Five Years Later

I stared at myself in the mirror. I was impressed by what my team had put me in. I was wearing a long sleeve, woollen grey sweater with jeans and a long navy coat. My hair was down in its natural curls and I pulled down the matching grey beanie on my head. You've done it, Annabeth, a little voice whispered in my head. You're finally here.

After years of planning, I was finally at the very first opening of a public school in the province of Allens.

Justine came over and squeezed my shoulder. "How're you holding up?" Justine hadn't changed much in the past five years. Her hair was still a fiery red and she still wore black rimmed glasses. She was still my maid, but nobody thought of her as that. She was my right-hand woman and close friend.

I sighed and rubbed the stress out of my forehead. "I miss them so much, especially her."

"I know, but just imagine. Tonight you'll be back home with the people you love."

I thought of all the people I would see tonight. My heart clenched at the thought.

Someone came running up to Justine and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and the boy ran off.

"Time to go on in one minute. You ready?"

I nodded. "I've been waiting for this since my coronation."

She led me over to a door and listened patiently for the cue for me to walk on stage. The same boy from before came and gave me my speech on some cards. I smiled my thanks at him.

"It is my honour to announce our next guest," I heard the mayor of Allens talk into the microphone from the other side of the door. "For the past few years, she has been working extremely hard to come up with a plan to change our country for the better. And today, she will finally put that into motion. It is my great pleasure to welcome, Queen Annabeth!"

Justine gave me one last thumbs up and opened the door, polite applause greeting my ears as I walked out.

There was a large crowd of people in the town square of Allens, all wrapped up in scarfs and coats, huddled together to keep warm white snow dusting the concrete at their feet. I walked out onto a wooden stage, a small black podium set up at the front with a microphone, press with their cameras and notepads right below it, already recording and taking pictures of me. My eye caught on the building I was here for toward and I let out a relieved sigh. Allens Public School stood on the opposite side of the square in all its glory. A fence wrapped around the perimeter, and in summer the grounds would be green and full of trees. The building was made out of recycled timber and other materials, parts of it two stories. There were enough classrooms for five hundred students and enough room to expand if we needed it. A big, red ribbon with a bow was tied at the front, ready for me to cut it and open the school to every child in Allens.

The mayor shook my hand and stepped back from the podium, giving me the crowd.

I placed my cards down and moved the microphone a little bit higher to reach my mouth. "Thank you, Mayor Wilson. Hello, everyone." I smiled at the crowd, all of their faces turning red from the cold. "I'll make this quick so we can all get inside and enjoy a hot chocolate," The crowd chuckled, some of them nodding their heads. "Today is a historic and extraordinary day with the opening of Allens Public School, the first in the country aiming to educate all castes. As Mayor Wilson said, I've been working very hard with a team of dedicated people to make this happen, and now that it is, all I can say is wow. With this school, and all the others opening around the country in the next year or two, we can change the country for the better. We can and we will give better education to the lower castes who deserve it, giving them a bright future filled with endless opportunities to chase their dreams. But today could not have happened without the dedicated team that I've been working so closely with,"

I turned my head a little bit to the side. "Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone in Allens, from the higher castes who've supported this project to the lower castes who have helped in so many ways that the list would go from here to New England. Secondly, I'd like to thank all the builders, social workers and everyone else in that department who have made this day possible. I'd also like to thank the council members who helped get this day in motion, and to my parents-in-laws, Sally and Paul Jackson for their endless support. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband for working with me on this, for helping, supporting and guiding me. Thank you, Percy."

Everyone clapped but I could tell that they all really badly wanted that hot chocolate. "Before I forget, a very Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope tomorrow is filled with friends, family and lots of love. Mayor Wilson? I think it's time to cut that ribbon."

I followed Mayor Wilson down the stairs, cameras following us as we walked over to the gates of the school.

She handed me a pair of large scissors and I grinned them tightly in my frozen hands. "This is for you, Luke," I whispered underneath my breath and turned around, cutting the piece of red ribbon.

As I cut it, I felt a huge weight shift off my shoulders.

Applause broke out across the square, cheers and laughed mixed in as well. I turned around with a massive smile on my face and held up the scissors, cameras flashing left, right and centre.

Justine pressed a hot chocolate in my hands. I took a sip and melted from the warm liquid. "You did so well, Annabeth." She smiled.

"Thank you, Justine." I looked out the window of the car we were travelling to the airport. "How long now?"

