Hi there people, I'm putting this short long A/N here to clarify some things.
Last chapter, I wrote: Basically in terms of powers (offensive wise, I'm discounting healing as Hestia can heal) Percy will be weaker but she'll have a larger energy reserve/stamina, while in terms of combat prowess Percy will be matched only by a select few.
I'd like to expand on this. Basically, Persia (Percy) will have fewer offensive POWERS (not abilities, as melee skill is an ability), since Hestia is more on the peaceful side. She can summon fire, toss fireballs, do a bunch of fire-wielding shenanigans. She can also use hydrokinesis, but it is very, very weak (think of it as Percy's initial canon abilities but worse.) Moon-wise, she'll basically be drawing energy from the moon to power her attacks, so not much gained there other than sustained attacks.
In combat though she is basically unparalleled. She can heal others or be healed by using/touching fire or water (fire heals best). Her stamina is also drastically increased as…well, she draws power from the moon. Oh, she'll also be speedy, and is fluent in archery (duh), dual wielding and utilizing short blades such as hunting knives, daggers and swords with shorter reaches.
So, Persia will be OP in some aspects. If she can fight, she's OP. If she can fight without powers, still OP. If she can only use powers or cannot utilize any weapons (aka someone is able to nullify her melee/ranged attacks) then she's next to useless. (For example, if monsters were to use guns to suppress her and they had an elementalist like Hyperion who attacks her with ONLY powers, she'll be dead in no time. Let's set a scenario-Persia & Percy take the place of Clarassie in the ice cube in the battle of Manhattan. While Percy can break free/utilise nearby water sources to free himself or attack (since ice is still water…technically), Persia will be akin to a sitting duck.)
(Review responses are at the end of the story now btw-don't wanna disturb guys and gals who just want to read)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
She cackled as she began planning on how she would coax out the love between Artemis, Zoë, Persia and the unknown girl.
Oh, this was so going in her magazine for weeks.
—
Artemis wasn't sure how she should treat this recent development in her millennia long life.
She stared at the newly reincarnated Perseus-rather, Persia in utter confusion.
On one hand, she knew that Persia was bound to the hunt now. Effectively, a slave to her hunters, and should be treated like one. On the other, she was getting this warm, fluttery feeling when she looked at the girl, and wanted to hug her, cuddle her and pamper her.
No matter, she told herself. The trio were going back to the hunt, and she could make her descisions there.
Squashing her newfound feelings ruthlessly, she put on a stoic mask and turned to Persia.
"Perseus, just because you are a girl now, doesn't mean you get any special treatment within the hunt. Your soul and life is blunt to me and the hunt, and you will serve the hunt no matter what. Understood?"
Persia mutely nodded.
"Good. Now, I believe Hestia is waiting at the hearth for you. Say your goodbyes and come to the hunter's camp. I await you there."
With that, she spun on her heels and marched out of the cabin.
"Milady, doest thou really have to treat him-er, her that harshly?" Zoë asked, and Artemis only nodded.
"She bounded her life to me and the hunt. She, at root, is still born a boy. Just because she has taken on the appearance of a girl now does not mean she is eligible to join the ranks of our sisters."
"But Milady-"
"Do not protest my decisions. My word is final, Zoë."
"Very well, Milady."
With that, Artemis placed her hand on Zoë's shoulder, and a split second later both beings disappeared in a sliver flash.
—
Zoë was puzzled at her mistress' behaviour.
Artemis was usually calm and composed, and also kind and gentle. She'd never seen her acting so…erratically.
Especially towards any girl.
Granted, Perseus-or, as she was newly christened, Persia, was not born a girl, but she was still in a female's body and should be treated as such. Besides, Perseus had done many great deeds, and way loyal and respectful to a fault. She didn't understand why her mistress showed such polarity in her actions-one second calm and composed, the second angry and frustrated.
Though seconds later, she was dragged out of her thoughts by a shriek.
