Sally's P.O.V
Today was the day, the day my son married the love of his life. I thought back to the day he was born, a beautiful baby boy, even then he had jet black hair, his face all scrunched up as he adjusted to light, and a feeling in my chest that something that was missing had just been found, had been completed. I thought back to when the colour of his eyes had set in, when he was around six weeks old, that sea green colour just like his father's. I remembered the first time we made blue cookies together, his first day at school, his first time in a pool and the first time he returned home from a quest. I still remembered the day he came home from his first summer at camp. All he had spoken about was Annabeth; Annabeth thought this, Annabeth had a plan for that. I knew even then that he had a crush on her, I remembered the following year when she'd gone missing and how worried he'd been, at fourteen he'd crossed the country to save her, that's when I knew it his feelings went deeper than a crush, he loved her. The next summer when I had seen them together something was wrong between them like they were fighting, I didn't know at the time what I know now, that they'd kissed and then he'd been stranded on Calypso's island and had fallen for her because of her curse. With that information, looking back on that summer, I knew the love he'd felt for Calypso hadn't been anywhere near what he felt for Annabeth, I wish she had known then how much he loved her. I remembered the day he told me they we dating, he was so nervous, Annabeth had been trying not to laugh at him, quite unsuccessfully. They'd been, much like they were now, so in love with each other and they'd finally figured it out.
The memories brought a smile to my face as I brushed my daughter's hair through. She was going to look lovely today; she'd been so excited when Annabeth and Percy had asked her to be their flower girl. The past two weeks the apartment floor had been covered in petals as she had practiced throwing the petals as she walked in a straight-ish line. Once Estelle was ready, she ran off to find Annabeth and the bridesmaids; I wouldn't see her again until she walked down the aisle in front of my daughter-in-law, although I thought of Annabeth as a daughter too. I was so happy that she was officially joining our family today, she made Percy so happy and vice versa, I was so proud that they had each other and that they were getting married.
"You look lost in thought" My husband Paul said to me as I got ready for the day.
"I am a little" I confessed "I feel like today has been a long time coming, I was just looking back on a few memories."
"I guess it does feel that way, with all they've been through" He said as he started to tie his tie in a Windsor knot. He looked very handsome with his salt and pepper hair glinting in the sunlight from the window.
"You look lovely dear" I told him as I looked at his suit, Percy had decided upon black suits with sea green ties and had asked Paul to wear the same. Usually the father of the groom and the bride weren't asked to match suit wise to the groomsmen but I knew it had been important to Percy that they had been asked. I didn't know what Percy's father would actually wear today, but I knew Paul felt honoured that he had been asked to match in with the suits.
"Thank you" Paul said "How exactly to you attached a sea shell to a lapel?" He asked me and I laughed a little, Annabeth had given instructions for how to attach their unique button-hole choice, miniature conch horns.
"Here, let me" I said threading the wire through the shell and then through the button-hole. "There" I said as Paul looked himself up and down in the mirror.
"Thank you Sally, I best let you finish getting ready, I think Percy has a few last minute things for me to do, I'll be back before we need to go to the ceremony" He said kissing my cheek and heading out to help Percy with whatever it was, as I set to work getting myself ready for my son's wedding.
Grover's P.O.V
I was trying to fold my tie the way Percy had asked us to, but it was complicated and seriously how often do satyrs' wear suits anyway? Blaaah, I bleated in frustration but I wasn't the only one seeming to struggle with the fish bone knot. Nico, Malcolm, Frank, Bobby and Matthew were also having issues with the complexity of the knot Percy had chosen the only ones who weren't were Percy himself and Tyson, I had a feeling it wasn't just a son of Poseidon thing either.
Tyson and Percy helped the rest of us tie our ties in the correct way and once they had done them I had to admit they looked good, maybe not enchilada good, but good all the same.
"You ready for this man?" I asked Percy as he put his trident cufflinks through his shirt.
"Yeah I am G-Man, I can't wait for her to be my wife" He told me and I could feel how strongly he meant that like it was with every fibre of his being, even if we didn't have the empathy link anymore, reading emotions was kind of my strong suit.
"So no pre-wedding jitters, I'm not going to have to fetch you out of the ocean?" I teased.
"Oh I'm nervous, but I'm not worried not about this, I've never been more sure of anything in my life" He told me and I could see he was a little nervous but I chalked that up to his extreme dislike of being at the centre of everyone's attention, as soon as he saw Annabeth walk down that aisle I knew those nerves would fade. 'Oh Gods Annabeth!' I was supposed to deliver Percy's note to her while she was getting ready I almost forgot!
"Good" I told my best friend "If you'll excuse me, I have a delivery to make" I said leaving Cabin 3 at camp and heading into the forest towards the Greek village.
