Ch.4
All rights belong to Rick Riordan.
In the morning, at 7 am, the lock on Artemis's door came undone, allowing the early riser hunters to awaken the still-sleeping ones. Curiosity fueled their desire to investigate the aftermath of the previous night's events.
As everyone awoke, they cautiously creaked the door open and peered inside. Their eyes widened at the scene before them - Percy lay asleep on the bed with a visibly swollen forehead, while Artemis peacefully used his chest as a pillow. The room itself resembled a warzone, with a broken dresser and shattered desk chair strewn across the floor, and walls bearing the scars of unseen projectiles, which the hunters assumed was the swollen faced male currently asleep in bed.
Suppressing laughter, the hunters withdrew, taking Zoe with them. Once a safe distance away, they burst into laughter, unable to contain their amusement. Thalia, rolling on the ground, exclaimed, "Did you see the state of the room and Percy's face? He looked like he got smashed in the face with a club."
Amidst the laughter, Zoe joined in, realizing that her mother had unleashed her wrath on her dad. Another huntress, Blake, added, "I just think it's hilarious she used him as a pillow after the fact. Imagine beating someone up and then dragging them to bed to use as a pillow."
As the group continued their laughter, they made their way to the Pavilion. Confusion and shock greeted the energetic hunters, who, after making their sacrifices, continued discussing the incident.
Eventually, Chiron approached, questioning their mistress's absence. "Good morning, hunters. Where is Lady Artemis?" Their hunters looked at him before falling over laughing again, and when Zoe finally addressed him, she deliberately made it sound worse than it was. "Mom had some fun with Dad last night, and they are currently still asleep." Chiron, shocked and slightly horrified, left them to their amusement after taking a minute to gather himself.
"Oh my god, Zoe, did you need to say it like that?" Thalia chided. "No, but it made it sound funnier than what the truth was," Zoe replied with a shrug. Thalia, rolling her eyes, remarked, "You really are Kelp Head's kid."
Zoe smiled, glad she reminded Thalia of her dad. The hunters had embraced Zoe, and she naturally gravitated towards them wherever they went, due to her mothers connection with them. This had frustrated a group of immortal campers who had been attempting to talk to Zoe privately all morning, to no avail.
Eventually giving up, they approached the group as a whole in an open clearing. Seeing them approach, the hunters surrounded Zoe. Aware of Annabeth's history with Percy, most weren't willing to let her near Zoe for safety concerns.
"Annabeth, what can we do for you?" Thalia inquired coldly. Jason, before Annabeth could speak, expressed their desire to talk to Zoe privately. 'We were hoping to get to talk to Zoe as we haven't been able to introduce ourselves since she arrived."
Thalia shook her head. "Sorry, bro, but Zoe stays with us. As Lady Artemis's daughter, she is under our protection while we are here. And as much as we trust and like you guys, the same can't be said for Annabeth after what she did. Especially after yesterday."
Jason, confused, turned to Thalia, who explained, "Annabeth went to Dad and informed him of Zoe's existence. Lady Artemis, Zoe, and Kelp Head were called to Olympus while Dad figured out if Artemis broke her oath or not."
Realizing the gravity of Annabeth's actions, the immortals turned to her with shock and growing anger. Piper scolded her, "We told you not to risk that until we knew more. Did you not listen to Reyna's warning at all? You're lucky Zeus did not attack her; otherwise, we all could have been in trouble." Annabeth, red-faced, vanished in a puff of gray.
The remaining group apologized to Zoe. "I'm sorry; we should have kept a tighter hold on her," said Jason. Zoe, unfazed, smiled, "So you're my dad's old friends, right?" They smiled and nodded, introducing themselves.
"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." "Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite." Zoe's eyes landed on Nico, before she smiled and gave him a hug and calling him "uncle Nico." The others, stunned, watched as they exchanged smiles. Zoe explained how Nico and Will had joined Percy in raising her.
After the group got acquainted with each other, Jason turned to his sister, "Sis, do you mind if we take Zoe to Camp Jupiter to meet the gang there? As her honorary protector as you say, and her mothers lieutenant, it's your call."
Thalia, concerned, eventually agreed, realizing Zoe would have powerful protectors in the form of some of the most powerful demigods of their time. "Sure, just bring her home sometime today. And in one piece. I cannot stop Lady Artemis from ending you should something happen to Zoe."
Jason nodded, taking Zoe's hand. As they teleported to Camp Jupiter, the remaining group smiled, knowing Zoe would be in good hands with her father's old friends. The other immortals flashed out of camp as well, headed to camp Jupiter to meet their friends.
