Shout outs to:
@nerd_girl_sukh
And
@NarwhalFunTime
For Percy's birthday present ideas. I loved every single suggestion and had a really hard time choosing but these two I just couldn't not put in!

I felt like I was going faint. In less than a minute I'd be walking down the aisle to marry the love of my life.

The high, heavy doors painted gold swung open and I took step after step in time with the music down the carpet of red. The roses in my hands nearly fell to the ground when I saw him standing there waiting for me.

His smile was so big, I felt like it was going to rip his handsome face in two. His hands were shaking slightly because he was nervous and his green bow tie was crooked. His jacket moulded to his muscles and he held out his hand for me to take.

"Hey," He winked at me.

"Hi," I blushed.

He removed the veil from my face and we turned towards the priest.

"Dearly beloved-"

A blood-cooling scream echoed through the church. I turned shocked, trying to find the source of the scream, and I screamed when I saw who it was.

Percy was staring at me wide eyed, the tip of a sword poking out of his chest. Blood stained the white shirt as it spread. Blood dibble out of the corner of his mouth. Through tears I could see him take one last breath. "Your fault." He muttered then his dead sea-green eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground. Dead.

I looked up at the killer. His cold blue eyes turned gold right in front of me. "Now, your turn, Annie."

I screamed as I sat up in bed, my heart beating so fast I thought it was going to explode. Fresh tears were streaming down my face as I struggled to breathe. I felt a hand on my back and turned to see Percy staring at me, worry written all over his face. His hair was sticking up in every direction and he placed another hand on my hand.

"Annabeth?" He asked.

I didn't answer, but cried. He understood and wrapped his arms around me, engulfing me in a warm embrace. "I'm here." He said soothingly into my ear. "Whatever your brain made up didn't happen. Your alive. I'm alive. We're together and we're safe."

"We-we were getting married," I muttered, feeling miserable. The dream started out so nicely but turned into a nightmare so quickly I couldn't tell the difference. "You looked so good and then you died. Luke, he stabbed you." I frowned and pulled away, wiping the tears off my cheeks. "We were getting married."

"We still are." Percy's fingers brushed my cheeks. "The ring around your neck tells me so."

I looked down at my neck. There, on the end of the string of beads, a grey one sat with a picture of a ring painted on it. "It took you long enough."

He laughed, a small smile growing on my cheeks as I watched the morning light bounce off his face. "I'm terribly sorry, Wise Girl."

"No," I cupped his cheek as my vision turned sea-green. "It was perfect."

"Yeah?" He whispered. "I wrote ten different versions of that speech and I had to convince mum to let Zoe play without telling her about my actual plan."

"Why didn't you tell your mum but you told your siblings?"

He leant into my touch and closed his eyes. "I knew she wouldn't be able to kept it a secret."

"Smart cookie."

He grinned and leaned in. "I'm in love with you," He said softly before I closed the gap. That kiss held the future. It was the days to come when the world learnt about our new engagement and the months of planning the perfect wedding. It held the I do, the cake and the crowns. It was our honeymoon and our children's births. It held the years of laughter, tears and smiles of our eternal marriage. It was our future and I couldn't wait to live it with Percy.

We kissed until our lips turned numb and we had to fill our lungs with much needed oxygen. We laid down on the bed, hand in hand as we stared at the ceiling, the energy of us still floating around in the air.

"What happens now?" My voice was so quiet I was surprised he heard me.

"We get married."

"Can I send a letter to Hazel?" Percy and I had decided to get out of bed. We had a lot of things to do today and there was only so many hours in a day. Percy was getting changed in his wardrobe as I sat at his desk, eating some scrumptious breakfast that a maid had dropped off.

"Why?" I heard Percy ask.

"She told me she would kill me if she found out about our engagement through the media and not from me," I could mentally picture Percy raising his eyebrows at me. "She predicted this would happen. Can I send the letter or not?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Tell her she can come back whenever she wants. Frank too."

I took another bite of a blue pancake. "You're going to miss out on these blue pancakes if you don't hurry up!"

Percy swiftly stuck his out out and glared at me. "Rule number one of marriage; don't eat my pancakes."

I raised my eyebrows at him and stood up, walking over to him. He was wearing navy pants and a white shirt, the navy suit jacket resting on a chair. He was holding two ties in his hands. One was grey with white anchors on them and the other one blue with orange fishes on them. "Rules, huh? Rule number two of marriage; I pick your ties."

I took the one with anchors on it and wrapped it around his neck. I got to work tying the tie, just like my dad had taught me a few years ago.

"So, plans for today, Seaweed Brain?"

"I'm going to talk to Rachel and Calypso. Tell them that I'm proposing to one of you three tomorrow on the Report."

I gasped. "Who will it be?"

"And then I'm going to tell mum," He continued on ignoring my comment. "She'll get the media hyped up and I'll propose to you with a ring tomorrow."

"Hmm," I muttered thinking of the day I had planned for Percy's birthday. "What about your birthday?"

"What about it?" He asked, checking my work in the mirror.

"Nothing," I replied. I kissed him on the cheek and smiled at his reflection. "I'm going to go get ready. I think I'll talk to Luke for a bit, write Hazel that letter."

He nodded, smiling at me. It hadn't fallen off his face yet and I took that as a good sign. "Are you going to tell your maids?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed clothes out of the way to open the door to the secret tunnels. "I think they'll kill me if I don't."

"Meh," He shrugged. "Not much of a loss."

I gasped and threw a coat hanger at his head. He ducked and it hit the wall with a thud. He spun around, still smiling, and glared at me mockingly. "If this is the marriage we're going to have, I don't want any part of it!"

