Sorry for the long time without chapters. Got some kind of writer block, but I'm back. There are A LOT of reviews, so without further wait:
Lord Kronos1950: you know, perhaps. Kind of. Stand-by.
Death Fury, Guest and Pertemis9669: thank you!
KJW: lots of reviews but thanks anyway (also for another thing, wink wink discord server)
LeCon: I might have cursed Liverpool, I'm not gonna lie
Tri-Edge: I do appreciate critics, and I do recognize every first chapter of a fanfic tends to not be very good without much experience. I do want to give that chapter some tweaks here and there, it needs more flavour. However I must say I find Jane better than Kelli. (I might change the name anyway, it's unimportant)
He didn't anticipate being bored out of his mind while in search of a mythical ghost ship.
Percy had expected something to happen, anything at all, but for three days already, the waves were quiet. Not even sea monsters attacked the Nightshade. After constant action for almost a decade, having days where nothing would transpire was just as unbearable as a battle wound. It nearly made him miss the Argo II and the constant patrolling to prevent sea serpents, griffins, and harpies from taking down the Seven.
Worst of all, there was no sign of the Flying Dutchman. The thing that made Percy most skeptical of this mission was if the ship was in fact sailing across the Sea of Monsters as his father had theorized. Despite his previous joke, he was not thrilled to meet Charybdis or Scylla again. His inner compass told him they were still in the Gulf of Mexico, sailing down south, moving toward the Yucatan peninsula. He just hoped the Nightshade wouldn't have to go too east. To top it all off, the Summer Solstice was already closing in. If he wanted to be punctual, he needed to find that ship fast.
Lying down at the deck, as always near the figurehead of the Huntress, for once he felt at peace, even if just a little bit. Perhaps the reason was that he was so close to the sea again, something that he had averted to do for years so Poseidon wouldn't find him. Regardless, he felt much better. Not devoured in thought like so many times before. There was some clearness in his mind.
"Why are you taking a sunbath?"
He opened his eyes, spotting his favorite Olympian and secret crush staring at him from above. Realizing how he had just described Artemis, he worked hard to erase that thought from his mind, instead opting for a smile.
"Do I have much to do?" Percy shrugged. "At least I don't feel like I'm in a storm of emotions right now."
For a second, Artemis was silent. Her hair was back to its natural auburn color. "Can you tell me about it?"
"Tell you about what?" He asked, his smile fading off his face.
Once more, the goddess made a long pause. "What is really disturbing you? I know you told me about a lot of things, but I have a feeling there is more to it."
That alone made Percy's heart skip a beat. Could he tell her everything? Of course not, that was a stupid question to even come up with in the first place. If he had to talk, he couldn't let out the whole truth.
"I… Well, if I have to be honest, it does involve my love life," Percy confessed awkwardly, evading Artemis's gaze.
The goddess arched an eyebrow. "I have heard rumors about it. If anything will make this voyage more entertaining, I'm all ears for it." To his surprise, she sat down right next to him, gazing at Percy eagerly. The demigod sighed, trying to find a way to not mess this up.
"Where do I even begin?" He coursed a hand through his hair, staring at the clouds above.
"Maybe the start?" Artemis suggested.
Percy got up, sitting down just like the goddess was doing. "No, we would be here all day, and it would be too overwhelming. Try another question."
Artemis put some thought into what she would ask. "Well, would you enlighten me on something first?"
Percy nodded. "Anything."
"If my memory doesn't fail me, I've heard that you and Reyna had something going on for a while. Was it really like…"
"No!" He almost felt offended by her assumption. "No, it wasn't. I guess she had a crush on me when I arrived at Camp Jupiter because Jason had just vanished, but I never really had something with her. I've always stayed faithful to Annabeth."
Artemis hindered her look from him, rather glancing at the clouds for a few instants. "Good. I don't wish for any of my Hunters to go stray."
"Wow, déjà-vu," Percy recalled Artemis saying a similar thing in Maine all those years ago. "That's a weird term to use, by the way."
The goddess merely chuckled. "If you say so. With that out of the way, what is troubling you right now?"
Percy prayed his face didn't reveal his apprehension. "It's because of Annabeth. I guess it doesn't come as unexpected."
