Disclaimer: I don't own pjo...

Thank you all for your feedback. I've been mainly typing on my phone, so it's been scuffed for a while. I didn't realize that the word count display wasn't very accurate on mobile. But, I recently got a laptop for college, so hopefully I'll be writing more :)

cy@ later - lob

T-T

Artemis opened her eyes.

"I fell asleep?"

The ceiling looked vaguely familiar, but it didn't feel comfortable.

It felt like her body was restricted in a quilt of some sort.

She recognized that this was indeed her tent, more specifically it was the small entrance area that her guardian stayed in for their sessions. Noticing that it was indeed a very small area, she wondered why her guardian never complained about it.

The goddess would've done something if he said something about it.

A sudden realization jolted her hand to her abdomen. It was a light and delicate touch as if she was scared to break something.

The seal was still intact. Breathing out a sigh of relief, her body relaxed, surrendering herself to the comfort of the sleeping bag for a moment.

It didn't seem as though anyone touched her bare skin. She was able to tell in an instant. She could tell if it ever happened in the first place. And she meant it.

Now that she thought about it, Artemis wondered how she got here in the first place.

She knew for certain that she not a random teleporter, unlike some other gods she knew.

Some gods can unconsciously teleport themselves when they get drunk, into places that only Hades knows where. And they can find themselves in a completely different part of the world.

Sometimes traveling to a place where their powers are completely stripped from them. That wasn't even the worst part.

There have been gods that have teleported to Tartarus before, where they inevitably faded away.

Hades has a log of the many gods, typically immature minor gods trying out whatever concoction Dionysius created, who have actually faded due to drunk teleporting. It was a dangerous issue that has plagued some gods for a long time. Apollo had yet to make a cure, but process has been made to circumvent some of its issues.

At least, to her knowledge. Artemis hadn't kept track because she didn't really care for the most part. It wasn't something that she had to deal with.

And, Artemis wasn't irresponsible enough to trust any alcohol that came from Dionysius or from any male god, in fact.

Artemis didn't even drink in the first place.

So how did she fall asleep?

Gods didn't need sleep and could go without sleeping their entire lives. Artemis wasn't even sure if it was possible for a god to fall asleep without the help of Hypnos, the only god to be in perpetual slumber.

The first god that came to mind was Hypnos.

Hypnos was the only god was in perpetual sleep and was capable enough to forcefully gods to sleep.

He was fairly powerful.

It was impossible for Hypnos to do that though. It was hard for him to forcefully put her to sleep because she could detect it from a mile away.

Hypnos was the only person that was capable enough to put other gods to sleep, but it didn't make any sense.

He was in a completely different place right now.

Someone must've carried her to her tent while she was sleeping.

But who did it?

Before she continued the thought, Artemis vaguely sensed a presence outside.

Somehow, it was only until then that she was able to detect their presence. It had seemingly been there for a little while as it wasn't moving, presumably listening for any movement. It would be hard with protection magic and all, but it was not impossible. She left the confines of the sleeping bag, making sure that she made no noise.

If there were any sudden movements from the outside, her bow was ready to fire.

As for the person outside, Artemis couldn't tell if they were plain dumb or brave. To attack her in the middle of her territory, where there are hunters all over the place was simply a pipe dream. There was no way anyone would ever do such a thing.

That's what she thought, but that line of thinking was also the reason why-.

Never mind.

Her focus was now on this.

The only thing that separated her from the person outside was a measly flap.

To the ordinary person, it looked like a ordinary zipper flap.

But, outsiders didn't know that her tent had a layer of protection that prevented unwanted intruders to enter. If someone forcefully entered then they would trigger an alarm that would summon divine lightning to strike them.

It would instantly obliterate any minor god, and it would be enough to injure a major god.

If she so wished, she could bypass the zipper and open it as if it was never sealed by the zipper in the first place.

All she had to do was insert a tiny bit of aura into the zipper.

A small thin line precisely into the hole of the zipper and there.

The flap to the tent whipped open, revealing a male.

It was?

Her guardian?

Her guardian was slouched over on his sword, completely knocked out, that is until she made noise.

Was he there all night?

Why didn't he go sleep in his tent?

Oblivious to her thoughts, stirring guardian slowly began to realize where he was and sluggishly got up to greet her.

It was still early morning. The sun only now began to rise, casting a very dim glow on the earth.

"Good morning mistress," he tiredly said. He tried to sound normal, but the lack of sleep was evident in his voice.

The bags under his eyes also attested to that fact.

"Did you bring me here?"

He quickly answered, "Yes," while looking down.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, worried that he might've done something to her that made her fall asleep. Inwardly, she knew that nothing happened to her, but for some reason she felt obligated to question him.

Without much of a defense, he said, "I apologize if that was uncomfortable for you," continuing to look down.

Artemis was ninety-nine percent sure her guardian didn't do anything, although she had to admit that the resigned look on his face did make him look guilty. The goddess didn't know why he looked so guilty. It didn't suit him.

She decided it wouldn't hurt to peek at his thoughts for a little bit.

Just to make sure.

Although she still thought he was innocent, it never hurt to be careful.

Her guardian felt that something was wrong and realized how bad it looked for him to carry her to her tent. He knew his mistress didn't like men and she clearly trusted the girls more. They could've taken his mistress to her tent, but he was the one that did it. The more he thought about it the less sense his actions made.

