Mount Olympus, the night after the Battle of Manhattan, during The Last Olympian.
It was dark, but it was not quite midnight yet. The Hunters were strewn across the floor of Artemis's temple. Some of them had taken out sleeping bags; others had found some pillows and blankets; a few had taken to sleeping simply on the marble floor. Half an hour ago, Demetria had walked around covering those who fell under the last description with blankets. Most of them had managed to fall asleep by now despite everything they had been through that day.
Lucia couldn't sleep. She was sitting in a corner of the temple. Lydia had fallen asleep in a sleeping bag on Lucia's right side and Melissa had done the same with only a pillow on Lucia's left. The three of them had swiftly retreated to the corner when Artemis had decreed it to be time for bed because they had wanted to avoid having to speak with their other sisters. They were too exhausted to face what had happened during the battle.
Lucia was beginning to regret that choice of action: Phoebe and Demetria were sitting together by Thalia and Artemis. They all seemed disinclined to sleep, but at least they weren't alone in that sentiment like Lucia was. She could've chosen to sit perhaps ten feet to the right and she would've been part of their little group.
Artemis was sitting with her back to a wall. Her right elbow was on the low bench beside her and she was using that arm to prop her head up as her silver eyes scanned the Hunters' sleeping forms. Thalia sat in front of the bench, also looking around, but she was slowly beginning to nod off despite the determination in her eyes that made it clear she wanted to stay up with the goddess.
Phoebe and Demetria were a few feet in front of Artemis and the lieutenant. They were hiding their exhaustion better than Thalia was. Phoebe was sharpening her knife and Demetria was watching her, but whenever one of the other girls shifted, they both immediately glanced around to check if everything was alright.
Then, Phoebe yawned. Demetria began to yawn as well, but she quickly managed to stifle it into something more like a sigh.
But it had been enough to attract Artemis's attention.
"It's alright," Artemis whispered. "Sleep."
They hesitated.
"Are you sure?" Phoebe whispered back.
Artemis nodded.
Phoebe sighed and laid down, pulling her blanket onto herself.
After a moment, Demetria reluctantly followed suit.
Artemis looked over at her half-sister. "You, as well, Thalia."
Thalia glanced back at her with a questioning look.
"You are injured," Artemis pointed out. "You need rest."
"I'm fine," Thalia insisted.
Artemis gave her one of those no nonsense looks that could silence anyone, even Zeus.
Thalia tried to respond with a determined look of her own, but Lucia knew Thalia wouldn't last long. Her death glares were indeed impressive. However, they were not what the situation called for.
Artemis raised an eyebrow, wordlessly asking if Thalia was really going to challenge her about something so trivial as this.
"Alright," Thalia grumbled and she, too, laid down, resting her head on a pillow.
Artemis watched her silently. After a moment, she turned her head tiredly, meeting Lucia's eyes.
Lucia instinctively glanced away as most people do when they accidentally make eye contact with someone, but then she met the goddess's eyes again sheepishly.
To Lucia's surprise, Artemis stood and made her way over to Lucia. She held out her hand.
"Would you mind?" Artemis said, inclining her head at the exit.
Lucia took her hand in answer and she was pulled up to her feet. She followed Artemis out of the temple. They walked past a few minor gods' temples and entered Persephone's Olympian Garden. The garden was full of plants that were particularly beautiful at night, in the moonlight. Lucia knew this was one of Artemis's favorite places on the mountain.
"How's your shoulder?" the goddess asked after a while.
"As good as ever," Lucia said. "I forgot it was even injured."
"That is good, I suppose," Artemis replied.
"Yeah."
They quietly entered continued to walk through the garden.
"How are you feeling?" Lucia inquired, trying to be polite.
"I feel... as if I have been raising pigs for slaughter," Artemis admitted.
Lucia wanted to say something comforting, but she didn't know what, especially now that there were gold-tinted tears in the comers of Artemis's eyes.
"It is my fault they died," Artemis murmured, sitting down onto a marble bench. "Seven of you. Seven! All in one day..."
Lucia frowned, remaining standing. It was hardly the goddess's fault...