"We're just arriving and we'll get on the plane straight away. Then it's a six-hour flight back home."

Six hours until I saw my husband and daughter.

"Annabeth?" Justine gently pushed my shoulder. "Your Majesty? Time to get up."

"Huh?" I slowly opened my eyes to see Justine peering down at me. "What's happening?"

"We've landed. We're home."

I looked out the window, and sure enough, I could see the city of Angeles, the sun setting behind it.

I walked down the stairs of the plane and got into a sleek black car waiting to take Justine and me back to the palace. We travelled in silence but I could barely contain my excitement.

We pulled up in front of the palace steps and a guard rushed down to open the door for me. I stepped out and looked up at my very big home, sighing a breath of relief. Home sweet home.

A big ball of black came sprinting towards me and I fell back against the car. My jeans were quickly wet with slobber.

"Mrs O'Leary!" I crouched down and patted the massive dog behind the ears. "How are you, girl? Did you miss me?"

She licked my face in response so I took that as a yes.

Someone whistled from the top of the stairs and got the attention of Mrs O'Leary who went barreling back up the stairs and disappeared back into the palace.

I smiled and stood up, looking at the figure on top of the stairs. Time had definitely helped Percy with his looks. He was a little bit taller than when we were eighteen, his shoulders broader. His messy jet black hair, sea-green eyes and troublemaker smile had stayed the same though.

My smile grew as we ran towards each other. I engulfed him in a hug in the middle of the stairs and he picked me off the ground, spinning me around in a circle before putting me back down.

He kissed me, a smile itches on his lips. "Gods," He pulled back and pressed his forehead to mine. "I didn't realise I could miss someone so much,"

I laughed and gave him another quick kiss. "I missed you too."

"I watched you on the news," He took my hand and we walked up the stairs. "Your nose and cheeks were so red, you looked adorable."

"Adorable?" I asked him. "What about my speech? What about my accomplishment?"

He squeezed my hand. "I've told you a million times. I'm so proud of you,"

I smirked. "Dam right. You should be."

He laughed and we walked up the stairs towards the third floor.

"Where is she?" I asked, letting my excitement out into my voice.

"I just put her down for bed about thirty minutes ago."

"Thank the gods. I thought you were going to-"

"To what?" He stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. "Drop her? Pour a bag of flour on her? Stuff her with blue cookies?"

"No, no, no." I put my hands on his arms. "Of course not." I lied. "You've been an amazing father and husband."

"Yeah," He grumbled. "I have."

We continued walking up the stairs. "Everything coming together for tomorrow?"

"Yep," He smiled. "Everyone's flying in. They should all be here for dinner. I think Nico might be a bit late but other than that, everything's going to go great."

"Good," I thought about the present sitting in the box under our Christmas tree. I was hoping that he would be over the moon about it.

We quietly walked down the hallway of the third floor and opened the door of my old bedroom. We had redecorated it before the birth of our daughter. The walls were a pale blue, clouds painted to make it look like the sky. Coming up from the bottom of the wall were big green trees, birds flying. There was an ocean painted near the bathroom with dolphins and colourful fish. Rachel had painted it for us as a present.

We walked over to the cot pressed against the wall and I wasn't surprised to see that our baby was wide awake. Her sea-green eyes danced and her blonde hair stuck to her forehead, a bit damp from a bath that Percy made her before I got home. She had a few teeth in her mouth, her skin tan just like mine and her nose adorable like Percy's. She stuck her hands out towards me and giggled.

Percy groaned. "I thought you fell asleep!"

What looked like a smirk played on her lips.

I bent down and scooped her up in my arms, placing her on my hip. "Hi," I whispered. "I missed you so very much. I thought about you every day."

She played with a piece of my hair.

Princess Athena Sally Jackson was born almost one year ago. She came as a surprise to both Percy and I. I woke up one morning and threw up all of my dinner. I dismissed the whole day of feeling terrible but then I realised I was late for my monthly visit from Mother Nature. I took a test and it confirmed it: I was pregnant. Percy's reaction was priceless when I told him. He didn't understand at first but when he did he started crying. Then I started crying and we were a bundle of happiness and anticipation for our future. We named our precious baby girl after both our mothers, hoping that our baby would turn out to be just like the strong, independent and beautiful women our mothers were and are.