"Whatever it is, you can tell me," Artemis guaranteed, with a pleasant smile that, quite frankly, only served to make Percy even more uneasy and enchanted by her. He was regretting ever starting this conversation.
"It's a bit complicated. Ever since she died…" He paused. "I sort of took the Hunter approach. You know, not hooking up with anyone."
Artemis raised her eyebrows, looking fairly surprised. "That seems odd for someone to do. Especially you, who was always the ideal partner to so many people..."
"You're exaggerating." He retorted while rolling his eyes.
"I truly am not. I mean, all of your love misadventures made Aphrodite hysterical throughout the years." Artemis said with a weird bright in her eyes.
"Trust me, I don't need to remember Aphrodite saying that she would make my love life more difficult."
Only now did that weird look disappear from Artemis's face. "I have to say, I feel bad for you. But can you elaborate on the thing about Annabeth?"
Percy fought the urge to curse in Ancient Greek. "I just feel that if I start liking someone… you know, wanting someone, would be disrespectful to her memory. I know that it might sound… dumb, to say the least, but that's what my mind tells me."
Artemis kept staring at him before speaking again. "And are you liking someone right now, by any chance?"
He nearly felt like fainting. Why was he being interrogated like this? Did he make his emotions too noticeable? Was it that easy to see right through him?
Regardless of what it was, he needed to calm down.
"No." He forced himself to stare directly at Artemis, whose silver eyes felt more overwhelming than ever. "No, I'm not harnessing feelings for anyone. It's just something that has been bothering me for a long time."
Unfortunately, it didn't appear that Artemis was very convinced by his words. Despite her apparent disbelief, she didn't add anything else to the discussion. An uneasy silence, at least for Percy, took over, with the demigod feeling too embarrassed to speak right away. He almost fell into that psychological trap, but why would she want to trick him into that? Was it to have an excuse to get rid of him? That didn't make much sense. What would Artemis gain from him admitting his ever-growing feelings for her?
Whatever it was, Percy could only speculate. He noticed that Artemis was once more staring at him.
"What?" He said a bit rudely. "I mean, what's wrong?"
Artemis continued to look directly at him, her eyes slightly unfocused. "You've come such a long way, Percy."
The demigod blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Many times I look at you, I remember that noble boy, willing to take the weight of the sky for a selfish goddess, so your friends could be saved."
"You're not selfish."
"Perhaps you think like this now, but at the time, you didn't know better. You've had experiences with Ares, Aphrodite, my father, your father, Apollo, and Hermes. And I do believe you would have done the same for all of them along with the rest."
Percy sighed in exasperation. "Whatever it takes. I never meant to run from challenges, especially if the fate of the world is in question. But for every god out there? I don't know. But in regards to you…"
"What is it with me?" Artemis asked, one eyebrow raised.
"I think you're worth saving. Or fighting for." He explained with a sheepish grin, which was responded to by a smile of her own.
"Thank you. I must say, sometimes I find it a wonder you demigods still fight for us despite how absent we are in your lives."
"It isn't like you have many faults in all of this. You are a maiden goddess after all. But I personally would fight for Olympus once more in a war, knowing you are a part of it." Once Percy finished speaking, he averted his gaze away from Artemis again. Perhaps he was giving too many hints here. But the goddess didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.
"I appreciate hearing that. You know, Percy, I didn't expect to ever say this again to anyone outside the Hunt, but I'm happy I have you as a friend." Artemis said with an honest smile. For a moment he didn't answer, his heart beating faster than before. Of course, he was delighted to have a friend again. But there was the desire for her to be more than that to him.
"I can only thank you, milady." The demigod admitted, dismissing his inner thoughts. "After what I chose to do, did I think I would ever get a friend like you? Never. Especially, well, the fact that it is you, the Artemis."
To that, Artemis simply chuckled. "I'm not as heartless as I appear to be. I hope I've been a good friend, considering all that has happened to you."
"You sure have been. Much better than I deserve." Maybe the Fates agreed with him. Perhaps that was the reason he was falling for someone who had a vow of maidenhood.
Artemis's smile shrank, replaced by impatience. "Don't talk like that, Percy. You deserve much more than you realize. Now, do you wanna do something?"
He perked up his head. "And what do you have in mind, milady?"
In response, Artemis got up from the deck and waved her hand, causing two practice targets to appear. "Let's shoot a bit. But there's a catch."
