Chapter 1: Decisions Were Made

So this is gonna be a short story. I'm gonna try my hand at the arranged marriage story arc. Even though I've seen plenty of arranged marriage fics, I mainly got this idea from fanofthehunt on Wattpad. Their stuff's incredible. Like pretty much all of my stories, there's a lot of backstory to this that's different from the books. But, because I don't want to bore you with 3 chapters of stage-setting, because I know I get bored when other stories do that, I'm just gonna start here. It's between 4-5 years after the Second Giant War.

Chapter 1: Decisions Were Made

Percy's P.O.V.

"So how was school?" I asked, taking another bite out of my Big Mac while my daughter ate some fries across from me. "It was okay. We fingerpainted today, and I got told off for flicking paint at another kid." She said, and I had to suppress a smile. "Why'd you do that?" I asked, faintly wondering if my daughter was a criminal in the making. She shrugged and continued to eat. "He was annoying me." She said simply.

I couldn't hold back my amusement after that.

You're probably wondering how the hell I have a daughter, and where's Annabeth? Well, I'll tell you. Not in too much detail though, I don't want to relive it, just inform you of what happened.

You see, Annabeth and I were pretty rocky in terms of our relationship. I attribute that mainly to Hera kidnapping me, stealing my memory and Annabeth returning to find me beside another girl. Of course, Reyna and I weren't dating, nor did I like Reyna like that, but that scene looked really bad to Annabeth, who'd been worried about me for months.

Anyway, after that, it all went downhill. We didn't have time to sort it out at the time because of the war, but after that all ended it only became painstakingly obvious. We'd fight about small things that ticked one of us off, we never went out on dates, we were hardly ever in the mood to have sex. After a while, it all came crashing down. On my birthday, no less.

Yep, on my 18th birthday, Annabeth decided to dump me. Of course, I could see why. We loved each other when we were 15, or maybe it was just a mutual crush, but that love had all but dissipated now that all the fighting had stopped. So, she told me it just wasn't working anymore, and she just walked away.

Even though we hadn't loved each other for a long while, I was heartbroken, It was my first breakup, and it had to happen on my birthday. The most cursed day of all time. After that, I just snapped. Not in the sense that I killed everyone, but more like I just lost all reason and sensibility I had inside me.

I didn't tell anyone where I was going, but I left camp. I called a cab and got driven out to Manhattan. After walking around for a while, I found a nice bar. As you do in bars, I got drunk. Really drunk. From there I don't remember anything.

All I know is that 9 months later, I was staying at my Mom's apartment when I heard a knock on the door. I was the one to open it, and on the ground just outside was a baby.

A beautiful baby girl that I named Selena, after the forgotten goddess and a dear friend that was lost to me.

I never found out who her mother was, but even though she was probably some hooker that drunk me thought looked enticing at 2am, I hope she's alright. Who knows, maybe she's got a family of her own now.

Selena did look a lot like me though. Black hair, sea-green eyes, and she wasn't chubby or even a bit overweight. Her skin was olive however, while mine was a bit more tanned. Not to say that I was black or Jersey Shore tanned, but I wasn't exactly white-skinned or pale.

Anyways, I had just picked Selena up from preschool -she's three-, and decided to take her to McDonald's. I wanted Selena to get an actual education, so during the week she'd go to school with her scent masked, and then I guess carry on through until she graduated high school and hopefully college. That was still some ways off.

Selena giggled, covering her mouth as she ate some more fries. I raised an eyebrow in confusion, before I noticed a slight movement in my peripheral vision. I jumped in shock, before realising it was just Hermes, who laughed along with my daughter at my expense. How did he even get here without me noticing his flash? Unless he just walked in and sat down.

I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my Diet Coke. "What do you want, Hermes?" I asked, tired of the gods at this point. He got up, patting me on the back. "There's a council meeting in half an hour, don't be late. See ya, loser." He said, waving to Selena, who pouted and blew a raspberry at him as he left the restaurant.

I sighed, realising our afternoon together would have to be cut short. Oh wait, I just realised I forgot to tell you something. I'm an Olympian god now. Yeah, it's no biggie. I didn't think it was all that important so that's why I didn't bring it up.

Yep, once again I was offered godhood after the Giant War, well all of the Seven were. Since Annabeth had the offer as well, we decided to accept, along with the others. I figured our love could last forever now that we're immortal. Whoops.

Not only that, but since I was a repeat offender when it came to saving the world, I was offered a place on the Olympian council. Being the kind dude I am, I agreed to do it only if Hades and Hestia got their thrones back as well. Naturally, the vote was unanimous.

Then, all the stuff I told you earlier happened. Annabeth and I broke up, I had a demigod child who I was allowed to raise since I'm the god of Heroes and Demigods which basically means I'm like Artemis whereas I can be around demigods without consequences. Now I'm sitting here eating McDonald's at 4pm with my three year old daughter.

