Summary: The hunt had just completed a particularly tricky hunt against the infamous Calydonian Boar, so were stopping in at Camp Half-blood to rest up, and of course further their winning streak in Capture the Flag of course. 19 year old Percy was stopping in order to catch up with his cousin and the hunt. Little did anyone know how a simple spar between our favourite lunar goddess and the son of the sea can have so many consequences?
Pertemis one-shot.
This is an idea for a one shot I've had for a while which I've finally decided to do. So yeah, here it is: An unusual proposal.
Third Person POV
"Pinecone face, long time no see!" Bellowed the son of the sea from the porch of the big house as he saw the group of silver maidens approach. This scared the living daylights out of the satyr sitting next to him, causing the satyr to yelp in surprise spilling his drink of Mr D who was also playing with them. The wine god glared at the poor satyr, who promptly fled the big house, before cleaning his leopard print shirt with a click of his fingers.
"Kelp head, good to see you!" The lieutenant of the hunt yelled back with equal enthusiasm, climbing up the steps to greet her cousin. The centaur beside them rolled his eyes affectionately at his two former pupils, chuckling slightly at their mock fighting they had immediately begun. The hunt, Artemis included, just smirked at the twos antics while invading the porch area pushing the table and chairs out of the way to make room for them all. To them it just looked like siblings squabbling, which it basically was, all knowing Percy was an alright man from both wars and the numerous run ins they had over the consequent years.
Deciding to put an end to the childish banter between the two most powerful demigods of the century in order to actually get something done, Artemis stepped forward in her 20 year old form. On one of their previous encounters the goddess had remained in her younger 12 year old form which resulted in a awkward conversation of Percy trying to keep serious while looking down on what appeared to be an annoyed preteen, who had to keep looking up at the 6,3 demigod to avoid staring at his stomach. None of this was helped by the group of hunters giggling uncontrollably at them from the sides. Now, Artemis always remained in her 20 year old form to be nearer his height (even though she was a head shorter still) as well as be nearer his age. "Now as fun as it is seeing you two squabble the hunt needs to go and get ready for this afternoon's game, got to keep up our seventy-four win streak from being broken."
The reaction was instantaneous, both children of the big three whipped their heads round with identical smirks on their faces, causing Chiron to shiver knowing this meant trouble. "Yeah Kelp head, can't wait to beat your ass in capture the flag again. Hope you like the taste of lightning!" The hunters chuckled evilly at this, sadistic feminists.
"We as much as I would like to drench you in river water again Pinecone face, I've been banned." Percy retorted glaring at the centaur beside him while the hunters laughed at Thalia's expense, "Something about sending a camper to the infirmary as a lesson being against the rules."
"You can't just go round injuring campers young Perseus." The centaur replied evenly.
"Minotaur shit, you and me both know that prick deserved it and worse!" The son of the sea growled back clearly annoyed at previous events. This caused the hunters and their mistress to raise an eyebrow, it was not often Percy would resort to violence but when he did it usually was deserved.
"And why is that Percy?" Artemis asked, intrigued by what caused the usually chilled hero to violence.
"Let's just say, he made some rather unsavoury comments about victims' of rape and child abuse." This particular passage received a unanimous response in the form of animalistic growl from the hunters, many of which had suffered from numerous incidents of the above.
"Is what he says true, Chiron?" Artemis inquired in an icy tone usually used on her prey, which the centaur may soon find himself at this rate. Her eyes were almost burning with hatred for the boy she had never met, and unfortunately for the half horse, were trained on him. The son of Kronos squirmed under the intense gaze of the deadly huntress before he managed to mumble out an excuse while trying to remain both dignified and fertile.
"Well he is a camper, and no matter what he did or didn't say you can't break them to the extent young Perseus did." This made the hunters smirk sadistically at the thought of what the bane of monsters could do to someone when he really wanted to.
"It wasn't too bad, he was still breathing." Percy retorted leaning casually against the doorway to the big house, bringing out riptide in pen form to spin while they discussed whether or not the son of Heracles deserved a trip to Will.
"He had three broken ribs, a snapped tibia, a dislocated shoulder and severe internal bruising! What do you mean it's not that bad?!" Chiron basically yelled in frustration at the stubborn son of the sea, who merely raised an eyebrow before calmly responding.
"And a shattered pelvis. I know, I gave him them." The hunters' heads snapped back and forth between the pair enthralled by the idea of male mutilation. Deciding to try to resolve the argument, even though she didn't understand what Chiron's point was, the boy deserved it, Artemis stepped in.
"Well it is obvious that the boy got what he deserved, so why don't we just let it slide?" The goddess said evenly having calmed down slightly from her earlier rage after hearing the punishment the stupid boy got.
Knowing he wasn't going to win this, the centaur huffed. "Perseus may not enter this round of capture the flag, that is final! Now if you will excuse me I have got to restock the infirmary for the match." Before galloping off.
"Whatever, there's always next time." Percy said with a shrug, only slightly pissed he couldn't partake in his favourite game. Seeing this the lunar goddess approached the demigod with the hunters moving to surround them.
"Well I think you dealt with that boy exceptionally well Percy." Artemis commented, smiling at her favourite male demigod. The rest of the hunt nodded along with their mistress, thoroughly agreeing with the punishment given. "Though I must say you forgot the most important part, castration."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure he's infertile after he received a magnitude 5.0 earthquake to where Apollo don't shine." Percy replied smirking at the shorter Olympian in front of him. Artemis raised her eyebrows at this impression at the unorthodox method of sterilisation. But hey, it worked who was she to complain. "Thank gods for steel toecaps."
Following this was a chorus of sinister chuckles, emitted from the hunt, deterring any camper within 100 metres of them well away. None wanting to find out what they were joking about.
"Well Kelp head, what are you going to do now that we can't beat your ass?" The lieutenant asked, knowing victory would be a lot easier without having to deal with the Saviour of Olympus.
"Well Thunder thighs, I'll probably just hit the dummies or take a dip while you kick camp's ass again. Wait, have you ever actually lost a match?" The son of Poseidon asked, genuinely curious.
"No, we have not," The goddess of the hunt announced with pride. Pausing for a moment before continuing, "And if you would like, Percy, we could have a spar to pass the time?"
This caught the elder hunters attention, it was not often anyone would get to spar with the Artemis. Mainly because she could kick anyone's ass within 30 seconds of the start of the fight, but that's irrelevant. Slightly shocked at the offer Percy gave a genuine smile as he replied. " If you're up to it, that would be great. This may be the first good fight I've had in months."
"Don't get your hopes up Jackson, you may be a skilled demigod but just remember I can kick Atlas's ass when weakened. It was a full moon last night, remember that."
