Stockholm Syndrome: a psychological response that people often associate with infamous kidnappings and hostage situations. A person with Stockholm syndrome develops positive associations with their captors or abusers.
Green eyes stared into blazing silver eyes with contempt and anger as his fingers curled inwards to form a fist. He struggled to break the chains, to punch his captor and possibly escape but the shackles dug into his wrist and he remained in the same position.
"The great demigod who saved us from the Titans and Giants, the great demigod- now reduced to nothing but a prisoner," the woman said, her silver eyes looking at him with boredom.
Percy held back a retort and asked, "Why? Why me?"
"Why? Why me?" the woman mocked as she stepped forward, into the light of the blue candlelight and said, "Because I expected you to be more of a challenge, son of Poseidon."
Artemis laughed as she saw his disappointed face and stepped closer to him, resting her pale, thin fingers on his chin and forcing his eyes to meet her eyes, "You belong to me now demigod and you forever will."
She stepped to the side, picking up an orange shirt that barely had the inscription 'Camp Half-Blood' on it and sighed, "It's a pity. Your own girlfriend couldn't live long enough to protect you. You rejected everyone for her and she couldn't save you."
Percy struggled harder as Artemis continued to insult Annabeth, his one and true love and the one who died trying to protect him from the goddess. "I am not your property Artemis. I will escape and you will learn the true extent of my abilities."
"Do humor me demigod. Once you come to your senses and realize that I am the best person for you to serve, I will be here." With that, she stepped into the darkness and out of the dungeon, leaving the demigod shackled up to the wall, his clothes tattered, bruises visible around his wrists and torso from the constant beatings and struggles and his hair a complete mess falling to his shoulder.
The next time he saw her was when she entered the prison cell, the door creaking in the silent dungeon. She had a wide smile on her face, a smile that only meant trouble and Percy stiffened.
"Calm down demigod. I am not here to hurt you," her smile said an entirely different story, "I brought you a friend."
It was now that he noticed the person following her, his eyes blinded by a piece of cloth, his mouth gagged and his arms bound together with celestial bronze chains. Blonde hair and purple clothing stood out the most and it took all of Percy's hopes that he wasn't who he thought he was.
Artemis' smile, if possible, got even wider as she snapped her fingers and his blindfold disappeared, allowing Percy to see his eyes. Sky blue eyes stared in sea green eyes as they looked at each other in shock and horror.
"Jason?" Percy asked, his voice slightly higher than it normally was.
Artemis walked towards Percy's body, allowing her fingers to feel his face as she whispered, "Don't be jealous. He is just here as a toy to entertain you."
"You are a monster," Percy exclaimed and Artemis stepped back, hurt visible for a bare second before going back to her wide smile as she laughed, "You are right obviously."
She walked out of the prison door, locking it and snapped her fingers. For the first time in forever, Percy's shackles faded away as he dropped to the ground, unable to move.
Sighing, Artemis said, "Have fun son of Poseidon. I'll be waiting till you show me something entertaining."
Percy had no idea how much time had passed. It could've been months, years, decades and he would never know. The only source of information he had was what he heard from Jason, that demigods from both camps had been looking for Percy. They had buried Annabeth instead of giving her the final rites so that Percy could be there to witness it.
Food and water was provided once to Jason while three times to Percy each day. From just looking at it, Percy could tell that not only was Percy's food more nutritious but was also better in quality. Despite sharing his meals with Jason, the two boys keep growing slimmer and weaker, spending all their time talking with each other.
"This is such a pathetic sight," a taunting voice mocked as the gates to their cell opened with a creak. The redhead daughter of Zeus stepped in, a grin illuminating her features, silver eyes twinkling with excitement and softness, completely contrasting her true nature.
Percy looked away and saw Jason's eyes widen in fear at his step-sister. He reacted too late as an arrow flashed next to Jason, leaving a cut on his face and a trail of blood made its way down his cheek.
Futilely trying to speak up to his captor, Percy shouted, "DON'T T-T-TOUCH H-HIM!" His voice cracked and he began coughing uncontrollably. Within a mere second, the goddess was next to him and he was surprised to see her worried look.
She held a white handkerchief in her hand and offered it to him, a hand on his back. Even the touch felt warm and soothing. Maybe he was finally losing his mind. This was the woman who had ruined his life, who had taken his girlfriend away from him, robbed him of his freedom and above all, stolen their happiness and relationships.
