Sorry everyone for the really long wait. Life has been crazy! High School Graduation, Church activities, my new full time job, laptop malfunction, my sister getting married causing us to stay at a place with bad internet for a week, my other sister having a child, writer's block, and other things, I haven't had much time to write. But, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I made it really long to hopefully make up for the long time away!
Disclaimer: Don't own PJO!
Song I'm listening to right now: 'he mele no lilo' by keali'i ho'omalu, mark(Lilo and Stitch never gets old…)
Chapter 12
Narrator's(my) P.O.V.
Over the centuries when they pictured Olympus, they never really pictured it like this. Well, they knew it used to be like this in ancient times, but they never thought that it was seriously like that now. But the peaceful mood, buildings, clothing, and behavior were exactly the same. It was strange, going from the modern world of new york city, with it's skyscrapers, honking cars, telephones, and thousands of different restaurants serving different kinds of food to Olympus. Like they were going back in time to when Ancient Greece thrived and the new worlds had yet to be discovered or even seen as a possibility. When Ziana looked about, she couldn't help but smile; Olympus was so much like her home planet with it's Architecture and way of dress. Ziana was filled with shame when she had to admit that it had been a while since she had visited her home family, almost as long as percy had since he was last on earth. A sickness and longing for home constantly filled her and she made a promise that, after this, she would return to her home planet again to see how it had changed and visit the graves of her friends who had long passed.
"Taking a stroll down memory lane?" The voice came out of nowhere, but it did not surprise her as it would others. The voice was a familiar one, one that she never jumped at. He often snuck up on her like this, with the hopes to scare her enough to at least freeze or jump a little. It had become a goal of Jordan's to scare her; he had scared every single person in the army at one point or another over the millennials, but he had never caught her by surprise, something she took pride in. In true stubbornness though, he never stopped in his quest. Turning to face him, Ziana smiled.
"Olympus is very much like my home." Ziana commented. Jordan nodded in agreement.
"The clouds remind me of my home as well, but the air is too polluted to be like Brees." Jordan stated, looking around with a slight frown resting on his lips. Wanting to change the current topic, Ziana courageously reached and grasped Jordan's hand, causing him to raise an eyebrow at her in question.
"Let's look around, try to find something we haven't seen yet." She offered. A slight smile curved on Jordan's lips before he allowed Ziana to pull him down the road towards a part of Olympus they haven't seen yet. Of course, as is what happens when you are randomly walking about a new place with no help or guide, they got lost. Stopping for a second, they looked at the buildings around them but they were no different than the rest of Olympus, serving no purpose towards direction and location. Something caught Jordan's attention though and he quickly grasped Ziana's shoulder, causing her to look over at him. One building of sorts was different than the identical one's placed all around olympus.
While those ones were tall, mighty, made of white stone, incredibly detailed on the outside as a symbol of the owner of that building and their power. This one was completely black, pitch black with no speck of color anywhere on the surface. Ziana and Jordan glanced at one another before starting down the path towards it that ran perpendicular from the one that were just standing on. Stopping next to it, they scrutinized the structure for any colors or blemishes now that they were closer. But no; it was as if the structure was made out of black glass, painstakingly melted to perfection. The building was two times taller than Ziana and Jordan. And right in front of them, there was an opening, no door or anything, just a darkness leading into this mysterious space. On guard, Ziana and Jordan slowly made their way through the door, prepared to defend themselves if anything bad happened from this.
The second they stepped through the doorway, everything went black. They were still alert and awake, but nothing met their eyes. Then, suddenly as if on command, lines and words lit up around the walls to their sides and behind them, as if a fuse had been lit at both sides of the doors opening, going across each wall in a zigzag kind of way in green light. The light stopped just before turning the corner to go onto the wall in front of them, that one still pitch black. Curiosity filling her, Ziana turned to face the right side of the door. Looking at the capital letter spelling out large words, she was confused at what it said. What did Lightning Thief mean? Reaching out to touch it, she started as a warmth flourished under her hand. The words and lines of this section of the wall lit up a light flash from behind her and she spun to face the wall that had, previously, been completely black.
Then, right before their eyes, a picture appeared on the wall. Noticing two chairs had appeared in the middle of the room, Ziana and Jordan both went to sit down in them. That is when the show started. They gasped at the quality of the picture, as if this was truly pure life and not a picture of a screen. They gasped then at who was sitting in the middle of the screen in a desk; their best friend and leader, Percy Jackson. Younger, before joining Chaos' army, before the war with Gaea, or the war with Kronos. Studying him, they noticed he looked completely different, almost innocent. That is when they realized that the percy in front of them, was from before percy even realized he was a demi-god.
"The Lightning Thief…" Ziana whispered, remembering the words she had read and touch, "That is what Percy called his first ever quest; these are percy's memories." Ziana realized in shock. Jordan gazed around the dark room, illuminated by the images moving across the screen, showing the different events of Percy's first quest in chronological order, so clear that it seemed as if it was happening right now in front of their eyes. When that was done the screen cleared and the green lines and words appeared on the walls once again. Through the actions of Ziana and Jordan, each individual quest percy had participated in(even obscure ones that Percy had briefly mentioned such as the sword of hades).
They watched in awe as, right before their eyes, percy grew and grew. His fighting growing sharper, his instincts quickening, his powers strengthening. But, they also watched the toll this life of adventure took on a person who, despite their strength and power, was still just a child, a child with all this responsibility thrust on them. As Ziana and Jordan watched the innocent childlike look disappear more and more from their respected leaders eyes, they wondered in their minds how the percy they knew turned out how he was now, after so much hardship and hatred towards him. They were confused and almost angry at the gods; on how they greed and pride turned them to hurt anyone around them, even their own children.
They felt angry at how the Gods had taken the rules that Chaos had designed for the worlds, and molded them to benefit them, but not benefit their own children. The laws keeping the he mortal world and the mythological world were there to protect and help the humans and demigods, not do the opposite. But, their anger wasn't strong and bit by bit it lowered as they watched the subtle things, the actions of the gods that showed just how much they loved their children. And they realized that the gods did not act this way on purpose, it was just that they had lived this way for so many centuries that the idea and actual movement towards a loving relationship between gods and demigods was near impossible. The gods were so out of practice at loving their children and being around mortals in normal situations that they had forgotten how to start those relationships back up, no matter how much they wanted to. And as the last quest of percy's ended, they hoped that Percy had taught them something, and that they had finally changed. But if they hadn't, Ziana and Jordan would do whatever they could to make that happen.
"This is beautiful, but why would the gods make two memorials for Percy on Olympus? And why would they be so far apart from one another?" Ziana wondered to herself. Jordan's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"Ziana, you need to see this..." Turning towards the direction at which his voice was coming from, Ziana saw him scrutinizing something on the wall near the doorway. Getting closer, Ziana saw words that they had missed in the search of the quests, words smaller than the rest. When she finally deciphered the words, she was shocked and more confused than ever. Inscribed in illuminating green writing were the words, 'dedicated to the greatest demigod who ever lived. Your memory will forever live on in here, even a part of you that most never saw, yet I saw every time in one of our seaside adventures. I will miss you forever dear friend - Artemis'.
