Bit of a longer A/N at the end! (Nothing bad) Also thanks to Malgrath for betaing this chapter!
There were a lot of things Artemis wanted to say to Perseus when she first met him. Everything from questions about his motives to even, at the lowest level of her mind, the simple phrase of 'I missed you'. But on the millions of different ways, she imagined their reunion, him pushing her out of the way of a deer monster she'd only seen once or twice was not something she had prepared for.
"Hey, Lady Artemis."
Golden blood pooled around Perseus's body as the goddess of the moon watched in horror. For a few seconds, she had barely even recognized him, an utterly confused expression on her face before it morphed into shock. Black dust clouded the area as she heard multiple screams of orders and saw her hunt begin first aid on the fallen god. Soon, her vision was blocked by someone else, a blue-eyed and blonde-haired woman who looked like she was about to have a meltdown. Her face was tinted in red as she yelled at Artemis, but she couldn't hear her. In her stunned state, the Huntress could only read her lips.
"Get up! We are going back to safety!" The blonde grabbed her arm and yanked her up to her feet. The goddess winced in slight pain, her body sore from being thrown onto the ground from before. Eventually, her hearing cleared. Everything was coming back into focus as she was led towards a building. As she walked through the glass door, she was hit with the smell of coffee and rising dough. Another cafe.
'I've been to a lot of these recently…' She thought before she heard the sound of a table screeching across the floor. Coming back to her senses, the last few minutes flashed inside her mind like a slide show. Suddenly, her heart became unnecessarily loud as she watched the hunt haul Perseus onto the connected table, Atalanta and the blonde from before had stripped him of his jacket, dark gold ichor staining the fabric as it landed on the floor. She watched as he was flipped onto his stomach, and grimaced as the wounds rippled on his skin, the numerous scars on full display as the hunters watched with morbid curiosity. Artemis herself peered over the shoulders of the two healers, watching as they cleaned the wound with fresh water and started sewing it up. Luckily it seemed the water did wonders. Assisting in stitching the skin up as her hunters worked, but it did still need a little help as he wasn't able to utilize his powers to their fullest extent, not while conscious at least.
"He'll be okay right?" Artemis heard a voice from beside her and saw Jessie biting her nails, a bad habit that the goddess thought she had kicked. Turning to some of her other hunters, the goddess saw many similarly wound up.
"Percy will be fine. He'll need someone to watch over him while he sleeps. Just to make sure his condition doesn't worsen, but aside from that he just needs his rest. Thank the gods that he heals in the water, without that he'd for sure be in a worse condition." Atalanta said, and Artemis let out a breath she absolutely knew she was holding closing her eyes in relief.
"I'll take the first watch. If anything happens, I can use my shock powers to start his heart back up." Thalia went to pick up the god, a few other huntresses helping her while they carefully brought him upstairs. The unknown blonde led them toward his room. As Artemis sat down on one of the nearby chairs, she felt the stress from the past few months start to wear away at her psyche. Here he was, the man she had been searching for. Shacked up with some woman that she didn't know. Rancid thoughts ran through her mind and her face pinched up. A picture of him smiling and hugging the girl, his arms reaching up to her face, leaning in for a ki-
"Lady Artemis? Are you okay?" She snapped out of her nightmare, eyes snapping towards the voice. Penelope stood there, her contact lenses causing her eyes to be blazing red. Another huntress stood next to her, a rather short black-haired girl who wore a pair of thick cargo pants and snow boots. Her jacket was the same as all the others, and she had a bow slung over her shoulder. What was different, however, were her bright purple eyes and a stick that crossed her bow.
"Yeah, you looked like you were about to kick a puppy." The two of them blinked, and the girl just smiled innocently.
"I'm….fine. Just processing everything that's been going on. Thank you two for worrying about me, Penelope, and Amare." They both nodded and took a seat next to the goddess, striking up a conversation with the rest of the hunt while they waited. Soon the door in the back opened, and the few huntresses that went to help returned alongside the unknown blonde. Artemis studied the woman, her silver eyes as harsh as a full moon as she looked her up and down. It pained her to admit but she was beautiful. Dazzling blonde hair fell in curls around her face, her radiant blue eyes sparkling with a level of maturity and wisdom. Hells, even her stride was as graceful as some of the gods and goddesses on Olympus. It honestly made Artemis suspicious of the girl, especially since she seemed to have some kind of relationship with her husband.
"Thalia is with him now. We'll rotate out every few hours so that we can get some sleep and keep watch in case some more creepy deer things come after us." Phoebe said, crossing her arms and walking towards the window. The other huntresses gathered around Artemis, silently chatting between themselves before a few broke away and set up a tent in the middle of the cafe. It was one of their emergency barracks tents which could house over twenty people if need be. Artemis suppressed a look of amusement at the picture of a tent inside a building, before settling her eyes in front of her. Blue eyes stared back as the girl had sat down in front of her, staring her down with a look of….something. Artemis couldn't quite place the list of emotions in the girl's eyes, and frankly, it pissed her off.
Ever since she entered Alaskan borders her senses had been dulled, which made it a lot harder to read people as she usually did. Of course, she could discern basic emotions like anger and sorrow, but anything with depth had to be written clearly on their face for her to recognize it.
"Can I help you?" The goddess's tone was cold, and frankly, she didn't give a shit. She was tired, stressed, and angry. At what? She couldn't figure that part out, but she was pissed off. The girl looked at her for a moment longer, before a smug smile appeared on her face. She leaned back and crossed her arms. If it weren't for the fact that she had helped them just a few moments ago, she would've pointed a dagger at her throat for the disrespect.
