Annabeth’s wedding surprise

“Are you ready?” Piper asked her friend as she stood there in her wedding dress.

“Well I’ve had plenty of chances to bail if I wasn’t.” Annabeth said in a joking manner as she fidgeted with the bouquet.

“True.” Piper agreed as she inspected the wedding dress. “And you look amazing by the way, even your eyes are glowing. So… why are we doing this in a church exactly? Seems kind of weird considering who our parents are.”

“We figured it’d be a nice neutral place for any of our non-Greek friends to meet up.” Annabeth explained, thinking nothing of the first part of Piper's statement.

‘And hopefully this being a church would help limit HER from doing any funny business.’ She kept to herself, not wanting the fates to take it as a challenge.

But they did.

“Alright then, I’ll head back out and make sure everything is ready. All you need to do is wait for the music and start walking out.” Piper said.

Annabeth smiled. “Thanks Piper, you’ve been a real help with this.”

Piper smiled. “Hey, daughter of Aphrodite, it’s in my blood.”

Piper wished Annabeth luck, then left the daughter of Athena alone in the room. Annabeth was nervous, but she had faced worse than the idea of marriage. She and Percy had earned this, and nothing was going to get in their way.

“Oh my dear Annabeth, did you really think you could enter my domain without me realizing it?”

Annabeth stopped all thought and her smile faded as she heard the taunt.

She turned around, and sure enough, there was Hera, sitting on an ornate chair.

“Hera!” Annabeth sputtered. “How-“

“I am the goddess of Family and Marriage, or have you forgotten?” Hera said. “Even when those not connected to Olympus choose to tie the knot, I become aware of it, and I have been waiting for it to happen to you.”

Annabeth’s hands tightened around the bouquet. Hera was basically at a home field advantage here, so she had to be careful.

“Well then, what are you planning? I doubt you came all this way just to watch me and Percy tie the knot.”

Hera laughed. “My dear, you are wrong. That is exactly what I am here to do! We may have had our… differences over the years, but you and Percy have saved Olympus multiple times. And that deserves a proper reward as thanks.”

Annabeth’s raised her eyebrow. “So you came all this way just to give us a wedding gift?”

She knew that any gift of Hera’s would be poisoned, but she also knew she was in no position to fight back. At the very least, the ancient laws would protect her from Hera harming her outright. A god could only do so if the Mortal struck first.

“Why yes! And that gift is my blessing! With it, this wedding, and indeed your entire married life, will be perfect!”

Hera walked up to Annabeth, and touched the bouquet. As she did, the flowers in it seemed to get livelier, as if they were freshly plucked.

Annabeth’s eyes widened as she felt the divine power of Hera flow into the flowers. It was a simple reminder of the difference in power between a demigod and a goddess.

Then Hera touched Annabeth herself, and she felt the same divine power enter her body.

Of course. Hera could not kill her due to the ancient laws, but she could ‘improve’ Annabeth and it would not count, even if Annabeth was against it.

For a brief moment, Annabeth’s mind stopped, unable to comprehend the power flowing into her.

Before Annabeth could say anything, she felt that her chest was now in pain.

She had no idea what Hera was planning; but this gift was clearly a poisoned one, as she had suspected.

“You think you can just get away with whatever you want to do?” Annabeth questioned. “Do you really think my mother will stand for it?”

“Oh Athena will be quite angry I have no doubt.” Hera allowed. “I’ll have to weather her disdain for a century, maybe two, but that is all. Then she will regard you as just another example to future heroes of what not to do. Just like all the rest.”

Annabeth tried to refute it but she could not. There were plenty of tales of gods turning on their mortal children when they displease them. In a century or two, Athena may remember her, but she would also have other children to replace her, to send on quests and do the god’s bidding. That was one of the reasons Luke had decided to join Kronos.

“Despite what you think my dear Annabeth, I simply want what is best for you. You and your groom have saved Olympus several times, and you deserve a reward for that. So I am here to give you what you deserve.”

Annabeth gulped as she could not deny she was in Hera’s hands. She tried to send a quick prayer to Athena, but Hera interrupted her.

“Now, as a wife, it is important to provide your darling husband with children! And you must care for them to the best of your ability, so I’ll help you make sure you can always keep your future kids well fed as they grow big and strong!”

Hera snapped her fingers and annabeth keeled over. She felt her chest get heavier and the pain increase as her breasts inflated.

She felt her eyes feel weird a moment later, and suddenly she heard a giggle come out of her own throat.

“Oh my! I’m sure Percy will just love these!” Her voice said.

A moment later the giggle stopped, and Annabeth again fell to the ground.

“That’s one!” Hera said with a giggle of her own. “You know how us gods like to do things in threes!”

Annabeth was too busy coming to terms with what happened to respond to the Queen of Olympus’ needling.