"What is it?" Percy asked, also getting up. He immediately noticed the smirk on the goddess's face.
"You will have to use a bow. No sniper rifle for this one." As she spoke, a simple wooden bow materialized in her right hand, and she handed it to him.
Percy sighed as he looked at the weapon. "Do I really have to do this?"
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. It's been almost ten years, and you don't know how to use the best weapon ever conceived. Watch closely."
Grabbing her own bow, which looked much more fabulous than the one Percy was holding, she positioned an arrow from her quiver right at the center of the weapon, pulling the bowstring. Artemis aimed carefully and fired the projectile. As expected, a perfect bullseye followed the shot.
"See? Is it that hard?" She asked with a provocative grin.
"Easy for the goddess of hunting to say that. Can you give me an arrow?" Artemis nodded and provided him with one of her silver arrows from her quiver. "Thanks."
Trying to aim for the center of the target, he positioned the arrow at the center of the bow. He pulled the bowstring, releasing it swiftly right after. However, instead of the intended bullseye, the projectile flew meters above, going as far as to fall right into the sea. Beside him, he could see Artemis was trying her best not to break down into laughter.
"You have my consent to make fun of me, by the way." He sighed in defeat, expecting the goddess to crack up as he had imagined her to want. Instead, she inhaled deeply and only let out a small chuckle.
"Percy, while that shot was ridiculous, it isn't your fault." She came closer to him, revising his posture. "You're doing all wrong. You have to stay put and hold the arrow with three of your fingers. Here –" Holding another silver projectile in her hands, she seated it on Percy's bow and grabbed his hand, making him grasp the arrow with his index, middle, and ring fingers. "Now pull the string, and shoot it."
Doing as Artemis instructed, he carefully pulled the bowstring, noticing how her hand was always following his own. Percy had to really focus himself to aim precisely. When he thought he found a good view, he released the string, causing the arrow to go flying.
This time, instead of being lost in the ocean, the projectile hit the first layer of the target outside of the center.
"Very good." Artemis beamed approvingly and moved away from him slightly, and grabbed another arrow from her quiver. "Now, do it on your own. Let's see how much you have learned."
"Fine." Percy took the arrow and placed it on the bow again. He remembered to adjust his posture while he pulled the string. Checking the winds around him, once again, he let go of it, firing the arrow. The shot hit the second layer of the target. Not flawless, but not bad.
"For someone who allegedly managed to fire behind you while aiming for a target that was right in front of where you were standing, this is a very good development," Artemis remarked, her voice sounding proud.
"I don't recall that happening." Percy retorted while giving the bow back to Artemis. "But I would rather keep using the rifle."
"Barbarian." She declared with an eye roll.
"Whatever you say, o' so mighty Lady Artemis." He replied with a provoking smirk. "Can we get something to eat? I feel like I barely feed myself nowadays."
"You have two meals per day, at best." Artemis pointed while they strolled toward the inside of the ship.
"And you don't eat at all." Percy countered as they went downstairs. Down inside the ship, it wasn't actually too bad. There were small cabins that the crew used as personal rooms, but Percy was still oblivious if they had to sleep or not. Arriving at the kitchen, they found Cora, messing with some bowls and pots, along with a pan on top of the stove, noticeably cooking something.
"Hiya, captain!" She greeted him with a wide smile. Much like other members of the crew, Cora looked full of youth, despite all of them being living dead.
"Evening, Cora. What are you cooking?" Percy asked, smelling the scent of what seemed to be some sort of meat. Weirdly, Cora's smile vanished.
"Uh… better not to talk about it, captain." The ghoul told him awkwardly.
Amid his confusion, he tried glancing at Artemis for some explanations.
"Ghouls feed on human flesh." The goddess mumbled. Percy felt a little bit sick.
"Cora, are you cooking human meat?" Percy asked, crossing his arms. The female ghoul chuckled nervously and turned off the fire, grabbing the pan and running out of the kitchen without saying a word.
"Do you also want to pretend that conversation never happened?" Artemis asked.
"You are damn right I do." Percy walked to the freezer and opened it with impatience. "Where's that rabbit you hunted yesterday?"
Artemis placed her hands on her waist. "How am I supposed to know, captain? I just hunt the food, I don't know what happens to it after."
