- Thanks! Lmao you should be fine about the chapters thing here, since I have already 8 chapters prewritten
Ink- Sorry if this chapter is bad. I'm not very good at writing young Percy. But trust me, it will be better in the future.
-lovescenario: It's not bad because teamwork makes the dream work ink. Also what do you guys call me on watty? I'm not sure what my nickname is here. Scenario? Anyway, I'm just the editor here to sharpen up his incredible writing, so please thank the amazing Inkdud for the cool storyline!
Percy POV
I woke up. Big shocker, I know, but it was the best night's sleep I've had in awhile. Considering my previous home, it wasn't very hard to beat it. I looked side to side for any sign of who helped me. Just like the camp, the whole room, or a tent is silver. Imagine a standard hunting store but silver and all compact in a tent.
There were six bows on the walls of the tent. Are they called walls? In a tent are they even called walls? Stupid ADHD. But the point is, they were all beautiful and somehow gleaming as if they held power. While I was gawking at the room and the mysterious bows, I heard a shifting sound.
I began to sit up so I could talk to whoever it was, but a sharp stinging shot through my back and I yelped in obvious pain.
A female voice appeared, "Relax child, don't stress yourself. You are already in weak condition."
I turned my head to see a tall, about 5'10", woman with red or auburn hair and I noticed she was also gleaming like the bows in the tent, weird. I was about to say something, but as the woman had said, I was very weak in my current state. But considering my lack of care about my health, I stuck through with it.
"W-who are you?" I said frailly. I could hardly make up the woman's expression but I knew that it wasn't good.
"I don't need to tell you, boy," she said hotly, "The better question yet is, who are you?" I made a sour face. I didn't like being told what to do.
"Well I'm not gonna say who I am until you say who you are," I replied, defying her.
The woman sighed after taking in the fact that this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere unless she explained herself first.
"Alright, I'm only doing this because you are a demigod and you have to learn at some point."
That word confused me: demigod.
"I am the Greek goddess, Artemis, of the hunt. And yes, the Greek gods and myths are real." I gathered up the energy to stand up but when I did, my jaw had dropped and my eyes were probably as wide as dinner plates. Words couldn't describe how shocked I was. But then my thoughts switched and I remembered something my mother had told me.
I slid off the side of the bed and kneeled painfully, holding my stance and keeping my ground. Since my back felt like fire ants that had a lunch buffet, it was difficult to treat the goddess the traditional way to show respect, as I'm wobbling like a ship. Though, Artemis saw my show of pain and discomfort, kneeling to my height to bring me up.
"You are very young, boy. You do not need to kneel. How do you know when to kneel in the presence of a god?" Artemis said in a much nicer tone.
To be honest, I had no idea that you should kneel when you're in front of a god. It's just that my mom had told me to kneel to anyone you respect. By the way my mom spoke about her, it sounded like she respected Artemis a whole lot, so for her, I kneeled.
Nevertheless, I gulped. I normally remain quiet when asked about my mother, after what Gabe had done to me and her. Whenever someone asks of her, I just want to stuff them into a three by three cardboard box. But oddly, I felt comfortable opening up about my personal life to Artemis, as she just radiated that kind of aura.
"Lady Artemis, I know didn't say my name yet, but my name is Perseus Jackson. I go by Percy. I didn't know we were supposed to kneel in front of the gods, but I learned to kneel to people I respect from my mom."
Artemis had a satisfied grin on her face but it was quickly replaced with a look of intrigue.
"Sounds like your mother is a good person. Percy, if you don't mind me asking, who is your mother? Because I remember a woman who is one of my friends and I care for dearly."
I frowned and under my breath, I sadly said one word, "was." My mother was far from life and was dead. Though, Artemis did not hear what I had whispered and was awaiting a response.
"M-m-my mom is-is… Sally Jackson. Do you know her?" I asked. But once again, it seemed as though Artemis did not hear me and was beginning to pick up one of the power radiating bows.
"Uhh Lady Artemis, I said my mom is Sally Jackson." Suddenly she dropped her bow and her ears perked up. She flicked her head in my direction while her auburn hair flying wildly across her face.
"My apologies Percy. But did you just say, Sally Jackson?" She demanded. I nodded my head in confusion. I was a bit surprised by Artemis's reaction.
"You are Sally's son?" She cried out. Once again I nodded.