Percy and Annabeth were following the mortal wedding traditions to the letter which included not seeing each other before the wedding hence why we were all getting ready in Cabin 3. We'd slept there last night, it was strange sleeping in a camp cabin for me as well usually as a satyr we don't, I bet what was even more unusual for Percy and Tyson was that there were more than just the two of them in there. Annabeth and the bridal party along with Annabeth's parents and Percy's parents were staying and getting ready at Percy and Annabeth's home. I walked through the front door and wiped my hooves on the mat, before heading upstairs. I knocked on the door to the bedroom where I could hear lots of chatter and music, it sounded like they were having fun and I was happy that they were. I waited.
Thalia answered the door, a confused expression on her face until she saw me standing there. She turned her head back into the room and said "Its goat boy" before turning back to me "What's up goat boy?" She asked me using my old nickname which I've come to accept will be used even if it did imply I was younger than all of them which was not the case.
"I've got a special delivery for the bride" I said holding out a blue envelope.
Thalia's P.O.V
Today's the day, my little sister gets married. I found myself feeling very emotional about it all when I woke up this morning. I was really proud of Annabeth she had grown so much in the past thirteen years and not just in height but as a person too.
"Morning sunshine" Piper sang as she came in to make sure I was awake.
"Morning Piper, my, my, we are channelling our mom today aren't we?" I teased; what? She called me sunshine which meant I was Apollo's thing not Artemis', no thank you.
"Shut up!" She said punching my shoulder for good measure but I could see she didn't mean it. "You aren't excited?" She asked me.
"No, I am, I'm just feeling a little more nostalgic than I was expecting too" I admitted, it was hard to hard feelings from Piper so I decided not to try. But, I was excited for the day; once we kicked off everything I knew I'd be fine.
"I know something that will help" She said and she had that mischievous glimmer in her eyes like she had when she suggested the pomegranates for the chariot races.
"Oh yeah?" I asked.
"Yeah, want to help me wake the bride?" She asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm in" I didn't know what her plan was but at this point I didn't care and as it turned out it didn't matter. Annabeth was already awake when we opened her bedroom door and was setting out everyone's things so that we could start getting ready after we'd eaten, please we're not barbaric, we're going to eat right?
"Morning" Annabeth said as she carried on with what she was doing, it was 7am and she looked like she was ready to run a marathon. "Breakfast is downstairs" She said hardly looking up from her task.
I looked at Piper and we came to a silent agreement, we walked over to Annabeth, each hooked an arm through hers and dragged her from the room downstairs. When Annabeth gets nervous she has a need to organise and plan, it settles her, however there wasn't much for her to organise or plan today, it was just time to get ready and go.
We met Rachel, Hazel and Reyna in the kitchen, they all bore smiles of excitement for the day and this seemed to settle Annabeth a little.
"Told you it was Annabeth, Reyna you owe me five bucks" Rachel said
"Sorry, I didn't wake any of you, did I?" Annabeth asked and got a resounding no from all of us, "Oh, good! So breakfast is just going to be magic plates I'm afraid, no Percy's breakfast this morning." She said as Sally walked in.
"Just because Percy's not here, doesn't mean you can't have blue pancakes" she said smiling, she gave Annabeth a hug which seemed to relax her a little more, before setting to work making us all blue pancakes before we got ready.
"Thanks Sally" I said as we all took places at the breakfast bar and conversed about the day a head.
Once we'd eaten Sally made an extra batch which she dispatched with Paul to cabin 3 at camp and a smile played at Annabeth's lips.
"You're thinking about the smile on his face when he gets those aren't you?" I said more than asked as we made our way up the stairs for Piper to start doing our hair.
"Yeah I am, he loves his mom's pancakes and having blue ones today just feels right." She responded and she got that dreamy expression she wore quite a lot back when we talked about Percy. It's funny to think that that strong and bold seven year old who was so set on intellect and knowledge would ever be this love struck, but it was also nice, it was a testament to how much she had grown.
"So, ready to be Mrs. Kelp Head?" I asked teasingly and she rolled her eyes at me.
"I'm ready to be Mrs. Jackson; I'll never have a kelp head, thank you very much." She said in mock offense, and I knew she wasn't really offended because when she had said 'Mrs. Jackson' her eyes had lit up like it was the best thing she could be called.
Piper put on some music on a low volume as she started getting each of us ready. There wasn't much she could do with my choppy black hair thankfully but what she did do looked great, she'd run a load of product of some description through my hair and made it spiky which I kind of loved, she replaced my tiara that signified I the lieutenant of the hunt which somehow stood out more. Hazel was next; Hazel had natural curly cinnamon brown hair, Piper made the curls more pronounced somehow, it must be a daughter of Aphrodite thing, I thought to myself, she clipped a few stands from each side of Hazels head at the back and let the rest flow naturally. Reyna was up next and I could tell Piper was really looking forward to doing Reyna's hair. Reyna, like Annabeth always wore her hair up; today Piper was going to change that. Reyna's hair was naturally straight, Piper brushed through the right side of Reyna's hair and pinned it all up so it looked as if it had all been brushed to the left. She let the hair fall naturally over Reyna's left shoulder, it actually really suited her. Next was Rachel with her unruly red hair, I had a feeling Piper had been dying to give the oracle of Delphi a makeover since she met her. Piper decided to pull Rachel's hair into a braid and then wrap it round into a neat bun at the back of her head, leaving a few red curls to frame her face. That just left Annabeth and Piper and time was marching on, it was already 9:30 and the ceremony was at 12. Estelle had joined us not long ago and was sitting with Annabeth talking about Gods only knows what while we had our hair done. I thought she was very patient for a child so young, even if she was only mortal.
