Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
I got inspiration to write this one shot when I thought about the huntresses of Artemis, a daughter of Aphrodite, and a tragic love story. I read a really awesome story about a daughter of Apollo named Kaye and how she fell in love with this guy Alexander. And how they go looking for Thalia Grace because she is kidnapped. Then at the end of the story Alexander is ki- I can't ruin it! Read it: THE GREAT HUNTRESS by KAYEhuntress (It is on cap locks, fyi.)
The story in my story is in italics. This takes place after the day of The Titan's Curse.
Summary: This is the untold tale of a romantically tragic love story between a daughter of Aphrodite and a son of Poseidon.
The Fishermen's Dove
The Aphrodite Cabin, both daughters and sons, sat on the Amphitheater with angry expressions and scrunched up features that didn't compromise with their beautiful features. The Huntresses of Artemis were no different; proud and elegantly beautiful, they glared back causing their silvery glow to brighten. Mad at Aphrodite's children's ignorance and arrogance, they shot them haughty faces and taunts about how love sucks. The Head Counselor's of all cabins sat there awkwardly and quietly out of fear of the wrath that held in the maiden Goddesses' eyes. The year-rounder's; six daughters and three sons of Athena, four daughters and eight sons of Hermes, three daughters and two sons of Demeter, and six sons and five daughters of Apollo, and twelve unclaimed children, had witnessed the fight and was asked to join the others in the theater.
Lady Artemis, a proud Goddess, never admitted her fears or sorrows. She was above being a sad, wimpy, pathetic woman. She was a maiden warrior and she commanded respect only a fool would dare cross her bow and arrow. She has always been proud of her Huntresses; her sisters, her daughters, for their loyalty, bravery, companionship, fierce independency, truths, hatred for men, for not breaking the oath and their strengths. Today, however, she was ashamed. They caused a ruckus at Camp Half-Blood. Her maidens had broken into a physical and verbal war with the sons and daughters of Aphrodite. Ten broken arms, five broken ankles, three broken fingers, bunch of bruises, broken egos, the healers in the Apollo cabin were pretty livid as they healed all of them.
Sick of the old prejudice, Artemis persuaded the help of her second-now eldest, she thought remorsefully-Huntress and Captain, Purity, who was conversing with the Moon Goddess when the fight broke out. Purity was comforting her lady, her best friend after the devastating loss of their first Lieutenant and other best friend, Zoë Nightshade.
Chiron and Artemis stood at the front as Purity walked hesitantly to the front with a smiling Aphrodite looking encouragingly at the Huntress. That was odd. Annabeth analyzed, narrowing her eyes.
Her silvery glow brightened her beautiful features-button nose, porcelain skin, heart-shaped face, high cheekbones, beauty mark over her lip. She was very beautiful. Boys would be lining up to be hers. The Aphrodite's daughters thought wistfully. She was a short, tiny girl of the age of fourteen, but her eyes, however, shined with compassion and wisdom. Her face was solemn and guarded whilst her eyes shined with a special sadness. Dark strands of brown hair flowed gently down her back like a waterfall with a gold diadem on the top of her hair and her soulful browns eyes looked on sorrowfully. This girl just looked…forlorn and old-fashioned.
The Captain of the Huntresses sat down gracefully and looked into the crowd with a proud smile. Silena, daughter of Aphrodite, noted how she sat straight up and looked like royalty.
"I am going to tell thee a tragic love story about an ignorant and innocent young girl named Princess Temperance Dove, daughter of Aphrodite and the handsome poor fisherman named Dylan Rivers, son of Poseidon." The young woman started softly, supporting a guarded expression. Annabeth also observed how she talked like Zoë Nightshade. A look of realization fled everyone's features. That explained Aphrodite's doing here, but-
"What does this have to do with Lady Artemis?" A young daughter of Athena asked bluntly.
"I am getting there, daughter of Athena," admonished Purity, smiling gently at the eight year old. "Now, please refrain from questioning. Everything will be explained to thee." The sons and daughters of Athena squirmed uneasily as Hermes' children rolled their eyes.
The Huntress eyes lit up, blood rushing to her cheeks, as her figurative imagination came into play. She always looked animated when she told a story. Her sisters-in-arms loved the way she could brighten up a room when she told her fantasy tales of maiden warriors or woman who fell in love with princes and knights.
Her wispy, delicate structures made the guys realize how stunning she looked. It was a shame, however.
"A long, long time ago around the before The Trojan War, lived a young maiden named Temperance. She was a kind and loving girl of thirteen. She was everyone's dream daughter; skilled with manners, skilled with a bow, beauty of a goddess, and wisely kept her mouth shut. Remind thee, women in those ages gained no respect. They simply never said a word out of fear of being beaten by their husbands.