"Why would Artemis dedicate something so beautiful to Percy? Doesn't she hate all males? Yet she calls him a dear friend here. I feel we are missing something here; something very important." Percy had never once mentioned that him and Artemis were friends; in fact, when he did, on occasion, speak of her, it was with a touch of sadness and almost longing to his words, as if he wished they could've been friends. And yet, in these sentences, Artemis spoke as if he was the greatest friend she had ever had the honor of meeting, enough to create this masterpiece of a memorial for him. But, never ones to step away from a puzzling situation involving a friend, they knew they would get to the bottom of this no matter how hard it could be.
~~~~~~Hunter's camp~~~~~~
Things had definitely changed for the Hunters of Artemis. Life had been turned upside down for them and it seemed as if it wouldn't be fixing itself anytime soon. And it all was based on one character: Zayden Blaze. The hunters weren't too happy that a male had joined their hunt. But, they had to begrudgingly admit that they respected him. He was quite the warrior, and honorable for a man. Their respect grew for him even more when he had saved Jessica from a horrible death. They expected Jessica to do something to thank him, as that was one thing they loved about their fellow sister. But never in their dreams did they expect her to become best friends with the Guardian. The two were inseparable; joined at the hip as if they had known each other their whole lives.
They would never admit it, but most of the sisters were jealous- slowly but surely Jessica was separating herself from them, spending more and more time with Zayden. Now, they knew better than to believe she was falling in love with Zayden, and unlike what they would think about most men, they knew that Zayden was not one to try to trick one of them in such a way, like Orion did. But they worried; it was obvious that Jessica missed her brother, she often spoke of him and on the anniversary of his death she would not speak a word, going through the motions of the day, and at night she would sit by the blazing campfire, thinking of him and honoring his memory. They could see that Jessica thought of Zayden as another chance, a way to have a brother again. The hunters admired Chaos' army, and they worried that Jessica would grow to care for Zayden so much that, when the war finished and Zayden left, they worried that Jessica would follow him. It was a pretty amazing group of people, even though most were male. And, if they were still being honest, they didn't hold the same angry fire towards men as they always had.
Maybe it was because of the time the spent around the Amazons, whose hatred towards men was less than theirs. Or maybe it was because of all the time they spent at camp over the past few centuries, but all of them, even Artemis, had realized that not all men were evil. Of course, a lot of them were horrible, conniving, barely human creatures, but not all of them. Their anger towards men now as mostly for show, to keep their image up as they didn't want to let go of the old ways that they have held on to for so many years. It was a big part of their identity as a group and they couldn't imagine life without it. And to admit that most of their hatred was gone, would change things.
Despite what the Aphrodite cabin used to tease them about, and much of the mythical world believed, the hunters longed for that love, the love they heard of in stories and saw on many of their travels. To admit the changing idea, would bring that idea to the forefront of their mind, bombarding them with ideas they were never phased with. The idea of being a wife(not a housewife, their ideas will never change enough for that), of being so loved and having someone that was a half of them that they had never known they missed. And something else, something so desired by them all, even Artemis, yet it was something they never could have without giving up so much. To have a child; to be a mother.
But, the consequences of breaking their vows were too much and too straightforward to ever be acted on. So the hunters lived on, never admitting to anyone, not even each other, on just how they felt, confused and empty. But the one that felt the worst amount of this, was Artemis herself. For as she watched Jessica and Zayden, she felt a pull in her chest. She couldn't explain why or how she saw this, but Zayden reminded her so much of Percy. She didn't know why; they rarely spoke or interacted. But every word he spoke was to the point. He carried himself in the way that Percy always did. And even the way he spoke reminded her of Percy; the inflections he used when speaking at certain points, displaying his emotions no matter how much he tried not to. But why did it matter that Zayden reminded her of Percy?
Because Artemis has been in love with Percy for centuries. Every quest, every fight, every event in his life, she was there, watching over him, making sure he would be alright. And she would help, whether it would be creating more food in their slowly emptying sacks, killing a monster following them, giving the finishing blow to a monster that was causing trouble for him, or influencing a mortal to give them directions to a place and keep them out of danger. She had been there for him as much as she could, determined to help since she couldn't be down there herself. But her love for Percy started way before that, years before those quests even started; before the gods even found out about percy; before Percy realized he was anything different than the mortals around him.
~~~~~~Flashback Starts~~~~~~
It was mid-day in New York City, and way above the city's highest building floated the spectacular structure of Olympus. Laughter and music rang through the homes, temples, and streets as if there was no anger or strife, not even a reason for any such things. And the same was for one of the Olympians temples, though it would soon see something occur that only a rare handful of people will know about for years to come. Lady Artemis was walking through her temple, thinking about her hunters next adventure. There was said to be a surge of monster sightings in Washington, but there was rumors of a groups of laistrygonian giants down in alabama. Which one?
Suddenly, Artemis stopped in her tracks as a surge or power filled her, unlike any she had felt before. Something around the world was happening right now, and it had something to do with her domains. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused on the signal to find out where the power surge was from. She was surprised to see it was from a hospital in New York City. Not surprised it was a hospital as one of her offices was childbirth and that was probably the situation. Flashing down there, but hiding behind the strongest cloud of mist she could conjure so to not be seen, she came across a woman lying in a hospital bed, tired yet completely at peace. And laying quietly in her arms was a little bundle- a baby boy wrapped in a blue blanket. Artemis was confused; this baby obviously called her here, but why? What was so special about this little newborn?
It was as she looked around the room that she realized just why this baby was important. Though he looked older now than usual, Artemis would recognize him anywhere: Poseidon. Everything about this child became clear in that moment. This little boy, this little innocent newborn was a son of Poseidon. Poseidon had broken his oath and this baby was the result. Artemis now understood why it had been her of all people. Her and Uncle Poseidon had always had a connection between the moon and the ocean; this boy had an incredibly strong potential towards his powers over the ocean, over all kinds of water even. Sure he was just newly born, but Artemis knew that, when he was older, his powers would be quite the sight to behold. But there was something else in this, another connection between her and this son of Poseidon. She could sense that his destiny was intertwined with her, though how she didn't know. She resolved in that moment that she would watch over this child to make sure she found out their connection. Teleporting back to her home, she was thankful Poseidon didn't notice her, too wrapped in his first son in decades.
~~~~~~Six years later~~~~~~
It was a normal day as always for Artemis; she and the hunt had just finished a hunt after a pack of hellhounds that were terrorizing a town in Kansas. She snuck up to Olympus to speak with her favorite aunt, Hestia, and relax in her temple. And, what had now become a common event in her days, check on Poseidon's demigod son, Perseus. Artemis was reluctant to admit it, but the boy had grown on her. He was different than most boys; Uncle Poseidon had always been her favorite of all the gods, major or minor. And his children usually had similar personality traits to his(except for that one horrible man all those centuries ago…), but Percy was an exact clone to his father. Also, with such a woman as Sally Jackson raising him, it was no wonder.
Artemis absolutely adored Sally and often wished that she had run into Sally when she was younger- after her uncle had died and she was so lost; mortals were allowed in her hunt and Sally would have been an amazing addition. But, destiny was to happen, and Sally was destined to continue in the mortal world, have Percy, and raise him to be an exceptional hero of one of the Big Three. It had been quite a while since Artemis had spent so much time watching the mortal world that she didn't realize just how much she missed it. The mortal had changed so much that it became a constant exciting part of her day when she got to watch over Percy. But today would be much different, for when Artemis focused in on Percy, she immediately tensed. Something was off, a magical presence was there, one she came into contact with often: A monster.
