Chapter I: A Damsel and her Knight
Wind whistled in her ears. She ducked under a low-hanging tree branch, only to vault over a downed log in her path. The ominous sounds of snapping limbs and felled trees echoed in the brush behind her. She couldn't afford to slow down.
Artemis, once Goddess of the Moon, Hunt, Wildlife, Archery, and Nature, had been on the run for far longer than she wished. Alas, this particular monster had proven difficult to defeat and even more difficult to evade. Slaying the beast would have been trivial if she had her full powers, but unfortunately she lacked that current privilege.
CREEEAAAKKKK
Her head turned on a swivel only to catch the sight of the creature. Its hulking form stood amongst the shadows of the forest, barely illuminated by the moonlight breaking through the canopy above. Muscles rippled as the beast finished pushing a small tree from its path. A glint of light caught her eye. In its off-hand rest a massive battle-axe, easily as long as she was tall.
Whoosh. The monster exhaled sharply, steam leaving its large nostrils and bringing attention to the piercing in its snout. Her eyes caught the two long horns extending from either side of the beast's head, each ending in a razor sharp point. She shook her head. Now was not the time to admire just how soon her life could end at the hands of the legendary Minotaur.
"Curse father for putting me here in the first place. Learning humility can be done in much simpler ways," Artemis grumbled to herself, refocusing her eyes ahead. Her stamina wasn't nearly what it used to be, but she prided herself on her physical skills. Surely she could find a way out of this mess.
A quiver of arrows bounced unceremoniously on her back as she took another long stride, this time passing over a series of bushes. A firm grip held her longbow in her left hand, but she wouldn't dare stop to fire lest she gained more distance from the beast. Hearing another slam of a tree impacting right behind her, she pushed harder.
"There!"
Artemis grinned, a confident smirk overtaking her face. Despite the sweat rolling down her temples and the quickness of her breath, another burst of energy spiked through her system. Just ahead lay a heap of small boulders, each precariously balanced upon the other. The pile was easily fifteen or twenty feet high, giving her just enough space to be out of the Minotaur's reach at the pile's peak. Better yet, it rest in a small clearing, which would give her a much easier shot rather than through the trees.
Slinging her bow over her shoulder, she slapped her hands down on the first boulder. The surface was smoother than she had expected, but she scrambled up quickly enough.
WSHHH-BAMM
Another tree down. Artemis didn't have much time. Gritting her teeth, the girl redoubled her efforts. Bounding from one rock to the next, she eventually grew close to the peak. With barely enough time to collect herself, the monster burst into the clearing. With the moonlight shining down in full, she got a much clearer look at the beast.
Bright, evil red eyes glared at her from below. She could see the hatred in them, even from this distance. The Minotaur's bulging muscles seized as it raised its axe overhead, slamming it down into the dirt in a motion of protest. A pteruge clung to its waist, yet the beast wore no other clothing, revealing a massive collection of scars that littered its torso.
Taking action, Artemis hurriedly knocked an arrow and took aim. Despite her recent loss of her strength, nothing could take away her deadly aim. A small smirk reaffirmed itself on her face.
"Nothing beats a successful hunt."
Her arrow pierced the air, flying true in its trajectory straight toward the beast's right eye. A pained roar filled the clearing as the Minotaur clutched at its skull. It thrashed around in pain for a few moments, slamming into the base of her boulder pile.
Freezing in place, Artemis clung to the rock at her side for dear life. A subtle grind beneath her feet began. The process wasn't quick, but the Minotaur had indeed knocked a boulder loose from her tower. Below, the beast roared again and wrenched its head towards her. A stream of blood ran down its face, sourced from the arrow fired directly into its eye. The other, intact eye seemed to glow with hatred.
She knocked another arrow, firing with less care than her previous shot. It struck the beast in the upper chest. A heavy weight formed in her stomach as the Minotaur paid it no mind, instead turning and heaving the axe from its perch in the earth. Turning to face her once more, the beast grinned.
RRRROOOOAAARRR
Artemis flinched as a mad bellow echoed from the monster's maw. The axe raised high in the air, nearing a peak even with the canopy below. The weight in her stomach only worsened as the axe fell. With a massive swing like a baseball pro, the Minotaur slammed the flat of its blade into the bottom boulder.
Her feet went airborne. Her ears were overtaken by the sound of rocks slamming into each other, shattering the once peaceful night atmosphere. Succumbing to the whirl of action, she barely managed to break her fall by catching herself with her extended arms, only to slam face-first into a massive stone half a second later.
