Disclaimer - I don't own PJO or HOO and I never will
To start, thank you guys so so much for getting this story to #1 in pertemis yesterday! (#2 today but somehow it's on #1 yesterday!) It's so unbelievable I thought I was dreaming. Thank you! You guys are all amazing!
Also, I'm experiencing with different writing styles and stuff right now. So, the style of each chapter might be a little different. I'm trying to find which one I like best. With that being said, that's dive into the story!
- Kathy
Artemis sat awkwardly across from Percy in his apartment, the suffocating silence hanging in the room. Her eyes darted around, looking at anywhere but the sea-green eyes boy in front of her. Her hand was playing with her hair nervously.
"So..." Percy started, dragging out his word before trailing off and coughing awkwardly. "Are we going to talk about what happened?"
"Nothing happened," Artemis insisted, ignoring her beating heart and how her palms turned sweaty. Percy placed a hand on top of hers, sending sparks running through her body.
"We can't just pretend that nothing happened," he tried to reason.
"I can and I will," she crossed her arms, ignoring the blush that was surely on her cheeks as her mind flashed back to the moment. How close their faces were. She slapped herself mentally, something she found herself doing more and more these days. "You are not changing my mind."
"Moonbeam," Percy started, his hand caressing her cheek, turning her head toward his. Their eyes met once more and Artemis doesn't know if her face can become any redder. "We can't just let it hang over our head forever."
Artemis stared into his sea-green eyes, and he stared back. She sighed, breaking eye contact. "Fine, but not today."
Percy nodded in agreement. "Soon."
Artemis sighed again before getting up. "Want to come hunt with my hunters today? Try out something new?"
A look of horror flashed across Percy's face as he backed away slowly. "N-no, I'm fine."
"Scared of my hunters, aren't you?" Artemis teased. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around the fact that the hero of Olympus was afraid of her hunters and wolves.
"No, I just have some homework I need to do," he lied. Artemis rolled her eyes before walking toward the door.
"Well, suit yourself. Have fun with homework!" She called out as she flashed away. Percy stared at the door for a minute before groaning and flopping back onto the sofa.
Artemis appeared back at camp, the smile on her face quickly fading when she noticed the lack of hunters. The air was quiet, a little too quiet. She ran toward Thalia's tent, opening the flat. But to her disappointment, there was no one in there. She did the same things to all the other tents.
The fire was still going around their dining area and there was overcooked food in the cooking pot. Artemis went toward the archery range next, a look of worry presented on her face. The area was as empty as the others.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down as she closed her eyes, reached out her senses before running toward the North. Artemis crashed through the trees and branches, her steps as quiet as ever but running at her top speed. She stopped at a clearing, kneeling down to examine the ground. Traces of blood and monster dust were seen. The blood part scared her more than she'll ever admit.
The trail was almost cold but the blood continued to move north. Artemis took off running again. A few more miles and she came across another clearing, her heart breaking at the scene in front of her.
"Milady!" Thalia waved her over, a sad smile on her face. A bandage was wrapped around her left leg and she was limping slightly as she made her way over. The remaining three daughters of Apollo, Atlanta, Ani, and Cassandra, walked around the clearing. They were all trying their best to heal everyone and whispering words of comfort. Almost half of the hunters laid on the ground motionless and Artemis swore she died a hundred times looking at each of her former hunters.
"What happened?" Artemis asked, barely holding back her tears. She doesn't remember ever feeling this weak or helpless when her hunters died. But this time it's like something was different. The death was too… real. "Why are you guys out of camp?"
"Eleanor ran out and we had to find her," Thalia explained. "But we were ambushed by monsters instead. None of us was ready for the attack. We tried praying to you but you didn't come."
Artemis frowned. "I didn't receive any of your prayers, Thalia."
"You didn't?" Thalia asked in surprise. Artemis could only shake her head, kicking herself for not paying more attention to prayers. She tried to remember when her hunters might have prayed to her but nothing came to mind. They simply never pray to her as far as she remembers.
"We should move the remaining hunters back to camp," Artemis said, whispering prayers for her decreased hunters, hoping they'll all reach Elysium. Thalia nodded in agreement.
"Close your eyes, girls," Artemis called out loudly, erasing all traces of emotions off her face. She could tell how much they're grieving and she wasn't any better. But she's the leader, she needs to be strong for them. "And join hands."
