Hey dear readers! Back with another chapter now. I know that I'm 8 chapters in, and still I have not acknowledged any of you for showing your support. Don't worry if you wish to see your name being shouted out-I'll do it when the time is right. (Possibly a chapter near the end of the story but who knows? :p)

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!

Gently brushing aside the tent flap, I placed Drew on the bed, before crawling over her still body and snuggling up against her. Pulling the blanket over us both, I soon fell into a welcoming slumber.

I had taken the leap of faith. Now, it was her turn to place her faith in me.

—

Time: days later

Persis POV

"Drew! Harder!" Lupa roared as I slammed my blades down onto Riptide, currently gifted to Drew by me. Zoe had allowed me to give the blade to Drew, who'd lost hers somewhere in the mid eastern part of the United States. So far, her melee skills had drastically improved, but she had yet to win any sparring session between us. Although in her defence, she was already better than the majority of camp half-blood, and could even best Clarassie thanks to Lupa's teachings.

Beads of sweat were running down Drew's face as I pressed her, slowly breaking down her defences. Drew was holding a Roman shield, which she complained often weighed her arms down. Lupa often scolded her for being lazy.

Finally, after a few more seconds of merciless pressuring, Drew couldn't handle it and her sword was knocked out of her hand. With her sword gone, her shield wan't of much use trying to defend against twin blades, and she soon found herself on the ground, completely and utterly exhausted, with my blades pressing against her neck.

"Yield?"

"I yield…Hades, why do you press me so hard?" Drew pouted.

"I press you harshly because you need to fight to survive in Rome. The first thing they do when you arrive is literally toss you into an arena and put you up against the strongest fighters in Rome. Plus, children of love are frowned upon, seen as weak and unable to fight. You can help break that stigma and give your mother the glory she deserves." I responded, and Drew weakly nodded before lying back down onto the ground.

"So tired…"

"I'll leave you here to rest then, cub. For now, I must continue teaching Persis here about Roman politics-she is quite the potential leader for Rome." Lupa said, cutting into our conversation. "I shall return after her education to help you I prove in your combat skills. Now rest."

Lupa then briskly turned before she beckoned me to follow her. "Come on, Persis. It"s a long day today. Let's not dither."

—

Time skip: 1 and ½ weeks later, hours prior to departure

Drew POV

"WHAT THE FUCK PERSI!" I yelled at the blur of silver-black dancing around me that is Persis Jackson. Her twin blades weaved in and out of my guard, and I was close to collapsing at this point. Barely able to raise my scutum-which weighted like a ton-Persi's silver blade just barely skimmed across the top, almost nicking my face,

"Come on Drew!" I heard her yell as she kept pressing forwards. Gods, did this girl even need rest? She was like a machine, fighting like a hurricane-deadly up close but beautiful afar. Her silver and crimson blades danced around me, nearly slashing me to shreds. I was lucky she had willed her blade edges to be blunt so they wouldn't wound me. Otherwise, I'd probably be a puny Kronos knockoff with red blood instead of gold.

But though she had willed her blades to be blunt…she hadn't changed their magical properties. The silver blade still took away my energy when I came into physical contact with it, and the crimson blade burnt like hell when it touched me.

Alas, exhaustion, fatigue and pain finally crushed my defence, and with a well placed kick to my shield, Persis knocked me down to the ground again, before leaping up and straddling me. Placing her blades against my neck, she smiled mischievously as she asked, "Yield?"

"Fine, Fine, I yield." I grumbled, and she smiled before hopping off me. She willed her blade edges to sharpen once more, before swiftly sweating both blades. "Come on Drew! There's still time for another round. Rest up and we'll fight once more before Lady Lupa sends us off!"

Lupa, the Roman wolf goddess, had been training us since we arrived one and a half weeks prior. She was used to fighting in her wolf form, but she was also an excellent swordswoman, and taught me a lot about fighting as a Roman. Her wolves-some of them at least-could also take on a human form and teach us to spar. Though I wasn't the best melee user out there, I could hold my own-provided I had a shield-and defeat a majority of them. With Lupa or Persis though, I'd be lucky to survive more than a minute. And that single time I sparred with Artemis was the most terrifying 15 seconds of my life.