"That was 5 years ago, I think I'll give you a run for your money." The demigod replied with a lopsided smirk as he got up from leaning on the doorway. This surprised the hunt, expecting him to show some sign of fear not confidence. The Hero of Olympus just ignored the hunters instead choosing to walk towards the arena."Shall we then?"
"Indeed we shall." The goddess replied, following the demigod calmly leaving a slightly confused hunt.
Snapping out of her stupor Thalia remembered why the entire scene had happened anyway and with a cruel smile yelled, "Let's go show those campers the reason the hunters are the best!"
Ω
"So you really believe you stand a chance Coral head?" Artemis asked, genuinely curious at what the boy believed.
"Sure I'll give it a go, probably won't win, but you never know Bambi." Percy replied light heartedly bumping his shoulder into the lunar goddess as they entered the arena. The goddess merely rolled her eyes at her friend.
To an outsider it would be an odd sight seeing the maiden goddess joking around with the hero of Olympus, but then again most people didn't know how they were friends. After the whole Atlas incident Percy had many encounters with the hunt, earning him enough trust to lead them against Kronos in the battle of Manhattan. Since then they grew closer as they saw each other whenever the hunt stopped by at camp or they ran into one another while Percy was on a quest, sometimes literally.
As the two entered the arena silence encompassed the place before it was abruptly broken by the pound of feet was heard as the occupants scrambled out of the arena. Artemis turned and raised an eyebrow at Percy who simply shrugged not knowing what happened to them. In truth they were terrified from earlier events, having seen what the bane of monsters did to poor Karl this morning, and well Artemis just added to that. Not to mention it was time for capture the flag
"Well that was unexpected, yet useful." The demigod stated bluntly as he surveyed the arena's condition. All it was was a large circular pit in the ground with plain stone walls covered with indentations and cuts from the thousands of fights it had seen over the years. Along the edges were an assortment of wooden racks covered in every weapon, armour, training dummies and wooden barriers which could be used to make an obstacle course. The centre had been cleared for a lesson with a couple of water bottles having been forgotten in the rushed exit along with a few odd pieces of fruit round edge.
"So how do you want to do this, Perseus? All out or skills only, or do I need to tie my hands behind my back to give you a chance?" The goddess taunted as she summoned in her silver recurve bow along with a quiver and a couple of hunting knives to her belt.
"Why not skills only, mi'lady? We don't want you getting washed away too quickly do we?" The demigod retorted uncapping riptide and activating the shield his brother had given him. The shield had been reinforced with imperial gold over the years so it would take a bit more than a few manticore spikes to dent it. He also had a knife stored on the back of his belt just in case.
"Whatever makes you sleep at night." Was all that the huntress responded with as she got into position. The son of the sea did the same on the opposite side as they both began circling one another, each analysing the other for a single sight of weakness in their defence. In the distance the conch horn sounded giving the unofficial signal to begin.
Immediately the demigod began to rush the archer, shield raised and without his heavy armor to slow progress, he got halfway before being stopped by an onslaught of arrows ricocheting off the shield into the arena around him. The demigod had planned to rush the goddess to disable her bow before it became of any use knowing he would be trapped if he didn't. Proving his theory, the goddess stood strong firing off arrows faster than a machine gun with no sign of running out of arrows from her limitless quiver, unfazed by the repetitive strain of loading the bow due to her divine status as one of the twin archers.
The goddess frowned seeing her barrage was useless against the shield as the demigod had taken to kneeling down in order to be completely covered by the shield, which was now plastered with scratches from the deflection of godly arrows but was still able to hold strong. Smirking, the goddess continued the shower of silver while creeping towards the fortified position of the demigod slowly gaining speed until she was sprinting towards the kneeling demigod firing the occasional arrow in hope of breaking the defence. However the demigod's defence held true, bronze shiny in defiance.
Risking a glance above the safety of his shield, Percy saw the rapidly approaching goddess and immediately saw the opportunity he had been waiting for. Tilting his shield slightly to the right the demigod managed to reflect the glaring midafternoon sun straight into the goddesses eyes momentarily blinding her before she tilted her head out of the way. However that was all he needed as Percy launched himself forwards bringing his shield in an upward arc towards the unprepared goddess.
Caught off guard by the unorthodox move, all Artemis had time to do was drop her bow and brace as her momentum sent her barreling into the shield. As expected the demigod's stance was strong and the goddess was inevitably flung across the arena, getting some good airtime while doing so. During this brief period the huntress simultaneously repositioned herself so she would land on her feet like a cat while unsheathing her knives so when she landed she was already for any incoming attacks. Although unlike the goddess Percy wasn't taking any unnecessary risks knowing how outmatched he was in terms of skill. He knew that while Ares probably didn't actually train so was easy to defeat and when he fought Hades he had the curse of Achilles so was basically undefeatable now he was fighting a true warrior. The goddess before him had trained continuously throughout her thousands of years of existence so he knew he was way out of his depth. So when he got the opportunity to, as the goddess reorientated herself midair, Percy quickly sliced through the bow sting to disable the weapon from later use. Even though the goddess could easily summon another in, good sportsmanship would dictate that unfair.
Focusing back on the battle the two circled each other eyeing one another for any weaknesses in the others defence. While doing this Artemis took the time to pop her jaw back into place after having been dislocated from being thrown across the arena. "Nice hit reef skull, might actually have to pay attention to put you in your place, boy." Artemis commented wincing slightly as she regained movement in her jaw.
"Why were you distracted by something you liked before, girl?" Percy teased back, secretly quite proud to actually challenge the goddess even slightly.
As expected this riled the goddess up, though unexpectedly she gained a slightly animalistic smirk before launching herself like a panther at the seasoned demigod. Anticipating this sort of reaction the demigod had already begun raising his shield to catch the incoming blow. Unfortunately, the demigod had not accounted for the godly strength behind the blow causing the half-blood to fall to one knee and grit his teeth under the force strike. Two fresh scratch marks now lay on the bare bronze surface, the arm underneath would surely feel the attack in the coming morning.
However Percy had no time to recover as the goddess of the hunt had began a deadly barrage of rapid slashes forcing the son of the sea to retreat while parrying or deflecting the strikes away. After quickly regaining his balance the demigod growled behind his shield before using his superior body mass to shove the shield through the incoming slash from the goddess, connecting with her body and causing her to stumble backwards before she was forced to retreat under Percy's incoming flurry of attacks. While these were not as fast as the goddess's they were just as precise with far more power behind which meant the goddess could only parry or evade in fear of being disarmed due to the sheer power of the stroke.
