Update:

Chapter One is set to release on December 1st! I hope you enjoy this little flashback in the meantime. I've got a few more lined up to keep you entertained while you wait.

If you're looking for something else to dive into, check out my other story, Last of the Jotun. There's also a poll where you can vote on Percy's pairing, including an option for multiple pairings in that story.

One of the upcoming flashbacks will have a Thanksgiving theme, so for all my fellow Americans out there: Happy Thanksgiving!

FlashBacks ~ Percy PoV:

I was stalking the deer—or at least I thought I was—until I stepped on a twig and it bolted. A soft, melodic giggle floated down from the treetops, and I froze. Looking up, I spotted her. Red hair like a flickering flame and piercing silver-yellow eyes that glowed even in the shade. She was, objectively, breathtaking—but I'd never say that out loud. I valued my life far too much.

Awkwardly, I gave a small wave and glanced around for the others. I must've outpaced them. Annabeth was nowhere in sight either.

A soft thud pulled my attention back as Artemis dropped gracefully to the ground. She was smiling—a sight I used to think was alien to her, but not anymore. Not after spending so much time with her and her Hunt. Ever since she extended the invitation for me to join them, I'd come to learn that, when the world gave her a reason to smile, it was as radiant as the moon itself.

"What are you searching for, Percy?" she asked, striding toward me with the poise of a she-wolf.

"Just wondering where everyone is. Where Annabeth is," I admitted honestly. The moment the words left my mouth, her smile faltered, like the moon slipping behind a cloud.

"She's important to you? A good friend?" Her tone was calm, but her eyes searched mine intently.

I felt my face heat up under her gaze. "A very good friend. I trust her with my life. She's the smartest and strongest person I know."

"And yet... just a friend?" Artemis pressed, her voice dipping slightly. "The way you speak of her, one might think you fancy her."

I couldn't help but laugh, though it came out more nervous than I intended. "Fancy? I don't think she likes me like that. She's... well, I don't know. I think she's always liked Luke. He saved her, after all."

At the mention of Luke, Artemis's expression darkened into a scowl. "So have you, Percy," she said, her voice laced with an edge I didn't expect. "And even I—one so unpracticed in the... arts of love—can see that you both care deeply for each other."

Her gaze softened for a moment, but there was something else there too, something almost pained.

Artemis PoV:

Never in my life have I spoken to anyone about love. The very thought makes me feel like… like Aphrodite. Ugh. But at the same time… why does it hurt so much to, for lack of a better term, encourage him toward that daughter of Athena? And why is it so difficult to even say her name without this surge of… possessiveness? Anger? Jealousy?

It's maddening!

Why do I want him close? Why do I feel this relentless urge to shield him from every sorrow, to take away the pain he wears so openly?

The way he admitted his fear—his fear that the blonde prefers that traitor, that his insecurities are laid bare for anyone who dares to look—it drives me to the brink of madness.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Diana asked, her voice echoing in my mind.

I resisted the urge to sigh aloud. She'd been rather... active lately, especially when it came to Percy. Perhaps it was the instability of our shared feelings—or whatever this unsettling whirlwind of emotion was.

"Why?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral, though I already dreaded her answer.

"We may be starting to like him..." Diana said, her words sharp and direct, like an arrow finding its mark.

"He's a child!" I shot back, the thought sending a jolt of indignation through me.

Diana sighed, her patience far greater than mine. "Firstly, so are you. What are you now? Twelve? Thirteen? Older than usual, I might add. When did that start? Oddly close to his age, isn't it?"

Her words stung because they hit closer to the truth than I cared to admit.

"And secondly," she continued, undeterred, "I'm not suggesting you 'pull an Aphrodite.' Just act your age, and he'll act his. Relationships when you're thirteen aren't exactly—"

"Silence." My voice cut through her rambling with finality, and the conversation was over.

Artemis PoV: I fight my Aunt

How dare she? Humiliate me in front of my Hunt like that!

"It's outrageous!" Diana growled in my mind, her indignation fueling my own. "Unacceptable!"

"That's not why you two are mad..." That oh-so-infuriating voice hummed in the back of my mind.

"Shut it," we both snapped simultaneously. But, deep down, we knew it was right.

What exactly was Hestia's relationship with Percy? Why were they so close? And what gave her the right to just whisk him away without explanation?

Before I could think it through, I flashed to Olympus, appearing at her palace. I didn't bother with decorum—I hammered on her door with all the force of my frustration.

The doors opened almost immediately, and there she stood. She looked... furious. Her eyes softened slightly when she saw me, but I barely noticed that fact before my anger erupted.

"How dare you humiliate me in front of my hunters!" I snapped. "To scold me in front of—"

"Insolent child!" Hestia cut me off, her voice laced with a sternness I had never heard before. Smoke streamed from her ears as her fiery gaze bore into mine. "Be silent."

I froze, her authority striking me like a slap. For the first time in my life, I was genuinely terrified of my aunt.

"What? Not going to ask after Percy?" she said, her tone biting. "I thought he was your 'friend.'" The venom she poured into that word stung deeply.

I swallowed hard, suddenly unsure of myself. "I'm sorry... is he... is he alright?"

Hestia's expression softened slightly, though her voice remained sharp. "Yes. And you're fortunate that I defended you to his father. Otherwise, things might have gone... badly."

My blood ran cold. I didn't need her to elaborate. If Poseidon had come to my camp in a rage, it wouldn't have ended well—for me, or my Hunt. We all knew what happened when one of our uncles reached that level of wrath. Ask Odysseus what Poseidon does to those who harm his family. And he didn't even like Polyphemus, but Percy? Poseidon's favorite? I didn't want to imagine the consequences.

"Thank you..." I murmured, humbled.

Hestia nodded and turned to leave, but before she could, a question slipped from my lips—one I dreaded the answer to but couldn't stop myself from asking. Perhaps it was because I stood at the very doorway where this maddening boy had first come into my life, where Hestia had once told me I was his second favorite goddess, only behind herself.

Maybe that's why I had to know the truth.

"What is your relationship with him?" The bite in my voice betrayed my inner turmoil.

Hestia paused, then turned back with a weary sigh. "Ah. That's why you're upset. I should have known it wasn't just about the scolding. It's my relationship with Percy that's got you in a tizzy?"

I nodded silently.

"My dear girl," she said gently, "I've been rooting for you ever since I realized you were his favorite goddess. The fact that he could see me—and valued you so highly... well, who do you think convinced Poseidon to allow him to accompany your Hunt? Believe me, after this giant debacle that was not a fun shouting match."

She smirked slightly, then continued. "And who do you think sent Athena to Annabeth during that party on Olympus? Who guided him to somewhere quiet, where he could escape the noise and the lingering stares? Who chose to bring him to your sanctuary—the one place you go for peace on Olympus? And finally, who practically begged my little brother to give you a second chance with his little prince? After he almost died under your watch."

Her gaze hardened, and I felt the weight of her words settle heavily in the space between us.

"I managed to convince him that you, at least, didn't intend it. Luckily for us all," she added, her voice sharp yet edged with a touch of weariness.

I blinked, stunned into silence.

"Percy is my friend," she continued, her voice firm but kind. "But he's more than that to me—he's family. However, I do not 'fancy' him, as you'd put it."

"Oh..." was all I could manage. Shame burned in my chest as I mumbled my thanks and turned away, retreating to my Hunt with my figurative tail tucked firmly between my legs.