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Athena gives Percy a test in order to prove he should marry Annabeth
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The air was hot, but Percy was still shivering. The huge god-sized double doors loomed in front of him in a swirl of gray and gold. An owl perched on a branch was the only drawing on it, making it very plain for the doors to an Olympian home. Then again Athena was not one for flashiness.
"Well? You gonna knock?" Grover peered at his best friend with slight amusement in his eyes. He was clearly enjoying this whole endeavor a lot more than Percy was.
"I- I think I forgot how to." All Percy could remember was the rehearsed speech his mother had gone over with him the night before. The knowledge of how to knock seemed unimportant at this moment.
"You can't be serious."
Percy looked down at his hand, willing it to form a fist and tap on the door. But it remained a miserable shaking mess at his side. He groaned. "It's not working."
"I think that tuxedo must be cutting off your circulation or something. You're not acting very smart right now. I'm surprised you've managed to stay upright with how badly you're shaking." Grover sized up Percy's appearance. He'd dressed all nice to impress Athena but if he continued to sweat and rock back and forth on his heels, he might get rejected before he even asked his question. "Fine, I'll knock." Grover tapped lightly against the door.
It took a couple of minutes, but Athena finally opened the door. She was decked out in full battle armor, which did nothing to calm Percy's nerves.
"Athena... goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. O beloved daughter of Ze—" Percy started his speech.
Athena interrupted. "What do you want, son of Poseidon?"
The break in his monologue startled him. Suddenly he didn't know what he wanted. Why had he come here in the first place? Surely there was a reason why he was dressed up and at the door of one of his least favorite goddesses. "I wish to marry your daughter!" He got down on one knee and presented the ring to Athena.
"Dude!" Grover elbowed him. "You do that to Annabeth not to her mother." He looked red from secondhand embarrassment as Percy nodded, stood up, and shoved the ring back into his pants pocket.
Athena eyed him, amused at his stupidity. "I imagined this day quite a few times in my head. I knew it was a matter of time."
"Huh?" Percy questioned.
Athena stepped outside her house and closed the doors behind her. "Here's what I say to that Perseus Jackson: a test."
"A test? I'm really not good at tests. Couldn't I just kill a few monsters for you instead?" Percy was getting even more nervous. He didn't know what this type of test would be like. He knew he'd fail if it was anything like the ones in school. Grover stayed silent with horror.
