OH MY GOODNESS GUYS! I could not log in for literally months and months because of technical problems but here it is! I have not given up! Yay! So, yes, this is the last chapter, and sorry, no, it's not the best finale, but here it is. I had loads and loads of fun writing this and finding out how you guys felt about my random little story and I really hoped you liked this. More stuff about this ending will be below, but for now:
Enjoy!
(a week ago)
Sometimes, even if it was day, Annabeth couldn't be sure if she was dreaming or not. She was bouncing in her seat, her fingers loose on the leather of her reins, her torso tilted forward, spearing through the rushing wind. Hooves pounded hard against the abandoned dry stalks of wheat, as rhythmic as her heartbeat pulsing in her ears. Her breath seeped out of her in damp, white clouds, and her blood was rushing so fast it was flying. Annabeth was barely seated, but her legs hugged Porkpie's flanks easily, and every piece of her skin was blazing with adrenaline.
She was only wearing a long linen skirt, and it fluttered and tossed in the wind, tangling around her. Her hair, perhaps for the only time in her life, was loose, and it danced behind her, getting tugged and whipped. She couldn't stop smiling.
But they were nearing a well, and Porkpie's flanks were foaming with sweat and puffing painfully. She watched Percy neatly stop Blackjack on the side of the road and tugged at Porkpie's reins. He dismounted gracefully, swinging one long leg off and then another, and she tried to not look at the way his biceps bulged as he steadied himself. Annabeth loosened Porkpie's bridle and saddle, heavy and wet, and hung it up beside Blackjack's on the little rack next to the well. They drew up some water and poured it into the trough, and then Percy tugged on Annabeth's arm.
"I have somewhere for us to go," he said, a teasing grin in his eye.
Her eyes flickered from his crazy hair to his wind-roughened face. "Of course."
He pulled her to the edge of the field, where trees and shrubbery grew abundantly around a small stream. Annabeth's legs felt shaky from the ride as she trekked into the shadowy, cool spot. The stream was pebbled and a little muddy from the banks, but fresh and clean and mostly clear.
Percy went intrepidly to the edge, slipping off his shoes. Then he turned back, his whole face stretched in a troublemaker's grin. "I just had an idea. Would you mind getting completely wet?"
Annabeth gasped, trying to hide her grin. "You-you rascal! Did you bring me all the way here for that?"
Percy backed up a little. "No! I was planning for us to just take a swim. I promise nothing will happen, alright? If you really do decide to, though, I won't look. I'll stay three feet away, too."
"Is this really your idea of fun?"
"Yeah!"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. Just for you. But we're going to the side, where you can't see anything through the water, okay?"
She could tell Percy wasn't trying to be disgusting. He liked being in the water, and completely in it. She'd bet that he did this quite a number of times before by himself.
They each found different trees to stand behind, far from each other. She heard his clothes gently fall to the ground. They agreed he'd go in first and keep his eyes shut. A splash echoed down the stream. Annabeth tried to work quickly, but she couldn't undo the firm string tying her petticoats to her waist. Murmuring angrily to herself, she finally untied it and shed off all her heavy gowns. Then, hesitantly, she dropped her underclothes last. "Turn around," she called out. She saw the back of a dark-haired head and then raced into the water, slipping underneath.
Cold water surged up against her skin, reaching every nook and cranny, sliding up against every bump and hollow. It was like getting wrapped loosely in flowing silk. It was icy, causing her to shiver, but the sensation lit up her nerves in an almost giddy way. She smiled, her bottom lip touching the rippling surface of the water.
"You can turn around," she said to Percy, noting happy that he'd stayed like that the whole time. He spun easily, his eyes firmly resting on hers. His face broke into a young smile. "Isn't this great?"
The water rushed up against her spine, and winded around her ankles. "A little bit," she allowed.
"I'm sorry your virtue isn't preserved anymore."
Swimming machines (that is truly what they are called, sometimes) were giant, heavily-padded cotton gowns that were almost just as wide as normal ones. Now that Annabeth could brush through the water, could skim past the bobbing waves, could slid down the shore, she couldn't for the life of her understand how other women swam in those clothes.
