Chapter: 4

This chapter is dedicated in remembrance of Stan Lee, who was just the coolest guy ever. He will not be forgotten.

682 Ab Urbe Condita (72 BC), June

Hispania

Last Chapter

He heard Cassia take in a sharp breath and her eyes widened before he felt the cold steel of a knife kiss the back of his neck

"Get away from her, boy."


Percy swore beneath his breath for not hearing whoever was holding a knife at the base of his skull. He looked at Cassia, who had now shuffled back in surprise, and silently asked how many of them there were. Discretely she held up two fingers and looked as if there was something else, she wanted to convey, but struggled. Perseus wasn't paying attention though as he knew how little time he had to react. The first thing that popped into his mind was that they wanted Cassia for some depraved reason, and that sparked a reaction in his body that even Perseus was surprised to feel.

Acting quickly out of a desire to get Cassia out of there to safety, a low, primal growl emitted from Perseus' throat as he sent his elbow flying backwards into the man's crotch. Percy expected him to recoil and scream when his elbow connected with his assailant but was surprised to only hear a slight grunt. The man did not recoil in pain, but the blow was powerful enough to push them back a step, to which Percy rolled forward out of the knife's reach.

Once again, he was surprised to see his foe recover faster than anyone he had ever seen. He managed to grab his sword that lay on a log only just within reach. All the hairs on his body shot up as he rolled in the dirt to avoid both the man with a knife and an arrow that landed just a few inches away from him.

He managed to pull his Gladius from its maroon sheath and lunged towards the knife wielding man and before he could react a huge gash opened up from hip to knee, blood spilling out and covering Percy's face in blood. It was at least two or three inches deep, a wound that would certainly kill any mortal.

In the time it took for the second man to notch another arrow, Perseus had his sword at the throat of the dying man when for the third time, he was surprised.

Both of the kidnappers who had attacked him were young women. They wore silver clothing, the one who was dying slowly had mousy brown hair in a braid with blue eyes. The one stood fifteen feet in front of him with an arrow aimed at his head had a deep bronze tan with obsidian eyes and hair to match. Her face was angry but, in her eyes, he could see the worry for her comrade who stood in the middle of a very tense standoff.

"Let her go boy or I will put this arrow through your skull." She spat.

"I think I'll pass." Percy said. "Why are you attacking us? We have no gold on us."

"I'm warning you!" She screamed, almost manically, almost.

"No. I'm warning you! Put your weapon down because if not then well, every moment that passes, your friend here is closer to death." The arrow girl knew he was right, but her pride stopped her from doing anything rational. The girl that was bleeding out in his arms however had gone the colour of linen and seemed to be muttering something under her breath. It took Percy a minute to realise she was muttering his name, quieter every time.

"How do you know my name?" Percy asked, suddenly somewhat scared.

The arrow girl seemed to have an epiphany as she dropped the bow in shock.

"Perseus?!" She asked.

"Um, yes." He replied utterly confused, his sword lowering slightly away from the girl's throat.

The arrow girl surged forward and took the injured girl from his arms as Perseus became increasingly confused. She shoved a golden looking cake into her mouth, and to Perseus' surprise (again) she started to regain a little colour. As arrow girl bandaged up her friend without a care in the world about Perseus, Cassia appeared again.

"What was that on about?" She asked.

"I have no idea who they are or what they want." Percy answered.

"I'll explain in a minute boy, be patient." Arrow girl said as she continued to patch up her comrade. Perseus noted how she said 'boy' with less malice this time around.

A few minutes later the four of them sat around the crackling fire, its bright light warding off the darkness from enveloping them. There was a silence that could only be described as intensely awkward as they sat there, every so often the girl who definitely should be dead kept looking at Percy as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how to.

"We're the hunters of Diana." Arrow girl finally said quietly. It suddenly dawned on Perseus that he was extremely lucky to still have something between his legs, the hunters of Diana were renowned for castrating males. "You're quite skilled for a teen. Where did you learn?" She added.

"I had a mentor; his name was Chiron." Arrow-girl's eye seemed surprised to hear this but didn't pry. "Do you have a name arrow-girl?" Percy asked.

She scowled at the name he gave her but answered anyway.

"I'm Zoe Nightshade, I'm the leader of the hunters. This is Aelia. Perseus you don't know this, but we've met before."

"We have? Then why did you try to kill us?" Perseus asked confused. This evening was getting more and more confusing.