Eyes shooting from person to person, looking through the mist, she found him. A seemingly normal adult man was sitting on a bench, yet behind the mist he was a huge laistrygonian giant, eyes staying on only one figure: Percy. Instinct pulled Artemis to do one thing- protect. Appearing down there, Artemis didn't care what happened, she was going to protect Percy, it was the least she could do for Poseidon, after all he had done for her over the centuries. And the best way she could think of to reward such an amazing woman as Sally. Shortening to just a few feet and gaining an appearance of a six year old, changing her silver eyes to a gray that matched her auburn hair well and didn't seem too supernatural, she marched right up to the Son of Poseidon.
"Hi!" She exclaimed. Startled, he looked up with wide sea-green eyes, eyes he had gained from his father, just like much of the rest of his appearance.
"Hello…" Percy hesitantly started. That was one thing Artemis immediately liked about Percy- he was incredibly shy, yet once you got him comfortable and got to know him, it was hard to get him to stop talking(something she had noticed when he was around his mother as opposed to his fellow classmates).
"I'm Lily; today is my first day." She confidently stated. She smiled slightly, nodding.
"I'm Percy." He introduced.
"Percy? That a cool name." His eyebrows shot up at that, Artemis knew they would as most kids didn't think it was and instead teased him about it, "Is it short for anything? Mine's short for Lilian." Artemis lied; Lily was a name many of her hunters had owned over the centuries and one she had always adored, so why not make it her name for right now? Percy turned red in embarrassment here.
"Perseus…" He muttered, as if the quieter he would, the less I would be able to hear. Unfortunately(or fortunately since I was saving his life now because of that fact), I was a goddess with superior hearing, so there was no real difference from that voice and his normal voice on terms of hearing trouble.
"Perseus? Like the Son of Zeus from Ancient Greece?" Artemis excitedly asked, feeling accomplished when Percy lit up at her knowledge; Artemis knew that he was thoroughly interested in Greek mythology, mostly because of the stories his mother told him each night; because of his early age and his dyslexia, he couldn't really read yet, which disappointed his teachers.
"Yup; My mom loves those stories and always tells them to me." He excitedly answered.
"Cool; my middle name is Hestia." Artemis thought up, choosing the name of her favorite aunt, "After the Greek Goddess of the Hearth and Home." She nonchalantly stated, secretly happy at Percy's growing enthusiasm.
"Really?" He exclaimed in an excited whispered. Artemis nodded swiftly.
"Yup; Lilian Hestia Brooks is my full name." Artemis stated.
"I'm Perseus Theseus Jackson." Percy countered with. Artemis nodded in approval.
"My two favorite heroes." Truly, they were; the only male demigods that Artemis really respected as they didn't just rely on their strength; one was righteous and kindhearted and the other was careful and thoughtful.
"Mine two." Percy agreed with that. At that moment, the bell for the end of recess rang, "Whose class are you in?"
"Mrs. Julian's." Artemis answered with, choosing Percy's teacher as she influenced the mist to make it seem to the school that she was a true and real student that had started today. As Percy headed to class, Artemis spared a glance at the Giant still on the bench. She had noticed that he had stayed back instead of approaching, not knowing just what Artemis was, her appearance and power intertwining together. To show him, Artemis turned her eyes briefly back to their sharp silver, like full moons. Smirking as the giant went still, she continued to the school to her new class; happy that they giant had gotten her message- she was a goddess and she was going to protect Percy from him. He would tread carefully now that she was here.
~~~~~~A week later~~~~~~
The giant followed Percy around for the next three weeks, determined to eat the demigod as the aura Percy gave off, even buried under his stepfather's stench, was extraordinary. But, Artemis(or Lily really), was always there to stop him before he got too close to Percy, pretending to be an adult so he could lure Percy away and eat him. From the moment Percy walked out his front door, to the moment he got to school, Artemis would watch over him. And when he arrived, she would stay by his side until he left for home. Then she watched him until he entered back through his front door.
They even started to hang out on the weekends as Percy, to get away from his stepfather, went to work with his mom, eating sweets and babbling to customers and employees( who all adored him). She would join him, bringing blue food( his recent obsession after something Gabe said a month or so ago) from different restaurants and stores she ran across on her travels with the hunt, always watching in amusement when he demanded to know where she got all the strange treats, only ever replying with the fact that her father traveled to a lot of different places. Finally, the giant gave up and left Percy alone to find another demigod snack: Artemis knew he'd give up sooner or later- giants weren't known much for their focus and determination. but, despite the fact that her mission was done, Artemis couldn't bare the idea of erasing everyone's minds of her existence in their lives and leaving Percy confused, lost, and hurt.
So, despite the ancient rules, she stayed. And besides, she reasoned with herself, as Goddess of the Hunt, those rules were always kind of lose on her, and it's not like she was going to meet a man and have a child, she was just doing her favorite uncle and her destiny a favor and protecting a demigod, simple as that not ruining fate at all; actually she was kind of helping it along by keeping a possible child of the prophecy safe(she didn't think much on the fact of how angry her father would be if he found out that she was protecting a Big Three child that was not his own, it was her choice and she'd stick to it no matter what). And for quite a while, she was excited at this change of life, a change from doing the same old things each day for so long. But, of course, her secret couldn't stay secret for long.
~~~~~~Two years later~~~~~~
Now eight years old with Percy, Artemis was able to lower her use of power over the mist as she had been going to an actual mortal school for so long, she just had to keep just the mist for the first part when she came in. School was easy, and sometimes it became slightly boring, but Percy always made it fun and always made Artemis excited to go. Through every school they went to, as they were both caught up in the monster attacks that, through the mist, made it look like their fault so they stuck together. She is reluctant to admit it, even to her own mind, but she has started to gain a small crush on the son of Poseidon. After spending so much time with him, it shouldn't be a surprise. But, because of her hatred to males, it definitely shocked her to one day find this feeling buried in her heart.
After a few months of spending time with Percy day in and day out, Artemis split herself in two so she could spend time with him and still keep up with her duties; it exhausted her, but Percy's excitement always rubbed into her and changed her outlook on everything. But, not all Artemis' worries were gone, most had now turned to focus around Percy, more specifically on his lifestyle. Though she had never met him directly, she had seen enough and hear enough about Gabe Ugliano: The most despicable man she had ever seen; a perfect example of all that she hated in men. And the fact that people as amazing as Percy and Sally had to live with him was terrible. She was grateful though(not towards the jerk though), the reason he was here, the sacrifice that showed just how much Sally loved Percy and wanted to keep him safe.
And it kept him safe; not covering all his power, but for a demigod as powerful as Percy, it covered up quite a large amount to keep the majority of monsters away, the rest were scared off by Artemis. Another worry was their financial status, they were already middle class, barely scraping by, and it being worsened by the money Gabe took for his gambling, Percy often saw things he wanted, asked his mom for them in innocence, and was refused because of the expense. Artemis was not poor by any means, being a millennia old goddess and all, and often times she just wished she could slide some money under their door during hard times or stuff it in Percy's backpack, but Sally and Percy had too much pride and honor to allow such a thing so she made up or it by constantly buying Percy treats and spending a ton on his birthday presents(and if they ever realized just how much the presents were, they never commented other than a few unsure looks).