And so the duel continued with Artemis holding the superior speed and skills, light on her feet easily weeping around Percy's strikes trying to breach his superior defence. Though for what the demigod lakes in speed he made up for in the advantage of range and power given by the sword over the knives, coupled with the protection of the shield the pair found themselves at a standstill both masters of the blade, neither willing to give in. Like the tides and moon regularly going back and forth the two continued to fight neither gaining a major injury on the other as they took turns trying to break one another's defence. This was not to say they got off without injury, no both were worse for wear. The demigod had a slight trickle of blood flowing from the edge of his mouth due to a cross the huntress had disguised as a slash, as well as having the complete left side of his body go numb from the repetitive hits of the knives and overused shoulder barge. Artemis however was bleeding profusely from her right thigh due to a particularly nasty slash she received from riptide, as well as a broken nose received courtesy of one of the many shoulder barges from that damn shield. Both however were also littered with smaller surface cuts and bruises causing their clothing to be no more than rags of their previous outfits.
Although like all good things they must come to an end. Inevitably the son of the sea began to tire simply unable to compete with Artemis's godly stamina meaning when receiving a particularly heavy blow from the goddess he didn't quite tilt the shield to the correct angle for a deflection. Seeing this the Olympian smirked sinisterly as she put all of her godly strength behind the incoming blow, turning it from a quick downward slash into a heavy stab.
A deafening crunch could be heard as the structural integrity of the shield gave in under the force of the knife, allowing the blade to pass through the metal and a good inch into the flesh below. Crying out in pain, the demigod made a desperate slash downwards with riptide in order to deter the huntress. Unfortunately for the son of the sea however the huntress was still holding her knife as she ripped it out trying to retain her blade. This didn't go entirely to plan however for either party. The knife, firmly lodged in the metal of the shield, escaped the goddess's grasp who had not expected resistance, causing her to lose balance and fall onto her already injured leg, spraining the ankle in the process. The demigod however was far worse off, the attempted retrieval of the hunting knife had not only left him with a nasty gash in the bicep but also the force behind the tug was enough to trip his arm from his shoulder leaving it dislocated, hanging loosely from his side, shield slipping from his grasp clanging against the arena floor as it leaves the heroes side. Both fighters simultaneously release a cry of agony receiving their injuries.
Stepping back from the downed goddess Percy took a few moments to get over the shock and once again assess the damage. Realising what needed to be done Percy gripped his shoulder, steeling his nerves for what was to come. With a sickening pop the demigod gritted his teeth as he jerked his appendage back into its correct position before returning his attention to the goddess, who had used the time to draw her auxiliary while regaining her footing, though having to hobble quite a bit.
"Ready to give in yet Perseus? We wouldn't want you to get hurt would we?" Artemis teased, with an ear splitting grin on her face obviously enjoying herself despite the injuries she had received due to the duel. With an identical grin Percy retorted sarcastically.
"Tis but a scratch,"
Both warriors looked slightly crazed, grinning maniacally, blood oozing out of the many injuries they had both received, cackling at each other's appearance. Readying themselves once more, the huntress and the hero slowly circled, barely a metre between them, ready to fight till their last.
His ADHD getting the better of him, Perseus lurched forward bringing down a powerful strike which required both knives to block. Grunting slightly at the shock it sent through her body, disturbing her injured leg, the goddess's defence held true before she managed to push the larger sword off and restart her assault and thus their deadly dance continued.
However this time it did not last so long. Even with the advantages of power, range and speed, inevitably the demigod began to tire and while his strikes were still fluid they lacked enough force to be considered to be considered a threat to the goddess of the hunt. Seeing her opponents fatigue Artemis took the opportunity to execute one of her favourite tricks, taking Percy's incoming stab by maneuvering to the side while simultaneously running her blades along both sides of the blade before quickly jerking the blades in opposite directions. This resulted in Riptide being brutally yanked from the shocked demigods hand, clearly not expecting the complex maneuver, leaving him weaponless as his sword clanged down on the arena floor a few metres away. Of course it would return to his pockets momentarily but just as Artemis couldn't summon another bow he would now have to fight without his trusty sword.
"You did much better than I anticipated young Perseus, but alas not good enough, hmm." The goddess teased while casually pointing a knife towards the demigod, clearly expecting him to yield due to the lack of weaponry and exhaustion. However, Percy merely gave a lopsided smirk to the goddess as he retained his crouched stance.
"While I thank you for your compliments Milady,but you know what they say, 'It's not all over-" The hero began before leaping into the air with an extraordinary amount of grace for a supposedly fatigued demigod, "-till the fat lady sings." The hero finished while performing a perfectly executed tornado kick. For Artemis the world seemed to freeze as she could only watch as the hero's boot stuck her outstretched hand causing the blade in it to fly across the arena before sticking hilt deep into an unsuspecting dummies heart. Being so distracted by the first kick she failed to notice the far more dangerous incoming second boot which connected with her square in the chest, sending her flying once again across the room with her breath knocked out of her.
The demigod landed nimbly on the balls of his feet crouched and ready for another attack, while Artemis crashed to the ground like a rag doll skidding slightly before coming to a halt a couple of metres away. However, unlike what the demigod had expected, the goddess did not rise again instead favouring her prone position on the floor. Instantly suspicious of what the goddess had planned, knowing full well that the kick was not what had caused the famed huntress to stop, Percy gradually inched forward ready to draw the auxiliary knife, which was still in the back of his belt, at a moment's notice.
Faking injury, Artemis took her time to analyse her options knowing that her opponent would fight until he falls to exhaustion before giving in easily, and that according to his previous display of grace was quite some way off yet. Noticing she had landed in a pile of fruit from the earlier class, Well if that's how you want to play this, Perseus... Artemis though as she silently wrapped her fingers round a nearby apple, knowing that her body would hide the action from the approaching demigod. She had also seen a bottle of water which she could have grabbed but figured it would be counter productive to use that in the spar.
Waiting until he was only a couple of feet away, Artemis suddenly flung the apple towards Percy which he instinctively caught thinking it was a weapon of some kind. However, while he took a moment to examine the fruit the son of the Sea momentarily let his guard down. Ceasing her opportunity Artemis leapt up from her prone position, tackling the distracted demigod to the floor. The lunar goddess smirked upon hearing the gasp of surprise emitted from the hero as he realised too late what was happening.
The instant the pair hit the ground Artemis used her spare hand to pin Percy's good hand to the floor, even though it was still numb from the kick. Her hips straddled his locking them in place preventing any movement. Unfortunately, due to this the huntress found that her chest was pressed right up against the hero's in order to pin both arm and legs. Percy groaned under the goddess due to the sudden impact on the ground jolting his many injuries in a less than comfortable way, not to mention the fact he also had a goddess on him. Artemis smirked down at the demigod below her bringing her knife to rest on top of his throat, once again signalling that he should yield to her. Unable to resist the urge to tease the boy beneath her she retorted, "Nice kick Coral breath, didn't see that one coming. Though you should really know by now that you're not the only one with tricks up their sleeves, it might help you avoid getting into positions like this. Hmm?"
