Thalia

I simply stood there.

After all, what else could I feasibly do?

I had quite literally given my life to this woman, this… Fucking cheater, for lack of better descriptive vocabulary.

Where did no distractions go, huh? Mean nothing to you?

Artemis stood there, still in the embrace of the fucking praetor of all people.

Fuck, it made my blood boil.

'Why?' I demanded. I surprised myself with the fierceness in my voice. 'How long has this been going on? Is this even the first one? You said no distractions, does that just not apply to you anymore?'

'It's not like that-' Artemis began, but I had had about enough.

'No? So you aren't in a relationship?'

Silence. Motherfucking silence.

'Holy shit. Holy shit. I can't believe this. I looked up to you. You were my hero. What- I mean, were you even gonna tell us about this?' That made me think of the rest of the hunters. God, they were going to explode when I told them about this. 'What, is this fucker more important to you than your hunt? Your sisters?'

Artemis' countenance hardened at that, and she pulled away from the praetor at that, though I contemptuously noticed she still held on to his hand.

'Enough. You will not speak of this. I forbid you.' She ordered.

I blanched. Surely there was no way, right? She had the fucking gall, after all this, to tell me that I couldn't tell anybody?

'You're shitting me.' I got out eventually.

Artemis fixed me with a steely gaze. 'You are contractually obligated to follow my orders, lest I allow you to retire.'

My eyes widened. 'But it's voluntary.' I protested, but even as the words left my mouth I coùld feel the doubt begin to manifest itself in the back of my mind.

Artemis was inscrutable. 'Only out of goodwill.'

My heartbeat quickened, and despite the open expanse of the forest, I had never felt more claustrophobic in my life.

'No, no you can't do this.'

Artemis simply stared me down.

'Why?' I asked. Gods, I fucking hated how pathetic my voice sounded.

Artemis' expression softened ever so slightly. 'We're at war, Thalia. I cannot afford you affecting the integrity of my hunters.'

'You fucking did that! You affected the fucking chemical makeup or whatever the fuck it is you said! You broke your own rule! How do you not face any consequences?' I argued desperately.

Artemis looked down at her hand, still entwined with the boy's.

'Go back to camp, Thalia. You've made a mess of yourself.' Artemis ordered softly, never looking my way.

XIXI

Percy

Once Thalia had started marching away, Artemis turned back to me.

'Well, on the bright-' I began, attempting to lighten the mood, but I stopped as soon as Artemis just pulled me to her, wrapping her arms around me and burying her head in my chest.

I brought my own arms around her protectively, feeling her begin to shudder softly, and I realised with a jolt that she was crying.

I rubbed her back comfortingly, unsure of what to say.

'These things heal with time.' I tried to reason, thinking back to my own issues with Michael.

A sort of uneasy tightness began to form in my chest, but I pushed it away.

For once, Artemis needed me, and I wasn't about to fuck it up.

'Thalia.' She muttered softly.

'Were you close?' I asked.

It was a stupid question, and probably distressing to bring up, but the field had taught me that the sooner you came to terms with something, the sooner you could deal with it, and I wouldn't be doing Artemis any favours by letting her wallow.

Not with two more days of Diana and the senate. I thought, resisting the strong compulsion to make a face at the thought of the group who were currently vying for being some of the most insufferable people on the planet.

'She was one of my newest hunters.' Artemis confided. 'But Phoebe, Atlanta. They have been with me for millenia. If they were to find out what I've done…'

'You shouldn't blame yourself for this.' I chided softly. Whether or not she was in the right, frankly I didn't care. I hated seeing her like this.

'I don't, it's just,, I'm scared they'll find out.' Artemis said.

'They won't.' I assured.

Worst case, I can always make sure they can't tell anybody. I thought darkly.

Wow. I blinked surprisedly. That escalated quickly.

Somehow, I doubted Artemis would have minded my train of thought all too much.

Artemis sniffed, pulling back, wiping tears from her eyes.

'I should get back.' She said.

'You sure you're ready for that?' I asked worriedly.

Artemis nodded. 'Thalia can't tell anybody, and the rest wouldn't dare follow me or speak out against me.' She said.

'It will be better once this is all over.'

What did I even mean at this point? The war? The diplomatic mission?

