An Idiot's Challenge

In hindsight, I should have just beaten the army of monsters regularly. It would've been an excellent idea, in the face of the consequences showing off did for me. Firstly, my power – this power that I used – could only be used at certain times. In between fights when I used it, I had to…recharge, I guess. I don't know the proper word for it, but like exercising, you never work the same muscle twice in a row. For me, that rule was quite literal.

The second reason – and much more relevant – the campers wouldn't leave me alone. After the fight, I was followed by herds and herds of campers; seriously, they were sheep. No wonder they abandoned me before I died. I forgave them back then, of course, because they were just sheep. They followed the leader. It was a strength, but also a weakness.

In the training arena, I faced my warriors, going easy on them so that they could slowly improve, and my audience watched, entranced. Finally, I'd had enough and left, heading back to my haven – my cabin. No prying eyes could follow me there, but I couldn't hide out forever. I shut myself in with the curtains around my bed, laying on my side with my eyes closed.

Just as the quiet was about to lull me to sleep, the cabin door slammed open and a loud voice broke the silence. Three of the warriors stood, discussing training exercises and battle tactics, but the words all blurred into one as I stood from my bed, threw back the curtains, and left the cabin. They seemed surprised, but I didn't stop to think that maybe I'd stormed passed them a bit too quickly. All I wanted to do was escape, so I ran to the forest.

Deep in the cluster of tall, dark, trees, I found my peace. I sat on a felled tree, one that had been there so long it was half buried in soil and growing a soft carpet of moss across its once stiff bark. My breath came slowly, filling my chest. I could feel every movement of my torso as the air moved in and out of my lungs, bringing much-needed oxygen into my system.

I was so focused that I didn't realise that someone had sat next to me until I felt delicate fingers come to rest on my shoulder. Jumping slightly in shock, my eyes flew open and I turned my body slightly, on edge.

"Sorry for startling you," a gentle voice said.

It was a voice that I recognized well, and even without seeing her auburn hair or beautiful silver eyes in the waning light of the sun above, I knew it was her. Artemis.

"No," my mouth opened without my permission, "It's quite alright."

Artemis' lips stretched into a relieved grin, and I couldn't bring myself to take back my words and tell her to leave. She relaxed next to me on the log, having tensed when I did. Maybe she was expecting an attack. I couldn't blame her; these were difficult times.

"Why are you out here?" I asked, and I felt my eyebrows close together to express my confusion. She was a goddess of the wild, but how could she have found me in all of the dark forest?

"I could ask you the same," she replied, her eyes glinting with amusement.

I sighed, knowing that I'd have to answer if I wanted her to speak. "I just wanted to get away from it all," I found myself admitting. The genuine honesty in my voice surprised me. Why was I opening my heart to her? "After the fight this morning, I guess it felt strange to see everyone gawking wherever I went." I didn't look at her as I spoke, just kept my gaze focused ahead into the shadows of the ever-darkening wood.

"I can understand that," Artemis whispered. Looking at her, I saw that she, to, was looking into the middle distance, as if reminiscing in times long passed.

"How so?"

"Well, being a goddess is always a part of it. I have the hunters, and they are as close as sisters, but sometimes it becomes very clear to me that we are different. I am an outlier, even in the family that I've made, and no matter what I do, I will always be different."

"What about the other Olympians? Surely your immortal family is welcoming. And your brother?"

"Apollo is… well, he's always busy with women. He embodies the very type of man that I hate, and so when he does show up, all he ends up doing is annoying me. The others, too, are different, with their own responsibilities. They don't have time to meet with me. Why would they? I have my hunters, and they think that I have everything that I could want. I'm Zeus' spoiled child, after all. Everything I want from him, anything I've ever wanted, he's given to me. It sounds selfish, I know, but sometimes it seems that the only thing I've ever wanted, I can't have, so I try to fill the void with so many other things, I just end up pushing people away." Artemis let out a breathy chuckle. She turned to me. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I came to find out why you're out here, and now I'm just talking about myself." Closing her eyes, she leaned back a little.

Careful not to overstep my position, I placed an assuring hand on hers. "I don't mind."

She looked at me again, then turned her gaze back out into the distant darkness. "You're a good listener," she said quietly. Then, as an afterthought: "Percy was, too."

I startled and pulled my hand away immediately. Why would she mention me? Well, not me, me, but the past me? I had to stop. She couldn't know my identity, or everything would be ruined! I pulled away, scooting at least a foot over on the log.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," I replied, standing. Turning my face to the sky, for the sole reason so that I wouldn't have to look her in the eye, I said, "We'd better get back. It's almost time for the campfire." Then I began to walk back to camp, toward the amphitheatre.

With a deep groan, I let my head fall into my hands, trying to block out the sound. I kind of wanted to go back to the forest to brood, but we were at the campfire, so I couldn't just sneak out unnoticed, especially, since my blasted warriors forced me to sit with them, right in the front row. The noise, unlike a typical campfire at Camp Half-Blood, where everyone was singing cheerfully or laughing amongst themselves, was instead made by a boisterous argument. The sound was only growing as everyone shouted, yelling over each other to make their words heard, but amidst the garbled mess, no one was heard anyway. It was enough to drive anyone insane, and I could barely stand it!