"Touché, though I never took you for a trickster, Bambi. But to be honest I'm not particularly complaining about the positioning." Percy responded in a teasing tone, casually flirting with the deity currently residing on his chest. The desired effect occurred as planned though as the goddess flared up in a luminous golden blush, looking away to try and hide it. Seizing his opening, Percy slammed his knee into the goddesses wounded thigh causing her to gasp from the sudden acute pain while the son of the sea once again used her distracted state to his advantage as he broke free from her grasp and quickly shoved the goddess off using his injured arm to quickly whip out his knife from its sheath at last, albeit with a great deal of pain.
However the huntress wasn't so easily escaped from. Using her good leg, Artemis kicked out the recovering demigods legs causing him to fall back to the ground with an unceremonious thump. She then once again lurched forward in hopes of pinning the slippery demigod properly this time.
Unfortunately, the demigod was expecting this. Rolling towards the leaping goddess he passed clean under the huntress causing her to crash into the stone floor. Before she had the goddess had time to recover the demigod jumped on top of her, grappling to get a pin on the famed huntress. With his legs straddling the goddess's thighs in order to keep them in place Percy had to lean right over the goddess in order to use his good hand to pin Artemis's unarmed hand above her head while he used his injured one to rest his blade at the goddess's neck.
"Well as fun as this was, Doe face, like all good things it must come to an end. Don't you agree?" The hero commented with a smirk, obviously expecting the goddess to yield. However, the huntress was not quite done. Smiling sweetly up at the man above her she locked eyes with him as she tapped the back of his neck with her last knife, which she had managed to sneak around Percy's guard, signalling a fatal blow withdrawn.
"Alas, it must. You did well, for a boy." Artemis replied jokingly, though it was clear she was impressed with his handy work despite her joke. Smiling down at her Percy chuckled at her antics clearly unfazed by the potentially fatal position he was currently in. "Draw?"
"Yeah I think that's about right." He commented casually, despite being unable to move from the knife sticking into the back of his neck. A comfortable silence settled over them as they lay on the ground together, knives still pointed at each other though neither particularly minded if they were being perfectly honest. The world seemed to fade into nothing as the two lay on the cool area floor, unsure of what to do next as they stared into one another's eyes.
Fortunately, however, that problem was soon dealt with as the slow sound of applause broke them out of their daze causing their heads to snap toward the origin of the noise, clearly unaware that there had been spectators present. In truth though, the capture the flag game had ended over an hour ago with camp receiving yet another gruelling defeat to the superior skill of the hunters, despite camp numbers being at an all time high this summer. After the match had finished and the apollo cabin had finished patching up the numerous injuries that the campers had suffered everyone decided to check on how their respective leaders were doing, though no one had expected to see, however, the saviour of Olympus leaning over the maiden goddess in an arena covered with blood both red and gold in what would have been considered a lover like position only if not for the deadly weapons at each others necks.
"Most impressive work, my boy. I don't think I have ever in all my years as a trainer of heroes seen Lady Artemis fought to a stand still." Chiron announced smiling proudly at the son of Poseidon, slowly clapping as he trotted towards the pair. Seeing the crowd that had gathered Percy figured it might be a good idea to remove himself from on top of the huntress, rolling to the side and onto his feet. Offering a hand out to the downed goddess with his signature smirk. The goddess merely smirked back in response before performing a kick up, landing gracefully on her good foot perfectly balanced. "Though you might need to stitch that little scratch up yourself, I don't think Will is in the best of moods with you after what you did to Herold earlier." The centaur commented casually as he picked up the broken shield in passing before stopping in front of the duo.
The demigod merely shrugged in response as he summoned all the water from the numerous bottles scattered around the edge of the arena to him, instantly cleaning away all traces of blood from his body though it did nothing to the stains his shredded cloths held. The other advantage was as the water was absorbed into his body the numerous cuts he received stopped bleeding and thinned down to nothing more than thin red lines accompanying the far more numerous white ones which littered his body. However, it did little more than stem the bleeding and numb the pain in his left arm which still had a deep slash in it running from the top of his shoulder down through the majority of the trident burnt into his arm and bisecting the SPQR tattoo. Unfortunately, the knife had been serrated so the cut wasn't the cleanest, having taken a large portion of flesh with it. Frowning Percy further inspected his recently relocated arm, confused why it had started to leak blood again. Chiron two was confused not seeing why the water had not done the job it usually did but Artemis just grinned knowingly, before mentioning, "You do know that my knives will cause a wound to bleed continuously for some days before it can be healed, quite useful for tracking down inured prey you know."
"Great." The demigod groaned as he reached out and took the busted shield from the centaurs outstretched hand, inspecting the damage the knife had done, noting it was still embedded in the metal. "Dad is going to be pissed about the tattoo being ruined."
"Eh, he will have to get over it." The Olympian commented clearly not giving a damn about her fellow council members annoyance. Waving her hand summoning her bow to her back and returning her knives back to their respective sheaths however the one in the demigods shield remained trapped by the divine metal. Seeing the problem Percy grabbed the handle of the embedded knife before delivering a swift kick to the shield freeing the knife and sending the circular lump of metal crashing to the ground. Flipping it round a couple of times to get a feel of it before passing the knife back to its rightful owner, who returned it to its place on her hip. "But seriously Perseus, I'm impressed. It has been a long time since I've had a worthy opponent to fight against."
"Thank you, mi'lady." Percy replied respectfully, aware of the crowd surrounding them. Secretly he was quite proud of being able to reach a standstill with the huntress before him, expecting to have been defeated much sooner. However what happened next surprised everyone present, especially the older hunters.
Reaching down to her waste Artemis removed the knives, still in sheaths, from her hips and presented them to the demigod before her. Never before Artemis ever physically rewarded a hero before, especially a male. And yet here she was presenting her own personal knives to one, the same knives that had slain countless monsters and mortals alike, the same knives she slew Orion with, the same knives that had castrated a male homosapien not 24 hours before. The elder huntresses knew how important they were to her, many believing they only left her side when bathing. Despite all this she was giving them to the saviour of Olympus as a token of her respect, rejecting such a gift would not bode well. "As a reminder of or duel I would like to give you my blades. Never before has one been able to disarm them from me in single combat, and thus I believe they deserve to be with the one who did so. Don't you think?"
To say Percy was shocked would be an understatement of the highest magnitude. A display of respect of this level truly humbled the demigod rendering him speechless much like the rest of the audience. Knowing trying to deny such a gift would be massively disrespectful to his favourite goddess, Percy sheathed his current knife and gingerly reached out taking the knives from the goddess, wincing slightly in doing so from the strain on his injury. Already well aware of the design of the sacred blades he immediately attached them to the correct placement on his belt. Regaining his voice Percy managed to competently respond to the deity, "It would be an honour Ladr Artemis. I only wish there was some way I could repay you."