Either way, I just wanted it to be over.

I gave Artemis one last parting kiss before she too went her own way, soon being lost in the shadows of the forest, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I yawned involuntarily, my mind becoming more and more tired by the second.

I hadn't realised just how tired I was. I felt like I was made of lead, barely struggling to stay afoot.

I trudged back through the woods, heading to the first's barracks to leave the ceremonial gladius I wore for the ceremony back in the weapons room before I returned to my own villa.

My mind was already back with my bed back at my villa by the time I had left the piece of gear in its place, which had a special room along with an assortment of other strange weapons and armour, mostly from ages long past.

A loud clang from an adjacent room alerted me to the presence of someone else in the vicinity.

'Crap!' The person shouted, their voice low so as not to attract any unwanted attention.

Knowing that curfew had already long passed, I walked over carefully, checking who it was, and giving them a stern telling off before I returned to my villa.

Another job before bed. I groaned silently.

I walked into the small off-room, specially customised for gladiuses, being the weapon of choice for the average legionnaire.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

'Mike?'

'Percy?'

Looking back, I wasn't sure exactly who or what I expected, but it definitely wasn't Michael.

And had he always had an injured arm?

'What are you doing up?' I asked.

Michael chuckled. 'Not really my style, huh? I just wanted to let off some steam.'

I raised an eyebrow questioningly. 'Exercises not quite to your liking?'

Michael seemed lost in thought, and I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he attempted to formulate an answer.

'I guess it's just… The lieutenant annoyed me.' He paused for a moment, his countenance pensive. 'A whole lot more than I care to mention, really.'

'How come?'

Michael squirmed uncomfortably.

'So, at some point, we were fighting a pitched battle at the end there, and since it's the only terrain actually favourable to the legion, we were actually winning for once, which was a pretty great hell yeah moment for us.' His face darkened, an anger behind it I hadn't seen from Michael before. 'She just starts shooting fucking lightning at my lines. Turned the entire tide of the battle in a moment. I acted fast, and I was able to get over to where she was situated on the line, distract her long enough to stop electrocuting my lines, and she just fucking glances at me once.' His balled his fists. 'Just electrocutes my arm with a bolt of lightning as if I was nothing.'

He sighed. 'I hate being a son of Venus.' He muttered quietly.

'So I went to blow of some steam. Just got back. Wouldn't do for the rank and file to see me like this.' He muttered bitterly.

'I'm sorry, Michael.' I said, surprised at the sincerity I hadn't expected in my words.

Michael sighed. 'I know you are. Because I've been giving you shit for doing your best with your role, and now here I am.' He laughed, though there was no mirth behind it. 'Stuck in the same place.'

He sighed defeatedly. 'I guess I just want to say that I was wrong. I'm sorry.'

I tried for a smile, though in the end I could only muster a grimace.

'It's been a difficult time.' I began. 'Shit's changed.'

Michael's face fell, clearly thinking I was cutting him off properly this time. 'I'm glad we can move on from this.' I finished, holding an arm out.

Michael simply stared for a second, surprise written all across his face, before he grinned, clasping my forearm while I mirrored the action.

'It's good to be on the same page again. The cold shoulder thing does not suit me at all.' Michael joked.

I scoffed. 'It's like I've always said. Under all that muscle, you're just a big cuddly teddy bear.'

'Oh fuck off.'

I laughed at his reaction, the familiarity of it all putting me at ease.

'I'll see you tomorrow at the meeting then?' Michael asked.

I shrugged. 'We'll see how it goes.' I said, thinking back to Artemis and her lieutenant.

Damn, she really does get on everybody's bad side, doesn't she? I thought drily, though I didn't feel any pity towards the girl.

Michael nodded, giving me a two-fingered salute before making his way around the corner and down the corridor to his quarters.

I made my way back to my villa, my day ending on a much more positive note than I had expected.

XIXI

Percy

I lounged about in my seat, surveying the rest of my command likewise lounging around, some conversing, others simply resting during this brief moment of respite given the earliness of the meeting.

I stifled a yawn, checking my watch.

Six fifteen in the morning.

I glanced over to Michael, noting his being deep in a tense but muted conversation with Reyna, the two poring over a manila folder filled with all sorts of sheets.

