I know I know, it's late, but I've been busy with nothing in particular so I have no excuse. Anyway, here's the next chapter!
Wind brushed against the moon goddess's face as she flew through the sky in her chariot, the reindeer prancing in the air as she guided them. While normally she let the chariot pilot itself since she had her hunt to deal with, on nights of a full moon, she liked to fly it herself, at least for a little while. It was a great way to clear her mind each cycle and to reflect on any events that she's been through. Her eyes flicked to the sky, the twinkling sea of stars on full display as she flew above the lights that normally concealed them. A small smile formed on her lips as she traced out her favorite constellation, the bittersweet memory of her former lieutenant both warmed her heart and made it ache.
She wondered what Zoe would say about the goddess now, chained into a marriage born of animosity between her uncle and father. Probably something about power-hungry gods and egos that needed to be kept in check. There would also be a string of curses coming from the late Hesperides mouth. The thought made Artemis's smile widen as she imagined the girl yelling at two of the strongest gods on Olympus. As she started her descent toward the horizon, she closed her eyes, letting the late summer air overwhelm her senses. Bringing her right hand up, she undid the braid her hair was in, letting it untangle and flow freely in the wind.
Sure she was in an unwanted marriage, but it almost felt like she wasn't in one at all. Perseus never took advantage of it, and, besides the time he avoided her, they stayed mostly the same as before. Sure there was an awkward tension when they teased each other, or when they were seen together on Olympus, but otherwise it was normal. Thinking back to her wedding, she was so distraught that she didn't recognize the entire picture of marrying Perseus. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her, out of fear or respect she didn't fully know, but it was comforting nonetheless. It also took her 'off the market' as her hunters say. No more lewd gazes were sent her way now that her husband was the savior of Olympus. Only the very dumb, brave, or both would even think about invoking his ire.
The idea brought a wave of warmth in her chest, which confused her. Normally the thought of being protected was disgusting, but now? It felt almost comforting, like balancing on a tightrope but knowing there was a safety net underneath. Still she would've preferred staying un-wedded but at the very least it wasn't all that bad. As her chariot crossed the horizon, she snapped her fingers, flashing back to her hunter's camp. Currently, they were set up in a small forest on the coast of South Carolina, the ocean a few minutes walk from base camp. They weren't hunting anything currently, so she figured the girls could use a bit of rest while they re-supplied.
Walking into the camp, she didn't see any of her hunters milling about like they usually would be. Stretching her senses, she found a few of their auras on a nearby beach, but the rest of them were in their tents. Shrugging it off, she walked toward the middle of the camp, noticing that the fire was still going rather strong. Scrunching her eyebrows together, she stepped towards it, sighing.
"I thought I told the girls to always put the fires out if nobody is using it. Don't they know how irresponsible it is to leave a campfire going unattended? Guess I'm going to have to scold them later.." She muttered to herself. As soon as she rounded the fire's edge she noticed a figure sitting on one of the benches, their hands cupped together near the fire. The orange light danced in his sea-green eyes as there was a soft smile on his lips. It was the first time in a while she'd seen him at peace with himself. Nowadays he always seemed to be fighting some kind of constant internal battle.
"Evening Lady Artemis." His eyes flicked towards her, his smile still on his face. Unexpectedly, she found herself smiling too, walking over and sitting on a bench to his right. Recently he had started sitting further away from her, and she expected it had to do with their predicament. Were her feelings a little hurt? A bit. But she wouldn't admit that. As the warmth of the fire washed over her, she seemed to notice something different about her husband. Looking closer, she could see the faint hint of gold on his cheeks. And if she concentrated, she could smell the faintest scent of alcohol on his breath.
"Are you….drunk?" In the nearly five years she had known him, she hadn't seen him drink nearly at all. The only time she could remember was at the graduation ceremony and she had seen him with his friends.
"No I'm not drunk Lady Artemis. Have I been drinking? Yes, but I haven't drunk enough to be drunk." Perseus smiled at the goddess, and she rolled her eyes as she leaned back. The fire crackled, echoing against the trunks of the trees. It felt serene, and it reminded her of why she loved the forest so much. The smell of smoke filled the air, but she didn't mind it. It seemed Perseus didn't either as he relaxed, his breathing steady as he closed his eyes.
