After leaving the throne room, Annabeth and I decided to take a walk, until my mom came up to us.
"Oh, hey mom," I said.
"Hi, dear. I was hoping I could possibly steal Annabeth for a moment," my mom said.
"Of course. What for?" I asked.
"I can't tell you," my mom said.
"Uh... OK," I said.
I quickly gave Annabeth a peck on the cheek, and left them alone. As I continued walking, I saw Nico approach me, but he looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Hey, Nico. What's up?" I said.
"I was wondering if I could ask you something," he said.
"Of course. What do you want to know?" I asked, hiding my shock.
"You know what you told Tyson about you needing time to yourself?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think that's how Bianca felt when she joined the Hunters?"
"Well... yes, I do," I started, slightly shocked that he brought up his late sister. "But that doesn't mean that she didn't love you."
"Thanks, Percy."
"You're welcome."
Nico was silent for a minute. When he spoke again, his voice was so soft, I barely heard him, "The next book is going to introduce me and B, isn't it?"
"B?"
"It's just what I called her sometimes."
"Ah. Anyway, yes. I figure each book is going to be one quest. Are you going to be OK?"
"I have to know what happened, so I'm going to need to be."
"Alright, but just know that you have plenty of people here for you, and we can take a break after that chapter."
"Thanks."
(Switching to Sally's POV for a moment)
"So what did you need me for?" Annabeth asked.
I waited until Percy was out of earshot to answer, "I'm wanting to plan a surprise party for him, while we're here. You know, since we weren't able to celebrate his birthday."
"And you want my help?"
"Well, of course. You are his girlfriend after all. I'm planning on asking a few of his other friends for their help as well."
"Alright. Who do you want to ask?"
"Grover, Tyson, Rachel, Thalia. Those are the only ones I know. Who else should we involve?"
"In planning? Frank and Hazel. They are also pretty close to Percy. We'll want to involve a couple gods, just so have that base covered. I'm thinking Poseidon and Hestia. Of course, we'll want to invite everyone."
"That sounds good, we don't need too many people for planning. Let's go gather them."
"I think it'll be quicker to split up and meet back here."
"This is why I went to you first," I said, chuckling slightly. "Who do you want to get?"
"I'll get Thalia, Grover, Frank, and Hazel. You should be fine approaching Poseidon and Hestia."
"Alright. Let's meet back here."
After that we went our separate ways, to gather said people. I decided to try and find Hestia and Poseidon. As I was searching, I crossed paths with Paul.
"Oh! Hey, Paul!"
"Hello Sally dear. Where did you go off to?"
"I went to find Annabeth."
"What for?"
"I wanted her help planning a surprise party for Percy's birthday."
"Without me?"
"Oh, sorry dear. Would you like to join us? I'm trying to find Poseidon, Hestia, Rachel, and Tyson."
"I'd love to, but are you sure it's a good idea to approach a god unannounced?"
"From what I've heard, the ones we'd need to worry about are Zeus and Hera, mostly."
"Well, alright then. Who first?"
"Poseidon and Hestia. I figured they'll be the hardest to find."
"OK, let's go," Paul said, taking my hand.
After a few minutes, we found Poseidon.
"Oh, hello Sally and Paul," he said.
"Hello," I said.
"Hello, Lord Poseidon," Paul said.
"Oh, please. If we are to co-parent Percy, you can drop the 'lord'. But, anyway, I can assume there is a reason you two have sought me out."
"Yes. We are planning a surprise party for Percy and was wondering if you'd like to join," I said.
"Say less. Anything for my son. I owe it to him anyway," Poseidon said.
"Great! Now we need to find Hestia, Tyson, and Rachel," I said.
"Let's go then. Hestia will probably be in the throne room still," Poseidon said.
"Alright," I said.
A few minutes later, we were in the throne room again.
"Hello, brother," Hestia said.
"Hello sister," Poseidon said.
"What can I do for you three?" she asked.
"Lady Hestia..." I started, but she cut me off.
"Let me stop you real quick. You can just call me by my name. I'm not going to be upset if you don't use my title," Hestia said.
"Hestia, then. We're planning a surprise party for Percy, and was wondering if you'd like to join," I said.
"Of course," she said with a smile.
"Great. Now we just need Tyson and Rachel," I said.
"Let's go then," Hestia said.
