-It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are-

Roy Disney

A dozen girls ranging from nine to sixteen appeared at the edge of Thalia and Luke's camp. They came so quickly and quietly that it took Luke a minute to notice them. then of course, he did.

Thalia jumped up from cleaning her knives and Luke hurried to unsheath his sword. Immediately, the girls pulled out bows, notched with metal tipped arrows aimed at Luke's body. Thalia bristled at the threat, she growled as she pulled out her spear, at the same time as an auburn haired girl stepped out from among the group. She looked around twelve, and was breathtakingly beautiful in a young, innocent way, but her face held something close to a sad sort of wisdom, something that shouldn't be seen in such a young girl.

"Thalia Grace?"

Thalia's eyes narrowed dangerously, "I don't use my surname."

The girl didn't seem to notice the hostility, "I'd like to speak with you."

"Why?" Thalia snorted.

The girl's face remained neutral, but the taller blonde girl beside her scowled and looked scandalized, Thalia grinned mockingly at her, and winked, causing the girl to give a shout of outrage,

"Do I have your permission to kill her miss?"

"Not in the slightest." The auburn haired girl replied absolutely impassively, barely lifting her head to acknowledge the question.

Thalia shot a smug glance at the blonde girl, who glared at her furiously. Luke stepped forward clearing his throat, only to have an arrow shot dangerously close to his feet. Raising his eyebrows at Thalia he shrugged in his nonchalant way, and took the step back.

"I am Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and these, my eternal maidens."

Luke's blue eyes widened with surprise, and a mixture of awe, hate, inferiority and bitterness settled in the pit of her stomach. She looked the goddess right in the eye, pouring as much hate as she could into the stare.

"Daughter of Zeus, you are fated to terrible tragedies."

"Thats just lovely, thank you tips."

"This isn't a joke you stupid girl!" The blonde girl snarled, she bared her teeth and pointed an arrow at Thalia menacingly. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Well, what is she supposed to do about it?" Luke asked angrily, his hand ran through his sandy blonde hair roughly, "What do you want from us?"

"I want her to join the hunt."

Luke, Thalia and the blonde girl all looked at the goddess incredulously. Luke stepped forward, in front of Thalia indignantly, protectively.

"You're not taking her."

"It's not really your decision Luke."

Luke froze for a second, his body language stiff, before he turned to her, looking betrayed, and shocked. Thalia crossed her arms and stared back at him, raising an eyebrow and pursing her mouth. Luke looked at her for a moment, before his mouth quirked up into a crooked grin, and he stepped to the side. Thalia looked back at the hunters with scrutiny, she knew her answer, and so did Luke, but they did not.

"If I joined you, what would I get in return?"

"You would receive immortality, never aging, and getting to spend your life hunting monsters, and the blessing of Artemis."

Thalia smirked dryly, the blessing of a god- where was that when she needed it? Where were any of the god's blessings in their lives? Where was her father's blessing? She looked back at Luke, their eyes meeting long enough to share the sentiment before she turned back to the hunters, letting her face harden. Staring daggers at the blonde girl for a moment, she turned her attention to the goddess.

"I will not join you," Thalia said politely, coldly, controlled, before allowing her small smile to drop into a scowl, "I won't leave Luke, especially for you."

"Foolish girl, insulting the gods is not a game!" the arrogant blonde exclaimed, pulling up her bow. Thalia stared at her, raising her spear, ready to fight.

"Zoe, calm yourself." Artemis said coolly, it was obviously an order, and Zoe shifted her gaze to her feet, lowering her bow looking thoroughly chastened. Thalia snarled, goddess or not, she had no right to interrupt. Luke stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her back slowly. Thalia followed his coaxing reluctantly. The hunters began to disperse, the goddess leading them away, last to leave was Zoe.

"He will betray you one day, they all do, and he's no different."

Enraged, Thalia jerked Luke's hand off her shoulder and took an angry step toward the girl, ripping her spear out of its can. Who did this bitch think she was?who was she to say anything about Luke? She didn't know him, she had never heard his story, she had never seen that light in the sapphire blue eyes when he had pulled off a thievery, she had never seen him angry, or sad, or hopeful, she had never made a blood promise with him, or had to calm him down and hold him when he got angry at the gods that this girl served. Luke grabbed her waist, pulling her back with unyieldingly strong, as Zoe turned back to follow the hunters.

Thalia twisted around to glare at Luke, who winked at her, before wrenching herself from his grasp. She stalked past him and crouched down to continue cleaning her knives. Luke slowly turned and followed to sit beside her, pulling up his knees and resting his hands on them, rubbing his hands together anxiously, leaning back on a pine tree trunk as he watched her movements.

Thalia stopped cleaning her knives, feeling the weight of Luke's gaze. She returned it, and in his eyes she saw worry, relief, gratitude, anger, and an emotion she had never seen before mixed in. She lowered her eyes, and shifted her feet before speaking.

"I don't believe her."

Luke nodded curtly, dropping his chin onto his chest, bringing it back up to give her a half smile. Thalia read his smile, and frowned at the hidden sadness in it, standing up and stepping closer, she bit her bottom lip, as he looked up at her, surprised. Before she lost her nerve, she dropped next to him and pulled him into her embrace. Burying her face into his chest, she peeked out to check his response. He looked a little surprised, but he smiled at her, and wrapped his wiry arms around her smaller frame.

She closed her eyes; she didn't quite understand why she was doing this, she usually shied away from physical contact, but it just felt right. Luke rubbed circles on her back, and instead of being uncomfortable by the gesture, her skin tingled where his hand touched, leaving a burning sensation. She shifted slightly so that she could hug him more comfortably. Confused, slightly afraid, and indignant, she tried to pull away, giving him a reassuring smile, even though she was crumbling inside, but he saw her expression and pulled her back.

She let him.

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