Groaning, I pushed myself off the ground, before pouring some nectar into my parched mouth and happily chowing on some ambrosia. I sighed at the taste of my father's hand-baked muffins. Gosh, I would give anything just to have him cook up a batch for me now!

A silver flash caught my attention. Artemis, dressed in her typical hunter's uniform, stepped out from between the foliage and raised an eyebrow at the sight of me sitting on the ground, munching happily away at an ambrosia square. "Persi giving you a hard time?" She asked with a knowing smirk.

"Yea, she's been toying with me every sparring session." I grumbled, and the goddess chuckled lightly. "Was not!" Persi's voice came from somewhere to my far right, as she lugged my backpack out and placed it against a tree trunk.

"Persi, you two are leaving soon?" Artemis asked, and Persis nodded. "Yep, Lupa said that it should be time for us to go soon."

"Ah, Lady Artemis!" Lupa said as she stepped into the clearing. "Lupa." Artemis curtly nodded, before she turned to Persis. "I'd like to know your progress training with Lupa here."

"Lady Artemis," I Cut in as the goddess turned to look at me, "She's been learning politics and leadership skills, as well as combat-though she doesn't really need that. She's a monster when it comes to fighting in close quarters."

Artemis smirked as I watched Persi pout. "Unfair! I need training too!"

"Well, Persi, what about Drew? I'd like to know how your friend is doing as well."

It was Persi's turn to smirk as I stared at her, slightly shaking my head as I glared at her. "Don't you dare", I thought as Persi opened her mouth.

"She's decent in combat now, when I met her she had trouble holding a weapon."

"PERSIS JACKSON!"

"What, that's true!" I pouted. "It's true, doesn't mean you should let Artemis know!"

"Well, to demonstrate your skills, let's have a spar!"

Uh oh.

"Um…I prefer not to." I said, scared of being humiliated by Persis.

"Is the cute and confident Drew scared of a small sparring match?" Persis remarked snidely, and my face grew red. "I am not!"

"Well then bring it on!" Persis smirked, and I realized that I fell into her trap. Artemis looked on in amusement, while Lupa had to hold back her laughter as she watched the exchange between us.

"Fine…" I grumbled, before pulling out Riptide's pen form and uncapping it. Tapping my wrist, my scutum exploded out into a red and bronze curved rectangular shield, and I raised it in a defensive stance with riptide pointed at Persis. "Give your worst!" I challenged Persis, and only realized my mistake at Persis' smirk.

"Oh really?" Persis remarked cooly, and in the blink of an eye, she was already rushing towards me, blades gripped in her hands. I was barely able to block with my shield and parry with my blade as I was assaulted by the blur of silver and black. Raising my shield here, slashing at a blade there, pulling back to block a slash, and then turning around to block another silver stab before parrying a crimson blade that nearly nicked my eyebrow.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Artemis and Lupa watching our spar with faint interest. Persis was now running rings around me as I tried my best to get a window of attack. Persi's ferocity had me firmly on the back foot, as she pressed her attacks and pushed me towards the tree line.

Slash. Block. Parry. Block. Block again. Slash. Block. Slash. Dodge. Dodge again. My mind was on autopilot as I tried my best to hold off Persis' relentless attacks but as I went to take another Treppe back, my back hit something hard and solid. Sparing a split second to look, I realized my back was against a tree.

Crap.

Before I could react, I felt two blades pressing against my neck veins. "Yield?" Persi asked, stepping forwards to lean her face towards mine. Her hot breath mingled with mine, and I could clearly make out every detail on her face. Her mesmerising eyes bore into mine, and for some reason I felt something welling up inside me. "Drew, yield. You know you can't win this in actual combat." Persi growled, and her voice sent shivers down my spine.

Why was I feeling like this? What even was this feeling?

Before I knew it, I had dropped riptide with a barely audible 'clang'. "So, you yield?" Persi asked, her eyes focused on my face. I could see her cheeks slowly turning crimson thanks to our closeness, and I could feel my cheeks heat up too.

"N-no." Why was I stuttering?

"No? Y-you know that you'll be killed in actual combat yeah?" Persis said, her voice catching slightly. She averted her gaze from my eyes, and I took in the sight in front of me.