But there was one thing Percy wanted, wanted so bad, yet Artemis didn't know how to get that practically and still have it make sense and not have them question her and her resources. The things Percy wanted so much was one things: To go boating. Often times over the years, Percy and Artemis would go to the beach(Montauk occasionally as well; one of her favorites places ever) and ran around playing games and messing around in the sand; it happened so often that they had dubbed it their 'Seaside Adventures'-their inside joke that they always hinted at and giggled when people were really confused, especially Sally.
But Percy didn't just want their adventures to be on the shore, he wanted to venture out into the sea finally, for something other than swimming. Artemis loved the idea of her being the one to show her son of Poseidon best friend the wonder of the ocean, and hoped that she could. But how could an eight year old claim to own a boat, let alone drive it? Well, the solution to that question would come from somewhere else, someone who had definitely noticed Artemis' split attention. After school had finished and Artemis flashed back to her palace, she froze at the figure standing in her living room.
"Ah, hello Artemis. I was hoping you would come home soon. Were you out with your hunter's?" Hestia questioned, tending to Artemis' fireplace, a way she can enter any temple without permission from the temple owner. Realizing this was her kind-hearted Aunt and that she didn't know about Percy, Artemis relaxed and made her way over to Hestia.
"Yes, we just finished a successful mission against a group of dracaenae and I came up here for a break." Artemis stated, going through her clones memories as it collided back to her form. Hestia nodded, watching as the fire crackled and sparked.
"You seem different lately, niece. More...at peace, as if you have a better purpose in life." Hestia observed, glancing once over at the Goddess of the Moon. Artemis paused at that, thinking back. Was Percy making such an impact on her that even her aunt noticed? Did anyone else notice her change? Artemis hoped not; she would not like it if she had slipped up and caused people to pause and watch her more carefully.
"Just enjoying life; I haven't met any horrible men recently." Artemis explained. Hestia smiled here, staring at the fire.
"I believe you have met the complete opposite; am I right?" Hestia casually stated, her words causing Artemis to freeze as her mind went straight to Percy.
"W-what do you mean Hestia?" But Hestia's look was too all-knowing. Artemis was sure that all mother's cared about their homes gained this look from Hestia; Artemis couldn't lie anymore at that look- Hestia knew about Percy. Sighing, Artemis spoke, "How long have you known about Percy?"
"A few months." Hestia stated, poking the fires as if this was not a huge breach on all of Artemis' beliefs, "He is quite the extraordinary boy, isn't he? I believe he gets it from both his parents." Hestia analyzed. Artemis mentally sighed- of course Hestia would know who Percy's father was.
"Yes, he is." Artemis smiled, thinking about Percy.
"Be careful niece; if I didn't know any better, I would think you were falling for this demigod." Hestia's look said enough; she knew Artemis was falling for him.
"So, what will be your place in this?" Artemis questioned, defeated. Hestia grinned an almost mischievous grin here, which surprised Artemis.
"Why, I'll be lily's older aunt; your namesake to be exact." She answered, raising her eyebrows to show she knew about Lily's middle name. Artemis raised an eyebrow at that.
"Oh, and how will you be introduced?" Artemis inquired.
"Oh, that's the fun part…"
~~~~~~A few months later~~~~~~
Summer had begun for Percy and Artemis' school and Artemis was excited. Today was the day Percy would get to meet her aunt and finally realize his dreams. Percy, of course, didn't know this so he was completely confused as to why Artemis was bouncing up and down all day and pulling him around. Artemis usually didn't act this way, but she figured that if you appear as a child for so long, you start to act like one(hopefully though, this wouldn't show as Artemis around the gods or hunters).
"Lily, where are you pulling me?" Percy whinned, pulling his arm from Artemis' tight grip and massaging it, glaring slightly at her, but she was too caught up in the moment to care.
"Stop worrying, you'll love it!" She exclaimed, eyes focused ahead. Sighing in defeat, Percy allowed her to continue dragging him, curious as to what was so exciting on their first day of Summer. When they reached their destination, Percy was excited but still confused at all the hype.
"The Beach..?" Percy slightly questioned. He absolutely loved the beach, but they already spent most of their time in the Summer at the beach, and usually Percy was the most excited with Artemis being dragged along. What was going on? Artemis didn't answer though, continuing on through the beach past the few people that camp right to the beach right away like them. It was as they made their way to the docks that Percy decided to give up on asking why they were here at all. It was with a suddenly pause that the arrived at one boat, Artemis' smile widening.
"Lily?" Percy questioned, trying to get her attention so she could tell him what's going on, "Why did we stop at this boat?"
"You'll see." And with that, Artemis jumped up onto the boat, causing Percy to gasp.
"Lily! That's trespassing!" He whisper-yelled, glancing around wildly to see if anyone was paying attention to them, desperately hoping that the owner wasn't around to yell at them. Turning back to look at the book, Percy panicked to see that Artemis was gone now and at the fact that he just realized what her exciting plan. Pushing against his conscience using his loyalty to his best friend, he jumped up onto the boat and followed her where she went.
"Lily! I know I always say I wish I could go on a boat, but this was not what I had in mind! I don't want to steal someone's boat!" Percy froze in place, after going up the three floors of the small yacht's quarters, seeing two figures on the boat's helm. Artemis was sitting in one of the long seats facing one another to Percy's left, leaning back in relaxation. And straight in front of Percy, past Artemis was two seats; a driver and a passenger seat. And in the driver's seat sat a woman, clearly the owner of this boat. If he thought he was shocked before, it was definitely nothing compared to how he felt now. Looking up, Artemis grinned mischievously at Percy's utterly lost expression as he glanced from Artemis to the unknown woman and back. Standing up, Artemis spoke.
"Percy, I would like you to meet my Aunt Hestia." Artemis introduced, turning to face the boat's owner. The woman stood up and turned to face the two best friends. She was short, looking about thirty-two or so with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a flowing brown shirt with blue jeans and tennis shoes.
"Your...Aunt?" Percy questioned. Aunt Hestia beamed at him, making her way over to him.
"So your Percy!" Hestia exclaimed, stopping next to them, "Lily is always talking about you!" Hestia stated. Artemis blushed in embarrassment.
"Hestia…" She hissed, not meeting Percy's eyes. Percy grinned, glad someone spoke of him, and in a good way it seemed. Especially since it was Artemis who did.
"So Lily was named after you?" Percy questioned
"Yes, she was. Our family absolutely love Greek Mythology. I hear yours does too, Perseus…" Hestia hinted, grinning. Percy blushed at that; not many people knew his full name.
"Yeah…" Trying to get back on track, Percy steered the conversation away from himself, "So...what are we doing here exactly?" He questioned. Artemis rolled her eyes at his slowness while Hestia just laughed.
"What do you think, Sea Sponge?" Percy pouted at Artemis' usual nickname for him- according to her, it was because of how much he loved to soak up the ocean, "Were going boating!" Percy froze at that, eyes widening in disbelief.
"We're going boating?" Percy slowly questioned.