30 minutes later, we had gathered everyone and met up with Annabeth.
"I see we have an extra person," Annabeth said.
"So I invited my husband to join us, sue me," I said.
"You're the head of planning, I was just pointing it out," she said with a shrug.
"May I ask why I was invited to join?" Hestia asked.
"I suggested having a couple gods join us, because I figured Zeus can't say much then," Annabeth explained.
"I see. I can definitely handle my brother," Hestia said.
"OK, let's get to planning!" I said.
A couple hours later, we had all the details planned out. Poseidon would pass on an invite to the other gods and Chiron, Hestia would handle the decorations and dinner, the teens would distract Percy while passing on the message to the other teens, and I would handle the cake. Hestia offered to make the cake, but I declined, saying I'd prefer to do it. We also all gave Poseidon a list of presents that we'd like to get Percy so he can gather them for us. With all of us working together, and having a couple gods, we decided we could pull it off tonight.
(Back to Percy)
After I talked to Nico, I decided to go for a swim. After a couple hours, I saw my friends approach me.
"Whoa guys, why the ambush?" I asked.
"It's no ambush. We're going to show Jason some children's games like Red Light Green Light. You in?" Rachel asked.
"Of course!" I exclaimed, hopping out of the pool.
That's how we spent the next couple hours playing Red Light Green Light, Mother May I, Red Rover, and Simon Says, until my mom came up and told us dinner was ready. Most of our group rushed to the dining hall, but Annabeth and I stayed back.
"What did my mom need that took so long?" I asked.
"You'll see," she said with a smile.
"Aw, but I'm curious!"
"Seaweed brain."
"Oh, come on Wise Girl. Just a small hint?"
"Nope, not happening."
"You're really keeping a secret from me? I thought we told each other everything."
"We do, and I'm telling you 'you'll see'."
"Fine. We're at the dining hall anyway," I said.
"Well, go inside," she said and so I did.
"SURPRISE!!!" everyone shouted.
From what I could tell, even the gods that hate me were there.
"What is this?" I asked.
"This is what your mom needed me for," Annabeth said.
"A surprise party? For me?" I asked.
"Of course. I figured since we never got the chance to celebrate your birthday, we could do it now," my mom asked.
"But how did you pull it off in one afternoon?" I asked.
"She had some help," my dad said suddenly.
"You were in on it too, dad?"
"Yes. Your mom recruited me and your Aunt Hestia," he said.
"Really?" I asked turning to Hestia.
"Of course, child. You are my nephew after all," she said.
"What are we standing around for? Let's get his party started!" Leo shouted.
And we did just that. After an amazing dinner, I opened my presents. I got something from all of my friends, my parents, Chiron, and most of the gods. The only ones I didn't get something from were Mr. D, Zeus, Ares, Athena, and Hera, which I was OK with. Hades only signed the card that everyone had signed, but he explained that he wasn't sure what to get me. I got a bunch of blue candy from my mom and Paul, a new watch/shield from Tyson, moonlace seeds from Calypso, a Greek translation of a book Annabeth has been wanting me to read, reed pipes from Grover, pranking supplies from Hermes, a book on pick up lines from Aphrodite (which I made a note to have Leo burn later), a bit of coral from my dad, a new skateboard from Leo, a surfboard from Piper with the promise of surfing lessons, a blanket from Hestia, and so much more from everyone else.
After I was done opening my gifts, it was time for cake and ice cream. The cake was obviously blue, and it was clear it was my mom's work. It was a triple layered blue velvet cake with sky blue icing. After my mom brought it out, Leo used his fire to light the candles, a one and a seven, and almost everyone sang Happy Birthday.
"Make a wish, dear," my mom said.
I wasn't sure what to wish for, I already have everything I need and could hope for, but something finally came to me.
'I wish to have a long and happy life with my friends and family' I thought, and blew out the candles.
After the cake was gone, it was time for bed. I went off to my room, after giving a hug goodnight to my parents and a kiss to Annabeth. I quickly got changed and got into bed. I fell into a peaceful sleep, thinking about how lucky and blessed I am.
A/N: Here's the next chapter! One thing i like about break chapters is once I get started, I can get it done so quickly. It takes longer when I don't have any ideas, but oh well. This one is absolutely my longest break, it's about as long as an average reading chapter, and I'm OK with that. I hope you enjoy!!