Epílogos (Heroes of Olympus epilogue)

I didn't want to be a half-blood…

But after so many years, so many adventures, so many wonderfully brave allies, so many scary foes and so many death threats… I’ve come to embrace it.
It’s been four years since the battle with Gaia, and as I stare as my reflection in the mirror I can think about one thing only: I LOOK HOT! Ha. No, that wasn’t what I was really thinking… (Not that I don’t look on point with this tux…)

I’m thinking about one fact: all I’ve been through allows me to actually appreciate these years of calmness. I’ve been so close to death, I’ve experienced the most wrenching pain, I’ve lost a lot of friends; all these hardships that happened to me because I was a demigod are the ones that let me enjoy this fabulous years of staying at Camp and going to college surrounded by the people I’ve grown to love. Of course we fight monsters every day! But I haven’t confronted something as terrifying as Tartarus itself for a long time, and I’m thankful for that.

Now, let’s discuss a more important question… Why did Percy Jackson decide to change his standard clothes that consist of a camp t-shirt (either from Camp Half-Blood or Camp-Jupiter), his jeans and his flip-flops for a not-as-comfy tuxedo? I tell you why… Today is the biggest day of my life. Bigger than the day I fought Kronos; bigger than the day I fought Gaia. Today I’m marrying my soul mate and best friend; the most amazing and intelligent girl in the world, that is so beautiful that she stills looks cute when she is in full armor and covered in dirt: Annabeth Chase. Our wedding is taking place exactly a week after she graduated from her architecture major and I from my marine biology one.

As I fixed my sea-green bowtie I replayed the night that I proposed to her in my mind; it happened exactly a year ago on a 12th of July; her birthday.

I made a lot of preparations for that day, including asking Leo to make Annabeth a custom made ring with a gem that I got from the ocean. Oh, you ask about Leo? Yes, that douchebag is still alive and I only call him that because he played the worst prank ever on us, the day that he finally decided to show up again.

We were all-the entire gang, including Reyna-together at the traditional campfire when we heard a weird noise.

“Look! It’s the bonfire’s logs! Something’s moving them!” screamed Piper.

I hugged Annabeth even tighter. What on Earth was lurking from the bonfire? Just as I asked myself that question the most terrifying thing happened: a fire-lit-Leo-zombie stood out from the bonfire and started coming at us.

“Hungry!... Zombie Leo is hungry!... Brains… brains…” It demanded.

We screamed so loud that we scared all of the seagulls off Long Island Sound.

Then something unexpected happened: the zombie started choking. Oh, but it wasn’t choking at all! It was laughing at us.

“LEO IS BACK FROM THE DEAD, BABY!” screeched Leo at the top of his lungs, his arms extended triumphantly and a huge “I’m a jerk” smirk plastered on his face.

As usual, Annabeth was the first one to react.

“I’m going kill you, you stupid boy!” she yelled while she ran after him. We all mimicked her enthusiasm and all the gang ended up chasing Leo to the beach. I finally caught up to him and tackled him to the ground. We all started yelling and punching at him, but at the end of the day they all started crying and hugging the small latino boy. I said they because, of course, I didn’t shed a single tear… Not one… I didn’t even have a lump in my throat… Why are you being so judgmental?... Ok, yes… I did shed a few tears… But it is only because I’m a Poseidon kid!... Sometimes the tears just well up your eyes and you cry, I don’t know why man, it’s just a Poseidon thing…

Anywaaaaays, back to the ring. So, every night when Annabeth went to sleep at her cabin, I snuck from camp and went into the ocean in order to find a gem suitable for Annabeth’s ring. I wanted the ring to be just as special as her and that is why I didn’t hesitate when I saw the pearl. I found it in one of the deepest parts of the beach, I was walking around and an oyster happened to open in that exact moment. In the inside laid the most perfect pearl I’ve seen in my life. It was shiny, smooth and sea-green. Perfect for Annabeth!

So, I took the pearl to Leo and he handcrafted the most beautiful engagement ring in the world. Pretty much every cabin at camp knew about my plants and they all helped. The Apollo kids were going to play the music, while the Hecate kids helped me with the fireworks and the Aphrodite kids promised to help Annabeth get ready (They also promised to take a lot of pictures and make a scrapbook with them, but of course I never asked for that! I don’t even know what a scrapbook is!). Keeping it a secret wasn’t being easy but at least I got the Stoll brothers to threat the other campers: if someone screwed up my surprise, that person was going to be personally tormented by the two of them for a month.