And yet, he could no longer bring himself to hate her.
Once his coughs subsided, she left without a word. No hint of mirth or mockery, just silence lay awake at her departure. Percy hunched over, wiping his mouth to remove the remaining metallic taste. The son of Jupiter nudged over, carefully wiping the blood from his cheek, leaving behind a rough mark of blood but successfully stopped the free flow of blood from earlier.
The two demigods eyed each other and gave a comforting smile. She had forgotten her arrow from before.
The arrowhead finally cut through one of the iron bars and they were gonna try the next one till Jason heard footsteps echoing through the dark cave.
"Put the arrowhead away," he silently whispered and Percy obliged by thrusting it in the torn pocket of his shorts. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him or he was losing his grip on reality because the person who walked in front of them was the redhead goddess, dressed beautifully with a silver dress sparkling as the light from the wooden torch bounced off.
The son of Jupiter gripped the iron bars tightly as he glared at the beauty and growled, "Let us out Artemis. Dad will not tolerate this."
His response was a glare and he suddenly collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide in panic and Percy could hear him struggling to breathe but for some reason, he couldn't stand to defend his best friend.
Artemis walked forward and knelt in front of Jason and snarled, "You are not in a position to call me by my name, demigod. Just because we have the same father does not mean you are someone special. If not for Perseus, I would have killed you."
"St-Stop," Percy stuttered out, partly hoping she wouldn't. Maybe it was his fear that made him incapable of speaking. But it seemed to work as the glare on her face disappeared and her face brightened as she ignored the son of Jupiter who stayed on the ground, gasping loudly as he inhaled deep breaths.
She walked towards the son of Poseidon and stood a foot from him and he could sense her breath as she hunched slightly till her lips were next to his left ear and whispered, "I'll do whatever you say."
He blushed from the close proximity but he forced himself to remember Annabeth's face, her smile and her voice and how she had been brutally impaled by an arrow on her heart by Artemis. His anger returned and he replied, "Kill me, you wench."
Her smile disappeared and what he received was a slap on his face, a strong one that made him drop to the ground with a thud and left a red mark on his sweaty, tanned face with hints of dried blood. She retracted her hand, looking at it and him for a few seconds before she turned away with a "tch" and walked out.
Both the boys lay sprawled on the ground, their energies depleted to the core.
The iron bars relented as the worn out arrowhead cut through the last bit of iron. With enough space for their thin and frail bodies, the two demigods stepped through and using each other for support, dragged themselves towards the presumed exit. What seemed like hours passed before they finally saw light.
The yellowish white light burned their eyes, uncaring for the distance between the entrance of the cave and their position. For the two, who had been deprived of natural light for a long time, they welcomed the pain that it brought as they nearly collapsed but they kept pushing. Maybe it was their greed that motivated them to keep moving and as soon as they stepped outside, the warmth and brightness of the sunlight embraced them aggressively.
Light danced along their vision while the white clouds floated carelessly along the bright blue sky, avoiding the orb of scorching sun. Trees rustled as a gentle, warm breeze passed quietly, as if it was sneaking into enemy territory and two birds flew over the rustling trees. Their skin was dark blue, orange beaks with a hint of red on the tip while their feathers on the tail seemed multicolored. The entire scene brought the two demigods to tears.
No one could imagine that the two strongest demigods of the era in both roman and greek camps could be reduced to this state. Bawling their eyes out, sweat and grime covered their bloodied and weary face while their bodies resembled the width of a twig. Jason's blonde hair was unrecognizable with all the mud and blood sticking to it while Percy's raven black hair that used to be so unruly that no matter how much he tried, he could not comb it, seemed to be hiding from the world as it stuck to his forehead and scalp.
"We did it Jason, we got out."
Spent from the energy, the two demigods crashed to the ground. No matter how much either tried, they couldn't move. Percy knew it was dangerous to stay at the entrance, lest Artemis came to visit them and found them at the entrance. He would never admit that a part of him wanted her to find them, to drag him back and keep him under her control.
Turning his head to look at his brother in all but blood, he saw that Jason had fallen unconscious. He could be blamed though since Jason had worked tirelessly while Percy rested to break the remaining iron bar. In fact, Percy was ashamed that he was tired since he hadn't done much except drag Jason out with him.