Each hair style was just as surprising to me as my own; I had no idea what she was going to do for Annabeth. Before I could wonder any more about that there was a knock at the bedroom door, when it didn't open we assumed it was mostly Paul. It wasn't, it was Grover.
"Hey it's goat boy" I called over my shoulder to the others and they smiled but were concentration on getting ready even though we were talking and laughing, Grover gave me an envelope for Annabeth and immediately I knew it was from Percy.
"Oh wait Annabeth has one for him too, one second" I went to retrieve the silver envelope from Annabeth's bedside table for Grover. "Here you go" I said handing it to him, "how is he? Nervous?" I asked.
"A little, but he's so excited, how's she? Nervous?" he asked.
"Yes, but also very excited" I replied and we said fair well before I headed back to the girls to girl Annabeth her envelope.
"ooo!" They squealed like it was the best thing in the world, I would never understand this.
"Oh, Annabeth! That's so romantic exchanging notes on your wedding day!" Piper gushed "What does it say?" She asked as the braided Annabeth's hair to make it look as if she were wearing a crown of Laurels. Annabeth rolled her eyes clearly expecting this kind of reaction from Piper and opened her letter and read it.
"Well come on, what does it say?" Rachel demanded and I couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" I asked "Oh come on it's going to be some romantic sap" I said, I mean it was Kelp Head after all!
"It says" Annabeth interrupted us.
"Wise Girl,
I really missed you last night; it's not the same falling asleep without next to me. I hope you got more sleep than I did but I suspect you were up early too huh?"
She chuckled because she had been up early.
"I can't wait to see you at the altar at noon; I just know you'll look incredible. Looking forward to you being Mrs. Jackson, I'm probably going to call you that a lot from now on, has a nice ring to it don't you think?
Yours always,
Love Seaweed Brain"
"Aww!" they cooed, it was romantic like I said it's Kelp Head but I saw it had had its intended effect as the biggest smile was now plastered across Annabeth's face, and that made me smile. Say what you want about the guy, but if there ones one thing I had no doubt he'd always know how to do, it was make Annabeth happy.
Piper finished Annabeth's hair the Laurel wreath braids framing her hair as the rest fell loosely behind her, it looked amazing, it was clipped into place with an owl shaped hair piece. I knew Percy's eyes were going to pop out of his head like an action figure.
Piper did her own hair in a French braid which rested on her right shoulder and she moved on to make up. Fortunately it was mostly all natural as not many of us really wore make up.
Everyone had mascara and eyeliner and then a little eye shadow but that was as far as she pushed it and to be honest no-one really needed make up in the group and I knew Percy didn't think Annabeth needed it. She did look beautiful and she hadn't even put her dress on yet, I felt pride welling up in my chest and I didn't really know why but I was so proud of her.
I checked the clock again it was almost 11; we were just about to put our dresses on when Athena and Aphrodite flashed into the room. There was also a knock and Sally and Mrs. Chase entered the room, it was like mom over load in here.
"Mom" Annabeth said turning to Athena, who look as proud as I felt.
"Annabeth, you look wonderful" she said and everyone agreed.
Percy's P.O.V
Liv had made us pose for so many photos before she went off to get some of Annabeth and the bridesmaids. Annabeth had written me a note and this was the first opportunity I had had to read it.
Seaweed Brain,
I miss you, I'm sitting in bed writing this and Gods, I miss you.
I'm really excited for tomorrow and I know you are too, I can't believe by this time tomorrow I'll be your wife.
What an amazing thought that is, don't you think?
Yes, it really is, I thought before I continued reading.
I know you'll look amazing in your suit; I always love seeing you in a suit.
Hope you're enjoying your boy's night!
Love always,
Your Wise Girl
Just reading it calmed my nerves, she'd even written it in ancient Greek to make it easier on my dyslexia, Gods, she was amazing.
I didn't get much time to think on it because my father flashed into the cabin.
"Dad" I said taking in his appearance, he was for once not in board shorts and a surfer shirt, but in a very elegant sea green suit, which supported a silver tie. "You look nice" I said awkwardly.
"Thank you son" He said seeming not to notice. "I was going to say the same to you"
"Thanks Dad" I think he could tell I was getting restless.