"So you do know her," I said. It was a bittersweet moment and I would eventually have to break it for her. But for now, I'll let her have her moment. Weird, letting an Olympian goddess have her moment.
Artemis excitedly began to rant about my mother, but I zoned out for the time until I heard her finish with, "...Sally is the nicest person I have ever met, god or mortal. I made the fatal mistake of leaving her to focus more on my hunt and I almost asked her to join it as well, but she refused and told me to focus. So she is your mother."
I'm doing my best not to cry. I have to stay strong for her. For my mom.
Artemis was oblivious to my facial expressions and asked, "So where's your mother? I want to talk to her after all this time."
That sentence in itself was enough to make my tears overflow. I started bawling on the bed, but then Artemis did something that was probably more emotional than my action for her, that she probably hadn't done for like, the past three thousand years. She hugged me.
"There, there. Perseus, you can tell me about your mother." She consoled me and I breathed heavily from tears. This was the moment where I finally tell someone the truth that I could trust. I could finally be free from what felt a curse.
"Artemis, she-she was the nicest person." I choked out, correcting her.
The moon goddess was shaken. "W-what?"
I couldn't bring myself to repeat it, so I just leaned into her shoulder and cried my heart out.
"Percy, I know you've probably heard this a multitude of times, but I'm sorry. If you don't mind me asking, how did she g-go?" Artemis pleaded, and I could hear her trying to suppress her sniffles. In my mind, I was just thinking yes Percy, it's our time to break the silence. To that, I said yes.
I leaned back out of Artemis's shoulder and prepared to speak. I could still feel a stray tear on my tear-stained cheek which was quickly wiped away by Artemis.
"My mom didn't die naturally," I said, rotating and raising my shirt, showing the moon goddess my eviscerated back. This made Artemis furious as she raised her eyebrows in anger. She could hardly contain her godly fury.
"Percy. Who. Did. This?!" She said quietly, every word she spoke dripping like verbal poison. Not gonna lie, seeing Artemis in full rage mode kinda scared me. Like most things, she saw my expression of fright. The Olympian goddess forcibly made herself calm and softened her look and voice.
"Percy, you may know that I almost always hate males from the stories, but you are the exception. I'm sorry for scaring you. Please tell me who did this?" She said calmly.
"My stepfather, Gabe." I couldn't control my tears as they flowed down my bruised face like a river. Artemis was calm throughout all of this, I guess she is used to 'demigods' having abused parents or something. Oddly, her calmness made me even more afraid.
"Percy. I am going to kill Gabe," She said simply and added, "Horribly. Still, death isn't a fulfilling punishment for this bastard. I'll make a special request to Hades myself to get this male a one-way ticket straight to the Fields of Punishment. I'll do it for you. For Sally." I didn't know what or where the 'Fields of Punishment' was, but it didn't sound so good.
An idea popped into my head, "'Lady Artemis, can I come?" I know it was stupid, but hey, if someone was gonna watch my full-time abuser die it was gonna be me. I half-expected her to turn back to her man-hating self but instead, she gave me a conspiratorial grin and said, "Only if you stop calling me Lady Artemis. It's only Artemis for you."
I internally smirk, "Okay, Only Artemis."
She rolled her eyes, "Don't make me regret letting you tag along." I smiled as Artemis placed a hand on my shoulder and specifically told me, "Don't throw up kid."
Then the entire silver tent began to shine until I could feel myself flashing. It felt disorienting. It felt like I was a water droplet evaporating into a cumulonimbus cloud. And so, I ceased to exist for a few seconds in time.
Suddenly, my apartment appeared in front of me. Instinctively, I hid behind Artemis as I did with my mother. In turn, she smiled wistfully, but her expression turned slowly into anger. I guess that she was thinking about Gabe. Couldn't blame her.
"Percy, how do you feel about Gabe right now?" She asks. It was about my abuser, so I had to be honest.
"I hope this stupid male dies and gets tortured in the damned pits of hell." I declare confidently.
She responds, "I'll let you curse this time because it is fit for that bastard, but don't next time."
Again, she answered it like mom. Weirder. She ran up the stairs at impressive speeds as I was struggling to get a quarter of her speed.
Once we arrived at the cursed door, Artemis sternly said, "Percy step back. Also expect an explosion, so close your eyes if you want."