I kissed her lightly on the forehead. "How was Daddy? Did he make you watch Finding Nemo? Or Dory? You know," I whispered in her ear, feeling the pressure of Percy's hand on the small of my back. He placed his chin on my shoulder and watched his daughter with lovestruck sea-green eyes. "He wanted to name you after some of those characters but I told him he was being idiotic."

"I wasn't being idiotic," He huffed but he didn't move from his position. "Nemo is a beautiful name."

I turned my head towards him. "For a fish,"

"Fine!" He stuck out his tongue. "I want a fish for Christmas then so I can name him Nemo."

I thought about the present underneath the Christmas tree and smirked. "It's much better than a fish."

He rolled his eyes. "Nothing is better than a fish."

A hand connected with my face and I turned back to my daughter. She giggled and hit my face again. "I think it's time you went to bed, Athena."

"Mama," She uttered her first word.

My eyes widened and I turned to look at Percy who was grinning like mad. "What did you say, Thea?"

"Dada," She giggled and stuck out her hands towards her father.

"That's right," His voice was laced with so much emotion I thought that he was going to cry. "I'm your Dada," He used her hand to point at me. "And this is your Mama,"

"And we love you with all our hearts," I kissed her on the top of her nose and gently placed her back in her cot.

"Good night, Athena," I whispered then took Percy's hand and led him out into the hallway and into our bedroom.

After the door clicked softly shut he spun me around and planted his lips on mine. I melted into the kiss and we stumbled a little as we wrapped our arms around each other.

He pulled back and rested his forehead on mine. "We're such good parents,"

I smirked. "I know,"

He kissed me again. "Apart from the whole lying thing."

"Huh?" I asked in between kisses, my brain taking awhile to catch up to what he was saying as it was too focused how perfectly his lips fitted on mine.

"You lied about loving her with our whole hearts," I stepped away shocked. "Not like that," He took my hand and placed it on his fast beating heart. "Got to leave a little bit of room for each other, right? And blue cookies."

I rolled my eyes and cupped both of his cheeks. "Sometimes I wonder how I'm still in love with you,"

He kissed me again. "I have a feeling I know why." And we toppled onto the bed in a tangle of limbs.

I was awakened by someone jumping up and down on the bed. I groaned and rolled over, trying to get back to sleep. I missed a couple of hours because of Athena and I really needed to get that time back.

"Wise Girl!" Percy kissed me on the cheek, bouncing on the bed. "It's Christmas! Time to get up! Presents!"

I turned back towards him and he slipped back under the covers, putting an arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into his side. "All I want for Christmas is sleep."

"All I want for Christmas is a fish."

I rolled my eyes but opened them and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Merry Christmas, Seaweed Brain." I leant closer to his ear. "Why don't you look underneath the Christmas tree and get the small one with your name on it?"

He looked at me curiously but got out of bed anyway. On the way over he pulled a sweater over his chest and put on some baggy grey sweatpants over his Finding Nemo pyjamas. I watched as he bent down and found the present under the tree, the anxiety of it all making me want to throw up like every other time I had the past week.

He walked back over to the small blue box in hand, sitting down crossed legged near my pillow. He looked at me suspiciously.

"Open it," I whispered.

"I thought we were doing presents tonight." He eyed the bow as he untied it.

"This one is for just you and me."

I watched as he took the lid off the box and picked up the pregnancy test. I watched as his eyes scanned the test and landed on the positive sign before landing on me.

"Annabeth?" He asked, his hope full of hope.

"Merry Christmas, Percy. I'm pregnant."

He let out a shaky breath and enveloped me in a hug. "You're right," He whispered. "This is so much better than a fish. I'm going to be a dad of two."

I pulled away and wiped away a tear that had fallen out of my eye. "I found out the second day of my trip. Justine is the only other person who knows, she made me take the test because I couldn't stop vomiting."

He kissed me on the forehead. "I hate how you get so sick."

"It's worth it. Maybe this one will be a boy,"

Percy pulled the cover down and slid down the bed, putting a hand on my waist. He placed a delicate kiss on my stomach.

"Hello, baby number two," He rubbed circles on my stomach with his thumb. I could not ask for a better father of my children. "I'm so excited for you to come into this world and meet me and your mother, and of course your older sister. I'm going to try and persuade Wise Girl to call you Nemo seeing as I didn't get my fish, but you're much better than a fish."

I giggled and kissed him on the forehead. "Are you ready for another round?"