"True, I have just lost whatever remains of it."
"Well, I must still aim to protect you of your rest. Whatever that is. I'm staying three feet away, alright?"
"Sure. Thank you." Then she dunked her head underwater. The lake flung itself at her face, resisting against her force, and a few bubbles of her happy escaped breath brushed her forehead as they rushed upwards. Her hair was drawn up from their roots and danced about, curling like dull blond strands in the water around her. She pulled her head up and water streamed down her face, speeding up in the hollows of her cheekbones and slowly flowing next to her jaw or whisking down her nose, landing in the curve of her lips. Her hair was flattened and plastered to her face, sticking against her neck. Percy's smile grew huge.
"I kind of want to kiss you now, Lady Chase," he whispered.
And she wanted to thread her fingers into his slightly damp, thick hair and touch her side to his in the cold water, knowing she'd feel warm muscle. And then to lean in… Her cheeks reddened.
"Let's swim," she answered softly, smiling embarrassedly. He nodded and shot off through the water, sweeping through until his form melded with the whirling water.
He was like a fish. Annabeth followed, trying out this dance against the flow of the stream, staying paces behind Percy.
It was all she could do to not laugh as the water tickled her skin. They stopped when they started to move to far, and stood upright again. The pebbles were cool against her feet.
Percy moved right in front of her, his hair wet and hanging in front of his forehead, releasing drips continuously as he pushed it back. His ocean eyes pierced her, sharp and intense. She shivered slightly as she stared back.
His hands shifted below the surface, and she could see cut-up reflections of his tan skin wavering above on the water. Annabeth moved her eyes back up to his, which didn't move.
"Annabeth, you're amazing." And then he suddenly dipped entirely below, his body slipping into the water. She thought he would be completely under, but his chin stayed above the water, and small waves pushed at him.
"Ever since I saw you for the first time, when we were so young, I saw that you were special. And that never changed, even as we got older. You grew more beautiful, wiser, and shone so bright everyone had to turn away, and you were special. So special that I had to look high up to see you. I was so scared of you, you know? I had no idea how to act around you, how to be able to face up to you one day when we took our parent's places. But I did know I liked you. Not like this, but I did really like you. Somehow. So I found you at your ball. I wanted to be all nice and charming for you, but I couldn't. You were Annabeth Chase, Athena. You had so much to be prideful about, and all I had was confounded insecurity. I learned only one way to get rid of that, or at least to hid it. So, I summoned up a false ego. One that could boost me to stare to long, write burning letters to you, to steal all your dances. And then your fire burned harder. Pushed me down, scared me into hiding. But I still, somehow again, liked you. Even more. Too much. So I got a new hat, a new home, and visited you. We became friends, and I loved that. I love it now. It helped us get close, open up, and then you taught me so, so much. You call yourself useless and too emotional, but you are absolutely the smartest lady ever. I'm trying to work on my value, my insecurity. I've found it in a million places, and you've helped me. And I know I didn't do anything for you, but the fact that you've realized your pride, your fears, and your very own insecurity beside me just made me see you as more incredible. But I could still never call you flawed, Annabeth. Because I will always think of you as flawless. And now, somehow, I'm in love with you. It hurts when I think of you, from being so happy. And when I'm next to you, it doesn't matter what's happening, because we can change it to be ours. I breathe you in, I breathe in love, every moment. And when we're through, I know we'll keep seeing more trying to throw us down, but it will never work. Because you've taken our broken pieces and put them together, as a whole. One breathing, beating whole. And one day, but also right now, we're building something new. Something beautiful, huge, glowing, bright. Something I cannot wait for, not anymore.
"So, Annabeth. Will you marry me?"
Tears were running down her face too hard for her to answer. So she just fell, too, under the water and floating half-upright, surged forward to hug him. His skin was warm, and much more of it was touching hers' than she ever imagined, and then pressed their damp faces together. His lips met hers in the wet mess, and her hair fell onto his shoulders and she was laughing into his mouth and smiling too much and she felt completely weightless with love.