"So, why are you drinking then? From what I remember, it's not a special day…" She thought of the date, placing a finger on her lips in thought. Narrowing her eyes, she went through the catalog of events that she's lived through, or that seemed important to her. Throwing out all of the ones that didn't relate to the month, she narrowed it down. Then, she narrowed it down even further by thinking of what Perseus had been alive for. There was only one that she could think of, but for some reason, she didn't think it was the correct answer. "Are you celebrating the anniversary of the fall of Kronos? I didn't think of you to be one to do so…"
A flicker of sorrow passed over Perseus's face, and Artemis felt the same in her heart. She had lost a few hunters during that fight, but thanks to Perseus, it could've been worse. Shaking his head, he looked up to the sky, and she almost felt guilty for not knowing. Her inner voice seemed to be trying to tell her something, but she just couldn't remember.
"Well, in a sense, you're not wrong. But that isn't why I'm drinking." Looking back into the fire, the flames illuminated his face, and she could see the barest hint of his eyes watering before it disappeared. "No, I'm celebrating a much happier event. It's my twenty-first birthday today. Well, sort of."
Guilt flooded Artemis's brain as the words echoed in her mind. Back when she was a younger immortal, she cared greatly for her birthday, as her pride and ego grew with the boundless offerings and celebrations. But nowadays, she merely took the day off to hunt, enjoying the natural beauties of the forests and eating a small feast alongside her hunt.
"Man, you look so guilty. It's okay Lady Artemis, it's not like I told you about it anyway." A chuckle escaped his lips as his eyes sparkled in amusement. "Besides, technically it's my twenty-second birthday, but considering that Hera knocked me out for eight months, and there was also the whole war and stuff that happened, we just decided that this year would be my twenty-first. Not that it stopped me from drinking before, but it's nice to not have any guilty conscience about it."
"I…uhm…Happy birthday?" She didn't know what to say. Sure he said not to feel guilty, but who wouldn't feel guilty about forgetting their friend's birthday? Plus there was the fact that they were technically married now, so it was even worse that she forgot. Granted, Artemis never told Perseus about her own birthday, but that was different. She wasn't even sure if he knew she had a birthday. At least, that's how she rationalized it. As a myriad of thoughts swam through Artemis's mind, she heard Perseus start to laugh. Her cheeks flushed gold as she figured he was laughing at her. "Hey! You never told me about it!" Pinning the blame on him, she could feel his relaxed response slowly start to chip away at the feeling she had before.
"It's just…your face is too funny…really…if only I had a mirror." Perseus wiped a fake tear from his right eye "Also, the fact that my birthday was practically announced to the Greek world because of the prophecy should've been a dead giveaway on when it was." Artemis had never felt dumb before, she was always the huntress, meticulously stalking her prey to end it with a singular arrow to the heart. But now, she felt like a chicken with its head cut off, flailing about while Perseus looked on in amusement.
"Oh, shut up!" However, her tone was teasing, the memories of when they would bicker reminding her of what they once had. If she was being honest, she liked it that he was a little intoxicated. Perseus was softer, more relaxed. A gentle silence covered the air as they both stared into the fire. In the distance, she could hear the hunt giggling as they played in the water. "Why haven't I seen you celebrate your birthday before?" Curiosity crossed her mind as she turned to look at him.
"Well, it wasn't my idea to go out today actually." Artemis scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion. "The rest of the seven actually did a surprise birthday party for me. It wasn't much, just a small get-together at camp half-blood." Well, she should've expected that to be honest. Leave it to the most humble hero to not celebrate his own birthday. "Normally they know that I'm not a fan, but considering this was my twenty-first, well." He smiled "They wanted an excuse to try to get me drunk."
"Well, I guess you have some good friends then." A playful smile crossed Artemis's face, and Perseus responded with a similar smile as he nodded.
"Honestly I think they forgot that I'm just not a heavy drinker. I'm also not a lightweight by any means. So it just ended up with them all slurring their words and passing out on various pieces of furniture. At this, Artemis let out a small chuckle, rolling her eyes. "Considering they got wasted on some of the simpler stuff, I couldn't imagine them taking anything harder than bottom-shelf divine alcohol."
"Any divine alcohol would send most new immortals into a drunken sleep. Well, most anyway. It's brewed with nectar instead of water after all. All except one." Perseus scrunched up his eyebrows.
"Which one?" He asked, leaning forward. While she could smell the alcohol on him, the scent of the sea was far stronger.
