The goddess of the hunt had been unbearable for the past three years. Many beings from all around the Greek world tried to decipher what had made such goddess even angrier, more in an edge than before. Popular theories ranged from the death of a hunter (something which hadn't happened) and that she was in a very long ovulation period, making her PMS last years.
In reality, there were only two reasons why Artemis was in such a horrible mood.
Three years ago, she had gotten in a fight with her husband, Perseus. The couple reconciled, but nothing was ever the same. Artemis doubted her husband, not necessarily infidelity, but in all other aspects. After all, he had been doing very dangerous things without her knowledge and hanging out with one of her Olympian enemies for long periods of time.
Perseus had sworn on the Styx that he would never be unfaithful, and in reality, the goddess of the moon completely believed him. But her trust in him was shattered. As a married couple, she thought they wouldn't have any secrets between each other. She did her part and told him everything that happened in her life, but he couldn't be a good husband and tell her that he was hanging out and helping her nemesis.
She had been very dissatisfied and disappointed in her husband way of life. Ever since he was able to get out of her palace, the god of tides had been very distant from her. They spent time together, sure, but between her duty with her hunters and him changing jobs and location every now and then, Artemis never found any stability with her husband.
When their child was born, Artemis expected for Perseus to be more present in the baby's life, even if he couldn't be there physically. At first, it looked as if Percy was going to do everything possible to look after Hector, their child. However, as time passed by, Artemis noticed that her husband knew nothing of how Hector had been doing. He didn't know that he had mastered the sword and the bow, he didn't know how sad he was when the two demigods that raised him died, and he didn't know when he went missing.
That was the second reason why Artemis had been so unbearable the past years. Two years ago, the day Poseidon's kid was claimed, her son Hector had run away from camp. She noticed the next day and soon asked Apollo to ask Chiron what had happened (to not create suspicion). When the news of Hector's animal and time power arrived at Artemis ears, the silver goddess immediately knew that a great number of monsters would be searching for her child.
The goddess searched for the lost camper without any rest, not telling the hunters what their target was. In the meantime, they killed any monster that dared cross their path. From hellhounds to hydras, to even some werewolves, the hunters of Artemis took no pity on any monster.
After two years of searching, the goddess had started to lessen the search intensity. She still tried to communicate with Hector through his dreams, but to no avail. He little boy was lost in history, only a name that would be remembered.
Worst of all was the fact that Perseus didn't seem concerned at all. Artemis was furious at him. First he didn't know their child was missing, and then he didn't care. This attitude made a rupture in their relationship, which would maybe be healed when she found her son.
Not so far from the hunters, inside a big castle-like school, one boy searched for two demigods.
"What do they look like, Milady?" The boy asked at a mini walkie-talkie, in a much more mature voice than he had a couple of years before
"They are twelve and ten, both with black hair. Remember that they know nothing of our world, so be careful when you retrieve them, we don't want them to ally themselves with the enemy" a woman replied
"Understood Milady"
"Be careful out there Argos" the woman said with concern
"I mean no disrespect, Milady, but why do you insist on not calling me by my name?" The boy asked
"I hated the Troyans, and your whole name reminds me of them. Also, I don't like your middle name, so I will call you Argos. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Milady. I will go retrieve the demigods now" The boy cut off the connection, focusing on the place he was currently at.
The dance floor was mediocre at best. After all, it was a middle school dance. Nonetheless, the students of the academy danced without a care, not paying attention to the unknown boy that stood in the center trying to fit in.
"Where are those two little bastards..." Hector muttered, scanning the whole dance floor. Moments passed before he noticed two figures standing in front of a wall, the shadows hiding them. The boy moved forward towards the siblings, with many students blocking his vision on the way. Once he was able to get off the dance floor, the siblings were gone, and there was no sight of them nearby.
"I hate my life" he grumbled, discreetly searching for the demigod siblings amongst the dancers. The special Hera agent looked around for about seven minutes, and only stopped when he heard some sounds that came from the outside of the school.