"Is that a yes?" He whispered onto her.
Her head fell on his broad shoulder. "I love you, Percy." She laughed more. "Is there a ring?"
"Of course," he said, grinning. He opened his palm to reveal a thin metal circle with a speck of a diamond set inside, showering sparkles and gleaming wet.
"I love it." She took it carefully and slid it onto her finger herself.
"Look carefully," he told her.
But of course, Annabeth had noticed something. She brought the ring up to her eye. And then she sputtered with laughter. "A blue diamond?!" She kissed him again, so happy she couldn't use her words to thank him.
"I love you, Annabeth," he said back.
-line break-
This was it. The very next day, after Annabeth summoned up all her courage to talk to Athena, she was moving out. It wasn't like she was exactly welcome anymore, or like she wanted to stay.
But even if she no longer remained, her leaving caused a large number of the household to shed tears. Annica sniffled the whole time she helped her pack up her bags, and random maids and servant boys and cooks and everyone else stopped her in the hallway to thank her and curtsy or bow. A lot of the younger kids presented her with gifts, wrapped in scraps of rough parchment or butcher paper, tied up with twine, and though they felt light and tiny, she knew she would treasure them for long. A few of her siblings surfaced at their bedchamber windows when she was out in the driveway to wave, and her smallest sister, the one who appeared in the olive grove when she was with Percy, came out to hug her legs tight and cry into her drab homespun skirt (courtesy of Julia).
And then her hired carriage came rolling up the smooth paved drive, plain and windowless, the impatient driver looking unaffected by all the tearful farewells. Footmen, coming out of nowhere, helped lift her bags onto the top of the carriage, and gently helped her inside. She waved and kissed cheeks and hugged everyone through the narrow doorway before the driver rapped on the wall between them. "Miss, could you hurry up?" He asked gruffly.
Annabeth squeezed one little girl's hand and tucked a little sprig of wildflower into her hair before waving at everyone gathered one last time. Tears pressed at the back of her eyes as she looked at every one of them. As the footman closed her door, she caught a flash of liquid silver, shining gunmetal, at the tall window of the main balcony, but then the flat door was blocking her sight of her home and she was sure she imagined it. Maybe it was the sun on iron.
Annabeth slid open the small door between her and the driver. She murmured the address, and the horses knickered as they were ushered forward.
The carriage moved quickly, and Annabeth touched the walls mournfully, wishing there was a window. Then she forced herself to sink back into the linen seats and relax. Her spine loosened, bent until it was almost uncomfortable to be so folded. She grinned. Freedom seemed so, so close all of a sudden.
-line break-
The carriage eventually slowed. She blinked away her faint sleepiness and peeked at the edges of the door. Warm, hazy light, amber-colored. It was already the afternoon, then.
The driver came to her side and swiftly opened the door, eager to get back into town. He carefully helped her out and lifted her bags off the top, snapping the ropes with practiced movements. Then he stood still in front of her and lifted his hat.
Annabeth knew what he meant. She pulled a few notes out of her purse, taking out a few extra coins too. He took them, murmured a low thanks, and crawled back into his seat.
Annabeth took a few steps away from the dirt road. She was in a meadow with low, baby grass and the tiniest flowers peeking up from the surface. Ahead, beyond a small hill, was a glimpse of a pointed white roof, with a hint of old gliding running along the edges.
She smiled and took off, her boots treading carefully on the fuzzy grass. Just as she was making her way down the hill, and the whitewashed front of the church was coming into view, a person in a bright pink-and-white dress came along the side. She immediately rushed over.
"Annabeth!" Piper yelled breathlessly. She flung herself into her friend's arms, and Annabeth stumbled back slightly, firmly looping her arms around Piper so they didn't fall. For a short period of time they just stood there, laughing and breathing beside each other's ears. And then Piper reluctantly drew back.
"How are you?" she asked, holding onto Annabeth's forearms.
"I'm good, thank you. No, I'm great." She let out an excited laugh. "I'm really going to miss the Athena Mansion though."
Piper shook her head. "It was a wonderful place. Beautiful architecture."
And then they both laughed loudly.