Artemis cried out as a sharp pain filled her right ankle. Her head was pounding from the impact and she had lost her bow. Blinking heavily, her vision cleared momentarily. Rocks surrounded her. The sky was still dark. Her ankle- oh. That was not good.
Deciding to ignore the decided wrong angle her foot was pointing right now, Artemis grimaced as she braced herself against a nearby rock. Gritting her teeth at the pounding pain in her foot, she peered over the edge of her temporary cover.
The Minotaur stood at the opposite end of the clearing, axe in hand. He stalked back and forth, pacing as if waiting on her to reveal herself. She cursed.
"Surely this monstrosity won't out-do me. I will not lose, dammit."
Suddenly, a new presence made itself known in their battlefield. A voice called out from somewhere to her right.
"Hey, ugly! Nice skirt!"
With a whoop and a grand entrance, a male figure emerged from the upper tree branches at the edge of the clearing. He landed into a roll and easily popped up to his feet. Artemis's eyes narrowed. He reminded her of Apollo, and that was never a good first impression to make.
The Minotaur turned to face the boy, letting out another bellow into the sky as it charged. Completely forgoing its axe, the beast lowered its horns and prepared to skewer its new victim. However, it never had a chance.
Artemis watched with wide eyes as the boy jumped straight into the sky, extending a hand and pushing off of the Minotaur's neck to complete a total flip over the beast. She watched as, despite the monster's best efforts, its momentum carried it straight into the trunk of a very old, and very wide, tree.
Leaves fell to the ground as a result of the blow, and Artemis could've sworn she saw stars twirling around the Minotaur's skull. It let out a pained cry and stumbled backwards, falling to its knees from the impact.
The boy wasted no time. Turning to a full sprint, he drew a sword from a sheathe on his back and prepared a strike at the stunned monster. One swing later and a massive gash formed along the back of its neck, resulting in another pained roar. He deftly rolled to the side, ducking under a wide retaliatory swing. Jumping to his feet, the boy extended his other hand and wielded flame.
It was like nothing Artemis had seen before. She had grown used to seeing her father and even Uncle Poseidon wield the elements with deadly skill, but fire had some other power to it. A wide cone of flame surged from the boy's palm, coursing over the Minotaur's entire torso. The flames illuminated the clearing so brightly she had to shield her eyes momentarily, but not before she caught a glimpse of her, dare she say it, savior.
The boy's frame was built. He was clearly an experienced fighter, and she wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't his first monster slain. Dark hair fell from his head, hanging low on his forehead and dangling into his eyes. He wore simple clothes, much like her own. Meant for travel, very practical. Work trousers and a loose fitting cotton shirt. Both saw signs of wear.
His eyes met hers. A momentary look of surprise flashed across his face. She froze. His eyes were the brightest shade of orange she had ever seen. Even from this distance she could see the energy behind them. This boy, and his fire, had strength behind them.
Time seemed to unpause. The flames subsided, leaving only a pile of gold powder and, to her contempt, the bull's three-quarter piercing resting atop the golden sand. Moonlight still granted her some sight, but it was nothing compared to the flash of the boy's flames.
Artemis clung to the boulder as she hobbled around into the open. Now that her adrenaline started to wane, she was really beginning to feel the brunt of the deep pulsing emanating from her ankle. It was clearly much worse than she had seen previously, and it didn't look good at all. Her eyes caught a thin piece of wood on the ground nearby. Her bow. Thank the gods.
"Ah, hello?"
She almost jumped, and would have if it weren't for her lack of two working feet. Where had this boy come from? He had just appeared right in front of her. Artemis scowled, "Hello, boy."
He looked down at her, cocking his head as if looking at some puzzle. His brow furrowed. "You know, that's not the nicest way to greet someone who just killed a monster for you. A Minotaur, at that."
"How dare he?" Preparing a retort, she opened her mouth, only to grimace as pain flared up her leg once more. Her hand flew to the rock nearby, catching herself as she nearly fell over.
"Woah, woah, you're hurt. He must've gotten a piece of you, huh. Let me see," the boy said. He knelt, extending an open palm facing the sky. She was moments away from snapping at the boy for even daring to get so close to her, but the worse died in her throat.
