CHAPTER TWENTY:
Percy woke up smiling. If Apollo ever smiled as widely as Percy was at that moment, the world may very well be blinded by the shine off his teeth. It was just lucky that Apollo would never smile for the same reason as Percy currently was. Hopefully.
Artemis smiled at him as he emerged from his tent and handed him a plate of fruit and leftover venison from the previous night.
"Good morning, Perseus."
"Percy," Percy corrected groggily while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Artemis laughed. "Percy."
And just like that, the air between them suddenly became charged. Ironic, seeing how Artemis was the daughter of Zeus on this quest that hadn't inherited her father's lightning powers.
But alas, there was something reassuring and emboldening about the cover of secrecy cast over by the darkness of the night that was pitifully lacking in the bright, morning sunlight. Thalia's loud and half-asleep entrance did nothing for the mood either.
"Good morning, all!" Thalia spoke through a yawn while stretching out her limbs.
"Good morning, Thalia."
"Hey Thals. Sleep well?" Percy glanced over at her, giving her a once over. It was impossible for her to get bedhead since her hair was already spiked crazily; it was a mess, much like Percy's had been when he was a demigod. That's not to say his hair wasn't still a mess– he rather liked it that way– but now he just couldn't get bedhead because gods just can't get bedhead.
"Well enough," Thalia said absentmindedly while munching on an apple that she had grabbed from a basket on their small dining table.
"Good," Percy nodded, "We're moving out as soon as we're done eating. We should be two or three hours away from Portland, tops."
Thalia just took another bite of her apple, not deigning to give Percy a verbal response.
/
After making it to downtown Portland, the trio quickly began to follow the Columbia River to where it flowed into the Pacific Ocean.
They soon came upon a small town called Warrenton on the south side of the Columbia and on the coast of the ocean.
Percy pointed across the bay. "Fun fact! That's Cape Disappointment!"
Thalia snickered. "You would know that."
"Hey!" Percy frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
Thalia raised an impassive eyebrow.
"I'm not a disappointment!" Percy protested childishly. "Well, it depends on how you actually define disappointment. What even is a disappointment? Shouldn't the opposite of 'disappointment' be just 'appointment'? Therefore, with the prefix 'dis', disappointment should mean not appointment. And since we're not appointments, everyone is a disappointment."
Artemis snorted at his antics while Thalia just stared at him incredulously.
"Aren't gods not supposed to have ADHD?"
"I think I might be a special case," Percy shrugged, "But wifey always said it was just because I was weird."
At this, Percy gave Artemis a covert wink, something that went unnoticed by Thalia. They had already come to a silent agreement to keep their relationship a secret from everyone until they had figured it out more, despite the fact that Thalia had caught them kissing. Percy knew where he stood with her, but Artemis was a little bit more unsure. There was attraction, definitely, and she admired his character and thought highly of him, but that didn't change the fact that these romantic feelings things were still uncharted waters for her.
"You married a smart woman," Thalia agreed pensively. "Did she rule out the possibility of brain damage?"
Percy laughed. "Yeah, triple checked with Apollo."
"Triple checked?" Thalia raised an eyebrow.
"Once as a check-up, twice as proof to my wife, and thrice because she didn't trust the second one. Or trust Apollo."
Thalia groaned. "You keep talking about your wife, but none of the information you've revealed is useful or helping me narrow it down at all!"
Percy was honestly a little surprised that she hadn't come to the correct conclusion when she had walked in on him and Artemis, but perhaps she had decided that it was all an elaborate joke or that he kissed someone other than his wife. He couldn't really blame her, since Artemis would be the last person anyone would suspect of getting married. Either way, she was too drunk during the first hint to possess the dots to connect.
"That's where you're wrong, Pinecone Face." Percy tapped the side of his nose cheekily. "I've all but told you already, you just didn't notice."
Artemis raised a questioning eyebrow at this.
I thought we were keeping this secret, Perseus.
Well it wasn't on purpose. I was drunk.
You were drunk?!
Hey! In all fairness, Thalia and Zoë were drunk too.
You got my lieutenant and an underage maiden drunk?!
Nothing bad happened! Percy was surprised at how defensive he was able to come across, even while speaking telepathically.
Nothing bad happened?! Artemis screamed mentally. You literally just said that you all but told her!
Not directly!
What happened? Artemis growled audibly.
Percy smiled innocently. Zoë and I had a drunk archery competition. When I won and they were surprised at my skill, I said it was a perk of being married to the greatest archer who ever lived. Zoë called me a fool and said that you were the greatest archer to ever live. And I agreed. See? Indirect.
Artemis blushed heavily at his praise, previous anger all but forgotten. Was this what it was like to have somebody care about you and think the world of you? She didn't mind it too much at all.
Thalia, meanwhile, was looking back and forth between Percy and Artemis suspiciously. While the godly conversation took place faster in their minds than the passage of real time, the silence that spanned several seconds was still unnaturally long. This accompanied by the way Artemis' face suddenly flushed bright gold with ichor was enough to draw Thalia's shrewd attention.
"Uh… when exactly did you tell me, Perce?"
"Now now, that would be telling, wouldn't it Pinecone Face?" Percy said in a mock condescending tone.
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Fine. Don't tell me then. Well, we've reached the Pacific, how are we getting across?"
Percy gazed out over the lapping waves of the ocean that glittered with bright, vibrant hues in the mid-morning sunlight and was dotted with white sea foam as the larger waves crested and crashed down over themselves.
"Shit. We should've kept the Andromeda."
/
"'But what use do we have for a cruise ship', he says," Thalia mocked.
"Shut up, Thals. I'm thinking." Percy narrowed his eyes at the water and reached out with his senses.
Suddenly, he felt something and grinned.
"There it is!"