"Okay, Pipes, how are you?"
She grinned. "Engaged." She held up her hand and a small, 2 carat diamond sparkled in the sun, throwing pieces of light everywhere.
Annabeth squealed and jumped forward to squeeze Piper in a hug. "My goodness, Piper!"
Piper, grinning just as wide, hopped a little in their hug. "I know right?"
When they had both feet planted on the ground, Annabeth grabbed her ringed hand. "When did this happen? How?"
Piper laughed. "Two weeks ago."
Annabeth gaped at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, you were kind of busy this time, from what I can tell, and you didn't call me…"
Annabeth let out a mournful sound. "I'm so sorry, Piper! I totally didn't—"
Piper waved her off. "I don't mind. Not all it. It was just two weeks. You're allowed to be busy for such a short period of time, alright?"
"I'm still sorry, really. So, how did it happen?"
Piper grinned widely. "Oh, wow. He took me to a warm little café in the wee hours of the morning for some cocoa, and then we brought the mugs up to the ceiling of some huge industrial building and watched the sun rise." She sighed softly to herself. "And then he proposed and gave me this beautiful ring and then I kissed him."
Annabeth hugged her again. "That is so beautiful, Piper. I am so, so happy for you."
Piper drew back to smirk at her. "Well, I'm even happier. You're getting married in a tiny church in a meadow!"
She tried not to smile too much. "I know! But come on, when are you getting married?"
Piper groaned. "End of fall. The preparations will drive me crazy."
"Come visit me whenever, alright? We found this great house in the country. You'll have our new address."
"I cannot wait to dress up in gingham and milk a cow. I can totally see you two going all out."
"We're not going to hire maids for a tiny country house!"
"Alright, I'll send the invitations when we get them."
"Won't my black sheep-ness affect your wedding?" She was joking, but it could be a problem to Aphrodite or whoever was planning.
"Please. I get to make, like, one decision, and allowing you in is that one."
"Piper, thank you!"
"Well, your wedding's tomorrow, and we need to stop dillydallying. The place we're all staying at is over there. Silena has prepared some all-night-long makeup for you, alright?"
"Oh, great."
"That's later, Beth. We actually have a dress fitting for you, some hairstyle tests, and you probably want time for your vows."
"I'm done with those." She couldn't mask her excitement too well.
"Well, we have a lot to do!"
-line break-
Honestly, it was like she just blinked and then she was standing outside the church, clutching her flowers hard.
Piper and the others had gone before her, and she was sure the carpet was laden with petals from her youngest cousins.
She took a deep breath. And then she pushed open the doors and stepped inside. The church was beautiful. All the windows were open, letting morning light stream in with force. Antique lanterns, with intricate metal patterns on the side, tracing the candlelight into tiny images, were hung up on the walls, and the pews had lily of the valley and tulips and amaryllis and heather hung on the sides. Jars of lavender and rosemary sat on windowsills. The carpet was plain, and indeed, scattered haphazardly with petals.
Annabeth took delicate steps forward. Her dress brushed against the floor. It was a simple one, but also delicate and detailed. Her bodice was a smooth white cloth, with a thousand pieces of crystals sewed on with silver string. It clung firmly onto her torso, but not in a tight way or breath-restraining in the least. It flowed into a long skirt, and a multilayered one. The top was just white lace, the kind perfect for cover-ups, and underneath one could see faint outlines of patterned, intricate designs in lace. A wide fishnet was draped over curling loops of lace, and eyelets forming flowers was barely visible from the top. Each of them had a different story, and the last three, on the bottom, with sharp or spherical or ancient designs, were borrowed from others. One of the longest pieces, with the lacing forming curves like scales, was the one touching the floor, softly swishing as she stepped closer to the altar.
The audience watched her, wide-eyed and happy. She spotted so much family: the whole Demeter cabin, some young Apollo girls, a huge row of Aphrodite kids. And friends: Piper, Thalia, Miranda, and Calypso, sitting next to Leo. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at them, smiling. Malcolm sat in the front, waving. Annabeth gasped in surprise. She thought none of her siblings would be able to make it. But him, and a few of her sisters, were all waiting.