When the day finally came my legs left like jelly. I was so friggin’ nervous! I managed not to puke and got to the beach, where a blindfolded Annabeth waited for me while Piper held her hand. Piper seemed about to cry, and I noticed that she held a Kleenex in her free hand. I switched with Piper, so then I had Annabeth’s delicate hand into my own.

“Percy…” she whispered. Just as she said the words an electric current went down my spine. “Where are you taking me?” she asked gently.

“Oh, you’ll see.” I replied. I wasn’t nervous anymore. Seeing her with her blond hair combed into a beautiful braid and her lovely sea-green dress-which matched the ring-made me realize that there was no reason to be nervous. I was only allowed to feel lucky, because I was so lucky to have her.

As I guided her to the beach I noticed the gang hiding in the bushes, alongside some Aphrodite kids that were already taking pictures. I shooed them away with my hand and continued toward the beach. We finally made it to the picnic, so I was finally able to take the blindfold off her eyes.

She scanned her surroundings and I noticed she gasped at seeing what I’d prepared for her. Then, a silent tear escaped one of her stormy gray irises and I had the impulse to will it to go back to her eye using my Poseidon skills; but since that would have been too creepy, I decided to simply wipe her tear away with my finger.

“I hope those are tears of happiness” I whispered to her.

“Of course they are” and then she pulled me towards her, locking her lips with mine. It was a very sweet kiss but it still felt incredible. When the kiss was over we stood there, foreheads touching enjoying each other’s presence.

I finally broke the silence, I was already anxious to get to the grand finale. “So… Let’s feast!”
We ate all the food I packed, then we just laid in the blanket looking at the sky and tracing random patterns in the constellations that hung over us in that lovely night, thinking about Bob and Damasen. Then, we ran around the beach. We fell a couple of times so now Annabeth was covered in sand from head to toe and her hair wasn’t as perfectly combed as it was when she first made it to the beach, but she looked even more beautiful now.

I took her hand and guided her toward the lake, where a lovely decorated boat awaited. It was decorated with fresh flowers brought by the kids of the Demeter cabin.

“Happy birthday!” I chimed in as I stole a kiss from her and carried her princess-style aboard the boat.

I willed the water to move us forward, so we now stood at the center of the lake. Just as she was about to say something the Apollo kids organized themselves at the shore and started the serenade. Her eyes were once more full of tears.

“Want to dance?” I asked in her ear. She shivered and then took my hand. We were now slow dancing to the lovely music of the Apollo kids. I checked if the small box that guarded the ring was inside my pocket. The music ended and now a simple instrumental played in the background. It was show time.

“Annabeth?” I asked gently.

“Mhm?” she answered.

“You’ve been my best friend since I was twelve. There is no one else in the world that I trust more. You’ve been my faithful partner for all these years… My confidant, my partner in battle… You’ve been everything to me. And I admire you, because you are beautiful, brave and confident.” My voice cracked. I fought the tears that were welling up in my eyes-damn this Poseidon thing!-but some of them escaped.

Annabeth wiped them off my face. “Thanks, Percy… I feel the same way about you and…” I shut her up with a kiss and pressed my forehead against hers.

“I’m not finished…” I took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is that… I don’t want anybody else. You’re my soulmate and I want to build a family with you and live by your side until I’m so old I’m rotting.” She was holding her breath, tears were freely running down her cheeks; she knew what was coming.

I kneeled down as I took the small box and opened it in front of her. “Annabeth Chase will you make me the happiest demigod alive by marrying me?”

She screamed even louder than we did when we saw zombie Leo. She threw herself at me, crying “Yes, yes, yes” and I put the ring on her finger.

Then various things happened simultaneously: The crowd that was watching us exploded into a sea of crying and cheering people and the fireworks that the Hecate cabin prepared burst into the night sky. And then, with the light from the fireworks and the moon as our background, and the cries of joy as our soundtrack, we shared a passionate kiss on the best day of our lives.

“The ring matches with your eyes, Seaweed Brain” she whispered against my lips.
Now I stood in the mirror while tying my shoes, finally finishing up with the preparations for the big day.

Jason entered to my cabin. “It’s time bro. You have to go to the wedding venue now to wait for Annabeth.”

Of course we were marrying in Camp Half-Blood. It was our home. I loved New Rome and now we both lived at the town, but nothing compared to Camp Half-Blood. As I made it to the spot that we chose for the wedding venue (near the strawberry fields), I noticed that we had some guests that really took me off-guard.