After my stunt yesterday, I decided it would be for the best to allow Reyna to resume her itinerary, my message had been clear, and had had the desired effect.

She holds sway over the administration, but only because I can't be bothered to deal with them. My face morphed into one of disgust. And I do all the paperwork anyways.

Just then, the door to the conference room opened, in walking Artemis and Thalia.

I leaned over to Gwen, who was sitting beside me.

'Where's Diana?' I whispered.

Gwen shrugged. 'Reyna said she wasn't interested in taking part.'

I didn't respond, sitting back in my seat once more, observing the two new additions to the room.

I cringed internally. Gods, I really hope the awkwardness isn't as obvious to everybody else as it is to me. I thought.

The body language didn't lie. Thalia refused to make eye contact with anybody, staring almost directly at the ground.

She seemed to follow Artemis blindly, not even bothering to see where she was going.

Artemis on the other hand, was staring straight ahead resolutely, confidently striding across the room, taking a seat offered to her and her lieutenant by Leila.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice any of the strange behaviour, and before anyone could dwell on it, Reyna had already taken centre stage, clearing her throat, calling everybody to attention before beginning.

'Welcome back everybody, after yesterday, I believe we can all say that it was a very successful series of exercises. As planned, we will have the representatives of the hunt give us some feedback on their end on our tactics and training, and yeah.' Reyna clapped her hands together. 'Hopefully this will be a constructive affair to help us incorporate new tactics into our military for the upcoming war.'

The not-so-subtle warning was clear to everybody.

Thalia stood up as Reyna took her seat, clearing her throat experimentally, her voice sounding more raspy and subdued than I remembered.

'To begin, I wanted to start with the multiple pros of the Legion. This will help understand some of the weaknesses I'll highlight later on.' She began. 'So, the Legion boasts a powerful force, with exceptional coordination and structure which is perfect for any sort of battle, which should in theory and practice be able to survive a large amount of losses while still maintaining a cohesive force. This was evidenced in the pitched battle closer to the end of the exercises, where despite even losing their command, the first cohort was still able to maintain it's organisation and ultimately score a victory against the opposing force.'

I nodded absentmindedly, not finding anything wrong with any of her statements as of yet.

But a glance over to Michael revealed a different reality, with the man clenching his fists to the point that his knuckles had turned white, his countenance stony at the mention of being taken out of the demigoddess.

'Furthermore, the standardised armour and weaponry does lend towards easier implementation of tactics, as well as improvisation, and the defensive nature of it lends towards an increased longevity of your soldiers, which was at times especially effective against the ranged attacks my hunters provided.'

Thalia let out a deep sigh. 'However, there were some pretty significant issues with some of the tactics, which were especially prevalent during some of the ambush simulations earlier on.'

Some of the Centurions straightened slightly at this, some even glancing nervously at me.

I sent each and every one of them a firm glare, bringing all of our attentions back to the centre of the room.

'The Legion, while boasting a well trained melee force, has little to no ranged units, and can only provide some defensive measures against any such attacks, without any form of retaliation. Furthermore, while the standarisation of the Legion is useful for training and equipping, in this case it's to the point that the Legion doesn't have any sort of diversification or specialisation at all. It's just an army of heavy infantry. No shock troopers, no pathfinders, no ranged units, and no mobile scouting units.' Thalia shrugged. 'Look, it's a well trained army, and in most circumstances it will win, because realistically, an army of heavy infantry is very difficult to penetrate in any way. But there's no way to adapt in case of adverse conditions. It relies on rigid supply lines, can't maneuvre well.' Thalia said.

'Apart from needed more specialisation, there is of course the issue of manpower.' I found myself nodding along enthusiastically, agreeing with every single one of Thalia's points so far.'

I've been saying all these things for years. I thought frustratedly. Hopefully hearing it coming from the lieutenant of Artemis, the senate will be more willing to expedite any process for change.

'Even if you address all of these issues, the army you field isn't anywhere near large enough to protect even just your camp and city-'

'Now hold on a minute!' Larry shouted standing up from his seat abruptly. 'This is Rome! We follow our Roman traditions! And you-' He pointed a finger menacingly at Thalia, 'want to tell us that it's all wrong?'