Of course, I didn't, but it turned out godly explosions were much larger than regular ones. The one blast sent a concussion of air propelling at me, sending me flying back.
Luckily, Artemis reacted at inhuman speeds and grabbed my arm, preventing me from slamming my already wounded back into the railing. Thank god, if Artemis didn't catch me, my back would have been toast.
Then a voice emerged. The same voice that tormented my dreams. The same voice that made me shiver in pain and fear every time it would call me worthless or pathetic. The same host of the voice that had also killed my mother.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!"
Just hearing that voice made my blood boil. Artemis saw my angry expression and tensed. Gabe, in his glorious drunken filth, stepped to the door.
"What the hell are you doing!" Gabe said sloppily, slicking back his hair and then saying in a wannabe suave voice, "Oh hello miss, how can I help you?"
Artemis narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose in disgust as if the bare presence of Gabe irritated her. It was then I realized how pretty Artemis was, not like, in that weird way, but the kind that my Mom was. I'm guessing all Olympian gods are like this. Except for Hephaestus.
"Look I am here to beat your ass for abusing Percy here, stupid male," Artemis growled. She used the word 'male' as if it was the worst insult to mankind. I realized she was still holding my arm from when the explosion happened. It was rather aching but felt good because, for the first time in my life, I felt protected.
Gabe finally noticed me." So you came back for extra beatings, huh? You little shit!" He sneers. Then he faced Artemis, "So the shit brought a friend. A pretty one. And what do you mean to fight me? You are a woman. Female. You should be in the kitchen cooking dinner or cleaning the house. Hmph. Stupid bitch!" He said female the way Artemis spoke male.
There was a silence after he said that. For the little time that I had with my mom, I've learned to kneel towards people you respect and to always respect women with all the grace and kindness I have.
At this point, Gabe was asking for a death sentence. Artemis went into a full divine rage and didn't even try to contain herself this time. Not that I would decline it anyway.
"Look here, you low piece of life, piece of shit. You do not abuse a child, disrespect women across the globe, and KILL THE BOY'S MOTHER, LEAVING HIM, JUST TO BE SOME BASTARD and get away with no punishment!" Artemis raged on. She pulled out of one of her bows from the tent and shot him in the arm. Gabe howled in pain.
I picked up that Artemis is probably going to make Gabe's death as slow and painful as possible.
My mom wouldn't like this, I realized.
"Artemis," I whisper, trying not to agitate her and end up in the same position as Gabe.
"What's wrong, Perseus?" She asked. I noticed she used my full name, I wonder why.
"Don't torture Gabe." That must have thrown Artemis off because she did a double-take.
"Why Perseus?! This is the damned male that caused your pain. My pain." Once again, Perseus, why tell people to use your nickname when they are not gonna use it. I sighed.
"I don't think mo-I don't think mom would like it if her best friend was a torturer," I explained, fully knowing she killed idiot humans the same gender as me.
"Even for a person that committed homicide?" She asked. To be honest, I didn't really know what that means and was guessing it was around the lines of murder so I just nod. Meanwhile, Gabe was cowering in the corner of the living room in fear. It's weird to see such a large man trying to be so small.
"Just go for the kill. Anyway, Hades is supposed to send him to a field or something?" I say and Artemis nodded and began to close her eyes as the room got rapidly brighter, like when we were teleporting.
"Alright. That'll be torture enough."
"Percy, close your eyes." Artemis mandated in a tone that I had never heard before. I closed my eyes and a scream erupted, but then it abruptly halted. Gabe was dead. I couldn't think. I've dreamt of this moment for a long time, but now I just couldn't process this. I was free. Free from his enslavement. Free from his horror. Free from his abuse.
Now for just one more thing.
"Artemis can you flash us back?" I request.
"Sure," She answers. She puts her hand on my shoulder again and I feel the same queasiness in my stomach that I felt the first time. But I didn't care, I was free.
We ended up in the same tent where I slept in when I fell from the maple tree. Time for the last challenge.
"A-Artemis?"
"Yes, Percy?" She replied.
"C-c-can I stay w-w-with y-your hunt?" I stuttered.
"I'm sorry, what did you say, Percy?" She asked, confused. I cleared my throat.
"C-can I s-stay with you-your hunt?" I ask nervously. Her eyes widen as she opened her mouth.
"Find out next time in the next installment of this book."
:)
Ink- *Insert devil emoji of your choice*
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