"Don't even bother trying to get it. It's a type of cider made from the golden apples of immortality from Hera's garden. Due to the nature of, well, an immortal apple, and how the process of alcohol is controlled rot, it can take a couple hundred centuries for a single batch to be made. This doesn't include how picky Hera is about which apples go into each batch. From what I know, there are only five or six bottles of it known to Olympus. And only two people have even tasted it., my father and Hera." While she didn't care about alcohol, having only drank it in times of celebration, she was genuinely curious about what it tasted like. It also didn't help that cider was her favorite type of alcohol as well, since it paired excellently with different game meats.
"Wait…really? Is…" Genuine shock spread across Perseu's face as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a flask. It was engraved with a picture of a tree, and diamond apples adorning the numerous branches. Artemis's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she got up from her seat and sat down next to him. Ignoring the god's sudden tenseness, she grabbed the flask and inspected it closely. On the bottom was a date, burned into the silver alongside some other words written in Ancient Greek. '12 AD aged for two thousand years, Hera's finest Golden Cider.'
"H-how…" She stared at the silver vessel, suddenly extremely wary about who was watching them. If Perseus had stolen this, they'd be in a world of trouble that nobody could match. Even Dionysus knows not to go near this stuff.
"Zeus gave it to me as a present for graduating? I didn't realize it was this valuable. Honestly would've sold it but he keeps asking about it and if I've had any yet." Perseus looked at her, and then his lips curled into a sly smile, which inadvertently made gold rush into her cheeks. Turning away, she crossed her arms.
"What?" She said curtly, her eyes sneaking glances at him.
"Do you want to try some?" A teasing tone entered the air as Artemis blushed harder. Perseus chuckled as she stuck up her nose even more, trying to ignore the effect he had on her. Still, it was better than him being distant.
"What makes you think I want any?" She huffed.
"Lady Artemis, I'm no goddess of the hunt, but even I can see your curiosity over this bottle written all over your face. It's like watching a cat with a can opener." She looked at him, and his eyes were focused on hers. Only now did she realize she was on the bench he was sitting on, a mere few inches separating them from each other. "I…don't mind sharing it, but I want you to know what Zeus said when he gave it to me." Sea-green darkened into a violent emerald as he broke eye contact.
"Go on." Artemis nodded, only slightly scooting away from him, mostly because she didn't want to seem too close to him.
"Zeus was…is….obsessed with me creating a new generation of demigods. He gave me this to help speed things along. I honestly thought it was some kind of love potion, which is why I haven't drank any of it. But now, I guess he's always had to use alcohol to get into someone's pants. I just don't want you to think I have any ulterior motives by letting you have some." Artemis hummed as she considered her options. While he was still guarded, she couldn't see a reason he'd want to take advantage of her. In fact, it seemed like he was trying to do the exact opposite, and this could be a good way to get him to open up.
"Perseus. I trust you." She looked him in the eye, the orange light of the fire causing her silver eyes to glow in the dark. She could see his facade cracking, ever so slightly, as a soft smile formed on his face. Handing her the bottle, he nodded, letting her know it was okay to start. A sly smile slipped onto Artemis's lips as she instead pushed the flask back to him. "We do this together. It is your birthday after all." She expected him to panic, to squirm under her gaze, but instead, he let out a small chuckle and took the flask from her hand.
"Should've known you'd have me test it for poison." Artemis rolled her eyes as he uncorked the metal container. A heavenly smell surrounded them as the scent of sweetened golden apples filled the air. Just the simple smell was enough to send haze through the goddess's mind. It seemed Perseus was also under the influence as she saw his eyes close as he took a sip. "Shit…this stuff is no joke…"
"Are you alright?" Concern grew as Perseus passed the flask to her. Suddenly she was very conscious of the fact that they'd be sharing from the same container, and it nearly caused her to back down.
"Yeah, it's delicious, but this stuff is instant…" As she looked down into the bottle, she saw the shimmering golden liquid stare back at her. With a silent prayer to whoever was listening, she took a large gulp of the cider. She could immediately feel the effects as the sweet cider poured down her throat. It was nothing like she expected. With how coveted it was, she envisioned that it would be unlike anything she'd ever tasted before. And while that was correct, it was also extremely simple. But to compare it to other alcohols would be a disservice to the drink.
"I can understand why Father kept this under wraps, it could be addicting under certain circumstances…" The alcohol rushed through her veins, mixing with her golden blood as it was absorbed almost instantly. Normally, alcohol would just burn up under her immortal metabolism, but considering the apple was also technically immortal, it was like a high schooler downing a bottle of tequila.
Her vision swam in front of her as she watched Perseus. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words. It was as if certain filters started to come undone. She wanted to tell him everything she felt about him. Nothing romantic, but how it felt like their friendship started to strain under everything that happened in the past year. And how she felt like he was hiding something from her.
