LAST TIME
#Congratulations, Percy. You just gained the companionship of the first wolf, Liekos. The Alpha of Alphas. The King wolf.#
"Woah," I breathed out loud as Liekos nuzzled me. The other wolves howled in harmony as the tent flap behind us was ripped open and Artemis, Zoe, Thalia, and Annabeth entered with their weapons drawn. The aura from Artemis was palpable.
She stopped in her tracks when she saw what I was doing while the silver wolf bounded towards her before licking her face. Artemis paid little heed to the wolf as she stared at me with wide eyes (the beautiful silver eyes that I so loved), and her jaw hung open.
Zoe was in a similar state, gaping at me while Thalia and Annabeth looked around with confusion.
"Hey, Arty," I said with a cheeky grin.
The goddess didn't even acknowledge her hated name. She was too stunned to respond.
Ch.24 New Companions and Friends
PERCY POV
I snapped my fingers and waved at Artemis, trying to gain her attention which was thankfully enough to snap her out of her shock. I was pretty sure Artemis wouldn't appreciate water being splashed on her, especially by me.
"Oh… I am sorry, but what's happening?" She breathed, pinching herself.
"Oh, this wolf here took a liking to me. Isn't he adorable?" I asked, petting it. Liekos seemed to approve of the compliment as he nuzzled my chest.
"Yes, yes," Artemis said absentmindedly. At that, the silver wolf nudged her rather harshly and growled, gaining her attention.
"You are adorable too, Asimeia. The cutest wolf in the world." Artemis said, ruffling her fur.
The silver wolf, Asimeia, seemed satisfied to hear that and licked Artemis's cheek before settling down near her legs. Liekos left my side and went down to sit next to Asimeia.
#Oh, I forgot to tell you that Asimeia is the Queen of wolves and Liekos's mate. She liked Artemis since the first time she saw her and they developed a deep bond. I am guessing she took them in after my demise at the hands of Gaia.#
Artemis smiled at the wolves before turning to me and sighing. "Come Percy… I must say, you are full of surprises."
I raised an eyebrow at her before following her out along with Zoe, Annabeth, and Thalia. Outside the tent, the girl who had led me in was lying unconscious on the ground with a broken nose with Phoebe standing next to her. The tent door was lying ripped to a side on the ground while several other huntresses had come to see what was happening.
Artemis spared a glance at the girl who was lying on the ground and her nostrils flared. She then looked at the girls who were surrounding us. "Go back to your tasks. We are having a meeting before Lunch. Phoebe, take her to the medical wing and get her healed for the meeting." She commanded.
I could feel the thrum of power behind her voice, making the girls obey without question.
She turned to us when all the hunters, except Zoe, Annabeth, and Thalia, had left and Phoebe had dragged the girl away to the medical tent.
Before Artemis could speak, Zoe voiced her question. "How did you do it, Percy?"
"Do what?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Yes, what had you so stumped about the wolf?" Annabeth asked.
"Percy… the wolf that you were petting, Liekos, is no ordinary wolf. He is the first wolf to ever be created. He is the king of wolves." Zoe said slowly.
"Oh."
"And he doesn't let anyone pet him or touch him. He seldom comes near anyone… even Artemis."
"Well, err… awesome, I guess?"
"It is indeed phenomenal. There was only one person who had tamed the wolf… he was the one to whom both Liekos and Asimeia originally belonged. After his death, their responsibility fell on me as Asimeia had taken a liking to me. Since then, they and their pack have been with the hunt."
"Who was it? The one whom Liekos and Asimeia belonged to?" Thalia asked and Artemis stiffened.
"I cannot speak of him, child. It was forbidden by the fates themselves for reasons unknown." She replied. "And no more questions on this. Perseus, come with me. We will continue your training."
She turned around abruptly and marched off towards another tent. But, I caught her eyes getting wet.
I said nothing and jogged after her until we finally entered a huge racing field of sorts. On one side, a huge truck tire was lying with ropes tied to it.
"You know what to do with this tire, Percy. Ten laps around the field without stopping while dragging this tire with you."
#Well, she is not going easy on you, that is for sure. Ten laps mean ten miles on this track. And that tire is no joke to be dragged around for ten miles.#
'Alexander, we do it every day.'
#It is a smaller tire.#
'And fifteen miles. Which I complete in less than twenty minutes if I channel divine energy in my limbs.'
