Chapter 10: A ghost from my past

Here goes chapter 10! I hope you enjoy it. This chapter will be entirely from Rachel's point of view by the way. Oh, and remember that the dialog when people are thinking is in italics. Also, this chapter will be much longer than the last one. Actually, the second longest that I have published so far.

I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Trojan War characters. They belong to Rick Riordan and the epic poet Homer. What I do own is the plotline.

Read, enjoy, and review!

Rachel POV

"Who the heck is Zoë nightshade? I asked myself. Percy had never spoken about that girl in my presence before."

I notice that this Zoë looked surprised that Percy knew her name. Then, I looked at him. Percy looked relief almost… Happy. "What had this 16 year looking teenager done with Percy in the past?" I thought scared of the truth.

A second after my last silent question, Percy ran toward Zoë and… He hugged her.

"Oh Zoë, I am so glad to see you again!" He said smiling.

"What is the meaning of this? I cried in my head. Why did he hug her? Why is he smiling like that? Does he… Love her? I thought terrified. Oh no, you won't take MY Percy away from me!" I swore.

That Zoë blushed slightly after Percy hugged her. "Don't touch me half-blood! She told him while recognizing his race and breaking away. And I don't know you to begin with," she added.

"Oh… Right, Percy said as he placed his right hand on his forehead. We still hadn't met."

"What is that suppose to mean?" She asked him.

Percy remained silent for a few moments.

"Don't tell me that you are going to tell this girl that we are from the future," I thought

"Um, this could be a long story Zoë," Percy said.

"Well, you can fill me up for like 10 minutes since I am suppose to wait for someone in this clearing," she informed.

"Let me guess, Percy said, you are waiting for Artemis the goddess of hunt."

Zoë's eyes widen. "How do you know that?" She asked him.

"Well, the thing is that we will meet in about Three thousand years in the future," Percy told her.

"Hmm, she is from our time too then", I thought. I also paid attention to make myself sure that Percy wasn't reading my mind. I figured out that he was more focused on other things rather than staying in my head, but I used a spell that will hide from him my recent questions.

"You are kidding me right?" Zoe asked not believing what he just said.

"No I'm not," Percy declared.

"All right, if you are from the future then prove it to me," she demanded.

"Fine, Percy answered while taking his ballpoint pen out from his pocket and pressed its bottom. A large sword made of celestial bronze sprung from the pen. Tell me Zoë, do you recognize this blade?" He asked her.

Now Zoë definitely looked surprised.

"You made it, if I recall correctly, just that it was for a hero other than me. It's called Anaklusmos," he added.

Zoe nodded. "You are right about those three facts but where did you get that sword? She asked Percy. Like you said I gave it to… Another hero."

I notice that she was avoiding the name of the hero she made that sword for and so is Percy. "Could there be something wrong about that demigod?" I said in my mind.

"Quiron, the trainer of heroes, gave it to me before I set out to do my first quest, he responded. Two years later, I met you and you told me the story of your past, and the one of this sword included, when we went on a quest together. Also, I suppose that I need to thank you," he acknowledged.

"For what?" She asked without understanding.

"If you had never made this sword, I would never have gotten it, Percy replied. Therefore, I would be dead by now because this sword had saved my life in many times. So, in a way, I owe you my life," he ended.

"WHAT? Percy owes his life to this girl? I asked silently. Blast! I can't compete with that," I thought miserably.

Zoë studied Percy's face for a minute. I get the feeling that she was assimilating what Percy just said. Then, she smiled softly

"Well your welcome, I guess. So you really are from the future then?" She asked us again.

"I swear it on the River Styx," Percy declared.

Zoe gasped and I knew why. If you don't keep your oaths on the River Styx you die. If you are immortal, you go to Tartarus for a while. Definitely, that was the most binding oath you could make.

"I believe you, Zoë said finally. However, can you tell me how you travel back through time?"

"Unfortunately, I made myself an enemy of Kronos the titan of time and he send my girlfriend Rachel and me to the past so that we wouldn't bother him," Percy explained.

"Kronos escaped from Tartarus?" She asked worried.

"In the future he will and, since I am his strongest foe, he sent me to the past so I wouldn't get in his way," he answered.

There was a long silence after Percy said that.

Then Zoë began to examinate me more carefully. "His girlfriend, eh?" She asked me.

"Yes, a problem with it?" I asked her glaring.

"Not at all, she answered. I just thought at first that you were his slave."

I felt a little angry after that. "Is slavery really that common in this time?" I asked myself.

"Besides, she continue, I am a huntress of Artemis the virgin goddess. That means that I can't date anyone."

I felt far more relaxed after that. "She can't date Percy! I thought relieved. Maybe she was only one of his friends after all."

All of a sudden, an iris message showed up but its owner only looked at Zoë so she didn't knew that Percy and I were in the clearing as well.

"Lady Artemis," Zoë said bowing.

"I have been summoned to a meeting at Olympus, she informed her. So, I won't be able to look for you until tomorrow noon. Slay the monster if you can and I will find you tomorrow," she told her huntress.

"Understood," Zoë replied.

"Good bye then," Artemis said, and the goddess of hunt banished.

"You are looking for a monster?" Percy asked her.

"Yes, a hell hound actually, Zoë stated. The beast left the underworld and had been causing troubles to the mortals on the area. That is why lady Artemis send me here: To take him down."

"Very well, I said, I suppose that you should…"

"Watch out!" Percy yelled as he pushed Zoë to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Zoe asked annoyed.

Suddenly we heard a roar and the hell hound showed up. Before any of us could react, the monster bite Zoë's right arm and injured it badly. She screamed in pain.

Then the hell hound directed to the huntress throat… And Percy slashed him with riptide.

The monster disintegrated in the blink of an eye.

The second later, Percy checked Zoë's wound. Even I felt a little sorry for her. The hell hound mutilated her strong arm. Percy, however, took out a water bottled and sprayed his right hand. Then, to my astonishment, he touched Zoë's wound with that hand. An instant later, the water started healing his wound until it disappeared completely.

Zoe's was speechless for a while. Then their eyes locked. She was looking at Percy with more than just gratitude expressed in her face. I was willing to bet that she was feeling mesmerized by what he just did for her and by Percy's beautiful sea-green eyes.

They keep looking at each other for another minute.

"Um, you can stop touching me now," she told Percy.

"Oh right," he said while taking his hand away from Zoë.

"You are a demigod son of Poseidon aren't you?" She asked Percy.

"Yes and my name is Perseus Jackson but you can just call me Percy," he answered.

"Well, thank you so much for healing my arm Percy," she told him with a melting smile.

"Your welcome," he said smiling too.

"Okay this is getting a bit awkward," I thought jealous of that gorgeous smile that the huntress was giving Percy and the way he responded.

"Now that the monster has been eliminating and Artemis won't look for you until tomorrow will you mind coming with us in our search for the wood nymph Oenone? He asked her.

"No I don't mind," Zoë said her look never leaving Percy's eyes.

"Oh, great now this supposed dateless girl is going to come with us," I thought frustrated.

There you have it. Like I promise, Zoe will play a major role in this story from now on. Actually, in case you hadn't notice, I decided that I will put a little competition between Rachel and her since I think that Zoë was a great character in the Titan Curse. But the only way to find out who will win Percy's love is for you to keep reading.

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