He grit his teeth in frustration while his muscles ached from excessive strain as he pushed himself off the ground and limped towards the fallen son of Jupiter. Throwing Jason's arm around his shoulder, Percy carried Jason and walked outwards, toward the forest, hoping to find shelter or a good hiding spot to regain their energy.
Darkness enveloped the forest soon and Percy gasped heavily, his vision blurring as he tried to continue walking, Jason's weight seemed momentarily heavier than the weight of sky on Mount Othrys. Finally, he collapsed on the ground, his adrenaline being replaced by exhaustion and pain. It tore him from the inside and he wanted to scream out but he bit his tongue, in case Artemis was nearby. Succumbing to the temptation of relaxation, he passed out.
"Hey Perce, wake up. Where are we?"
He struggled to open his eyes as the light blinded him while the voice sounded like an echo, not forming clearly in his head.
"Perce, where are we?"
He heard it clearly this time as he struggled to sit upright, his fingers stroking his forehead as his vision swayed slightly. He mildly shook his head to get his bearings straight and saw Jason's dirty and messy figure while he himself seemed to be covered in dirt from sleeping on the ground.
"We escaped." The realization finally sunk in.
Percy didn't know what he should do. Should he cheer from getting out of his imprisonment or regret it since he no longer knows where he is? Jason hoisted Percy up and the two boys limped, their stomach growling with hunger while their throats parched from thirst and dryness.
The two demigods stumbled in a random direction, trying to get as far as they could from the accursed cave. They came across a freshwater river and the two demigods cleaned themselves while Percy used his abilities to clean their clothes.
While Percy was trying to figure out their location using the river, Jason built a temporary shelter with leaves and long trees to protect them from the rain. Neither of the two demigods knew that a certain goddess was planning on visiting the cave that night.
Having failed to find their location, the two sons of Big Three slept peacefully, feeling relaxed compared to the past few years. Or atleast, that's what Percy hoped. Percy could feel himself drifting till he fell down on the ground really hard.
Opening his eyes, he looked around and saw himself on a familiar track. Lightning flashed across the dark sky.. For a second, he wondered if Jason was the cause till he heard the thunder.
While it could have been a thunderstorm, the thunder followed a specific rhythm, like someone's footsteps. It was then that he realized that they WERE echoing from someone's footsteps and he looked towards the cave that he could see from his position and saw a figure emerge, a silver aura glowing that almost blinded him.
The goddess looked around, her eyes glowing white and light leaked out from the corner as she tried to locate him. Percy tried to walk away but the second he took a step, her head snapped in his direction. It should have been impossible. He was miles away.
But that wasn't the scariest part. It was her expression. Her face, which was initially displaying hints of worry, transformed into a sinister and creepy smile as she muttered, loud enough for Percy to hear, "There you are." The thunder got louder, loud enough for Percy to wake up from the nightmare.
His heart beat soundly and the sea-green eyed demigod tried to take deep breaths. 'Wow, that was really bad. I can hear the thunder even when I am awake,' he wondered till realization struck him.
He looked in the direction of the thunder and the sound seemed to be increasing as it approached his direction. "Shit, Jason," Percy shook Jason roughly as the said demigod got up, groggily and confused, "we gotta run. Artemis knows where we are."
"What?!" Jason yelled loudly before Percy motioned him to lower his volume although he knew that time was running out. They walked cautiously, taking extra care to not make any kind of noise.
For a while it seemed like they succeeded as the sound of thunder stayed in a certain position, as if confused as to where it should be heading. They reached the river bank and Percy jumped in immediately and was about to start swimming till he saw Jason on the ground, looking at the water with animosity.
Having forgotten that children of Big Three were not allowed to enter others' territory, Percy rushed, "Hurry up!"
"I can't."
"What do you mean 'you can't'? Artemis will be here any second."
"I am a son of Jupiter, Perce. I can't enter Poseidon's domain. The very moment he senses me, I will die without hesitation."
Percy realized that Jason's survival was very slim. If he stayed back, Artemis would get her hands on him and if he joined Percy, Poseidon would kill him. He couldn't think more clearly as the sound of thunder seemed to increase and he could faintly hear footsteps rushing in their direction.
Jason gave a smile and turned around. "Percy, escape while you can. I will lead her on a wild chase," he said, pausing for a breath, "Tell Piper if she is still alive that I love her."
