Artemis

Her blessing. It'd been given freely those years ago. She cared for this girl. Both in her youth, as she held the sky, and in her adulthood as she labored for her daughter. Now, her daughter was 10, out in the world with a beautiful mind inherited down from Athena and Vulcan. But she was alone. Artemis' blessing aided much, but it did not save from fires. Much of New Rome had burned. So many were lost. Diana mourned. Artemis watched the young girls who needed homes. Some of them would join the Legion, several considered the Amazons, but a number were welcomed to her Hunt. Like Grace.

She made her way to the small grove the girl was currently hiding in and was startled by a voice at the treeline.

"Lady Artemis? What are you doing here?"

"Perseus! I wasn't expecting you."

"Obviously. Why are you here?"

"I'm here for Grace."

"No you're not."

"Do not presume to direct me, Percy Jackson."

"You're not here for Grace, because I am."

"Don't be absurd. She's a young maiden in need of protection. She received my blessing long ago, and now I've come to collect her and offer the promised-"

"Oh, no you don't!"

"Excuse me?!"

"She is an unclaimed child of Olympus-"

"You know very well who-"

"-and as such she falls into my-"

"I will not be ignored by an upstart boy as yourself!"

"-domain and I will be taking care of her until she is otherwise-"

"There! You said it yourself! You're only temporary!"

"That's not what I-"

"You can't keep her. So leave her be and I will make sure she trains into one of my finest hunters."

"Artemis."

"You cannot bully me, Percy."

"She's my family. I still go back and forth over whether I want to offer my eternal thanks or challenge you to a duel when I think of how you took Estelle."

"I didn't ta-"

"Annabeth was my best friend. No. We were closer than that; there are no words for what we went through together and what we meant to each other. Grace is every bit my niece as Annabeth was my sister. Please, do not take her from me."

"I…" For the first time in their encounter Artemis took a moment to think over her next words. It was easy to forget to do that with Percy. Every conversation had the potential of becoming heated or ending with her abruptly swallowing her tongue as she said something truly absurd. Considering his position she thought over all the possible ways this could end.

"Estelle misses you often." That caught his attention. His entire posture changed like he'd been struck and was about to ask her to hit him again. Her lips twitched at the mental image and she obliged. "She refuses to ask for permission to visit you, or for you to visit her. I think part of her doesn't want me to think her loyalty is divided and another part doesn't want to make other hunters jealous that their loved ones from their mortal life are gone."

"That's Estelle. Sympathetic to a fault." Artemis loved watching him recall his sister. The wishful look in his eye and playful smirk that danced across his lips.

"You are always welcome in our camp, Perseus. You know that?"

"I… I appreciate that, but I don't want to overstep any boundaries. With you or your girls. My odd visits may be welcome now, but I'd like them to stay that way."

"I trust you." She felt her face flush the moment the words were out of her mouth. Yes, it was the truth, but she couldn't just say that.

"Thank you for that, but even my presence alone can be a...hindrance to some of them."

"You don't need to educate me on my own hunters, Perseus."

"No, but I do need you to know I see them. I'm not blind to the reasons some girls join you."

She sighed, because he was right, and decided to get back to the matter at hand.

"We will ask Grace to make a decision."

"That's fair. Will your offer remain if she chooses to spend a few years in my care? She's only ten…"

"My offer stands until she reaches seventeen or joins in a romantic relationship."

"Zoë had been in a relationship with Hercules," he pointed out, unhelpfully. "It was after that that she-"

"Don't lecture me," there was no bite to her voice like she'd intended. She was appalled to find her words sounded more defeated than anything.

"Your...favor isn't always predictable. That's all I was pointing out."

She looked to the sky. It was morning, and dawn had long ago broken, but the moon was still visible close to the horizon. Anyone who paid attention to the lunar cycle would have known to expect it, but to the casual observer it was an abnormal occurrence.

"Let's go see Grace."

They marched into the trees together.