Unfortunately, the only thing she could remember from that point onwards was waking up in her bed with Perseus sitting on one of her oak desk chairs, sound asleep. The scent of the sea in the air.
The taste of salt lingered on her lips and her cheeks were flushed a golden yellow, failing to hold it in. After all this time, this is what he had to say to her. That he had loved her? What the fuck. The rush of blood roared in her ears as the door opened, squeals and yelling echoing out into the streets. With the hunters basically dragging her back into the room, the house warming her up as they closed the door, her eyes drifted across the room, unable to focus on anything. Leading her to the couch, they sat the goddess down.
"I'm going to kill him." The daughter of Ares said coldly, crossing her arms together. However, her face showed hesitation, like she didn't really mean what she said. The others just looked at her, worry etched into their faces.
"Phoebe, it's not like you haven't known that he was in love with her. Wasn't it your idea for him to keep his distance in the first place?" Artemis looked at Reyna in shock, blinking at the statement she just made.
"You…what did you just say?" The hunt looked between each other, silently debating whether or not they should tell her. In the end, Amare walked forward and placed a hand on Artemis's shoulder. Deep violet eyes stared down at the goddess. It almost seemed like she was mocking her, but that seemed to just be the air she had.
"My lady, Percy has been in love with you. You'd have to be blind not to see it. That's why we all thought you were angry at him." Artemis blinked, staring at the girl who just shrugged. "Like, he's always there for you, he brings you your favorite food, he matches your competitive spirit, and even learned archery, something he's awful at, just to get lessons from you. You may be the goddess of the hunt, but you're as blind as a bat when it comes to this stuff, and he made it pretty damn obvious." The rest of the girls nodded in agreement. Even Phoebe begrudgingly agreed.
"Yeah. We all figured you found out and had a big fight over it. We didn't expect this level of romance from him." Jesse looked down at her nails as the rest of them turned their gaze to her. When she looked up, she shrugged. "Like, he forced your father to have you marry him to remove you from the curse of the prophecy. That's like, an entire book trope right there."
"That's….a lot of information to take in at once." Artemis put her head in her hands, her mind combing through her memories. Realistically, she thought he was just being friendly. She knew of his kindness and figured that's why he was nice to her. Or at the very least, they were friends. And friends did things for each other, like suffer through something they hated, spend a lot of time together, or even get seriously protective whenever she told him that some other god tried hitting on her.
"Oh."
Artemis picked her head up and looked around, suddenly realizing everything at once. Some of the girls snickered, while some just shook their heads. Thalia just walked over and sat down next to her, placing a hand on Artemis's leg.
"He never exactly told us, at least upfront. His actions were louder than words, but we all just kept quiet because we knew if we either told you, or let him know that we knew, well…." She imagined what that would've been like if she had been told that he was in love with her before everything went to shit. It irritated her, to say the least. Maybe if he had been upfront about all of this, she wouldn't have reacted the way she did.
"If he had just told me…" Artemis clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palm.
"And what good would that have done Lady Artemis?" This time it was Verna who spoke, sitting on a reclining chair in front of her. "He tells you, gets rejected, and moves on with his life? We all know what Percy's flaw is, and we all know he wouldn't just be able to let you go like that. So, he kept quiet."
"But isn't that for the better? Haven't you all told me about how you all fell in love and were glad it didn't work out? Why is this one any different? What makes this situation special compared to all of yours?" This whole experience was so confusing to her, and it just made matters worse that she felt her heart race whenever she thought of his lips on hers. "I just don't understand why he wouldn't just tell me…"
"What would you have done then if he did?" Now a different voice spoke up, this time it didn't belong to any of her huntresses. Instead, the same sea-green eyes that haunted her stared at her from across the room. And suddenly, her mind went blank. What would she have done if he confessed? It felt like the obvious answer was to turn him down, but why did her heart hurt at the thought of it? The only logical conclusion she could come up with is that she would feel bad for hurting his feelings. Otherwise, why else would she feel bad?
"Reject him of course." But even as she said it, she could feel her own hesitation. As if her body rejected the words she said.
"You sound unsure. Tell me Lady Artemis, you don't have any feelings for him whatsoever? That he could be with another girl and you wouldn't bat an eye." Penelope crossed her arms and stared the goddess down. The hunt looked at her like she was crazy. Most of them had been trying to beat around the bush with her own feelings. Artemis stared the girl down, defiantly ignoring the rising fury in her mind.