Reyna seemed to be close to having an aneurysm, but before she could move to step in for any sort of damage control, I decided to take Larry down a couple of notches myself.

Damn moron thinks just because he's from second cohort his ideas were implanted into his head by Mars Ultor himself. I thought irrately.

'Sit down, Larry.' I intoned calmly.

Larry looked over to me, his face betraying hurt and betrayal, before he grudgingly took a seat.

Sometimes I even surprised myself with the authority I wielded against my own cabinet.

Is it respect, or fear?

Better I didn't know.

'Thank you, Lieutenant Thalia. We will be taking these observations into serious consideration.' I said diplomatically, signalling the end of her audience.

Thalia nodded, never making eye-contact with me as she returned to her seat.

XIXI

Percy

I huffed as I finally left the meeting, rubbing the back of my head.

After the de-facto end of the meeting, more pleasantries were exchanged between Artemis and Reyna, upkeep with the diplomatic niceties this visit seemed to be steeped in.

After the two had left, Reyna had laid into Larry for losing his cool, and for just generally being a dickhead.

I had to give it to her though, at least she was impartial with her disciplining.

Gods, I can't wait until this is all over. I thought, my mind going to Artemis, and the willow tree.

I missed those moments.

Whether consciously or not, I found myself treading the coarse gravel of the colosseum once again, and I acknowledged with a tired sigh that once again, I wasn't the only one here.

However, this time, I wouldn't sea the strange twisting energetic fighting style of my half-brother, instead finding arrows sticking out of a dummy like spines from a porcupine.

Just my luck. I groaned.

If Thalia had noticed me, she didn't comment on it, her attention focused purely on the target in front of her, as another arrow flew true, hitting the centre of the dummy.

'Good aim.' I commented.

Truthfully, I was unsure as to how I wanted to approach the situation, but frankly after being stuck in a conference room with nothing but my wits to entertain myself, I was dangerously low on patience.

Thalia simply grunted, nocking another arrow before releasing it in rapid succession.

I sighed. 'Right. So you don't want to spar?' I asked.

If I was going to bite the bullet, I might as well skip the niceties.

Thalia paused mid-aim, her frame taught as she held the bowstring extended to her check.

'I want to murder you.' She said, deadly serious.

I scoffed. 'You can try, but I promise you won't succeed. And you'll have made a mess of yourself in the process.'

Thalia turned to face me in the blink of a second, her bow and currently nocked arrow disposed on the floor as she pulled a spear out of seemingly nowhere, the whole thing sparking with electricity.

It was a cheap shot, sure, but she hadn't been taking the bait of my mere presence, and liek I said, my patience was running thin.

I summoned my trident, twirling it experimentally.

'There you go. That's the spirit.' I praised adbsentmindedly.

Thalia growled. 'What, this is all some big joke to you?'

She didn't wait for an answer, striking aggressively, going straight for my chest.

The attack, however vicious her demeanour may have seemed, was halfhearted, and sloppy, and I was sure she wanted answers.

Closure, in a way, I suppose. I mused.

I batted her spear aside effortlessly.

'You think you're so smart, don't you?' Thalia growled, bringing her spear around, attempting to pulverise my side, which I deftly maneuvred away from and blocked once again, the deadly dance continuing. 'Is she just another prize for you? Someone new to manipulate?'

I tisked disappointedly. 'She came onto me, Thalia. Don't act as if you understand what's going on.'

'What's the point of this then?' She asked frustratedly, sending a bolt of lightning my way.

I narrowly dodged the bolt, the hair of my arms being singed off in the process.

'Do you really want to bring powers into this?' I asked.

To her credit, Thalia stood her ground, staring me down defiantly.

I sighed. 'Your funeral. But the fight's going to be over quickly.'

I held up a hand, gesturing lazily.

As if hit with an invisible truck, Thalia was sent flying back, hitting the ground.

'What the fuck.' Thlia spat out as I approached her.

'Shouldn't have tried to murder me.' I shot back. 'Although being a daughter of Zeus, I assume you've never been told no before.' I commented. 'You remind me of another demigod like you. You even have similar parents.' I mentioned off-handedly.