"Well, looks like Percy was right. You are feisty." The goddess' stomach churned at the words, and her hand curled into a fist. She just barely had the self-control to keep her hand where it was and not being placed firmly on the girl's nose.
"Oh yeah? He also tells you I don't tolerate disrespect?" Artemis could faintly notice the hunters around her going silent, watching silent sparks fly between the two women.
"Definitely. Your name came up often." The woman snorted in amusement. "Sometimes you would be all he'd talk about for hours on end." It was Artemis's loss as she sputtered, her face flushing gold, her silver eyes dancing over the girl's face to see if she was lying. After a moment, she composed herself, violently fighting the blush that didn't want to go away. Once she was finished, she decided that either the girl was a very good liar, or she was telling the truth. She wasn't sure which one was worse honestly.
"I….then you know who I am. Well, considering you recognized us when we were fighting those…beasts earlier, it's not surprising that he's told you about us. But you haven't told us anything about who you are." The smile on the girl's face softened and Artemis felt strange as the girl's eyes flicked across her.
"My name is Dawn. I'm a….what did Percy call me again….?" She placed a finger to her lips, her head tilted in thought before her eyes widened. "Right, I'm what you guys call a legacy. Specifically one of Apollo. Which makes me your niece, so you should treat me extra nice." Artemis raised an eyebrow in surprise. On one hand, she could definitely see traces of her brother in her, with her chiseled jawline and blue eyes that sparkled like the sky on a clear day. But on the other hand, she could feel some kind of stronger connection to the girl that went beyond that of a simple legacy. As much as she wanted to point that out, she decided against it as it would do her no favors to draw her ire.
"Well then, niece." Artemis grinned at the word, like a wolf stalking down her prey. It also had the bonus effect of momentarily breaking Dawn's cool-girl facade, her smile faltering for a few seconds before it came back. "How do you know my husband?" The words came out of her mouth before she had even realized what she said. Some of the other hunters let out a small gasp, but she decided to ignore them. No backing down now.
"He saved me. About five-maybe six? Years ago." She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she remembered what had happened. "Well, not in a typical sense of saving I should say. There were no monsters or bad guys, just a bad mental state. I felt trapped in my own mind, and his spirit brought me out of it." Artemis's eyes softened just a little, an amused smirk on her face as she thought about Perseus's own selflessness. "Since that day, I've followed him around, hoping to pay him back for what he's done for me." Artemis hummed, satisfied with the girl's answer for now. "I can promise you though, he's been faithful this entire time. Never once accepted any advances I've made on him." And just like that, her senses were back on high alert as her eyes widened.
"W-what?!" Artemis sputtered, the peanut gallery once more gasping as they looked at each other. "You- you tried to sleep with him?" She stammered, ichor rushing to her face once more. Her heart thudded in her chest as she felt the need to wrap her hands around Dawn's throat. The woman in question raised her hands in wide-eyed surrender.
"This was before I knew he was married, I swear." It seems she didn't expect that reaction from the goddess. The blonde's body slightly turned to make a mad dash in case the murderous wife decided to enact some kind of revenge. "It was only during the first few months that he finally mentioned he had a wife. I stopped after that."
Artemis felt herself sigh in relief, then spared a thought on why she was relieved. It's not like she had any real claim to him, and considering that she had basically exiled him. Well, it would be a naturall action for him to seek out other women.
Instead of ignoring the feeling, she decided to prod it a little. Delving into the idea of him with someone else and was met with a sharp pang of pain, which almost made her jolt in surprise. The pain was soon replaced with anger, then fear, then finally a rather new emotion, jealousy. The goddess blinked and felt her face flush in response to the new feeling.
"You….well…thanks for that, I guess." Her mind was going haywire, the new feeling a confusing spiral into the unknown.
"Though it was quite weird that it took him almost three months until he said he was married. So that begs the question, what happened?" The hunters all stared at Artemis, the same question bouncing around in their own heads, but none of them were brave enough to ask the goddess. Artemis felt unnaturally hot, drumming her fingers against the table, not meeting anyone's eyes. Years ago if she had been asked this question, she would've outright told them he betrayed her. But the circumstances were different now. From what she had pieced together from Thalia and the prophecy, it seemed like he did it out of necessity and protection, not out of malice. Still, not knowing the truth, she won't be satisfied until she hears the reason from his own mouth.
"We fought….it was rather big, but I prefer the details to remain private for now. At least until I talk to him again." Dawn seemed to hum, staring at the goddess with a knowing look.
"He said the same, which means you're telling the truth. Okay, I won't bother you about it then, as it seems you two have a lot to catch up on. Why don't you go up with uh….what was her name again?" The blonde looked around, a confused look on her face.
"Thalia."
"Yeah, her. I'll stay down here and make sure everyone is taken care of. I'm sure you all are starving aren't you?" Muttered agreements echoed throughout the room, and she nodded. Artemis stood up along with Dawn. She had more she wanted to ask her, but frankly, she agreed that she needed to talk to Perseus more than anything else. Walking towards the back of the cafe, she turned back, suddenly realizing she didn't know where to go. "Go up the stairs, it'll be the first door on the left." As if sensing her confusion, Dawn spoke without even looking at the goddess.
"Thanks." She uttered before opening the door and walking upstairs. Just as she was told, she opened the first door on the left and entered. The room was quite well decorated, which was surprising as she didn't remember Perseus ever hanging decorations in his own living quarters in the rare times she had seen them. What shocked her the most was that they were all wood carvings, similar to the ones that Artemis would do when she had spare time on her hands.
