Artemis POV
People would laugh at me. I, the man hating Goddess, was crying over, well, a man! Perseus Jackson was clinging onto life, and it was all my fault. I didn't believe him then. I thought that my hunters only did good. That they never lied. That they never killed without reason. Boy was I wrong when Phoebe and Atlanta tricked me with their lies. To kill a male, they killed the souls of 2 hunters. I know that Thalia was crying in her tent. She stabbed Percy brutally. Neither of us had left our tents since Percy Jackson was beaten up. Well, I did one time, but that's irrelevant. Nowadays, all I did was cry. I never slept, because whenever I did, I remembered the day when I left my tent. The one day where my heart got crushed into pieces.
How DARE Apollo leave with Percy, without my permission. Pulling myself together, I prepared to flash away to see Percy. At least, that was the plan until Thalia tapped me on the shoulder.
"What happened Millady?" she asked, clearly unaware that Percy could be dying because of us. Anger entered my body, as I snapped at Thalia, "Be quite girl. You've done enough. You wanna know what happened to Percy, eh. Well let me tell you. PERCY JACKSON IS DYING AND IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU IDIOT! YOU STUPID, STUPID GIRL! HE WILL DIE, AND WE WILL PAY THE PRICE! ALL OF US WILL PAY THE PRICE! AND MAYBE, WE WILL DIE TOO!" I screamed out the last part, and Thalia flinched in fear when she heard me. She knew that I never shouted at the hunters unless something really bad happened. I went up to her and slapped her on the cheek. I slapped her as hard as I slapped Percy, causing her to fall on the floor, screaming in pain. Hunters gathered around to watch, worried why I was hurting a hunter. I never hurt my hunters. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I did. Well that doesn't apply now. Thalia, Phoebe and Atlanta will pay big time. Along with me. Thalia had tears springing out of her eyes, and she attempted to scuttle away. Key word: ATTEMPTED! Before she could get away from me, I yanked her up by her hair, ignoring the screams of pain and pleading that was coming from her.
"This isn't even CLOSE to what Percy felt," I hissed at her, spit spraying into her face. "Multiply this pain by 10000 times. Then maybe, just maybe, you will feel the pain he felt. Beware Thalia. I will come for you all." Looking behind, I saw all of my hunters staring in shock and fear.
"You cannot leave this camp. My enchantments stop you from exiting. Watch, dear hunters. Watch!" With that, I flashed into Apollo's temple, right in front of all the Gods.
I knew that I was in deep shit as soon as I saw the faces on all the Gods. We were in a large medical room, which shined brightly. In front of me, were all the Gods, staring at me with venom. To my right, was a water tank, large enough for a person to fit in. That would probably explain why Percy was inside it. I looked at him, and nearly vomited all over Apollo's temple. He looked horrible. In all my life, never have I seen such a bloody person. All because of me. His body was coated in blood. In fact, I don't think a single inch of him was not stained red. Bones were poking out of random places, some snapped in half, others twisted like a roller coaster. His left hand had a gaping hole in it, the arrow still there. My arrow… His head was missing tuffs of hair, making him look like a zombie. And his body… Just HOW MANY times had Thalia stabbed him. I saw endless slash marks, some deep, some shallow, all pain giving. Even the water couldn't heal these cuts. And the poison. WHY did I have to use my poisoned arrows. This poison is extremely difficult to cure, and causes lots of pain. He would have to suffer for weeks, before, eventually, he would drop dead. That's assuming he survives the next few weeks. The worst part of him however, was not the gashes or the blood. No no no. It was his face, more specifically, his expression. It clearly said, Artemis, how could you do this to me. The pain etched on his face was something I would never forget. Not to my fading day.
I diverted my gaze from Percy, to the gods. Each one sent a death glare to me. Even Aphrodite, who never cares about what happens to anyone. What had I done? Poseidon was the first to react. Summoning his Trident, he said in a death tone, "start speaking Artemis, or I will give you a one way ticket to Tartarus, REGARDLESS or what your dad says!" Knowing Poseidon, I would have to start talking immediately or I would be in deep trouble. Not like I already wasn't. I started to speak, but Apollo cut me off.
"She lies, Father," he says. "I will reveal what happened." And so he did. He told them everything that had happened. Atlanta and Phoebe's plan. The beating I gave him. By the time Apollo had finished, all the Gods were staring at me with pure hatred.
"You bitc-" Poseidon began, but Apollo cut him off.
"And that's not all," he cried. "Look at his left arm. LOOK AT IT." All the Gods went towards Percy's left arm, an I realized that something was engraved on his forearm. It read:
I RAPED ATLANTA, ARTEMIS'S HUNTER
Poseidon roared and all the other gods gasped. He tried coming towards me, but Ares and Aphrodite stopped him.
