Disclaimer: I do not own Pjo or Hoo
If there was one thing the Goddess of the Hunt did not like as much as boys, it was being bested. And that's exactly what the other people think she was, or at least that's the way Artemis sees it.
See, she has never failed to hunt anything or anyone.
At least, that is until Percy Jackson. He has disappeared from the face of the earth for the past 717 years. It was infuriating.
It was as if he just stopped existing.
He led the hunt in a wild goose case.
Then there were rumours in Camp Half Blood that when just about in every quest, when the heroes were about to die, someone would save them and give them shelter and food for a while. He had black hair and red eyes, but then the questers were ordered that if they meet the man, they are to see if he wore contacts. And his red eyes really were contacts, but when he put the contacts out, he revealed that he had brown eyes. His name, as he informed the questers, was Shay
As if that wasn't enough, when the Hunters were in a pinch, as in trapped, they would be somehow rescued by a man named Shay. But no hide no hair of him was ever discovered.
This was the last month to hunt for him, but Artemis felt like it was no good. That is, until on the second week of the last month, Artemis thought of something.
But it was risky.
There were low chances of it as a success
She could endanger her whole hunt.
And thus the reason why right now the Hunters were separated in the woods: most of them were trapped, the other few where surrounded by monsters.
They believed that Artemis was gone for the time and left them in that particular mission(which Artemis knew they would fail). Little did they know that Artemis was there, watching, waiting for the last moment before saving them.
The monsters were about to attack, and Artemis sighed. Guessed she failed. She was going to swoop down and save her hunters when a cloaked figure came down and started killing the monsters.
Once they were safe, he looked at the hunters, gave them some nectar and ambrosia and some extra cloaks for warmth from the snow.
At that moment, she saw the trapped hunters running to get the others away from that cloaked figure. Artemis was inwardly grinning. Success, even if this man might not be Percy Jackson, she was certain that this man was Shay, the person who kept helping when heroes were about to die from quests.
She materialized in front of the hunters
"Restrain that man!" Artemis shouted. The other hunters lunged, but her lieutenant, Thalia, hesitated. Maybe that was just Artemis' imagination? It must be.
The cloaked man seemed to avoid the hunters' effortlessly. It didn't help that they were drained and were very slow because of lack of energy.
And so, all the hunters backed away from him warily, thinking what the best way to approach him next was
Artemis decided to intervene.
"Show yourself, boy" He turned his attention to the goddess and bowed. "Lady Artemis," the cloak man said
"Tell me your name" Artemis demanded
Unknown to everyone, Thalia gulped and was very nervous
"My name is Shay"
"Remove your cloak"
He paused as if contemplating what he was going to say.
"I am sorry, Lady Artemis. I do not follow orders from you"
This enraged Artemis. Her father would surely want to know who this 'Shay' person is. Actually, he declared that should any information or should anyone find either Shay or Percy Jackson, they must be brought before the council immediately
"And I am under orders by the King of the Gods to take you before him"
Thalia secretly gulped.
"I really am sorry, Lady Artemis, but I do not follow orders from you"
"Even from the King of the Gods? And tell me, if I were to force you to come with me, what would you do?"
"You see, Lady Artemis, I am . . . not the Shay you wish to find. Now, the one you wish to find is also near. But I won't tell you where that 'Shay' is either. Now please, I have done nothing to harm your hunters. Let me be on my way"
"What do you mean not the Shay I wish to find?! There are others?! Hunters! Patrol you're surroundings!"
And the hunters were about to disperse when 'Shay' shot out a fire ball to the sky and it exploded red as if a beacon.
"I have warned them now. They will leave me and you will not be able to find them"
"But I can still bring you to Olympus! I shall drag you there if I have to!" Artemis was now furious
"But I do not take orders from you, ma'am"
"Who do you take orders to then?!"
"Only two people, my Ace and his patron. Speaking of my Ace, I have orders not to be caught so…" and he sprinted off to escape through the woods.
Artemis of course was going to catch up with him, but soon she found herself chasing nothing but a shadow. But all was not lost. Just before the chasee escaped the chaser, she saw a crest at the back of that 'Shay's' cloak.
"I shall be on Olympus. Thalia, lead your sisters to Camp and stay there for further instructions" Artemis says before teleporting to the throne room.
Thalia sighed in relief, though no one knows why, and asked Phoebe to do a head start and go ahead to Camp and she'll just meet up with them. She had to recheck some animals that she saw in the forest that needed help first. They agreed with this and went on first. Of course, Thalia was lying and what she said was just an excuse.
As to why she was lying. . . well, she has been lying for quite some time now.