Artemis nodded at his response with a gentle smile on her face, knowing her favoured blades were going to a good home. Now she knew that she had every right to ask for something as precious as Percy's blade riptide in return but she would not for two reasons: first that would be as outrageous as demanding a gods symbol of power in return so while he would most likely go ahead with it she risked losing their friendship over such a menial thing, second and more importantly it would be going against her former lieutenants parting wishes which was something she would never do. Instead she set her eyes on something far less valuable but something she truly wanted. "There is no need for that Perseus, you have more than earnt the right to wield them. However if you really want to repay me, let me keep your shield."
This caused the demigod to look at her incredulously, not believing what she had just said. "You want… that?" the demigod questioned, nodding to the broken lump of bronze.
Artemis just hummed in response while whipping away the dried ichor from her upper lip which came from her broken nose which the shield was responsible for. "I like to keep mementos from my hunts." was all that she gave as an answer.
"If you're sure…" the demigod responded hesitantly, kicking the shield up to his hand before handing it over to the goddess, not bothering to clean it believing she would prefer it as is.
Flashing the shield away after a brief inspection, the goddess returned her attention to the man before her. However she was interrupted by a rumble of thunder, the tell tale sign of another council meeting. Sighing Artemis smiled at the demigod. "Well as lovely as this is, I must go. Duty calls" the lunar deity commented to the hero before turning to her hunters, "Girls, we will be staying here tonight so try not to damage the campers too much."
The huntresses snickered at this, already plotting what they could do without their mistress around to stop them, strolling over to their cabin to prepare. Seeing this the campers bolted out of the arena once more to lock away all valuable possessions from the hunters pranks. The old centaur sighed and galloped after them to make sure the medical supplies wouldn't run out any time soon, leaving the pair once again alone in the arena.
"Well until next time fish boy," the goddess said preparing to flash to the throne room, though the demigod had one last trick up his none existent sleeves.
"Bambi!" he yelled, getting her attention before immediately tossing the same apple which she threw to him less than half an hour earlier. "Think fast."
Catching the incoming fruit with grace the goddess chuckled as she took a bite while going into her divine form forcing the demigod to look away. Soon after he found himself in a deserted arena in what were basically bloody rags at this point in an equally bloody arena, surrounded by broken bottles, dummies and an assortment of fruit and weapons. Chuckling to himself Percy jogged out of the arena on his way to the infirmary to raid it of a sling and a needle work set, as well as the opportunity to wind up the resident heracles spawn some more. Which left the bloody arena for the cleaning harpies to deal with later.
Ω
Olympus - The Throne Room
The Parthenon of the gods was once again slowly filling up for the upcoming council meeting. Inside the marble and gold walls you could find numerous gods already lounging in their thrones waiting for the last few stragglers to catch up. At the head of the council table sat the king and queen of the gods, the former leaning forward in his platinum throne using the master bolt to pick a piece of steak out of his teeth while the later sat up straight sorting through a file of unknown contents with a wide grin on her face which unnerved the rest of the occupants slightly, not that that would be noticed from observing their positions.
Around the U shaped table there was most of the council waiting for the final few members to arrive. The table itself was a new concept introduced by Athena as a way to organise documents as well as look more intimidating when demigods were present, not that it was being used for either purposes at current acting more as an oversized footrest than anything else. To Zeus's right, Poseidon was leaning precariously back in his old fishing chair throne balancing on the back two legs with his sandals resting on the edge of the table. Besides him the empty throne of Apollo followed by the crouching figure of Ares who was absentmindedly sharpening his spear out of boredom. Next to him Hephaestus sat tinkering away with a small metallic bird releasing it briefly before summoning it back to his hand for him to tinker with once more. Then came Hermes who was lying parallel to the edgy of the table, legs dangling over the armrest of his throne looking at his phone scrolling through social media posts. It was obvious the throne was stolen due to the emblems that clearly show it used to belong to the British royal family, but who were they to complain? On the very end of the male side Hades sat on his stone guest seat looking through what appeared to be tax records but were actually those marking where each soul was in the underworld, being the god of the dead had a lot of paperwork. On the other side of the table besides Hera sat Demeter who was glaring at Hades while sharpening her scythe, still not over persephone. To her left was Artemis who was leaning back into her throne with boots on top of the table resting her injured leg while absent munching on the apple Percy had given her upon exiting the arena supersized to accompany her godly form. Her throne unlike her brothers was not made of a solid precious metal but instead was made out of the roots of a mountain which had been trapped in the heart of an oak tree, while it sounded uncomfortable the goddess was rather fond of her unique design. Besides her Athena sat straight up in a business suit much like her fathers reading through a few phd papers she had to mark from her class at Harvard, however unlike her fathers her throne was not nearly as impressive being nothing more than a scaled up office chair, functional but dull. Next to her was the much more flamboyant Aphrodite who was doing her makeup in a rather revealing carnival dress, obviously having been celebrating a festival of some sort prior to the sudden non emergency meeting. And on the last remaining throne made of solid vines sat Dionysus reading a grape magazine looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here. In the centre sat Hestia within the hearth which was burning steadily as she telepathically communicated to bessy. This was about as formal as pre council meetings got.
Finally the sun god decided to grace the council with his presence, his previous occupation clear by the state he was in. Shirt untucked with buttons done up in the wrong order, jeans on back to front and with lipstick smeared all over the gods face, it was clear he had been getting lucky before being called back to his job by his stepmother. Rolling their eyes at the gods antics the rest of the gods put away their respective distractions as the council meeting began. Slamming the master bolt down on his reinforced armrest causing thunder to boom overhead signaling the start of another council meeting. Everyone turned to Zeus expecting him to begin a rant only for him to turn to his wife waiting for an explanation.
"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice," the queen of the heavens began only for a collective eye roll from the Olypians and a hurry up gesture from her husband who clearly hated these meetings as much as everyone else. "Well as you all clearly don't want to be here I'll get straight to the point. Can someone get Perseus Jackson here?"
"Did you really call an Olympic council meeting just to ask to talk to a single demigod?" Artemis responded incredulously, her opinion clearly shared by a number of her peers judging from the collective grumbling.
"Of course not dear, he is just subject to what we are to discuss. So is the apple which Artemis is eating." The queen replied obscurely not wanting to give anything away just yet.
Seeing as this wasn't going to get anywhere quickly without the demigod and to avoid an argument breaking out quickly called out to Hermes. "Son go get the brat so we can get this damned meeting over with."