A small whoosh broke the near-silence as a small flame danced about an inch above his open palm. It was about the size of an apple and cast a warm glow upon both her and the mysterious boy. Artemis felt a sense of wonder cut through her initial anger at the boy's closeness.
"A son of Hephaestus? I haven't heard of his children bearing the power of flame in many, many years. How did this one fly under the radar for so long? He looks to be well past the age of a normal camper."
The boy leaned closer to her wounded ankle and let out a quiet whistle. "That ain't pretty, I'll tell you that much. You're not walking on that," he said matter-of-factly. "Good thing I've got a safe place we can camp out at while you rest up."
Artemis recoiled. "I will do no such thing," she spat. Twisting her hips away from the now standing boy, she prepared to hobble away. "I don't remember asking for your help in the first place, and I sure as hell don't need it now."
Taking one small leap forward, she made slow progress. Even with the support of the boulder nearby, she could only watch furiously as the boy simply walked around her and came to a stop in her direct path. Her head snapped up to meet his eyes.
"Move, boy. You're in my way."
He didn't budge. Instead, he simply crossed his arms and stared right back at her with a maddeningly confident smirk on his face. "Oh yeah? And just how far will that get you? Hobbling one legged through this forest until the next hellhound catches you off guard?"
Her fist clenched. Why, oh why do boys have to be so difficult. "I'm not defenseless, idiot. I have my bow. I could defend myself with ease." As if to prove her point, she brandished the weapon, shaking it in front of his eyes. Those stupid, glowing orange eyes.
The smirk on his face turned to a full grin. "Yeah? You're a smart one, clearly. Say, how many arrows does it take for a demigod to kill a monster?"
"One. If you can make the shot. And trust me, I can."
His grin only widened. She wanted to slap that stupid look right off his face. His eyes danced with laughter as he pointed behind her. "Do me a favor, miss. Can you count to zero?"
Artemis's eye began to twitch. Turning her head slowly, she took notice of her quiver full of arrows. Or rather, more accurately, her quiver featuring a distinct lack of arrows. She grit her teeth for what felt like the tenth time that night.
"Alright, boy. You've made your point. Where…" she sighed, "...where is this supposed safe place to camp?"
The boy seemed to light up at her comment. "That's more like it! We'll make a grateful soul out of you yet. Now, what do we say?" He leaned forward, head tilted expectantly.
She gave him a flat stare. This boy was proving to be worse than Apollo, and she hadn't thought that was possible. "Lead the way, boy. I would like to rest my ankle as soon as I can."
The light dimmed in his eyes and the smile faded. "I have a name, you know. 'Boy' isn't exactly the nicest term to call someone who just saved your life." He gave her a hard look.
Artemis fought back a growl. The pain shooting up her leg had only grown worse over the course of their conversation, and her head would not cease its incessant pounding. She briefly considered the possibility of a concussion, but disregarded the thought. Now was not the time. She needed to fix her cursed ankle.
"Look, bo-" she caught herself, seeing the demigod across from her clench his jaw. He clearly did not enjoy the term, and she found herself lacking the ability to negotiate terms here. "Look, I would greatly appreciate it if you so kindly helped me to your camp. I need to rest my foot. Badly."
Cursing whatever gods had put her in this situation, she waited expectantly. This was perhaps the longest and most civil conversation she had had with a male in recent memory. This boy didn't know just how lucky he was that she didn't have access to her full powers. This part of the forest could use one more jackalope.
The boy studied her for a moment. And a few more. She winced as another flare shot up her leg and almost snapped at the boy to hurry the hell up and answer her, but he replied easily enough. "Sure thing, princess! As you wish!" He dropped into a dramatic bow, bending so low that his nose almost touched the ground. Artemis wanted nothing more than to smack the idiot for not just leading the way, but refrained. She wasn't quite sure that she'd be able to last a week with her ankle, no arrows, and no provisions.
Rising from the bow, the boy smiled at her. "The name's Percy, Percy Jackson. At your service, milady. I'll help you right along, don't you worry!" And with a mischievous look in his eyes, and much to her horror, he swept her from her feet and fully into his arms.
Rage filled her and she felt her face grow hot. "You- you put me down! How dare you touch me like this! Idiot boy!" she launched a fist at his arm, and then a second. He did nothing. In fact, he acted like he felt nothing at all!
"Idiot! How dare he touch me, a maiden goddess! I'd have his hide if I weren't injured."
