The Malign Star

PT: The narration will be in third person, and in present tense completely, to avoid confusion. I felt like writing in this style .-. I've decided there will be sexual themes later to stir Artemis's anger, and for a darker setting. I'll skip over it, but only imply. Thanks again to ezyl for beta-reading :D I don't mind that many corrections; I'm extremely grateful -Huggles ezyl- But I think it's "Artemis's," not "Artemis'," noting things I've read...

Disclaimer: Eh...I support PercyThalia (LOVE THE PAIRING *__* over Percabeth, so...unlike Rick Riordan...yeah....

Summary: "...For a malign star rules over the romance of demigods; crossed are the stars above their heads."

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Full Moon

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"It wasn't real.

"The pain...

"Pain, pain, pain...

"It wasn't real, the pain that tore at my body—the thousands of knives, slashing at me, hurting me; my heart threatening to rip out from my chest; stabbed all over, I could practically see the knives, eerily shining silver to the points, embedding themselves in my body—pain—pain—it hurt so much..."

"It—it must've hurt...a lot."

"Yeah...and now it hurts, just like then."

"Why do you hu..."

"Don't hide it. You love Annabeth. I've seen. And that's why it hurts now—because I love you."

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Thalia is running...in flight, through the woods—through the trees that brush her with familiar gentle slap of branches and leaves. Over the shrubs, the ground shrouded in hoarfrost, the wet leaves strewn like stars scattered over the sky. Her quiver is slung over her shoulders, the silver arrows secure; the bow notched and held forward, at the same color. She had abandoned her spear—tucked it somewhere to use some other time...if ever. Above her head, above the tops of ancient trees the sky is an inky black, but with a surprisingly distinct add of blue. The entrance opens to the south, revealing a full moon of silver and white.

Bow in hand, the daughter of Zeus chases a dear, the latter swift of foot, and only stopping to sniff the air before recognizing a pursuer and dashes off. The new spring air is cool, fresh after days of rain. It seems to be a good night for hunting. Running, spraying leaves over when her feet—in such a movement they hardly disturb those underfoot—truly touches the ground—she is almost with the wind. The deer is ahead, snowy tail waving stiffly as the creature flees, terrified.

Thalia, the lone maiden, raises the bow higher, with the gleaming arrow notched smartly to it.

Her game is ahead, and she waits for a moment before—truly confirmed of a good kill—releases the string and arrow; there is a sharp twang, a sharper whiz of noise; and the arrow strikes; the beast falls, the arrow point buried into its hide. The deer utters a low moan of pain, but—before Thalia can react—is back on its feet, struggling forward.

And she sees...her aim was fake, had embedded into the creature's flank, whence the beast was not yet beaten.

Thalia's eyes narrow, the electric blue of their depths slitting into thin strips of cobalt ice; this is not the first bit of prey she had missed tonight—nor the last few nights of sky and woods and tears—and the pain, a chilly hand holding her heart in a grip of stone. And shame.

Shame and pain and tears.

Shame, in oneself; pain, for the self's heart; tears, unshed but inner.

She gives chase again, but shame becomes flame—burns a hole through her chest, searing—she is, after all, a virgin Huntress...

I'm a fool, she thinks, as tears begin smarting her eyes, a complete and utter fool!

Had she thought—that this would be easy? Of course not...she had thought, once before that—that—that—

Don't think about that;she shakes her head sternly, jolting herself to reality. Don't think about that...don't think about that...don't think about that...

It's done, and good riddance! she adds to herself, angrily. When she had sworn to never fall in love—again...to never, ever—ever—again...after the last time...and she had fallen again...

"And that's why it hurts now—because I love you.

"And you can't love me back..."

She was lucky to even have let her romance slip from Artemis's eye.

He turned on her, angrily, it seemed...and said, "...Don't..." Pained. "But, I thought you already..."

She slips, falls to the ground, tears beading in pearls.

"You—you slut..."

She has lost herself again, fallen.

Lost, a stone of ice in the pit of her stomach.

Fallen, fallen, fallen—a swirl of broken dreams, crushed.

"I love you...and you can't love me back."

Have the gods forsaken her?—or is it herself? Her fault, for what she had done, what had been, what is at present—

I love you.

I love you, and you can't love me back. But I still love, like the ignorant fool I am.

Hurt, pain, tears, broken dreams...

Loving, dying, living, and loving again...

And dying, again.

She bites her lip, alone, in the moonlight; the deer has left, bleeding out a trail of crimson—perhaps it shall die soon in any case, a slow and painful death.

And she thinks his name, wondering where it all went wrong.

She is to blame, for all her own troubles—

Looking up into the sky with tearful blue eyes, she sees the stars winking at glimmering, the full moon a light among the dark stretch of night. And the gods—the gods to blame—because she can blame them, for they are the only others whom she can blame.

And suddenly, a scream pierces the air, blowing up the heavens.

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PT: Cliffhanger—I love doing that x) Review, please...your opinion is appreciated, to know where this fic is going. And thank you for reading, and thanks for the prior reviews for this story ^^ I won't say much right now, for the sake of the plot.