"Sure thing, pops…" The messenger god said slightly confused why the boy was needed but he wanted to get this over as much as anyone else so did as he asked. Whipping his phone out he tapped in the demigod's number and hit call. Noticing the looks he was getting the god put his hands up in defence. "What? I can't be arsed to go pick him up."
"Well at least put him on speakerphone then," the Lord of the Seas told the messenger god while rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time in the last 5 minutes. Doing as instructed Hermes tapped the speaker symbol before chucking his cadeus onto the ginormous mahogany table, leaning back in his throne as he did so. "Lazy messenger gods."
Ignoring his uncles scathing remark the god of thieves just listened to the phone vibrate for a fifth time before an actual response came. However what was unusual about it was the sound of metal clashing together and some background interference from another party who's words couldn't quite be made out. "Sup Herm'. What do you need?" Was the slightly out of breath greeting the Saviour of Olympus gave to his far older cousin. "I'm presuming this isn't a social call."
"Unfortunately not Perseus, your presence has been requested on Olympus." The messenger god announced though his tone made it sound as if he really couldn't care less if he came or not. "Her majesty, the Queen requests it."
What came as a reply was a low groan from their saviour which made Hera frown slightly at the reaction before instantly returning to a triumphant grin as she remembered the nature of this meeting. "What does that Bit- one second." Percy began before abruptly stopping with an immediate silence followed by an almighty crash coming from the other end of the line which caused many raised eyebrows from the council members, "As I was saying, what does her Majesty want now?"
"I have no idea she hasn't said," the god of lies replied truthfully, before asking the question that was on most of the gods minds, a couple of them not even paying attention to the conversation, "Though I am intrigued what could be more important than an Olympic council summons."
"Great more secrets," The demigod grumbled while the rhythmic tapping suggested that he had begun walking somewhere. "Oh, the crash you mean? That was just Thalia being kicked through a weapon rack, nothing of importance."
This caused many of the younger generation Olympians to snicker at their younger siblings pain, while Hera and Poseidon chuckled at the expense of their niece Artemis winced slightly having recently felt the damage one of Perseus's kicks could cause. Zeus on the other hand was fuming, "And why tell me, BOY, has my daughter been kicked across an Arena?"
"Is it me or did I just hear your father on the line?" The son of the sea asked with a bit of brief background interference coming through once more before he responded to it and by the sounds of it walked away from the daughter of Zeus judging from the distant screaming and steady foot fall.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention your on speakerphone." Hermes answered chuckling at the annoyed grumbles which followed. Sounded like a couple of choice words directed at the messenger god.
"Well if you must know Zeus , me and Thalia were having a spar when you lot called and you know how your children are, unable to not be the centre of attention. Yeah well she didn't like being ignored so she tried to rush me and thus was put across the arena at high velocity. Besides it's not the first time this happened today, am I right Mi'lady?" The demigod replied, voice dripping with sarcasm throughout his little monologue. Unfortunately this had struck a nerve with the few of the council members seeing the colour that Ares, Athena and Zeus had gone all clenching their teeth and trying to resist the urge to smite the insolent brat. They were drowned out however by the roaring laughter being emitted by the other two members of the big three who were clutching their stomachs and slamming their fists to the table repeatedly at the bold exclamation, even Artemis, Apollo and Hermes chuckled with the joke knowing the truth behind it. Mr D and Demeter weren't playing the blindest bit of attention instead reading their magazines in hope it would be over soon.
"Be that as it may Perseus, how is your arm doing? Still got a hole in it?" The goddess retorted knowing the answer from the knives she used to make the incision.
Despite her remark the demigod merely chuckled before responding likewise, "Yup still there, though it stitched up nicely, going to leave a nice scar. How's your leg by the way? Able to walk again?" Showing the boy could match her both with blades and words if need be. Unfortunately this brought her some unwanted attention from her twin who immediately began questioning her health while the boy's father was more concerned with the fact his son had a hole in him.
"What does she mean son?" Poseidon inquired glaring at the goddess in question for harming his son. Unfortunately she was too busy trying to fend off her fretting brother to notice her uncle's despise.
"Don't worry Dad it's just a flesh wound from the match, anyway I'm on my way. Blackjack, Olympus as soon as possible and no we can't get donuts on the way…" Was the response they got before the connection was cut leaving the demigods call details with a picture of the bird as the caller ID.
Summoning his symbol of power back to his pocket the god of thieves returned to his back pocket before returning his attention to his thoroughly pissed off father, "He's on his way."
Ω
Somewhere over New York
As Percy flew over his hometown he considered the multiple things he could have done to piss off the Queen of the gods but ultimately coming to a blank as he couldn't possibly think of anything he had done to piss her off enough to call a council meeting. It obviously wasn't urgent from the nature of the meeting and yet he had a feeling the next hour was going to be one of the most important ones in his career. Sighing in resignation he took a sip from his coffee as he approached the city of the gods unaware of what was to come yet. And yes he did stop off at a coffee shop to get a donut for blackjack on the way. The Olympians could wait.
The pair landed at the foot of the steps up to the Parthenon where the hero dismounted, waving his steed off before beginning his jog up the steps to the throne room. Again he could have just landed by the doors but as said before the Olympians could wait. Lost in the music of his AirPods Percy almost ran straight into the epic 100ft celestial bronze doors. Here he had a choice: do the sensible thing or the fun thing. Obviously the latter was chosen.
Raising his foot up Percy concentrated his powers before giving up and giving a rough estimate, a number 3 should do it. Extending his leg out in a sharp Spartan kick a miniature earthquake was sent through the doors causing them to fly round their hinges and crash into the marble behind leaving two massive door shaped dents.
The desired effect was achieved as the Olympian's attention was swiftly brought to him as he took another sip from his black coffee before strolling towards the centre of the room, nodding his head slightly in time to the music. Stopping in the centre of the room he took out his earphones, and greeted Hestia with a nod. Turning to his father he gave a brief bow before down the same to Artemis, nodding to the king he turned to the queen before addressing her in a tone that did not show a morsel of respect. "What did you want, your Maje-slurry?"
Growling slightly over the laughing council Zeus addressed the demigod. "Was that really necessary, boy?"
Turning to his uncle he stared the god straight in the eyes before answering seriously, "Not in the slightest, but it made me feel good." Sipping from his cup the son of the sea turned to the king's wife expectantly, ignoring the fuming god who was doing his best Yosemite Sam impression though was being ignored as all faces turned to the Queen.
"Now that we are all present I have an announcement to make," Hera began, sitting straight up in her seat as she addressed her family, "There has been an upset in my domains of- "she began only to be cut off by a fed up demigod.
"Oh get the point already would you. I've got better things to do with my life." Percy snapped impatiently tapping his foot and taking a sip from his drink. He really didn't want to deal with her bull shit at the moment, which was much appreciated amidst the council members, except Zeus who was thinking of all the different ways he could smite the brat.