Hunters turned heads and stared at the new arrival. Newer hunters looked at her confused, while older hunters had frozen in shock. Thalia had face planted, and Phoebe almost collapsed onto a pot she was cooking in.
"…Zoë?" A hunter asked. She recognized the hunter-Atlanta, joined the hunt years after herself.
"Yes, Atlanta, it is I, Zoë nightshade."
More hunters stumbled and swooned, while the remainder immediately attempted to dog pile Zoë, who fell onto her butt and chuckled as girls piled on top of her,
"Yes, yes, sisters, it's good to be back…" Zoë said, laughing. "Now, if you'd kindly get off me?"
Her sisters got off her, albeit with grumbling and reluctance. She smiled- she would never get tired of this immortal family.
Getting up, she walked towards the elder huntresses, grinning at their shocked expressions.
"Zoë…but…just how." Phoebe said, stammering and stuttering.
"It was actually Milady who figured it out. You see, when Perseus' sword was burned, my immortal essence was absorbed by Lady Artemis, who in turn went to lord hades for help and understood that I could be brought back if my immortal essence was released. So, here I am."
The huntresses were shocked and awed at the same time. "No matter. You're here, and that's what matters." Phoebe finally said, and hugged the former Hesperide. Soon, the other elder huntresses also joined in the hug.
Meanwhile, her mistress stood some distance away, grinning at her hunters. Everyone was Glad to have Zoë back in their ranks, but she would have to announce Persia's arrival soon.
Speaking of which…where was that damned boy-turned-girl?
—
Persia watched the pair flash away, before turning on her heels and walking towards the other cabins.
Before she left, she was determined to say goodbye to some of her friends. Travis, Katie, Connor, Clarassie, Malcom, Nyssa, even Will Solace and Chiron.
If she was feeling it, she might even treat Mr. D politely.
Knocking on the Hermes cabin door, it quickly sprung open and a familiar face greeted her.
"Hello…and who might you be?" Travis said, his face falling as he saw a new demigod.
"I'm Persia. Nice to see you, Travis."
Travis shook his head. "Didn't Percy get the gods to claim everyone after they turned thirteen…and how do you know me?" He said, finally picking up that she had greeted him by name.
"Ah…it's a long story. I'll tell you…somewhere. Follow me," she said, and walked towards the Demeter cabin.
Calling out for Katie, the other demigoddess soon fell into step with Travis as the trio walked over to the Athena cabin, then the Apollo cabin, and finally the Hephaestus cabin. Their little trio also grew to 6 demigods, and they set off for the big house in silence.
"Persia. Just who exactly are you?" Malcom asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence between the demigods, but Persia just shook her head. "I'll tell you inside-not here."
Finally, reaching the big house, they climbed the poarch and Persia knocked on the door. Moments later, a wheelchair-bound Chiron opened the door.
"Ah hello my dear, and who might you be?"
"Not here, Chiron. We'll talk inside." Persia said, brushing past the centaur.
The demigods behind her looked at each other. The way that this Persia girl carried herself was familiar, but just exactly who did she remind them of?
Walking inside, the small group found that Persia had already made herself comfortable on a sofa like she had been here before.
Just who exactly is she?
"Guys, sit down, don't stand there like idiots." She said with a snarky tone in her voice. The group sat down, still staring at her for one reason or the other.
Travis stared at her, enchanted by her beauty.
Will stared at her, her sea green eyes oddly familiar to him.
Katie stared at her, studying her posture and features.
Clarassie stared at her, wondering if she could fight.
Malcom stared at her, wondering what her intentions were.
Jake stared at her, wondering why her weapon was her hair clip…and why the weapon seemed oddly familiar.
"Okay guy, quit staring at me. You're all acting creepy." Persia said, squirming in her seat. Reluctantly, their eyes left the gorgeous ravenette's features and body.