"Too late!" I called after me as I walked into the tunnel. "You already asked the question and I already said yes!"

I heard his laughter before he closed the door. I walked down the tunnels feeling giddy, like a little girl. This was crazy, the happiness I was feeling right now. I played with the bead that symbolised our engagement as I opened the door into my wardrobe.

I walked out of the wardrobe, my smile still on my face.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Alicia walked back into the room from the balcony. "What happened?"

I watched Justine walk into the bedroom from the bathroom. They both stood in front of me patiently waiting for the news.

"Percy-"

"Oh my gods!" Alicia screamed and ran up to me, flinging her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. "I can't believe it!"

I laughed and hugged her back. "I didn't even say anything!"

"You're getting married!" She sung at the top of her voice.

"What?" Justine asked, stepping closer to us.

I nodded to Justine, smiling. "She's right." I held up my necklace and watched as her eyes caught on the bead with the ring. "I'm getting married."

Her jaw dropped to the ground and she squealed louder than I had heard Hazel or Alicia squeal. Her glasses fell off her nose and she quickly bent down, picked them up and placed them back on her face. Her pale skin was turning as red as her hair.

Both Alicia and I stared in shock as she giggled.

"What?" She asked. "I can be excited too!"

She ran over and hugged me. "Congratulations, miss. This is very exciting."

"Yeah," I beamed. "It is."

We spent the rest of the morning talking about last night. I wrote Hazel a letter whilst we talked and both girls filled the hole that was Hazel with their laughter, smiles and squeals of happiness.

"I've gotta go," I got up from my chair and walked over to the door. "I have to go talk to Luke."

They both nodded, their smiles faltering a bit.

"Go," Justine ushered me out the door, following me with my letter in her hand. "I'll get this sent to Hazel straightaway."

"Thank you,"

She curtsied. "You're welcome, Your Majesty."

I bit my lip as I watched her retreating figure, feeling giddy inside.

My thoughts drifted to sadder ones as I turned around and made my way to the cells underground.

My footsteps echoed off the walls as I walked down the stairs. I nodded to the guards lining the wall. When I got to Luke's cell I paused to talk to the guard. "Could you all please give us a few moments alone?"

She nodded and opened the cell door for me and I waited until I heard the retreating footsteps of all the guards in the hallway fade to a whisper to talk to Luke.

He waved to me and gave me a small smile as I stood in the middle of the room, wondering how to approach the situation.

"Hey," I settled on.

"Hey, yourself. What's up, Annie?"

I bit my lips and squinted at him for a second. He was sitting on his bed, hands in his lap and the scar cutting down his face was illuminated because of the light. "I'm getting married?" At the end, my voice got higher so it came out like a question.

"Huh?" He slowly stood up and took a few steps towards me. "Say that again."

I held up the bead for him to see. "Percy proposed last night. I'm getting married, Luke."

"Holy Hermes," He breathed and rushed over to me, picking me up and spinning me around as we both laughed. "My Annie is getting married!"

He placed me down on the ground again and put his hands on my shoulders. His eyes were scanning my face and we were both smiling crazily. His smile fell of his face.

"Oh, gods. What have I done?" He muttered. "Now I can't see you walk down the aisle."

My smile dropped. "I can pre-long it. I can try." I said, referring to his execution.

"That's not going to work..." He looked deflated down at his shoes. I could see how this was crushing him. He wanted so badly to be there, for me and for himself.

"I want you at the wedding," I took Luke's hands in mine. "I want you there."

His thumb rubbed circles on the back of my palm. "I can't. How long does it take to plan a royal wedding?"

"Maybe half a year..." I looked sorrowful at him.

"You can't keep me alive that long. They won't have it. Even if your going to be the queen, you can't."

"Why?"

He paused so long that I thought that he wasn't going to answer, but he did. "Because I don't want to be alive that long. You think of me as a hero who saved you. But who put you in that cell? Me. Who stabbed you? Me. Who betrayed you? Me. I'm not the hero you think I am. I've killed people, Annie. You don't know the number of faces that haunt me every night. You don't know what I did to get into Kronos' inner circle. You don't know the monster I am."

"You're not a monster."

"Maybe not in your eyes. But I am in everyone else's."

"I want you at the wedding." I looked down at my shoes.

"I will be," He placed a hand over my heart. "In here."

A tear fell down my cheek as I looked up at him. He kissed me on the cheek and led me over to the bed. We lay there, his arm around my shoulder and my head on his chest, as close friends that would no longer be together.

"Did you ever love me?" He asked suddenly.

I smiled sadly at the ceiling. "I love you like a brother, Luke."

I wanted him at my wedding so badly. He was one of the earliest memories I had, he saved my life. Him not being there made me so sick to the stomach that I thought I was going to throw up. But what he said was true. He would be there in my heart, memories and in spirit. He wouldn't miss it for the world.

I had to leave. Before the door closed behind me, Luke stopped it with his foot.

"Can you do me a favour Annabeth?" He asked.

"Anything."

"Make sure they're treated better. Make sure the lower castes are treated better."

One final promise.

When I got back to my room, Alicia and Justine busied themselves with dressing me. We had been to hyped up in talking about my engagement that I had stayed in my owl pyjamas. They chose a long, flowing navy dress that had long sleeves. There was a sparkly belt around my waist and I wore navy blue flats. We decided to keep my hair out in its natural curls.

"Soon you'll be a princess," Alicia smiled at my reflection.

"Actually, I'm going straight to being a queen." I raised my eyebrows at her.

