Silver Water (Percy Jackson and Red Queen crossover)

Insert Random Tsunami Lesson

Annabeth's POV:

"Today we honor tradition, and no Red devil will impede that. Now is the rite of Queenstrial, to bring forth the most talented daughter to wed the most noble son. In this, we find strength, to bind the High Houses, and power, to ensure Silver rule until the end of days, to defeat our enemies, on the borders, and within them," my father's voice booms through the Spiral Garden.

"Strength," the High Houses rumble back at him. They sound like a cult, and it's frightening. "Power."

"The time has come again to uphold this ideal, and both my sons and my daughter honor our most solemn custom." He waves a hand, and my brothers and I step forward. "The Princess Annabeth, of House Calore and Merandus, daughter of my royal wife, the Queen Elara." I flinch at the title.

Of course, Elara wasn't really my mother, but that was what my father and that she-demon told the people of Norta in order to hide my true parentage. Hecate had helped a bit, manipulating the mist to make the people of Norta believe that the queen had been pregnant.

I had always been the odd one in the family; they all thought I was weird and mentally unstable, and on top of that I had a weird and unique ability (as most Silver demigods do). I was a burner like my father and half brothers, I could manipulate and produce heat; but I couldn't manipulate normal fire like they could. No, I could create and manipulate Greek Fire, and I didn't need those burner bracelets to use my ability.

"The Prince Maven, of House Calore and Merandus, son of my royal wife, the Queen Elara." Maven raises a hand in stern greeting. Though he has a regal, serious look to him, he's only seventeen. Sharp-featured and blue-eyed, he could freeze fire with his smile - he despises this pageantry.

"And the crown prince of House Calore and Jacos, son of my late wife, the Queen Coriane, heir to the Kingdom of Norta and the Burning Crown, Tiberias the Seventh." Cal gives a small wave in greeting.

"All of you have come to honor my son and the kingdom, and so I honor you," Father continues. He raises his arms, gesturing to the many boxes of people. "I honor your right to rule. The future king, the son of my son, will be of your silverblood, as he will be of mine. Who will claim their right?"

Lord Samos is the first to respond. "I claim Queenstrial!"

All over the spiral, the leaders of the different houses shout in unison. "I claim Queenstrial!" they echo. A few claim Princestrial, but only a few. A lot of the men eligible to compete for my hand were already married or betrothed.

Father smiles and nods. "Then it has begun. Lord Provos, if you would."

Father turns on the spot, looking toward House Provos. Lord Provos steps forward. When he twitches his hand, the boxes move sideways along prebuilt tracks. The entire structure twists under his command until the garden floor widens into a huge circle. The lower terraces pull back, aligning with the upper levels, and the spiral becomes a massive cylinder open to the sky. As the terraces move, the floor lowers, until it stops nearly twenty feet below the lowest box. The fountains turn into waterfalls, spilling from the top of the cylinder to the bottom, where they fill deep narrow pools.

When Lord Provos is done the lightning shield is turned on. Its purpose is to protect the audience from any debris during the performances, but we all know that Lady Mareena Titanos will be using it for her own performance.

The girls competing in Queenstrial perform first. I tune most of their performances out, instead, focusing on plans for the war with Kronos.

I'm so lost in thought I don't realize that Princetrial has started until it's Istvan Osanos's turn to perform. Like the rest of House Osanos, Istvan was a nymph. He was probably the most powerful nymph in Norta, but he was nowhere near as powerful as Percy. Istvan was also one of the most vain people I've ever met, and I've met the Olympian Gods. He took the meaning of his name - man with crown - to heart, insisting that he was destined to be my husband. And based on how I was to choose a husband, he might be right. Istvan had dedicated his life to training to win Princetrial; he was powerful enough to control someone's actions using the water in their body.