#Fair enough. Go for it champ. Impress your crush.#
'Shut up.'
Alexander just snickered as I secured the ropes on myself. I glanced at Artemis who just nodded. With a grunt, I pulled the tire into motion and started my first lap. It always took the most effort to get the thing into motion. Newton's First Law and all, you know.
After running half of the first lap, I noticed Artemis running towards me before joining me in my activity, minus pulling the tire part.
"You don't have to run with me, Artemis," I said without stopping. Stopping while running at such a high speed when dragging a heavy tire behind you was bad News, believe me.
"I am not going to sit there and watch you run. It's boring. And it feels good to run. It is even better when you do it in a real forest, but I don't think it would be advisable to do what you are doing there."
I laughed, "I guess. Do you put all your huntresses through this training?"
"They have the materials available if they want to do it, but it is not compulsory if that is what you are asking. If they want it, they do it."
"Then what does your training include? Hunteress training?"
"Many things that I make the girls constantly improve on. Archery, tracking, Stealth, survival techniques, Monster classes, and so on. The thing is, they don't do it every day. We usually hunt and it is more hands-on training. We are only here because it was your first time coming here and the fact that they need occasional rest from the usual hunt. This is our third day of camping here. We will stay for a couple of more days before resuming the hunt. Next week, you will even accompany us."
"Sounds fun."
"It is," Artemis beamed. "Never gets boring. Believe me, if you were a girl, I would've recruited you by now. And my offer is still open."
"The one in which you turn me into a female?"
"Yep."
"I am happy like I am right now, thank you very much."
"Boys," Artemis muttered and I rolled my eyes.
We jogged in silence for one lap before the silence got me and I asked, "So, what do you like to do when you are not hunting or doing godly stuff and Archery?"
Artemis raised an eyebrow, "What brought this on?"
"We were jogging silently. It was too quiet. So, well, it will be a good way to pass time while we jog."
"Only you would call running at forty miles an hour as jogging," Artemis said with exasperation. "And, I am not answering your question."
"Well, then, find something to talk about, please. I can't do this in silence."
Artemis sighed before saying, "Alright, we will do the game as mortals play. You ask me one question, I ask you one. And I reserve the right to not answer the question."
"Alright, Ladies first," I said.
"Hmm, let's start with easy ones. What is your favorite color?"
"Blue. Now answer my first question."
"What? You are not asking me my favorite color?"
"Yes, I am totally curious about your favorite color seeing you have everything silver around you."
Artemis blushed, "Alright, yes, Silver is my favorite color. And, well, hmm… this is a tough question. I would say that I like… music. Well, not really, but I do indulge in it occasionally. What do you like apart from training?"
"Swimming, and reading books… and watching movies. That is usually my pastime. Which is your favorite song?"
"Always be my baby, by Mariah Carey. You said you love reading books. What is your favorite book?" She asked as I completed my sixth lap across the field.
"Ah, you are making me choose… gods… I will say Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire." I replied.
"Ah, JK Rowling. An inspiration to women around the world. I also read the books just to see what the craze is all about."
"Really? Cool! Who's your favorite character?"
"The girl, Hermione of course. But I hate Ronald Weasley, he is loud, rude, obinouxs, and lazy, just like a typical man."
"I resent that."
"I am not talking about you, silly boy. I am talking about ninety-nine percent of the males around the world."
"Oh, so you are saying I am special?" I asked with a grin threatening to split my face.
"Don't make me regret my words, Perseus," She warned. "And why are you slowing down?"
"This is the last lap. I don't want to get bowled over by that tire."
"Oh, I didn't realize it," She said. "And it has been only fourteen minutes since you started."
"You said I was running at forty miles an hour. Calculate and you'll realize."
Artemis scowled, "Whom do you think I am? Athena?"
"Well, the track is a mile long and you told me to run ten laps which is a total of ten miles. Now 10 miles at 40mph, will take ten divided by forty, which is equal to one-fourth of an hour, or fifteen minutes."
Artemis opened her mouth before closing it. "Impressive, not many half-bloods can do math."
"You just said I am special, Artemis. Remember?"
She hit me on the back of my head before promptly wringing her hands and wrinkling her nose. "Eww, so much sweat."
"Don't you sweat?" I asked, noting she hadn't broken a single sweat.
"I am a goddess. Such little exercise means nothing to me. And it is twenty-nine Fahrenheit!"