"Don't worry Percy" He said to me and I knew it wouldn't stop me worrying, he handed me a box and I opened it. It contained the two wedding bands that Tyson had made for us. They looked great, Imperial gold bands with a blue coral trident one side and a grey coral owl the other. And engraved in ancient Greek on the inside, Seaweed Brain on mine and Wise Girl on Annabeth's, they were perfect better than I could have imagined.
"Dad, why do you have these?" I asked as I had thought Tyson had already given them to Grover.
"I had to get them blessed by the appropriate Gods" he told me and I had a feeling that that meant, himself, Athena, Aphrodite and Hera.
"Thank you, it's appreciated" I said and I meant it.
"I think we should get going otherwise, your bride is going to beat you to the altar and that would be good" He told me.
"No" I replied "No it wouldn't" I checked the clock it was 11:30 I still had half an hour but I knew Liv wanted more pictures when I got the altar.
Dad and I headed out from cabin three to the beach, it had taken most of the week to set it up but with a lot of help from the campers, our friends and our family we had managed to set up on the beach for today. There were rows of chairs on either side of the aisle we had made the left side had the Athena owl on the back of then and the right had the Poseidon Trident. Annabeth's family were being seated on the left and mine on the right and our friends got to pick the side they felt more comfortable sitting on.
At the end of the aisle was a beautiful marble arch way which had been crafted in the arts and crafts cabin at camp. It had two Greek styled columns on each side and they were joined with a traditional Greek architecture arch. Wrapped around the arch were forget-me-not flowers, Katie Gardner had really gone all out and it looked amazing. An orange carpet lined the aisle, it wasn't Annabeth's first choice, but the campers had insisted, on camp half-blood orange. Annabeth had decided that since this was where we had met that it was kind of fitting and had in the end happily agreed with the orange even if it didn't match her colour scheme. Waiting under the centre of the arch was Chiron, he was officiating our ceremony, and as I approached him he smiled at me. It wasn't long now until Annabeth would walk down that aisle and I'd get to see how amazing she looked.
I didn't have to wait long until the music started. I turned to watch Annabeth walk down the aisle towards me holding her father's arm. I felt my eyes start to sting, Gods she looked beautiful, more beautiful than anything I've ever seen. My heart started its usual relay race in my chest as she took each step towards me, my heart pace quickened. She was breathe taking, I tried not to stare, but who was I kidding I was staring with tears in my eyes. 'I love you' I mouthed to her as she approached, the feeling of jubilation in me so strong, I thought it would never fade.
Annabeth's P.O.V
The funny thing about being a demigod is that interaction with your Godly parent was always wanted and always unexpected when it happened. That could not have been truer than when my mother showed up to help me up my wedding dress on this morning or when she let me step mom help her do it. It was an odd but joyful moment that felt almost well – almost mortal.
My sister Liv took a tonne of photos of us getting ready and a load more once we were ready. My dad took one look at me and burst into tears, which told me two things, he was proud of me and he thought I looked beautiful. We sat in the Pegasus drawn carriage – Percy had compromised on his chariot idea, silly Seaweed Brain. The thought made my stomach flip and flop with butterflies.
"Annabeth" My dad said softly "I'm so proud of you and all that you've done especially today" I smiled at him.
"Dad, stop" I said as gently as I can "You're going to make me cry" I said truthfully, my emotions were already running so high I didn't think I could take any more emotion. He smiled at me knowingly.
"Okay" he said "But I will say this, you look beautiful, I mean you always do, but especially so today" that was it a tear slid down my cheek, my father reach over with his pocket square and brushed it away and I smiled at him.
"Thanks dad" I said and I meant for everything he'd ever done for me not just the compliment he'd just given me and I knew while looking at him that he knew that. We hadn't had the best start, but Percy had brought us back together, I had so much to thank that Seaweed Brain for. My stomach sent another flutter through me and it was almost nauseating with the nerves as well.
The carriage pulled to a stop and I could see everyone we cared about sat waiting for us. The Bridesmaids and Groomsmen stood ready, Estelle next to Sally and Paul in the front row on the right. My step mom waiting for my dad on the left, the Gods sitting divided at the back, they'd split by gender, maybe that had been the easiest solution I mused.
I took my dad's arm took one last look at Thalia's pine tree thinking of how this had all begun before the music started and I took my first step on to the orange carpeted aisle. All our guests stood and turned to look at me but I wasn't looking at them. I was looking at him, he turned to face me and I saw tears form in his eyes and the creases at the corner of them start to form. I saw his breathe taking smile spread across his face. He mouthed 'I love you' at me and I knew my eyes were brimming with tears too, I mouthed back 'I love you' and if possible his smile got wider. I took in, him standing there in his black suit, white shirt and black waistcoat with his sea green tie tied in a fishbone note, he looked great- yeah okay y'know what it's my wedding day if I can't gush now when can I? He looked gorgeous, like Greek god, godly gorgeous, but then again to me he always had, the suit helped though, he always looked great in a suit.
We reach the end of the aisle and my dad kissed my cheek and shook Percy's hand before letting Percy take my hand.