Lucia and the remaining Hunters were just beyond the borders of Kronos's protection spell around the Empire State Building. Thalia had glanced at them quickly before running into the building with that Jackson kid and the Chase girl. She left them, her sisters, in favor of her old friends. The Hunters were in a loose protective circle around their dead. Lydia had been tasked with bringing the bodies to the Empire State building throughout the battle. They had found a large truck on the street and they had claimed as their own. They decided to put the dead and injured in it. Catherine had, for the most part, remained in the vicinity of the truck after the first Hunter - Lucia thought it had been Rachel, but she wasn't certain - acquired an injury and Catherine quickly patched up the injured as they came. Thanks to Catherine, most of them were still in fighting condition. Phoebe had only had to be called in from the battlefield twice: once to help with Taylor and once to help with Courtney, but unfortunately both had passed away despite Phoebe's expertise in healing.. It had been after their deaths, once they nearly all had reconvened at the truck, that Lydia appeared holding the dead bodies of Victoria and Madison. Then she had disappeared and reappeared with a dying Kelsey and a severely wounded Elaia, who managed to tell them that Victoria had gotten shot out of a tree and that Madison and Kelsey did their best to defend Victoria as Elaia tried to heal her with woodland magic. Phoebe and Catherine did all they could, but... And then Nicole, poor foolish Nicole, tried to use her magic to put life back into them. Lucia tried to stop her - they all did - but Nicole misspoke some spell and then there was an unconscious body to add to the lifeless six. And Thalia left them. But Hades was there. The mortals were awake and in a panic, but Hades was there. The battle was turning in the Olympians' favor quickly and surely. And Lucia was fighting. Lucia, Phoebe, Demetria, Melissa, Isabel, Anne, Catherine, Ellen, Lydia, Allie, Kassandra, Elizabeth, Briana, Samantha, Rachel, Jade, Riley, Brooke, and Rebecca were fighting. They were bleeding in some places and they were broken in others, but they were fighting. Fighting for Olympus. Fighting for Artemis. Fighting for their fallen sisters. Fighting for Zoë. Fighting for each other. Fighting for every Hunter that ever was. "Lucia!" called Rebecca, the newest Hunter, an eleven-year-old daughter of Hephaestus. "What?" Lucia replied as she blocked a blade heading for Elizabeth's back. "Go up to Olympus!" the girl said, ducking below a spear. "You can shadow travel there! Thalia might need help." "She'll be fine. Jackson and Chase will watch her back. The real battle is here." "Something's not right," Catherine disagreed, squinting as if focusing on something distant. "Thalia Lucia glanced at her and blocked an arrow heading right at the daughter of Apollo. Prophecy was one of Catherine's weaker suits; she took more after her father's musical and bubbly side. "Go," Demetria added as she stabbed a dracaena. "Lu, you must. Just in case." "I can't leave you," Lucia protested. Demetria gave her an impatient look that was uncannily similar to Artemis's. "Fine," Lucia said, stabbing another dracaena. She looked around for a suitable shadowy place where she could use her powers. "We have this under control," Melissa added. Lucia forced a smile and nodded. If Melissa - who was usually the most pessimistic of the bunch - was optimistic about something, it meant things were looking really well. Lucia ducked into a nearby dark alleyway. She shadow traveled to Artemis's main temple on Olympus, thinking that Kronos would have most likely headed straight to the throne room. She left the marble building and snuck down the main road that lead to the seats of power, trying to spot Thalia or anyone else, really. Olympus was, however, uncharacteristically empty. She made her way up the winding street cautiously, bow drawn and three arrows loosely nocked. Lucia continued up the road. She reached the pantheon, hearing the unmistakable sounds of the gods's voices coming from inside; they must have just defeated Typhon. Then, she noticed the fallen statue of Hera and the demigod crushed beneath it. "Thalia!" Lucia exclaimed, letting her bow and arrows disappear. Thalia turned her head to look at her. "Lucia! What's going on down there?" "Hades is taking care of it," Lucia replied quickly, falling to her knees beside the lieutenant. "What happened to you?" Thalia snorted. " "I can't pull you out," Lucia said, observing the large statue. "I'm not that strong." "Yeah, I figured," Thalia said drily. "The Olympians ran past here a while ago, but I didn't want to distract them." Lucia frowned. "Lady Artemis would've - " "It's fine. Seriously. Defeating Kronos is more important," she interrupted. Then she squinted down the mountain. "I think the bridge is reforming." Lucia looked back. "Yeah. I'll go see if I can bring back a Cyclops to lift the statue." "Thanks." Lucia stood and summoned her bow back, just in case she would need it. "Wait," Thalia said. "Yeah?" "If you find a Cyclops, just send it here," Thalia said. "Bring the other Hunters up to one of the goddess's temples. I don't want them put into any more danger." Lucia nodded and left.
It hadn't been until much later, of course, that Hades had confirmed Nicole had died and the surviving Hunters were all finally reunited. But, regardless, it was not the goddess's fault.