Without awaiting a response, the demigod took off. Percy extended his right arm out as if to hold onto him and stop him but the retreating figure became invisible within a few seconds. The son of Poseidon quickly sank deep into the river and began to swim in the direction of the flow of river. He just had to make it past the barrier. Once outside, he could ask his dad for help and hopefully save Jason and apprehend Artemis.
While he held onto the hope, he couldn't recognise the hesitation and loss that his heart was trying to communicate to him.
Exhaustion rolled into him which surprised him since he never imagined that being in water would tire him. He assumed that he would have swam further than Artemis could locate him so he carefully swam to the surface and jumped out to the shore and combed his hair to get it out of his vision.
There she stood.
Molten-red hair flaying in the wind lightly, as if they were dancing to a tune, her silver eyes glowing with a warming coldness, her vibrant clothes shined as sunlight sparkled with each ray falling on the raindrops that resided upon her clothes and body. It would've been truly majestic if not for the psychotic grin on her lips, a single trail of blood from her cheek traced its way down towards her neck and disappeared from view.
She towered over a decapitated body, the head nowhere to be seen while the clothes were completely soaked in blood, not a speck of original clothing remaining. The knife in the woman's right hand dripped blood in drops as it lay a centimeter from his body.
It didn't take a child of Athena to comprehend the scene.
The goddess was here for him and the body below him could only be…
"Oh so there you are honey. I was so worried for you," she said, happily, as she skipped happily towards him, her smile not faltering. He was so horrified at the scene that he couldn't breathe properly nor could he move. All he could do was stand and watch her come towards him, momentarily forgetting the mutilated body.
She reached him in a second and, with precision, cupped him left cheek with her empty hand and said, "Why did you leave? I was so hurt."
The expression she made would have looked innocent if not for the craziness hiding beneath her eyes and the smile itching at the corners of her lips. Finally, his senses returned as she dropped her arm from his cheek and the first thing he did was hunch to the side and puke uncontrollably.
The flowing river that barely reached the top of ankle started to resemble a faint peach colour around his feet as he emptied his stomach from the gruesome scene. Artemis watched him carefully, her smile not hinting to disappear. This continued for a few seconds; each time he took a pause, his gaze fell on the body and he puked again.
Eventually, he ran out of energy and everything in his stomach and he stumbled forward. The goddess of hunt took her chance as she pounced forward and balanced Percy by his chest and using force, pulled him out of the river. Weak and exhausted, he let her lead him on.
'Its not like I can do anything now that she is here,' he tried to defend himself but he knew that he could try and fight her with the river and attempt to flee again.
"Sit," she guided him to the nearby tree and his eyes grew wide as he sat down and saw the body a few feet away from him. The stench of blood exploded his nostrils and he felt glad that he had released all that was in his stomach before because if he hadn't before, he sure as hell would have now.
He struggled to tear his gaze away from the corpse and distracted himself by focusing on his captor and asked, "Who is that?"
He knew the answer though. Even she knew that he knew the answer. She knew that he was holding onto the frail string of hope that held his sanity together. Her answer could change that. She could break him with one word. One name. If possible, her psychotic grin became wider and he could see her defined and bright pearly teeth. To make things worse, she pointed at a tree in the distance that Percy had failed to observe and saw a head hanging on the tree, an arrow supporting it against the trunk.
"Jason."
The string snapped. Annabeth was taken from him. Jason was taken from him. He never got to see his friends again. He didn't even know how much time had passed. He could have been stranded for years or even millennia and his family and everyone he knew could be deceased. Was it worth leaving this peaceful solace to find his entire life in shambles? How would he explain his disappearance? Who would believe him? Who would believe a demigod over a goddess?
'Peaceful?' he wondered as he tore his gaze from the goddess and looked to the bright blue sky as white clouds floated peacefully, without a care in the world. There were no monsters here. He didn't have to worry about being killed if he let his caution down for a second. He didn't have to be a hero for every time someone fucked up. He didn't have to be a tool for gods' pleasure. He was tired of being used. It truly was peaceful.
He continued thinking, his mind becoming hazy with every passing second, "Why? Why did I even want to leave this place? I have everything I can ever want here. I have peace that I have longed for. I have a future that I can't have in the real world. Only pain and suffering awaits me if I leave."