The ex-camper speed-walked his way through the crowd, able to exit the building. He found himself on the back part of the school, with a seemingly sad battle going on. The two demigods he was asked to retrieve were together in a corner, away from the fight, while a girl with black hair, who he did not recognize, fought against the manticore that seemed to be attacking them.
Looking at the scene in more detail, he found that the great Alex Pond was sedated and that his ex-best friend Annabeth was also fighting the monster. The monster began to throw some sort of spines, which hit the black-haired girl and put her in the same state Alex was at. Hector knew that the campers needed help, yet he knew that if he helped them, his mission would be sabotaged, and after all, he was but a simple servant of Hera.
Luckily, the boy did not have much of a choice to make when he heard a hunting horn.
"No, it cannot be-" the manticore began to say before he was impaled on the chest by a silver arrow. "Curse you!" He yelled
From the forest, dozens of silver figures started to emerge. All of them had silver parkas and a bow on them, making it fairly obvious who the group was.
"The hunters!" He heard Annabeth say
"Oh wonderful," the black-haired girl said sarcastically
The manticore glared at the figures of the forest. "No fair! Divine intervention is not permitted"
A short, auburn-haired girl with silver eyes stepped forward. "Not so. The hunting of wild beast is within my domain, and you, fowl creature, are a wild beast"
The mixture of pure hatred and fear flashed on the manticores face. The beast then sent some of his spines towards the hunters, just so they could be shot down by the arrows with an accuracy only he, and maybe someone from the Apollo cabin, possessed.
The manticore growled, launching forward to grab the sedated son of Poseidon.
"Noo!" Annabeth yelled, moving in between the campers and the monster.
"Get out of the line of fire" the lieutenant of the hunt commanded, only to be ignored by the demigoddess. Hector saw how the fight was going, studying the time he had until it would end. Deciding to act fast, the fourteen-year-old stopped time for a quick second. He then walked through the battlefield, not looking at either side and grabbed the arm of both siblings. The unclaimed child then pulled the siblings towards a very nearby clearing, where he resumed time.
The siblings looked ultimately confused and scared at the sudden change of environment. Hector, sensing that they were about to scream for help, quickly put his finger on his lips.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. I know that all looks really weird and scary, but I'm gonna call my boss and make her pick you guys up." Hector said quietly
The girl looked up, revealing her onyx black eyes. "Who are you?"
"My name is Hector Carib Troy, but you can call me Hector, or Carib, or Troy, really whatever you want. I can't tell you much because I don't have much time, but I'm going to talk to my boss and she'll pick you up. Then, she'll explain everything. Sounds good?"
"How can we know that we can trust you?" The girl asked stepping back
"All I can tell you is that one of your parents is an Olympian and that Milady, who is also an Olympian, will pick you up. Now have fun with your bunnies and let me talk to her"
"What bunnies? What do you mean Olympian? Like the gods?" The little boy asked with enthusiasm
"Oh sorry, I forgot to give you the bunnies. Here" Hector closed his eyes for about three seconds, opening them as two black and brown bunnies stepped from the woods and jumping into the demigod's hands. "Those bunnies better make you happy. Now wait here please"
The boy walked a few steps away from the siblings and took out his artifact.
"Milady, I have the two demigods. Should I send you my location?" Hector asked at the Walkie talkie
"No need, I know where you are. I will flash now" the queen of Olympus said. The light-green-eyed boy closed his eyes for a moment, waiting for the flash to occur. He could see a light appearing and then disappearing, signifying the arrival of his patron. "You can open your eyes now, Argos," Hera said
Hector bowed his head at the sight of the queen of Olympus. "Thank you for coming Milady. The demigods are right across those trees" Hector explained
"Great job, I am very proud of you. However, as much as I would like for you to go home, you must return to the fight where all the campers and hunters are,"
"Understood, Milady" Hector replied
"Great," The goddess started to walk away. "And Hector" she turned around, "be yourself when you're with Artemis. She lost someone dear to her, and I have a feeling you might make her feel better"
The goddess smiled as if she knew something the boy did not, but before he could ask her about what she meant, the queen of Gods turned around and kept walking towards the demigod siblings. Sighing, Hector walked towards the backyard of the school, where the fight had been going on. As he arrived, the demigod son of Poseidon was made being knelt, alongside the black-haired demigoddess and Grover.