"You look incredible" He whispered to me as we stood in front of Chiron.
"Thanks, you look incredible too" I whispered back smiling at him, noticed out of the corner of my eye that Chiron, who had always been like a father to me, was also smiling almost proudly.
Chiron cleared his throat and said "We are gathered here today, to witness join Annabeth and Percy in holy matrimony, and I think I speak for everyone present when I say, it's been a long time coming." That earned him a few laughs from the crowd.
"Percy, repeat after me, I Perseus Jackson..."
"I Perseus Jackson" Percy said looked at me.
"Take you Annabeth Chase..." Chiron said.
"Take you Annabeth Chase"
"To be my wife"
"To be my wife" Percy smiled at me.
"To hold from this day forward, for better, for worse..."
"To hold from this day forward, for better, for worse"
"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health..."
"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health" Percy repeated.
"To love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to the Gods holy laws." Chiron said and yeah okay we edited the mortal wording a little!
"To love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to the Gods holy laws." Percy said and his eyes bore into mine with only love and my heart was racing my stomach fluttering.
"In the presence of the Gods I make this vow."
"In the presence of the Gods I make this vow." Thunder crackled in the distance, but Percy and I didn't take our eyes off each other.
"Annabeth, repeat after me" Chiron said to me. "I Annabeth Chase..."
"I Annabeth Chase" I repeated.
"Take you Perseus Jackson..." Chiron said.
"Take you Perseus Jackson"
"To be my husband"
"To be my husband" Percy smiled at me, and I thought if I smiled any more my face would set that way.
"To hold from this day forward, for better, for worse..."
"To hold from this day forward, for better, for worse"
"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health..."
"For richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health" I repeated.
"To love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to the Gods holy laws." Chiron said.
"To love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to the Gods holy laws." I smiled.
"In the presence of the Gods I make this vow."
"In the presence of the Gods I make this vow." Thunder crackled in the distance, but Percy and I didn't take our eyes off each other.
Then we exchanged rings and again Percy went first.
"Annabeth, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you, within the love of Gods." Percy said, and so our amendments of the traditional vows weren't the best but I didn't care at that moment as Percy slid the gold band onto my finger next to the engagement ring.
Thalia handed me Percy's ring, ""Percy, I give you this ring as a sign of our marriage. With my body I honour you, all that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you, within the love of Gods." I placed the ring on his left hand, it looked different but not out of place. I smiled at Percy and he smiled back at me.
"By the powers bestowed upon me by the Gods, I now pronounce you; husband and wife" Chiron said.
Percy placed his hand on my cheek and leant forward, I met him half way and we shared our first kiss as a married couple as a cheer went up around us from our friends and family.
Piper's P.O.V
Tears ran down my face for the entire ceremony, I have always cried at weddings but somehow today it was more emotional than normal. After everything they'd been through, they'd made it to today and I was so happy for them. Yeah okay so I am channelling my mom, so what? You couldn't write a more romantic story than theirs.
The ceremony was perfect, Annabeth looked amazing with in her dress with all the images of her and Percy woven into the skirt, I sat next to Estelle and she was asking about the images on Annabeth's dress, as Percy and Annabeth stood to have photos take with their parents.
"I don't know all the stories behind them Estelle, I wish I did, I'll tell you who you should ask though, Percy, he'd be able to tell you about every single one I'm sure." I said and she nodded eagerly at the idea, if there was one thing I knew about Estelle it was how much she loved a story, I thought Annabeth might have had something to do with that.
"Estelle!" Sally called, she was obviously required for the next photo, Estelle ran over to Sally and stood in front of her brother, Matthew and Bobby joined on Annabeth's side too.
Gods! I loved weddings!
"Hey" a familiar voice came from behind me and I turned and saw Malcolm, his short blond hair spiked with just enough hair wax but not too much, looking dashing in his suit.
"Hey Mal" I smiled and kissed his cheek, I didn't know whether his and Annabeth's mom knew about our relationship yet, she probably did, I thought, but still I didn't want to make him uncomfortable in front of her. I looped my arm through his and rested my head on his shoulder. "Don't they look perfect together" I said him as we sat watching photos being taken.
"Yes" he agreed "I like seeing her, this happy, it suits her" he said and I thought it was a strange comment and I told him so.
"What I mean is, I've been with Annabeth through a lot I've known her for, over ten years now, Annabeth was nine when I first got to camp. And, she's the best sibling I've ever had, we've always had the most in common out of mom's children but even back then, when I thought she was happy, was nothing to how she was when she returned from her first quest with Percy. I knew then I think that she had a crush on him, and the more time they spent together the more obvious it became. But even after they first got together and I thought I'd never seen her happier, even that doesn't compare to how happy she looks today. It really suits her and I'm happy for her." He explained to me and I knew what he meant. I had met Annabeth when I was fifteen and she was seventeen, it feels like a lot longer than almost three years ago. I'd met Annabeth at, what at the time seemed to be her lowest point, when Percy had been missing. I remember the day they were reunited, how happy she was that he remembered her and how happy and comfortable they had been together on the Argo II, that was nothing in comparison to how happy she was today, how happy they both were today.