She finally dared to look towards the altar. Her heart jumped into her throat. Percy was standing there, looking handsome and sharp and happy and excited and loving and so, so beautiful. His hair was just tamed a little, his shoulders fitted into his suit perfectly, and the dark blue of it shone under the sunlight.
She slowed to a stop in front of him. The priest read a passage from Genesis, ending with the fateful words Annabeth had learned from young: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.
He blessed them both, and they spoke their vows. They spoke shortly, sincerely, and were obviously in love. Annabeth was teary when she said, "I do." Percy's voice was firm, but a little choked. Percy's half-brother, Tyson, brought their rings to them on a pillow.
Annabeth smiled as she saw them. They gleamed brightly in the light pouring from the windows. Beforehand, when picking them out, she said that one diamond was good enough for her. And then she was the one who decided: she would get a rich white ring, carved from pearl, and he would get smooth, creamy shell, carved. Both together. Both just as beautiful as the other.
The ring felt cool and smooth on her finger as he slid it on. It even felt like the sea. She picked up his and, just as gingerly, placed it on for him. It was not as slippery, but hard and varying in shades of creamy yellow. What she especially loved was that he would also be able to hear the sea, and she would always be able to see the beauty of it.
And then they kissed. It was slow but quick, chaste but romantic. Her heart soared at the feel of his lips, the permanent salty taste, how gentle they were. His hands slipped to her waist; her arms curved around to his back. And then, it was fast, and over. She stared at his eyes, rich and swirling and green.
"Hello, husband," she whispered.
"Good morning, wife."
She smiled. "I love you so, so much." And then the audience erupted into applause.
Okay, that's it. Please read through this whole extremely long A/N sorry but I have a new story introduction and then I have to ask you guys all for something. Saying that for the last time (at least for this story) makes me so sad though! *sniffles* I really, really liked this story. The plot turned out much better than I thought, and I have loved seeing my characters grow. You guys have been a huge part of this, motivating me, pushing me to write better, and posting. So thank you so much! Everyone one of you, even the people who only read a little, are all greatly appreciated. Like, sincerely.
I want to especially thank piggyhero, you've stopped writing around the start of this but now you're starting again so yay! Anyway, you've been super helpful and wrote some really great and funny reviews and laughed with me and listening to all my crazy plots-actually I still have to tell you the weird one your idea inspired-and I am so glad to have you as a friend. I would never trade you for anything and I hope we never go out of touch.
Okay, and every single reviewer: you're ridiculously nice. Like, seriously, don't you guys have better things to do than keep reading this and writing incredible comments? I am glowing every time I read your comments. And those who write like ten in a row? Wow. You guys are the reason I smile too much and cause my friends to think I'm extra weird (okay, impossible, but still.)
So, I have a new story coming up, and it's going to be actually good. As in, I will actually edit and write multiple drafts and maybe get a beta reader and force myself to write well. There are obviously some low chapters here, but for my new story, you will not find any. I've already began writing the first chapter, so expect something maybe end of next month (since my plot needs more development).
The basic gist is that Mortal AU Percy eventually just couldn't run away from his twisted childhood, and gets chronic depression and also gets involved with drugs and stuff. But he gets introduced to a therapist, Annabeth Chase, who's extremely unconventional and creative in trying to help her patients and one of the best in the world. And then she helps him try to get through his problems while they both work through life. I'll write an actual summary obviously, but later. I got the prompt from DDaughterofAthena since she has a bunch of prompts up for adoption and you guys should check those out, and her really great stories.
Anyways, I'll do a lot of research to try and make it accurate, but for now, I want to ask you guys for something. If you have any advice on how to talk to people who are hurting, or if you're feeling down, or just going through a lot, send me a PM please! I would love to listen and reply (or not if you don't want me to) and I seriously need some help for my story. Thank you so much, guys!
Now I shall review to all the ones I missed for before.
Ch. 18 Reviews:
Rocketay: Thank you so much! Wow, okay, that is just so nice. Seriously. I thought it was too weird and then I read that. Thank you!