"Gods no," He shook his head. "But I can't wait for it."

We got out of bed, got dressed and checked in Athena. She was giggling and babbling to herself as we got her dressed in a green dress and red band around her waist. I picked her up and placed her on my hip, taking Percy's hand and walked down to the dining room for breakfast, now as a soon to be family of four.

When we walked into the dining room, Athena was plucked out of my arms by her grandmother with a quick kiss on Percy and I's cheeks like a Merry Christmas.

"Blue!" Zoe yelled over as she came crashing down from the table and ran over to us. For a twelve-year-old, she packed a punch with her sassy remarks and attitude. Thalia and Percy were rubbing off on her. She had grown so much since the wedding. She was now the same height as just below my shoulders and her long brown hair was always done up in a ponytail. She loved to wear her cousin's leather jackets and I could tell she was going to be a heartbreaker in her teens. She was still energetic though and loved to swim, especially with her older brothers. She poked Percy's chest. "I love you so, so much. You're the best big brother ever."

"Hey!" Tyson called from the table frowning at Zoe.

"Did I mention I love you?" Zoe placed her hands behind her back and brought out the doe-eyes.

"What do you want?" Percy asked suspiciously as we made our way over to the table.

Sally had placed Athena in her chair and I sat down next to her, Percy on my other side. Tyson, Sally and Paul were sitting in their spots.

Zoe put her hands on the back of his chair. "As my Christmas present, can you please, pretty please with a cherry on top, lower the age to get your license?"

The whole table stopped what they were doing and looked over at Zoe.

"Say that again, honey?" Paul asked, putting a hand on Sally's curled fist.

"Percy?" Zoe asked. "Can you?"

"No," Percy said straightaway. "I will not have my little sister driving a car at age twelve. That's ridiculous."

"Bethy..." She came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Best mother in the world,"

"Hey!" Sally cried.

"Can you lower-"

"No," I interrupted her and put a piece of apple on a plate for Athena. "Why?"

"I want a motorcycle-"

Sally, Tyson and Percy stood up and erupted at poor Zoe. She shrunk back as her protective older brothers and mother went off about how dangerous they were and how dare she and "Is this to impress a boy? I'll impress him with a purple bruise on his face put there by my fist."

"Calm down," Paul stood up and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Zoe will not be getting on a motorcycle for another five years. Everyone sit down and continue to eat breakfast."

Everyone sat down and we dug into the buffet of blue foods.

"Why do you want a motorcycle?" I asked Zoe. She was a bit young to be thinking about that.

"Thalia has one-"

"I told you!" Percy pointed his fork at me and glared. "I told you she was a bad influence!"

"She's your cousin!" I pointed my knife at him. "They needed some bonding time. Thalia's always off galavanting in the woods with those girls-"

"I'm going to try and ignore that rude comment, Annie."

The whole family turned towards the door where Thalia, Jason and Piper stood.

Everyone got up and rushed over to greet them. I let Athena play with her pancakes and crushed Thalia in a hug. She was wearing a silver snow jacket and silver pants, a silver band in her hair representing her status in the Hunters. She squeezed me back.

"Good to see you again, Thals. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," She whispered back then hugged Percy.

I wrapped my arms around Piper. She was wearing a pink Christmas sweater, doves in white flying around on her torso. "Piper! I'm so happy to see you."

She smiled at me. "Merry Christmas."

Jason wrapped an arm around my shoulder. He was wearing a matching blue Christmas sweater to his girlfriend. "Hey, Owl Head."

I rolled my eyes. "Merry Christmas, Sparky."

We pulled up another three chairs for the three new members. Piper and Jason had gone a couple of weeks ago for a holiday back to Piper's hometown. She moved into the palace a couple of years ago and they went back for the holidays. Jason actually flew the plane. For his birthday during the Selection, Percy got him a voucher to go to the Angeles Pilot Academy, and since then he's been learning how to fly. He got his licence not too long after the wedding and he and Piper took off for Rome straightaway. After their holiday recently to Whites, they met Thalia at the airport who flew in from somewhere in the world. She moved around so much that I normally didn't know if she was in the same country as me unless she was in the palace.