"Yes, we are. I've had this boat for a while and when Lily informed me that it was a dream of yours to be on a boat, I offered for you to use it whenever you needed to. Today will be the first of many days this summer." Hestia figured. Percy looked back and forth between the two, as if to make sure they weren't kidding or messing around. When he finally assured himself that they weren't, he freaked.
"REALLY?!" Percy was pretty much jumping in place now, "I get to go on a boat!?" His ADHD only made the excitement worse, the girls watching on in amusement. Percy ran past them to the front of the helm looking out at the sea. The girls shared a knowing look as the boat rocked from the strengthening waves that were clearly being affected by the Son of Poseidon's emotions. Shaking their heads though watched Percy run back and forth from each side of the boat and each level, checking out the relaxation area that was the second floor, and even sliding down the fire pole that led to the living quarters below the boat, the girl's laughing as they heard his yelp of awe at the spacious living quarters, like a five star suite. Suddenly, Percy raced back to the driver's area. Artemis opened her mouth to ask what he thought about the boat(though his actions gave it away) and suddenly froze: Percy was hugging her.
"Thank you Lily!" Now, Artemis never let any male, not even her brother, touch her, and definitely not hug her. But, Percy was her friend and she found that she liked the hug. So, relaxing, she hugged him back. Hestia watched on with a knowing smile, sensing the romantic love that was growing between the two. She didn't know how the future would turn out, but right now, she was happy because her family was slowly knitting itself back together. Pulling back from the hug, the two sat down quickly, Artemis back in her previous spots, and Percy in the passenger seat. After untying them from the dock, Hestia made her way back to the driver's seat, starting the boat up and slowly made her way out into to open sea.
~~~~~~Four years later~~~~~~
But life slowly changed from that peaceful time as the future finally arrived; Percy was now twelve. Artemis had hoped that she could stay with him a little longer, but the events of this past week have caused those hopes to dissolve. Tensions were high between her father and Percy's and the winter solstice was the last straw: Zeus; lightning bolt was stolen and he, of course, blamed Poseidon and his son. Artemis knew now that Percy was about to be pulled into the world of their crazy family, and she knew she couldn't follow him into that. When he entered that world, Lily would be no more- she would return to being just Artemis. She spent days fighting with herself, denying the fast approaching events. But, sooner or later she couldn't. Not wanting to ruin Percy's Christmas celebrations, she kept silent about her future plans- she would tell him tomorrow. So, on December 26, Artemis gathered her courage and appeared in an alley outside Percy's apartment's as Lily. Taking a deep breath, she made her way into the building, waving at the owner who she had gotten to know over the years- he was still a despicable man, but not as bad as others, she had to admit. Stopping outside the Jackson's doorway, she pulled together her wits and knocked three times. She heard footsteps from the apartment and waited for the eventual opening of the door. Her eyes landed on Sally, who beamed at her.
"Hello Lily, I didn't expect to see you today!" She exclaimed. Now, Sally Jackson often confused Artemis. She was a clearsighted mortal, and was able to see through Poseidon's disguise. Artemis honestly didn't know if she could see through Artemis to the truth, but if she could, she never asked and went through the years in ignorant bliss. Artemis figured that Sally knew, but saw that it was not to hurt Percy(doing the opposite in fact, Artemis hoped) and let it happen.
"Hi Sally, is Percy here?" Artemis asked, her nervousness showing. She furrowed her eyebrows, sensing it but nodded.
"Yes, he is up in his room. Percy!" Sally yelled, he turned to look inside the apartment.
"Yeah!"
"Lily's here to see you!"
"K, I'll be right down!" With that, Sally turned back to face Artemis.
"Hey Lily, I have to run over to Mrs. Garland's room. She borrowed a few pots that I need for tonight and you know how she can be." Sally sighed. Mrs. Garland was a seventy-three year old widow who did not act like one. She was lively, funny, and energetic. but one thing that came along with that was that she was a big talker. She could keep you at her house for hours just talking. "Will you be ok with being alone for a while? Gabe's at work." Artemis nodded, stepping in through the door Sally opened up fully, "Ok, be safe, hopefully I'll be back in five minutes. Hopefully…" With one last smile, Sally stepped out the door, closing it behind her.
Taking a deep breath, glad that Percy was taking his time upstairs(probably getting dressed as he loved lying around in his pajamas all day, but Sally got mad when he tried to when Artemis was here), she made her way to the kitchen and sat down at the chair, thinking things over. But, despite her many years on this Earth, she had no clue what she would say to Percy, no clue on how to break the truth and have him in less pain. But, no words existed really that would make Percy be ok with this sudden change in his life.
So, brushing away all her feeble explanations, Artemis decided to wing it, hoping the words would come to her when she was desperate for them and in the actual moment. Her breath turned shaking as she heard Percy's bedroom door open and heard his thundering footsteps down the stairs. Her breath caught as Percy appeared. Artemis learned to stop ignoring her feelings for this contradicting male. She was in love with Percy Jackson, plain and simple- and she was not ashamed if it; not that she would ever tell him though, or anyone really as she worried about the consequences that would come of it(Not including Sally or Hestia though as they probably already knew and had for years now).
She was annoyed that, even after all these years, Percy still managed to take her breath away. He has always been awkward; not really seeming to fit into his body right, but over the years he grew taller. Artemis knew that, sooner or later he would be quite the eye catcher to females everywhere(which never failed to shoot pangs of jealousy through her), especially with his training at Camp Half-Blood and the quest Artemis was sure he would go on. Shaking out of her thoughts, she watched as Percy noticed her and smiled her lopsided smile.
"Hey Lily." He paused though from his usual speech of what was on the schedule today, noticing the mood surrounding Artemis. Though he was completely oblivious to Artemis' feelings for him, he was actually incredibly observant, despite what his teachers believed, "...What's wrong?" He questioned. Artemis opened her mouth, ready to wing it, but even when she was so desperate, the words failed to spring to mind. Sensing that it was really serious, Percy's eyebrows furrowed and he made his way to the table, pulling out the chair to Artemis' left, facing her. Artemis was silent, staring down at the table in front of her, as if hoping that the right words would appear there. Fiddling with her fingers, she steeled herself- pushing it off now would get her nowhere. She just need to wing it! Looking up, setting her chin, her new found courage went down the drain as her grey eyes met confused and worried sea-green eyes. Sighing, Artemis spoke softly.
"Percy…" A pause, "Percy, I'm moving." Artemis stared into Percy's eyes, waiting for his reaction. Whatever Percy was expecting, it wasn't that, not even close.
"What?" His voice was quite, so low that Artemis almost didn't hear what he said.
"You know how I live with my Aunt Hestia?" Percy nodded slowly, "Well, she is moving back to her home in Greece...and I am going with her." Artemis revealed. It was technically true; people were getting suspicious of Hestia's constant disappearing to spend time with them. Artemis got away with it, as she was always on the Earth with the Hunters or looking for new Hunters(or hunting despicable men), so if the gods sensed her presence there, they thought she was with her hunters. But with Hestia, she only ever was in Camp Half-Blood or Olympus, so the fact that she kept appearing on Earth, made the gods curious as to what she was doing there. So Hestia had to stop being her mortal Aunt and go back to Olympus. Artemis just had to go back anyway at the same time because of Percy's impending future.