Even though Persis had her blades pressing against my neck, it sidn't stop me from admiring Persi's natural beauty. Her raven-brown bangs hung messily at the sides of her face, and her fringes covered her eyes slightly. She looked so beautiful…so cute. I knew we were in combat, but for some reason I couldn't suppress the feeling within me anymore as it exploded within me.

I realized I was in love with Persis Jackson.

Though I didn't know if she liked me, nor was I sure if she would love me back, I was prepared to take the leap of faith.

A sly smirk shone on my face as I devised a devious plan to declare my love to her.

"C'mon Drew, I don't know what you're thinking…just yield. You're unarmed now." Persis said, a worried look crossing her face as she tried to identify what I was going to do, her multi-colored eyes searching my face, darting up and down as she tried to prepare herself for what I was doing.

"Well Persi…if I were to go down in battle, I'd rather do this first." I said, staring at her through half-lidded eyes, and as her eyes widened, I leaned forwards and planted my lips onto hers.

—

Persis POV

Before I knew what was happening, Drew's lips were locked onto mine as she kissed me deeply.

To say that I was shocked was an understatement. My brain turned to mush and I felt myself go limp as Drew pushed me back, her shield somehow having shrunk back into her bracelet form as she put her hands around me. I could do nothing, my body stunned, as I attempted to return her affection. My blades fell onto the soft grass as Drew kissed me.

I felt her tongue prodding my lips, requesting entrance, and my body granted it in my shocked state. My hands slowly regained motion as they wrapped Drew in a tight embrace, hugging her waist as Drew's tongue dominated my mouth. She kissed me hungrily as I tried to fight back, but for some reason I loved the feeling of me being dominated by Drew…at least, in this moment.

I peeked through my half-lidded eyes, my thoughts clouded by love and lust as Drew kissed me with passion. I watched as she opened her eyes, gave me a sly smirk and straddled me. Wait, straddled?

Before I knew it, Riptide was pressed against my neck. "Yield." Drew said, an air of mischief hanging around as she leaned down. I felt her hot breath gently brush against my face, and my cheeks reddened.

"Drew…you minx!" I protested weakly as I tried to move my hands-only to realize that Drew had pinned one to my stomach and held the other one down firmly. "Yield?" Drew asked slyly, a cunning smirk gracing her features. "Un-unfair! I want a r-rematch!" I shouted weakly, stuttering as I tried to get my brain to function again.

"Cub, it is time to yield. Even though Drew did win by some…unconventional measures." Lupa said, and I should hear the Humor in her voice. I turned my head slightly to see Artemis laughing into her hands, and Lupa grinning at the sight of Drew straddling me.

"Fiineeee…" I grumbled, looking back up at Drew. "I yield." Drew's face radiated happiness as she bent down to kiss me again, riptide discarded beside me as she kissed me again. Her hands snaked down to my chest, and my hands snaked up her back and nestled into her silky dark brown hair as our kiss deepened.

A cough brought us back to reality, and Drew rolled off me while I sprang upwards, my face resembling a ripe tomato. Drew also had a blush on her face, but her expression was gleeful and happiness shone though her eyes.

"So, I see you two enjoyed yourself." Artemis remarked as Lupa turned away to cough into her fist.

"Umm…y-yes, milady." I stuttered as Drew snickered. Turning to her, my face scarlet, I whined, "shut up!" Which made her snicker harder.

"Ah…sorry to disturb this moment," Artemis said, causing both of us to snap our heads to look at her, "but I have something to give my champion and you if you don't mind."

"Of course!" Drew said, her girlish side gone in an instant.

"Same here." I said, and Artemis smiled before beckoning me forwards. "My dear champion…you've done great in combat there. I see you held back with Drew-" I turned to look at Drew who had her eyes wider than dinner plates "-and I believe that my gift can further your combat prowess." Artemis produced a necklace and a bracelet. The bracelet had a delicate symbol of two wings ending in two staffs, and the necklace had a side view of a helm with winged guards, and it had a shimmering sapphire blue clasp.

"My lady…I thank you for giving me these, but…first off, why do these decorations feature the symbols and helm of the valkyries?" I asked, confusion etched on my face. Artemis must've seen it, because she laughed lightly.

"Oh Persis, I like how clueless you are," Artemis said, stifling a chuckle. "You know, your father got permission to visit your mom in the underworld after she…you know, got sent there, to help me out on this gift. He said that when you were young, you liked Norse mythology-though I personally dislike Thor."

