"Aphrodite! Not surprised. This has you all written over it." I WASN'T happy. The way she was giving me that devious smile, that every god feared on her, was intoxicating me with dread. In other situation I would have been kind of attracted to her, but this was different.

"Well you heard me. Today your cute little son Perseus Poseidon Jackson will be tested along with your beautiful-yet stupid-daughter Athena." Boy was that a bad thing to do. You never-I repeat, NEVER- call Athena or her relatives stupid. By now all of the Athena siblings were standing up from the sixth row. They were glaring, and I mean maximum glare power. Least of all was Athena. Even angrier than before, her fists were clenched and her eyes red, pounding with her blood. I actually thought Aphrodite was pretty brave then, but my glare too returned. I was still angry.

"Silly kiddies of Athena." She a blew a number of kisses to the kids and the boys all fainted with happy "loving" looks in their eyes. Their sisters were all trying to wake them. Terrified many of them sat down while the other cabins next to them scouted a little a ways. Athena motioned at the other brave ones to sit. She was going to handle this, and when Athena handles things, they get handled.

"Aphrodite," her voice was stacato to annunciate every word that inched its way out of her mouth, "We will not be having this ceremony-event, whatever it is I can call it without losing my dignity to your 'lovey-doveyness' because our children are in NO way in love. Whoever has made you crazed and demented to think that is so should answer to me, because then they will be crushed into a centimeter of their life." Wow. That was-wow. Silence is the only word that could describe what happened next. I told you, when Athena wants something done, she gets it done.

Aphrodite again bravely broke the reverie, "Ah! That is where you are wrong. And this is why we are here today: to decide on whether the rumors and this whole shanannigan are true! Justice-no, love- will suffice! Stand down so that we shall see what is true." Her voice sang out like she was reciting a sonnet. She was back to her more lovey-dovey personality, the one, surprisingly, that I whole-hearted liked way more than that devious get-you-together-NO-matter-what look.

"Fine," Athena said-wait, what! There was gasp, from whom, I'm unsure. Could have been from me, Aphrodite, or any of the gods, even the whole of the assembled in this love audience. It was like a wave of ghosts chattering...well, ghostly. Whoever or whatever did it, was stopped instantly with a snap of Athena's fingers. The dread silence again. "You all heard me. Today is the day me and my Uncle Poseidon shall settle this. If this jury gives favor for Percabeth, then me and Poseidon both agree to not interfere-too much-in this relationship whether it survives or not. That is, if you agree to this proposition Lord Poseidon, swear on the River Styx?"

I noticed how she had used Lord instead of the formal, yet not as formal, Uncle she usually did. She really wanted to go through with this and weird thing was I did too. We needed to end this disagreement and not have another World War, especially about love. Wasn't the Trojan War enough? So I agreed...with Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Well you learn something every day. "I agree to your proposal on the River Styx." We shook hands. Whoa! I just agreed with Athena! I'm still fazed from it and I think I will be forever, at least some part of me will be.

"Then-it's settled?!" My gorgeous niece's perfectly elegant eyebrows raised, to question herself. "I thought...I thought it would take days-weeks-before you two idiots let me go on with this," she was practically stuttering, but there was glee, childish and shrill glee that is, "Now we can get on with it!" I'd never seen the love goddess sooo happy. Was my son's relationship with this Annabeth-imbecile- really that great?! Maybe I should just let him date her-No way! I think, Aphrodite's happiness was spreading out the love throughout the room. Did Dionysus look tipsier than usual?

"On one condition."

"I beg your pardon!"/ "What!" Aphrodite and I yelled simultaneously. "You never told us this before we shook on it," I continued.

"Well don't think that I wouldn't have something up my sleeve. I demand that I choose who shall stand for the defense. I will not have a drunkard defending me and my daughter's pride!" Athena could be very proud, and I mean very proud at times. Then again, so could I.

"Hey!" I guess the wine god had awaken from the uncontrollable spell that the love goddess had accidentally created with her joy.

"Okay then! Choose." With her hand pushing her hair behind her ear, Aphrodite was instantly back to her almost evil mischievous self.

"Alright, I choose Artemis!"

Way to go! That was Athena being the manipulative smart person she was. Of course she would choose someone with biased views toward men. This would be brilliant! No way would Percabeth win.

Artemis stepped down from her chair in her usual twelve year old auburn-haired self. As she did, the silver robes she usually wore turned into more of old-style greek hunting clothing. She was game for it too. She wanted to win this case and I soon found out why.

"Annabeth Chase has the true spirit of Hunter. She would be great addition and her intelligence is of great value. I would not have her fall for some hero when her skills would be of better use elsewhere."

"You go sis-usually! I totally disagree and that's why I nominate myself as the guy who is in defense for Percabeth!" It was Apollo in all his sunny surfer glory. He too had stood to meet at the judges' table in front. Both siblings now faced each other, Artemis glaring distastefully at her brother whilst he just smirked like the half-buffoon he could be many times a day.

This was going perfectly. Apollo wasn't the brightest guy in light bulb box and there was practically no way he'd win this argument against his sister. I just had to intervene before Aphrodite got any ideas. "That's a PERFECT idea," by then everyone was staring at me like I was some sort of wacko-everyone knew the move I was making, "I mean Apollo makes...interesting haikus. That's like poetry and poetry...has to do with love so I guess he can run it." To back it up I gave a glare to Aphrodite that would have made any mortal-I'm sure- runaway before they pissed in their pants. It was much worse than the other glares I had given the last previous minutes.

"Huhh... It's settled. Apollo will defend Percabeth," Aphrodite huffed obviously knowing from the visual of my glaring eyes, I would not have anything else but that. With a snap of her perfectly manicured hands four chairs appeared in front of the assembly. Three were to the right where the defense against Percabeth was to be stationed. That place was where me, Athena, and Artemis sat. Opposite to the left was the offense for Percabeth where Apollo sat down still smirking.

I sat down on the pink heart-shaped chairs with detest. This really wasn't my style and did I just see Zeus pull out a camera? I would never get over this if that was how the Master of Lightning was going to play it.

"All rise for the honorable judges Zeus, Aphrodite, & Chiron!" Hermes declared from his chair, his cell phone now put away in his pocket but still vibrating constantly.

Court was now in session.