"Girl-" Artemis started, but Penelope held up a hand.
"Just, please, humor me." Both of them stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the rising tension in the room tightening like a noose around their necks. However, because of Perseus's little trick, Artemis's mind was littered with distractions. So, she did what the girl asked and closed her eyes, imagining Perseus with someone else. She imagined him getting back with Annabeth, or maybe sitting at a table with Dawn, holding her hand and laughing along to some stupid joke he told. That infectious lop-sided smile on his face.
And she was jealous.
It's not like she wanted to be that girl, or at least that's what she told herself. She tried to assure herself it wasn't love, and to an extent, it wasn't. When she had tutored Piper on her domains, she had taught her about the darker side of her powers. Positive emotions in large quantities can be overwhelming and could consume her if she isn't careful. Teaching Piper caused Artemis to reflect on her own domains. She remembered when she was a young immortal, the awful things she did just because someone broke their vow of maidenhood. How she would hunt for weeks without sleeping or eating just to track down some mythical beast to hang on her wall. The pride of finally getting what she wants energizes her to continue forward.
But what was the darker side of being the goddess of the moon? It wasn't like her brother who would be overwhelmingly bright, or get hot-headed because he wasn't the center of attention. The moon was just that, a moon. As she thought about it, she realized that yes, maybe she did harbor some feelings for Perseus. A friend who she could rely on, someone she could trust. This wasn't infatuation like with Orion. While yes, she was impressed by Perseus's skill with a blade, that wasn't what drew her to him. Instead, it was his selflessness, his loyalty, and his kind heart.
After all the new information that's come out, that he just wanted to protect her, she felt the slightest twinge of guilt over blowing up at him all those years ago.
"Maybe, just maybe, I may harbor something for the boy. But, with what he's done, it's not something I tend to act on. And we also have bigger problems to tend to right now." The weight of Perseus's words started to settle on her as she cleared her feelings towards him. The matter of what he was protecting her from hasn't been addressed yet.
"We could hear you asking about the prophecy, but we couldn't hear his response. What was the rest of the prophecy?" Thalia asked, watching the goddess closely. The words rang through her head, whispering the tale of her doom. Suddenly she felt like the world was closing in on her, just like in the throne room a week ago. The pressure built, just like when she was carrying the weight of the sky all those years ago. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw the timid twin Lucy smile at her. Her heart calmed, but it didn't still.
"The maiden goddess of night, destined to fade. To the son of the sea, a debt repaid." The room stood still as everyone processed their emotions. She could feel the gears turning in each of their heads, trying their best to figure a way out of this, just like they'd done with Thalia before.
"That's, oddly specific for a prophecy. Well, at least in terms of what's normally said. I can't think of anyone else who fits the description. Hailey, do you know of any?" Thalia spoke, placing a hand on her chin as she asked the daughter of Athena. The short blonde tapped her foot, her eyes closed in thought as she dug through the depths of her mind.
"I can give you maiden goddesses, goddesses of the night, and even goddesses that owe either Triton or Percy a favor, but the only one that covers all three is Lady Artemis. It's got to be her." Hailey opened her eyes and explained what she thought, tapping her fingers on her thigh. The other hunters grimaced, looking away from their patron. She hated that, biting her lip and staring at the wall. "But, that's the reason why Percy married you correct? To stop you from being a maiden goddess so that the prophecy can go unfulfilled."
"Prophecies can't just be overturned like that. It's not that simple…" Phoebe muttered, pacing around the room.
"Maybe not, but I mean, we did it with Thalia didn't we?" Atalanta said, a worried look on her face. Her eyes followed Phoebe's back-and-forth walk, nervously running her hand through her hair.
"Did we? In reality, knowing the full prophecy, wasn't it always going to be Percy?" Thalia said, looking to the side, guilt written all across her face. Artemis looked to her half-sister, remembering their earlier conversation on the ship. How she felt guilty for putting it all on Perseus.
"Maybe it would've changed, or maybe it wouldn't have. Maybe another goddess will pop up? I mean, unlike the great prophecy from before, it's not hard to take away parts of the prophecy to manipulate it. It's not dissimilar to how Kronos tried to manipulate you and the Hades boy." Artemis's mind wandered to thoughts she didn't want to have. Technically, she was still a maiden, as the prophecy didn't say 'goddess of maidens' just 'maiden goddess'.