We ate and decided to do family presents as everyone was here. We were all happy with our gifts. Zoe got some drawing stuff, she was becoming quite the artist, and Tyson got some parts to the car he was building for himself. Thalia got a new motorbike helmet, Jason got a pilots hat and both siblings got a copy of their grandmothers, Rhea's, diary. Piper got a new surfboard and all of us bought Paul and Sally tickets for a cruise around the Mediterranean. Percy got an array of blue things and tickets for him and Athena to go see Finding Nemo live on stage. I think he was more excited than she was. I got a stack of books and Sally gave me a badge that was given to her by Poseidon when she achieved her first goal as queen. I was touched. Athena got the most presents though. It was her second Christmas but everyone still soiled her with clothes, toys and other things. She waddled around the room picking things up and throwing them. I let Sally be on grandmother duty, mainly because she loved it but also because she loved it. I couldn't wait to tell her about Baby Two.

Paul and Sally left at lunch to go eat late lunch with his family and Jason and Thalia went to the Angeles Cemetery to visit their parents. I thought about my mum, but then I thought about the little bundle of joy playing in front of me and I decided that I didn't want to be anywhere else.

"Hey, hey," Percy squatted down in front of his daughter. "Want to go for a walk, my little pearl? We can go see some birds and maybe your mother can get me a pet fish and put it under the tree while we're gone?"

"You're dreaming," I muttered under my breath as he picked Athena up and kissed me on the forehead.

"Say bye-bye, Mummy!" He picked Athena's hand up and waved it at me.

"Mama," She mumbled then giggled.

"Eh, close enough," Percy shrugged, gave me a kiss on the lips and walked away.

"Take Mrs O'Leary with you!" I shouted at his retreating figure.

The dog who was sleeping in the corner ran towards him when he called out her name.

Piper sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "How are you doing?"

I sighed and rubbed my belly, closing my eyes for a few seconds. "Motherhood and being queen is hard work,"

"Main reason I married a prince," She giggled.

"Hey!" I pointed at her. "If for some reason Percy, Athena, Tyson, Zoe, Thalia and I die, you and Jason are next in line,"

"Gods," She groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Don't remind me."

We giggled as the door opened.

"Where's the child?" Hazel came running towards flinging her arms out and wrapped them around me in a hug.

"Huh?" I asked pulling away after a few moments. I looked at the young woman before me. Hazel, now twenty-years-young, had grown up to be a beautiful person inside and out. She was still bright and outgoing and had developed a love for creating and horseback riding. She had grown a few inches, but not much and her gold eyes still shone when the sun hit them. Her relationship with Frank was going strong and we all predicted an engagement very soon. Franks parents had been setting them up to take over as king and Queen of New Asia.

"I want to see Athena," Hazel gushed looking around. "Where is she?"

"She just left for a walk with Perce. They won't be long,"

Hazel sighed disappointed and hugged Piper.

"Sorry," Frank blushed. "Patience sometimes isn't her best quality,"

I thought about all of the phone calls and letters I had been receiving lately about how long it was taking Frank to pop the questions.

"Tell me about it," I rolled my eyes and hugged him.

Frank had not changed physically at all since he had the massive growth spurt in the year of the Selection. But he had developed more as a person. He was more confident in himself and his decisions and a little less clumsy, but we couldn't rule that quality out. He started to stand up to major problems in the world and having him as an ally to Illèa has helped me and Percy so much. He's been a comfort in the hard job of ruling a country.

Hazel and Frank sat down on the couch opposite Piper and I and filled us in on everything that's been happening in their lives in the past few months. It was hard not to tell Hazel about Baby Two but I knew that she wouldn't be able to hold the secret long enough.

The next person to arrive was Rachel. She walked in and we were not surprised to see that she was wearing a grey long-sleeve shirt and baggy, painted overalls on top. From after the wedding, her artistic career went sky high. She's been selling so many pieces it's hard to keep track and she's been in a storm of fame and money, but she's kept a lev head. One of her most famous pieces was when she painted herself gold and stood for a long period of time in the main square in Angeles, raising profits for the Angeles Children's Hospital. I wasn't sure how being painted gold related to a children's hospital but I didn't question it. She raised millions.

Rachel dropped her canvas bag at the door and walked over to us, giving us all hugs then sitting down next to Piper.

Thalia and Jason walked in next and sat down on the couches.

The door opened and Calypso walked in. She seemed angry so we watched in silence as she stalked over. She gave us all a Merry Christmas and planted herself down on the ground at Rachel's feet.

"Is everyone looking, Sunshine?" We heard Leo's voice from the other side of the door.