They did as they were told, holding on to other injured hunters, even those who had long passed on to the Underworld. A bright silver light surrounded them before they disappeared, appearing back in the hunter's camp.
Thalia shouted out orders, moving the injured hunters to the infirmary tent and preparing the deceased one for burial. Artemis walked around, comforting others, especially the younger hunters. Some hunters went to the kitchen, preparing a meal for the rest of them.
More tears were followed as more hunters passed on. The injured ones were all treated but some have wounds too fatal to cure. Artemis looked around her hunter's camp, doing a quick headcount. Thirteen. Surely not enough to fight a possible war that's coming up. They lost nineteen hunters. The number was too big for Artemis to wrap her head around at the moment.
The atmosphere was quiet for the rest of the day. At the end of the night, words were said, bodies were buried, and shrouds were burned. Artemis watched from the sides as the light of the fire faded out before retreating back to her tents with the remaining of her hunters.
Laying on her bed, Artemis couldn't keep the image of her dead hunters out of her mind. The bodies, how badly it was injured. The image burned brightly in her mind and she felt a knot forming in her stomach. She tried to shove those images out but, filing it with joyful memories, but nothing works.
A wave of nausea hit her and she ran into the bathroom, throwing up everything she ate for dinner. Artemis gripped the toilet tightly, pulling her hair back into a bun before another wave of nausea hit her once more.
How could she have been so careless? Maybe if she'd gotten their prayers, so many hunters would have been alive right now. And for the first time, she understands the reality of death. For so long, she'd look at death as any immortal would. That it's just one out of a billion other human beings, it doesn't matter. Living forever and knowing you'll never die doesn't help anyone sympathize with what mortals would look at the death.
But ever since meeting Percy, Artemis found her views on mortal change, seeing how they really are, not just judging them by their gender, everything. She'd seen the good and the bad.
Artemis wiped her mouth with the toilet paper next to her, taking a few breaths before flushing it. She walked toward the sink, studying her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was a mess. She opened the water, splashing it on her face.
A sigh escaped her mouth as she closed the lantern in the bathroom and wandered back toward her bed once more, closing her eyes and hoping to escape the nightmare that'll surely haunt her tonight.
The palace of the goddess of love was as bright and sparkly as Artemis remembered. She scowled when she noticed the goddess waving at her from the door. Her face was as flawless as ever and for a split second, Artemis swore that she saw a flicker of sea-green eyes and raven black hair.
"Hello, Arty, dear," Aphrodite greeted sweetly as she welcomed her in. "Would you like some tea? Water maybe?"
"I don't need anything," Artemis growled as she settled down on a pink loveseat. "And you better make this visit quick, I have somewhere else I needed to be."
Aphrodite wiggled her eyebrow suggestively, only successfully earning herself a death glare from the goddess of the hunt. "Shut up or else I'll raid your closet."
Aphrodite gasped in horror. "Oh no, you wouldn't!"
"Oh yes, I will," Artemis threatened, sharpening her hunting knife with an evil glint in her eyes. "Maybe rip them to pieces too before replacing them for you."
"You would do that?" Aphrodite asked, her eyes lit up. "How sweet."
"Replace them with black clothes, that is," Artemis grinned. Aphrodite glared at her.
"Fine," she sat down with her leg crossed on the sofa across from Artemis, slipping on her coffee. "So, your current love life gather my attention. Recently-"
"My non-existent love life," Artemis corrected disheartedly, eyeing the knife on her hand.
"No," Aphrodite dragged out the word. "Your love life."
"Non-existent love life," Artemis corrected once more, studying the goddess in front of her like a predator studying its prey. Honestly, she thinks the whole "meeting" thing is useless. There's nothing she needed to talk to the goddess of love about and she doesn't understand why Aphrodite kept on insisting that she has a love life.
Aphrodite groaned. "The point is, your love for Percy is so strong you two are basically dat-"
"Okay, hold up a second," Artemis interrupted, a laugh escaping her lips. "You think Percy and I are dating? We're just best friends, that's all."
"Best friends who almost kissed," Aphrodite corrected patiently, taking another sip of her coffee as she leaned back on the sofa. "It was quite amusing to watch."