One in particular caught her eye, standing tall in the corner of the room. It was about a foot high, and extensively detailed, as if he had spent hours on it. It was a sculpture of her. It wasn't painted, but the way it was carved gave it just enough texture to feel the difference between things like its clothing and her skin. On one hand, it was kind of creepy how well it was done. But on the other, she felt a small warmth creep up in her chest.
"Was definitely weird the first time I saw it. But honestly, it's kind of cute. Personally, my favorite is the one of the bears over there." Thalia said, stretching her arms and leaning back in a chair. Artemis could tell the girl was tired from the way she rubbed her eyes and from her slowed, but steady, breaths. Setting the sculpture back down, she walked over to her half-sister.
"I can take over from here, you should go get some rest." Thalia looked like she wanted to protest, but the look on Artemis's face made it clear she wasn't to be argued with. Instead, the demigod just rolled her eyes and got up and walked out the door.
"Just yell if you need anything." She said over her shoulder before opening the door and walking out. With a thud, the door closed and Artemis was left alone with her estranged husband. Flopping down on the chair, she watched his steady breathing, silently relieved that he wouldn't be perishing here. A part of her wanted to smack him for acting like she needed saving. No, that wasn't it. She wanted to smack him for being so reckless. How dare he nearly kill himself when she was right there. Her emotions swirled around her as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
Over time, as she watched him, she felt herself lulled to sleep, an odd comfort washing over her. As her eyes closed, she was lulled into a dream of memories, the realm of Morpheus beyond her reach.
A few months had passed since that week in the hotel and unfortunately, it was always on her mind. The memory of her sharing a bed with a man, her 'husband'. It both sickened and surprised her. Never in her life would she have trusted anyone to sleep with her, especially not someone she had been forced to marry just hours before. But with Perseus, she didn't seem to mind it. Not that she was thinking of doing it again, but it wasn't so bad. She even got a rather full night's sleep, something that she hadn't had in quite some time, considering all that's happened. However, she attributed that to the favor she paid to Morpheus to give her pleasant dreams.
Wandering through the campsite she nodded to the few huntresses that were still roaming about at this time of night. The once blazing fire in the center was now a pile of glowing coals, keeping only a few girls warm as fall started to settle into the woods. Their current camp was placed in the wilds of North Dakota, as they were here on a tip from her brother that some kind of terrible monster was lurking around here. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was up for anything to vent her frustrations. Speaking of frustrations, she looked towards the woods. To others it would almost seem like she was looking for something or someone.
Ever since that night, Perseus had been avoiding her. It's not like she specifically asked him to, and while she was grateful for the few weeks of space after that night, she didn't expect to be ghosted for months on end. In fact, it irritated her. Her eye twitched as she turned around and walked back towards her tent, crossing her arms. She had specifically told him that she didn't hate him for what had happened, but she wasn't sure if he had gotten the memo or if he had been avoiding her. Actually, now that she thought about it, he was absolutely avoiding her, as she had caught her huntresses sneaking out to meet him beyond the camp borders more than once. When they eventually be caught by the goddess, he would give a curt nod and flash out. Any attempts of conversation with said huntresses afterward were short and simple.
She felt a rather alien feeling whenever this happened. She likened it to irritation but worse. Like a bad feeling in her gut that she couldn't quite shake off. She knew her huntresses wouldn't be breaking their vow of course, especially with someone who was now her husband for god's sake. But it still sent a wave of nausea over her whenever she thought too hard about it. Turning around she started walking back towards the fire, her steps getting quicker as huntresses watched her Worry and curiosity in their eyes as they watched their patron pace back and forth.
"Uhm…Lady Artemis?" One of the huntresses timidly stepped forward. She held her hands in front of her, wringing them together nervously. The goddess turned towards the girl with a cold look in her eyes, and the hunter squeaked. Her eyes going wide and hiding behind a girl who looked identical to her. Immediately, Artemis's eyes softened and guilt spread through her veins.
"Ah, I'm sorry Lucy, I was just thinking about something…unpleasant." Her face scrunched as she described the feeling as she was unsure if that was the correct way to word it. The girl just shook her head, still hiding behind her twin. Her brown eyes were wide and innocent, and it reminded Artemis of a newborn doe.
"No worries My Lady, we were just worried about you. It seems you've been on edge recently and we wanted to know if we could help you." Her twin, Layla, spoke for her sister, her posture calm and collected. The girls stood side by side. While they were were identical twins, she could tell the difference between them by the way they carried themselves. Layla was brash and brave, her brown eyes resembling fiery coals in a dwindling flame. Her sister was the complete opposite with a much calmer expression, usually accompanied by a timid posture which led to her hiding behind her more outgoing sister. They were newer additions to the hunt, having joined just a few weeks before Artemis's engagement announcement.
"Yeah, you could say that…." Artemis had stopped pacing, but that didn't mean her body stopped moving. Her fingers drummed against her crossed arms as her foot tapped in place. As she scanned her hunt, she saw the members of her hunt watching her carefully, worried she might blow a fuse at any moment. "I….yeah, I don't really have any excuse." She could've admitted that she was thinking about her husband, and even worse she could've said that she was angered by the way he was blatantly ignoring her, but that would be a blow to her pride that she couldn't stand to bear at the moment. Looking up, she saw Reyna step forward, her mouth open as she was about to comfort the goddess. But before she could, she was interrupted by a loud rustle in the bushes as a girl popped out.
She looked older, around seventeen or eighteen with long near white, pale blonde hair. Clearly, she had run here from the way she was panting and the multiple leaves and sticks stuck in her hair. But what worried the goddess, and the hunt, the most were the multiple cuts and bruises that littered the girl's body. Ignoring the fact that she was an unknown, Artemis rushed to her side, calling for Atalanta to come to help her treat the girl.