The boy, or Percy, she supposed, simply let out a loud laugh. "Now, now, princess. Is that a fair way to treat your brave knight? I'm simply rescuing a damsel in distress, why must you hurt me so?" He turned to face her, giving her a bright grin in reply to her punches. His warm eyes glowed with mirth.
She fought back the urge to spit in his face. Truth be told, he had angled her legs properly so the pain in her ankle was severely lessened. In fact, the sharp pains once shooting up her entire foot and ankle have now been reduced to a mere dull ache ever since he had lifted her. Truth be told, he wasn't even touching her inappropriately, either. He had simply caught her by surprise.
Not deigning to reply, Artemis turned away and observed their surroundings. The boy had a long stride, and they had already made decent progress back into the tree cover. A small voice in the back of her mind wondered about whether the boy could be taking her somewhere dangerous, but she disregarded it as another surge lit through her head. Gods, this headache was worsening by the minute. Just how hard did she hit the ground?
"Now, princess, care to introduce yourself? Unless you'd rather me call you that permanently, of course. I'd only have to insist you refer to me as Sir Jackson the Brave to make it fair."
Artemis rolled her eyes at the boy's antics. He truly was a second Apollo; full of idiocy and bad jokes. Nevertheless, she did reply, albeit curtly, "My name is Artemis, and I will not be calling you anything of the sort."
The boy stumbled a tad, causing her to grimace again as her ankle flared. "Careful, boy! Surely you know how to walk if you can swing a sword."
He didn't seem to take notice of her insult, instead giving her a strange look. "You wouldn't happen to be related to the Goddess of the Moon, by chance?" She pleasantly noticed that his grip on her back and legs seemed to loosen. Good. At least he has some sense.
"Unfortunately, no. My mother named me after her to honor the goddess after being saved from a cyclops attack when she was young," Artemis lied. While she would love to see the boy's reaction, the terms of her sentencing forced her to keep her true identity a secret. In the words of her father, she had to live just as a normal mortal would.
Tension released from the boy's body and he resumed his normal pace. "Ah, that's good to hear. Lady Artemis is a fearsome warrior. I'd hate to be on her bad side." She smiled. Perhaps the boy wasn't the worst male to have met in these circumstances.
Trees continued to pass, and she began to wonder just how far they had come and whether the boy would need a break from carrying her. However, an unfamiliar shape caught her eye in the moonlight and their pace increased.
"Almost there. I hope you don't mind the mess. I don't exactly get many visitors."
He ducked under a wall of vines that hung from a tall branch. They didn't seem to be naturally grown, and instead had been placed there to act as a hidden doorway. "Clever," she thought. He carefully pushed through into a clearing.
Moonlight shone down on the clearing, illuminating it fairly well. The clearing itself was about sixty feet across and about half as wide. It sported a decent-enough looking shelter in the back corner, with rough wooden walls and a thatch ceiling. A pile of split logs lay against one wall, haphazardly scattered about in a short radius around it.
A small creek flowed from the left of the clearing to the right, partially hidden by the boy's house. She spotted rope supported by two upright logs that acted as a drying rack, if the spare clothing hanging from the line was any sort of hint.
The last thing Artemis noticed was most near to them, a small garden organized in neat rows. She couldn't recognize some of the plants within, but she did see green tomatoes ripening on one tall stalk next to what looked to be just ordinary flowers.
"Home sweet home. It ain't much, but I can say it's all mine."
Artemis hummed as she gazed around the clearing. For a boy living in the middle of nowhere, she had to say she was impressed. Feeling movement once again, she was granted a better look at the boy's house in the far corner of the clearing.
The walls consisted of roughly trimmed logs that had been stacked and tied with twine. The doorway was roughly fit into the middle of the front wall, and could clearly use some fixing up as it looked to be hanging by a thread. As the boy pushed the door open, Artemis absorbed her surroundings once more.
A wooden table sat before her, sporting a singular chair and an assortment of woodcarving tools. Small scraps and shavings littered the floor. On the back wall, many shelves had been installed and held a variety of mismatched jars and pots. To her left sat a decently sized bed with a mound of woolen blankets. None of the colors matched, and every bit of wood inside the home seemed to be carved by hand.
"Like I said, sorry about the mess. If I'd known I'd be having a visitor I would have cleaned up at least a little. Promise I'm not a total slob," the boy joked, giving her a small smile. He crossed the room quickly, setting her down carefully on the bed as she leaned against the wall for support.