"Yes, Leo!" Her voice sounded strained.

Both doors swung open and Leo waltzed in. He held out his arms and had a massive smile on his face. He was wearing a red Christmas sweater, like Jason's and Pipers, but he had wrapped fairy lights around himself.

"Merry Christmas, lovers of Leo! As your gift this year you shall be blessed by my presence!" He fumbled with a switch at his sleeve and the lights turned on.

It was a spectacular sight but it was short-lived as his sleeve suddenly caught on fire. Jason, prepared for something like this, took the water from next to him and threw it at Leo's arm.

Leo sighed and nodded his head towards Jason. "Thanks, Sparky. Appreciate it."

"Repair Boy, Why don't you sit down and stay away from anything and everything?" Piper asked calmingly.

"You go it, Beauty Queen." Leo winked and sat down next to his girlfriend.

Both of Calypso's and Leo's business was doing super well. Leo had just opened up another one of his mechanics in the next province over and Calypso was designing and making dresses for celebrities all over the world. Their relationship had had its up and downs but they were still together, which we were all happy about. They were a good couple.

We chatted more until Travis and Connor turned up, Katie holding Travis' hand. Travis and Connor went to school to school for the first time in their lives a year or so ago. I opened a temporary school in the palace and had a class of twenty to trial everything for the actual schools that were going to open over the country. I roped Connor and Travis into it and were surprised when they learnt pretty quickly. They are looking forward to going to the school set to open in Angeles in two months. They are still doing their pranks though and even pranked the teacher one time. It was a very long process in convincing him to stay on the trial. I wasn't happy with the Stoll brothers. Katie had opened a small florist in the city and she made beautiful arrangements for heaps of celebrations all over the city and province. She was very happy surrounded by her flowers and her boyfriend, Travis.

"Hello, hello, hello," Connor gave us all high fives and sat down next to Thalia.

"Merry Christmas!" Katie gave me a beautiful blue flower. "For Athena!"

Travis gave me a wink and sat down next to his girlfriend.

Hot chocolates came round and we started to drink them. Grover and Juniper were the next to arrive, Will Solace trailing behind them.

All three still work at the palace, but they are all very happy here.

Grover and Juniper got married two years ago. It was just a small ceremony in the Angeles Botanic Gardens but Percy was pretty excited to be the best man. Juniper announced that she was pregnant with their first child four months ago, and when she sat down you could see some of her belly protruding.

Will had been all over the shop in the last five years. From spending three months in Italy to then coming back here for a bit then to only go back and so on. He's been working in the palace hospital wing, even delivering Athena, but also volunteering and doing some paid work at the Children's Hospital Rachel raised money for.

Will's eyes deflated once he saw that Nico wasn't here yet.

"He'll be here soon," I promised him.

We were laughing at a story that Leo was telling us about how Jason and he were attacked by some dwarfs in the city when Percy walked back in with Athena.

Everyone started to cheer when they realised my husband and daughter were back.

Percy scratched the back of his neck and smiled. "Aw, are you guys excited to see me?"

"No!" Leo called. "We here for the baby!"

Percy rolled his eyes and put Athena down on the ground who crawled over to Grover.

Percy sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulder.

"What did I miss?" He asked as we watched everyone talked to Athena.

"Leo set himself on fire, Calypso was angry and Hazel only cares about Thea and not me."

"Sounds about right," He muttered

The door opened and everyone's head swivelled around to see who it was.

Nico was standing there glaring at everyone. He was wearing his usual black skinny jeans and his hair was shaggy as usual too. His black shoes had not changed and neither had his pale skin tone. But his shirt, his shirt was a completely different story. It was bright red, with green leaves and pink flowers, bluebirds and purple butterflies flying around on the pattern. You could nearly see the clear buttons up the front of the shirt and the collar was folded down.

Percy burst out laughing as Jason stood up and slowly walked over to Nico.

"Nico? What happened?"

"And accident," Reyna said. It was then I noticed her for the first time too. She had dark jeans on too, and a shocking blue and yellow pattern top on too. Coach Hedge, a short little man with a goatee who was apart of the military, was standing behind the two as well. He had on an atrocious top too with baggy brown pants.

"What kind of accident?" Hazel joined Jason.

"We were driving back from the airport-" Reyna and Hedge had been tasked with picking Nico up from the airport. "-and Coach had a drink in his hand. He was yelling at the ducks crossing the road and spilt the hot drink all over us-" Reyna glared at Coach. "-which forced us to pull over and buy these terrible clothes."

