Request: June Wedding

What could possibly go wrong?

  Of course, that was a bad question when it came to Percy and Annabeth.

  But everything looked to be in order. The Aphrodite cabin had personally done the cake, under Piper’s watchful eye and strict instructions from Annabeth not to overdo it. She’d informed Annabeth that it looked great, elegant yet understated. Piper had also been put in charge of the decorating, as she was the only Aphrodite camper Annabeth trusted with her wedding. The amphitheater had been laced with white and blue roses, the sun was shining like always at camp, and everything seemed ready.

  Her dress was perfect. A little old-fashioned, a little Greek-inspired. Annabeth knew it was a hit by the expression on Percy’s face when she walked up next to him. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack, but he smiled and took her hand. He mouthed the words “I love you” to her and that was when it all sunk in. This was it; she was finally getting married to Percy. She clutched his hand tighter to steady herself.

  Her father had been allowed in for the ceremony and gave Annabeth away with a stern look to Percy and a warning that he’d kill him if Percy ever hurt his little girl. Naturally, Percy assured him that would never happen. Annabeth swore she saw tears in her father’s eyes as he turned away. She was fighting back tears herself.

  Most of the gods were in attendance, Poseidon beaming with pride, Artemis smiling in approval while her Hunters squirmed, and Aphrodite dabbing at her makeup. “Oh, I just love weddings,” she muttered.

  Chiron performed the ceremony with Hera standing nearby, scowling at the happy couple. Annabeth couldn’t help but smile smugly. They had purposely decided to get married in June, partly because it would annoy the goddess, partly because she automatically had to bless all June weddings. Poor Hera didn’t have much of a choice. She caught Annabeth smiling and her scowl deepened.

  The ceremony went off without a hitch, the crowd breaking into uproarious applause when the couple kissed. Drinks were passed around and the campers were allowed a limited supply of alcohol, as it was the first wedding at camp. Poseidon managed to give a toast, though he looked like he was about to break down into tears any minute. Hera swallowed her pride and managed to make a toast herself, though it sounded like it was being forcibly pulled out of her. The cake looked absolutely perfect, and after Percy and Annabeth smashed it into each other’s faces while cameras flashed, the cake mysteriously toppled over. Hera was nowhere to be found, but this unfortunate incident only spurred a food fight, and Annabeth didn’t really mind. Nothing could ruin this, the happiest day of her life.

  And, not willing to break tradition, Clarisse led the campers in throwing the couple into the canoe lake. And that was most definitely the best underwater kiss of all time.