"I will DESTROY you, Artemis," he screamed. "You and your bloody hunters!" Apollo looked at me with shame. My BROTHER was ashamed of me!
"Leave, Artemis," he told me, not even looking me in the eye.
"But I want to stay!" I said desperately. He just shook his head.
"I think you've done enough, Artemis."
"But big brother…" I said. This always cheered him up. He loved being called big brother. But not this time. This time, he lost it.
"I am ashamed to be your 'brother'," he rounded up on me. Tears swelled in my eyes. He was ashamed.
"Go back to your hunters gang. And don't EVER come back here again, or I will not hesitate from releasing Poseidon. I took one last look at the place. Poseidon screaming curses at me. Father and Hera shaking their head, disappointed in me. Apollo looking at me in shame, not even wanting to be my sister. Percy's destroyed body. Everyone screaming at me, calling me a murderer, begging Father to cancel the hunt. It was all too much for me. Choking back tears, I whispered,"I'm sorry Perseus. I'm so sorry." Then, I flashed into my room, collapsing onto the floor, crying my eyes out.
That day, I lost everything. Everything I cared about had been taken away from me. Family disowned me. People dying from me. Hunters hating me. You name it. 3 weeks ago, Percy had been attacked. Now, I was still crying, hoping that Percy would save me. That's funny! As if. He will want to destroy me. I just sit here, waiting for my punishment. The end of the hunt is near. The end is coming.
Oh and Thalia thinks that's this is the best time to enter my tent!
Thalia POV
3 WEEKS! I haven't even seen Lady Artemis for 3 weeks. God's I am so stupid. I believed 2 hunters over my best, most loyal friend. He will hate me when he comes back. If he comes back. Me and Artemis hurt him so badly. I knew Apollo would be trying to cure him, but if he hadn't been cured in 3 weeks, I fear that he won't come back at all. When Artemis slapped me, I didn't even feel Angry. Instead, I felt scared, because if Perseus had been hit the way Artemis hit me over a few hundred times, then I would call it a miracle he made it to Apollo's temple, let alone lasted a few weeks.
I miss Lady Artemis. She never comes out anymore and I swear I hear sobbing every time I pass the tent. She needs comfort, but everyone fears going into her tent. As I watch the ocean, I feel the need to help her. I know that if something happens to her, Percy will SCREW me so bad that I would see Bianca and Zoé the hard way. Getting up, I walked to Artemis's tent confidently. I unzipped the tent and walked straight in. Only then, did all my courage fade when I saw her.
Artemis was a wreck. Her eyes were red rimmed from crying, and I could see bags under her eyes, showing me how bad she had been sleeping. As soon as she saw me, however, she quickly regained her composure and glared at menacingly. Honestly, compared to her, fighting Hyperion again seemed like a football game.
"Get out of her, Thalia," she hissed at me, slowly drawing her dagger out. I stood still, frozen in fear. Having tested Artemis's patience for too long, Artemis decided to throw her dagger at me, imbedding in mere millimetres from where my head was. I figured out that I needed to act and fast. Slowly, I walked towards Artemis, pushing my dear down. I needed to do this for my mistress and Percy.
"Did you not hear me? I SAID GET OUT! Out of my tent now, or I shall call Poseidon and show him where the hunter who helped beat Percy up to death is. Then you can test his patience, eh?" I knew that this was no empty threat and that if Poseidon came, he would hang my head at the top of Atlantis, and Artemis wouldn't change. She was upset and angry, and she wouldn't be better until Percy came back and forgave us all. I finished walking to my mistress and sat down opposite her.
"Millady, sitting here crying will not help Percy get back. You need to go to Apollo's temple and show him that you don't want him to die." Artemis glared at me for a while, but eventually, she just sighed.
"What use is it, Thalia?" Artemis asked me, pain in her voice. "You saw how powerful my slaps were. Percy won't live, especially after you stabbed him right above his heart." God's she had completely forgotten about that! I was now also on the verge of tears, especially after Artemis reminded her of the beating she gave to Percy.
"Where are Phoebe and Atlanta?" Artemis asked. "Why haven't they come to say sorry to me? Do they think it's FUNNY?" At this, I went red.
"Well… I kinda got me after… You know… the event with Percy. Anyways, I went up to them and blasted them with enough lighting to power Manhattan for a year." Artemis's eyes went wide at this. I noticed this and quickly said, "They are still alive Millady. Just in the infirmary." Artemis relaxed a bit, muttering about how they would get so much worse from her and the other Olympians. "Go to Olympus, Millady. See how Percy is. You betrayed him, big deal. Fix your mistakes. C'mon millady!" Artemis still shook her head sadly.
"Every Olympian hates me now. Apollo is ashamed of me being his sister. He had forbidden me from being 10 meters close to Percy, essentially forcing me to social distance with him."
"And since WHEN have you listened to anything Apollo said to you," I asked, smirking. Artemis smiled brightly at me now. She came up to me and hugged me so tight that I squeaked.