"That is preposterous!" Helen, daughter of Athena, yelled in outrage.
"Women having no respect! I would kick their butts!" Carter agreed, surprising everyone that a daughter of Ares agreed with a daughter of Athena.
"I wish I lived in that time." Drew, a son of Hermes, muttered to his brothers. "You can't keep a girl around here from shutting up these days."
"That's because men think they are so high and mighty! That us, women, have to argue with them! And be beneath them! And we have to waste out time arguing when we could something more productive like planting a garden or eating cereal." Wisteria, Demeter's thirteen year old, snapped angrily.
"Wisteria, would you like to join the hunt?" Artemis asked gently, smiling. Lady Aphrodite had a pained expression as her daughter's too supported.
The girl beamed in pleasure and nodded.
"Any one, else?" Artemis called. Two daughters of Athena plus Helen raised their hands and a daughter of Hermes and one unclaimed daughter.
"Repeat after me, 'I pledge myself to the goddess of Artemis.'"
"I pledge myself to the goddess of Artemis."
"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and joint the hunt.'"
"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and joint the hunt." the six girls repeated confidently.
"I accept." Lady Artemis said, smiling. The girls were wrapped in silver and they got up and sat with their fellow huntresses.
"Welcome, sister." All the huntresses chorused graciously. It wasn't everyday that got six new sisters in the hunt. The unclaimed daughter sat down and a laurel popped over her head. She smiled to herself because her father, Apollo, finally claimed her.
She was heir to the throne of Antonia, a well-cultured country who welcomed visitors and displayed wisdom and compassion. The goddess of wisdom blessed the country. The country was humongous, with big hills, a huge ocean, a brilliant land mass.(A/N: MADE THIS COUNTRY UP!)" Purity gazed into the crowd with faraway eyes, as if she was living in the time. A few people blinked. It came to them that this woman had lived in this time.
Wow, she is old. Ran through a lot of people's minds.
"Her stepmother, Queen Petronilla, a cruel and arrogant woman hated her step daughter with a burning passion. She feared her husband, King Kenrich, a once lover of Aphrodite, and her Highness feared the woman that seduced her king. She was jealous that her daughter and the king's second child, Princess Theophania, wouldn't inherit the throne and marry a rich and handsome prince.
"That is so clichéd." A daughter of Hermes, Cora, giggled. Her brother, Travis, smiled gently down at his five year old sister and lifted her up to sit on his lap. She squealed and hugged hum tighter.
Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter, smiled slightly at him before looking away quickly.
The whole country knew of Temperance's heritage. Their opinion didn't change, just her suitors. The men of all ages ranging from fifteen to eighty fought for her hand. Temperance hatred of men progressed day by day. She figured men would only want her for her body and beauty not her brains.
"Typical priggish men." muttered a Huntress as her sisters agreed.
Sick of the fighting, Princess Temperance wondered off to the shores. The seas always spoke to her. They calmed her temper and sang sweet songs to her by the shore. Her special spot was discovered.
"Oooh! Who?" son of Athena questioned.
"Santa Claus," snapped his sister. "Shut up so we can listen!"
A handsome young man of sixteen was walking down the shore line, mumbling to himself. The young woman had never seen so beautiful. In her imprudent mind, he was more handsomer than Apollo himself. He stood tall and proud. His height amazed her. The young man stood about 6'4 compared to her 4'11. His muscular and tan body sent the young virgin's blood rushing to her cheeks. He had a mop of untidy black hair and the kindest green eyes. Eyes like the sea so expressive, so radical, so beautiful." Purity paused, sighing. Tears sparkled in her. No one seen them as she glanced down at her hands.
"Hey, Percy, it sounds like you." Conner Stoll joked. Percy Jackson shot him a glare while ruffling his black, one gray-streaked hair.
"Dude, that is my half-brother." He stated the obvious.
"Oh. Oh! OH!" Conner realized, his eyes wide. Purity shot them a distasteful look before continuing her story.
"In her foolishness, she stayed and observed the young man. She step forward, she had to see him, know him, feel him. In a daze, the future Queen tripped over her skirt and fell on the ground.
'My lady, how is thee?' the young man gasped. He helped her up and he got lost in her brown orbs. Without knowing her status and forgetting his low rank, he fell in love with the princess of Antonia.
"So romantic!" screeched an unclaimed girl dreamily. A dove appeared over head. Beaming with happiness, her siblings welcomed her with opened arms. Aphrodite winked at her daughter.
'Thanks to thee, kind sir, I am well.' She replied graciously. 'How rude of me, thy must not be pleased with my manners. I am Princess Temperance of Antonia.'
The young man bowed. 'Kind lady, I am Dylan Rivers, milady, a humble fisherman. I beg forgiveness. I did not mean to indulge thy privacy.'
