The Afterlife (HoO Fanfiction)

Last Minute (UPDATED)

~Hazel~

Piper was seated beside me on one of the beds of the biggest hotel in New Rome. I couldn't keep in my excitation. I was going to get married! I knew Frank for almost 10 years. Piper had come to help me to get dressed and to do my hair, but for a daughter of Aphrodite, she didn't know much. However, to my opinion, I looked gorgeous. After the war, Piper had stayed one of my closest friends. Don't get me wrong, I loved Annabeth too, but I was closer to Piper since we continued to train together after the war, and Annabeth was busy for a moment to catch up with Percy.

While Piper did my hair, we talked about everything and nothing at the same time. She reminded me many times to stay still. I was seating in front of a mirror that went from ceiling to floor. I looked at my reflection, admiring my dress. It was plain white, with sleeves to the elbows. On the sleeve, pearls were sewn in a delicate pattern. On my neck, I wore a silver necklace with a single white pearl.

Piper finished my hairdo. My hair was pulled up with silver pins with pearls, like the great Greek queens used to wear. I insisted that I didn't want any gold or precious stones on me for my wedding, even if it would have been perfect with my dark skin.

There was only one hour left before the event I would remember all my life. It was probably the most exciting moment since the battle against Gaia. But it was a different excitement. On the day where we fought Gaia, it was anxiety. We weren't sure if we would see the sun rising the next morning. Today, it was a pleasant squeeze at the heart. In both situations, though, there were butterflies in my stomach.

"What do you think?" asked Piper, taking a few steps away to look at me from different angles.

Piper had taken her work so seriously that she had frowned during the entire process. She was now massaging her forehead. I laughed.

"It's perfect!"

~Annabeth ~

Percy is so clumsy. Once again, by his fault, we would be late. I couldn't allow myself to be late at my friends' wedding, especially when I was a bridesmaid. However, I couldn't blame it on Percy, because he always flashed the same smile and looked so sorry that I always forgave him. This aside, we still had to run. Luke refused to put on the nice shirt we had bought for him and Silena didn't stop removing the bow in her hair. Our children didn't seem to collaborate for this special event. I thought we lectured them enough about the importance of this day for uncle Frank and aunt Hazel.

Finally arrived at the hotel, we tried to avoid getting attention on us. We entered the room without making any noise, walking the closest to the wall to go incognito. There were a lot of guests. Since Gaia's defeat, we were famous. A statue of the Seven even was erected. Percy and Jason became living legends. Obviously, the entire city wished to attend Frank and Hazel's wedding. Percy didn't deal so well with celebrity and instead preferred to give conferences to mortals rather than helping manage the two camps. The other demigods from the prophecy also lived their lives trying to forget their past.

Soon enough I noticed the stairs, and, waving at Percy and my children, I got up, taking the stairs four at a time to find my two best friends.

~Percy~

At last, I could rest. As soon as Annabeth went upstairs, the children had run to join the other children seated around Leo. He was telling one of his famous stories. His favourite one was the one in which he met Calypso, but today he was telling an old story about the Argo II. Since nobody recognized me, I decided to blend in and listen to conversations. Because of my work (I did conferences on the importance of protecting the sea), I wasn't in New Rome as much as I wished.

"This recipe is excellent! You should try it!"

"She was so surprised with her gift that she-"

"You heard about the disappearances right?"

This last conversation interested me. I stopped and listened to them.

"Yeah! It's horrible, isn't it? And I heard that this team wasn't the first one..."

"Really? It wasn't in the news, though."

"They would try to hide such news, don't you think? Already more than 10 demigods are gone-"

At this moment, Tyson lifted me up in his arms, almost leaving me with a few broken ribs.

"Percy! Long time no see! Look, she came for Frank and Hazel's wedding!"

Ella was hiding behind Tyson, who became really tall, with the years. We could see him from far away, and it was very important that he didn't seat in the front row for the ceremony. Forgetting what I had just heard, I followed Tyson who lead me to my other friends.

After a few minutes, Ella finally decided to meet the other guests. However, she stayed very close to Tyson, holding his hand very tight. Her face was so red, it matched with her feathers.

It was Grover's turn to surprise me from behind.

"Percy!"

"My man!"

I hugged him. Grover, even after all those years, remained my best friend. Even if I didn't see him as often as before, we still called each other to catch up. Also, because of my work, I had to give conferences about protecting the oceans, so Grover and I worked towards the same cause. It felt so good to see him again, and also see all my other friends who had such busy lives.

I looked around. Everyone was there, except two...

~Nico~

"I'm not going."

"Nico, it's your sister's wedding! You're an adult now. Get dressed, I'm waiting for you in the kitchen. Be quick, we'll be late."

I sighed. Gods. Will was right, once again. I got up and put my black suit that I bought just for this occasion. I met Will in the kitchen and he handed me a cup of coffee. He had a mischievous smile on.

"What?" I asked, already fed up with his attitude.

"Nothing."

I knit my eyebrows. There was something going on. I glanced at the clock and noticed we were running late because we overslept. Will and I ran in the almost-deserted streets of New Rome. The more we got close to the hotel, the more I grew nervous. I didn't like to be with a lot of people.

"Come."

Will took my hand (urgh) and led me in the crowd. We found Percy, Tyson, Ella, Leo, Calypso and Jason. I felt a little better since these were faces I knew. However, I couldn't wait to be out of here.