I sent an invitation to the Olympians as a kind of joke because I never thought that they would turn up for the wedding; yet here they were, all in her human forms casually speaking to campers and dryads.

Poseidon, Athena and my mom walked towards me. I was surprised at seeing my mom here because I didn’t think she was going to be allowed at Camp, but Poseidon had promised her that he would use his powers to bring her; I didn’t think he was going to do it, yet there stood my mom, proving me wrong.

“Thank you, Father.” I told him, locking eyes with him.

“You don’t have to thank me, son. It was the least I could do to please you in your big day! I am so happy!” He was so excited he gave me a super hug that almost crushed me.
I instinctively turned to Athena, expecting her to insult me. She looked at me with that cold glance of hers. My parents seemed to feel the tension in the air because one moment after that they left us alone.

Future mother-in-law and I were kind of having a staring contest but I wasn’t going to back down, so I held her gaze. Finally, her expression softened and she started speaking.

“I misjudged you, son of Poseidon.” Instantly my mouth hung open. “When I heard that Annabeth was in love with a son of Poseidon, I instantly thought the worst of you. You’ve proved me wrong because you are probably the bravest and greatest demigod I’ve met; and with that you prove yourself to be worthy of my daughter. I give you my blessing… And, um, Percy?...”

“Yes?” I was so stunned I could barely speak.

“Close that mouth of yours before you start drooling like Annabeth said you do” she smirked and went to take a seat in the front row.

“It’s time, Percy.” Grover told me with a solemn tone.

I stood at the podium alongside Chiron, who was going to formalize the wedding. Then, the Apollo kids started playing the traditional wedding instrumental. Just then the whole world stopped rotating.

Down the corridor stood a godly apparition. I literally felt the urge to cover my eyes because I thought that I was looking straight onto the true godly form of one of the goddesses that were present at my wedding; but I was wrong. It was Annabeth. She was wearing a long, silky white gown that was decorated with golden fabric here and there, Greek style. Her blond hair glistened in the sun; it was combed into loose curls that flowed all the way to her waist. She had a small golden tiara in her head and the veil seemed to float around her like a cloud. She held a bouquet of gold and sea-green flowers in her hand and I could see her ring. Above all, the most stunning feature that she wore today was her smile, I haven’t seen her so happy. She was beautiful and to me she was even more endearing than any goddess.

As she took the first step down the aisle, the time seemed to go in slow motion and I started to take in all of my surroundings. Or to be more precise, I started thinking about all the people I loved that were here today, accompanying me in the biggest day of my life.

I took a look at my groomsmen, my best friends in life.

First off was Leo Valdez, that kid that never failed to put a smile in my face. We shared the same sort of stupid sense of humor so we got along pretty well. We were always joking around and got on everybody’s nerves, especially on Nico’s.

After the fight with Gaia, Leo died and then came back to life with Festus’s help. He then went to Ogyagia to be reunited with Calypso and she was finally able to escape her punishment. They traveled the world together and everything has been pretty good with the two of them; they’ve already being dating for a couple of years and had their own store, something about cars, monsters and vegetables.

Calypso and I came to terms, and she ended up thanking me for helping her case before the Olympians. I was happy to see her expression, beaming from the crowd.

Then was Nico. Nico di Angelo, what a complicated guy. The truth is, I always cared a lot for him. When I went to save him I saw myself in his expression; he was lost and scared, so I dedicated myself to protect him in that moment. Four years ago he confessed that he had a crush on me, which surprise me a little bit but didn’t upset me or anything. When he told me, some pieces of the puzzle came together and I finally understood why he was always there to help me even in the most random moments. I owe him my life because he was the one that convinced Bob that I was his friend, and that is the only reason I escaped alive from Tartarus. At first, I felt a little bad about the crush thing because I reckoned that he must have suffered; but in the end I accepted the fact that it was a matter that was out of my hands. Love is the hardest thing to fight or resist.

Nico had been a lot better since he permanently moved to Camp Half-Blood: everyone seemed to really like him so he felt at home and he even found love. Nico’s being dating Will Solace for a while now. A weird mix, right? I say that because they are completely opposites: Nico doesn’t like lame jokes, Will is the king of bad jokes, Nico is a somber person, Will is the must upbeat guy you’ll ever meet, etc. You get the picture. They are so different that I guess that’s why they love each other so much, they complement each other. Everyone at camp approved of the relationship to the point where the Aphrodite kid started wearing t-shirts that said “#Solangelo” around camp. Apparently that weird name was their “ship” name which is a name made up by the names of the persons involved in the relationship; they are used to show support to the couple.