Speaking of Artemis, I thought as a familiar looking woman entered the quiet McDonald's, followed by a horde of 20-ish young and teenage girls. She caught my eye and nodded, quickly going up and handing the cashier a notepad, a fat stack of bills and receiving her order number before walking over to us. The hunters all immediately ran for the empty play-place, the younger ones being the ones who actually played while the ones over the age of 9 sat at tables and conversed.

Selena noticed the goddess. "Hi, Artemis!" She grinned after taking a sip of her Sprite and waving at the goddess approaching our table. Artemis smiled and waved back, now reaching the table. "Hello, Selena." She said. A lot of gods liked Selena, such as Hermes and Artemis, and gave her permission to call them by their names instead of their titles. Except for Poseidon, who insisted she call him Grandpa.

She sat down beside Selena, who continued to devour her cheeseburger happy meal. I smiled warmly at her, and received one in return. Despite my gender, Artemis and I were friends. I think it's mainly because of the time I held the sky for her, but I don't know if she's genuinely grateful and likes me as a person or if she just feels like she owes it to me to be nice. I hope it's the former.

"We have a meeting in 30." I told her, grabbing my second burger, a cheeseburger, and beginning to eat it. She nodded. "I know. Hermes was just down the street when we were coming here. We're camped out in Central Park for the time being. There's a certain Cretan Bull that needs to be hunted down." She said casually, making Selena's eyes flare with excitement as Artemis mentioned hunting.

I raised an eyebrow. "The Cretan Bull? That think Hunkules RKO'd? I didn't know it was immortal." Look at me, flexing my Mythology knowledge I obtained while writing two books for this nice guy named Rick.

Artemis nodded. "What? You think just any bull can actually impregnate a woman and birth a monster?" She asked, smiling with a questioning look on her face. I took another bite. "I wasn't aware people other than Pasiphae had tried." I joked, not expecting her next answer. She smirked, leaning back. "You'd be surprised."

Well that almost made me lose my appetite.

I pushed my third burger -don't judge me, I need fat to burn when I'm running around all day- which was a Quarter Pounder towards her. "You want it?" I asked, and she shook her head. "No, I've got my own coming. But if you're willing to share the fries that'd be good. They usually take a while to cook for 25 girls." She told me, and I nodded, pouring the fries on the tray so we could share them like popcorn.

Selena was excited to hear more of Artemis' stories about the hunt, so she listened with wide eyes as Artemis recounted the time they tracked down one particularly nasty Hellhound to Wyoming, and proceeded to attack it. The beast went wild, and by the end of it, Thalia was in the infirmary after somersaulting into a tree when the hellhound threw her 50 yards.

My daughter found that part extremely funny.

The McDonald's employees were smart, and decided to do the Hunters' 4 people at a time on one tray instead of handing them all out at once. Luckily Artemis' was on the first tray, otherwise we would've been late, and she dumped her food on the table before going off to give the tray to the hunters.

I looked at her food. A medium McChicken meal. "You eat lightly." I noted, talking about how there was only three items: the burger, fries and drink. The goddess scoffed as she sat down. "No, I drink normally. Healthy. You're the one who eats like you're about to hibernate." She judged, noting my three burgers, large fries and my drink.

I smirked. "Well what else am I supposed to do during meetings? Dionysus has got it right." I joked, earning a laugh. Most people never would expect the man-hating goddess to laugh at a male's joke, but like I said, we're friends.

We ate the rest of our food without much drama, just chatting normally while Selena played with the cheap plastic hot wheels car she'd gotten with her Happy Meal. Eventually, the time came when we had to go, and I had to decide what to do with my daughter. "Artemis, do you mind if I leave Selena with the hunters? I don't want to leave her at home alone and she'll probably get bored and break something if I drop her off at camp." I asked.

Artemis smiled at nodded. "Of course, she's stayed with us before. Besides, we'll only be gone for a few hours." She reminded me, and I nodded. The Hunters had babysat Selena before, and they were actually pretty good with it. They fed her healthy, all-natural food and trained her in archery and with daggers, which was the only weapon I allowed her to carry at age 3. Plus, since the hunt was practically a military regiment, she had a bedtime, which was 8:30 since she was under 10 years old.

I momentarily got Vietnam flashbacks from when she was a baby and just wouldn't. Go. To. Sleep.

Anyways, we got up, and after I said goodbye, Artemis took Selena over to the hunters who were still at the playplace. She returned and nodded at me before we both flashed out, certain that the mortals wouldn't see it because of the mist.

We both arrived on our respective thrones, our height changed to that of a god's. My throne was on the end, to the right of Dionysus', and across from no one. We still hadn't found a goddess worthy of a place on the council. But, thankfully, now the votes could never be tied since the council was an even number. That meant there was no more Zeus turning on Dictator Mode because it couldn't be settled democratically. Those moments tended to annoy everyone else.

None of us had any idea what this meeting was about, but considering Dad and Zeus were glaring at each other furiously, I had a good idea. My face fell as I realised this fact, and I slumped back in my seat.

This rivalry of theirs was so stupid. I mean, I could understand Athena and Poseidon or Ares and Hephaestus, but these two had absolutely no reason to hate each other. It was just annoying for the rest of us at this point.