"We're friends, that's all!" Artemis protested. "Why would anyone even think we're dating?"
"The chemistry between you two is just too hard to ignore," Aphrodite gushed, ignoring Artemis. She sighed, leaning back into the love seat with her arms crossed. "And the love, you two are too oblivious for your own good."
"I am not oblivious!" Artemis shouted. "The only person who's oblivious is you. You're too into your, 'love is everything, 'love is amazing', 'we all need love' speech to understand what love really is!"
"And you think you do?" Aphrodite raised her eyebrow. Artemis just gave her an unimpressed look.
"Yes, I believe I understand everything I needed to know about love," as an afterthought, Artemis added. "And Percy and I aren't dating."
She stormed toward the entrance before slamming the palace door loudly. Aphrodite sighed. "That went as well as I expected it to be..."
"I don't love him," Artemis mumbled to herself as she sat in front of the mirror in her tent, her hand tangled in her hair as she tried to brush it out. "We're just friends."
But a small part of her had long come to accept the fact that maybe she loves him as more than a friend. She wasn't kidding when she told Aphrodite that she knew about love, the different types of love, brotherly love, sisterly love, family love, romantic love, and many more. Maybe, just maybe, her love for Percy is a little more than just her best friend.
Artemis looked back to the mirror, taking a strand of hair and pulling it back, pinning it with a bobby pin. She took another strand of hair before pinning it back as well. She looked down at her normal hunter attire before looking back to the mirror, deciding that she's good for now.
Her mind flashed back toward Percy to Artemis's annoyance. She couldn't seem to get him out of her head. Taking a deep breath, she disappeared into silver light before appearing in the Olympus throne room.
Many of her fellow Olympians were there already along with their demigod children. Minor gods, both Roman and Greek, were there as well. Artemis looked around the room, realizing just how big the group was and how serious the threat must be. If a primordial is attacking them once more, it must be something big.
Athena and Poseidon were talking in hush voices, barely above a whisper, sorting through papers and pointing out different things. Zeus was on his throne, straightening out his black business suit and giving his tie a good tuck. Hera sat beside him, a peacock on her lap and she rubbed the creature soothingly. Hades looked around the room, his eyes studying everyone coldly. Ares was sharpening his sword disheartedly, seemingly distracted as his eyes darted up every once in a while.
Aphrodite was toying with a beautiful and awestruck knife, cleaning it with her long and pale pink dress before using it as a mirror and straightening out her hair. Hephaestus was tinkering with a small machine, showing no interest to those around him. Hermes scrolled through his phone, his face twisted in a scowl. Dionysus was awake for once, flipping through his wine magazine without any trace of interest. Demeter was making plants around her bloom, holding onto her scythe tightly.
Hestia had a small gentle flame in her palm, smiling at the demigods who were all pretty nervous. Making flame into shapes of animals, she managed to get a few small smiles out of the younger campers from both camps. Apollo was on the edge of his throne, tapping his foot anxiety and meeting Artemis's eyes every once in a while. Artemis looked toward her hunters, who she had decided could stay with her on Olympus while they grieve for their fallen sisters.
Demigods were in armors and the Amazons and Hunters were there as well. The minor gods all have a mini throne made for them. Artemis looked through the crowd of thousands, searching for her best friend. She finally spotted him on the side of the crowd, talking with the remaining seven. Thalia was there as well and by their interactions, Artemis could tell that Percy was trying to comfort her. And at that moment, Artemis knew why she fell for Percy of all people.
He was loyal, he was kind, he cares. It doesn't matter what he was going through if he was able to help, he'll try his best to help everyone around him. He had shown her more love than she'd ever thought possible and he'd love her for her, not who the myth painted her to be. And even when Artemis revealed herself that night after he rescued her, he had given her his forgiveness.
But she turned her attention back to Zeus when he stood up, shoving the thoughts and realization for later. The chatter around the room died down as the King of the Gods started speaking. "Welcome, gods, demigods, Hunters, and Amazons."
"I believe that you have all heard the new prophecy spoken and I'm sure many of you wanted to know the threat we're facing," Athena started after Zeus sat back down on his throne. Many nods were seen and a few "yeah" were heard. "We have reasons to believe that another primordial would be a threat to us. Akhlys, the primordial goddess of poison. And we have reason to believe that, unlike Gaea, she isn't working alone."