Nico hated the unnecessary attention. Will seemed amused by the whole Solangelo thing; he even wore one of the t-shirts once, but never wore it again because when he did Nico stopped talking to him for three hours. One day, the boxes of “#Solangelo” t-shirts stashed in the Aphrodite cabin mysteriously caught black fire and burned down. Of course, Nico had nothing to do with this…

After Nico, stood praetor Frank which was even taller than four years before; that guy needed to stop growing or he wouldn’t be able to enter through the Ares cabin doorway when he came to visit. He and Hazel were living happily in Camp Jupiter, excelling at their jobs as praetor and centurion respectively. Hazel had been able to restore the glory to the fifth cohort. Frank was admired by every legionnaire for being an excellent strategist and leader. Relationship-wise they were also doing okay; they had the cutest relationship ever.

Then stood Jason Grace, who became one of my best friends in no time. We had many things in common and we had a special talent for getting into trouble together. On my free time, I travel from camp to camp helping Jason build the shrines to the minor gods. Those shrines were sort of the legacy of the two of us since I started that work and Jason decided to finish it. Jason and Piper were happier than ever together. Piper was Annabeth’s best friend alongside Hazel and Reyna and I can tell that they all help Annabeth so I really appreciate their friendship.

Closest to me stood my oldest best friend: Grover Underwood. Grover has been by my side longer that everyone present, except my mom. Grover has been my partner in crime and protector, and that is something I would never forget. He was now kind of a god for the nature sprites, so he traveled a lot all around the country, trying to save the green spaces. I am incredibly proud of my fella.

The only groomsman that was missing for me was my loved brother Tyson, but he couldn’t be here because he was alongside his wife, Ella. She was going to give birth today, so I’m also going to be an uncle! What an amazing day.

Aside from Hazel and Piper, Rachel, Reyna and Thalia also stood by Annabeth’s side as her bridesmaids.

Rachel and Annabeth have come a lot way: before, they always wanted to rip each other’s throats out because they both had a crush on me. Now, Rachel is over me and happily living at Camp Jupiter. The three of us are good friends now. Rachel has been working with Ella to reconstruct the Sybilline Books and so far they’d make a lot of progress. A little more than a year ago the gift of Apollo returned to Rachel so things are now finally getting back to normal.

Next to Rachel stood Reyna, in her sea-green bridesmaid dress; just like me, she looked very different because she wasn’t wearing her usual clothes. She is the stronger female I’ve ever met, but today not only strength reflected in her face; joy was also reflected there. Just as Nico, Reyna Ramírez-Arellano has been a lot happier after the battle with Gaia. In fact, she and Nico developed a sibling-like bond that is amazing and really healthy for both of them. She came to terms with what Aphrodite told her, and now she is patiently waiting for a worthy boyfriend. She comes often to Camp Half-Blood, and every time she comes Annabeth spend a lot of time with her. The three of us have come to be excellent friends, and I always look up to her for advice on how to lead. She is loved as a praetor in Camp Jupiter and almost everyone in both camps look up to her.

Closest to the place where Annabeth was supposed to stand, stood Thalia; who was way more than a friend to Annabeth. Thalia was Annabeth’s sister and that is why my soon-to-be-wife loved her so much. Thalia has continued with her duties as a Hunter, keeping the pact they’ve made with the Amazons. Thalia and Jason made sure to spend some time together every now and then.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed that the goddess was now standing right in front of me. A tear escaped my eyes, I almost couldn’t bear with the happiness that laid in my chest. I removed the veil from her face so I was now staring into the goddess’s perfect face without interference.

“You looked beautiful, Wise Girl.” I told her.

She blushed and winked at me. “And you look hot as hell, Seaweed Brain.”

The ceremony started. Chiron talked about each of us and retold some of our most amazing adventures. After that, we said our vows. We wrote them ourselves, so obviously Annabeth’s were a lot more elaborated, but I went for it.

“There’s not much I can say after that.” I said and all of our guests exploded into laughter. “After all, I’m not much more than a simple Seaweed Brain… But there is one thing I am sure of… I want to spend my life with you, for better or for worse… I want to build a family with you, a big one.” My voice trembled. “And I’m going to do everything I can to be worthy of being your husband and your partner for all the years to come.”