"It was when you were young, before your second summer. The hunters were tasked with saving you and your mother during Sulla's proscriptions. Aelia here helped you escape from the city, she was one of your mother's handmaidens, she helped birth you." She said looking into the flames. Perseus quickly turned to the girl he had almost killed only ten minutes ago who was now smiling kindly at him.

"Hello Perseus, you've grown." She said. "You're so tall I almost didn't recognise you." Percy's brain was spinning but he decided that they were telling the truth, as if they were trying to kill him, they would have done it by then.

"If you knew him then why you did you try to kill him?" Cassia asked angrily.

"We thought we saw a man with a young girl who needed help my dear, Perseus you look closer to fifteen than eleven." Aelia answered, she was correct, Perseus looked older than he was in reality, he could pass for a lad four years his elder. Cassia didn't seem happy about being called 'my dear' but seemed satisfied with their excuse. Another awkward silence settled over them.

"What do you do then in the hunters of Diana?" Cassia asked, filling the silence. A small sparkle appeared in Zoe's eye. Maybe this mission hadn't been a shamble.

"We follow our Lady Diana and we explore the world. Milady even gives us the gift of immortality, except in battle of course as you have seen." She said looking over at Percy and Aelia, who were now talking amongst themselves.

"If it's so great why isn't every woman in the hunt?" Cassia asked curiously.

"Not every woman has what it takes to keep up with the hunt, or the humility to follow and serve with our mistress at heart." She said, looking deep into the amber eyes of the girl in front of her. "From what I can tell, you do."

"What! Me? But I'm just the daughter of a baker, why me?" She said shocked.

"You've got a strong will, I can tell that. And you have the urge for adventure. None of the Hunters care if you were a handmaiden or the daughter of a titan, to us status and parentage means nothing. We are all equal as servants of Artem- Lady Diana." Zoe said, Cassia didn't seem to notice her slip up to Zoe's relief. Cassia's response delighted her.

"Can I join then? Would you be able to teach me?" She asked nervously, looking down at her hands. Zoe guided her chin up and forced her to look at her directly.

"You can, but there is one other price you must pay." Zoe knew this was going to be the hardest part. "You must swear to leave the company of men." To this Cassia looked troubled. Could she really leave her father, brothers and most importantly Percy? All for an adventure? Half of her said yes, she could. Percy would understand that an immortal life of adventure and fun was the best she could ever do. He would understand and wish her good luck.

The other half of her said no, she could not betray Percy. They belonged together for all of time and she can't abandon him, even for the one thing she longs for most. This was the side of her she had buried long ago, the side of her that despite the denial, loved Percy. When they were younger, she had always liked him as more than a friend, but he only saw her as just that, a friend. She had cried and prayed to the gods for him to love her back but as always, the gods were silent. Now it seemed the gods had finally answered, by sending the hunters she could get over him once and for all. And yet, still she was troubled. Cassia was so deep in thought she almost missed what Zoe said next.

"Men always betray you, and while some are better it's all the same. Percy is one of the better ones because of his mother no doubt, but nature is nature. The choice for some is harder than others, and I know that can take time. The hunters will be in this area until late august, you have until then to decide. I hope one day I can call you sister." She said holding her hand, before getting up and whistling to gain Aelia's attention.

"It's time." Was all Zoe said. Aelia nodded and got stood up from her log next to Percy.

"Wait but my mother, she'd want to see you again!" He said.

"She understands that I serve Diana now. Goodbye Perseus, I doubt we'll meet again." She said farewell.

"May the gods bless you, Aelia." Percy replied politely. Cassia rolled her eyes, he was always so charming. Aelia laughed.

"They already have."

The two hunters disappeared into the darkness as Percy and Cassia were left to think over what just happened.

(I was thinking about ending it here but nah, I'll be a kind, benevolent writer)


Percy started to notice that Cassia seemed more and more distant as the months went on. June turned to July, and July turned to August. Either way, Percy's feelings were still spiralling out of his grasp and as Cassia seemed to have less time to explore the wilderness on the other side of the hill, he only wanted to meet her more. Yet he stayed quiet and tried his best to suppress his feelings. The big shock came a few days after his birthday in August.


Swearing warning if you don't like that then idk, sorry?

682 Ab Urbe Condita (72 BC), August

Hispania

Percy was tired. His mother never gave him much money to spend because 'he would never spend it properly'. In response to that he would often sneak out and do odd jobs around town for a couple of denarii, sometimes manual labour other times it would be watching young children while their fathers got smashed and made more young children all night.

That night he was working at the bar, the only one in town. It was the day most people had the day off, so it was cramped, loud and the best time to make a bit of coin.

