Thalia was as pale as the moon. The only reason she hadn't up and run right out of the tent was that she was also paralyzed in fear. She didn't need proof that what the blind man had said was true. The haunted echo in his voice was enough to tell her that he spoke the truth. How could someone live in such a horrifying place? Thalia was no stranger to the concept of having to fight for survival. But to live in a world where anything that could move on its own was trying to kill you? The simple notion sent a shiver down her spine. The man had noticed this and gave an all too familiar smirk that Thalia failed to notice. What she did notice, however, was when the man let a low, rumbling sound pass through his lips. Shaken out of her reverie, she then realized the man was chuckling to himself. To Thalia, the sound was melodic, deep, almost beautiful had it not been tainted by the slight tinge of pain that resonated within its tune.
After calming himself, the man looked down on her with a smile and said, "But enough about me. I should not be bothering you with sad stories of myself when they are no longer of any relevance." Thalia, about to protest, shot up from her place on the med-birth only to have her blanket slide from her torso, causing her shirt to rub against her chest. The sensation shot through her like a thousand lightning bolts. Gasping, Thalia fell back as she fought to calm her racing heart and regain control of her own mind.
Within a millionth of a second, two strong, lethal, powerful, gentle, kind, and caring hands pressed themselves, ever so tenderly, against Thalia's shoulders to steady her as she regained her composure. After, finally, catching her breath, she opened her eyes and looked up at the owner of those amazing hands. His eyes may have been glazed over, but she could see the genuine concern and care that flooded them.
"Sssshhhhh, it's alright." the man soothed softly. Thalia found herself unable to move under his gaze. She only continued to look into the man's eyes only to find, not the eyes of a battle hardened warrior that had endured nightmares beyond her imaginings, but of a gentle, caring person whose heart held more love than the world could ever hope to deserve. How could any man ever possess such a heart? She may not have had same beliefs as the rest of the Hunters, but not even Thalia thought it was possible to have a heart so massive. Even Percy didn't as much love in his heart. At least she didn't remember him having that much. Sure, he had a big heart, but even he had limits.
Thalia didn't get any more time to think about this as her senses were, once again, sent skyrocketing. After getting control of herself back, she looked down, as did the man, to find that his hand was resting atop the right side of her chest, just above her breast. Without a single word, the man removed his hand from her chest, revealing that, to her shock, the entire right chest area of her jacket and shirt completely cooked, revealing small amounts of rather pasty colored skin underneath.
How the fuck did I not notice that? Thalia thought to herself as she looked upon her ruined clothes.
"Hmmm," the man began, "it seems that my healing spell didn't have as much of an effect as I thought. I will need to examine it." With that, the man reached up to take hold the zipper of Thalia's coat. On instinct, her left hand shot up and grabbed his own hand by the wrist just as his index finger reached her collar, halting him on the spot. In response the man looked into her eye. Her face was neutral, but her eyes showed the trepidation she was harboring.
"May I?" he inquired softly. She only continued to stare at him. Her grip never loosened as the two looked upon each other.
The man then sighed, "Young one," he said softly, "I have treated women of many ages and even races. I have heeled wounds, examined rape victims, treated the sickly, and helped mothers to deliver their children. I can, and will, promise you that my intentions are purely professional, and that I have no intentions or thoughts, in that manner, towards you. This I swear on the River Styx." As he finished his statement, a loud clap of thunder resounded through the sky signaling the finality of the vow. (A/N: To a degree.)
Thalia wanted to protest, but found herself unable to do so. As she rolled his words in her head, she was both intrigued and relaxed. For one, she knew that to swear on the River Styx was to put your life where your mouth is. However, she was intrigued by his spoken resume as well. The information was jostling her preconceptions of his life. It turned out that he was not only a simple warrior, but skilled healer as well. What other secrets did this man have within his mind?
Slowly, Thalia let go of the man's hand, allowing him to grip the zipper and ease it down her torso. For the man, it was only about three seconds, but for Thalia, it felt as though an hour had passed by. When the zipper was finally undone, the man gently took the coat and slowly eased it open. As he began slipping it off her shoulders, she inhaled deeply as it rubbed against her chest causing her nerves to go on overdrive once more. Once the coat was off her shoulders and halfway down her arms, the man then moved his attention to her shirt which caused Thalia's heart to skip a beat.
Great day to go commando, huh? She thought to herself as her self-consciousness began asserting itself in her mind. The man then gently gripped the hem of her shirt and, slowly, began pushing it up her torso, revealing her smooth stomach. Soon enough her shirt was just short of her breasts. Pausing for a second, the man turned his head to look at Thalia as if asking for further permission. She wordlessly nodded her head after a few moments, and he then lifted the shirt the rest of the way, the friction causing another spasm in Thalia as he laid it to rest on her collar, leaving her breasts completely exposed.
Thalia's chest began to feel tight. Here she was. Her breasts completely exposed with a man, far older than her, gazing upon her uncovered chest with a neutral expression on his face as he carefully examined his patient. Taking a chance, she looked down on herself as well, to see what was causing her discomfort. She wished she hadn't.
Thalia never liked her own breasts. They were rather small, only a B-cup size at most, and were not the most flattering to say the least. Now, she disliked them even less. On the one hand, her left breast remained its perky self, completely untouched, while her right breast was nearly twice as pale as herself and now looked like nothing more than a mound of scar tissue. Which brings up the most striking difference of all. Her right nipple was completely gone.
How the Hades did this happen?
A/N: Well, I'm back on the ball with this story. Sorry for the wait. Anyway just a couple heads-ups.
Updates: thanks to the guest who clarified Thalia's age for me. That had been nagging me for a while now.
Trivia: In the story, I described how the man swore on the River Styx and the stings that are attached to it. Then I added a note saying "To a degree." What did I mean by that? You may have to think hard on this one, so take your time to answer.
Poll: Yes, the poll is still open. And here's how I will be going about it. Until the first girl joins the harem, the poll will operate on a "top 10" basis. This means that the top 10 contenders on the poll will be the ones in the harem. When a girl in the top 10 becomes an official member of the harem, they will be removed from the poll and the poll will then drop to a "top 9" basis, meaning that there are only nine spots remaining to fill. This will become a pattern until all ten slots are filled. Finally, if a character is in the number 1 spot, that does not mean they will be the first to join the harem. Any character in the top 10 is eligible to be the first harem member depending on how it will affect the flow of the story. For example: If the girl in number 10 joining the harem first helps the story flow smoother than the girl in number 1, than that will be the out come in the story.