Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Rick Riordan can claim that. I just own any random character I create, and my plots.
alidei
We all know that Thalia became the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. She seemed to be in control in the Last Olympian and the Lost Hero. But we never learned how she was treated after the Hunters learned that Zoe was dead.
Thalia's POV
Everywhere I walked, I felt penetrating glares on my back. I bit my lip; Zoe's ghost was everywhere. She was here when we ate, when we rested, when we hunted. All the Hunters think that she'll come back; all the Hunters loved her and her leadership skills. I couldn't help but feel intimidated and judged all the time. Maybe I should rethink this whole thing...No, I scolded myself. You don't want the prophecy to be yours. You wanted to be the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. You're thinking such selfish thoughts, Thalia.
I took a deep breath. I'll wear a mask, I decided. I'll wear a mask until I feel welcomed, or, whenever I feel like dropping it.
[Third Person]
For days, little activity occurred. The Hunters hunted, ate, and slept. A simple routine.
"Thalia?"
Thalia turned. In front of her was their goddess. She bowed. "Yes milady?"
Thalia usually wasn't too fond of fluffy, fancy expressions, but ever since she joined the Hunt, she found it reassuring, like she was protected. And she is. Artemis cares and protects all of her Hunters, and when they take their own separate paths, the goddess still keeps an eye out to make sure they are okay.
Artemis studied her lieutenant. She has been noticing that her young lieutenant was often timid, shy, and quiet, busy with her thoughts. "Is there something troubling you, my dear? You've been the quiet sort since your arrival, which I'm certain you're not."
Thalia looked up, shocked. "Nothing, milady. I've just been thinking, that's all."
The goddess gave Thalia a stern look. "We do not hold our burdens in our hearts, Thalia Grace. Holding a burden will grow heavy in you; it may even be your downfall, a death for a many of my Hunters. Speak, sister, and tell me: what is troubling you?"
Thalia knew it was pointless to argue. "I've... I haven't been feeling safe, milady. I mean, I do, but I don't feel safely happy."
Artemis raised an eyebrow but did not comment.
What can I do, milady? I know this sounds like I'm whining, and I apologize. And I think I know that you may, I don't know, order the Hunters to be nice to me, but please, don't. That'd be terrible. They'll think that I'm a baby, and I don't want any more drama than what's already happening. Oh, gods, this is really embarrassing..."
Thalia's voice trailed off, her face red and her eyes refusing to meet the eyes of the goddess.
The goddess did not speak, but her face remained passive and calm. Instead of a lecture that Thalia expected and knew she probably deserve, the goddess smiled. "Men are worse." With that, she left her tent.
Thalia was mortified. She had just spilled her fears to her leader, and who knows? Someone could have heard her. She didn't want more gossip being spilled than there already was. She crawled into her sleeping bag, and cried her way to sleep.
A knock on the tent awoke her. She jolted up in a start, and saw a big shadow on the tent's walls. Quietly, she crept out of the bag and grabbed her bow and arrows. When she held them in the traditional posture, she called out, "Who's there?"
A series of attempted stifled laughs rose. Thalia narrowed her eyebrows, and repeated herself.
A response never came, but the tent flap was opened and just as Thalia had let her arrow fly, she noticed the people who had crept upon her were wearing the silvery Hunter clothing. She relaxed, a tiny bit, but waiting for the usual snarky comment that she heard all the time.
One of the Hunters came forward. Thalia recognized her as Phoebe, a daughter of Hermes that the Stolls had played a prank on during the Hunters' visit at Camp Half-Blood. "Now, now, Thalia." she chided, humor hidden in her voice. "What exactly are you doing up at three in the morning?"
A Hunter in the back giggled.
Thalia let a quick smile escape, before she controlled herself. "I could say the same, Phoebe."
Phoebe smiled. It was a few painful seconds that passed until the girl spoke again. "We heard your conversation with Lady Artemis." The Hunters around her bobbled their heads like apples in water.
Thalia froze, deadpanned. They heard. They knew. STYX. Even so, she didn't let her emotions show on her face. "Did you? And what exactly did you think about it?"
"We thought it was quite, er... what do people call it, today? Déjà vu? Something like that..." she mused.
"Déjà vu? What do you mean?" Thalia asked, her bow lowering.
Phoebe grinned at her. It was then Thalia realized that even though Phoebe tried to be everything her father wasn't, the girl had inherited one thing of her father's- the wry and witty attitude she had found in Lord Hermes and Luke.
Luke. Her mind froze for a split second when his name came in. She scolded herself.
Luke chose his path with Kronos, Thalia, she told herself. You chose yours with the Hunters, though I can't really say that it's going well.
"What I- sorry, we- mean is, this is exactly what happened oh, about 2000 years ago."
"What? Two thousand years ago? Isn't that when Zoe became the lieutenant?"
"Yes, she did. You're doing the exact same thing Zoe Nightshade did when she became the lieutenant."
Thalia couldn't speak, but her expression spoke up for her.
"When Zoe became the lieutenant 2000 years ago, we weren't that nice to her either. We had all missed the previous lieutenant, Michella. We were angry, and took our anger out on Zoe. Zoe cried and, like you, told Artemis. When we found out Zoe died, we lashed our anger on you." Phoebe explained. "You see, after we did this to Zoe, we, uh, accepted her."
"So..." Thalia struggled to get the right words out. "You did that to Zoe and me-"
"Zoe and I," corrected a Hunter.
"Whatever." Thalia waved them off. For all she knew, they could have been a daughter of Athena. At least it wasn't Annabeth. "You did that because you wanted to see if we were valuable enough to have as a lieutenant?"
Phoebe nodded. "Yes, we needed to see if you had the toughness a Hunter requires. Zoe had it in her the minute we confessed, and you, well, I think we can see it now."
Thalia put her bow down on the sleeping bag. She stood and watched the Hunters.
"Please," Phoebe begged. "Forgive us. We didn't mean to, we just needed to know..."
"Phoebe? How long have you been in the Hunt?"
Phoebe smiled grimly. "I've been in the Hunt for 2346 years."
Thalia's eyes widened.
"Shocker, I know. Trust me; everyone's reaction has been the same."
Thalia sighed. "I can't believe it. I thought it was because you guys hated me. I didn't know..." Her voice trailed off.
Phoebe extended her hand, the rest of the Hunters following her example. Thalia hesitated. This is it. This is her one chance at having a true family. They didn't mean to hurt her intentionally. They just wanted to know more about her. They were curious. Being curious is fine.
Curiosity killed the cat, her brain reminded her, but she ignored it.
Yeah, well, we're not cats here; we're the Hunters of Artemis.
And in that split second decision, she extended her hand as well. Phoebe grinned, and the Hunters cheered. Thalia couldn't help but laugh. A real chance at family. A family that wouldn't break up over odd events.
As the girls hugged each other, Thalia heard a voice in her head.
We let our fears go, and together, our hearts free, and we fly, together, forever. Wouldn't you agree Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant to Artemis?
Thalia could imagine the goddess smiling at her, and in turn, she smiled back. Their goddess may be flying her nightly rounds as she always is and always will do, but she held truth. And Thalia loved it.
She has a family.
She has a home.
She has peace.
I typically don't pay much attention to Thalia, despite she's a Daughter of Zeus. But I must wonder, what was it like when she joined the Hunters? Was she welcomed? Loved? Cherished? She's going through tough times, and not just that, but by being a Hunter, she has to give up on boys- *cough* Luke *cough*
There's the little button down there called "Review"… it's waiting for you to tell me what you think :)
alidei