"Why would I ever consider surrendering to an enemy as weak as you?" Asked a boy decked out in armor, standing proudly and confidently. A young dracaena stood before him, quivering in her armor. She wielded a trident in one hand and a net in the other.
"B-because I am the daughter of the old champions of the arena!" her voice quaked in fear, yet the titles seemed to give her enough strength to steady her shaking hands. " You stand no chance against me!"
The boy, a pre teen no older than ten, shook his head in disappointment; soon after removing his plastic helmet and wooden swords.
"Come on Zoë, father will never let us leave if we can't even put on a good show for him," the boy reprimanded.
The dracaena grabbed her head below her jaw and pulled up, the costume head popping off and revealing a girl slightly younger than the boy with tearstained eyes.
The boy's eyes quickly widened in surprise as he swept up his younger sister into a comforting hug on the ground.
"Shhh, it's ok Zo. I know you're trying and I'm sure father will realize that also," the boy continued soothing her all the while staring longingly over her shoulder, because there, no more than ten yards away, marked the edge of their garden, their home, their prison.
"But Percy, he won't ever let us go. He hates us!" the girl, Zoë, sobbed out.
The boy, Percy, continued rubbing soothing circles on her back while staring straight ahead at the gate.
It was obvious he was not related fully to the girl in his arms, and he believed his father's immense hatred for him was somehow related to that.
His sister had black hair, along with even darker black eyes. Her skin was tan, that's for sure, but it was nothing in comparison to Percy's. She had a sturdy looking frame that screamed agility and speed.
Percy, on the other hand was a near opposite. His hair was black also, much darker than even her eyes, and his skin was much darker than hers also; giving him the appearance of a man who was naturally tan and then spent every waking moment of his life under than sun. His eyes were a vibrant green, as if some sort of liquid poison had been trapped in them, giving him a menacing look to his enemies, but a comforting one to his family.
His body was strong, yet agile at the same time. Like someone who could lift a weight heavier than most, yet run and move ten times faster than someone his strength should be able to. This gave him prominent muscles, yet they were more tone then bulky.
"Percy, are you thinking about leaving again?" Zoë inquired innocently. Percy, broken out of his train of thought, looked down at his sister with a smile.
"Why would I want to be anywhere but here," he stopped there and gestured widely to the beautiful garden they were in, "Everything here is beautiful, the grass is the greenest, the fruits more juicy than any others, the sheep so tender Zeus himself gathers them for his feasts," he paused and looked down at her skeptical face, "but best of all, I've got you."
Zoë beamed brightly at her brother while wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.
"Can we leave right now?" Zoë begged earnestly. Percy's mouth opened in shock as he glanced cautiously up at the mountain, only to see an ominous cloud blocking their father from watching, and also listening to them. "Mom agreed to help us escape if you promised to Iris message her later. She said she had something to talk to you about."
Percy looked eagerly at the gate, and then back at the quickly moving cloud. He knew they had to move immediately if they wanted to get away before their father could stop them. Yes, he was trapped under the sky, but he could simply alert their older and more combat experienced siblings and any attempt they had to leave would be lost.
"Well what are we waiting for, little moon, let's go." Percy said enthusiastically. Zoë rolled her eyes at the unwarranted use of the nickname before being flipped onto her brothers back, causing her to give out a joyous laugh as Percy ran quickly from the prison that once held them, and from the only home they had ever known.
-Black Trident-
The next few years awoke a harsh reality for the teens. The world was not as their mother often made it out to be in her rare visits, it was a cold, unforgiving place where the tiniest of mistakes could cost you everything you've worked so hard to get.
That left Percy and Zoë, the former being almost sixteen while the latter was merely twelve, with nothing but clothes provided by fellow homeless people and their two weapons. The only reason they still had those was because they were enchanted to always return to them.
Zoë's was a pair of silver bracelets that, when willed to, turn into two imposing Olympian Silver daggers that were perfectly balanced and just the right size to wield with both speed and strength when necessary.
Percy's was a Stygian Iron sword in the form of a pen, long enough to be wielded with either one or two hands depending on the amount of speed and strength required. He had no idea when or how he got it, but he and his sister both agreed she was not to touch it, for the eerie feeling it gave off had sent even Cyclops fleeing the two demititans.
Percy also noted that the strange silver hue around the black blade appeared to grow brighter and larger after absorbing some of each monster he killed.
"Run brethren! It's the Twin Titans," a Cyclops screamed trying to save his brethren from the famous duo known throughout most of the Americas by know, even recently coming to the attention of the Olympians, who Percy and his sister had been desperately trying to avoid.
"Are we really that scary Zoë? All I wanted was a hug," Percy said with an exaggerated frown on his face.
Zoë just rolled her eyes at his antics while jumping up and slicing the Cyclops throat, killing it instantly.
"When the strongest foe they normally face is a little kid that doesn't even know what a sword is, then I'd say yes, compared to them we are quite the scare," Zoë explained calmly and reasonably, causing Percy to mimic her voice while jumping up and grabbing a Cyclops by the neck, killing it with a fatal twist.
"You're such a party pooper Zoë, I swear one day you're going to have to lighten up. Perhaps when that special someone comes along?" Percy finished the last part with a little wiggle of his eyebrows, followed quickly by a glare from Zoë.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I- don't- want- to- date- ANYONE!" With each word Zoë spoke, she slashed harder and harder at the Cyclops's wooden club until it was nothing but a stub, and when it turned to flee she threw one of her weapons at it, hitting it directly in the back of the head.
"Sheesh, someone should've taught him to not bring a club to a knife fight," a wide-eyed Percy joked. Zoë simply ground her teeth to keep from snapping at him. Ever since that one boy…
"Halt! I do not wish to use force but I will if necessary!" A strange voice resonated through the forest, causing Percy and Zoë to look at each other before simultaneously dropping their weapons onto the ground.
"Good, now slowly turn around," the strange voice continued.
Percy saw the goddess before him and immediately lowered his guard in shock. She was stunning, with long auburn hair that went to the small of her back in a single braid, decently tan skin as if she was normally pale but spent all of her time outside, eyes the color of the moon, as if someone had taken a piece of the moon and placed it in her eyes. Needless to say, Percy knew who it was.
"Artemis, we meet again."