"So…why did you bring us here?" Malcom asked. "Always the athena kids job, figuring out what someone's intentions are, yeah? I can see the cogs spinning your brain, Malcom."
"You sound…oddly familiar."
"Of course I do." Persia scoffed, "but I'm not telling. I'm here to pass messages off to people. Think of me as a…messenger."
"To whom?"
"Percy Jackson."
Stunned silence settled in as the group stared at the ravenette. "Percy…? How is he? How's his exile?"
"I'm not supposed to tell, but he did ask me to pass messages to you guys, and also to pass your messages to him." Persia said. In truth, she knew who she was-her memories were slowly settling back in, and though she remembered most of the things she'd experienced, the weight behind those memories hadn't settled in yet. For now, she was happy, snarky and carefree.
"So…he left messages for all of us?" Travis asked, his eyes sorrowful. "Is he…dead?"
"In a way, I suppose so. The exile almost killed him mentally." Persia replied, shrugging nonchalantly. The group seemed saddened by this information, before Persia chirped happily, "So, who wants to go first?"
"Me." Travis said, and Persia seemed to stare at him, her heterochromatic eyes staring into his. Finally, after moments of silence, she spoke up.
"Travis, he said he misses his time with you and Connor. I wanted to get Connor too, but time was running short on my end, so you'll have to tell him that. He also said that he wants to apologize for not being a good enough friend, and he hopes that you can forgive Luke and…um, court…Katie? I think that was what he said."
Travis turned beet red and began spluttering ingeniously.
"Okay, since Travis is in no way able to speak judging by his face, who wants to go next?" Persia asked, completely ignoring the spluttering son of Hermes.
"Me." Clarassie said, and Persia looked at her before speaking up.
"Percy said he liked you as a friend, and he was sad that he couldn't spar with you. He hopes to do that if the gods decide that his banishment is over, and he wishes you good luck with Chris."
"Thanks, Persia. Tell him that I am sorry for his predicament, and I'll support him if the gods allow for it…or when the time comes. Yeah." Clarassie said, and Persia nodded.
"So…who's next?"
"Me." Will said, and Persia nodded.
"He said to thank you for saving Annabeth, even though she was a traitor at the end. He also wished you good luck in the future, and hopes you find someone who catches your eye soon."
Will nodded, before speaking. "Tell him I'm sorry for Annabeth. And…I look forward to seeking him soon."
A small smile spread across Persia's face, before she moved on to talk to Nyssa, Malcom and Katie. "Jake, Malcom, Katie, your messages were short and he apologized for not knowing you guys better when he was around. Nyssa, Percy wants to thank you for helping him in the war, and he's still sorry about Beckendorf. Malcom, He's sorry about Annabeth and he hopes your cabin isn't doing too bad. Katie, he wishes you good luck with Travis, and he said that you should warn Miranda that Connor has the hits for her."
Katie yelped at the last sentence, while the others nodded and simply wished Persia to tell Percy 'good luck'. The small group then stood up, one by one, until it was only Clarassie left.
"Persia." Clarassie said, looking at the ravenette. "Why do you seem…familiar?"
Persia smiled wistfully and shook her head. "That's something else for another time. I'm sure we'll meet again, sometime soon hopefully."
Seeing that she couldn't pry more information out of the demigoddess, Clarassie huffed and stood up. Without a word, she strode over, patted her on the shoulder and left.
Chiron then wheeled his wheelchair in.
"So, Persia, is it? I don't suppose I have to welcome you-you seemed quite versed in our camp already, if Percy has taught you anything about us."
"He has indeed, Chiron." Persia said, before sighing. "Chiron…I need to tell you something."
The immortal centaur looked at the demigoddess in surprise, before gesturing for her to go on.
"Chiron…I kind of lied to my friends. I fell…guilty, and so I'm going to tell you this. I'm…well, Perseus."
He stared at her in shock. "But…how?"