When they arrived, Zoe marveled at the breathtaking architecture of the city; it surpassed even her love for New York. After Jason released her hand, she darted off, eagerly exploring every nook and cranny. Her dad's friends followed closely, witnessing the boundless energy of a child born of the goddess of the hunt. Eventually, they persuaded her to settle down at a coffee shop while Jason went to find their friends. Piper stayed with Nico, keeping a watchful eye on Zoe as she continued to absorb the wonders of the city.
(Zoe's Perspective)
Oh my god, this place is amazing. The architecture is exquisite, the decorations are beautiful, especially the statues. I got a bit scared by a talking statue, but it was fine once Jason told me he was the god of boundaries who watched over the city, or New Rome as they called it.
Being the daughter of the goddess of the hunt means my stamina is a lot higher than most people, and even Dad's friends had trouble keeping up with me the whole time. Eventually, they got me to relax by convincing me with the best hot chocolate ever. I thought it was just a sales pitch, but they weren't kidding. It really was the best hot chocolate I'd ever had.
While we were sitting in the coffee shop, they told me some of the adventures they had with my dad. I knew from Uncle Nico that my dad was a warrior at heart, but I didn't fully realize what he meant until they told me about his time in Rome. Traveling all the way to Alaska/Canada to fight a giant and free Death itself and then back in a week, only to arrive and stop another giant from destroying the city and earning the highest privilege in the city was just amazing. They had just finished telling me about their fight with Gaia when Jason arrived back with other people I didn't know.
(Outside View)
As Jason walked back into the coffee shop, his friends had to take a double take when they saw Zoe. They could see Percy's hair, but besides that, she was the spitting image of her mom.
Shaking out of their stunned thoughts, they walked over to the group. "Zoe, I would like you to meet the rest of our group. The girl wearing armor is Reyna RamÃrez-Arellano, Praetor of New Rome," said Jason.
Reyna smiled warmly and waved at Zoe, who brightly smiled and waved back. "Big man over here is Frank Zhang, also Praetor of New Rome." Frank smiled and nodded, which Zoe returned.
"The girl next to Frank is his girlfriend, Hazel Levesque, Centurion of cohort five." She smiled at Zoe, who beamed back. And finally, we have Leo Valdez; he's Greek but he spends most of his time with his father."
Zoe waved at the boy, who waved back while looking like he was trying to decide whether to light something on fire.
The group stood up and walked outside, finding an empty field and summoning some blankets and food. They sat down so they could talk to Zoe.
(Zoe's Perspective)
"So Zoe, what was being raised by Percy like?" Hazel asked. "Well, it was certainly an experience. Grandma has a card given to her by Grandpa Poseidon to take care of expenses for Percy, so she was able to use it for me as well."
"He is a great dad, though. He did everything he could to make me happy regardless of his thoughts on it. One time for Halloween, I got him to wear an inflatable T-rex outfit."
At that, the whole group erupted into laughter, envisioning their friend wearing that outfit. "Oh my god, please tell me Sally has pictures?" asked Jason. "She probably does." The group fell over laughing again.
"But besides funny things like that, he was great. Between him, Uncle Nico, and Uncle Will, I had a very knowledgeable upbringing when it came to the Greek side of life. Dad even gave me his sword."
I reached into my pocket before pulling out Riptide and uncapping it, watching as the blade sprung to life. The group looked in awe at the legendary blade. "It's been a long time since I've seen that blade," Reyna commented. The others quickly agreed.
"Uncle Will had to teach me archery since Dad is abysmal at it. Just to prove his point when I asked him to prove it, he tried firing Uncle's bow and ended up having to duck and cover as the arrow bounced off a rock and came flying back at his head."
The group cracked up laughing again at that, most if not all of them well aware of Percy's abysmal skill with a bow. "How the hell did he have a kid with the goddess of archery when he can't shoot a bow?" asked Piper.
I shrugged in response. "Life's greatest mystery," grinning as I watched Reyna snort and spill her hot cocoa. Before it touched her skin, I willed it to hover in the air and float back into her cup.
"Zoe, what was that?" asked Hazel. I looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" She pointed at the cup and me. "I control liquid like my father does, what's your point?" She shook her head. "No, I mean your eyes. When you controlled the cocoa, your eyes turned sea green."
I nodded my head. "Yeah, that's what always happens when I use my dad's powers. My eyes turn sea green before changing back to silver when I release my hold on the water." The group looked at me before paling and looking over my shoulder as I felt something appear behind me.