She whistled, impressed. "That's the only way to do it, I suppose."

I walked to the dining room and saw that there was only one small table in the middle. It had four chairs around it with a massive plate in the middle ready for food. Rachel was sitting down, waiting patiently.

"Hi," I pulled out my chair to sit in. "We've got a small table today."

She looked up from staring at her plate. Her green eyes were shining with hopefulness and I realised that Percy had already told her about a proposal tomorrow. She was hopeful that it would be her. My heart clenched knowing that that would not be the case.

Before I sat down she stood up and gave me a hug. I was surprised, we'd never hugged before. If felt nice, even though I knew she would have a broken heart tomorrow after the Report.

"Whatever happens, we're cool, right?" She asked.

I nodded as she pulled back from the hug. Her hand were still on my shoulders when she made the possibly fatal decision to cast her eyes downwards towards my necklace.

I waited with held breath as she noticed the new addition to my collection. Her face fell and she looked back up at me, the hopefulness gone from her eyes.

I pressed my lips together but didn't break eye contact. She looked away for a second then made eye contact again. "I'm happy for you." She whispered, smiling slightly, then sat down on her chair.

I sat down next to her and awkwardness was avoided when Calypso entered the room not a second later.

Rachel broke out into a smile like nothing ever happened. We both hugged Calypso and then she sat down next to Rachel. The spare seat next to me, I guessed, was for Percy.

The Seaweed Brain himself walked in a few minutes after Calypso. "Sorry I'm late!" He sighed as he sat down. "Meetings like to go over time." He rolled his eyes.

"What's for dinner?"

Percy smirked. "A feast for our last night of the Selection."

Not a moment later the doors opened and in walked a few maids, all holding very large trays of food. I saw a pizza topped with olives, my favourite, and a mouthwatering butter chicken. There was some sort of savoury pie on another tray and a roast lamb with rosemary on top. It all looked delicious.

We all dug in straight away, talking and laughing together like old friends. It was great that there was little to no tensions between us three girls and we acted like we hadn't been hating on each other for the past month or so. Percy acted like he wasn't going to break their hearts tomorrow and I acted like I had no idea I was the one marrying the prince. It felt natural.

When we were waiting for dessert to be served Percy rested his hand on my knee. I placed my hand on top of his. Soon there would be a ring around both of our fingers.

The desserts were mainly blue, nothing less of expectation, and scrumptious.

We took turns hugging each other before going separate ways. I whispered in Percy's ear when I hugged him, knowing that we couldn't leave together and go to the same place. "My bedroom."

I wanted to sleep in my Selected bedroom one last time before I moved permanently to a shared room with Percy.

I changed back into my pyjamas and sat on one of the chairs in my room, finishing the book I had started yesterday. I could hear Justine and Alicia discussing how they were going to go about moving everything from here to upstairs in the next few days.

I heard them scream and then Percy's laughter. He had opened the door from the secret passage and scared them half to death.

"I'm so-" But his apology was cut off from both of my friends giving him a hug.

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

"It took you so long, but I'm so happy!"

I raised my eyebrows at the picture I was seeing. Percy was holding his arms in the air with both girls arms wrapped around his shoulders and waist, giving him a hug. Percy pleaded with me with his eyes.

"Why don't you two stop tackling my fiancée?"

Justine pulled away, her cheeks turning pink. Alicia smiled at me and walked out of the wardrobe.

Percy followed me into the bedroom. I closed the doors to the balcony and pulled the curtains closed.

"I see that you've told them,"

I shrugged. "They have a right to know. They've been waiting as long as I have."

He held up his hands in a exasperated manner. "You make it sound like I dragged this out for decades, when only it was two months and a couple of weeks."

"Eternity." I waved goodbye to Justine and Alicia before they closed the bedrooms door, retiring to their own beds for the night.

Percy turned off the lights as I pulled down the blanket, both of us slipping underneath it.

I faced the windows, Percy pressed up against my back. His had his arm wrapped around my waist, his breath tickling the back of my neck.

"Goodnight, Seaweed Brain." I smiled as I closed my eyes.

"Goodnight, Wise Girl."

***

I opened my eyes slowly, the morning light hurting them. I was greeted by a sleeping Percy.

I yawned and placed a hand on his cheek.

"Happy Birthday." I whispered to him.

The corner of his lips tugged up. He was trying to act asleep but failing miserably.

I kissed him lightly on the lips. "I said, Happy Birthday Seaweed Brain."

He opened his memorising sea-green eyes. "I'm old."

I rolled my eyes. "You're the same age as me."

"Exactly," He whispered, pulling my grey piece of hair from my loose pony tail. He held it out so I could see it. "You're already going grey."

I twirled his piece of hair that was grey around my fingers. "We're so old."

"An old married couple."

I smirked at him. "Not yet."

"When am I going to get my present?" He sat up and brushed a hand through his hair.

"Present?" I asked innocently, sitting next to him. "What present?"

He pouted at me. "For my birthday."

"Is having me in your life not a good enough present for you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Not really, no." He shot back, smirking.

The door was flung open and in came running children, screaming the happy birthday song at the top of their lungs.

Zoe ran towards us and jumped on the bed, giving Percy a kiss on the cheek before settling in between us. Tyson gave his brother a high-five and sat on the edge of the bed. Paul and Sally were standing behind him, smiling at the scene. They had packages in their hands and I noticed that one of them was on the ground and it had my name on it. Perfect, I thought. He's going to love it.

Sally walked over and gave her son a kiss on the forehead. "Happy Birthday, sweetie."

Percy smiled at her. "Thanks mum."