"So maybe he did it all for nothing?" Reyna crossed her arms, her lips pursed as she stared at Artemis. "You and he went through all that strife just for it not to matter?" She raised her hands, frustrated "Now you two are fighting again, we get news our leader is going to die, and here we are just sitting around on our asses doing nothing."
"Then what will you have me do then Reyna? Fate isn't something we can just change. If they decree I die, then I die." Sure, she didn't want to admit the truth, but her brother was the god of prophecies, she knew how they worked.
"Percy-"
"Even he's not immune to the threads of fate." She didn't know exactly what to feel. Gods don't die. So they never get to experience the whole five stages of grief that humanity has to deal with. She just has to accept it, especially if the three old ladies decree it. But, if there was something she did learn from humanity, she needed to have a talk. "I'm going outside."
"Lady Artemis, you shouldn't be going out on your own-" Maya tried to stop her, but Artemis held up a hand.
"I will not be stupid. If I see trouble, I will run." She looked into the eyes of her hunters, conveying her conviction. "Though I may have accepted my fate, I will not go down without a fight." Her hunt couldn't protect her, they're mortal. She needed something more, and there was only one person who she could even begin to trust with her life.
How ironic how the tables have turned. Where he once put his own desires to protect her in the way of their friendship, and how she exiled him because of it. Now, she's going back to ask for help, but also to get a true resolution. No more lies, no more half-truths, right now they needed to start rebuilding their trust again, or else everything he'd done would be in vain. Getting up and walking towards the door, she looked back one more time at her girls. Each one looked worried, but they also trusted her to make the correct choices. Embracing the cold air that rushed into the room, she walked outside, starting her hunt.
Yeah, she didn't have all of her godly powers since she was stuck in the land beyond the gods, but that doesn't mean the years of training her mind to look for the different tracks along the ground went away with it. It didn't take long to find footsteps in the snow belonging to someone who was clearly angry. The way it dug about half an inch more into the snow than the others, and that it was made from a pair of well-worn hunting boots. There was also the simple fact that they were one of two pairs of footprints leading into the city. The other happened to be a pair of women's shoes, average-sized, and seemingly in a rush to get to where they were going.
"This…" She held her tongue, silently seething as she walked towards a nearby park. The newfound feeling of learning about her own feelings towards Perseus left her with a myriad of emotions that she thought she'd never use. Jealousy was one of them, and boy did it make her want to act irrationally. Fortunately, she's had enough emotional training to make sure that she wouldn't end up throttling some blonde bimbo who happened to comfort her husband after an argument.
Hopefully anyway.
Snow gently fell from the sky as she neared the park, the ice crunching beneath her feet. She no longer needed to look for tracks as her prey was right in front of her, just a few yards away, talking with Dawn. She narrowed her eyes, walking towards them, half tempted to shove snow down both of their clothing. Once she got within a few feet, they got up and hugged each other, which really sent Artemis over the edge. Coughing loudly, she enjoyed their panicked expressions as they jumped away from each other.
"Am I interrupting something?" She tapped her foot in annoyance, the ice cracking beneath her boots. Sea-green eyes stared at her own. In the corner of her vision, she saw the girl make a mad dash towards the house. 'Good' she thought, as she just wanted to talk to him, as having Dawn here would be counterproductive to her own emotional state. Watching Perseus's face, her own went golden as he licked his lips. Ignoring the rapid beating of her heart, she placed a hand on her hip.
"No more lies, no more secrets. Right now, you need to tell me everything else that's been going on. If you ever want to start to make things up to me, then you'll start talking." She heard an audible gulp. But he didn't back down. Instead he sat down on the nearby bench, patting the seat next to him. She was uneasy at first, not knowing if she could trust him or herself to be so close to each other after what just happened, but because it seemed he wouldn't start talking unless she did, she sat down next to him.
"So, where do you want me to start?" For a second, she didn't know. Honestly, she was surprised she had even gotten this far, considering how the last conversation went. As she shifted around on the cold metal bench, she looked over at Perseus.
"How did you find out about the prophecy?" Perseus looked out into the street, watching a few cars drive by, the slush from the snow being pushed into the sides of the road. He was silent for a few seconds before he spoke.
"A week or so after my 'graduation' Apollo called me to his palace. He seemed perturbed and on edge, like, well," Perseus waved his hands towards Artemis "his sister was in grave danger. Not too dissimilar to when you got trapped under the sky. Honestly I don't think he would've told me about it if I wasn't pretty much directly named in it."