"Young one, what happened to you? Are you okay?" Artemis knelt down, the rest of the camp buzzing into action as they either helped Atalanta with medical supplies or grabbed their bows and dashed off to clear the perimeter of monsters. Artemis could feel a faint sense of the divine in the girl which helped identify the girl as a demigod. That, and the fact that she managed to find this camp even with the barrier of mist that encapsulated the camp.
"Monsters, so many of them, I tried helping him, but he told me to come here first…" The girl was out of breath, her blue eyes flicking around the area wildly. She could feel a jolt of nervousness shoot through her body as Artemis had a faint idea of what was going on. A new girl coming into the hunt alongside a male? It was obvious what was going on, but she needed to get information out of the girl first as it would be unwise to dash off into the unknown.
"What kind of monsters was he fighting? And where is he now?" Shock jolted through the goddess's body as she heard the words coming out of her mouth. It wasn't what she said that surprised her, it was the desperation in her tone. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her hunt giving her looks that made her feel a small sense of shame over it. But now wasn't the time for that, right now her husband was in danger and she needed information.
"Some kind of snake, armadillo, thing? I don't know, the guy who was traveling with me told me not to look at it so I couldn't really describe it to you." The demigod winced, pulling away from the daughter of Apollo as she started cleaning the wound on her leg with rubbing alcohol. "Ow! Warn me next time…" Atalanta just shook her head and continued, ignoring the girl's words "Anyway, he told me to come here, said you could offer me a home away from what I've known…" Yeah, this was definitely Perseus's doing. What worried her however was the description of the monster.
"A basilisk…what the hell is he thinking?!" Standing up, she materialized her bow in her hand and closed her eyes. Divine energy pulsed from the goddess as she spread out her senses, looking for the aura of the water god. As soon as she found it she opened her eyes and bolted off northwards. Vaulting over logs and sliding underneath branches, her mind went into overdrive thinking about the worst possible outcomes. Why didn't he ask her for help? As unfortunate as the circumstances were, they were a team now. Partners. Which meant that they should rely on each other in times like these. The fleeting thought of arrogance lingered in her mind before she snuffed it out. Perseus wasn't arrogant. But she did know he was stubborn and would refuse to ask for help even if he desperately needed it.
Leaves crunched on the ground as the mountains in the distance started to become clearer. Sounds of a monster screeching alongside the dull thud of metal against hide resonated throughout the forest. Her heart thudded in her chest and her lips pursed as she broke through the treeline into a wide clearing. Standing in the middle was Perseus, sweat glistening on his face as he concentrated on his strikes. As she drew nearer, she saw that his strikes were slow, and more than a few missed their mark by a solid margin. Bite marks covered his body, his skin turning a slight purple because of the basilisk's venom lingering in his wounds. It didn't seem to go much farther than surface level, however, which shocked the goddess. The beast he fought was the size of a passenger train, slithering across the grass. Normally these things were no longer than a few feet and preferred to ambush its prey, but this one must've evaded capture for centuries.
The front of its body was large and round, akin to a snake that had just swallowed its meal. However, the rest of it was slender and covered in protective scales. The beast's head was that of a snake, but had the crown of a frilled lizard, blocking the goddess from getting a clear shot at its eyes. Artemis cursed, knowing that her bow would be relatively useless in this scenario. If she looked the beast in the eyes she would freeze, but the problem was that the best way to wound the monster was hindering its sight. She watched Perseus for a moment, noticing that he was fighting with his eyes closed. Of course, he would be that stupid to take it on in the most headstrong way possible.
The basilisk lunged, striking the god again as he yelled out in pain. A dull pain throbbed in her chest as she watched him continue forward. Shaking her head and ignoring her common sense, she jumped into the battle alongside him, her eyes closed as well and she summoned her knives and parried the beast's fangs away from him. With her eyes closed, she spread her senses out and took a deep breath. The scent of poison in the air, shifting winds from the beast's massive frame, and the hiss of pain as she stabbed forward. Her silver blade buried itself deep into its hide.
She could hear it writhing around in pain as the grass rustled around her, her instincts causing her to jump and avoid its thrashing tail.
"Lady Artemis?" She heard the boy say and she fought the urge to open her eyes and turn towards him.
"You really thought you could take a basilisk of this size alone? What the hells are you thinking?" She yelled at him and ducked, just barely avoiding the beast's fangs once more, the smell of rotten flesh nearly causing her to gag. Using this opportunity she slashed upwards, feeling the warm blood splatter against her skin.
"If I'm being absolutely honest with you, I wasn't." She could hear his sword whistle through the air and the screech of pain it brought soon after. It seemed the tides had changed when she jumped in. There was an air of confidence she could somehow feel emanating from the wounded god. As if just her presence was enough to increase his abilities. "What are you doing here?" Unable to dodge another strike so soon, she felt the basilisk's body crash into hers, knocking her back and into the ground. Acting purely on instinct and thousands of years of training, she rolled out of the way of the follow-up attack that came right after.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to make sure you don't get killed." Her voice was cold and desperate. She didn't have time to correct her tone however as she felt the air change around her, growing colder as the wind whipped against her skin. Did this thing just jump?
True to her thoughts, the beast crashed into the ground beside her, sending a shockwave of dirt crashing into the goddess knocking her back. She tumbled against the ground and landed a decent distance away from the fight from what she could tell by her other senses. Hoping that she wasn't wrong, she hesitantly opened her eyes just a sliver. But what happened next caused her to widen them in shock. Standing there, Perseus had grabbed the beast and was wrestling with it as it thrashed and coiled around him. However, she wasn't worried about him as his sword was in his hand and aimed directly at the beast's head. With a final yell, he plunged the blade deep between the basilisk's eyes and fell to the ground panting as it dissolved into golden dust.