Artemis looked over at his giddy smile. "There what is, Percy?"
"It's a surprise," Percy stage whispered with childlike excitement.
He reached out with his left hand and formed a fist, as if grabbing onto something that wasn't really there. A large, black shape appeared out of the waves, somewhere far along the horizon. Percy pulled his arm back, dragging the object slowly until it was finally close enough for his companions to make out.
"How is an ancient shipwreck gonna help us?" Thalia asked skeptically.
Artemis, meanwhile, was beginning to catch on and gasped in awe.
"Can you really do that, Perseus?"
Percy glanced over at her and nodded, causing a lull in his concentration. Her beautiful face was a worthwhile distraction, in his humble opinion.
By this point, the eroded and battered skeleton of an old warship had pulled up to the shore, within boarding distance, if only it hadn't been a non-functioning husk. A fact Percy intended to change.
He held his left hand out with his fingers splayed and slightly curled forward and began rotating his wrist counterclockwise as if turning the dial on an invisible safe. Green energy danced along his fingers and between his fingertip and shimmered across the surface of the wreckage.
Slowly but surely, the emaciated frame of the ancient boat had regained its vibrant life as an old Japanese warship that had apparently sunk somewhere in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean.
"All aboard!" Percy called to his companions, who were still gaping in reverence at the tall, stacked sails and numerous rows of oars of the now pristine pre-dreadnought.
He frowned, snapping his fingers in front of their faces. "Hello? Anybody home?"
Thalia and Artemis snapped out of their shock and quickly moved to hop onto the deck of the boat.
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "How do you plan on propelling the boat? In case you haven't noticed, we do not exactly have a crew of rowers."
Percy smirked. "Son of the Sea God, remember? This is a cakewalk for me."
Artemis was honestly a little surprised. "Really? I have never seen a demigod capable of controlling something so large for long periods of time."
"But Percy isn't a demigod anymore, Lady Artemis," Thalia pointed out.
"No, I'm not," Percy agreed, "But my sea powers still are at a demigod level, seeing as how my godly domains are completely unrelated. Being a god does help somewhat with stamina, but that's about it."
"Then…" Artemis trailed off leadingly.
Percy shrugged. "People did always say I was one of Poseidon's stronger demigod children. Plus, I've always had an affinity for redefining the definition of 'possible'."
"Right," Artemis said. "Shall we get going then?"
"Your wish is my command, milady." Percy winked at her. "You ladies just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride."
Percy, standing in the center of the helm of the warship, spread his arms and clenched his fists. The oars creaked as they began to row themselves as the ship glided out of the bay, seeming to be pushed and pulled by the water itself. Which it was. Son of Poseidon and everything.
/
Later that night found Percy and Artemis cuddled up in front of a campfire that Percy had made on the deck of the ship. Artemis had argued that it was a fire hazard, but Percy just pointed out that he could just temporally reverse any damage caused, so she reluctantly gave in.
Artemis was tucked into Percy's side as she rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm protectively around her waist. She had always abhorred human contact, especially from males, but being so close to Percy oddly gave her a feeling of safety and comfort.
They sat side by side, gazing into the fire and occasionally stealing quick glances at each other as they revelled in the proximity that they could enjoy as their third questmate was sawing logs below deck.
Deciding that the other was more interesting than sleeping, both gods had decided that since they technically didn't have to sleep yet, they would rather talk. And so they did, for hours and hours. They talked about everything and nothing. Percy talked about his past– his adventures, his hardships, his happiest memories. Artemis talked about her past too, mostly stories of her family and of the Hunt. Percy had heard most of them already, but he didn't have the heart to tell her that. He liked just listening to her voice, anyway. They talked about their plans for the future, their secret desires and greatest wishes.
"Did we have children, Perseus?"
Percy smiled wistfully. "No, we didn't. You were busy with the Hunt, I was busy with saving kids, and the Hunt were like daughters to the both of us anyway. Besides, we thought we would have all the time in the world to start our own little family, but by the time we realized that maybe we wouldn't, it was already too late."
This got Artemis thinking.
"Percy," she started tentatively, "You say we were thinking of family."
Percy nodded in confirmation.
"But to start a family…" Artemis trailed off shyly.
Percy grinned. "Your vow?"
Artemis nodded, blushing.
"We got around it," Percy cackled.
Artemis stared at him wide-eyed. "… How? How could I break my vow and not suffer the consequences?"
Percy regained his composure and looked deep into Artemis' hopeful, silver eyes. "If you recall, your vow wasn't really a vow so much as a deal."
Artemis nodded in confirmation.
"Do you remember the exact terms of your deal?"
Artemis thought back for a moment. It had been millennia since she had made the bargain with her father. "I… My father would never force me to marry, and as long as I remained a virgin, he would give me a group of immortal handmaidens to accompany me in my hunts."
"Right," Percy nodded, "But nowhere does it state that Zeus would force you not to marry, nor does it specify that you could not have the Hunt even if you did not retain your maidenhood."
Artemis' eyes widened in realization.
"So the solution was simple, really," Percy continued. "We just informed Zeus before our relationship developed into anything potentially vow-breaking, convinced him of my worth, then did things the right way and got married. Zeus agreed to dissolve the agreement and allowed you to keep the Hunt since you were happy, and none of the terms really applied anymore."
"Wow. Then how the Hades are we going to convince my father? The only person that would be more difficult to convince of the value of our relationship would be my brother."
Percy winced. "Apollo… already knows."
"WHAT?!"
/
AN: Well, it's been three straight weeks of daily updates and I'm finally losing steam. Thank you guys for following along so far, but I've decided to take a one week break. I'm having a small operation done tomorrow– nothing big, don't worry, but I can't rightly say what condition I'll be in for the next few days. With that being said, see you next Thursday!