"I went mad, my will to live snapped after not having any contact for months. It's been nearly a year now, and the only human contact I had was with the hunters of Artemis. And when I decided I wanted to end it all….well, I kind of um, accidentally offered up my soul to Artemis, and…well here I am." She said, sighing.
Chiron raised an eyebrow at this. "So…I suppose you aren't returning anytime soon?"
"I am not, indeed."
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Chiron looked at it and wheeled himself over, but before he could move out of the way a redhead ran in. "Chiron, I have p-prophecy, the spirit of Delphi wishes to speak!" Persia raised an eyebrow at the frizzy redhead, who was none other than her ex-girlfriend, Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
"Relax, dear! Now, who is this prophecy for?"
"Perseus, Persia, whatever her new name is! Just-HER!" Rachel yelled, clearly agitated, as she pointed a finger at Persia.
Before She could even groan in frustration at the mention of another prophecy, a bright golden flash on the porch partially blinded her. Moments later, the sun god Apollo strode in before Rached began to choke and spew green mist. Chiron and Persia watched, one being calm while one was utterly horrified, before a trio of raspy voices spoke, their voices like rusty knives running over metal.
"Nine half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
The banished, reincarnated, blessed by night,
Truth revealed when tides and moon unite.
A bond of souls, a broken vow,
The return of a constellation that wields a bow.
Intertwined threads, a life cut short,
Another chance for one in her father's court.
In the depths of hell, love prevails,
And once more shall the saviour be hailed.
Demigods and huntresses combined,
Shall keep the terror of the earth confined.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
To live, to love,
Destined for death and immortalised by deities above."
With the last sentence out of her mouth, Rachel stumbled and collapsed. "Oh shit-Rachel!" Persia said, dashing forwards to catch the new oracle of Delphi. Apollo merely watched in interest.
"Crap-Apollo, heal her or something!" She yelled at the sun god, who looked at her in amusement. "Hmm, interesting."
"What's interesting-just shut up and HEAL HER!"
Right as she finished yelling, Rachel suddenly sat up. "Oh hey Apollo-Percy?"
Persia stared at the redhead. "Uh…"
"There's no getting out of this, Perseus." Apollo said, his tone amused. "You see, I saw this moment happen, and believe me when I say this, but you are hot in this form."
"Fuck off."
"Oh, touchè," Apollo said, grinning. "You do know that you have a big part to play in this prophecy, yes?"
"From what I've heard, yes…I'm the 'banished', I was reincarnated. Dunno how I'm gonna receive a blessing from the god of night-never heard of one, but I can be certain the prophecy has definitely begun."
"And you are correct." Apollo said.
Persia sighed. "Of course, just my luck-I am technically still in Banishment and then another prophecy just gets dumped on me."
"You don't seem that sad though." Apollo said, and Persia shrugged. "What can I say? I'm not exactly happy, but for some reason I can't really feel right now. Dunno what the hell happened to my memories, but they seem dull and nonexistent-even though seeing Artemis got me to remember everything."
Apollo looked at her with a strange look. "So…does that mean what I saw was true?"
"What?"
Ignoring her, he continued, "So that vision is true…you did bind your soul to Artemis…wait. Say again, are your memories…you know, do they not hold any weight, any emotion?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm…" Apollo began, seemingly in thought, "I might be able to help."
He raised a glowing hand, and tapped her on her forehead. Immediately, Persia's memories began solidifying and her mind filled with emotions.
"Oh-shit." She groaned as emotions overwhelmed her. Despair, happiness, pain…mostly pain and despair.
"Um…apollo," Persia began, groaning as her head began to throb, "I know that meeting you was awesome and all, but my head…ugh, it hurts. I…need…Hestia…"
Grunting, she stumbled last Apollo, who looked at her amused. Swooning and tripping all over the place, Persia hobbled over awkwardly towards the burning campfire. Hestia was nowhere to be seen, and she decided to wait…
…only to trip and fall into the campfire.
