Ariana's Trials

Part 12

Ariana's POV

I stayed my course. Punch, kick stab, flip overhead, launch, repeat. Training on the dummies in camp was an easy endeavor, even after Leo replaced the straw ones with mechanical monsters, now actually trying to harm me, and I wanted him to turn up the difficulty every time he had to repair one. I took out my anger about Noha and Nico and Kaldur and...Something that was bothering me, oh right, Oceanus. I cut the head off of a charging snake woman, and Leo came charging in to repair it. I threw a solid half-gallon of water on his head and wandered off to find something to destroy. I settled with old logs littering the beach with watery fists. Satisfying as f***, smashing everything into small slivers. 

"F*** THIS SHIT!" I shouted, "F*** EVERYTHING!" I threw a pebble into the sea, and I screamed as loud as I could for hours until I lost my voice, then blasted my music until the batteries died, the endless wailing of whatever song was playing drowning my evil thoughts. Percy found me just lying on the beach, staring into the endless sky

"Ariana, why are you here?" He sat down beside me

"I'm working off some emotions" I turned to him

"By screaming profanities on a beach?" He asked

"Yep" I popped the "p" as Percy flicked his rock into the water

"Annabeth and I have cemented a date, you know for the wedding? She wants to talk to you about something" He said. I picked myself up and brushed the sand off my jumpsuit and run over to Annabeth, who is standing by the Athena Parthenos.

"Annabeth? Percy said you wanted to talk to me" I said, stopping beside her

"Yeah, I have two questions. One, do you want to be one of my bridesmaids?"

"Yes!" I say

"Two, I need another opinion on my dress. come with me to shop?" She continued

"Yes!" I finish. Annabeth leads me down the hill, where a lone Taxi waits. The grey sisters' cab.

"Downtown, Glamour In White dress shop" Annabeth tossed them two drachmas, and we speed down the highway.

"My turn to bite! You got the tooth last time!" One wailed

"NO, It was you!" another scream, then bumps the sister who is driving and the eyeball shoots out, into the hands of the wailing sister, who crams it into her eye socket.

"Left!" she shouts, and we veer left "Right! Straight! Forward! Faster!" Finally, they stop in front of the dress shop, where Piper Mclean waits for us, holding a pink bag. She waves to us

"Annabeth!" They share a little about the trip, and I explain my relationship with Percy, and we enter the dress shop. Annabeth walks to the lady in the front

"Two o-clock reservations for Annabeth?" She asks. the lady nods

"Just wait a few moments"

Annabeth walks in wearing a new dress. It has a ridiculous amount of lace and tulle everywhere, with elaborate beading. Piper and I agree the dress is overkill. 

"Annabeth, why not try the one in the grey bag?" I said. I had watched the bag appear in a puff of grey and pink smoke. I knew who sent it. Annabeth takes the bag to the changeroom

"I think I have my mind made up" she gasps

"Let us see!" Piper asks

"Yeah!" I add. Annabeth comes out wearing a dress of grey silk with golden embroidery, highlighting her hair and her eyes perfectly, and the skirt fluffs out in an oval, the small silk train on her tiara shimmering gently