"Open them! Open them!" Zoe pointed at the presents. I think she was more excited for them that Percy was.

"Okay! Which one first?" He asked.

She pointed to a card that Sally was holding. He took it from his mother and gasped when he saw the cover. Zoe had drawn a massive blue cookie on the front, the chocolate chips dollops of glitter. He grinned at her and opened the card. Inside Tyson had written: "Happy Birthday, Blue! Love from your brother and sister!"

"Aw," Percy wrapped and arm around his sisters small shoulders. "Thank you guys, I love it."

Tyson pulled a plate full of blue cookies from behind his back. "You can eat them." He told Percy. "For breakfast," He whispered. "But don't tell mum."

Percy laughed and took the plate of cookies.

Sally sat down next to Tyson and placed a hand on Percy knee. "This next one of from your father," Percy stilled and looked up at Sally. "He wrote you a letter for you to open on your eighteenth birthday when you were born and he always told me what he would give you when you did turn eighteen, so I found it for you."

She handed him a thick envelop with Perseus written in neat cursive hand writing on the front. She also handed him a small, rectangle box. It had a blue bow on the front.

Percy asked Sally if he could open the present now and read the letter later. Just looking at the envelope I knew that it would be a long letter. She nodded, taking Paul's hand and watched her son with a sad smile. I hadn't realised until now how much Percy and Sally would be missing Poseidon now. For my eighteenth birthday, I was a little to pre-occupied with Kronos to be thinking about how much I missed my mother.

Percy carefully slid the lid of the box off and tipped the content of it out into his palm. A gleaming gold pen sat on his palm, the cap on.

"A pen?" He stared disbelievingly at his mother who was just watching him with a smile. "A pen. This is a pen."

She nodded. "Yes, it is a pen. He wanted you to have something to use when you worked, something that would help you through the battles of being king."

"The pen is mightier than the sword," I whispered.

Percy smirked "Well, mines both."

We all laughed and I watched as Percy looked up at the ceiling, whispering: "Thanks, Dad."

"One more thing from him," Sally unfolded a piece of thin paper and placed it to Percy. "A sand dollar, he always had one on him where ever he went. He told us that it brings him luck and he could always cash it in for a favour if he needed one."

Percy smiled at the sand dollar and put it with the pen and letter.

"Do Mummy's next!" Zoe pointed at a package that Paul had dropped down on the ground.

"You might want to come over here and open it, Percy." Paul said. "It's heavy."

Percy got out of bed and crouched down in front of the large, rectangular box. Tyson, Zoe and I sat on the bed, peering down watching as he ripped the Finding Nemo wrapping paper off the box.

His mother and step-father had gotten Riptide fixed up. It sat in a glass box, held up in the middle of it on two black stands. Riptide's blade was cleaned and sharpened, reflecting the sunlight streaming in from the windows. Its handle had been re-crafted, fraying bits of the leather material gone replaced with a new layer. It looked really cool.

"Wow," Percy stared at it wide eyed. "Riptide." He breathed.

He looked up at his parents. "Thanks, Mum. Thanks, Paul. I love it."

"And while you're down there, why don't you open up my one?" I pointed to the very large box sitting just next to him.

"Gods, I hope there isn't a small child in there," He muttered taking the lid off.

"Better."

I watched as his face lit up once he saw the creature in there. His hands went into the box and he pulled out a small, black puppy.

He looked up at me. "You bought me a dog?"

I nodded. "I did." We laughed as the cute puppy licked his face. "She likes you."

Percy stared lovingly at his new pet, ruffling her behind the ears. She wagged her tail.

Zoe squealed and jumped off the bed, cuddling the puppy and giving it kissed on the head. It was so adorable.

"What are you going to call her, Blue?" She asked.

Percy thought for a moment. "I know. Mrs O'Leary."

I looked at the black droopy face of the puppy. Oddly enough, Mrs O'Leary suited her perfectly.

Percy leant over and gave me a quick kiss. I blushed because his family were here, watching us. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Sally pass out for a second.

"Thank you, Wise Girl. I love her." He looked around at his family and his new presents. "Thanks, guys. Best birthday ever."

"I know!" Sally gave me a bone crushing hug. She obviously could not contain her excitement any more. "Congratulations, honey! We're so excited. You have to tell me everything!"

Paul and Sally listened in to my re-count of the capture the flag game. Tyson, Zoe and Percy snuck over to my desks and sat around it, taking turns eating a blue cookie each. I shook my head disapprovingly when the plate was empty. I didn't get one.

Zoe wanted to leave to get dressed. She had picked out a sparkly blue dress for today and she wanted to wear it really badly. We all laughed as she dragged Paul out of the room, Tyson following suit.

Sally pushed Percy away from us. He stared at her weirdly for a second then took Mrs O'Leary and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

"Jason's on top of everything." Sally held my hands. "Grover's going to pick up his present from them early today. Leo, Travis and Connor are in charge of food-" I winced. "I know but we have to put our faith in them that they won't stuff this up. Piper accepted the invitation so she will be there tonight as well."

I smiled. Piper's going to be at Percy's party. I get to see her again and we can't talk about everything that's happened in the last week.

"And..." Sally trailed off. "I found out this morning that Hazel and Frank left New Asia yesterday. They'll be arriving here just before the Report starts."

I frowned. "Dam it. I sent Hazel a letter yesterday." But I ended up smiling again because Hazel and Frank would be coming to the birthday party too! I was getting really hyped up about it. It was going to be so much fun.

Sally hugged me. "Thanks for making my boy happy." She whispered in my ear.