She felt herself zip through flames, before tumbling out of the fire in a completely opposite place, but her head was pounding so badly at this point she couldn't even stay upright.
She collapsed.
—
Thalia wasn't sure what she should make of the sight in front of her.
It wasn't everyday she was rudely awoken at 2am.
It certainly wasn't everyday she found a girl lying unconscious near the campfire, face down.
Quickly sprinting over to the side of the unconscious body, she knelt beside the unknown girl. The firelight illuminated her wavy raven hair, messily sprawled all over the place. Pressing two fingers to her neck arteries, she let out a sigh of relief to find that the girl lying face-down was still alive.
Now time to find out who she is…
Gingerly, Thalia slowly rolled the girl onto her back. She noted the girl was wearing a faded camp half-blood t-shirt, and ripped jeans. A camper, she thought, before focusing on the girl's face.
Judging by looks, the girl was around 16-17, and was insanely beautiful. Her features were soft and delicate, and her silky raven hair extended down to her waist. Immediately, Thalia felt something in her heart blossom…a feeling she had when she looked at her cousin who hadn't been seen for 3 months.
Thalia noticed that a strand of the girl's bangs were covering her face. She reached forwards and gently brushed the strand beneath her ear, gently curling and uncurling the strand, savouring the touch of her fingertips against the girl's smooth, unblemished skin…
Wait, what?
Thalia recoiled in shock and confusion. Shock, because she felt an emotion she hadn't felt since she joined the hunters and pushed Percy aside. Confusion, because she did not know why her body was behaving in such a way.
Touching others without their permission isn't acceptable! Thalia mentally scolded herself, yet she couldn't deny that ever growing feeling of attraction towards the sleeping girl. Part of her screamed at herself to stop and just keep an eye out for the girl, while the other part begged for her to snuggle up to the girl and cuddle her.
What the actual fuck was going on inside her?
Thalia decided to sit down at a log bench next to the girl's sleeping body. In the meantime, she let her mind drift towards a certain man she hadn't seen in a long time…
Percy Jackson.
Her cousin had always been the loyal, brave one, standing out to lead, never faltering when all hope was lost. Yet, he'd been wrongly exiled due to the gods egos and condemned to a punishment he didn't deserve.
But she wasn't here to feel sorry for her cousin. She'd had enough time to do that before, and she wasn't going down that rabbit hole again, because sooner or later, she'd start to find herself doubting herself. And she didn't want to do that.
She thought back to her first time seeing Percy-which wasn't a particularly great moment of her life. She had popped out of the tree, and the first thing she saw were the sea green eyes of Percy Jackson, filled with concern and care and warmth.
She had fallen for him then and there.
Still, when she saw Percy and Annabeth working in tandem, in harmony, she knew she could never achieve that. She knew that Percy and Annabeth were bound to grow close, even fall in love. And she knew she couldn't compete with Annie.
She was rash, bold and loud, often easily angered and prone to having her pride wounded. Percy was loyal, caring and quiet, often jumping into the fray to save people he held dear. If she did get together with him, he might be wounded harshly by her outbursts.
So, in the throne room, she made her decision.
She joined the hunt.
After that, she squashed any feeling she had towards Percy, hoping to establish a sibling like relationship with him.
Still, when she witnessed Annabeth's betrayal and saw how heartbroken Percy was, she couldn't squash those feelings down anymore. She just wanted to go comfort him, hug him and tell him everything was okay as she gave him a peck on the lips.
Alas, she was a hunter of Artemis. She couldn't do any of those.
Still, from that day onwards, her heart had changed, longing for a glance at Percy, longing to give him a chance.
Until Percy's body showed up in Artemis' arms.
Her heart was utterly shattered. She knew that any chance she had with Percy was gone, never to return. She knew that she could never love Percy, never have him hold her in his arms.
She had cried her eyes out that day.
Still, she didn't think that after a day of Percy's death, she would be over him already. She was, to be frank, disappointed in herself.