"I am doing vigorous exercise," I said dryly. "Pulling a heavy tire for ten miles is tough work. And I am a demigod… An adolescent one at that. We sweat a lot."
"Fair enough. Take a shower after this. Err… go to Zoe, she'll give you a temporary tent to shower and stay in for the night."
"I am staying for the night?"
"Of course. I am not wasting the time you will take to travel. And you are making breakfast tomorrow morning for us as a service to the hunt for hosting you."
"Yeah, that is not a problem, I can just summon it with a snap of my fingers," I said, snapping my fingers and two glasses of orange juice appeared in my hands as I stopped, having completed the last lap. The tire skidded to a stop behind me.
"Can you please hold these?" I asked, handing Artemis the glasses before taking off the ropes I had tied to my body, sucking in a sharp breath while doing so. The rope had dug into my skin, making it sting.
Artemis raised an eyebrow but said nothing before handing me back a glass.
"Cheers," I said before sitting on the floor and drinking the juice sip by sip, relishing in the soothing it gave. Artemis sat next to me and drained her glass.
"It is not good to drink fluids so rapidly," I said.
"I am a goddess. Such things don't matter."
"Cool, I guess. By the way, are you sure that you want me to stay overnight? I can come again early in the morning. It is just a twenty-minute commute and I can cut it down to ten as well."
"Yes, I am sure. No need to needlessly run across the country. Just stay a little away from the tent of my huntresses. Preferably next to mine. And I am warning you. No funny business."
"Aye, Aye Cap," I said.
"And no need to worry about anything. The huntress tents have everything including a bathroom, toilet, bedroom, a water cooler, a—"
"Thank you for the offer but I have my own tent, Artemis. A cool one. I'll stay there."
"Ah, if you're sure."
"Totally."
"Good. Now, come, I'll show you where to set the tent up. And then take a shower. You stink."
I just rolled my eyes before draining the orange juice left in my glass.
ARTEMIS POV
After I showed Percy where to set his tent, I mentally prepared myself for what was coming next. In fifteen minutes, the meeting where I would declare the punishment for Eurydice was going to start. What she had done had not only endangered Percy but the survival of the whole hunt. It was only to the boy's… specialness, for the lack of a better word, which had saved him.
He had tamed the King of Wolves, Liekos. Liekos was the first wolf to ever be created by my uncle Alexander. The name still brought a twinge of pain and regret to me. He had been killed by Gaea in her last bid for revenge at the end of the Giant war. I should've done something to save him but I was too slow. Too weak.
A large part of me still hoped he was there, reforming slowly, and would return someday.
Till then, Liekos and Asimeia were the two things he had left behind for me to remember him by. Asimeia was the Queen of wolves and Liekos' mate. She had taken a liking to me when Uncle Alexander had first shown her to me. And as a result, she had come to me after his death and Liekos had tagged along. But the wolf submitted to no one and avoided us for the most part. The only times he had been near us and actively participated was when the hunt was attacked. He had saved countless of my hunters. But he was aloof, only sticking to his pack. Until today.
When Eurydice had tricked the boy, or so was the word, but I refused to believe it. Percy Jackson was too competent to be tricked. And I was sure he was the one who had told his friends to follow him. That was how Zoe had sent the message to me as soon as Eurydice had sealed the tent shut.
I had instantly teleported to the wolf tent as soon as I received Zoe's prayer and ripped the sealed door open after futilely trying to open it. When I had gone in, the site that I had seen had shocked me to the core.
Percy Jackson was petting and playing with Liekos. The wolf which only and only had listened to my uncle.
It was yet another achievement that had to be added to the boy's list of impossible achievements.
A part of me was strongly reminded of Uncle Alexander whenever I saw Percy. The way he carried himself, their swordsmanship, their loyalty to the family, the defiance at some levels, the sass, the approachability, the brilliance, the commanding aura that he had… everything reminded me of Alexander.
Whenever he was around, he kept the mood fun and was fun to hang out with but while on the battlefield, it felt he should be the one in charge. Same as Alexander. Despite being the king of Olympus, my father, Zeus, had told him to command the armies of Olympus during the Giant war. Percy was the same. He was meant to be in command on the battlefield. Even I, being a goddess, sometimes felt that he should be the one giving orders.