"I know what you mean" I told him as he got called up for photos.
Once photos were out of the way we headed over to a silver coloured marquee like tent on the beach. Once everyone was settled Grover took the microphone from the DJ system and said rather proudly "Ladies and Gentleman, Lords and Ladies, I introduce to you for the first time, Mr and Mrs Jackson!" A huge cheer went up as Percy and Annabeth entered and made their way over to the top table. Next was the wedding breakfast, which was amazing, to start there was a choice of a pate or for us vegetarians a selection of different melons, the main was a choice of roasted belly pork or a ratatouille and for dessert there we no options required – blue cookies were the order of the day. Then we got to the part of weddings I loved the most the speeches. I tell you why they are my favourite part and that's because it shows how well the best man, father of the bride and sometimes the maid of honour know who they are talking about. Don't get me wrong sometimes they can be awful but sometimes they just emulate who the day should be about. The top table was traditional with Best man, Grover on the end of the left side, next to him was Percy's mom, Sally, and next to her was Annabeth's dad, Fredrick, then sat Annabeth next to Percy. Next to Percy was Annabeth's mom, Athena, next to her was Percy's dad, Poseidon (it was actually kind of funny how that had worked out), and then on the end was maid of honour, Thalia. The other gods were placed with their cabins on tables around the room, those who didn't have a cabin were sat with each other on a separate table and then there was our table which had, me, Malcolm, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Calypso, Paul and Estelle. Reyna, Clarisse, Chris, Rachel, Tyson, Ella and Juniper sat with the rest of Annabeth's family. Anyway back to the speeches first off was the father of the bride, Dr. Chase looked nervous.
"Good afternoon" He started "thank you all for coming out today to be a part of Annabeth and Percy's day, I hope you're enjoying the day as much as we are." He paused and turned to face the happy couple "I knew the day I met Percy, that he loved my daughter, and they weren't even together then-"
"Sounds about right!" Travis heckled from the back, which got a few laughs.
Annabeth's dad smiled and continued "I also knew, although it did have to be pointed out to be back then-" He looked at his wife and smiled "That she loved him. And once they got together which I'm sure surprised no-one present, I saw how happy he made her. Percy, thank you for making my daughter happy, thank you for looking out for her on your quests, thank you for keeping her safe, and lastly welcome to our family, a toast to Percy and Annabeth!" He said.
"Percy and Annabeth" echoed around the room. Annabeth had tears in her eyes and Percy shook her father's hand before sitting back down. Next up was Grover.
"Where to start...?" Grover said looking at the couple, smiling. "The first time I met Percy, he had no clue about any of this-" he gestured around "-as far as he was concerned he was just a regular mortal boy who got expelled from a lot of schools-" laughter filled the room, we'd all been there. "-The first time I met Annabeth, I was pretty sure she could run me through with her dagger, she was a fierce seven year old demigod." Laughter ensued, Percy whispered something to Annabeth which made her laugh more and I could feel the waves of love rolling of them it was so strong. "The first time they met each other, well there was definitely a connection, even then, though both tried very hard to deny it. A very strong friendship followed no matter how hard Annabeth tried to hate him." Laughter erupted from the room, Percy whispered something to Annabeth and she kissed him in response and smiled at him as she pulled way, Percy chuckled and smiled back. "Even though these two denied their feelings until they were sixteen, the rest of us knew they were meant to be, they'd do anything to protect the other, and I even though it frustrated everyone at camp it was really quite entertaining to watch them figure it out."
"Did everyone know before we did?" Percy asked.
"Yes!" the room responded and laughter erupted again as Annabeth whispered something to him, and he smiled back at her.
"Once they figured it out, it was like they had always been together, it was a natural thing like; the sky being blue of the sun rising in the east, they were meant to be. So for the second time today please raise a glass for Percy and Annabeth!" Grover finished and I thought Grover's speech was very touching.
"Percy and Annabeth!" echoed once more and Grover passed the microphone to Thalia.
"I'm not normally one for public speaking so please bear with me." She said "When I met you Annabeth, I knew you were tough, heck to tried to brain us with a hammer-" laughter echoed around the room, Percy leaned over and kissed Annabeth as Thalia continued. "-you loved knowledge so much you use to tell me about all these landmarks even at seven. So imagine my surprise when I woke up from being a tree and all you spoke about was Percy this and Percy that." She chuckled, Annabeth rolled her eyes, Percy whispered something to Annabeth and she rolled her eyes again. "The first time I met Percy was when I woke up from being a tree and he got me the help I needed. I'd like to say we became friends quickly but it took a few months for that to work out right Kelp Head?!" She asked rhetorically and Percy rolled his eyes and nodded. "It was pretty obvious though that he felt the same way as Annabeth did, I mean you don't cross the country without permission to save a girl if you don't love her, am I right Lady Aphrodite?" She asked again rhetorically but my mother graced her with a smile and a small nod of her head. "It was actually during that time as we crossed the country to save Annabeth and Lady Artemis that Percy and I became friends, dam good friends" She said and she, Percy and Grover chuckled like they did every time the dam joke got brought up. "Percy taught me lot of things about myself that winter and I knew as soon as they figured it out they were going to be really happy together, looks like that's something else I was right about hey Kelp Head?" laughter erupted around the room and she finished again with a toast to Annabeth and Percy which echoed around the room, before handing the microphone to Percy.