"Just who the Hades do you think you are?" Alex said angrily.
"You dare!" the lieutenant yelled at the boy, raising her hand as if to slap him
"Wait Zoë, I sense no disrespect. He does not know who I am" Artemis said from behind
Hector took this as the perfect time to make himself known. He walked towards the group, not caring for the number of arrows pointing at him.
"I could sense the disrespect from a mile away, Lady Artemis" Hector said in a calm voice. Zoë Nightshade looked up with fury and pulled an arrow back.
"Who are you boy?" she asked forcefully
"All I'm going to say is that seven years ago, one of your hunters almost killed me while I was fighting you," Hector said yawning, earning the wrath of the hunter, "Oh, and b-t-dubs, boy isn't that good on an insult"
The lieutenant of the hunt let an arrow loose, aiming at the sensitive area of the fourteen-year-old. The arrow looked as if it was going to hit its mark, but then, at the last second, it embedded itself vertically on the ground in front of the boy. The spectators all stood shocked, their minds not processing what they had just witnessed. They knew the lieutenant hadn't missed, but that the boy had somehow messed around with the arrow for it not to land on its target.
"W-wh-what? How did you do that?" the black-haired female camper asked.
"Using my abilities, duh genius" Hector said pointing at his brain, "wait, who are you? You're new to the camp aren't you?"
The girl looked at him in outrage, "New to camp?! I was the tree! And who even are you? I haven't seen you around camp ever!"
"That's because I ran away" the boy calmly replied
"Ran away? So you're a traitor like Luke" the girl said in anger, pulling out her spear.
"What is it with you guys and attacking me? I'm not a traitor, I just ran away because I was tired of not getting claimed after literally spending my entire life there. And then this retard comes and gets claimed in like a week," Hector said pointing at Alex
"Hey! Don't call me stupid. I don't even know you"
"I literally saved your life two years ago!"
"Nope, don't remember"
Hector looked at Artemis' eyes, noticing the surprise they contained, yet deciding not to comment on it. "Is this seriously the guy who is supposed to save us? he asked in mockery
"As of now, Thalia there is the child of the prophecy. If something were to happen to her, then the prophecy would naturally fall on the child of Poseidon" Artemis replied, easily lying to her lost son.
Hector turned to Thalia, "You better take care of yourself"
"Milady! Can we please this insolent boy a lesson?" Zoë Nightshade asked her mistress
"No Zoë. He is the one boy that does not have to bow to me" Artemis answered calmly.
The hunters and demigods all stared in surprise between the goddess and the new boy. The same question lingered in everyone's mind. 'Just who was this boy that Lady Artemis had just told that he needed not to bow'.
"Before you guys ask any further questions, I think I have to introduce myself. My name is Hector Carib Troy and I was a camper for twelve years. Two years ago I ran away from camp, and in the city, someone took me in. So these past few years I've been indirectly helping demigods and trying to find out who my godly parent is, 'cause I'm unclaimed. So yeah, I think that sums everything up" Hector said "Oh, and as for why I don't have to bow down to Lady Artemis, it's because...I don't really know why it is but I do know that it is unwise to question a goddess."
"Wait, you're Troy?" Thalia asked
"That's one of my names, yes. Well, actually, it's my last name. Why?" Hector replied
"I swear every girl was like in love with you. I woke up not so long ago, but every female camper has mentioned you at least once, and how good you were at archery, and how good looking you were"
Hector looked surprised, "Really? Huh, never would've guessed. I was stuck in the Apollo cabin, so like the second best-good-looking cabin. Didn't stand out much. Plus, I only paid attention to one girl" he said sadly
Thalia nodded in understanding and decided not to drag the conversation further in front of the hunters.
"Hunters! Set camp. Hector, come with me. I need to talk about the demigods you sent away" Artemis said seriously, just like a mother who had just found out that her son received bad grades.