"It's not your fault," Lucia said. "You weren't there; you couldn't have - "
"Exactly my point: I wasn't there," Artemis interrupted, "but by accepting those girls as my Hunters I gained responsibility for them. I should have been there to protect them. Or better yet, I should not have made them Hunters in the first place. You, Mel, and Sandra were right - I shall tell them this some other time: they looked too content in their dreams for me to wake them now - but you were right to question my decision of allowing those girls to join. They didn't know the risks."
"They knew enough," Lucia said. She had indeed told Artemis it had been a bad idea to let them join, but she sure as Hades was not going to reiterate that opinion now.
"No, they did not. The girls who died today - except for Elaia, of course - knew practically nothing of our world," Artemis disagreed. Her tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks. "Do you remember that night last summer? When Ares paid us a visit?"
Lucia furrowed her brow, but nodded.
"Did you ever figure out what he told me?"
"No," Lucia answered. "I've been busy and you did say you'd tell me someday."
"Indeed. Well, this is that day," Artemis said. "When Ares demanded to speak with me, he told me the Titans were attacking Camp Half-Blood. It was the Battle of the Labyrinth. I am sure you have heard of it."
"I have," Lucia confirmed quietly.
"He said Chiron and the campers would appreciate our help. That they would suffer heavy losses without us," Artemis said. She inhaled deeply before continuing. "And I refused to help."
"That's why you didn't tell Thalia," Lucia remarked.
"Yes."
"She would have wanted to help them. She probably would have even left us and gone there to help by herself."
"I thought so, yes," Artemis agreed. "I had to leave that next morning to hunt with Apollo on Zeus's orders. I did not want to risk leaving the new girls without an established leader."
"I understand that," Lucia said, "but why did you refuse? You must have had a reason other than fear of what Thalia would do. We've always helped in wars when we could. Why was that battle any different?"
Artemis hesitated. "I had foreseen that we would be slaughtered sometime in the near future. Not completely slaughtered, but enough to be tragic. And I did not want to bring that fate upon us. None of you deserve to die. However... I suspect there will be more deaths soon. Unfortunately, seven is not quite the tragedy I had foreseen. But I pray that I am wrong."
"The Titans are beaten, my lady," Lucia said. "We can properly train whoever's left of the new girls. They'll be fine for now."
"There are always remnants of defeated armies," Artemis said, shaking her head. "Whatever is going on is not quite over yet. It does not feel complete."
"We'll be ready for whatever it is you're being paranoid about," Lucia said. "We will."
"Paranoid? I am looking out for your well-being," Artemis replied with some bite to her tone. "You, however, are being startlingly optimistic in light of today's events."
"Sorry, my lady. I didn't mean - " Lucia began. Then she stopped herself, deciding to instead say, "I'm just trying to help."
"I know," Artemis said, wiping at her eyes. "I-I apologize. I'm not angry with you."
Lucia nodded.
Artemis groaned, running a hand through her hair. "I've been trying so hard, but I keep making the same mistakes, I keep falling into the same holes, I keep - I keep reverting to who I was millennia ago."
"You're not reverting," Lucia said.
Artemis did not reply.
"My lady, honestly," Lucia insisted, "you have gained and retained much compassion and wisdom since I met you."
"You think too highly of me," Artemis said. Her self-disgust was evident in the way she shook her head as she spoke.
"I have great respect for you, but I wouldn't say I think too highly of you," Lucia said. "I do not agree with your every action and I believe I have made that sufficiently clear."
Artemis held Lucia's gaze for a few seconds before she replied, "Yes... Quite sufficiently..."
"You are not a bad person."
"Lucia... I haven't been entirely honest with you just yet."
"My lady?"
As Artemis sighed, she seemed to age several years past her usual form. "I swear it was not consciously done... Well, at first it was not. I - I should have resisted, but it was so easy to let them join as... as a buffer of sorts. It was a monstrous thing to do. Of course, I did not - I still do not - wish for anyone to die, but I thought I would prefer that the new girls die rather than those whom I've known for centuries. I had them join to die."
Lucia did not really know how to reply to the goddess's confession. She hesitated awkwardly for several seconds as she tried to process this information. "I - I, um, take it you'll not be telling the others this?"
Artemis looked down guiltily. "Should I?"
Lucia hesitated. She did not approve of what Artemis had done, but that was neither here nor there: Artemis did what she did and now they would have to deal with it. Lucia had to be objective about this. Her sisters had a right to know the cost of their survival. The truth would crush them, though. It would create awkwardness, destroy trust (especially the new girls' trust). Lucia wondered what Zoë would do. This was a difficult situation no matter how one looked at it. Zoë would... Zoë would do what she always did: whatever was best for the Hunters as a group.