She stood up and stumbled over to him but was surprised by the god dashing over and lending his aid. He grabbed her arm and gently lowered her onto a nearby mound of upturned dirt. The forest was oddly quiet with no birds or insects chirping in the night. It made her hyper-aware of her own chest thudding at the close contact, her eyes trailing over his body. Through their close contact, she could feel the god's wounds throbbing and a surge of worry flooded her mind.
"Perseus…" She tried to rummage through a pack hung around her belt, but was stopped.
"I'll be okay. You should take it instead Lady Artemis…" His voice was raspy, clearly betraying his own words as he struggled to sit down next to her. The poison in his veins must be burning through his body right now, and it was a miracle he was even conscious. She wanted to scold him, to yell at his stupidity, and to hit him with a stick for putting himself in needless danger.
"You idiot. Why didn't you ask for help?" Ignoring his words, she forced a piece of ambrosia into his hands, her smoldering silver irises staring him down, daring him to turn her offer away. She watched his face and was annoyed by the emotionless mask he put on, managing to hide any kind of thoughts that would usually be expressed in his expressions. Reluctantly, he took the food of the gods and broke it in half, giving her one while chewing on his own.
'Stubborn ass' She thought as she grabbed the piece and embraced the rush of energy that soothed the aching pains in her body.
"I couldn't risk endangering you." His eyes were turned upwards, the light of the full moon reflecting off his eyes. For a while, she got lost in the seas of his irises. They were a crack in his armor, the only thing that could betray his recently adapted cold facade. But as soon as she got close to figuring him out, he turned away and broke her concentration. She grits her teeth in irritation.
"I handled that just fine thank you. In fact, I came out less injured than you did, so in fact you should be thanking me for helping you." Her pride swelled as she crossed her arms as she stared into the forest's treeline, praying that nothing else would be hunting them down. Contrary to her words, she didn't have a complete handle on the situation and instead would've been taken down if he wasn't here.
"Then, thank you Lady Artemis." She felt him move next to her and turned to face him. His hands moved across his body, his eyes just barely narrowing in pain as his fingers twitched and curled in various patterns. As he finished, she gasped as she watched the poison from the basilisk seep out of his wounds, the purple color slowly fading away from his skin.
"H-how…" The stunned goddess blinked, and he looked over at her with a sad smile.
"Tartarus." Was all he said, and while she wanted to know more she knew better than to ask him any more questions. She may have been aggravated with him, but she wasn't heartless enough to bring up those memories for him. As silence fell over them, questions formed in her mind as she desperately tried to think up solutions to the problem of him avoiding her. Eventually, she took a deep breath and turned to face him once more.
"Perseus. Why have you been ignoring me?" No matter how complicated of a question she came up with, she knew that the best way to face him was to just face the problem head-on. He was silent, which wasn't rare for him when he put thought into his answers, but it made her skin crawl. She hated the feeling of vulnerability she got when she asked him these kinds of things...
"I…" She could hear the grass being crushed in his palm as he dug his fingers into the dirt "I figured you needed space. I just wasn't sure when was the correct time to act like things were normal between us…" Artemis watched the immortal, searching his face for any sense of deceit. And she found it. The way he wouldn't look her directly in the eyes, the way he clenched his fists, and the just barely noticeable shift in tone in his voice. He was lying.
"Perseus…" She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped. Wouldn't this be beneficial to her? Did she really want to know why he had been avoiding her? He wasn't bound to her just as she wasn't bound to him. This marriage was on paper in the eyes of Olympus. A fix to the temperaments of her uncle and father. So what? Sure she was his wife, but she didn't have to play the part. A voice in the back of her mind tried to reason with her, to prod him further, but maybe the reason was too mundane to even say? Thoughts raced through her head as she contemplated her next words. "I…..appreciate it. But I've had enough time to think things through. I don't want this marriage to drive a rift between us. Just as you've said before, we have no obligations towards each other. So, why don't we just act like before?"
The words felt dry on her tongue like they were wrong. Pushing down the looming feeling of anxiety, she shifted to face him and waited for his response. The wind whistled through the air as Perseus seemed to stiffen. It took a few minutes, but he nodded his head in affirmation.
"Yeah, okay, I'll try to act like before. I was just worried about how you'd feel about this whole situation and didn't want to make you any more upset than you already were." His voice was a tone lower, and he looked her dead in the eyes. He spoke the truth this time, and a small smile formed on her lips. Raising her hand, she offered a handshake to seal their words. After a moment's hesitation, Perseus grabbed it and shook, the smile she had grown accustomed to over the years slowly forming on his face. As their hands parted from each other, they lay in the dirt, watching the stars tread across the midnight sky.
The first thing that she realized when she woke up was that she was much warmer than she was last night. The second thing she noticed as her eyes fluttered open was that her estranged husband was no longer in his bed. Two thoughts ran through her mind as she stood up from the chair she had slept in, a blanket falling down onto the floor. One was that he had run off again. Surveying the room, however, showed that he still had nearly everything here aside from what looked like his ichor-stained clothes from last night. The second thought, which seemed more likely, was that he had healed enough to walk out of the room on his own.
As she took a step forward, she realized the blanket wrapped around her feet, preventing her from moving without tripping over herself. Picking it up, she noticed the scent of the sea that lingered alongside the smell of pine. A warmth spread through her body as she realized that this was the blanket he used last night. Fighting the flush of gold that flooded her face, she hastily folded the blanket and put it back on his bed. Artemis walked towards the bathroom and was about to open the door before she remembered the night back in the hotel, and unfortunately, subsequent moments after that she had caught him in the bathroom without knocking. This time she rapped her knuckles on the door three times and waited for a moment. When there was no response, she opened the door and walked inside to wash her face and prepare herself to meet him.