"Thank you Thalia. You truly are a good friend, and I am sorry for slapping you." I shook my head at this.
"No Millady. I deserved it, and much more." She smiled, and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Artemis POV
To be honest, when Thalia cane in, I had every intention of not letting her leave alive. Then, she showed me the light, in this dark situation. I cannot thank her enough. After washing up, redoing my hair (seeing as it looked like a rat's nest) and changing my clothes, I flashed straight into Percy's medical room, thinking that the gods would just forgive me. Boy was I wrong!
Poseidon immediately grabbed him Trident and pointed it at me.
"You!" he spat at me. "How dare you come here after everything you have done to my son." Every god and goddess seemed to be in this room, watching Percy. I never thought he was so important, but I guess half the people were just there to help ban the hunt. Still, there must've been At least 12 people who were here for Percy. Hestia was softly crying near Percy, and I could understand why. He had been her first EVER champion, only to die after a month. She was crying, but when she looked up and saw me, her eyes went red with anger as a fireball appeared in her hand. I started to swear. Hestia never got violent with someone. If she was angry with me, it meant that I would be in big trouble. I started to speak, but Apollo chose that moment to come into the room. His eyes were sad and desperate, but as soon as he saw me, he started clapping.
"Well well well," he said. "If it isn't our favourite Olympian. Didn't I tell you not to come here? Percy is injured enough thanks to you. He was stabbed 13 times. 13 times, yet he is still alive. I wonder how he still draws breath. Each time he breathes, I feel like it is his last and I have failed. All thanks to you and your hunters."
"I-It-W-Why hasn't he woken up yet." As soon as I said this, Apollo laughed. However, it wasn't his usual friendly playful laugh. It was an evil laugh, with coldness and menace behind it.
"Ya know I would be wondering the same thing, had he not been beaten up to pulp by a GODDESS! You hurt him so bad that even I am struggling to heal him!" Go away Artemis! Unless you want to be like him, I suggest getting lost." Artemis couldn't. I needed to see Percy and tell him how sorry she was, in case he died. While I was figuring out something to say, Percy suddenly started breathing irregularly. He turned in his sleep and muttered something.
"Artemis."
All the Gods were shocked. Percy was muttering the name of the person who beat him up! My name! I felt joyed, but the glares of many sent that feeling right down from where it came from.
"Father save Artemis," Percy mumbled, with a small smile on his face. Seizing the opportunity of everyone being in shock, I pushed Poseidon's Trident out of the way and barged past Everyone, until I was in front of Percy. Even after 3 weeks, he barley looked better. While the blood had been dried, bones were still sticking out and his skin was almost white, with how pale he was. I also noticed how his limbs were all bent in awkward angles and how there were so many stab marks in his body.
"I'm so sorry, Percy," I whispered, moving my hand down to brush his hair. While this was meant to be an action of kindness, the god's all saw this as an act of harm, and pushed me far away from him. There was a large commotion and everyone was arguing. Father eventually yelled out, "Silence!" Slowly, the noise died down.
"Until Percy wakes up, I will allow… Artemis to visit him in hope that it speeds up his recovery. The shouting started again.
"No!" Aphrodite yelled. "She will hurt him again. I cannot bear to see him in so much pain again."
"I agree with Aphrodite," Hestia said. "If she so much as steps in this room again, I will blast her with so much fire that it would make Apollo's sun look like a campfire." This made me nervous. Having seen Hestia in action once, I knew that she was not lying. The arguing continued, until Percy's father stopped it by slamming his Trident down repetitively. He cleared his voice.
"I will … allow Artemis to visit Percy," he said, and I was shocked. I was certain that he would say no to me.
"However," he continued. " If you so much as scratch him, there will be nowhere on this earth where you can hide from me." I gulped, but nodded my head, slightly relieved that he had let me stay. Walking up to Percy, I summoned a chair next to him and sat down. I didn't know much right now, but if there was one thing that I was certain of, it was that, until he wakes up or dies, I would not be leaving his side.
Every day, I would wake up, and sit by Percy until nightfall. Most of the Gods had to leave for work, but they all came back after a day or two. Whenever I was alone, I would talk to him, whispering how sorry I was. Everyday, I would wake up with the hope of seeing Percy's eyes, yet I was always disappointed. He did, however, seem to be getting less and less pale each day, which I saw as a good sign. I was happier now, seeing as Percy was getting better, but it all came crashing down on me after a few weeks. I had woken up, but when I heard voices, I pretend to be asleep. There was a heated argument going on, and I didn't hear much. However, what I did hear made my buddy freeze.
"Percy is dying!" Apollo hissed. "She hurt him too bad. A mortal body cannot stand the attacks of a goddess for too long. He's dying, it's all Artemis's fault, and I can't stop it!"