'Fuck you. What do you even want?' Thalia demanded.

'Look, I'm sorry you had to find out about this like this.'

'What, are you trying to win over my approval?' Thalia tried once again to get under my skin.

My countenance turned stony. 'I don't care about your approval. And I sure as hell don't care about your feelings. I'm asking you to not hold it against Artemis. Hate me, hate Venus, heck, hate the fucking fates for all I care. But don't give Artemis any more grief than she already has.' I asked.

Thalia scoffed. 'I can see why Artemis likes you.' She spat out venomously, picking herself off the ground.

'Oh yeah?'

'You're just as heartless as she is.' She said, walking away.

XIXI

Percy

'Percy? You doing alright?' I raised my head from where I sat in the middle of the colosseum, seeing Theo approach me.

I managed to form a smile on my face, albeit forcedly.

'Yeah. I'm good.' I responded.

Theo frowned momentarily, before resuming his carefree attitude, pulling out a pen which quickly transformed into his sword.

'Spar?'

'Go for it.'

XIXI

Percy

We had already been sparring for a while, as I found Theo more often than not managing to match me blow for blow, when Reyna arrived.

She didn't say anything, didn't intervene, simply taking a seat in the stands, watching us fight.

What, is she waiting for something? Is this supposed to be some sort of statement? My mind was racing at a million miles an hour, narrowly ducking under a surgical swing from Theo meant to take my head off.

Soon though, I could feel Theo begin to tire, the force behind his strikes lessening, his footwork becoming sloppy as strikes that previously he would have dodged easily without second thought now became close calls.

After a particularly painful strike of mine that actually managed to graze his side, I decided to bring it to an end.

'Alright bud, how about we give it a break?' I said, already shrinking my trident into its ring format, stretching my tense frame, checking my watch. 'It's almost lunch anyways.'

Theo rested his hands on his knees as he took deep breaths, sweat streaming down his torso.

I didn't realise he'd been pushing it that hard. I thought worriedly.

It wouldn't have been the first time I had had friends push it too far.

'Yeah.' He gasped. 'Yeah, that sounds good.'

Eventually he straightened back up, seemingly moderately more recovered.

'Ready to go?' Reyna asked, approaching behind me from where she sat.

Theo nodded. 'Yeah, just a sec.' He said, turning his sword back into a pen, pocketing the deadly stationary quickly.

I raised an eyebrow. 'You two off somewhere?'

'Off for some coffee.' Reyna said noncommittally.

I shrugged. 'It's been a long day.'

'Hey, do you want to join us?' Theo piped up.

I looked up surprisedly. 'Hmm? I won't impose on your plans.'

'No sweat, it's fine. Honestly, I really wanted to go over some stuff with you and Reyna.'

I hesitated, before giving in.

Upsides of not having family is not having such a tough time saying no all the time.

'Alright.'

Reyna seemed about as thrilled as I was, and if Theo noticed, he didn't show it, flashing a bright, toothy smile.

XIXI

Percy

I sat down with a sigh, the familiar terrace of my favourite café soothing me as the sun warmed my face.

'I'll go order. What do you guys want?' Theo asked.

'A flat white for me.' I said.

'Likewise.' Reyna answered.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Theo walked away.

'He set this up.'

'Yup.' I sighed. 'Well, I don't blame him. We might as well have this conversation.'

'What, finally decide to prioritise your people instead of your ego?'

'Could say the same about your ideals, but let's not go there.'

'Why not? You said we needed to talk about this.'

'Not about that!' I hissed frustratedly. 'We're never going to see eye to eye. I don't care personally, but we can't keep running a city-state when two halves of the government aren't communicating with each other.'

Reyna was silent for a moment.

'...Fine. But I'm not letting become some sort of dictator.' She said.

I shrugged. 'Don't want to be one.' I said.

Not technically. Haven't really cared for a while. I thought, thinking back to Artemis. Not that that has any chance of going anywhere.

Reyna scoffed. 'I'll forgive that lie for the people's sake. What do you propose.'

'What we should have been from the start.' I responded. 'A partnership of equals. That means listening to each other, compromise, and most importantly, cooperation.'

'You don't compromise.'

'I don't have a choice anymore. The war is progressing, Reyna. I mean it when I say we can't afford this rivalry anymore.'