Before she left she called out to her son, "You can come out now, honey! I'll see you at breakfast!"

The door opened and Mrs O'Leary came wobbling out of of the bathroom. She can running towards me and crashed into my legs. I squatted and picked up the warm, furry ball.

"Hello," I said in the voice that you always use when talking to an animal. "You've made a new friend, haven't you?"

"She's the best," Percy kissed his dog on the forehead. "I love her. How big is she going to get?"

"Big. Very big."

"Yeah?" He asked. "That's so awesome."

"I'm glad you love her." I handed her over to Percy, who immediately held her like a baby. Mrs O'Leary kicked her legs and her tongue flopped out of her mouth.

"Thank you, Wise Girl."

Up until the Report, the day was pretty uneventful. Poor Percy had to go into a meeting, even on his birthday. Justine and Alicia started to go through the millions of clothes I had in my wardrobe, getting ready to move me. Percy and I still hadn't decided on which room would be ours.

Alicia was pinning back a loose piece of hair and I was fixing the skirt of my sky blue dress as the Report would be starting in thirty minutes when we heard the bedroom door.

Assuming it was Percy I got up and walked out into the bedroom. "Percy-" But stopped short when I saw who it was.

Hazel was standing there in a pretty little yellow sundress. When she saw me she threw her arms open and squealed as we crashed into each other.

"Annabeth!"

"Hazel!" I heard Alicia cry behind me. She joined the hug. Justine joined too, laughing as we jumped up and down together.

"I'm so happy you're back," I took Hazel's hand and led her over to the couch. "I have some news for you."

She sat down and stared at me patiently.

"Percy-"

She screamed. Louder than Justine and louder than Alicia. She tackled me in a hug and made us fall back onto a couch.

"Yes! This is finally happening!" She pulled back and stared at me with her gold eyes. "When do you have children?"

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down," I raised my hands and shook my head. "Not there yet. Not even married."

"But engaged!" She squealed and stood up, doing a little happy dance that I had seen many times before."You're engaged."

I laughed and watched as she twirled around. "Later tonight we're talking about you and Frank." I pointed my finger at her when I saw that Justine had pointed to her wrist, indicating that I needed to go.

"Okay!" She hugged me again. "And you can recount everything for me."

I gave Alicia a high five on my way out and took a deep breath as I walked down the hallway. No turning back now.

The Report studio was extra busy. There were more people running round, talking into head prices and shouting across the room. Others were flying around the room with clipboards and pieces of paper. The stage crew were fixing lights and cleaning the lenses of cameras. It was an organised chaos.

I walked over to where Sarah and Apollo were talking to each other. They ignored me and continued talking on how and when Percy would propose.

Was it weird that I wasn't nervous? I felt a little unsure on how it would all play out with the other girls but I wasn't typically nervous. I knew that Percy loved me and that I would be the one wearing a ring at the end of the night. At this point in the Selection, I didn't care what the public thought. I was happy and if they didn't like me, then so be it. I'll still work hard to make their country better, no matter what.

As I stood there, I realised that I could do some pretty amazing things.  I'll implement my education project, I could improve healthcare country wide. Maybe I could work to find a solution to the ever growing environmental crisis or finally bring equality to gender, race and religion. But what I decided then and there was going to be a mammoth of a task: Demolish the caste system.

Luke had made me promise that the lower castes would be treated better. What better way to live up to that then make them equal to other citizens? Give them education, housing, healthcare and food and they can be whoever they want to be.

I was too lost in thought that I hadn't noticed that Sarah had tapped me on the shoulder.

"Annabeth?" She asked, stepping in front of me. "Ready to take a seat?"

I blinked my thoughts of the caste system away and nodded at her, smiling. In the next hour, I'll officially be engaged to Percy.

Three chairs were placed in a row next to each other in the same place the Selected normally sit. A chair for Apollo was off to the side and five chairs were set up for the royal family.  It seemed Zoe would be joining us for this momentous occasion.

It went Calypso, Rachel and I. I was the furthest away from the royal family. I wondered how Percy would do this.

Whilst Sarah was telling us to remember good posture, chins up, smiles bright and to not look bored, Percy and the rest of his family had walked through the doors.

"I would just like to say that it's been a pleasure teaching and preparing you," Sarah smiled at us, so much emotion in her voice that I started to tear up. "I'm very proud of each of you and I think you are all perfect candidates for the job. I wish you three all the luck in the world for your future, whether that be here with Percy or somewhere else."

It was then I realised that Sarah took great care of us. She coached us and guided us, she taught us everything that we need to know to be queen. Even though she was nagging and annoying at times, it still felt weird saying goodbye in a sense.

I stood up and gave her a hug. "Thank you, Sarah."

She smiled back a wiped a tear from the corner of her eye before giving Rachel a hug then Calypso.

Percy didn't come over to talk to us at all. He told me earlier that he had gone to see Calypso and Rachel and told them everything that he wanted to say to them without giving them the fact that he was proposing to me.

The usual count down started and I brushed my dress down, straightening my back and lifting my chin. I plastered a big smile on my face as someone yelled out five and I watched as the red light blinked next to a camera lens at one, telling us that millions of people were tuning in to celebrate Percy's birthday and his engagement to one of the three ladies left of the Selection.

"Hello very excited citizens of Illèa," Paul smiled at the camera. "Today is a very special day for two reasons. The first is celebrating my step-sons birthday and the second, his engagement to one of the lovely ladies sitting over there."

I could see in the monitor that a camera was panning our faces.