'Oh, Sir, no matter.' She waved off the matter. The woman was interested in the man. He was so much kinder than that pig Prince Brentwood who desperately tried to win her hand in marriage.
'The stories are true.' he whispered in awe.
'Stories?' She wrinkled an eyebrow.
'Of your kind heart and intelligence.' he replied gallantly. The young princess blushed. She was glad he did not express on her beauty.
"Yeep!" A daughter of Aphrodite, Monica, squealed. "He is so romantic!"
"A few words to boost your confidence." Agatha sneered, a daughter of Athena and huntress of Artemis. She glared ahead. "Please. Watch he will dump her when he finds someone prettier." she added bitterly. Monica gave her look of sympathy.
"Shh!" chorused the young girls in the front. It came to a surprise to a lot of them in the crowd. They were enjoying and getting lost in the tale of the princess and the pauper of Antonia.
"The young soon-to-be lovers stayed in each others companies for hours. They swapped every detail, secret, heritage, and shared everything. Temperance raveled in the fact that he was a son of Poseidon. Unknown to the young lovers, several people watched them.
Poseidon and Aphrodite watched from different places. Sitting on his throne, the god of the sea was glowering unhappily. He didn't want his son, Dylan, to fall in love with that no-good daughter of Aphrodite. The goddess, on the other hand, was beaming in her mirror. She wanted her daughter to have a romance worthy enough to be retold over and over again. On Olympus, gods and goddesses watched the vicious fights among the sea god and the goddess of love. This went on for months.
"Go mom!" Glare.
"Go dad!" Glare.
The lovers returned every evening by the sea. Over the months, people in the castle began to see changes in the once innocently foolish and ignorant young girl. Princess Temperance was growing up. She was not that ill-informed girl anymore. The princess was maturing into a young lady. She was acting more ladylike, encouraging other women to speak their minds, speaking plainly about politics in front of the men, and ignoring her suitors advances.
Temperance and Dylan fell deeply and passionately in love with each other. Aphrodite herself blessed the soul mates for life and the afterlife.
A daughter of Aphrodite, Rebecca, squealed, crying with happiness.
'Oh, my pure dove, I will love thee forever.' Dylan proclaimed chivalrously as he proposed at the beach into five months into their secret courtship.
Overcome with tears, the princess cried, "Yes!" and kissed him.
Tears rolled down Rebecca's face. Her sister's cried with her and their mother too.
A spy for King Kenrich found the Princess in a lip lock with the poor fishermen. Filled with greed, he told the king. The King was so enraged that he put a five hundred drachma bounty on Dylan Rivers' head. He wanted that foolish boy found and dead.
"How rude!" sniffed a daughter of Apollo.
Furious with her father, Princess Temperance argued with her father. She was so careless in her argument that she refilled about her undying love for her future husband. The King and a smug Queen locked the young princess in her room and proclaimed to the villagers that Princess Temperance was to marry the arrogant Prince Brentwood of Gravis.
"What the heck! She is meant to be with Dylan!" Everyone turned their head to see surprisingly a huntress saying that. Phoebe blushed and looked away. Purity smiled grimly before continuing.
Three days of misery, Princess Theophania, walked dead in the night to her half-sister's locked room. She was kind and gentle ten year old. She loved her sister so much that she helped her sister escape.
"That is such an amazing sister!" Annabeth Chase said in respect.
'Come, sister.' Princess Theophania whispered urgently into the night. 'They mustn't know thee escaped. And thee mustn't know I helped.'
'Oh, sister,' sobbed the love sick princess. 'I thank thee.'
'Just live thy life well.' she cried quietly as they made it to the horses.
'Serve thy kingdom well.' commanded Princess Temperance. She knew she would be disowned. She was no longer heir, her sister was right to claim her throne.
'Thy mother came to me in a dream. The Lady Aphrodite said thee will know where to look. On the horizon and into the sea's heart.'
The two sisters hugged and kissed knowing this was the last time they would see each other ever again.
All the young girls in the Amphitheater were frozen with grief. They couldn't imagine not seeing their sisters. Yeah sometime they got on each others nerves; nevertheless, they still loved them unconditionally.
Princess Temperance rode horseback. She galloped to the sea. Her heart pounded. Her father's military was gaining. Galloping fast and faster, she was closer to her love. Almost…there…
"Freaking reach him, Princess Temperance!" Percy cried impatiently. A couple guys laughed at him. 'Shut up! How would you feel if that was your true love?" He said smugly as the guys quit laughing.
Lady Artemis and Lady Aphrodite smiled at him in respect for different reasons. For the moon goddess, it was because he wasn't afraid of his 'girly' emotions. For the love goddess, it was because Percy understood the value of love.