A low groan brought her back to her senses. Looking up at the sky which was beginning to brighten, she noted it was around 5 in the morning. At her feet, the girl slowly stirred, softly groaning as her eyes fluttered open.
Thalia sucked in a breath as she stared at her eyes. One sea green, one crimson, both with a silver outer ring. Her irises swirled around in the vague form of flames, licking away at whoever stared at her.
Illuminated by the flames of the campfire, her eyes were stunningly beautiful, her irises taking on an orange hue. Her features seemed more delicate than ever, and Thalia stared at her in amazement as a ray of light illuminated the area and cast a soft glow on the girl.
She looked beautiful-no, scratch that. She looked otherworldly. Thalia watched as the girl's gaze wandered all over the place, before setting on her. She watched as her nose twitched slightly, and her soft, smooth lips part.
She heard her voice, heavenly and melodic. But she was startled as she heard the word the girl had uttered.
"…Thals?"
—
A/N: and that's another chapter done. I'm finished with this chapter for now-I've also updated the previous chapter to edit out a small part. (Initially planned for Zoe to join in a relationship-after consideration it doesn't fit the plot, so bye bye Perzoe ship. Sorry Perzoe shippers :/)
AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION- Zoë will remain in the relationship. Initially, I did not plan for her since…well, three is a magical number, and putting Zoë in would make four. I also wanted this to tie in the plot or something, but in the end nah. Hell, I might even add 2 more so that Persia has 5 mates (2 pairs of 3) if it comes to that. So…lemme know what you guys want. Persia/Artemis/Thalia/Zoë, Persia/Arty/Thalia or Persia x 5 other people? (Though personally I think 6 people sharing each other is really a bit too much, this isn't a harem story)
(Also, if you haven't noticed the wording of the prophecy, Bianca will be coming back so you can request for her to join. Though I'm more or less inclined to keep the story oriented around Persia/Arty/Thals/Zoë.)
Also, before you all yell at me for putting too many mates on Persia's plate-Yes, I'm aware this makes her OP in terms of relationships. No, I'm not changing it. I'm not gonna write many smut/sex scenes (unless it's Artemis, in which…well, check below). The story will mainly be oriented around Persia attempting to-1) survive the Giant war, 2) learning how to love, 3) living in the hunt and 4) becoming a goddess. (Yes, she's going to be one, because she's gonna be wed to Artemis at some point and she's gonna be 'immortalized'.)
Anyway, Review responses:
Sh4d0wz: Yes, Zoë will be. Though I'm not gonna rush this-I've seen other works where they say that 'being a maiden goddess causes lust to increase over time', so I'll have Artemis fall for Persia really quickly (first as a fucktoy because Artemis can't control her lust, then as actual lovers), and Zoë will take it slowly. Thalia will be…well, Thalia. I still haven't planned for her yet.
(Also, Zoë will be bonded to Persia because technically their essences and souls remain in Artemis' form for a while, giving them time to interact and be absorbed by one another.)
Guest: No harem? Fine with me. But I'm not really sure what you mean by 'instead of a harem of girlfriend for fem Percy'. I'll assume you just want to stick to the pairing stated above.
Anyway, I'll be working on my other story for now. Hope you lot enjoy this, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!
(If you have any opinions/feedback, feel free to review-I'll respond to most reviews, guest reviews included. Don't be afraid to voice your own opinion!)
Also, I'm also here to announce something- change in upload schedule for "Huntress"! Right now, I'm undergoing pre-surgery procedures to have my jaw expanded (it's smaller than normal because of a small issue I had as a child, namely the bone being broken in 2 naturally instead of being 1 single piece. After getting stuck back together, the jaw bone's development was hindered and caused this). My jaw and teeth hurt like hell, and I can barely focus to write. So, I'll be updating this every week (as opposed to every 2-3 days like rn) to give me time to put out quality content, and to let me put some focus on my other story 'Servus Romae'.