I knew for a fact that Percy had led the quest to rescue me, despite it being Zoe's prophecy. And Zoe had let him without a single argument and him being a male. They had followed him regardless of everything and that was perhaps why they had gone through the quest without a single casualty.
The boy truly was something. I was pretty sure that he would go down in history as the greatest hero to walk on earth. But, for now, I had to deal with Eurydice, the huntress who had disobeyed my explicit orders to not harm Percy.
Well, Percy hadn't been harmed thankfully but it was only due to Liekos miraculously befriending him. Had he been harmed… I was pretty sure I wouldn't have a hunt by now. Poseidon would've drowned the whole hunt and I would've been helpless to stop his wrath.
Or perhaps Percy would have slaughtered the whole wolf pack. I thought. It was certainly a possibility. Percy was hyper-aware of his surroundings and a great and powerful fighter. He could've probably ripped the whole pack apart, except for Liekos and Asimeia, with the shockwave thing he could do with his swords.
But, regardless, Eurydice's actions had not only put Percy Jackson in danger but the whole hunt. And she had disobeyed my explicit orders to not harm the boy. She had to be punished in some way or the other.
I walked towards the center of the camp, pulled my bow out, and fired an arrow in the air, which exploded with a chiming noise, calling my hunt for the meeting.
Within minutes, the hunt had gathered around me, including Eurydice.
"Eurydice, step forward," I ordered. The girl gulped and followed my orders, coming to stand in front of me before kneeling.
"What did you do, Eurydice?"
She remained silent.
"WHAT DID YOU DO, EURYDICE?" I shouted.
"I locked the boy in the wolf tent, my lady."
"And why did you do it?"
"To kill him," she whispered without remorse. I clenched my fists. How could my hunter be like this? I had trained them better.
"Do you know what your actions could've caused?"
"No great loss to the world. He is a vile male after—" She was cut off as thunder rumbled loudly in the sky.
"You should be careful with your words, silly girl." I snapped, smothering the twinge of fear. "You do not realize the gravity of the situation that we have been miraculously saved from. If the boy had been harmed, this hunt wouldn't be STANDING RIGHT NOW! Poseidon would've drowned you all! And don't even make me start on the long-term consequences. Percy Jackson is the child of the prophecy and is supported by more than half of the Olympian council. Athena herself calls the boy, the HERO of Olympus, and our greatest hope against the titan lord. And you would've put the whole world in danger for your pettiness, girl." I lectured before pausing to catch my breath and reign in my power.
"You should be grateful that Percy didn't ask for revenge on you," I continued. "But, I won't. You disobeyed a direct order from your goddess. You also put the life of a guest and the whole hunt on the line. And you shall be punished. If it hadn't been for the war on our doorstep, I would've banished you from the hunt before smiting you for your insolence, girl."
Many in the hunt gasped while the older ones nodded in agreement. They all knew that while I loved them, I hated my explicit orders being purposefully disregarded. I turned to the rest of the hunt. "Girls, suggestions on what we should do with her?"
Many looked conflicted about what to say.
"She should have cleaning duties for a month at least, Lady Artemis," Thalia fumed.
"A month of cleaning duties is too lenient. She broke not one but three of our most explicit rules. She disobeyed explicit orders, she tried to harm a guest of the hunt and she also put the life of the whole group in danger due to Lord Poseidon's wrath." Phoebe declared.
The group started muttering amongst themselves.
"I am sorry to interrupt," A voice that I instantly recognized as Percy's called. The girls parted to reveal the boy standing there.
It was clear that he had taken a shower. He was looking refreshed and his hair was slightly damp as if he hadn't bothered to dry it completely. He was now wearing a set of fresh clothes. A half-sleeved, sky-blue colored t-shirt with the words 'As cool as the SEA!' printed on it
He walked forward towards me, glancing at the kneeling girl, who was glaring daggers at him. "I do not hold it against her for doing what she did."
"She tried to kill you!"
"She failed. No harm was done. And I have enough confidence in my own abilities that I could've handled the wolves if they attacked me or just teleported out of there unscathed."
"You can teleport?" I asked incredulously even if I could totally believe the fact that he could indeed teleport. Against the impossibles that Percy Jackson had achieved, teleportation seemed like a step-down. And it wasn't like demigods couldn't teleport. Children of Hades could shadow travel which was a type of teleportation. But, there was the little fact that Percy was not a son of Hades.
