I was crying a I controlled the water to take me to my father's palace. I saw the castle gates up ahead of me. There were a couple mermen guarding the gates. They moved to stopped me from going in. "Halt! You must not come in unless the king himself has invited you."
"I think that I have every right to go in my father's palace." I said calmly. The guards paled.
"I am sorry my prince." They bowed and let me pass. I swam towards the throne room of my father. I saw him sitting on his throne, deep in thought. I bowed down.
"Father." I said. He looked down at me.
"Percy! What brings you here?" he asked smiling. But it quickly faded away when he saw my face. "My son, what's wrong?" He asked.
"A- Annabeth, she broke up with me." I said sadly. He jumped of his throne and pulled me in a hug.
"I am so sorry my boy. She didn't deserve you." He said quietly. He continued to hug me while I silently cried. A few minutes later, I calmed down and stopped crying.
"Thanks dad. I really needed that." I said giving him a faint smile. He smiled.
"No problem. I'll always be here for you, remember that." He said. Before he could say anything else, a merman came.
"I am sorry to interrupt my lords, but lady Artemis is here to see you." He said. I was confused. Why was Lady Artemis here?
"Ah yes. Thank you Isaac, tell her to come in." said my dad with a smile. Isaac nodded and disappeared for a moment. He came back with lady Artemis behind him.
"Artemis, what brings you here? It has been a while since you have visited." Said my dad. Lady Artemis rolled her eyes.
"Sorry Uncle P. I have been busy." She said. "I came here 'cause I needed a place to relax." My dad smiled.
"Well, you are always welcome here niece." She nodded, then noticed me standing beside my dad. I quickly bowed so I wouldn't get turned into a jackalope.
"Perseus, a surprise to see you here. You may rise, and please don't bow." She said. I nodded.
"A surprise to see you here as well lady Artemis." I said.
"Please, it's just Artemis." She said. I nodded.
"Well Percy, will you be staying here?" My father asked.
"Yeah, I don't want to go back to Camp yet." I said. My father nodded.
"Artemis are you staying here?" asked my dad.
"Yes. I don't want to go back just yet. Father has once again went against his promise." She said. My father sighed.
"What did my little brother do this time?" he asked.
"He's making me choose someone to marry within 2 weeks or else he will pick someone for me. She said angrily. "May I stay here for a while Uncle?" My father nodded.
"Of course. Have you picked a groom yet?" asked dad.
"Of course not." She said. My dad nodded. "Well, I better get going. I still have my godly duties." He said. I nodded.
"Yeah. Bye dad." I said. Then he swam away. I turned back to Artemis and gave her a questioning look
"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly can you breathe underwater?" She sighed.
"Uncle Poseidon gave me his blessing a long time ago. He is like a father to me." She said. I nodded.
"My Lord and Lady, I am sorry to bother you, but it is dinner time." Said a merman that just entered. Artemis smiled.
"Thank you Rand, you may now leave." She said. The merman, Rand, bowed and swam away. "Well, we better get going." I nodded and stated to swim beside her. We turned and finally got to the dining area. I saw my father and his wife, Lady Amphitrite, already sitting at the table.
"Ah, Percy, Artemis welcome." Said my father, smiling.
"Hey Uncle, Auntie, how are you?" asked Artemis.
"Artemis, it is nice to see you here." Said Amphitrite while hugging Artemis. "Perseus welcome." I smiled and nodded.
"Yo cuz, you can't forget about me!" said a voice. I turned and saw Triton smirking an identical smirk to mine and my dad's. Artemis rolled her eyes but smirked.
"Oh dear cousin, I didn't forget about you, I just chose to ignore you!" she said. I was surprised to see that she was closer to my step family than I was. Triton just rolled his eyes. He looked over at me and surprisingly, smiled.
"Perseus, a surprise to see you." I smiled.
"Yeah, I needed time off from camp." I said. He narrowed his eyes but nodded. He wasn't trying to be threatening, I could tell. His look told me that he knew I was hiding something. We all sat down. "Father, what are we going to eat?" I asked. My dad smiled.
"Just wait and see." Minutes later, 5 plates of steak and other foods were brought by the mermen. I looked down at my plate and saw steak, mash potatoes and other foods.
"Hey dad? How is this possible, we are underwater." I asked. My father looked at me.
"You live in the world of the gods Percy, anything is possible." He said. I just nodded and continued eating my food. Once we were finished, Amphitrite asked Artemis, "Artemis not that I am not happy to see you but, what are you doing here?" Artemis sighed.
"I needed a break. Father has declared that I need to pick someone to marry, or else he will pick someone for me to marry." She said. Amphitrite nodded.
"I'm sorry dear. But I'm sure there is someone out there." Artemis just nodded. Triton then stood up and bid us goodnight. So did Lady Amphitrite. I had started to get tired and asked my dad," Hey dad? Can I sleep here tonight?" He nodded.
"Of course son. Artemis, Percy follow me." We nodded and swam next to him. He then turned to one of the rooms in the hall and opened the door. I looked inside, and unlike the other rooms, it wasn't filled with water. There was a King sized bed and a bathroom inside. "Percy, Artemis, sorry for the inconvenience but both of you will sleep in here."
"What!"