"Okay, so how did you get from a prophecy to forcing me into a marriage?" Artemis pursed her lips, crossing her arms as she looked at him. She really hoped that Apollo didn't have the idea for this, or else she'd have a sun god to hunt down.
"Well, once he told me the prophecy, he begged me to help. And, well, since obviously I, uh…" His face flushed and Artemis was confused as she tilted her head.
"You what?"
"You know I…well, I had feelings for you, plus you were my friend so of course I would try to help you." Artemis had to fight the blush that colored her cheeks. "So, of course, I helped out. Or at least, tried to." Perseus looked into her eyes, and only now did she realize how close they were, sitting next to each other. "He was hysterical, spouting off nonsense, going through every goddess in the book to prove that it wasn't her. I had to smack him to get some sense into him. But well, how do you save a goddess that was destined to fade?"
"I…" Artemis stuttered as she ran through the options in her mind, none of them pleasant.
"There weren't really any options that didn't involve, well, removing your vow through other means. Then, the wild idea of taking your domain away came up. Zeus had taken godhood away from my father once, so we figured we could do it in a lesser extent to you." She rubbed her chin, a snowflake falling onto her nose.
"But, why through marriage?" Another question rose in her heart "And why you?"
She watched as Perseus struggled to answer, opening his mouth and closing it seconds later. He hummed to himself, and Artemis could see the gears turning in his head.
"It's…well, marriage was the only logical way to explain taking away your domain without you self-destructing. Not that you still wouldn't, but it was the lowest risk. If Zeus just told you to remove your domain with no other side effects, would you?" Artemis contemplated the thought, and unfortunately, she had to give it to him. Even when she was ruled to marry Perseus, she broke her leg and destroyed her hands. She could only imagine if she was just forced to remove the domain for some other reason, especially if she was told to remove it for some prophecy in which she would die.
"That's….fair enough, but you didn't answer my second question." Though she knew the answer, she wanted to hear him say it. Why did she want to hear him say it? It helped her build the timeline of events for what was going through his head. At least, that's what she told herself.
"Well, uhm…who else wouldn't force you to do things you weren't comfortable with? Well, at the very least, who would you not beat to a pulp if you were forced into a marriage with them. I guess we could technically force you to marry a woman too, but we weren't sure if that would count towards removing your domain or not." Artemis watched him blatantly ignore the real answer she wanted, and stared him down as she glared at him. Perseus turned away, placing his hands on his thighs as he struggled to contain the rising golden color. "And, well, I had a crush on you. I was selfish and didn't want anyone else marrying you, so I suggested myself when Apollo and I talked about the idea. I, don't have any excuse if you're looking for one."
Even though she pressed him for the answer. Even though she was trying to build that timeline she mentioned. When he said that he had a crush on her, her heart fluttered and she had to look away lest her lips curl upwards in a smile. The fact that he had said crush instead of something else lingered in her mind, however.
"I don't think a crush constitutes saying what you said before you left the house earlier." To still her beating heart, she decided to tease him a little, hoping to turn the tides onto him.
"What started as a crush grew into something more, which is why I said what I said." And suddenly he was staring into her eyes, the emerald color reflecting the midday sun. "And I meant what I said. I'd do anything to protect you from your fate. Even if it costs me my own life." Her breath caught in her throat as she felt herself freeze. It was like her mind blue-screened and little mini-Artemis were running around in her head trying to figure out what to do or say.
"I..wh…hold on, wh-what…" She couldn't form complete sentences as her mind was mush. Now it was her that was on the backfoot as she tried to rally her dumb brain to work correctly. Before, maybe she would've smiled and teased him back, but after realizing her own feelings towards him, it was a million times worse. Perseus either didn't realize or didn't care for her theatrics as he continued onwards.
"I tried to stay away from you after the day we got married because I didn't want it to evolve into something more. But," And he smiled as he looked at her, which wasn't helping her situation at all, "you told me to stop avoiding you, and well, I wasn't going to just ignore your feelings like that. Like you've said before, we're partners now, so we have to act like it."
She had to focus on anything other than him right now as her heart couldn't currently take what he was saying, so she diverted her attention to another topic.
"Okay, enough of that. How did you convince my father to, uh…how do I phrase this…" Artemis looked away from him, scratching her chin.
"Give you up? Well, what's one thing Zeus values more than his flings?" At this, Perseus stared at a nearby couple who were walking their dog. Artemis thought for a moment. Obviously, the answer was power, and while she could admit that Perseus is a powerful immortal, she didn't think he could give him any more power than what Zeus already had. Unless…
"I traded a favor for a favor." Artemis snapped her head to face him, her face dumbstruck with what he just said.