For the past twenty years, she had thought of this moment and what she would say to him. Thoughts of screaming at him, pushing him away, and even driving an arrow through his heart had lingered in her mind, festering like an open wound. But now? She felt nervous, anxious, and even the slightest bit happy. Over the past two months and through her numerous memories playing back like a series on T.V. she started to miss him. Or at least she missed what he was before everything went to shit.
Warm water dripped down her face as she stared at her reflection. Silver eyes stared back, tired and rimmed with red from her restless nights. Her hair was matted against her face with strands frayed left and right. She contemplated taking a shower but threw that thought away since she didn't have anything to change into. The goddess took a deep breath and opened the door, making her way out into the hallway. The sounds of laughter and the smell of breakfast food filled her senses as she walked in the opposite direction she came from last night. Walking through a large door, she was greeted with the sight of her hunt crowded around a coffee table, sprawled along various pieces of furniture as they talked and joked around. Flicking her eyes to the left, she saw an open-faced kitchen with a large center island that housed a buffet of breakfast foods. Dawn stood in front of the stovetop, all four burners going as she prepared more eggs, pancakes, bacon, and sausage. Perseus walked behind the girl, placing his hand on her back as she moved past her.
She narrowed her eyes at the interaction before coughing. Everyone's attention immediately focused on her. The hunt chimed in their 'good mornings' and 'sleep well?'s. What she also noticed was their eyes flick between her and Perseus as the god had stopped whatever he was doing and stared at her. His eyes locked with hers and the world stood still, anticipating their next move. Honestly, she was shocked at his appearance. Since he had taken the blow for her, this was the first time she had gotten a good look at him.
His hair was longer, reaching past his shoulders, but he had it up in a neat ponytail with only a few locks falling out of place. He was also clean-shaven, well, sort of. His beard was bristly and short, reminding her of a middle-aged bachelor in his prime. He wore a pair of grey sweatpants and a white tank top that showed off that he looked older. It was weird seeing him like this and it left a fuzzy feeling in her chest as she looked him up and down. Silver met sea-green as they stared at each other, and she noticed that his face was as unreadable as all those years before. A mask, devoid of emotion when he looked at her. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as she was the first to break off, walking towards him.
"Lady Artemis." He said, setting down a plate he had carried across the kitchen.
"Perseus." She replied in a cold tone. Awkward silence permeated the air as everyone in the room held their breath. Perseus stared her down before he jerked his head towards a sliding glass door that led to a small patio.
"We should talk outside." Artemis stopped and watched him for a moment before looking back to her hunt. "I'm sure you have questions, but I believe you should be the first to hear the answers." The goddess was shocked at him initiating the conversation as she had half-expected him to avoid her entirely.
"Alright." She said as she followed the god outside, the glass door shutting with a satisfying click. It was cold outside, which was to be expected as it was near the end of winter. Snow gently fell down as clouds filled the sky, the environment perfect for a gloomy conversation such as this. As Perseus waved his hand, the snow cleared off of two patio chairs, allowing the goddess to sit down without trouble. She pulled her jacket closer to herself as she watched Perseus look off into the distance. Car horns and the quiet crunching of snow filled the air as the city of Fairbanks woke up.
"How have you been?" A simple start to a complicated conversation. In fact, it caught her so off guard she snorted, before flushing gold and averting her eyes from Perseus's curious gaze. How had she been?
"I've been better." It was the truth. She had spent two months in mania searching for him and in those two months, she'd been attacked by ancient sea creatures, a pissed-off immortal, and deer monsters that she'd only ever heard about. Unconsciously she rubbed her hands together, trying to keep them warm in the bitter cold of the morning. "Thank you by the way." Turning to face him, she had hoped to lower his guard so that she could peel that mask off of him. As he turned, she saw the slightest of cracks as his eyes turned upwards in a small smile.
"Of course. I will always come to your aid if you require help." And then it was seamlessly put back as his smile dropped, the same cold expression as that day in the plains. It irritated her. Once he was so open with her that he shared his greatest insecurities, but now he was as closed off as the rest of the gods and goddesses on Olympus.
"Would you? Can I really trust you?" Emotions she dared to hide slowly crept to the surface as the volume of her voice increased. "After everything that's happened? After you chained me to you like a damned dog?!" Another crack, another flash of emotion, this time of anger. What right did he have to be angry? "Perseus you hurt me in ways no other man had ever done so before. You took my greatest weakness and used it to force me into a marriage I would've never wanted." She was vaguely aware of the hunter's eyes on her through the glass door, but she didn't care right now. The only person she needed to hear this was in front of her.
"Hold on Lady Artemis-"
"No. No, I've had twenty fucking years of holding on! You will sit and listen." He stopped mid-sentence, green eyes flaring, but otherwise calm. Another crack. "For twenty years I imagined what I would say to you. That I hated you. That I never wanted to see you again. That I should've left you to rot under the sky." Another flash of anger. "Perseus do you understand how much I've suffered because of you? How many sleepless nights you've caused me?" Her hands curled into fists, the temptation to punch him sky-high, but she held strong. The way she hurt couldn't be resolved with violence. "Then these past few months, I got a clearer understanding. That there was an actual reason behind what you did. But I came out with more questions than answers. So I hunted after you. I went to the land beyond Olympus just to see you…" Tears welled in the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away. He didn't deserve to see her cry.
"Lady Artemis…" Her anger flared up once more.