"They have a right to know," Lucia said hesitantly.
"I know..."
"But I don't think it'd be best to tell all of them," Lucia said. She bit her lip. "Not yet, at least."
"If I were to tell no one," Artemis began, bringing her eyes back up to meet Lucia's, "would you tell them?"
"You told me this in confidence, my lady - I'll not say a word unless you wish it," Lucia promised, her words falling into a more formal, older, formulaic style of speech in an attempt to hide her disapproval. Then something occurred to her and she hesitated. "Phoebe knows, does she not? You spoke with her after Lord Ares left."
"She knows of the battle and my decision not to participate in it," Artemis said. "No more than that. You will not hold her knowledge against her, will you?"
"No. Of course not, my lady."
"You've become rather formal," Artemis observed, studying Lucia carefully with her silver eyes.
"Yes, my lady," Lucia agreed. "Forgive me if I have said anything offensive to you. My place is to support your decisions."
Artemis held her gaze for a few seconds, but did not reply.
"My lady, I know I have the right to advise you and that you value my opinion," Lucia said. "However, you've already made your decision in these matters, so I must stand by you regardless of what I would have advised. Formality helps me control my tongue."
"So, you are displeased with me, then?" Artemis asked with such a miserable tone that Lucia almost felt bad for expressing her own opinion.
"It matters not."
"That does not answer my question."
"...Very well: yes, I am displeased, but - as I said - it matters not." Lucia glanced around and sighed, trying to force her formal instinct aside. "It doesn't matter. What's done is done. I'll do whatever I can to help you deal with the consequences and we'll move on as we always do."
"...Thank you," the goddess said, sounding a bit bewildered as if she hadn't been expecting Lucia to say anything along those lines. "Have I told you what an amazing friend you are?"
"Not recently."
"Well, you are," Artemis said. She forced a smile for a second, but then her expression became serious again. "I apologize for robbing you of your well-deserved rest. You may return to my temple. I shall remain here a while longer. I must gather my thoughts."
Lucia hesitated. Her instinct was just to do as the goddess wished, but she had not been ordered to leave. She didn't necessarily want to leave. She couldn't just leave Artemis to continue wallowing in her self-disgust.
"Lucia," Artemis said meaningfully when it became clear that Lucia had no intention of following the goddess's implied order immediately as she usually did.
"Are you certain you want me to go?"
Artemis nodded, looking away. "Yes."
Lucia considered challenging her about it further, so she hesitated another few seconds.
"Lu," Artemis said more insistently, making eye contact again.
"You didn't order it," Lucia observed as a little plan began to form in her mind. It was undoubtedly a bit risky, but it seemed more likely to work than not.
"What?"
"You didn't order me to leave."
"...Why can you not just go?" Artemis asked irritably.
"Order it."
"No."
"If you want me to go, then tell me to go."
Artemis stood up sharply. "No."
"In that case, I will remain here."
The goddess glared at her with an intensity she hadn't directed at Lucia in quite a long time.
Lucia swallowed nervously, wondering if her gambit would work. Whether or not it worked, she would still apologize profusely, but she would much prefer it to work so that Artemis would be more likely to forgive her sooner.
For several long seconds, Lucia remained under Artemis's withering gaze until, finally, Artemis turned her back to Lucia, crossing her arms but saying nothing.
"See?" Lucia began gently. "You're not a bad person, my lady. You could've easily taken advantage of my curse, but you didn't."
Artemis made no response.
"I know giving me orders isn't quite the same as...as using those girls as sacrificial pawns of sorts - " It wasn't an ideal analogy, but it was all Lucia could muster in that moment. " - However, it goes to show that you're not a truly awful person. Everyone makes mistakes."
Artemis still did not reply.
"I'm sorry that I pushed you a bit too far with this - my lady, I truly am - but I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think it would be beneficial to you," Lucia said. "I know you well enough to know you're thinking the worst possible things of yourself. You are not a monster."
Artemis sighed. "Will you leave now?" She sounded defeated.
"...Yes, my lady. As you wish," Lucia said, bowing her head even though Artemis still had her back turned. "Sorry, again."
Artemis was silent again.
Lucia hesitated for a moment, but then she obeyed, turning on around and beginning to leave the garden.
"Lucia," Artemis suddenly called.
Lucia looked back over her shoulder at the goddess.
Artemis nodded. She bit her lip. "I hope you sleep well."
Lucia smiled. It was clear Artemis was thanking her, but also that she was still too angry with herself to completely admit that Lucia was right.
Lucia curtsied slightly - something which had fallen out of style even amongst the Hunters at least a century ago - and she left the goddess to her thoughts.