"Perseus, that's…insane, you don't know what you've done. He's held that over my head for centuries, he's going to do the same to you too." Worry wormed its way into her heart. Especially if she took what Perseus had told her all those years ago about him creating a new generation of gods. He could use it to force him to lay with someone other than her, which would destroy both of them.
"I had no other choice. I knew of your contract with him through one of his drunken speeches, so I figured there was no other way to do it. Create a contract that he could call in one favor from me, in return, I get him to make you give up your domain, hopefully saving you from the prophecy." This was a lot to take in. Different emotions queued themselves up as she processed his words.
First, it was anger, that he used her father's favor to his advantage, and that with the way he phrased it, it sounded like his favor was worth more than hers. Indirectly, he attacked her pride by saying that he was stronger than her. But on the other hand, she knew he didn't mean it that way, and that she was taking it too out of context.
The second was fear. Fear that it seemed that even Perseus wasn't fully confident that he could save her from her fate. If not him, then who else could? There was also the fear that Perseus was now in a contract with Zeus, which she expressed before that he could use to do anything. She knew the dangers, she knew the overbearing weight it had on her mind, and she was worried about what effect that would have on him.
The last was genuine happiness. Who else would go this far just to save someone they were in love with? Someone who would sacrifice everything, to be the hero. Well, scratch that last part. She could name a million demigods and immortals who'd do anything for fame. But her heart swelled when she thought of him forcing her father to give her up, and while her older values hated that she felt that way, being with Perseus had changed her. For the better or for the worse she couldn't tell.
"That's…Perseus you. You're fucking stupid you know that?" Even she was surprised at the words she let out as she sorted out her emotions. What else could she say? "I…"
"I understand if you're angry and if you don't want to see me again after we go back." She shook her head, and Perseus raised his eyebrows in shock.
"While I'm still angry at you to some extent, I'm also…not. Put under the same situation, I probably would've done the same. But I can't understand why you'd put yourself in that situation with my father. Especially since I know how you feel about him." Perseus stared out into the distance. Cars started to flood the streets as the lunch rush began. The smells of different foods surround them.
"I do stupid things for love. Falling into what is basically super hell, blowing up a mountain, dunking myself into a cursed river, and binding myself to the one guy I hate the most just to save the one I care for."
"That's…but…why me?" Artemis asked, refusing to meet the god's eyes. She knew of her looks, she knew of her skills, and she knew that many people wanted to be with her. But it didn't seem like Perseus would fall for just surface-level attributes. From what she'd learned years ago, his motives were either blunt, or they were as deep as the ocean. As Perseus thought to answer, they were interrupted by a yell.
"LADY ARTEMIS, PERCY!" They both turned around, seeing the raven-haired half-sister of her husband running towards them, surprisingly not slipping on the ice. As she reached them, she gulped in the cold air, putting her hands on her knees as she caught her breath. "Finally caught you guys. Anyway, I have some news for both of you." Frustrated that her conversation was interrupted, she narrowed her eyes at the girl.
"What would that be?" Perseus said, standing up and dusting his clothes off, removing the small piles of snow that seemed to have settled over the time they talked.
"Well, I guess one of the gods, uh…Annabeth I think her name was, she called my phone. Don't know how she got my number, but she did some digging around with our dad-"
"our Dad?"
"Yeah, I'm your half-sister, but we can hash that out later. As I was saying, they figured it out." Penelope breathed heavily as she rapid-fired the information out, motioning for them to start heading back towards the house.
"What did they figure out?" Artemis asked, exasperated as she just wanted the girl to get to the point already.
"Right! Sorry! The hunt just wanted me to find you guys as soon as possible. Anyway, they figured out the first line of the prophecy." Artemis and Perseus turned to each other, furrowing their eyebrows together as they pieced it together.
"You mean..?"
"Yes, we know what the 'Heart of the Sea' is."
This is officially the end of the interlude chapters between Act 1 and Act 2. So starting the next chapter, Act 2 will kick off! I'm excited for the progression and I hope you all are too. Also to explain being a little late, I've had some issues writing because of writer's block. If I don't update in my normal schedule, I can guarantee that I'll at least update once a month. But I will try to hold myself to every two weeks at the least. Finally, I also have an AO3 account, so if FanFiction is acting up, you can count on the next chapter being there too. It's under the same name, so shouldn't be hard to find. Anyway, see you all hopefully in two weeks!