Percy merely sighed. "Whatever, guess I'm having something else." He noticed some eggs on the side of the freezer. "Did you bring these?"
Artemis peeked to see what he was talking about. "I did not. I only bring the spoils of hunts. You know, meat. Not eggs."
"You also bring McDonald's when you are impatient." Percy grabbed one of the eggs and smelled it. "Doesn't seem rotten to me."
Taking hold of one more egg from the freezer, he went up to the stove and got a frying pan. Percy proceeded to turn the fire on with a match, but before he could even put the pan on top of it, the fire expanded upwards, taking him completely by surprise.
"What the hell?!" Percy cried out, stepping away from the fire, a burnt scent in the air. "What did I do wrong now?"
"You can't be this bad at cooking. This isn't natural. Look." Artemis pointed to the flames, which were getting even bigger. The two watched in awe as the color of the fire drifted from orange to a stunning dark blue shade.
"What is this?" Percy muttered.
"Simply the product of ancient magic." A voice mused… from the fire?
"Who's there?" Artemis questioned, frowning at the flames.
"The individual you are chasing. It took me a long time to find you, Captain Jackson." The voice was deep, coarse, and resembled something of a growl. Despite this, the person spoke with calmness, like he couldn't ever scream or yell.
Percy adjusted his stance and peeked directly into the blue fire. "Care to introduce yourself?"
The being laughed. "I already have. But since you can't seem to make your mind work, I will be more straightforward. I am the captain of the Flying Dutchman."
The demigod had to concede, he was quite baffled by this situation. "What exactly are you doing in my kitchen?"
Once more, laughter was heard from the flames. "Pardon me, I didn't realize we were in a kitchen. I just took the first opportunity to finally speak to you. Rumors spread fast, Captain Jackson. Are you really in pursuit of my wonderful vessel?"
"You could say so." Percy answered.
"I see." The other captain chuckled. "Fair enough. The seas are too calm nowadays. I could use a challenge. And I'm no coward either."
"That's good to hear."
"I should hope so." The captain of the Flying Dutchman paused. "How about we settle a meeting, Captain Jackson? No ambushes, or traps. I value honesty, funnily enough."
"That remains to be seen." Percy retorted coldly. "Where shall we meet?"
For a moment, nothing could be heard. "How about west of Havana? I am sure it will be most appropriate for our encounter."
Percy thought for a moment. If they went to Havana and got the ship, they would most likely be able to reach Camp Half-Blood by the Summer Solstice. Yet, this could just be a lure-in scenario, a trap, to summarize it better.
But would they have a better chance of capturing the Flying Dutchman? Unlikely. He was left with only one option.
"You have a deal, captain. We will be on our way. Can I at least get your name?"
The being was quiet for a second. "Jones. It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Captain Jackson."
With that, the high blaze reverted abruptly to its normal size on the stove, losing its dark blue color. Percy quickly turned it off.
"Surely you realized this is a trap." Artemis said.
"I've considered that." Percy sighed. "But we won't be getting many opportunities if we don't take this risk."
The goddess looked at him with concern. "Can you at least not get injured this time?"
"I will try my best." Percy replied sincerely.
"Thank you." Artemis drifted her eyes towards the frying pan and the eggs. "Aren't you gonna prepare those?"
"No, I'm not hungry anymore." Outside the kitchen, he noticed one ghoul roaming around. He ran to the door and called him.
"Captain? What is it?" Jan answered. Suspiciously, he seemed to be carrying a bag in his hands that resembled the shape of an animal. Percy decided not to speak of that.
"Tell Nine-Eyes to set a course to Havana. We've located the Dutchman." The captain of the Nightshade commanded.
Jan nodded and went off to find the second in command of the ship. Percy turned back to Artemis, who still had worry in her eyes.
"Hey, it's gonna be fine." He tried to reassure her.
"Like when you got shot twice." The goddess grumbled.
"This time will be different. I promised you to not be so risky, remember?" Percy tried again, with Artemis still skeptical of his words. A random thought sprang up in his head suddenly. "You know, since we're going near Cuba, do we think we can smuggle some of those cigars? I've always wanted to know what they felt like."
He couldn't prevent the smile that took over his face when Artemis's previous concern was forgotten as she burst out laughing at his random comment.
She did look good when laughing, to be fair.