"But...but you can't leave!" Percy exclaimed, upset, sitting up towards her, "You're my best friend! You're pretty much the only person I have, other than mom! I can barely remember a time where you weren't in my life. I- I…" Percy was practically hyperventilating now- he clearly never expected this to happen. Artemis, on the other hand, knew all along that this would have to happen sometime, she just denied it. Now she felt guilty about never telling him, or even hinting at it over the years at the very least! Not able to take the distressed percy, Artemis hugged him tightly, burying her face in between his shoulder and neck. Percy froze at the intimate hug. Sure, over the past four years, they had hugged often, but never like this. This was the kind of hug you gave your family and...your girlfriend/boyfriend. At that thought, both Percy and Artemis blushed despite the horrible news. Taking a breath, Artemis pulled back, furiously blinking back the tears that had flew to her eyes. Percy chuckled, his eyes watering as well. After a few seconds, Percy bittersweet smile faded away, replaced by a frown.
"I don't want to lose you Lily…" Percy whispered, heartbroken. Artemis looked away, refusing to allow Percy to see the tears that had started to fall.
"I know…" It was after that that they fell silent- there was nothing else to say; each was lost in their thoughts. So, a few minutes later when Sally came back, she walked in to see her son and his best friend sitting at the table, silent and not looking at each other, tears falling down their faces. Needless to say, she soon found herself sitting next to Percy, in the same position as the two children.
~~~~~~A week later~~~~~~
It was January second now, and all the parents and kids were getting ready to go back to school tomorrow. But for the Jackson house, that was the last thing on their minds: Lily was leaving today. So, at two in the afternoon, they found them alone in the Jackson's apartment(Gabe was at a friends playing poker) saying goodbyes. Smiling bittersweetly, Sally hugged Artemis tightly.
"I'm going to miss you so much Lily. With you around, it has been like I have a daughter, something I have always wanted…" She whispered, "I always hoped you would become my daughter, through Percy." Artemis blushed furiously at that, the clear hint towards her feelings for Percy. Luckily it was a quiet enough whisper that Percy couldn't hear. Pulling away, Sally sniffled wiping away a tear that had escaped.
"I always hoped too Sally." Artemis revealed, not caring about Percy listening in as he didn't hear the first part. And Artemis truly had. Despite being a Greek goddess, she had dreamed of dating Percy and, if it got truly serious, letting go of her vow and marrying him, making him immortal. It was a deep hope that she had never shared with anyone, not even herself- until now. And since Artemis believed that Sally knew the truth about her, she watched as Sally's eyes widened- she had definitely not expected her to say that or ever feel that way, but Artemis had, and she still does.
But, the future is coming and no matter how much Artemis wants to be there for Percy through everything, she can't be. Stepping back, Sally looked between Artemis and Percy and her smile changed, now heartbroken, "I'll leave you two alone so you can say goodbye." She turned to face the hallway leading to her bedroom. Just before she disappeared into the hallway, she turned to face Artemis, "Goodbye Lily." And with that, Sally Jackson left. Taking a shaky breath from the wisdom the young mortal woman carried, Artemis turned to face Percy, sad as this would be the last time she met him.
They would run into one another at camp as Artemis and the hunters visited often, but she would be Artemis, not the Lily he knew. This friendship they had built over the years would be nothing more than a memory living on in their hearts and minds, affecting only them. It was selfish, but Artemis hoped that she would always hold a place in Percy's heart, as his first best friend and, maybe pushing it, but as his first love as well.
"So this is it, huh?" Percy stated, smiling his usual lopsided smile, though it was forced. Not knowing what to say, Artemis nodded, "I-I…" Percy swallowed here, looking away to around the room. Taking a deep breath, he met Artemis' eyes once again, "I'm going to miss you Lily." His voice was barely a whisper now. Artemis' eyes were blurry as more tears choked her, but she blinked furious, wanting to focus on Percy.
"I'm going to miss you too." Her voice was tight as she held back the tears. Not able to control herself, she jumped into Percy's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. Of course this would happen; just went she finally, after millennia, found the perfect male for herself, she had to lose him. Percy was still for a minute before he relaxed and hugged her back just as tightly, his own tears falling. After a few minutes of comfort, Artemis slowly pulled back, staring up at Percy. He smiled at her, so loving and kind, it broke Artemis' heart to leave him. Acting on some kind of courage, Percy reached up and brushed away a few strands of hairs that had fallen onto Artemis' face during the hug. Remembering Sally's words, shy Lily was no more as Artemis took her place in her mind. She may not be Percy's first crush, but she would take a sure place in his mind, as he would be the same in her's. Leaning up, pushing her nervousness at her new idea to the back of her mind, her lips brushed Percy's lightly. Percy stilled at that, and Artemis could only imagine how wide his eyes were right now as hers were closed. After a few seconds though, Percy slowly relaxed and brushed his own lips against hers. It was a small kiss, but one that spoke volumes between the two best friends who have loved each other for so long; it was both of their first kiss. Hearing a presence in her mind though, and knowing who it was and what it entailed, Artemis reluctantly stepped back.
"Goodbye Sea Sponge." She joked.
"Bye Lee-Lee." He stated, smiling. And with one last hug, Artemis left the apartment that had been like a home to her for so long, and left the boy who was the first to truly gain her trust and her heart.
~~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~~
But she was always there, watching over Percy on every quest, trying to help as much as she could. It was bittersweet when she first met Percy; he had changed so much since she left- he was more confident in himself. She couldn't help but feel a lot more than a twinge of jealousy when she saw the looks between Annabeth and Percy; she had hoped that she would hold a place in his heart longer than that, though it helped her with her cold frontier. She was so worried for him when she was kidnapped; she knew because of his loyalty, he would come to save Annabeth, and save her out of responsibility and duty.
Over the years, she watched him grow and change into the man she always knew he would become. Life was good, until it all changed. The betrayal, and soon the death of Perseus Jackson, something she had tried so hard to avoid over the years, just for it to happen right before her eyes, her helpless as it occurred. Though it has been centuries since she last saw Percy, she still loved him, if not more than she did then. He was her first love, her best friend, her life for so long. Every year she honored his memory, going to the beach they used to visit. Unlike the rest of the world, that beach has never changed(Artemis has made sure it wouldn't). And at the dock, sat her old ship. Old-fashioned compared to the latest boats, but it was her favorite, somewhere she could go and be Lily once again.
Sometimes she wished she could go to the Underworld, and visit Percy in Elysium, but what would be her excuse? It would seem to the other gods as random and may cause suspicion. And, way deep in her heart, she was afraid; afraid of Percy's reaction to her being Lily- she feared he would be angry and see it as another god interfering in his life and using him, especially for so long and in such a way. Besides, it was against the Ancient Laws to visit loved ones who had passed on- they were to stay in peace and rest, not to pull up their past. But, she hoped he was happy in Elysium, and remembering her as Lily because Lily was more of Artemis than Artemis had ever been allowed to show. Sighing, she shook herself out of her thoughts: she needed to prepare for the Olympian meeting.