"Thor? He exists?" I asked, shocked and confused. "Yeah…in fact, Egyptians, Norse and pretty much any pantheon mortals worshipped exist. But that's not the point-basically, your mother knew you loved the Valkyries, seeing them as brave maidens who took up the posts as warriors to save heros. So, we made you a bow and a set of armor with the Valkyrie symbol."

"Uh-thanks, Artemis! But…how do I transform this into an armor set?" I asked. "You figured it out already? Great job, Persi. So, you should put on the bracelet and necklace first…the bracelet transforms into a bow, and the necklace turns into an armor set when you tug it." Artemis said, and after I put on the bracelet and placed the necklace around the base of my throat, I decided to give it a spin.

Tugging on the helm, a silver glow encompassed me briefly as a silver armor set with golden and celestial bronze trimmings appeared on my body. The twin wing symbol of the Valkyries was etched onto my chest plate, and my shoulder pauldrons had the Valkyrie helm symbol on my necklace. A shimmering blue cape was draped over my back and fastened to my shoulders, and a helm that looked like a Valkyrie's was clipped onto my waist belt. Willing the bow into existence, I admired the silvery bow reflecting the sunlight off its body.

"The bow and armor set is made of Olympian silver mixed with Uru metal and Adamite. We had to cash in a favour with the Asgardians to get that metal." Artemis explained. "Now you can kill Norse monsters as well as Greek ones, if you even run across one. Now, to get an arrow, simply pull the bow and an arrow will appear. To deactivate your armor set, tap the base of your throat, where the necklace is." I tapped it once, and my armor set shrunk back into my necklace in less than a millisecond.

"Now, since you have Riptide to Drew, we decided you should have a sword too, should the need for it ever arise. So, if you wish to, the bow can also transform into a sword, and my blade-Ice, as you have named it, can transform into a shield." Artemis said, and I gave it a try. A silver shield appeared strapped to my forearm, and a sword that looked suspiciously like a Valkyrie's sword from 'Thor: Ragnarok' appeared in my hand, with a silvers edge that slowly transited into a sea green core, and a pale khaki coloured leather handle.

It looked wicked.

"Cool!" I cheered, behaving like a child receiving a Christmas gift. Artemis and Lupa smiled, before Artemis walked over to Drew. "Now, Drew, I know that you've been struggling in combat. So, I'd like to give you mine-and Diana's- partial blessing to increase your combat prowess and allow you to handle a bow better." She placed a hand on Drew's forehead, before a silvery glow momentarily encompassed Drew. It quickly dissipated, and Drew looked on in amazement as she took in her surroundings with a higher degree of awareness.

"This…smells nice!" She said, and I giggled. "Now, since I blessed you with better bow usage, I decided to gift you with a bow as well." She produced a bracelet made of silver, with a bow and arrow delicately crafted atop the bracelet. "The bow functions just like Persi's. The difference is that yours is made fully from silver, while Persi's has Adamite and Uru metal in it as well." Drew bowed and snapped the bracelet onto her wrist.

"Now that gifts have been given, we shall send you on your merry way. When you arrive at New Rome, or Camp Jupiter as we call it, hand this envelope to as your letter of reference. Alternatively, pray to one of us and we'll appear to vouch for your entry into a legion." Lupa said, a sad smile on her face.

"Wait, won't you be coming with us?" Drew asked, and I looked at her like she had grown a second head. "No, of course they won't! It's a tradition to make newly trained demigods head towards camp on their own, so that the weak may be washed out. Only the strong survive." I said, and Drew sighed.

"Guess camp half-blood pampered us too much then." Hearing this, Artemis chuckled slightly, before her expression turned serious. "You can ask Persi for the reason why you guys need satyrs to guide you. For now, you should go. The sun will be setting soon, and the forests here aren't pleasant at night."

I nodded, before sticking the envelope into a compartment in Drew's backpack. "You ready, Drew?"

"Always, if you're by my side."

"Cheeky."

"Alright, I know, but let's get going yeah?"

"Yeah, let's not dilly-dally."

With that, I grasped Drew"s hand in mine and we began venturing towards San Francisco, towards a new life of ours.

—

A/N: and chapter 8 is done. I'd like to thank you for reading this chapter, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!

(No large A/N this chapter, sorry)