His grip on his memories, his purpose, his reason for living faded from his mind. He could have all he has ever wanted with a small price. He shifted his gaze towards the goddess, her psychotic grin began to look more caring the longer he looked and he thought, "All I need to pay back for this is my love to this goddess, this Olympian who was strangely infatuated with me. Why am I against her? She was the epitome of nature's beauty and I would know since I have seen the real goddess of beauty before, albeit briefly."
He smiled, his sea green eyes dulled lightly, as he snaked his arm around her waist, much to her surprise at his boldness and he whispered in her ear, "You succeeded. You have my love."
"Oh?" her eyebrow shot up as she looked at him in a challenge before jumping out of the embrace and continued, "very well then. Show me your dedication."
Her hunter's parka that was glistening from the sunlight slowly slipped off her torso, exposing black undershirt. She gave him a final look before taking it off along with the rest of clothing. It made Percy smile, not a genuine or loving smile. No, it was a sinister and lustful smile as his gaze fell on her body. They spent 3 days continuously, exhaustion fading away after each time.
It had been a month and Percy lay on Artemis' bed at her temple on Olympus. He had forgotten about his mortal life. To his surprise, having taken her maidenhood had resulted in him becoming immortal but without domains. The only short side was that he was bound to Artemis and had to complete any services she requested from him, no matter how dangerous.
It was not like he was complaining though.
He still had no clue as to whether his family and friends were alive and searching for him and to be frank, he couldn't care anymore. He had all he wanted. A wife and peace. He no longer had to be cautious or sleep worrying that those he loved would be in danger.
And it was all because of the goddess who presented him with such an amazing opportunity.
He wasn't informed of what had transpired in Olympus and with her hunters after she told everyone that they married and she was no longer a minor goddess of maidenhood. He was sure though, that she must've had to fight countless gods and hunters in regards to her decision but true to her unsaid promise, he wasn't involved in it. She solely dealt with the protestors.
He wondered whether, when he had first been captured, that he could be so happy and fulfilled in the future. He laughed sadly as he lay on the bed, staring at the white ceiling with small glowing spots, "Definitely not."
A knock echoed in the room as the person opposite the door banged their fist lightly on the door frame. The son of Poseidon grinned widely as he hopped off the bed and rushed to the door and opened the door. Not even a millisecond wasted, he was pushed on the bed, his lips being attacked savagely by his beloved goddess, his clothes being tugged roughly.
Caught by surprise at her sudden eagerness, he let her take charge and time slowly passed. The son of Poseidon and the hero of Olympus was defeated by an Olympian Goddess, both mentally and physically, his best friend and the son of Roman Counterpart of Zeus, Jason Grace was murdered and the lover of the former hero and another hero of Olympus, Annabeth Chase was killed by Artemis. The hunter, who most people believed to be fair and honorable, was hiding such a vicious and minacious personality that no one could comprehend or even think of suspecting her.
With that, the world soon forgot about such brave lost souls, not even bothering to carve a grave to remember them. All that remained was a grave of Annabeth Chase which seemingly, one day, was destroyed by a flash of silver light.
A/N: And wrap. Firstly, I would like to thank those who have waited for this one shot to be completed for ages. I am really sorry for this delay but I actually thought that this story could be expanded further. Unfortunately, the more I thought about it, the more I wanted Artemis to have a darker side as you can see with her insanity evolving by the end of this one shot. I am also sorry if you did not expect such a gruesome or troubling story from me but, frankly, I was tired of writing fluffs. I wanted a different approach to their romance that would seem realistic and yet also draw a line between reality and fiction.
By no means am I supporting any of the characters in this fiction. I strongly oppose every action in this fanfic. To be completely honest, initially, I did not plan to make Artemis so dark or even have Jason in the fic but since I have been writing this one shot for 3 months (wow that's 4821 long for words), I kind of developed further into the story to make Percy more of a victim and make him feel more loss to lead to a genuine feeling of breaking apart. I know there isn't much dialogue in this as there could be and should have been but I had fun writing description of scenes and actions that they were taking and felt that adding dialogues would be unnecessary at some stages. Anyways, thank you all and you deserve a golden drachma for having read this author's note if you did. Great job.
I forgot to add this but before y'all ask why Anaklusmos couldn't appear in his pant's pockets is because of the barrier that was surrounding the island. It was also the reason why he couldn't get out of the island. I would've added it somewhere in the fic but I didn't know where to put it-
Alright, now it is good bye. Thank y'all for reading and don't forget to follow, favorite and review. It would make me really happy and maybe give me more motivation to type more.