I didn’t trust my voice to continue talking so I left it simple, but deep, and I poured all the feeling I could muster into my words. After that, we exchanged rings and finally Chiron was about to pronounce us husband and wife.

“And with all the authority that the gods of Olympus grant me, I declare you husband and wife. Percy, you may now kiss the bride.”

I closed the distance between us and kissed her, simply but with a lot of emotion. The cheers of our friends and family were deafening.

“Let’s get the party started!” yelled Dionysius and all of our guests obliged.

About an hour later my feet were killing because I’ve danced so much with Annabeth. Annabeth and I were starting to slow dance when someone touched my shoulder. I turned to face with my mother-in-law Athena.

“May I speak to Percy alone, my dear daughter?”

“Well, of course mom.” Said Annabeth, and after softly touching her lips to mine, she went to the dance floor to dance with Will Solace.

“Your vows were pretty simple, but I got to admit they were kind of cute.” She said. A drop of sweat was running down my spine. I had no idea where this was going. “I heard what you said about having a big family. I want to let you know that you better be a good dad to my grandchildren, because if you aren’t I’ll have to convince Zeus to zap you. I’ll be happy as long as the kids inherit their mother’s intelligence and not yours… They can have your looks, though. You’re incredibly handsome for a son of Poseidon.”

She smirked evilly and just like that, she left. Athena had a special talent to make me extremely nervous and sweaty. What awaits me for years to come!

Annabeth came back to me and started wiping the sweat on my forehead with a napkin from the nearest table.

“What did she say? You look pretty shaken, Seaweed Brain.” She sounded worried, so I must have looked just how I felt: terrified.

“It’s nothing, Wise Girl… It’s just that she brought up something that makes me schist my pants…”

“And what is it?” Her gray eyes were piercing into my green eyes, trying to read what I was thinking.

“She was talking about having a family, Annabeth… I said I wanted to have a big one when I was saying my vows but the truth is that I am terrified about it… We have godly parents; they haven’t been the best of parents. How do I know that I’m going a good father to our children?...” My eyes were full of tears once again, damn it Poseidon effect! Annabeth stood on her tip toes and hugged me. She pressed her lips to my ear.

“The greatest demigod alive is afraid of being a bad father to our children? After defeating so many monsters and protecting so many of our friends?”

“One thing is not related to the other, Annabeth…”

“Of course it is. What makes you so great is not only your great looks or how skilled you are in battle. What makes you great is who you are, your qualities. You’re brave, sensible, strong, immensely loyal and so much more… When people tell you you’re great, they’re talking about your attributes. All of our friends trust you so much they would follow you anywhere. They’d choose you to be at their side in a battle to their deaths. In a way you’ve been their father, because you’ve protected them. Everything will be alright.” She said as she squeezed my hand.

I looked at the dance floor and I caught a glimpse of all of my closest friends: Grover, Jason, Nico, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Reyna, Rachel and Thalia. They sensed me looking at them and they all smiled radiantly at me. I would sacrifice myself for any of them. They were my best friends, the people that have supported me through one nearly death experience to the other. I wouldn’t trade the company of any of them for anything in the world. They and Annabeth will give me the strength I need in order to overcome anything. I knew Annabeth was right.

I took her in my arms and kiss her. “You’re right, Wise Girl.” I put her down and guided her to the center of the dance floor. As I walked, I felt like I was going to explode because there was no way in the world so much happiness could lay in the chest of a simple seaweed brained demigod. I let the Poseidon effect take control over me.

“Awn, look! Percy is crying! It seems like he need a Valdezhug!” said Leo.

Piper smacked him. “Don’t be stupid, Leo. What he needs is a hug from the daughter of Aphrodite.”

“None of that! What Percy needs is me to lend him some of my strength!” Said Reyna with a solemn tone.

“No, maybe he just needs food.” Called Frank in.

“Maybe he just needs silence.” Said Nico, who looked a little overwhelmed by too much partying.

Then, they all started talking at once, trying to figure out what I really needed. If a moment of silence finally happened when I was with my friends, then definitely doomsday has arrived. They were so loud!

“Guys, what I need is a group hug.” They all looked at me confused, but then they obliged.
The sun was coming down, so the sky was painted in different colors. As the orange and yellow of the clouds danced around in the sky, I breathed in, feeling how the happiness busted in my chest.

Annabeth was right, everything was alright.

For the second time around in my life, I didn’t look back.

Notes