"Hey everyone, thanks for coming out today, I just wanted to say a few thank-yous before we carry one with the day. First to my mom, you always have stood by me and supported me no matter what and you've made me into the man I am today, thank you." Sally wiped a tear from her face but smiled and nodded in appreciation to her son. "Secondly to everyone who helped set up and make today possible thank you did a marvellous job, third to the bridesmaids, who look wonderful as I'm sure most will agree, thank you. And, last but by no means least, to my wife Annabeth who looks incredibly beautiful, thank you". He leant down and kissed Annabeth before passing the microphone back to Grover. Annabeth stood and they made their way over to the cake table.
The cake looked amazing it was a four tier square cake, patterned with waves on the bottom layer, owls on the second, waves on the third and owls on the top layer. The detailing was extraordinary, they cut the cake together and Share a kiss before Annabeth took a small piece of cake and shoved it in Percy's mouth. He smiled and laughed before taking a piece and putting it in hers but not before he put some of the icing on her nose. Annabeth rolled her eyes as Percy's kissed her nose and removed it. It was all so romantic; I wandered how my mom was managing to keep in the squeals of excitement.
Annabeth's sister Liv, pulled the two of them away for more photos which left the rest of us time to chat and mingle.
Percy's P.O.V
Liv had us pose on the docks in front of the autumnal sunset, something about silhouette photos? I don't know I didn't care at this point I was just happy to be kissing my wife on the docks.
"I love you Annabeth Jackson" I said as Liv took more photos of us.
"I love you Percy Jackson" She replied and I knew I would never get tired of hearing her say it, or hearing the words Annabeth Jackson together.
Once Liv had all the extra photos she needed we went back into the marquee to join or guests we still had about an hour before the first dance but like most of the day it flew by.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in welcoming to the floor for their first dance, Mr and Mrs Jackson!"
Annabeth and I left the conversation we were having with her parents and headed out to the dance floor. Annabeth hadn't stopped smiling all day which I was really happy about but then I hadn't stopped smiling either.
"I know I've told you a lot today, but you really do look incredibly beautiful, Wise Girl" I whispered as I put my hand on her lower back and took her other one.
"Thanks Seaweed Brain, you look really handsome today too" She said placing her free hand on my shoulder.
"Do you think Piper's still expecting the Little Mermaid?" I asked smirking a little, Annabeth laughed and it sounded so magical.
"Perhaps, I'm impressed you managed to keep it a secret from her, it's one of the things she's been pestering about since we set the date of the wedding." She replied and I laughed as the music started to play and we started to sway.
Annabeth's P.O.V
Today was easily the best day of my life so far. I am now officially Mrs. Annabeth Jackson and I couldn't be happier.
I rested my head against Percy's as we started to dance to our wedding song and just listened to the lyrics as they told our story.
We were strangers, starting out on a journey,
Never dreaming, what we'd have to go through,
Isn't that the truth? I thought we really had no idea about each other or the trials we would go on during that first quest.
Now here we are, I'm suddenly standing,
At the beginning with you,
The beginning, I smiled yes the start of our future, Percy pulled his head back from mine, leaned in and kissed me I knew he was thinking the same thing.
No one told me, I was going to find you,
Unexpected, what you did to my heart,
I saw tears rolling down Piper's face as I looked around the crowd, I could tell she approved of the song choice.
When I lost hope, you were there to remind me,
This is the start,
I thought briefly of our time in the river of misery when I'd almost lost hope, and Percy had brought me back to reality again, before turning my thoughts back to the day.
And life is a road that I wanna keep going,
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing,
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey,
Thoughts of all the things we'd talked about and had been through ran through my mind as we danced. I looked at Percy and I kissed him again. Gods, I loved this man!
I'll be there when the world stops turning,
I'll be there when the storm is through,
In the end I wanna be standing,
At the beginning with you...
"I love you" I whispered as we continued to dance and Grover invited everyone up to dance with us.
"I love you" He whispered back, "always have, always will." I smiled and kissed my husband as we swayed along to our song.
I wish I could say I took in the others dancing around us but I have to admit, I was pretty caught up in the moment with my husband and I didn't want it any other way. I was aware that Liv was still taking photos; I'd have to get her to stop and just join in with the party once the dance was finished.