Athena paused for a while, letting the demigods process the information. A few hands were raised. "You will have time for questions later."
"A few years after the first titan war," Poseidon took over. "My kingdom was attacked by an unknown force. The monsters were something we'd never seen before and my advisor came to the conclusion that there was a new species of monsters created. The merfolks called it the asillias. It could only be killed by Olympian silver and recently, we learned that it's reforming faster than ever. We'd come to a conclusion that it's possible that Tartarus is working with the goddess of poison."
Even in the Olympian throne room protected by magic, Artemis could feel the room darkening at the two names being spoken. There was a reason that the demigods learned that names have powers because if an immortal's name is spoken, you're very likely going to catch their attention.
Athena spoke up once more. "We believe that the time has come for another war, it can not be avoided. But this time, we'll train, we'll learn, and we'll be prepared for whatever they throw at us. Each god will be instructed to teach their children the power they have. Combat will be taught by Percy, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Leo. Your new schedule will be delivered to you tomorrow morning."
Athena was quiet once more, looking around the room. A hunter's hand went up and Athena gestured for the girl to speak. Artemis looked over, seeing Thalia. "How about the hunters? Can we continue our current training?"
"We have our own training planned out as well," Hylla, the leader of the Amazons, spoke up loudly, standing up. "We would like to continue our current training without any new changes."
Athena thought about it before nodding. "The two groups can continue their current training."
Artemis sighed in relief and Hylla smiled satisfactorily.
"If there are no other questions, council dismissed!" Zeus called out. The demigods started talking among themselves once more as group by group, they were flashed out of the throne room and back to their respective camp. Artemis made her way through the crowd, looking for Percy. But after a while of searching, she went back to her palace, deciding to rest for the day.
"Percy!" Artemis called out when she saw him near them. His eyes lit up when he saw her. Artemis grinned at him as Thalia paused on her fifth lap to greet him.
"Hey, little brother," Thalia grinned teasingly, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Percy pouted as he tried to dodge her hand. Artemis laughed from the sideline. "How's being a sword-fighting instructor going?"
"Pretty good and surprisingly normal," Percy admitted, scratching the back of his head and turning to Artemis. "I missed hanging out with you during the weekends though."
"Father ordered the training, we better follow it," Artemis sighed. As much as she wanted to hang out with Percy, she knew it'll have to wait for a better time. Ever since she came to the realization that she love, love Percy three months ago, she'd been trying to express her feelings. Finally getting the reason Aphrodite had called them oblivious. But no matter how must she tried to express it, he wasn't getting the stupid hints!
She was a step away from banging on the goddess of love's door and demanding a way to express her feelings. But Artemis wasn't ready for the squeals and 'I told you so' that Aphrodite would surely bombshell her with.
"I'm going to go back to the run," Thalia spoke up, wiping the sweat from her face and drowning a whole bottle of water. "Better finish the last three miles."
"Three miles?" Percy cried in horror as Artemis smirked at him.
"Is that a problem? You could try my training if you think yours is too boring or too easy for you," she suggested.
"No thank you," Percy quickly refused, backing away slightly. "Your hunters have special powers from your blessings to run twenty miles per day! I am not ready for that kind of training, plus, I got a sword-fighting class to teach."
Artemis chuckled. "I could always use a few actual pointers in sword fighting."
Percy split out the water he was previously drinking. "Did the goddess of the hunt just admit that she can't do something?"
"No," Artemis scowled. "I just say you can give me some pointers. And in exchange, I'll teach your archery."
"I can do archery just fine," Percy crossed his arms. Artemis raised her eyebrow, remembering the time Percy had told her that he shot an arrow backward while facing the other direction. She doesn't know how that's even possible but somehow he always manages to surprise her. "Okay fine, maybe I have a few flaws but you can give me pointers!"
Artemis rolled her eyes. They stood in comfortable silence, observing the training going on around the Olympus' arena. This was the last week of full training. Starting next week, everyone could sign up for the time that's best suited for them during the week as long as they have three or more days of training in. It could be done on their own time or with an instructor.
She sneaked a look at Percy, who was looking at his class with a proud smile on his face. They were all sparring with each other, sword against sword. Percy turned toward her as a blush appeared on her face. She could never get used to the way he makes her flustered and unable to form any word with that charming smile of his.