More importantly, one of the Roman Legions was passing through the area. It was being transferred from Hispania to Italia, apparently the senate had decided that the local Hispanians had settled down enough for them to send them to the slave revolt currently undergoing. The merchants had been ranting and raving about it for the past year, Percy was surprised to hear that the slaves had successfully beaten back the romans in battle, mostly by the skill and battle prowess of the leader, an ex-gladiator called Spartacus.

Perseus almost slipped on what he hoped was some beer while carrying two amphorae full of wine and beer to one group of soldiers. They sat in the corner laughing and telling jokes, while completely drunk. He had served them more than half a dozen times throughout the night and into the morning. There were seven of them, out of the seven two seemed to drink less, only a little drunk. The sensible ones most likely, he thought. One of the other ones however had drank so much he was starting to worry for him. If he blacked out it was likely the owner would make Percy carry him out the bar. As Percy filled their drinks to the brim once more, he heard them call out to him as he turned away to serve some other rowdy roman legionnaire.

"Oi! Lad come here!" One of them called. Not wanting any trouble, he turned around and replied in fluent Turduli, hoping they'd get off his back if they couldn't understand him.

"I'm sorry gentlemen but I have other men to serve, please excuse me." He turned around once more before being shocked by what he heard.

"You'd think after three years of fighting in Hispania you'd learn the language, don't you think? You don't have an accent like the rest of them do, it has a slight difference. That combined with your unusual eyes and lighter skin makes me think that you aren't really Hispanian, am I correct?" One of the two less drunk men asked fluently. Hesitantly Percy nodded. He switched back to Latin.

"Come and sit with us, you look like you have a story to tell." The mysterious man asked. Percy found a chair and pulled it up to the table, his curiosity getting the better of him once again. "So, tell us your story child, how did you end up in this harsh landscape if you weren't born here." Despite the fact he was less drunk than his comrades, he still slurred a little. He had dark blond hair and a beard. Out of all of his squad, he looked the oldest and the most experienced. A scar brutally cut from his hairline down his weathered face across his left eye and ended at his cheekbone. He poured a drink for Percy and slid it across the circular table.

Percy proceeded to tell his story, all the while forcing the beer down his throat. They had all laughed when he tried it for the first time and had spit it out immediately. He found that they seemed to think he was older than he actually was, again around the mid-teens. Surprisingly enough he had a lot of fun and by the end of the night he had completely forgotten about his job at the bar.

The experienced leader of the pack was called Aries, who had fought in four different wars and while he had completed the expected service of a soldier, he had decided to stay on in the military.

The most sensible one was called, well in reality he didn't know. His nickname was Secundus as he was second in command. Despite being lieutenant to Aries he was only twenty-one, only proving himself to the pack in the Sertorian war a few weeks ago.

The drunkard's name was Quirinus, which apparently meant Spear in Sabine. He was the only one in the group not from the city of Rome.

He couldn't remember the names of the other four, but had a great time nonetheless. Apparently, that was when Aries decided to spring a big question on him.

"Okay listen, we are only a small group in the Army-" He started.

"No shit." Quirinus mumbled drunkardly.

"And our group like ours is called a Contubernium, we usually have eight men with us, but unfortunately we're a man down. You seem like a strong young lad, and you are technically Roman-"

"Who gives a fuck if you're Roman!" Quirinus shouted, slamming his beer on the table.

"The Army does you thick headed drunk, shut it!" Aries exploded at him, to which he settled down and sulked a bit. Aries sighed. "I've seen you before, earlier today, you had a Gladius at your hip at market, which probably means you know how to use it."

"We want you to join us in the Army." Secundus cut short. Aries continued on.

"It's great way to earn a bit of glory and you get payed for it."

"I don't know guys, I kinda like it here." Percy answered unsurely.

"What's here that's not in a thousand other places you get to visit with us." Secundus told him. Percy blushed and Quirinus barged in once more.

"There's a girl he likes! I'm tellin' yeh, there will be a thousand girls throwing themselves at you once we defeat old Spartacus, I'm gonna drive my fucking spear right through his dirty slave skull." He told him. Still Percy seemed hesitant. Secundus spoke again.

"It seems to me like there's a special girl, eh?" Percy nodded. "Girls love nothing more than a soldier, and it ain't like she's going anywhere." He pointed out.

"Look at it this way," Aries said, "You two will have this lovely goodbye, it'll be heartfelt and sad and everyone who reads the book on Perseus Jackson's life will cry. You become a hero on the battle field everyone will love ya, then you'll ride home on a trusty stead pick her up and get married." Aries told him.