"I can," Percy replied before disappearing from his spot, dissolving into the air, leaving the smell of the sea behind. The hairs on my neck stood and I instantly turned around, coming face to face with Percy. The salty scent of the sea hit my nostrils along with the smell of the deodorant and the soap Percy used. It was a nice smell when blended together.
I also spotted that his breathing was deeper than usual, signifying he was still not used to the technique completely but the fact of how he was standing did show that he had practiced it before. Sometimes I thanked the extraordinary senses that I had in addition to the other gods, thanks to being the goddess of the hunt and the wild. They had saved me from being caught off-guard many times. I could hear the faintest of noises if I wanted to and my senses of eye-sight and smell were phenomenal as well.
"See?" Percy asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I said I could teleport."
"Of course, you can," I muttered.
"Now, as I was saying, I do not hold her actions against her. Mainly because no harm was done to me and the fact that I followed her despite knowing that she was lying and leading me to a tent that had wolves in it and not you. I knowingly followed her."
Eurydice's head snapped up, looking at him incredulously.
"Then why did you go in!?" I demanded.
"Call it a feeling. I have grown to trust my instincts. They have never led me wrong. I had felt that this one had nefarious intent towards me and yet felt something good would come out of it. And it did. I gained a new friend. Liekos."
As if hearing his words, the wolf appeared out of his shadow, startling both him and me, making us jump back in fright.
PERCY POV
As I was talking with Artemis, my new companion, Liekos, suddenly popped out of my shadow, making me and Artemis jump back with fright.
'Dude, your wolf can shadow travel?' I asked Alexander incredulously.
#Of course, he can. He is my wolf. He can shadow travel, run at high speeds, has enhanced strength and also thick, almost impenetrable fur, which you children would call bulletproof skin these days.#
'Cool' I said as Liekos casually turned towards Eurydice and growled, scaring the shit out of her as she fell on her ass and rapidly crawled back away from the wolf. Satisfied, Liekos settled himself at my feet, nuzzling my leg.
I scratched the wolf's head before petting it.
"Eurydice, get up. Do not embarrass yourself further. Even if Percy doesn't take offense to your actions, I do." Artemis declared and my head snapped towards her, wanting to see what she had decided. It wasn't really my place to say something. I had heard of what the girl had been accused of and trying to harm me was only a third of the list of charges against her. And it was not my place to defend her or even interrupt them further. If this had been the camp, I would've definitely spoken. But this was Artemis's hunt and I was a guest here.
"Now, as I said, ideally I would've banished you at the very minimum from the hunt. But considering the situation we are in, I give you six months of cleaning and washing duty which you will do by yourself… without any help."
Now, I didn't know what all it entailed but from the look of horror dawning on the girl's face, it seemed pretty bad.
"Also, your desert privileges are revoked for the next three months along with the enjoyment and the days-off privilege."
The girl had turned pale but she nodded accepting her fate.
"Does anyone have something to add or say?" She asked the huntresses who shook their heads in unison.
"Very well, so the punishment is decided. Six months of cleaning and washing duty and desert privileges along with enjoyment and the days-off privilege being revoked for the next three months starting tomorrow."
Eurydice nodded, her eyes downcast. I could see the tears pooling in them.
"On that note, let us go for Lunch." Artemis declared.
The girls started moving towards a nearby tent which had the sign of a plate with a spoon and fork on the sides of it printed on its flap and sides. Eurydice followed them after getting up from the ground, her eyes downcast.
"You are invited to join us too, Perseus," Artemis said walking towards the tent. She looked over her shoulder and said, "And I insist that you join us."
"Alright," I said, before following her.
Needless to say, the lunch was a bit awkward despite the wonderful steak that the huntresses had cooked.
After lunch, Artemis told me that we would continue training in a few hours as it wasn't good to do vigorous exercise just after eating.
So, I went into my tent, to relax for an hour and a half while watching a movie before coming out again.
Most hunters were in their tents as well while some were roaming around, keeping a watch for any animals and monsters.
I spotted Liza seated on a log near the fire, arranging arrows in her quiver. I walked to where she was sitting, before plopping myself next to her.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Dancing," She replied sarcastically and I rolled my eyes.
"I know you're arranging your quiver but why are you doing that?"
"Well, we have special arrows apart from the normal ones. Like this one," She said waving an arrow in front of my face. I could hardly see any difference between a normal arrow and the one she was waving. The only difference was that the arrow in her hand had the end of its shaft colored white, to be honest.