"And this! This fucking mask you wear! Ever since you found out about the prophecy you distanced yourself. Perseus we are married for hells sake, but you continue calling me 'Lady' Artemis! Why? Why did you force my father to make me marry you? Why did you distance yourself? Why did you lie to me?!" She waited, watching his reactions, hoping, praying that he would show something. Anything.
"Lady….Artemis." She winced. He was still closed off. "I'm sorry for what I did. I rushed into a decision that affected you and took something that was precious from you. I am truly sorry for this." He bowed his head, and she could see it in his posture. He was telling the truth, he did feel guilty for what he had done. "But I do not regret what I did. And given the same options, I would do it again." Sea-green eyes blazing with determination stared into her own silver, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Only one question was left on her mind.
"Perseus, what is the full prophecy?" She watched as he took a deep breath.
"Heart of the sea, protected by grief. Primordial shall awaken, to confront the thief. A sky of stars clash with an ocean of light. To usurp her powers, an end to his plight." Perseus stared at her, contemplating whether he should finish. The mask he wore was falling apart like grains of sand in an hourglass.
"I deserve to know Perseus. You owe me that much…" Her voice was softer than before as if trying to comfort him. Why? She didn't know aside from the fact that seeing him so vulnerable hurt her. An aching pain in her chest she wanted to fix.
"The maiden goddess of night, destined to fade. To the son of the sea, a debt repaid." The world went silent as the final words hung in the air. "Lady Artemis…." He started, but she couldn't hear him as the sound of her ichor pumping through her body became deafening. Fade? That shouldn't be possible. Shouldn't it? She's the personification of the moon for hells sake!
But if the fates gave this prophecy, then it's entirely possible. Just like she's thought before, she's only a singular thread woven into the blanket of the world. Anxiety, fear, dread, it all flooded her senses as she came to the realization that she was going to die. Then it went away, replaced by anger. A molten fury directed at the one in front of her.
"W-why didn't you tell me this earlier?" She croaked out, her hands shaking as she dug her nails into her palms.
"Because I know what it's like Lady Artemis. I know how it feels to not know if you're going to live to see tomorrow. That's all I've ever known…" His voice was louder now and she just shook her head.
"I deserved to know Perseus! This is my life we're talking about! How…how could you have kept this from me?!" And he just stared at her, his mouth opening and closing, trying to find what to say to comfort her. "You….that's why you forced me into this marriage…" The puzzle pieces clicked into place. A maiden goddess, that's why he took her domain away so that she wouldn't be the goddess in the prophecy. But it didn't make sense, even if she wasn't the goddess of maidens, she was still a virgin, unless.
"Were you trying to take that away too? Under the guise of 'protecting' me." Venom laced her words as she stared at him in disgust aiming to hurt him like he hurt her. And it worked.
"What? No. No of course not! I'm not that kind of guy Lady Artemis! I figured since your vow was gone now, the prophecy wouldn't matter. I swore to myself I would never touch you like that." His voice got louder just like hers did, the pain evident in his voice that she would even suggest that.
"Then what?! You could've just told my father about this and had someone else marry me? Why did it have to be you? Did you take pleasure in watching me that day as my domain was ripped from me?! What's your reason behind all of this?" Matching his volume, she started yelling at him too. At this point, she didn't give a damn about who could hear them. All the hurt from twenty years ago came barreling out. The question of why he betrayed her the way he did burned on her tongue.
"Because I care for you?!" He threw his arms up in exasperation "I couldn't see anyone else who would do the same and not try to force themselves on you? Zeus and Apollo thought the same!"
"Don't you dare blame them now!" She marched towards him until she was face to face with him "You! You did this! What did you hope to gain from all of this?! Bullshit you care for me! If you really cared you'd have told me!"
"I tried! That night you found out I felt so guilty, I tried to tell you before you found out!" Snowflakes fell and melted onto her face, the chill of ice sending shivers down her burning body. "And what about me?! I have to marry a goddess that'll never love me! Do you think I want that? Do you think I don't eventually want to have a family? Kids I can raise as my own? Now that is gone entirely!" Artemis glared at him.
"You can still have kids. You can just go fuck other women as you please, just like every other god on Olympus." Her words shot through the air like a bullet, wounding the god as he took a step back.
"I…I can't…" Suddenly his voice was quieter. She looked up and saw the mask again, reforming as his face became colder.
"What do you mean you can't? Of course, you can. Just like you've said, this marriage is nothing but a formality. Now that I'm 'protected' you can go do whoever you want." Jealousy plagued her thoughts, but she didn't indulge them. Her husband was free to be who he wanted to be. To sire demigods and even other immortals if he so pleased.
"I'm married to you now…" He wouldn't meet her gaze as she glared daggers at him.
"When has marriage meant anything on Olympus? Zeus cheats on Hera every other day. Aphrodite and Hephaestus don't even talk to each other as far as I know. What's stopping you?" She dug deeper, sinking her teeth in. She wasn't going to let him get away this time. He was going to give her the truth.
"Nothing, it just goes against what I stand for." He ran a hand through his hair. He was only saying half the truth.
"Bullshit. Tell me the real reason."
"I am! I just can't form that connection with others." His fists clenched and he looked away. Now it was really lying. But she could see him breaking again. His eyes flashed with power as the snow around them began to slow, the crystals in the air glistening like stars in the night sky.
"Why do you keep lying to me Perseus?! After all we've been through? You just lie and lie. The only truth I've gotten out of you is the damned prophecy." Once again dread looked in her stomach, but she would worry about that later. Right now, this was more important.
"I…it's not important to you Lady Artemis. Just drop it." Fury drowned out every other emotion she held as she felt the urge to smack him. And so she did. The slap echoed through the streets as Perseus narrowed his eyes, his hand touching his cheek.
