These drabbles were written for: Percy Jackson Fanfiction Challenges - kitty132383: The 100 Prompts/100 Drabbles Challenge
Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series, all rights go to Rick Riordan.
13. Escape
Words: 418
Thalia wasn't the type to escape.
She was a fighter.
However, she escaped two times in her life.
First, when she left her mother and the second time was when she was offered never to reach sixteen. She escaped the Great Prophecy.
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Artemis told Thalia as they slowly walked next to each other. The goddess knew her new Lieutenant needed some time to think before they reached the place where her Huntresses set up camp.
"I am really honoured that you asked me to join and be your Lieutenant, milady. However, I'm a coward, aren't I?" Thalia asked suddenly and the goddess raised her eyebrows.
"Coward?" she asked curiously.
"Yes, for leaving, for accepting your unbelievable offer," she said quietly. Artemis knew that something like this will happen so she stopped and put her hand on Thalia's shoulder. She fixed her eyes on Thalia's blue ones.
"You know as well as I do, that Olympus would have failed if tomorrow Kronos tried to take us down. You aren't the only who wasn't ready for something like this and I may not like boys, but I have to admit, that young Perseus is more than the usual stuck-up egoistic male heroes," Artemis said and Thalia nodded weakly.
"I know that the Prophecy isn't the only reason you joined. If it was, probably I wouldn't even offer it for you. I know about your first experience with my Hunters, Thalia. If you want to know, I'm sure that you will enjoy the Hunt, my young Lieutenant," the goddess said and with a reassuring smile she started walking again.
"Why me, milady?" Thalia asked suddenly.
"Why did I ask you to be my Lieutenant?" Artemis asked even though she knew that what Thalia wanted to know. The demigod nodded.
"You are a natural leader, Thalia. I see what you are capable of. Not to mention, that someone might have suggested it to me," Artemis said with a small mysterious smile on her lips.
"It was Zoë, wasn't it?" the new Huntress asked, while her patron just smiled.
"Keep up, my Lieutenant. You have people to meet and rules to get to know. We have a lot of things to do," Artemis said but Thalia just smiled.
Zoë believed in her.
Artemis believed in her.
She wasn't a coward.
She was going to be a good Lieutenant.
She was never going to escape again.
She was going to be a true fighter.