"Then you'll fuck her every night and have eight children and live happily ever after in a villa." Quirinus tells him smiling. If it were possible Percy's face went a deeper red than the colour of the scabbard of his sword. One of the others punched Quirinus right in the face.

"I-I'll think about it. I'm gonna have to think about my mother as wel-Shit! She's gonna kill me!" He swore. Secundus laughed.

"You've spent too much time with us lad, you're swearing like a true man now." Secundus pointed out. Perseus jumped out of his chair before Aries grabbed his wrist.

"We're only gonna be here for two days. So make up your mind quick, did you enjoy tonight?" Percy nodded "Then if you think you'll ever join the Army, join now. Chances are you'll be put with a bunch of pricks if you leave it up to the higher ups, I was, so join where you'll enjoy it." He told him seriously, before releasing his grip on Percy's wrist. The offer circled round in his head as he ran to his horse before spurring it on as fast as it could to get to the farm. His mom was going to be so angry.


Percy flinched as he remembered his mother last night, she was not happy. Despite this he still felt uneasy as his horse trotted along the path into town. Aries offer took up most of his mind, but he decided to forget that for now and go see Cassia. She would help clear his mind.

He still felt uneasy as he jumped down from his horse in front of Cassia's house. The sky was blue, and the sun was out, the heat seamed to be pleasantly hot but not so hot he felt like he was being cooked. As he went into the small house behind the bakery, he could hear the sound of sobbing, forgetting everything he rushed into the house. He was met by the sight of Cassia's mother crying on a stool, with two letters in hand, one unopened.

"What's wrong Mrs S?" He said worriedly, rushing forward to be in front of her. She managed to say something through all the tears.

"She's gone." She passed Percy the unopened letter and Percy unfurled the parchment, he was met by the sight of her neat handwriting Percy's mother had taught her. For some reason, it was written in Turduli and not Latin.

Percy

When we met Zoe and Aelia a few months ago, I couldn't help but be in wonder at the idea of adventure and sisterhood in the hunt. My mind has been torn between staying or going, I could not bare the idea of leaving you. I have liked you as more than a friend since we were children, only now when I am far away can I admit this as I did not want to harm our friendship.

What I have done is best for me and I must choose that over everything else, even you. I am sorry Percy, but I cannot let petty unreturned feelings get in the way of a chance few will ever get. Even now I wonder if I have chosen the right thing to do but it matters not. I will become an immortal maiden in servitude to Lady Diana. I hope you understand, and I will cherish our sweet memories together.

Kind regards.

Cass

He could say that he didn't register it for a second or that he was overwhelmed with grief, but that would be a lie. The moment he opened the letter he felt dizzy and by then end the dizziness was still present, but it had transformed into a silent fury. He stormed out of the bakery and out onto the street, the sky was quickly turning into a deep grey and everyone in the street avoided him when they saw the anger in his eyes. He rode to where the Legion was encamped and found his way to Aries' tent amidst heavy rain.

Aries and Secundus were talking about something but stopped and stood up when they saw him come in. Aries took one look at him and smiled, turning to a servant nearby.

"Get him some armour and a shield. A sword as well." He smirked. "Secundus you'll look after him won't ya?"

"Sure thing Sir." He turned to him. "Welcome to the army lad."


Wow I wrote that a lot faster than I thought I would. Like seriously I usually only write 2k words in a month but I've written 3.7K in like 5 days. I'm just the best that's why :D.

A lot of stuff went down so I'll give you a little rundown:

-At the start we get to see Percy being a badass and where Aelia ended up. Plus a bit of conflict in Cassia's head

-Then we get a bit of an insight of Percy's day to day life where he isn't just hanging out with Cassia

-The a little look at the average soldiers in the army, I'm already looking forward to writing more about the main three soldiers I showed you

-We get a little bit of a comparison between Cassia and Percy, with Percy rejecting the idea of separating from Cassia originally while Cassia agrees to separate

-Percy being an angry dude (Plus a first look at his abilities: weather control)

-The start of soldier Percy and the end of civilian Percy, expect him to be more disciplined and more swearing

I kinda picture Aries to look like Beric Dondarrion from Game of Thrones lol but without the eyepatch

I hope you enjoyed this chapter cuz I worked hard to make sure to get this one out earlier, that being said don't expect these to be so frequent because I just didn't have much homework this week plus soon I have some mock exams so writing will come to a standstill then sorry!

PLEASE REVIEW

PLEASE REVIEW

REVIEW GODSDAMMIT

Thank you for reading

Peace

Xander