Did she really just say that? That sounded like something one of Piper’s sisters would say, not her!

“A wife must always be at her best for her husband. Here my dear, let me show you as you become a worthy reward for the hero of Olympus.”

Hera snapped her fingers and a full body mirror appeared just as Annabeth picked herself up from the ground. She stared at herself, unbelieving that the woman in the reflection was her.

What caught her attention the most was not her new assets, but her eyes. The grey eyes of her mother had turned Golden, only to fade back to grey as she steadied herself.

“Now credit where it is due. You did a wonderful job getting ready for your new life of matrimonial bliss. No doubt Aphrodite’s welp had a hand in that. But you are still somewhat far from being an ideal wife. And I know if there is one thing we both want, it is for you to be perfect!”

Hera came up to Annabeth and held her head in her hands.

“Now that your body is better suited for your new role, it is time for your mind to be fixed as well.”

Annabeth’s eyes widened at that.

No.

Her intellect was her greatest weapon. It was what had kept her and Percy alive for all these years. She can’t just lose it!

Unfortunately, her needs were nothing compared to a goddesses wants.

Hera snapped her fingers, and Annabeth’s head began to feel funny.

Lighter, more relaxed. Like all her worries would be taken care of.

Annabeth tried to remember her architecture project, but her memories of the blue prints she made were different. Where once there were detailed notes, now all she could remember was squiggly lines. It was worse than her usual dyslexia. She literally could not remember how to read her own handwriting.

Annabeth felt her knowledge slowly seep out of her. The names of minor gods, her lessons, the names of different pieces of armor she wore to fight, one by one all the knowledge faded from her mind.

What surprised Annabeth the most though was that she didn’t necessarily feel like her innate intellect was different. She had forgotten knowledge, but she still had her mind. Which meant that she would be able to relearn it all.

Hera saved her from such an illusion. “All that pesky little trivia is of no use to a proper wife. I took it all out, and now you can fill it with recipes, fashion and proper etiquette for serving your husband! That’s all a housewife like you will need after all. At least until it comes to child rearing!”

Annabeth wanted to scream, but what Hera said was true. She found memories of actually making food were not fading, rather getting more clear. She never paid much attention while cooking before, but her memories went into such detail about how the food had been made compared to how it tasted.

“Gotta make sure it’s blue! It’s Percy’s favorite after all!” She said in a singsong voice as she pictured herself making her future husband a meal. In the mirror, her eyes again reflected gold.

Hera laughed at the mortal.

“You know this reminds me of that time I invited the other ladies of Olympus to watch my favorite movie with me. It didn’t work out so well. Artemis destroyed the theater room when it became clear that the lead could not escape her fate. Of course fixing the theater room itself was simple enough, but now I get to watch someone actually live out the ending of The Stepford Wives, so really Annabeth, I thank you for letting me be a part of this for you!”

Hera walked up and put her hands on Annabeth’s shoulders, like a mother whispering in her daughter’s ear.

“Now then, time for the third and final push! First it was your body, then your mind, and finally… your soul! Now watch on as I make you the perfect bride for such a brave hero!”

Annabeth could only stare at her reflection in the mirror as her mouth itself into a happy smile. The fear and panic she had felt up to this point suddenly just vanished as her eyes went once again from her natural grey to the Gold of the Queen of the Gods.

Annabeth let out a giggle at her own reflection. She looked so Beautiful and Sexy in her wedding dress! And why shouldn't she? After all, she had the blessing of Hera herself!

Annabeth was not that smart, but even she could see the logic in that.

The Queen of Olympus gave her a smile. One that signified her victory over the foolish mortal who had rebuked her years ago.

"Come now Annabeth! I think your future husband has been kept waiting for long enough. I know traditionally, the Father of the Bride does this, but believe me, it is an honor to have the Goddess of Marriage walk you down the aisle."

Hera extended her arm, and with another giggle, Annabeth took it without hesitation.

As she saw her reflection for one final time, she could hear "Here Comes the Bride" herald her into her new future.

Her mind skipped through the boring parts of the ceremony, and before she knew it, she was sitting on her bed, waiting for Percy to make her a real woman.

---

Annabeth hummed as she did her chores like the perfect wife she had dreamed of being all her life.Things had been truly peaceful since her wedding. No doubt Hera's blessing kept her safe from any monsters that smelled her and Percy in their home.

Hopefully soon, another demigod would be joining them. They certainly tried more than enough that she should be pregnant already, but she supposed they should keep trying just in case. She sent another prayer to Hera, as she did multiple times a day, for them to get the good news as soon as they could.

Annabeth sat herself up on the table as she heard her husband get up. She had already prepared his breakfast, and had poured herself some wine.

As Annabeth pushed her chest out, the last bit of curiosity she had left was trying to hypothesize an answer to the most important question she could think of:

Would Percy go for the food first? Or her?