"Is there something on my face?" Percy asked, his voice bringing her out of her thoughts. Artemis blinked a few times, blushing again.
"N-no, everything's fine," she smiled. Percy frowned, touching her cheek with his hand.
"You sure? You're really hot," Percy pointed out. A blush appeared on his face as well when the word went out. "I mean like really heated. It's not like you're not hot, I think you're gorgeous."
Percy trailed off, blushing bright red. The two of them stood side by side, an awkward silence fell upon them. Artemis looked down at the ground, trying to hide her burning cheeks while Percy shifted his feet side by side awkwardly.
"I need to go back to my class," Percy broke the suffocating silence. "See you later, Arty!"
"See you later, Perce," Artemis grined, still blushing as she leaned forward and kissed his cheeks for the second time in their lifetime. She jogged toward her hunters soon after, leaving a speechless son of Poseidon standing there with a stupid grin on his face.
It's not even a real kiss, Artemis kept on trying to convince herself as she got ready for her day. It was the first break everyone, including the gods, will have and everyone was savoring every moment. She had granted the hunters her permission to sleep in. But being a hunter for decades, she woke up at the crack of dawn like always.
She flipped over her tent flap. She was greeted with silence, only the chirping of birds was heard. Artemis stretched her arms and legs, doing a few jogs in place before walking toward the kitchen and fixing herself something to eat.
Artemis looked through the kitchen, eyeing the bear meat in the freezer. She got it out and started preparing it, humming to herself as she got everything ready. A yawn interrupted her hums and Artemis looked up to see Cathline walking in. She rubbed her eyes before noticing Artemis.
"Good morning, Lady Artemis," she greeted with a nod as she went toward the refrigerator and got out a bottle of milk. She got a cup out and poured herself a cup of milk. "How did you sleep?"
"It was a good night," Artemis smiled at her hunters. Cathline was an even older hunter than Zoe and that was saying something. She had been by her side since the beginning and they had many adventures together. She held up the cooked bear meat. "Want some?"
"I'm good," Cathline replied, munching on the bread before gulping down her milk in one drink. Artemis raised her eyebrow. "I'm going to take a swim before anyone wakes up."
"Not a bad idea," Artemis mused.
"You can come if you want," Cathline offered. Artemis thought about it before shaking her head. Maybe she'll give Percy a visit and have that talk she'd promised him all those months ago. Cathline nodded in understanding as she walked out of the tent."Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind."
Artemis watched as her oldest hunter walked away from the kitchen tent. She quickly finished her breakfast as well before cleaning up the kitchen, rolling her eyes when she found the cup Cathline had used was still on the counter. She grabbed it as well before washing it up.
Deciding to go with her plan of visiting Percy, Artemis flashed out of camp, reaching out for his aura and letting it drag her to where he is. She hid behind a bush as Percy walked out of a supermarket, two bags in hand. She laughed quietly, thinking about his mother who he'd probably talk out of doing groceries. He walked toward the parking lot, where only one car was.
Artemis was about to walk toward him when her eyes widened at the woman that appeared in front of Percy. She watched from afar as the woman with dark eyes and long black hair walked slowly toward him. She wore a long flowing cape with a knee-length scarlet velvet dress underneath. He seemed to be mesmerized as he glanced at the woman in front of him.
Covering her mouth to prevent the gasp from escaping her, Artemis watched as he kissed the woman in front of him. And not just a small kiss. Questions swarmed her mind. Was Percy hiding the fact that he's dating someone? Why is he kissing the woman? Who is she?!
She tried not to cry, but it was a bit too much. She'd learned to love him over the years, she'd come to terms with her feelings, she'd tried to drop hints every now and then, but then he just kissed another woman like they'd been together forever? It hurts more than she'll ever admit. That was the reason she had sworn off love all those years ago, it does nothing but hurt you.
With a broken heart and silent tears falling down her face, Artemis flashed away.
You made it to the end! What do you think? Hope you enjoy this story and hope you like the new cover!
My mouth is zipped from now on, everything will be revealed in the story *wink* No more huge spoilers anymore but if you're on my discord server, maybe small spoilers for the next chapter hehe.
If you want to join my discord server, the link is on my bio!
See you guys next week or see you on discord!
- Kathy