"On this day, eighteen years ago, I was blessed with the birth of my first son." Sally continued on. I looked over to Percy to see him scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. Nothing like your mum, the queen, embarrassing you, the prince, on your birthday in front of the whole world. "I knew when I first look at him that he would grow up to be a strong, handsome, smart and caring man. Just like he is now. One behalf of our family, I would like to thank every one in this great country for the tremendous support throughout Percy's life. And Percy," Sally turned towards her son. A happy tear fell down her cheek. "On behalf of all the citizens of Illèa, your friends, family and especially your father, I'd like to wish you a very happy eighteenth birthday."

Percy stood up and on his face only one word could describe how he was looking at him mother: adoration. They hugged and Percy then hugged Paul. His parents sat down next to Tyson and Zoe whilst Percy stayed standing, looking at his mum.

"Thank you, Mum. I've had a fantastic day filled with family, friends, blue cookies and well wishes from everyone." He leant on the podium. "I'm feeling a little old."

Sally scoffed. "You're not old yet, honey. You're still a child."

Percy scratched the back of his neck and groaned. "Mum." He was smiling though.

"This next part of tonight I know that everyone has been waiting for. A proposal. So, I would like to introduce, for the last time, Apollo as your Selection host for tonight."

We applauded as Apollo walked onto the set, his hand raised in a wave towards the cameras. Someone had placed a chair opposite his for Percy to sit on. They both sat down and we stopped clapping.

"Last time, Your Highness?" Apollo asked. "I hope not. I would love to host your children's Selection."

My heart skipped a beat. I hadn't thought that far into my future. Percy chuckled. "That may be a while away, Apollo. I am only eighteen."

Apollo pouted. "Way to disappoint. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about your soon to be fiancée and how you decided that she was the one?"

Percy leaned back in his chair, placing one leg over the other in the way that boys cross their legs. "Ask away."

"When and how did you decided that she was the one for you?"

He didn't even have to think. He answered straight away. "When I woke up in that hospital room I realised that I couldn't live without her. I needed her in my life because I couldn't function properly without her."

My heart melted. I didn't look at the other girls face knowing that they had the same face as me. Complete love for the boy.

"How romantic," Apollo leaned forward and leaned his chin on his hand. "In general, how has the Selection been for you?"

"An eye opener really," Percy nodded. "I've met some of the most caring girls in the country and I've enjoyed every second I've spent with all of them. The stories they've told me about their past lives have helped me gain a better picture of what I need to do in the future when I do become king."

"Like what?"

"I'm not making any promises yet, but the living standard of the lower castes needs to be risen. I have a plan on how to do that."

I mentally coughed. Don't you mean that I have a plan for that, Seaweed Brain?

"That sounds wonderful," Apollo nodded in agreement. "I'm bursting with anticipation for the proposal. Are you ready, Your Highness?"

He gave Apollo a crooked smile. "As ready as I'll ever be."

He walked over and I watched holding my breath as he got down on two knees in front of Calypso. He took both of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Calypso, you have amazed me in every single way. Your determination, your sewing skills. You're kind hearted and caring, but also a little feisty and rebellious. You were shy at first but then let me in. I want to say thank you for joining me in this crazy journey, but," He paused for a moment and I watched as Calypso's face fell. "I'm sorry, I'm not proposing to you tonight."

He stood up and so did she. They hugged and they whispered something into each other's ears. She pulled back, laughing a little and sat down. She wiped under eyes and watched as Percy got down on two knees in front of Rachel, taking her hands just like he did Calypso.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," He started, then laughed a little. "When we first met I thought that you were as blunt and untamed as your hair, but once I got to spend more time with you I came to found a girl who was stubborn yet open-minded, artistic, intelligent and caring. Your stories of doing charity work made me realise what a good person you are, but your uncanny and weird ability to predict the future almost to a pin-point freaks me out a little." He smiled as she laughed. "My experience over the last two months with you has been amazing, and I'm sorry, but I won't be proposing to you tonight either."

She gave him a sad smile because she already knew that that was going to happen. They both stood up and hugged. She whispered something in his ear and he laughed this time. I saw her sneak a quick kiss on his cheek before siting down.

The whole room was silent as Percy knelt down on one knee in front of me. Out of the pocket of his suit jacket he took out the same grey box he had used two days ago, but when he opened it there was a beautiful ring inside. The ring took my breath away. It was a simple, rose gold band with a beautiful, white pearl in the middle. Little diamond glistened under the light on either side of the pearl. It was gorgeous.

"My Wise Girl," He gave me a small grin. "When I read out your name at the Selecting, to say I was shocked was an understatement. The girl I grew up with and who I had developed a crush on liked me back and wanted to be apart of my life in a whole new way. I was so nervous asking you out for our first date, and I was so happy when you kissed me that night on the roof. Our love story has had its major ups and downs, but you were there the whole time, helping me as I helped you. I love your intelligence and your readiness to help. I love your bravery and faith you out in people that you love and trust. I'm in love with you, Annabeth Chase," He raised his eyebrows at me. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Percy," I nodded as I was flooded with a range of raw emotions. "I will marry you."

I didn't think much of fates and prophecies, but I did believe in one thing: Percy and I were supposed to be together.

Applause broke out across the room as we both stood up. He slid the magnificent ring onto my ring finger, cupped my cheek and gave me a kiss that expressed how happy he was.

Percy turned around and faced the camer, and arm around my waist. I splayed my hand across his chest so the camera could zoom in to the ring if they wanted too.

Apollo, who was giving us a standing ovation turned to the camera. "And that my friends is the conclusion to Prince Percy's Selection. On behalf of everyone here we'd like to thank you for your never ending support and we wish our newly engaged couple all the best in their future together as husband and wife, king and queen." He raised his hand. "To Annabeth and Percy!" He cheered.