"You're a fucking coward Perseus. I thought you were different. That you would tell me the truth in times like these. I thought that this marriage wouldn't change you, that we could still be friends. But clearly, you're not the man I thought you to be. Simply another coward hiding behind deceit." And like a hammer to a piece of glass, his mask shattered. His face flickered through emotions like channels on a T.V.
"You want to know why? You want to know why I care for you? Why I couldn't let anyone else marry you? Why did I choose this cursed life for myself?!" He roared, and she felt a chill run down her spine.
"I've been trying to get you to tell me this entire time!" And she saw something else appear on his face. An unknown emotion. The same one she saw on their wedding day.
"Fine, I'll show you." And she only had a moment to process his words as his lips were suddenly on hers. At that moment, everything melted away. The prophecy, the anger, the marriage, and even the prying eyes of her hunt. She felt everything that he had hidden away from her since that day. The sorrow, grief, passion, and love. It was like the floodgates being opened as his hands rested on her hips for just a few moments. Then it was ripped away like a warm blanket on a cold morning, the icy wind of the land beyond the gods chilling her to the bone as she opened her eyes and saw the sea staring back.
"W-what was that?" The goddess ignored the sounds of the door being opened and the hunters either squealing or yelling.
"I'd rip the very stars from the night sky if it meant to protect you Lady Artemis." His voice was barely above a whisper as he brushed past her. She didn't get to see him go as her eyes were still focused on the spot he was, her heart running laps in her chest as her mind processed the variety of thoughts racing in her mind. However, the only one that stood out to her was that she didn't push him away.
Dark swirls of energy surrounded the palace in the unknown lands with soldiers marching in full battle regalia. Sounds of clinking metal and shouted orders filled the air as a woman walked through the palace courtyards, sending sharp glares to any that looked at her. She felt disgusted walking through the castle grounds, as she would've preferred to teleport like a true immortal. However, since the blast from Zeus's master bolt, she was left in a weakened state. Alongside the fortress's magical protections, she was forced to take a more mortal approach. As she approached the doors, she noted the intricate carvings of various creatures and monsters. She also noted the aspect of a singular goddess with flowing hair and perfectly cut diamonds for the eyes. She sneered, the urge to send a bolt of energy as her hands sparked with energy nearly overwhelming her.
"Ah, daughter, come on in. I've been expecting you." A booming voice echoed in her mind and she resisted the urge to flinch. Ignoring her earlier thoughts, she pushed the doors open and immediately entered the throne room. A large blue carpet lay in the center of the room, leading up to a massive pearlescent throne, humming with energy. Sitting on the throne was a man dressed in fully plated armor, the metal gleaming an otherworldy blue as it seemed to draw in the energy surrounding it. Inscribed on the throne were various swirled patterns that constantly shifted from one design to another. Once she made it to the back of the room, she knelt in front of the throne.
"Father." She said, the slightest hint of worry in her voice as icy blue eyes were downcast, refusing to look at the man.
"I sense fear from you daughter. Does this mean you failed in your duty to collect what is needed?" Blue energy crackled as the man spoke, but his lips did not move. As she looked upwards, she saw that the man seemed to be asleep on his throne. As both hands sat on his armrests, his eyes were closed, and his body was perfectly still.
"I'm sorry father, it's just that Zeus interfered with his bolt as I had pinned the goddess down. If he hadn't, surely you would be at your full potential now." A hum resonated throughout the castle as she felt the figure grow in power. From disappointment or anger, she couldn't tell. After some time she felt the power recede and breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Zeus has always been an uncontrollable variable. In the previous two wars, he was silent, but now he pokes his head into business that he normally wouldn't. There's also the problem of his master bolt. A weapon powerful enough to topple even Kronos in his prime." As the woman stared at her father, she blinked as she saw the armor move. His right hand curled into a fist, and she could feel the currents around her start to run wild. "But variables can be controlled, bent to obey our orders, with or without their consent. The only true problem is the thief." The woman flinched away as the water around her surged backward, sending ripples through her dress.
"No worries Father, I will make sure Perseus will be taken care of. This I can promise you. I will reclaim your power over the seas." A wicked grin spread across her face as his hand flattened back into a resting position.
"Good. After all, their prophecies only know of one primordial awakening. You will be a fine distraction while the rest of us search for the heart. Do not disappoint me." The woman bowed deeply, a spear and shield forming in her hands as she slammed the handle into the ground. The butt of the spear released blue sparks as the water empowered the blade, causing it to glow a bright blue.
"Yes, my lord. I will not fail you." And with that, she turned around and walked out, her steps echoing amongst the dead silence of the palace. As the doors closed, another hum of thought sent vibrations throughout the castle.
"Perseus, you have my word, I will take back what is mine." His eyelids pulsed as he stirred, "And I will cleanse the scum of humanity off of this planet like barnacles off a ship."
So...yeah. This is basically the end of Act 1. There will be a few interlude chapters between now and Act 2, but yeah. I was honestly really nervous writing this chapter because there were just so many ways I could've done the Artemis and Percy interaction, but ultimately settled on this. So, if you guys do like it, that's great. If not, well, yeah.
Going forward, we will be seeing mostly Percy and Artemis's POV, but we will have sprinkles of Penelope's POV as well (In fact next chapter will be hers). While I know she's not the best character, I hope to bring a more neutral view to the whole drama going on to set the stage for how everyone else sees it. But yeah, throughout this story will only be those three POV's, with mostly just the main two. Anyway, I will be taking a small break since this took a lot of my brainpower, so I will probably see you guys in two weeks! Until next time!