Love & Chaos 2: A New Pharaoh for Egypt

Chapter 20

Annabeth

Liz

There aren't many causes to stop fighting a war and instead celebrate, but Liz figured that a birthday qualified as a good reason. She woke up Leo and Percy to get all the Greeks involved on this very important day. It was Annabeth's birthday.

The thing about birthdays in the world of heroes was that they were never super awesome. For example, when Percy turned sixteen, the Second Titan War went down. When Annabeth turned seventeen, she was on a stupid quest for Athena. When Jason turned sixteen, he was on a quest to keep Gaia from rising again. Liz didn't even want to remember her  eighteenth birthday that May. There was just no winning.

That day, that July twelfth, it had to be different. Liz wanted it to be different.

"What's the plan?" Percy whispered as they sat together outside. "She wouldn't want us to make a big deal out of it."

"Percy, she's turning 21, it's important. We have to do something to celebrate that she's officially past the demigod life expectancy."

He nodded. "Hey, this is my fianceé you're talking about. I'm all for celebrating her badassery and ability to survive despite the many, many obstacles put before her. I'm just saying, if she judo flips me, it's on you."

"Well, I was thinking we could go do some sightseeing, look at the combination of ancient and modern architecture, how beautifully old and new Egypt looks. That's her cup of tea, right? Then maybe we can even look at the more town aspects of the First Nome."

"A day of architecture," Percy pondered. "That just might work."

"Might work?" Leo scoffed. "It will most definitely work. And it will be a great way to spend our day."

"Exactly, it'll be the fluff we all needed," Liz said, proud of her plans. "Oh, Valdez, get the gift."

"Gift?" Percy repeated, looking at the two of them.

Leo pulled a small box out of his belt and handed it to her. She opened it, and sure enough, there was Annabeth's engagement ring.

"I'm confused."

"Well, Percy, you know how she hasn't been wearing her ring because she didn't want to lose it?" she reminded him.

"Yes?"

"Leo agreed to help me turn it into a magic object so that she doesn't have to be afraid to lose it and it can double as a weapon. Functional gifts."

"That's pretty neat," he admitted. "Neat enough to ignore the part where you totally undermine the sweetness of my proposal by making the ring better."

"Your proposal?" Liz asked. "She proposed, Percy."

He frowned. "Okay, but I was going to. Had the ring and everything. It's just that someone, and I'm not naming names here, decided to write her own fanfiction into real life by changing the plans."

"Some people paint, some people sing. Me? I meddle."

"Well, Percy, the ring's whole purpose was to be beautiful but minimalistic so that Annabeth could dress it up however she wanted, right?" Leo pointed out. "Think of this as its first dressing up."

"I guess that's fair," Percy agreed. "None of us really have functionless accessories, do we?"

Liz looked down at her Best Friends necklace from Leo and shrugged. "Well, maybe a couple."

Leo smiled, but she couldn't tell if he was agreeing, or if there was something more to the necklace than he had let on. It would've been pointless to ask him anyhow. Chances were that if it was a magic object, she would find out in the heat of battle.