Percy's laughter stopped as Nico sent him a glare. I heard the click of the camera and turned around to see Leo setting down a camera on the table. "I'm sorry, this is just too good."

"No one ever says anything about this ever again," Nico growled. "Do you all understand?"

Will walked over to Nico and took both of his hands, smiling down at his boyfriend. "Aw, come on Neeks. I think you look cute."

Nico's faces turned pink as he looked away. "But I don't want to look cute."

As Will leant down to kiss him we all turned away, not wanting to watch the public display of affection.

I looked over all of our friend's faces and was not surprised we all had smiles on them. We were all happy that Nico had found happiness again.

He had been under the bump as he was set to take the throne from his parents pretty soon. He came out to his country just after my wedding and he received acceptance and love from majority of the country. There was still homophobic people giving him hate but he brushed it aside, happy to be able to go out in public with his boyfriend.

Reyna and he had gotten close over the past few years. She was head of security in the palace and that involved going overseas with Percy and me, and looking after our guest's security when they came here. The Rebels had not attacked since after Kronos' death but we always had to be on alert.

Coach Hedge was Mille's husband, who owned the best bookstore in all of Angeles. In the Selection, Mille was pregnant with they're first born, Chuck. Now she's pregnant with their third.

Nico and Will sat down on a chair and Reyna sat down on the ground. Coach stood in front of us all and glared.

"Right. Listen here! All of you, cupcakes!" Coach started to pace in front of us as he yelled. "This is not a party! None of you will be sleeping in the same room tonight-"

"What about my wife...?" Percy started to ask but trailed off once he saw the glare directed at him from Coach.

"I don't care if you're king and queen or whatever you call yourselves these days, but I've been told that this is not to get out of hand."

I rolled my eyes. "We're fine, Coach. Honestly, we are."

"I trust you to be the sensible one, cupcake." He nodded his head towards me and walked out of the room.

"Sometimes I don't understand that man," Leo muttered.

"You don't understand anything, Leo," Jason smirked.

Leo started to yell at Jason and then everyone started to talk again.

It was times like these, surrounded by family and friends, that I thought the most about Luke. Not a day had gone by since his death where I had not thought about him. For a long period of time after his execution every time I thought of him I tried my hardest to keep the tears from spilling over the dam I built. But now when I thought of him, my still heart clenched, however, I smiled. Because I remembered all the smiles and laughter we shared, and I remember how he came back to me. I remember that he is still my family, just like he promised.

Percy and I sat cuddling with each other sipping our nectar hot chocolates as we watched our daughter captivate the attention of all our friends.

She placed one chubby leg in front of the other until she nearly fell onto the couch. "Mama. Dada."

"Look at our precious pearl," Percy put his drink down and picked up Athena, putting her in between us.

I kissed the top of her head lightly and brushed my hands through her hair. Percy put a hand around my waist and rested his hand on my stomach.

Percy and I had done a lot of things in the past six years. We dated and then got married. We became king a queen together and passed laws to make our country better. Percy changed pollution rates in the ocean dramatically and I'm going to open schools all across the country. We created and raised our first child and future queen, Athena and we have Baby Two on the way.

Nine months later Prince Poseidon Luke Jackson of Illèa was born and completed our family.

I'm lucky to be in love with my best friend, the King of Illèa, Percy Jackson.

We did it.

We built something permanent.

*silence*

*screams*

That's it my friends, the end.

Did you enjoy the chapter? I had heaps of fun writing it. I felt a deep satisfaction in finding all the loose ends in the story and tying them all together.

I actually don't know what to do with myself.

I still have a few chapters to edit so I won't be posting my finals authors note until they are finished so please don't delete this from your library.

What? I'm not crying, you are!

Any questions that you guys want me to answer? Want to know more of the story? Want to know sequel news? Please ask here and I will answer in the final authors note!

I think I'm dead. *checks pulse* Yep. I'm dead.

Shout out to @Foxg1rl03 for the first suggestion for the name Athena and to @Athenas_Owls for the suggestion of Poseidon.

Were you guys happy with the names? I liked the part where they call her Thea and Percy calls her his precious pearl.

Word count: 6793

I think that's all I wanted to say.

You are a beautiful person, inside and out.

Love you to Tartarus and back.

- Squirrel