"Woah, that's cool! I see no difference beyond that white coloring."
"Smartass," Liza said and my head snapped towards her.
"You are too young to say such words. I am gonna wash your mouth with soap. Where did you learn that?" I chastised.
"Yes, mother," She said, rolling her eyes again. "And as for this arrow, it is a smoke arrow. It has the same functionality as a smoke bomb. See this, one with the yellow shaft? That releases the foul-tear gas. The orange one is a fire arrow. As soon as you release it, the arrowhead ignites. The pink one is laced with a sedative. And the peach one turns into metal wires to bind the opponent."
"Woah, awesome."
"Well, there are a dozen more or so. I am too young to access those dangerous ones yet."
"Like?"
"A sonic blast arrow, a multiplier arrow that multiplies in the mid-air, acid arrows, bomb arrows, electric arrows, net arrows, time bomb arrows, and the most dangerous type… moon arrows." She breathed the last word with reverence.
"Moon arrows? What do they do?"
"They are arrows imbibed with the powers of Lady Artemis herself. They can hit any target as long as the target is in sight. Nothing can stop it even if the opponent hides behind a full legion of shields. It will bypass everything like a ghost and hit only the target. It is also highly lethal. It is an honor to get that arrow. So far, only Zoe has had that honor, and she used it to kill a drakon about forty years ago."
"Cool," I said.
"It is said that Lady Artemis has even more dangerous ones. One is named the moon storm. When fired in the sky, it rains destruction on her enemies. Legend is that she used it to kill hordes of monsters during the giant war. But no one speaks of it."
#Indeed. She lost a huntress due to that. Her lieutenant back then… her first huntress. Zoe succeeded her on the battlefield that day. She had broken down on the battlefield when she fell… and moments after, she went full huntress on the giants and their forces. Everything in her way was her prey.#
"Oh," I said out loud. "Anyways, I am going to the lake. If Lady Artemis asks for me, tell her I am there." I said pointing to the lake visible in the distance.
"Okay. Have fun, big brother."
"You too, kid," I said, ruffling her hair. She scowled and slapped my hand away, glaring at me. I smirked and walked towards the lake before diving in the cold water.
It was only a few minutes later that someone shot an arrow in the lake. I didn't see it but felt it enter the water. So, I instantly shot up and resurfaced only to see Eurydice, standing there with several laundry bags full of clothes.
"Yes?" I asked and she raised her hands.
"I only want to talk," She declared.
"Then talk."
"Err… like this?"
I sighed, "There's no one here. You can talk."
"Okay. I just wanted to ask, why did you stand up for me? You could've even challenged me to a duel of honor or taken revenge. I tried to kill you!"
I snorted. "Eurydice, I knew that you were trying to trick me. I knowingly followed you into your trap. I could've escaped in seconds. It was only that my instincts said I should follow you despite your ill intentions towards me. And, as to why I didn't seek revenge or a fight is because I can distinguish between an enemy and an ally who is being petty and… discriminative against me. Seeking revenge on you would've gained me nothing."
"That's… but I came here to say sorry. I apologize for my actions."
"Apology accepted."
"Oh, and also get out of the lake. I need to wash clothes."
"You're going to wash clothes by hand?"
"Yes, we don't have any other option. And it is my punishment to wash the whole hunt's clothes and do dishes after meals… for the next six months. Usually, we do our own clothes and there is a kitchen rotation duty for the dishes. Now, I am going to do that for the next six months for the whole hunt." She said bitterly
I looked around before teleporting out of the lake, appearing a few feet away from the girl who jumped in fright.
"Don't do that!" She exclaimed, clutching her chest.
I smirked. "You are no fun. Anyways, I have a washing machine which I don't use anyways. So, if you want to borrow it for the next six months… I won't stop you."
She gaped before shaking her head. "I can't accept that. And why are you even doing this? I tried to kill you and you're helping me?"
"Take this as a token of my friendship then. Also, it will keep you from polluting lake water and harming the fish inside."
"That doesn't happen. Lady Artemis blesses the place we are staying at so we don't harm the environment."
"Still. Do you want it or not? It will make your work a lot easier and faster." I offered.
The girl looked conflicted before nodding hesitantly.
"Super. Now get me one of your hunter tents somehow so I can put the machine in that tent and give it to you. I am not carrying it all the way, thank you very much."