"Your home- did you make everything here?" Artemis asked. She peered around curiously. Wooden utensils sat in a cup on a shelf across the room. She didn't spot one bit of metal anywhere.
"Got it in one, princess. You're a sharp one, huh."
She shot him a glare, "I have a name. You'd be wise to use it, boy."
He raised an eyebrow and replied in a firm tone, "Fine. But only if you do the same. Deal?"
Artemis clenched her jaw but nodded once. The bo- no, Percy gave her a smile and she noticed his shoulders relax as he did so. He truly did not like being called boy. How strange. Percy crossed the room, stopping at the table. Clattering around for a few moments, he returned with two small pieces of wood cut from a larger plank.
Setting the blocks down on the bed, Percy turned to a small nightstand and extended a finger. A small flame caught at his fingertip, igniting the wick of a small candle. He turned to face her, a serious look marring his normally jovial features.
"This might hurt a little. I've had my fair share of broken bones and the swelling definitely means you've got one. I'll have to set it."
She nodded. Broken bones weren't alien to her. Apollo had broken his arm when they were young godlings on Delos many, many years ago. Their mother had chided him for being so careless and Artemis had made fun of him because she automatically won any hunt for weeks.
"Do it quickly. I've seen it done before."
He nodded, eyes refocusing on her ankle. Delicately rolling up her pant leg, he took note of the swelling. "Most of it seems to be focused on your lower shin, actually. I think your ankle is just fine. Thank the gods, this'll be so much simpler now. No biggie."
She watched as he grabbed her leg gently, carefully feeling out the swelling. Artemis fought back a hiss of pain from the pressure. Would he not just hurry and get it over wi-
AGHHH
A bright shriek broke the quiet air as he applied quick pressure to her leg. Artemis cursed and gripped the thick blankets, fighting back tears that began to form in her eyes from the sharp pain that shot up her entire leg.
Percy granted her an apologetic look, to which she replied with her deadliest glare. He just snorted and resumed his work. Bracing the two pieces of wood on either side of her shin, he secured them both with a quick knot of some rope.
"There! All good as new! Just a few weeks and you'll be right as rain, Arty." Percy stood and admired his handiwork. Warmth shone in his eyes as he looked at her.
"Do not call me that. My name is Artemis, nothing less."
Percy just grinned brightly, "Sure thing! Now, let's give this a second try. You didn't seem to get the message earlier. What do we say?" Once again, he titled his head expectantly, giving her a mischievous look.
Artemis sighed, wondering just what she did to deserve such an annoying companion. She grumbled a reply, not bothering to look at the boy. He simply smiled, "What was that? I couldn't hear you."
Another sigh and a reply in a flat tone, "Thanks."
The boy straightened and gave her a bright grin, one she was becoming very tired of seeing as of late, "You are very welcome! I aim to please, milady. Sir Jackson, at your service." And once again, Percy dropped into a comically low bow. After a brief moment of considering whether to kick him over with her good foot, Artemis took pity and decided to spare the boy.
"Now, I'm sure you're quite tired after your chase from that Minotaur, and you'll definitely need rest to fix up this ankle as soon as possible, so get some sleep," Percy said, reaching over to grab a blanket from the pile at the foot of the bed. "Don't think you're getting off easy though. I wanna hear the whole story first thing tomorrow. Why in Zeus's name did you piss off a Minotaur?"
Artemis remained silent, watching as he carefully folded the blanket in half before laying it down on the floor to serve as a rough mattress. She peered curiously at him as he laid down, settling on his back into what he seemed to claim as his bed for the night.
"Alright, don't feel the need to spill all your secrets at once. I won't press. I am curious though," Percy said, replying to the silent room. He turned his head to the side, facing the wall.
Artemis looked at the lone candle, its glow illuminating the boy lying on the ground with but one blanket to himself. "He cares so much, and so quickly? Why? He could have easily taken advantage of me with my injury." She shook her head, turning instead to the headboard. There she saw two pillows.
She blinked. After shuffling awkwardly to face the proper direction, she pulled several blankets over herself. Winter was on its way, and she planned to take advantage of the massive pile of blankets at her disposal. Peering over the edge of the bed, she looked down at her strange companion.
Pursing her lips, Artemis sighed and looked at the two pillows behind her. Thud. One pillow hit the floor. She leaned over and blew out the candle quickly.
"Thank you, Percy," she called out in a much warmer tone than before, "Goodnight."