He didn't realize that his mistress was aware of the fact that he didn't do anything.

If he wasn't already awake, this would be the moment he really awake. Percy realized that he didn't have a good answer to her impending question.

Her face looked as cold as ever, but he felt as though she wasn't very happy right now.

He couldn't quite explain it, but if he had to say something then it would be that minuscule motion that he made with her eyebrows. It went down ever so slightly to the point where another person wouldn't see a difference with his mistress's face, but he caught it.

"Mistress is definitely displeased about something."

Artemis had the sudden urge to pull out a mirror and look at herself.

She wondered if there really was a difference.

Unfortunately, she wasn't the type to have one on hand. There was only one pervert of a goddess that would have one.

It wasn't as if she was against showing her emotions, but it was more so that she grown numb to them. After years of observing male behavior, she couldn't find a good reason to consciously display the emotions that she previously had.

It was mainly the sadness of female abuse that remained and the sense of duty that gave her purpose.

The Hunt she "enjoyed", but there would always be a sense of distraction attributed to it.

She didn't want to hate males. Her childhood was spent romanticizing and daydreaming like a normal kid. Now, she couldn't help but to hate them, or at the least see them the same way she used to.

Artemis attempted "un" frown herself because she didn't necessarily feel displeased towards him, it was more to herself for trying to accuse him of something that he didn't do.

There would always be a part of her that distrusted men and would always have a cynical view towards them.

For her to even think about trusting one, they would have to prove that they were worthy in the first place.

Although, the rule that she set for herself seemed to make her guardian as an exception. Her inner self did not want to accept him, even though he had saved her once.

It wouldn't have killed her, but it definitely would injured her at the minimum.

It justified the ordeal by saying that the spear could be easily dodged if her guardian wasn't in the way. He was blocking her line of sight, therefore it was his fault.

Besides, the whole thing wouldn't even happened if the male was summoned in the first place.

If Artemis could shut her up, she would've done so a long time ago. But at the moment, it was a part of her and probably wouldn't leave any time soon.

Thankfully, it seemed as though her guardian instantly picked up her attempt. But, it didn't fully alleviate his anxiety.

Last night, Percy made sure to not touch her bare skin while carrying her sole due a gut feeling that he had, telling him it was a bad idea.

Unfortunately for him, that was not something that he remembered right now.

He was a male that "touched" her without permission.

His mistress did not like him touching her.

And that he had no good excuse.

Her guardian was inwardly panicking whether or not he might've done something. He didn't think he did, but he didn't know for sure that anything happened.

If he really did do something, that would be really bad.

It would violate all of the guardian codes and moral understandings that he held important.

And, the fact that his mistress didn't react to his words also contributed to that feeling.

From his inner monologue, Artemis could tell he was innocent. His panicked thoughts cycled back and forth to the point where it was almost visible.

It was quite c-.

cough*

Something.

To look at.

Now that she had "cleared" him from suspicion, she waved her hand dismissively and assured him that he did nothing wrong.

His thoughts brightened up a bit which brought a light smile to her face.

A very faint one that was hard to see even if you knew it was there.

There was something else that Artemis was genuinely curious about.

"How did I fall asleep?"

He appeared a bit confused at the question.

Well, he looked as confused as a sleep deprived person would've, which was just sleep deprived.

"You feel asleep sometime during the gathering?" His tone questioned his recollection. "I'm sorry Mistress. I don't know."

His face muscles twitched. Artemis could tell that he was trying to hide the fact that he wanted to yawn, not that she would've minded if he did.

Or would she have minded? She didn't know.

Certainly, it was something she would have never considered. But, it seemed strange that her line of thinking went there in the first place.

It was admirable to say the least. She appreciated the thought.

Artemis cautiously asked, "Did you sleep outside last night?'

She asked this because her guardian seemed to struggle a bit staying awake. As much as he was trying to keep his eyes open, she noticed that they kept drooping down. He was definitely not in the condition to teach or do chores. To have her guardian continue his duties in this state would be despicable of her.

If he really did sleep outside, it would've been very cold by mortal standards. Temperature had a fairly limited effect on gods unless another god directly influenced the atmosphere.

"I did," he said and quickly added that he was fine. The tired look in his eyes did not look very convincing.

"You should rest."

"Mistress, I'm fine."

Artemis remarked, "You look like you're about to collapse any second now."

"Mistress, really. I'm f-" He tumbled right when he said that, about to literally fall asleep.

Thankfully, he was caught by his mistress. From a distance, it looked like he stumbled into her arms like a tired husband seeking affection from his wife.

Artemis stared deadpan into his drowsy eyes, "Rest. That's an order. You don't have to worry for today."

Before she was about to help him to his feet, she felt as though he was putting a bit more weight on her. But, she noticed that her guardian was already asleep exhausted, causing her to softly snort in amusement.

What was she going to do with this guardian?

Normally, the unconscious body of a young adult male would be heavy, but to Artemis it wasn't a big deal.

She hoisted her guardian into her arms and began walking to his tent. She would've never thought the day would come where she would be princess carrying a male and not the other way around.

Thankfully, it was early morning, and it was unlikely for any of the hunters to be awake at this time. Only her and her guardian would be up at this hour. She didn't need sleep, and her guardian rose early to do chores.

No one would ever believe that she princess carried a male.

Unbeknownst to her, there was a pair of enchanting eyes watching the whole ordeal through a pair of binoculars.