~~~~~~Central Park~~~~~~
But away from the hunters camp, looking around Central Park, was Percy Jackson. Having grown up in this city so many years ago, Perseus was surprised to see that there weren't that many changes- car's now flew, and most appliances were upgraded and new, but it was the same old New York City, especially Central Park. Percy sighed, looking around at the place where so many peaceful memories were from- when he was a child and didn't know all of these things about monsters, gods, and demigods, life was just fun. Turning around, he left the park, stuffing his hands in his pant pockets and walking around New York. It was strange being back here after so many years; this was a different lifetime compared to now- he was a different Percy here. But he loved living here; it was his home, and one he defended in the Titan War. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a voice spoke.
"Lost in thought there Percy?" Smiling, he turned around to see Corina, who he had asked to visit him- he had something he had to ask her.
"Hey Corina. Sorry to pull you away from Camp." He apologized. She smiled, dressed casually like his as to not gather attention. They started to walk down the sidewalk, still talking.
"It's ok Percy, we haven't hung out for a while. You're doing ok, right?" Her eyebrows furrowed, remembering his past. He smiled a bittersweet smile.
"Yeah, it's strange being back here after so long away, but it's nice." He stated, "How's camp for you?" Percy asked, wanting to get to the reason he called her here.
"It's great, nothing's changed from your time." She explained.
"How is Chiron?" Percy wondered, remembering his mentor.
"He's amazing; just how you said he was." She pointed out.
"And the Camp Counselors?" Percy questioned casually. Corina hesitated, remembering Percy's past with them.
"They great I guess; I have yet to officially meet all of them, but we are having our first meeting in an hour or so." She admitted.
"So you wouldn't know about the Poseidon camp counselor then, would you?" Percy sighed, defeated. Corina's eyebrows rose at that.
"No. Do you know?" Corina questioned. Percy proceeded to tell her what his father had told him. After he had finished, it was silent, "So are you going to visit her?" Percy nodded.
"I always hoped for my mom or dad to have a child, but they never did. Now my father did, and she's immortal, and-" Percy paused here, taking a deep breath to calm himself, "Yes, I'm going to visit her and I'm going to tell her who I am." Corina stilled at that.
"You're going to reveal yourself?" Corina questioned in shock.
"Yes, it wouldn't feel right if I didn't." Percy confessed. Corina thought for a second before nodding, smiling as she rested a hand on Percy's shoulder.
"I can understand that, thinking of my own siblings. If I was disguised, I would want to tell them." She related, "So, are you going to head there now?" Corina wondered after a few moments of silence. Percy took a deep breath and nodded.
"Yeah, I better do it before the council meeting tomorrow." Percy decided.
"Well, let's head there now." She stated as they returned back to Central Park since it had enough privacy to change back to their uniforms and teleport away. And with a nod, they did just that.
~~~~~~At Camp Half-Blood~~~~~~
Zayden and Corina appeared on top of Half-Blood Hill, right next to Peleus. Peleus, sensing a presence he hasn't felt for years, rose to his feet. Smiling, Zayden knelt down in front of him.
"Hello Peleus, it's good to see you again." He whispered, petting the dragon's head. Content now, Peleus lay back down and went back to sleep. Turning to Corina, he took a deep breath as he saw her walking down the hill. With that, he followed her, looking around at his old home that really hadn't changed.
Most campers were at the pavilion as it was lunch time, but the few campers who had finished eating were running about, playing in the Volleyball pit, sparing, or talking. As they entered the pavilion, Percy's breath caught at the immortal camp counselor's; his old friends. All the Camp Counselors were at the same table: Annabeth, Clarisse, Jason, Piper, Leo, Nico, and a few other people he remembered from camp, Ayla included in the group. He would have to approach them to talk to Ayla. He calmed though as the Vipengele group noticed them. Quickly getting up from their table, they crowded Zayden, giving hugs and greetings.
Zayden smiled, feelings more at ease with new friends here as well, friends who knew his name and his past, shown by the worrying looks each sent him and the few whispered questions. He could see they had drawn the attention of the campers, whose eyes widened when they recognized him as the leader of Chaos' Army. After a bit, the soldiers went to sit down and finish their lunch. Smiling goodbye at Percy, she went to lunch with the Vipengele's. Taking a deep breath, something he had done a lot of today, he turned towards the Counselor table.
Focusing on his reason for coming, he ignored the fact that he was about to see his old friends for the first time since his death. The table quieted as he finally reached them, everyone looking up at him in curiosity. Meeting all the eyes of his old friends, he pushed back all the memories that threatened to overwhelm him, focusing only on his little sister- and a sight she was. Long black hair, as dark as his, pulled back in a ponytail. Tanned skin, swirling sea-green eyes, an orange camp half-blood shirt, tied at the bottom with a hairtie and blue jeans with tennis shoes; practically a twin of him when he went to camp. Smiling, he spoke.
"Hello, I believe you are Ayla, the Poseidon Camp Counselor?" He questioned. She looked shocked, but nodded, "I was wondering if I could speak alone with you for a few moments?" She was definitely shocked at that but nodded, figuring that the leader of Chaos' Army probably had something important to say to her. Standing up, she said goodbye to the other counselors, Zayden nodding curtly at them as they walked out of the pavilion, "Would you mind if we could speak in your cabin, to make sure no one is listening in?" He wondered. Ayla was confused at that, but nodded.
"Sure, but I can't guarantee my father won't listen." She joked. Zayden chuckled.
"I believe he quite busy right now so he hopefully won't listen in." Zayden stated. He would tell his father sooner or later, but right now he wants to take it one step at a time. Finally they made it to Cabin Three. As Ayla stepped in, Zayden paused, smiling at his old home. Shaking his head, he walked in, closing the door behind him. Ayla continued over and sat down in a bed that was clearly her own. Tyson's bed was clearly still his, covered in candy wrappers and peanut butter jars. Making a note to visit Tyson soon, Zayden looked at his old bed and froze. It was clearly still his bed, even ruffled from the morning he woke up, not knowing then that it would be his last day waking up in that cabin, living as a demi-god on Earth.
Trash was clearly shoved under the bed, his decision right before cabin inspection(which he, of course, failed at). In the back of his mind, he was surprised that there was no sign of Daniel's bed or mess. but he was too caught up in his own space to worry about that. On the wall above his bed hung the Minotaur horn, a symbol of simpler times; when he had just found out he was a demi-god, his first real monster fight(Alecto was more instinctual to kill then a battle), pain at losing his mother, but the opening of a new life for him and his mother.
"That's my brother Percy's bed. No one ever really came in here after he...died, and Tyson didn't want to change anything. So when I came, I chose to leave it alone as a memorial of sorts to him." She explained softly, noticing Zayden's gaze.
"A beautiful momento." Zayden said softly, a little choked up, "What do you think of your brother?" Zayden wondered, turning to face her and gesturing to his old bed. Ayla stared at the bed and smiled.
"I've been told that he was funny, a bit slow, but incredibly observant, a brilliant fighter, loyal to everyone around him, innocent despite the fact that he was in two major wars that should have torn at his mind." Zayden winced slightly at that, remembering the River Styx, losing his memory, Tartarus, and all the other troubles he went through in his life at Camp Half-Blood, "He was a happy-go-lucky kind of person, looked a lot like me, got kicked out of dozens of schools because of monsters, he saved the world twice, he was incredibly modest and selfless." She recounted, smiling lightly. Zayden was relieved that none of it was negative, some even making him blush out of flattery.