FantasyQueen2509: That was really nice and scary. No, just kidding, it was really nice. Thank you. Yeah, I had that same reaction when I was writing. Basically. Did I describe the kiss way too much? Probably. Also, I'm really sorry I didn't actually listen to your *cough* death threat, and that I made you wait. Sorryyyyyyy!
EmmaBloomFan22: Thank you so much! Like seriously, all caps reviews are the nicest. I really did try to make it well-written, so thank you! I am not that smart, like come on, not at all, and I don't see where you got that strange idea, but thanks. It made me smile like a total brainless weirdo for basically the whole day.
Ashspren: Okay, the first part was hilarious. I hope you didn't do that though, for real, or else you could damage your vocal cords. I know from experience *facepalm*. You're welcome, I really did love writing that chapter. I'm so, so happy you liked reading it. Thank you so much for saying my content was good, since it was the awkward emotional/problems talk and I can't deal with that very well but you even also said my writing/trying really hard not to make it sound weird was good so THANK YOU! I don't judge you for crying. Not at all. Some feels just get you like crazy. Thanks for telling me that. I don't think I really kept up the work, but thanks anyway.
DecemberRome: Well, you totally deserve to be attached. It's cool! Anyway, your review was so beautiful and professional I am so, so grateful you wrote it. It was incredibly nice. You've described my writing in a really, really beautiful way. I actually barely know how to express any of this, I just write it out. But thank you so, so, so much. Especially for the encouragement. I loved that. And I really, really apologize for replying so late. I procrastinate everything, sorry! I feel like so many people are afraid of never If people are expecting you to be perfect, that sucks. I know you're serious when you say that everyone notices, and is equally horrible, because it's inevitable. And while it's really amazing for an author to see that readers relate to their characters, seeing you say how closely your life matches Annabeth was really sad for me. I hope that whatever happens, you can brave it out, and eventually escape that kind of expectation. Thank you so much for sharing. If you want to PM me about anything, even to just talk please do. You're a really cool person.
AzumeRiver: First of all, your formal letter style is amazing. I loved it. I'm so glad you actually enjoyed it, I mean I've been typing it every chapter and finally! Thank you for everything. I have been trying to make my writing flow better and it kind of does so yay thanks. I actually had no idea the label for this was called period stories, but thanks for telling me, and I'm really glad I inspired you. I'm just an overly humanities person so I love history too and I hope you found some really good stories. Thank you for saying my characters weren't OOC because I thought I was basically altering them entirely except for appearances, basically, but your review really encouraged me. Your review was great motivation! Even though the next chapter wasn't that good it was my fault but you really did do what you hoped to. My writing has definitely grown, and thank you for bringing it up, but I seriously don't see it improving every chapter. Some were just bad. But still, thanks! You said so much and it was incredible!
Ch. 19 Reviews:
Guest: Here you have it, a million years later. Thanks for waiting and reading.
Abidoodle.e: HI! Ahh I missed you! It's okay if you leave, no one expects you to be reading their stuff the second it appears. Anyway, I hope you've still been okay. But thanks for coming back! I know, this gets much better when they're closer . The fact that this is one of the most adorable stories you've read is seriously amazing to me. And I know you read a lot of stories. (Not a stalker, I swear! I just saw authors replying to your reviews for a bunch of other stuff I was reading myself. Which is so cool, by the way.) But this is not that fluffy and cute (at least to me). So thank you for saying so! And I thought this would be lame but also thank you for saying this is heartfelt! That means so much to me. I try with the deeper meanings. I'm glad you like them. And for the poetic feel, thank you! I actually kind of suck at poetry but I really like it and the way it's generally used so I actually did try to use that a little. Thank you so much (for the last time) and I hope this was worth waiting for.
Guest: I was about to post this the day you wrote your review. And then my technology failed on me. *sigh*
DemigodSassReaders: Wow, I've missed your hilarious reviews. Thanks for continuing and blasting me with three in a row wow I don't think anyone else has done that. Thank you so much for reminding me someone still remembers this and it's been super great having you review so consistently.