'The terms are… Agreeable.' Reyna said.

I nodded, standing up brusquely, beginning to walk away, having had about enough of the irritating conversation.

'We better win this war.' I remarked while still in earshot.

XIXI

Theseus

I groaned audibly when I returned with three coffees, just to find Reyna sitting alone.

'Please don't tell me you scared him away already.'

Reyna scoffed. 'Yeah? Wouldn't that just be disastrous for your little scheme. Who are you, Octavian?'

I smiled sheepishly. 'Surprise?'

Reyna fixed me with a stony glare.

'Well? Are you going to sit down or are you going to keep grinning like an idiot?'

I quickly took my seat, passing Reyna her coffee, who took it gratefully.

'And?' I prompted.

Reyna looked off into the distance, a faraway look in her eyes.

'It didn't go terribly.'

AN:

Holy shit this is taking me a while.

So yeah, this is my second to last week of break, so updates are going to become even more sparse, yippee.

It's so painful, because A, I've been robbed of about a month of holidays from moving countries and schools, and B, because I'm so fucking close to finishing this, and that month probably would have been enough at the rate I'm going.

Anyways, next week I'm off to summer camp for a week, so no update probably, I might be able to depending on how much sleep I'm able to neglect to write at night, so we'll see ig.

SFLHBSVLLFNFKSÑJJGHLÑRAHÑNFA

I'm not okay.

Welp, reviews:

TheFiction101: Glad you're enjoying it! Hope the resolution to the cliffhanger is good.

fugy: See that's the complicated bit. I haven't really expanded on it very well, but Percy is a war hero in New Rome already, and very beloved. He already has the support of the people. The whole issue is the senate made up of an aristocratic class who aren't aware of the need for much more funding and expansion for the legion. With Reyna backing them up to curb Percy's influence, he hasn't been able to get much done outside of the Auxiliary legion.

I hope this chapter expands on the issues to the legion, but I'm frankly to tired and stressed to figure out how to do exposition of the other bit, although I began the process with the conversation Artemis and Percy had when she first arrived to New Rome. Eh. One for future me to figure out.

Azure: Awwww, thanks man, that really made my day. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I hope the longer chapter makes up for it.

hodor450hodor: With Percy's response I assume you're talking about the argument he had with Reyna. So he's basically manipulating her into thinking that she's the problem here, which is very… Not good guy behaviour from Percy, but that chapter and this one were a great opportunity to put really illustrate Percy's morals, making him a morally ambiguous character, who, as Thalia aptly put in this chapter, can be very heartless. He does what he has to do to get the job done, basically, and apart from Artemis, he really doesn't care what that does to other people.

Now, there are exceptions, as we saw with Michael, but he's just making good for the sake of it, he doesn't really care for him all that much.

Idk if that was hard to follow, I'm reading it now and I'm having an aneurism, but that might just be because it's like one in the morning where I am rn. Who knows.

PetrogradAN: Don't worry, I'm not going to have some long convoluted drama. Yeah, Percy and Artemis don't have the most communicative relationship to figure something like this out, or really a very healthy relationship at all, to be perfectly honest, but it's only going to be relevant for like maximum two more chapters.

Since the theme of this fic has kinda become trustworthiness without me really realising it, I figured it would make a nice sort of defining moment for Percy and Artemis' relationship. You'll see what I mean when it comes up.

Sankarea396: Ahahaha, fun fact, no.

Thalia and Percy will never have anything even close to a positive relationship, let alone her actually helping Percy and Artemis, purely for the fact that he's dating her employer, who is also breaking her own rules, has practically forced Thalia into a position where she can't tell anybody, walk away from the hunt or do anything about it but pretend nothing's happened for the sake of not rocking the boat during the war, which could fuck up the whole dynamic in the hunt. Sorta psychological torture, really.

But hey, what would Artemis know or care about that?

It's the most realistic reaction to the situation, in my opinion.

I mean, imagine trying to have some sort of rivalry with a person that is literally dating your boss, who you've pledged your life to.

Ngl the more I think about it the more I realised how fucked up the situation is for Thalia lol.

Oopsies.

Anyways, that's about it from me.

Slán, Murph