"Seems you think a lot of him." Zayden commented, trying to keep a calm tone.
"He was amazing, someone everyone should look up to and want to be like." She stated, "I try every day to follow his legacy as the Poseidon Cabin Counselor to the best of my ability." She was lost in thought for a minute, smiling bittersweetly before shaking out of it, "Anywho, you wanted to talk to me about something, Zayden?" She wondered.
"Yes...It- well…" He paused here, not quite sure how to start the conversation in a way that would lead to him revealing himself. Sighing, he walked over to his bed and reached up to run his fingers along the Minotaur horn.
"No!" Ayla exclaimed in horror, jumping up. But Zayden had already run his fingers along to horn. To his shock, the horn glowed a bright gold before slowly fading. Zayden braced himself for any backlash if he triggered a protection spell on the horn that had recently been put on it(it would make sense since Ayla yelled out). But, after a few minutes of nothing happening, Zayden turned to look at Ayla in confusion. He was even more confused to see her jaw dropped, face pale and eyes wide, swirling wildly.
"Are you alright Ayla?" He questioned in worry. Ayla seemed quite faint, reaching out to her bedposts and pulling herself down to the bed, eyes not leaving Zayden.
"How did you...But no one-" She seemed clearly lost for words. Zayden furrowed his eyebrows, completely lost, "Zayden, how were you able to touch that?" She tried instead.
"What do you mean? I just touched it, it glowed." He paused at that, "Why did it glow?" He wondered.
"Um...well, a few years after Percy was killed, Father enchanted the Minotaur horn, saying that as long as the Enchantment was there, no one but Father, Tyson, myself, and Percy himself could touch that horn. Others would be blasted back at even getting a few inches close to it." She explained, "So, how were you able to touch it?" She wondered. Looking from the horn to Ayla and back, Zayden chuckled in disbelief.
"Well, I didn't plan to tell you in that way." He muttered, but Ayla still heard.
"Tell me what?" Ayla wondered, jaw closed now, but still pale and eyes still swirling. Biting his lip, Zayden turned to Ayla. Walking over, Zayden sat on Ayla's left, facing her.
"Ayla, would you believe me if I were to tell you that your brother Percy never died?" Zayden carefully stated.
"W-what?" Ayla asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Reconsidering how to breach the topic, Zayden took a different approach.
"When Percy was taken to Olympus that day five hundred years ago, he was put in front of the council, as you know. And, as you probably also know, he was found guilty for conspiring with Gaea during the Second Titan War and killed." Ayla flinched at that, "After that Chaos showed up. Did you know that?" She nodded, wondering where this was going, "Well, Chaos did more than yell at the gods for what they did to Percy. Before Percy's soul could travel to the Underworld, Chaos stopped it." Ayla gasped at that, "He and Percy had a conversation and Chaos asked a question." Zayden paused to take a breath before continuing, "The question was if Percy would be willing to join his army." Searching Ayla's eyes for her emotions, he went on, "Percy accepted."
"So, so my brother is alive and in your army?" She whispered in pure shock. Zayden nodded. Ayla jumped up at that, excitement on her face and adrenaline pumping through her body, "I have to find him, to tell him how sorry everyone is for believing he would betray them. Is he here? Is he part of the Vipengele group? I have to find out!" Ayla was about make her way to the door before Zayden grasped her arm, stopping her. Turning around in confusion, she looked at Zayden. Noticing he had more to say, she sat back down on the bed.
"When your brother was accepted into the Army, he met Sophia who brought him to Chaos. The other Guardians were called together and Percy joined the Iuominen group." Zayden admitted.
"Iuominen group? Which guardian presides over that group? I need to find out-" At Zayden's tightened grip, she quieted.
"He wasn't just added to the group, he was made the guardian of the group." Zayden hinted. Ayla drew her eyebrows together at that.
"A guardian? So he is Jordan? Or Kiani? But they look nothing like Percy!" Ayla exclaimed, exasperated.
"Ayla. I am the guardian over the Iuominen group." Zayden finally confessed. Ayla stilled at that, looking intently into Zayden's face now, her attention entirely focused on him.
"Then that mean you're…" She trailed off in shock. Biting her lip, she reached up and slowly pulled off Zayden's hood, revealing his face underneath. She gasped at what he said being confused. Touch Percy's cheek softly, she spoke.
"Percy?"
"Hi." Her eyes bounced back and forth, looking all over her face, seeing the similarities between her and Zayden. Zayden Blaze was Percy Jackson. Ayla let out a breathy chuckle, smiling.
"Hello big brother, it's good to finally meet you. We have a lot catch up on." She figured. Percy laughed at that, nodding. With that, they went into a deep discussion that lasted for an hour. But at the sound of conch shell, their conversation stalled.
"What was that for?" Percy wondered.
"Oh! The Camp Counselor meeting; I completely forgot about that." Ayla remembered. She stood, but paused, looking at Percy- she didn't want him to leave. Sensing her thoughts, Percy smiled, standing up and flipping his hood over his face.
"I'll go with you. I'm sure they wouldn't mind me joining in." Percy stated, smirking. Ayla giggled.
"I guess not." With that, they left the Poseidon cabin, conversing lightly, ignoring all the stairs. Their attention was diverted though as some campers ran past them, yelling excitedly.
"She's back!" Zayden and Ayla shared a confused look at that.
"She's back from Camp Jupiter; it's been so long!" Stopping a Vipengele soldier, Zayden spoke.
"Jared, who's back?" Zayden wondered. Jared shrugged.
"The god's Supervisor or something." He stated before leaving. Ayla looked excited before freezing looking at Zayden, who was even more confused; the god's didn't have a supervisor when he went to camp.
"Hey Zayden. You shouldn't go to this meeting; you're probably needed with the hunters. What if they get attacked?" She pushed, stepping in front of Percy.
"They're alright, I've been monitoring them with my powers this whole time." Zayden assured.
"But how do you know for sure? What if they get attacked and you're too caught up in the meeting to realize?" She questioned quickly. Zayden stopped, narrowing his eyes at her in suspicion. He knew his own tactics when he saw them: there was something she was hiding from him.
"What are you hiding Ayla?" He wondered.
"Nothing!" She answered too quickly.
"Then I guess there is no reason for me not to go to the meeting since I know the hunters will be fine." Zayden nonchalantly stated, brushing past Ayla.
"No! Zayden don't!" She whispered urgently which made Zayden stop; she sounded really serious and worried. Maybe he should just miss the meeting- she would probably explain everything to him later. But before he could turn around, he heard a voice coming from the Big House; a voice he had never expected to hear here. Snapping his head up, Zayden's eyes landed on a figure standing outside the Big House door, greeting the happy campers that were here at her return. Zayden felt as if the ground beneath him had disappeared and he was now in a dream.
"Mom?" He whispered.
Song I'm listening to right now: 'Descendants Score Suite' from Disney's Descendants(I always seem to be listening to Disney music…)
Well, that's that chapter! It forever to write, but after getting hit by a huge brainstorm I was able to practically slide right through the rest of the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it; sorry about the cliffhanger, but it popped into my head and I couldn't resist writing in the little twist. Well, good luck in life everyone until next time!