It didn't take Thalia long to hijack the playlist and bump up the choices she approved of, I knew because the next song that played was a green day song and I was pretty sure it was supposed to be something else, but neither Percy not I cared at this point. I felt a tug at my dress and looked away from Percy to find Estelle trying to get my attention. She held up her hand and I took it, Percy smiled at me as she led me away from the dance floor to a quieter part of the marquee.
"Is everything okay Estelle?" I asked and she nodded, before I could ask anything else Percy joined us and Piper had followed him.
"Hey, I think I know what she wants" Piper said, "she wants to hear the stories behind the images on your dress" she smiled and hugged me before running off, say what you will about Piper McLean, she was a softy at heart.
"So you want to know about these?" I asked gesturing to the skirt of my dress which dictated many moments in mine and Percy's lives. Estelle nodded and yawned, and I realised she'd not had a nap all day and must be exhausted. Percy picked her up and placed her on his lap and she snuggled in. I started from the beginning and told her that Percy and I had shared Oreos on our first quest after really talking for the first time, I told her that her brother had rescued me and held me while I cried under the ocean during our second quest, I told her about how her brother hand held the sky for me and how we danced on Olympus, before I could tell her about the next one she was asleep.
"Is that really how you see that last one?" Percy asked.
"Of course it is, should I look at it a different way?" I asked and he smiled and shook his head. Paul came up to us noticing that Estelle had fallen asleep.
"I'll take her Percy, your mom and I, were actually thinking we'd head back home and let you enjoy your evening" Paul said.
"Don't be silly Paul, please stay at ours, everything's already set up there for you all and we'd love to see you all in the morning" I said and I meant it.
"Listen to Annabeth, Paul she can be pretty stubborn when she wants to be" Percy said but I could hear the teasing notes in his voice aimed at me, I raised an eyebrow at him and he gave me that lopsided smile that I love so much.
Thalia's P.O.V
I stood off to the side watching Annabeth and Percy as they danced their first dance; I had to admit that felt great pride watching the two of them as the swayed around the floor. Lady Artemis came and stood next to me.
"How are you doing my young lieutenant?" She asked me.
"I'm okay milady, how are you?" I asked I knew she found these kinds of functions uncomfortable.
"I'm fine, thank you for your concern" I looked away from Percy and Annabeth and looked at Lady Artemis.
"When are we heading back out?" I asked her
"Not for a few days, I understand your connection to these two and although it's not a choice I or my hunters would make, I am happy for them" She said.
"Thank you milady" I said and we carried on chatting a little before she excused herself and went off to find Athena.
I saw Piper trying to get my attention and headed over to her.
"What's up Piper?" I asked
"Okay, I've been trying to figure out where they're going on their honeymoon but I just don't get it the locations are so spread out why are they spending a few days in Australia, but then a few days in England and then some in Paris and Rome they're even going back to Greece before touring most of America and then coming home. What exactly does the man have planned?" she said and I chuckled she'd been trying to figure this out for weeks! I already knew but only because I'd helped Percy pick the locations, I still remember the day he told Annabeth the plan for their honeymoon, she'd tackled him in such a large bear hug. He really was such a romantic Kelp Head, Annabeth had known for just over a week and I was honestly surprised Piper hadn't figured it out and I knew it was driving her crazy.
"Y'know" I teased "You could have just asked Annabeth, she's know for a week"
"What?! Are you serious?" She asked and I laughed and nodded but I decided I couldn't stretch it out any longer so I told her what Percy had planned.
"So, y'know how Annabeth loves architecture?" I asked and she nodded and it's like a thousand light bulbs went on in her mind.
"He's taking her to see famous landmarks so, she can nerd out on all the facts isn't he?" She asked.
"He sure is, he's going to be bored out of his Kelp Head, but she's going to love it" I told her.
"She is, how romantic" She said smiling, such an Aphrodite child I thought to myself.
"What's romantic?" Malcolm asked her as he came back with drinks for them.
"Percy's plan for their honeymoon" She told him and I could see Malcolm getting that look that Annabeth gets when she talks about architecture as she told him what Percy had planned, I knew they were also going to see the cities too but I doubted they'd have much time to chill out on a beach or whatever. I hoped Piper knew what she had gotten herself into, because from the look on Malcolm's face, he was thinking of a planning a trip very similar.
~ Author's Note~
Hi all, sorry for the delay in updating I just really wanted to get this chapter out and I hope it's lived up to expectations!
It's a little longer than normal because of the wait for I hope you all enjoy!
Tirzah19 - you've been quite quiet for a few chapters you ok? Hope you're still reading and enjoying!
Percabeth lovesya4eves124 – Thank you for your review, it really means a lot that you think its good, I hope you enjoyed this chapter – leave me a comment and let me know!
Ilovebookshi – As always thank you for your comment! You really do flatter me with your words! If I ever publish anything I'll be sure to let you know! I hope you enjoyed this chapter !
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