Aphrodite flashed in last, and Zeus cleared his throat. "Now that we've all arrived, does anyone have anything they'd like to report or discuss first?" He asked, and I could see he was impatient. Of course, no one answered, and the king nodded.

"Good. Now, onto the main topic of this meeting. It seems my brother has stolen what was rightfully mine, and I demand reparations!" He shouted, pointing his finger at my Dad. The sea god scoffed, glaring at Zeus. "I did no such thing! You had no claim, and I simply took what I was within my right of taking!" He countered.

The rest of us sat confused, before Hera sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose frustratedly. "They're fighting over some mortal. Zeus saw her first and was getting ready to cheat on me again, but by the time he got there Poseidon had rolled through and impregnated her." She explained, scowling at the two gods.

Zeus' eyes flared with electricity. "I should kill that child so it won't be in the way when I take my turn." He grumbled, and my Dad summoned his trident and stood up, pointing it threateningly at Zeus. "You will do no such thing, brother! Or I will strike down all your demigod children, Heroes of Olympus or not!" He screamed.

I saw Artemis become furious as her lieutenant was threatened, but I was just as angry. My Dad had just threatened to murder two of my best friends, all because Zeus was overreacting. Maybe it was my turn to react. They continued to argue at the top of their lungs, but I slammed on the armrests of my throne and stood up.

"ENOUGH!" I roared, shutting both of them up and leaving the throne room in stunned silence. I was too pissed off to care about all the attention that was now on me.

"Enough of this stupid arguing! You two are constantly arguing about every little thing that happens, but you have absolutely no reason to! Not only that, but every time you two fight, you force the rest of us to come and watch you two scream at each other! I think I speak for everyone here when I say that it's getting really fucking annoying." I yelled, continuing to shock them, but my rant wasn't over.

"I mean, seriously! Can you two just SHUT UP! You're fighting over a girl you weren't even supposed to touch! You two are married, for Hera's sake! Zeus, your wife is sitting right there as you argue over your mistress without any thought or care about how she feels about all this." I pointed out, making him flush in embarrassment as Hera glared at him. Surprisingly, the goddess of family smiled gratefully at me.

"And Dad!" I screamed, making the god in question jump in his seat. "I expected better of you! Not only did you cheat on Amphitrite yet again, but you threatened to kill two of my best friends. What the hell is wrong with you?" Dad sat back down and blushed as he thought over everything he said.

Now I'd calmed down, and I sighed. I rubbed my temples due to the stress, and turned back to both of the gods. "You two need to sort out your shit privately, from now on. Either that, or SHUT UP AND GET ALONG!" I yelled, stomping over and plopping myself back down in my throne.

The whole room was silent as everyone stared at me in shock. It was silent until Zeus cleared his throat and sat up a bit more in his seat. "I think Perseus has made his point clear, and to be honest, I agree. Brother, I think it is time we put aside our differences and make peace." He said.

Poseidon nodded. "Yes, but how are we going to make sure this peace lasts. I'm not sure I can trust your word." He said, suspicious of Zeus. The sky god then rubbed his beard thoughtfully.

"Well, I did have an idea. I proposed an arranged marriage between two of our children." He decreed, making the whole throne room tense up. I noticed Athena and Artemis tense out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't blame them. If Zeus wanted this to be taken seriously, it would make sense to choose one of his Maiden, Olympian daughters.

To my horror, Poseidon nodded. "I like that idea, and there's a son of mine that I have in mind." He said, glancing at me. My heart sunk. I knew Dad just wanted to help me. He probably thought this would elevate my status and power, which it probably would. Sometimes he just forgot to take into account how I feel about this.

Zeus followed his gaze. "Well, if you intend to choose young Perseus, then I would propose someone he already gets along with, to make this easier. Artemis, my daughter, I vote that you shall be married to Perseus. Are we all in agreement?" He asked, and I sighed as I realised this was Democracy.

Stunning me almost to death, a lot of people raised their hands. Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus and Hades. Aphrodite giggled in her seat. "I, for one, have been hoping for this ever since Percabeth failed and those two became friends. I think they'll go wonderful together!" She said dreamily.

Zeus nodded after counting all the votes. I already knew the results. 8/15, or 8 - 7. "Anyone not in favor of this?" He asked needlessly.

The rest of the gods' hands went up. Obviously mine and Artemis' were among them. Others were Hera, Hestia, Athena, Hephaestus and surprisingly, Ares. I was about to question whether Ares misheard Zeus, as he'd never side with me. Then I noticed he was staring at Artemis piggishly, and I realised he was only opposed because he wanted Artemis for himself.

Zeus smiled at sat back. "Then it is decided. Perseus and Artemis shall be wed, sooner rather than later, but I think we can spare some time for them to get better acquainted with each other. Meeting dismissed!" He said, banging his bolt on the floor.

Artemis and I were left staring at each other from across the room in disbelief and horror as it was decided.

Yay, first chapter! So I'm going away for a week, so there won't be any updates for a little bit. Just thought I'd publish this as a little teaser and experiment. Did you guys like it? Any ideas on how to improve? Do tell.

Word Count: 3302