"Fine, if that's how it's going to be then." the queen of the gods began before sitting up straight and clearing her throat while looking down at a particular document in her hand which would probably shack Olypmus to the core. "Due to unforeseen circumstances Lady Artemis Agrotera and Perseus Theseus Jackson are to join each other in holy matrimony, as decreed by the laws of the ancient ways." The Queen finished smuggly waiting for the chaos to ensue.
However there appeared to be a calm before this storm as the only two notable reactions came from those in question. The huntress suddenly choked on the apple she had almost finished and subsequently went into a coughing fit while the hero did a spit take spraying hot coffee all over the immaculate marble floor. The rest just stared blankly at the goddess of family questioning if they had heard her correctly.
"Come again?" The demigod finally managed to get out, after he finally comprehended what the psychotic queen had announced. These two words held quite some power as it seemed as if the others had realised what the queen had actually said causing multiple of them to draw weapons in preparation for what the answer would be. Both twin archers summoned their bows with an arrow on the string, resting them on their lapps pointing towards their step-mother in preparation. Beside the male archer, the boys father had summoned his trident twirling it threateningly at his sister and on the other side Ares wielded his broadsword looking forward to the upcoming brawl. At the head of the table Zeus raised his bolt read to finally smite his nephew. Percy just brought out his pen and pointed it threateningly at the queen of the heavens. Hermes noticed this and almost snickered at the sight but decided it would be best for his health if he didn't. The others just looked at her intrigued with this slightly more interesting meeting.
"You all heard me, Perseus and Artemis are to be married," Hera practically squealed out with glee. However, with those seven words the throne room descended into anarchy. First thing to happen was Zeus launched a bolt powerful enough to eradicate an army at Percy which was swiftly deflected by Poseidon's trident into the king of the gods bedroom across from the council chamber. Next, the two archers launched their devine arrows burying themselves into Hera's throne both having gone through her shoulders to reach their destination which caused a cry of pain from the Olympian. This was unfortunately muffled by Aphrodites high pitched squeal of excitement releasing a wedding was coming up, which was muffled by the blunt end of Athena's spear being shoved in the offending hole. Seeing this Ares began to charge only to be tripped by his uncle who looked passively at the scene before him interested in what his sister's explanation. This forced Dionysus to raise his legs as the god crashed into his throne. Of course in all of this Hestia sat passively in the fireplace chatting telepathically to Demeter, debating the cause of this, unable to speak over all the pandemonium going on around them. All this however was silenced when the council shook in their seats (floor in the war gods case) with the epicentre of this coming from the resident mortal in the room..
Now it took a lot to really enrage Percy. Sure, he got pissed at upstart demigods making unnecessary disorder. And yeah, he got annoyed when his psychotic relatives went round slaughtering his family. And of course got angry when he lost a bet to Clarrisse. But no one had ever quite managed to push him this far. Surrounding the demigod a very distinct navy blue bordering black aura, the colour of the bottomless ocean of a storm, making him appear far more than half god. In his right hand, riptide glowed angrily as if ready to lash out at any given moment. His entire demeanor screamed death: from the animalistic snarl on his lips to the empty hand twitching ready to strangle the Olympian at the hint of any possible deception in her only calm part of the 19 year old were his eyes, being the literal eye of the storm currently battering the throne room blowing in through the open doors, cold and calm ready to kill without second thought.
"Now I think that needs a little explanation, don't you aunt?" The enraged boy spat out voice dripping with the loathing he felt for the manipulative toad he called aunt, "And it better be a good one as several painful years of regeneration will occur if it is not."
The action to reach and pull out one of the arrows from her shoulder was immediately halted by the growl emitted by multiple members of the room. Hera looked to her husband for aid but received only a glare in response causing the deity to gulp as she realised she was in the shit now. This sort of insult would usually lead to being smitten by Zeus, however he did agree with his nephew on this matter due to his little girls future being on the line. And the fact he really didn't want his balls chopped off today by his angry daughter. Knowing she was going to have to live with the two arrows going through her for the moment, Hera shuffled slightly to find a more comfortable position.
"Well, as I said before these are very unusual circumstances as it is not my actions, but the pair of you's." The goddess said evenly like it was the most obvious thing in the world. This however didn't seem to sit well with the two of them as shortly after there was a third arrow buried above her head as well as the cold biting edge of riptide digging into her neck after being launched by the demigod to pin the goddess to her seat. What terrified her the most was that no one tried to stop the action some even looking as if they wanted to add their weapons to the growing collection holding her in place.
"Explain." Was all her husband said as he stared at her angrily, arcs of electricity flowing over his entire body showing off his current fowl mood. Let it never be said that Zeus didn't care for his kids, sure he was sometimes slow or only showed tough love but when it came down to it he was always in their corner. This one word made Artemis exceptionally grateful to her father knowing he would try and stop this at all costs, especially since he had sworn to never force her into a marriage she didn't want even if that was thousands of years ago. "Now."
Gulping once again, Hera realised she was about to make a lot of people very mad at her but if she played this right she might just get her way. "Well you all remember how in ancient times it was considered a proposal for one to throw an apple to another and an acceptance if it was caught?" To this most of the gods nodded uncertainly, not knowing where this was going. All except Artemis who never paid attention to the changing culture of the ancient times, sticking to her antisocial ways with her hunters away from civilisation. Upon seeing the other gods nodd Artemis grew pale realising where this was going and begging to any higher deity listening she was wrong.
Unfortunately, however, the demigod did not and thus rolled his knives which he had drawn indicating for the goddess to continue, unaware of the meaning behind these words. Seeing as it was in her best survival interests to do so Hera continued, "Well, seeing as we are gods of those ancient practices they still hold weight and thus if conducted still count." The goddess of marriage finished seeing the pale faces of the newly engaged couple.
Having also noticed his son's reaction Poseidon pressed on, "What does this mean son?"
The shock of being told that he had unwittingly been proposed to then later he himself having proposed to one of his close friends as well as the goddess he most respected left Percy slightly shell shocked, removing all trace of anger in his body and filling the space with dread. The same thing also happened to Artemis causing her to fall back into her seat, bow chattering to the ground as she did so. This drew all attention away from the pinned goddess, who watched smugly as she finally watched the defeated couple accept their fate. "Father, when myself and Lady Artemis had our spar earlier today she passed me an apple as a means of distraction in order to tackle me," Percy began as the dread slowly began to increase with every word he spoke, "Then after the fight I threw the apple back to her, as a joke. Both times we caught the apple." He finished as the dread finally became realisation.