Everyone followed suit, raising their hands as if they had glasses clutched in them. The cameras turned off and I braced myself for the swarm of people who were going to attack me.

A second round of applause irrupted around the room as everyone huddled around Percy and I, wanting to get a look at the ring or the newly engaged couple.

"We need to go." I whispered in his ear as someone grabbed my hand and stared at my ring in amazement.

"Huh?" He glanced at me shaking someone's hand. "Where?"

"Just trust me."

"My babies!" Sally pushed her way through the crowd and pulled the both of us into her arms. "Congratulations. Welcome to the family, Annabeth."

I smiled into her hair. "Happy to be apart of it."

The rest of the family crowded around and hugged us. Zoe was crying and she loved the ring. Tyson was nearly crying too. Paul pulled me into a hug.

"Can you get everyone to back away?" I asked quietly. "I have to take Percy to... you know where."

He drew back and nodded, the smile never once leaving his face. "Of course. You two have fun."

I found Percy's hand and squeezed, gaining his attention. I gestured to the door with my hand.

"Can everyone please move away so the couple can get out?" Paul's voice rang out around the room. "They have places to be! Thank you!"

"Places to be?" Percy asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't act so suspicious. We have to go. Now."

He kissed his mother on the cheek and left the room in confusion.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked as we walked down the hallway.

"Come on!" I laughed, dropping his hand so I could pick up my dress. I started to jog towards the main doors.

He followed after me and we ran down the steps of the palace. A sleek, silver car was waiting at the bottom and I opened the passenger door for him. I gestured to the seat. "Get in."

He looked back to the palace and then back to the car. "Was this your plan all along?" He got into the car and I shut the door behind him.

I ran to the other side and opened my door, getting in and closing it. I started the car.

"To kill me?" He put on his seat belt and loosened his tie. "Get engaged to the next king and then kill him, letting you take power over the country?"

"Yes." I nodded my head and put the car in drive. I drove slowly down the driveway, picking up speed as we got closer to the gate. "I planned it in the womb. I was going to become best friends with the prince, make him fall in love with me and get engaged. Then on his eighteenth birthday I would kill him in the woods."

"Oh," He leaned back into his chair. "Wow."

I laughed and drove out of the open gate. "I'm taking you to a surprise birthday party."

He grinned. "I knew you would spill."

Reports and paparazzi lined the street leading out of the palace gate. Their cameras flashed, nearly blinding me. People were crowded around the palace too. The lower castes mixed in with the high castes, throwing flowers at the car.

"Holy Athena," I muttered underneath my breath as I slowed the car and looked at the crowds of people. "We're not even married yet."

A rose came flying towards the car and landed on the windscreen with a thump. Percy ignored it. "Who's coming? I heard Pipers name before from the bathroom."

I rolled my eyes. "You'll have to wait and see."

We drove through the city and it was slightly weird to hear people celebrating our engagement. We saw a sign hanging of Chaos Bridge that read in bold letters, "Congratulations Percy!"

We drove out of the city and towards the cost.

"Yes," Percy smiled. "The beach."

I pointed to the back seat. "Bathers are in the bag back there. You should get changed now because you'll want to use the present they bought you."

He unbuckled his seat belt and climbed through the middle of the front seats. He unzipped the bad and held out some Nemo swimming trunks. "No peaking, okay?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded. When I got to the beach I would change into some bathers too. It was warm enough outside to be just standing on the beach with minimal clothing on.

Percy changed and sat back in his seat. I turned off the free way and we drove along a road right next to a beach. A small parking lot came up on our left and I pulled off, parking in between four or so cars. I opened the door and was greeted with the sweat warm air of summer and music blasting from down on the beach.

"Beach party?" Percy asked, getting out of the car and looking around excitedly.

I nodded and saw a figure walk up to the beach towards us. I immediately recognised her as Piper.

I laughed and ran closer to her, making sure I wasn't on the sand so my dress wouldn't get dirty. "Piper!" I flew my arms around one of my closest friends. She looked exactly the same as always. Her eyes changed colours when they hit the sun and she had a single braid in her choppy brown hair. She was wearing a cute white dress with pink flowers across it.

"Annabeth!" She hugged me back tightly. "It feels like it's been forever."

I pulled back and smiled at her. "Everything was so boring without you."

Percy gasped beside me. "Was I not enough?"

I rolled my eyes and held out my hand to Piper. Because they'd hadn't watched the Report on the beach they had no idea.

Her eyes widened once she saw the ring. She looked up at us for a moment then back to the ring before giving us a group hug as she squealed. "Holy Aphrodite, I'm so happy! This is wonderful!"

She gave Percy a hug. "Happy Birthday, by the way."

He smiled at his friend. "Thank you,"

"Go," I pushed him on the back. "I have to get changed."

He gave me a quick kiss on the lips before running down to the beach where I could hear the shouts of his friends greeting him.

Piper shoved me my clothes that were in her hands. She led me over to the public toilets that were just next to the parking lot.

"I told you so," She smirked at me.

She helped me get out of my extravagant gown and I got changed into my grey bikini and a white throw over dress. Piper had a pink bikini underneath her dress.

We carefully folded my big dress and placed it neatly in the trunk of my car. We walked down to the beach and I was very happy with how it turned out.

The sun hadn't set so we could still see, but fairy lights were hung up between poles. In the middle Leo had created a fire and put chairs around it for us to sit around when it got couldn't. There was a table with piles of food ranging from blue cookies to mini sandwiches. Jason had successfully set up the speakers and music was plying at full volume.