"Oh, alright," She smiled. "Thank you."
"No problem."
She turned and jogged back towards the camp.
"Oi! Take the laundry!" I shouted, noticing the dozens of bags she had left at my feet.
ARTEMIS POV
I waited for Percy to leave the clearing. Instead of leaving, he dived into the water again. I mentally shrugged before flying off the tree I was perched on in my falcon form towards my tent. Once I was back inside, I transformed back into my human form stretching before releasing the aura I had suppressed to pass off as a normal bird.
I had no doubt that if I hadn't done it, Percy would have caught me in seconds recognizing my aura straight away. When I flew toward him with the intent to see what he was doing, I was still skeptical about my disguise working. Percy Jackson was just too keen. Thankfully, it did work and I successfully saw what he was up to.
Unfortunately, I wish I hadn't. Why? Because, the incident that I just saw, just added one more item to the list that proved why Percy Jackson was an enigma of epic proportions.
He was kind, humble, powerful, intelligent, understanding, a great warrior, a great friend, a great teacher, a great leader, and on top of everything, loyal to a fault… Just everything was so great about him. I still couldn't comprehend how a person, let alone a man at that, could be so… perfect. Of course, there was the fact that he was too sassy for his own good and had a perchance for pissing off immortals before defeating them, but that was a part of his charm, as Athena said.
I had a strong suspicion that my sister, Athena, had a crush on the boy. I couldn't be sure, of course. Athena was just too good at hiding her emotions and choosing her words with utmost care.
I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts but they didn't. They were still stuck on the boy. In my mind, I was analyzing all the interactions I had ever had with him, reliving every moment trying to figure out something more about him.
And all I was finding was a perfect person whose faults even I couldn't figure out.
I closed my eyes and my bow flashed in my hand. Time to get my stupid mind off the boy. Time for my favorite distraction. Archery.
AND… DONE!
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I know the chapter was shorter than I usually do. And this trend will continue for the time being till the Last Olympian arc starts. Why? Because the Pertemis arc begins from here. If I put a lot of content in a single chapter, I feel like I would ruin the romance build up.
I want to take it slow and yet, keep it as exciting as possible. So, for now, the chapters will be about the same length as my RoLP chapters, i.e. 6k-10k (which I feel is not less by any means). It is what I feel the best for this story. And also, as a result, you all will get faster updates… Case in point, you all are getting an update next Sunday as well(at least, that is the plan).
A huge thank you to IamaSWITCH_bot for betaing this chapter for me.
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Inevitablybad: Your suggestion, while not bad is not possible. I have a life outside writing, my friend. I know you all wait for the updates desperately and I absolutely adore the love you all shower on me. But, an update a week is what I already do. Once for RoLP and one for LoSP. You must remember that my RoLP story has five times the follower on this fic(7000+ followers) and yet I give equal importance to both my fics. So, two updates in a week is not possible unless for special occasions. I'll still try to do my best.
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Thank you everyone else for your lovely compliments and all the love for the story.
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Also, do join my Discord server, House of HPfanfictioner66 where you can directly communicate with me, ask questions, etc. Hope to see you all lovely readers there soon Link: discord . gg / 4qfP3fxdQ4 [Remove the spaces please]
I have my own channel on the discord server known as Emerald Library. I recommend that you join the server and there, you won't only have access to me, but several other big authors who have their channels on the Emerald Library. Link: discord . gg / jtAxRnH6Tk [Remove the spaces please]
I also invite you all to join the Harry Potter Cord Server, one of the biggest servers for Potterheads out there! Hang out with thousands of witches and wizards online, and participate in the immersive House Cup! Link: discord . gg / pottercord [Remove the spaces please]
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t the moment, I have four main stories. They are:
1. The Rise of the Last Potter: My Novel length Harry Potter fic which is already 300k+ words long and it is a work in progress. Updated Regularly.
2. The Legend of the Son of Poseidon: A Novel Length Percy Jackson fic which is already 250k+ words long and it is a work in progress. Updated Regularly
3. Loved Ones Skipping Stones and Ice-cream: A fluffy Haphne one-shot. It is completed obviously.
4. SECRETS: Another romantic one-shot I published recently. Complete as well.
(PLEASE READ THEM ALL)
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Stay Happy! Stay Safe! Keep Smiling! Keep Reading!
HPfanfictioner66