I tilted my head all the way back and was met with a pair of striking silver eyes looking worriedly down at me. "Hi Mom."
(Earlier that morning)
(Outside View)
A while after the hunters and Zoe had left the cabin, the sleeping occupants began to stir. Artemis, a goddess and not the one tossed around the night before, was the first to wake.
She opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. After realizing she was using Percy as a pillow, she yawned before settling back down on him. When he finally opened his eyes and noticed their position, he started to panic.
"Quit squirming, Percy. I'm comfortable," Artemis mumbled. Percy, still processing that he wasn't dead, asked tentatively, "Why am I not a jackalope getting hunted down by your wolves right now?" Artemis, annoyed yet amused, replied, "Because I don't think Zoe would appreciate me murdering her dad," and with that, she went back to her original position.
After calming down, Percy rubbed his forehead. "How did I even end up here? Last thing I remember is getting headbutted."
Percy could almost feel her smirk as she said, "My pillows were not comfortable, so I decided to use the next best thing. So I grabbed you and used you instead, and here we are."
Groaning as his head still hurt, Percy appreciated Artemis waving her hand, making ambrosia appear in the air for him. "Thank you, Artemis," he said, feeling better. She nodded from her spot on his chest.
"Now that I think about it, your cabin is awfully quiet." Artemis, now awake, realized he was right. She straightened up, changed clothes with a snap of her fingers, and straightened her hair. She turned and waved at Percy, changing his clothes too, for which he nodded in thanks.
They set off looking for the hunters and Zoe but couldn't find them anywhere. Artemis started to grow increasingly worried with every spot in the camp where the hunters weren't present. After checking the whole camp and not finding her hunters or Zoe, Artemis started to panic, thinking something had happened to her hunters and even her daughter.
Percy noticed her panic setting in and quickly grabbed her before she fell. Pulling her close, he held her while she got her breathing under control. "Arty, it's okay. I'm sure the hunters are fine. Breathe and relax."
Seeing her taking deep breaths and not panicking anymore, he loosened his hold on her while she stood back up. "Come on, I want to check something," Percy said. Artemis nodded, and they reached an open clearing she'd never seen before.
She let out a sigh of relief seeing her hunters with a larger archery range than the camp provided. She looked around happily before realizing Zoe wasn't with them. Turning to Percy, who also noticed Zoe was absent, panic started to set in again until she spotted Thalia.
Quickly walking over, Artemis and Percy reached her lieutenant. Seeing her mistress and cousin appear, Thalia smiled. "Good morning, you two. How'd you sleep?"
The other hunters laughed. Artemis, too stressed to focus, asked, "Thalia, where is Zoe?" Thalia looked surprised, noticing Artemis's tone. "She is with Jason, Reyna, and the other members of the 7, other than Annabeth, at Camp Jupiter."
That was all she needed to hear, as Artemis vanished in a silver light. Reappearing in an empty field, she noticed the group of demigods and let out a sigh of relief seeing Zoe present, but with her back to her. Quickly walking over, she scared the other demigods with the worry and panic in her eyes. Zoe noticed their expressions and tilted her head back, meeting her mother's eyes with her own. "Hi Mom."
Artemis gazed up at the other demigods, conveying a silent message through her eyes, prompting them to vanish immediately. Once everyone was gone, she crouched down and enveloped Zoe in a tight embrace. "You scared your father and me. We couldn't find the hunters or you, and by the time we located them, you weren't with them either, causing us even more panic."
Zoe, initially confused about her mother scaring her friends away, widened her eyes as she realized what had happened. She quickly turned around and nestled herself into her mother's chest, repeatedly apologizing. "It's okay, just make sure to tell one of us when you want to go somewhere with someone. We were worried someone might have kidnapped you."
Zoe nodded into her chest. They stayed in that comforting embrace for a few minutes before Zoe pulled away. "Is dad okay?" she asked. Artemis nodded. "Truthfully, I panicked more than he did, but he was still worried."
Zoe nodded as she looked up at her mother's face, both of their expressions softening, reassured that they were both safe. "Come on, let's find your friends," Artemis suggested as they stood up. Taking Zoe's hand, they flashed away.
(Back at Camp)
"Percy, what was that about?" Thalia inquired. "Artemis is still adjusting from being away from Zoe her whole life. So when she went missing while we were asleep, she started panicking, thinking someone had kidnapped her from camp, and she had lost her again." Thalia's eyes widened as she grasped the reason behind her mistress's distress. "Give her time; she'll get through it." Thalia nodded as Percy smiled at her before turning, walking away. He transformed into mist a few feet from her and disappeared in the direction of camp.