A Percy Jackson Anthology

The Carnival of Cupid

Frank laid in his bunk bed thinking of a way to celebrate his and Hazel's one year anniversary of dating. It was a calm, hot Saturday, and there wasn't much to do that would make the day really special. He thought about taking her to the beach but that would be too cliche, and it would also be a bit dull as they often went to the beach during the weekends anyway just to hangout with everybody.

Stumped on what to do, Frank climbed down from his bed and changed into a blue dolphin shirt Percy had given him and a pair of gray cargo shorts with camouflage designs on them. He then slipped on his black sneakers and headed out to find Hazel.

As he wandered the camp to find Hazel, he heard a young man in a toga calling out. "The carnival's in town! The carnival's in town. Bring your lovers, come one and come all, as the Carnival of Cupid is in town. For a whole month. The Carnival is here to stay!"

Frank wasn't entirely sure how Hazel felt about carnivals, but he figured it wasn't a bad idea considering he couldn't come up with anything better. So he wandered around camp and finally found Hazel near the stables next to Arion. "Hey, Hazel," Frank said, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Happy Anniversary."

He kissed her on the cheek and could feel her smile. "You remembered!" Hazel cheered.

"How could I forget? We were at war with giants after all. Now I'd like to take you somewhere special. You might want to change," Frank said. "Nothing too fancy, but just a pair of shorts and a t-shirt will be fine."

"Where are you taking me?" Hazel questioned.

"Apparently the carnival's in town," Frank answered. "So I figured you would enjoy it."

Hazel's eyes brightened at the mention of it. "Oh I love the Carnival! Mom would take me when I was little. Haven't been since I was well... in Hell pretty much," Hazel said.

"Well, go and get changed and we can get going. Just the two of us and a carnival of love," Frank smiled.

--------------------

After Hazel changed into a blue t-shirt and black shorts, they headed off to the Carnival of Cupid which was just outside the camp. It apparently had special border protection in order to keep out the monsters.

Frank bought the two of them wristbands which would allow them to do all of the games and rides at one price. "Alright, what do you want to do first?" Frank asked as they headed into the park.

"How about the Test Your Might?" Hazel suggested.

"Alright," Frank said approaching the stand where there was a sledgehammer and a young man dressed in a white suit.

"Step right up, step right up," the man said. "Test your might by hitting the peg as hard as you can and see how high you can make it rise!"

Hazel went firs grabbing the sledgehammer. She whacked the peg as hard as she could and hit the bell at the top. A wide grin spread across her face as she smiled with pride. Frank went after Hazel and whammed it even harder sending the peg flying up causing a loud BANG. "Sorry," he said sheepishly as the two walked away to go find something else.

As they walked around the park, Hazel spotted a Guess Your Age booth. She smirked. "So do you think they'll guess my real age or the age I appear as?" Hazel asked Frank. "Let's place a bet."

"I bet you five drachmas they guess the age you look like," Frank said.

Hazel shook Frank's hand. "Deal."

Hazel walked up to the stand where there was a young aged man with slicked back blonde hair sitting at the booth. "Ah, I see. So you think you're clever are you? You think you can fool me well step right up. I'll guess your age and blow your minds away. Hmmm ah yes, while your boyfriend here is definitely 18, you also look about the same age. However, a little birdie tells me this is not your first life time. So I'm guessing you're about 85 years old, daughter of Pluto," the man smiled widely. "The name's Fred by the way. Nice to see you as well, son of Mars."

With a wink, the man slipped on a pair of shades.

Frank's jaw was almost at the ground when Hazel laughed. "Pay up," Hazel smirked.

"But how?!" Frank asked.

"Please, that was obviously Apollo out for some fun. Percy told me he uses Fred as an undercover disguise on occasion," Hazel said as she took the five drachmas from Frank.

Frank sighed as they walked some more around the carnival playing more games. To Frank's shame, Hazel beat him a lot in these games. But her smile made it well worth it as she held up a big fluffy horse that she had one from the amount of tickets she earned. "This was the best day ever," Hazel cheered.

Frank wrapped an arm around her shoulder and smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," he said as he kissed her softly on the lips.

Hazel kissed back without any hesitation. "But I did get you a present too," Hazel said holding up a small box.

Frank opened it as Hazel smiled widely. It was an imperial gold watch with a button on the side of it. When he pushed it, it turned into a shield. It was ornamented with laurel patterns and a dolphin in the center. "Wow, Hazel, this is amazing," he said with surprise.

"I had Tyson make it for you from me," Hazel said.

"It's beautiful. Just like you. Thank you."

And with that, they headed back to camp.