Percy walked over to me and took my hands. "Thanks for the best birthday ever."

"It was my pleasure."

"Hey!" Jason called out as he turned down the music. "I've been told that you two have some news."

Jason, Leo, Grover, Juniper, the Stolls, Katie, Reyna, Frank, Hazel, Clarrise, Thalia, Silena, Beckendorf and Piper crowded around us. It was good to see everyone again.

"So," Percy started. "The first thing we want to tell you is that we lost the capture the flag game."

Everyone groaned and shook their heads. I heard Leo mutter, "Disappointed."

"But we have a very good reason," I saw their hope ripple across their faces. "Percy proposed." They waited with held breath. "And I said yes."

Everyone exploded. They all rushed up to us to tell us that it took us long enough and to congratulate us.

Jason turned the music up and it switch over to Under The Sea from The Little Mermaid. Percy's face broke out into a grin and he started to dance in time with the beat, singing along to the lyrics of a song for children.

He took both of my hands and moved them around, encouraging me to dance. So I did. I let loose and I danced with Percy and I friends with a sun setting right in front of us. It was perfect.

After I got exhausted from dancing on the sand with my fiancée I went around and talked to everyone. I solved all my issues with Katie and Reyna. I had a fun conversation with Silena and Beckondorf and learnt that they had started dating. When I went to find Travis I saw that he was off kissing Katie. Grover was so happy that Percy had asked him to be his best man he was stuffing his mouth with enchiladas. When I was taking with Piper and Jason I watched as Jason slipped his hand into Pipers and their finger intertwined. Thalia and I talked about Luke. We were both pretty hung up with how everything was going to turn out. Her and Jason were trying to act casual like they aren't brother and sister but they failed miserably. You could see them looking for each other every so often just to make sure the other wasn't gone. Hazel caught me up on everything that had happened with Frank and they had official started dating. She told me it was getting serious and that she was happy.

I heard a car pull up and watched as two figures got out from the car and walked down over to us. The sun caught Rachel's red hair.

"Mind if we join you?" Calypso asked stopping in front of Percy and I. "Sally invited us."

Percy looked at me for a second then back to the girls. "The more the merrier."

"Present!" Grover yelled over the music. "Present!"

We all sat down in the gaurs around the fire as Jason and Grover disappeared up to the cars. They came back, carrying a blue surfboard between them.

"Happy Birthday, Percy!" Everyone chorused as he stared at his new surfboard.

"Yes!" He jumped and picked up the surfboard, running towards the beach calling, "Thank you!" Over his shoulder.

We watched as he paddled out the lucky Seaweed Brain caught the first wave.

"He's a natural," Piper muttered next to me.

"He's always loved to surf." I smiled.

Piper ran up to her car and came running down the beach with her white surfboard.

"You surf?" I yelled after to her.

"My dad taught me."

After Piper got in the water and caught a wave with Percy, we all ran down and mucked around in the water. Percy came in and swam with me. We may have re-enacted our under water kiss. Scratch what I said about the last one. This was the best underwater kiss of all time.

Later, Percy walked away and sat near the edge of the water, staring at the waves as they splashed onto the shore. I decided that I would go get his other present from the car to let him think alone for a minute or two and then I would join him.

As I was waking up to the car I saw Leo and Calypso talking. It seemed that they had gotten over the whole catching her dress on fire thing.

I took the present out from the boot and slowly walked down to Percy. I sat down next to him and nearly giggled as the water tickled my toes.

I pointed to a clump of seaweed next to Percy. "Hey, that's what's in your brain."

He looked confused at the ground then realised that there was seaweed there. "Oh, har-har."

"I'm joking," I smiled at him. "I'm in love with you."

"I'm in love with you, too." A sea-green blanket wrapped around me comfortingly.

"Happy Birthday," I handed him the cake that Tyson and Zoe had helped me make for him. There was a proper one up on the table but the kids wanted him to eat this one first.

"Did you bake this yourself?" He asked looking down at the cake.

"Tyson and Zoe helped."

"That explains why it looks like a chocolate brick with blue icing."

I laughed. We split the cake into two with our fingers and watched the sunset of orange, pink and purple as we ate.

"We could have children." I whispered.

"We're going to be king and queen." He stared off into the distance.

"You can change the world." I told him.

"We can change the world." He looked at me. "Together."

"As long as we're together." I leaned in and our lips connected.

Our kiss was home. It was safety and warmth, security and love bounded together in one long kiss. I felt the safest I had in a long time, wrapped in Percy's arms as his mouth moved against my mind. Fireworks didn't explode and I didn't choke on butterflies. Everything felt calm. Just like the sea on a perfect day.

And that was how the rest of my life was going to be. Safe and warm, secure and in love with Percy. We would get married in the next year, grow into adults and king and queen together. Little children would run around the palace with my hair and his eyes or his hair and my eyes and we would changed the world. Together.

I owed it all to one thing:

A loophole.

Word count: 9,800

Holy Poseidon's underpants! That was a very long chapter.

I can't believe it's the end. This is the final chapter. I'm feeling so many emotions right now I don't know what to do with myself.

Thank you for all the suggestions of rings, baby names and dresses. I have so many to pick from!

Did you like Percy's birthday presents? Are you sad about Luke? I'm sad about Luke. Percabeth are so dam cute.

Ships have sailed. You'll get more of them in the Epilogue and Bonus Chapter, don't worry.

Thank you.

It's my birthday :)

Hugs,

- Squirrel