the wave of girls. Thalia had a look on her face that was a mix of confusion and the sarcastic "really" look. Artemis sat beside her, not paying attention to the event unfolding on the dancefloor as she was joyously lost in her own mind.

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Percy was almost unconscious for the rest of the Gala, with Kira trying to shove food in his mouth, as her infant mindset came up with the solution of food is the only medicine. Most of the other gods had decided to sit in their thrones, as none of them wanted to be near Artemis, who had started giggling like a schoolgirl in love, leaving the table occupied with only Artemis, demigods, and an infant trying to feed her nearly unconscious father.

A faint green glow by the hearth got everyone but Percy's and Artemis' attention. The demigods that had arrived at Camp Half-blood being chased by a dragon, had their godly parents finally revealed. The two were siblings due to their mortal father. The older brother, who had introduced himself as Grady, was a child of Demeter, while his little sister, who said her name was Aurora, was a child of Iris. Aurora was overjoyed at the discovery of her mother, while Grady seemed marginally less enthusiastic about his mother.

Thalia shocked Percy back to his senses so he could see what was happening.

"Huh? What?" Percy looked at the symbols above the two demigods, "huh, I've never met a child of Iris before. At least I don't think I have."

Kira took the opportunity to shove a piece of ambrosia into Percy's mouth. He looked down at her, seeing the look of complete and utter pride in a job well done.

"I can feed myself, Kira," Percy told her, rubbing the top of her head, "thank you though."

Percy then looked over and saw Kai trying to pull the Ophiotaurus out of the water that looped around the council chamber. Percy left the table to deal with it.

"Kai," Percy called, "put Bessie down, he's not food."

I thank ChildofThanatos for creating characters to use in the story and I look forward to any other characters my readers would like me to include.