Finally, I felt like doing something about it. Nothing would be solved this way. Standing, I took a deep breath and let out a loud shout of "QUIET!" At the same time, Haetros howled, making the fire grow exponentially, the blazing red flames spewing high into the night sky.

Everyone froze. The noise stopped.

"There is no reason for you to be debating this. I think we can safely say that the reason the monsters bypassed your oh-so-powerful barrier was because our enemy, Destruction, is much stronger than anyone else you have faced. He was behind the attack, that much is obvious, so we must be prepared, as his forces will easily be able to invade. No offence," I said.

"None taken!" A voice from the hunters called. The voice brought a smile to my face because I could immediately tell that it was Thalia, trying to brighten the mood, despite my bashing of her tree and the barrier she'd unknowingly made to protect the camp.

"This means that you can no longer rely on the barrier to protect you. Therefore, we'll need to set up a patrol along the border. My soldiers will do well to cover the shifts, but some volunteers will be needed from your ranks. Who is willing to volunteer?"

Luckily, quite a few hands shot up. I was mostly able to pick out Ares' and Mars' children, along with several from the other cabins as well. That's good. When I was at camp as Percy, I wouldn't have guessed that anyone would volunteer. It was like pulling teeth, almost. Maybe…just maybe, not only the gods have changed.

My moment of happiness was ruined, yet again. Squashed, by one person, and one person only. Holding back a sigh, I braced myself for him to open his stupid mouth. Yes, it was Damian Parker, and he had something else to say. Apparently, humiliating once wasn't enough, because he was coming back for more.

He sauntered forward and sneered, showing off his crooked teeth. Haetros growled from his position at my side, and I felt a growl of my own begin, which surprised me. I barely held it back and put my concern to the back of my mind, hoping to talk to Tile about it later.

Just when I thought that it couldn't get any worse, Damian opened his mouth and began to speak:

"You can't tell us what to do, I should be! I'm so much better than you anyway, I should be calling the shots! I bet you're just like Jackson; he was a weakling, too, who thought he could just start giving orders."

I tensed, feeling every muscle in my body grow stiff. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end, as if even they were brimming with the deep, raging anger I felt for Damian. I knew that the soldiers must be curious as to what happened when I'd last been at camp, but I couldn't bring myself to tell them. I never had, in all my years in the eternal army. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Damian wasn't going to give me that choice any longer.

Damian just didn't know when to quit. He continued, "He was such a spoiled brat. I can't believe they thought he was a hero. But I changed that. I saw what he had and decided that it was better for me, so I took it." He paused. "Well, I didn't even have to take it; it was all given to me. Only fair, since I'm better than that crybaby. Seriously, he just ran away, then went and died."

That was it. If Damian wanted to keep running his mouth, I was going to do something about it. Looking around, I was surprised to see that everyone else around us looked like they wanted to attack him as well, but I knew that no one could do anything. The gods had sworn to change, and if anyone were to attack their own, it would send them all back so many years of progress. That was okay. I was willing to sacrifice my heart for them to grow. Damian was the problem, and I should be the one to deal with it, not them. Though, it did touch my heart that they still cared enough to look at him with such hate and not bend to his opinions about me.

"But then that doofus had to go all like oh, I'll just defeat some titans and die because I'm a weepy little kid. Maybe that'll ruin their lives! Argh! He destroyed my life! It was perfect and then he took everything from me!" Then, Damian pulled himself together, on the verge of throwing a tantrum. I almost lost it then; how dare he say that? He had no right to complain! I could almost feel steam coming out of my ears.

Then, Damian smirked. "I bet you're just like him. I could beat you in a fight any day. Come on, fight me! When I win, I wanna be made Prince of the Universe!"

I sneered, feeling my face pinch up in disgust. "Why would I agree to that? That deal is so one-sided, and you aren't even worthy to fight me for such a prize. Deflate your ego a little, and maybe I'll consider a duel," I replied swiftly, turning away from him.

That was a mistake.

Just as my eyes left the horrid boy, I heard whistling. No, not someone whistling. Something was coming toward me. On instinct, I spun around, slipping one of my many knives from its sheath and throwing it. The blade split Damian's knife in two cleanly, sending them both to the dirt, still connected.

Turning back toward Damian, I grit my teeth. "Okay, then. If that is the way you want to play, I will duel you. A professional duel. I expect you to follow the ways and traditions of Cofando. After all, a prince must know his own laws and responsibilities," I said mockingly. "Tomorrow morning in the arena, we duel at seven o'clock sharp. Pleasant dreams tonight."

Then, I turned to my warriors, who were to my left. "Choose a pair of campers to patrol with you and take turns tonight and throughout the next few days. We spoke about the positions last night, so I expect you to know your roles." My order was delivered with the same authority as I always had, and I doubted that my warriors could tell the difference, but I definitely heard the tremble in my own voice.

Despite the tremor, my warriors nodded and left, making their way through the crowd as they went and each picking out some of the campers who'd raised their hands before. They were gone without another word.

Once they disappeared into the darkness beyond the campfire's circle, I addressed everyone. "For those of you who wish to witness our duel, I will see you tomorrow at seven o'clock sharp. Trust me, you'll not want to miss this." Though they couldn't see my face, I was sure they could tell I was smirking widely.