'Dylan!' She cried. He turned and froze. An arrow was coming his way. He didn't have a chance because the arrow pierced into his stomach. Jumping off the horse, the princess ran to her lover. He was weak looking. Her love was dying slowly.
In the distance, the military ran off.
"Cowards!" sneered the daughters and sons of Ares.
'Oh, my love, I led them to thee.' she cried into his chest.
'Oh, my pure dove, thee is forgiven.' he whispered softly while sliding the wedding ring he received from his father onto his lover's ring finger. It was a beautiful ring made of a pure, shiny marble off of Poseidon's walls in his palace because he came around to accepting the marriage. He coughed. 'My sweet, my time is coming. I love thee.'
'Oh, my brave, brave Dylan, don't leave me!' she wailed. 'I love thee to much!'
'Shh!' he calmed her. Kissing her on the lips for the last time, his life left his body.
"NOOOO!"
There wasn't a girl in the crowd that wasn't crying and some boys. Purity's tears ran down her face shamelessly.
Wailing with despair, she cursed the gods especially her mother. Her mother, the beautiful Aphrodite, came down to Earth to see her. Screaming her hatred for her mother, Princess Temperance finally fell into Aphrodite's arms crying.
Her mother muttered a few words. Her Dylan was scattered into the stars. Just above the horizon where the heart meets, a young man is seen holding a dove. The pure dove resembled the virgin's heart he only held, never felt in union.
'Oh, mother, I will never love another.' She whispered sadly, staring at her one true love in the sky.
"That is so unfair." Cora yelled, frustrated. Travis and Conner hugged their depressed sister.
'I can help with that.' A voice said behind them. With shock, Princess Temperance was gazing at the Goddess of the Moon's eyes. 'Join my hunt, Princess, and become my first Captain.' she urged.
It clicked in the Huntress' mind. They glanced at their grief stricken sister who was telling the story with a slight tremble to her voice.
Temperance thought for a minute. Life without Dylan would be hard. She could never go back to the castle and marry another. Her heart would always belong to Dylan Rivers.
'I would love to join thy hunt, milady.' accepted the heartbroken woman. She gazed at her mother impassively.
'You have my blessing, daughter.' the goddess of Love said solemnly as she watched her daughter make the sacred oath-to never fall in love again and stay a maiden for life.
Officially the second Huntress of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt stared compassionately at the young girl of fourteen. 'Now, Captain, what shall we call thee.'
'Purity Rivers, daughter of Aphrodite and Captain of Artemis Huntresses' She replied proudly. She chose the name Purity because she would stay chaste to her vows and her pure love for her Dylan would never waver. She might not of married but in heart, she was forever linked to him.
Everyone, besides the goddesses, stared at Purity with shock. It was a lot to take in. The Captain of the Hunt was still in love with a boy! And "married" too! And the daughter of Aphrodite! She never disclosure that to them! How little did they know of their beloved Captain.
Thousands of years later, Purity, or sometimes Captain Purity stayed with her lady Artemis, her best friend, her companion. She killed many monsters, made many sisters, made many demigod friends, made friends with the gods and goddesses, and never has she given her heart away. Every night when the sun sets, Purity looks into the horizon where she sees her Dylan holding the dove, otherwise her heart. And he stares down at her, patiently waiting when she returns to him in death.
Purity looked into the crowd. She was shocked to realize that all the girls on the seats was crying and sobbing loudly even Taylor, daughter of Ares, was blinking back tears.
"That was so romantic." Daphne, a huntress, sobbed into her hands.
"That is the most passionate love story!" Rebecca cried.
"It's my favorite!" her sister responded.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?" demanded Heather, daughter of Demeter and fellow hunter.
"Thee never asked." Purity replied simply.
"I am so sorry you had to go through that, sister." Silena Beauregard said benevolently as she hugged her sister. Purity hugged her back, tears falling rapidly down her face.
"Now, sons and daughters of Aphrodite," started Purity. She walked to the center of the stage, making her voice clear and strong. "Us huntresses choice to stay virgin's and turn our backs on boys because some of us have been heartbroken, played with, cheated on, seen our love die, or abused. We are the same. So please do not judge us." Aphrodite's children nodded, blinking back tears.
"Sisters, my fellow huntresses, today we have discovered a great loss. Our fellow sister, Zoë, has fallen in battle. We mustn't never forget our great Lieutenant. Now, please, I know your opinions on boys and love but don't degrade my brothers and sisters. Our mother is the goddess of love, it is in our nature to give out love and beauty." They looked at their captain in admiration and respect. They didn't drop their sentiments for their third-in-command. It just made them love her more. Purity blinked back tears. "Now, if you excuse me."
Walking away, the young heroes watched the once-Princess Temperance Dove, now Captain Purity Rivers gaze mournfully into the horizon glancing at her lost love in the stars. The marble ring on her finger glistening.