"Daughter, is it true what he said, did you both catch the apples?" The king asked clearly desperate for the daughter to neglect the claims but to his despair the goddess slowly nodded her head, confirming the engagement. Now that it was official, rings suddenly flashed into existence on the couples respective figures. And try as they might they would not come off. The worst part was they were just two plain silver bands with absolutely nothing special about them.
Distraught by the idea of being married at twenty the demigod turned to the king of Olympus who was scowling knowing what was to come. Desperate Percy begged, "Please Lord Zeus, there must be something you can do?"
"Father please!" The usually prideful huntress begged with tear filled eyes, unable to comprehend the idea of being with a man. It was not that she didn't like the guy, no they had both already admitted they had a natural attraction to one another but had decided to ignore it. No, she had just seen too many of the disasters of men to ever be happy with one.
Ignoring the demigod, the king of Olympus turned to his favourite daughter, weeping as he did realising he would have to be the bearer of bad news. "I am so, sorry my sweet little Argotera but there is nothing I can do." The god managed to get out clearly as defeated by the news as the boy was as the both slumped their shoulders. Poseidon glared venomously at Hera wishing he could wipe that smug look off her face. Artemis was the worst hit though as she stared stoically ahead with tiers streaming down her face not looking anyone in the eye. Ever other occupant sat silently knowing this was not for them to get involved with, though none of the Zeus's kids liked the amount of affection Artemis was receiving, bar Apollo and Hermes who were both reading through scrolls at a rapid pace trying to find an answer.
Just as Hera was about to speak again Apollo shot up holding a piece of paper over 4 thousand years of age in his grasp, "That may not necessarily be true Father," Apollo began catching the attention of everyone involved at the possibility that it might be a way to stop this. "According to the scroll, the king of Olympus has the power to veto any upcoming marriage with the majority of the council on his side."
With this news Artemis smiled a watery smile at her twin, grateful for the support and though speechless mouthed a silent 'Thank you' to him clearly overwhelmed by the thought she might be able to remain a virgin, as the marriage must be consummated if carried out. Both Percy and Poseidon nodded their heads in gratitude at the sun god who nodded back in respect. Zeus smiled at his sons, proud they had aided his daughter in her time of need.
"Well then, let's vote on it." Hera said gleefully despite being stuck to her throne, which unnerved the anti marriage group. Hera had a plan which was never good for anyone, Percy knew from experience. "All in favour of the marriage say aye and all in favour of the veto say nay."
As the council always did Dionysus started being the last on Hera's side. Clearly in a vengeful mood, the wine god called out "Aye". Which was to be expected in all honesty. 1-0
Next was Aphrodite, who appeared to be unusually deep in thought, clearly unsure how to go on this vote. "Can you give me a minute to think?" Which confused everyone as she was usually the rash one in the council making decisions on a whim. Nevertheless, they proceeded.
"Aye" called Athena, who was wearing a stone cold mask. Though it was clear to see the years of jealousy rolling off her and using this as a means of revenge as well as a chance to steal the title of the goddess of Virginity from her sister. Now most think the two would be close due to the shared title of virgin goddess, but it couldn't be further from the truth. They rarely spoke as Athena spent much of her time in cities talking to people while Artemis could count the number of times she went to a city or met people out of choice on one hand. She had her hunt and that was it. That was probably what led to the rift between the two, lack of communication and thus the vote, not that made it sting any less. 2-0
"Nay" Artemis defiantly called, for obvious reasons. 2-1
"Aye" called Demeter, she owed Hera a vote for helping her at the solstice last year, simple as that. Also spitting her two rapist brothers was no bad thing. 3-1
"Aye" Hera called smirking at the huntress evilly. She had hated the girl since she got to Olympus and things never got much better from then really, a constant reminder of her husband's treturey from their vows. Also hating the brat for all the insults it was like killing two birds with one stone. 4-1
"Nay," the King called, obviously pissed at the situation. Still he was loyal to his daughter so on such matters who go with her vote. Once again Artemis beamed proudly at her dad for sticking up for her. 4-2
"Nay," Poseidon called, same reason but for his son more than his niece even though he would have voted this way if it wasn't for Percy cause he was a nice guy, usually. Percy nodded in gratitude to his father who just smiled back happy to help his son in need. 4-3
"Nay," Apollo called. No one was allowed his sister. End of story. No ifs or buts. Artemis was off limits. 4-4
"Aye," Ares called, smirking at Percy. Yeah he was still a sore loser after 7 years. Also his mum voted for it so it must be worth it. 5-4
"Nay" Hephaestus called, he had nothing personal against either of the two and previous experience with bad marriages. Percy had been friends with both Beck and Leo as well as got him a forge back. Artemis had left his kids alone as long as they did the same. He just went with what they wanted which got him an appreciative nod from the pair as thanks. 5-5
"Nay" Hermes called, helping Apollo out. Sure sometimes Artemis got on his nerves but they are siblings and that's what happens, always arguing but here to help when needed. Also Percy had been nothing but kind to his kids at camp as well as cleared it of the unclaimed, not that he minded them but it gave his kids some room. 5-6
For a moment they were all hopeful even if Aphrodite voted the other way it wouldn't matter. In cases of a draw, the king's vote takes the majority which they had. Unfortunately, they also forgot about Hades. While not an Olympian as he didn't have a palace on Olympus he still was a council member and could vote in meetings. Which made them all jump when his voice cut through the tense silence.
"Aye," Hades called. Of course he would. Rules are rules, you make a deal you follow through and that was non negotiable. 6-6
That was obviously Hera's plan to call Hades to make sure it was an uneven number to negate the king's majority. Unfortunately it had worked as it all rested on the unpredictable nature of Aphrodite. Everyone leaned towards the goddess to hear the outcome of the council meeting of the millennia Artemis and Percy biting their nails in anticipation.
Aphrodite was a complex being not known for her selflessness. But here she had a real predicament, does she help or not. You see this vote was never purely about past history for her as she didn't care what Artemis thought of her or Percy for that matter, all she cared about was that everyone should feel love. The thing was she could see what needed to be done but doing it would make her a lot of enemies in bothe the long and short term. But doing the opposite would be equally as bad. Deciding she would help the couple even if they didn't know it yet she called out her answer. "Aye!"
And with that silence fell. They had lost. Percy and Artemis would be married and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Percy didn't even try to stop it knowing he would only make it worse in the long run. The same with Zeus, Apollo and Artemis, they could only sit and watch as Hera sang "Here comes the bride" with a smug smile plastered on her face despite being arrowed to a wall. Percy and Artemis were getting married.
And all due to an unusual proposal.
Damn that took way too long to write, you all better not ask for an update soon as the answer is no. Anyway tell me what you think cause I quite like the idea of them forcing themselves to marriage. As usually thanks to the muffin man for the help staying motivated for this 12k word one-shot. Respect to anyone who can do even half this regularly.
Anyway hope you enjoyed it.