All rights belong to Rick Riordan
Chapter 49
Luckiest Guy Ever (Possibly)
The problem with dating a supposedly relationship goddess secretly is that you have to keep up the illusion that there is nothing going on, so before we had arrived we decided that we should sit separately lest people Artemis and I were more than we appeared.
Of course being in a Greek camp being surrounded by Greek demigods caused her to revert to Artemis as we approached, though no one saw this and the only person who looked surprised to see her was Reyna after all she had been Diana only 15 minutes earlier but oh well.
As it was then Artemis sat at the far end of the head table on her own while I chose to sit between Nico and Jason so I could explain a few other minor things that I had not mentioned earlier or that Nico did not already know. In return Jason explained about what was happening at New Rome both inside and outside the Senate house to which I took an interest and I considered taking a small trip to the city. I wonder who in the city could actually still remember my face after all I spend less than few days there and I could probably change my appearance regardless anyway. The only problem would be seeing if Diana would come as well.
I had been surprised to learn from Nico about his part in my healing though I had to smile as I remembered the familiar Pedigree Hellhound that he had now. I had played with all of Mrs. O'Leary's and Cerberus's puppies and Jay was easily the most awesome of them all, sure he may not have had the multiple heads of his siblings but the one he did have was far more deadly. I had learned that the hard way when he had snuck up beside me when he was only a week old and about the size of fully grown Rottweiler and decided to take a bite out of one of my wings much to my surprise.
I had been sure the Imperial Gold would kill it there and then that I had briefly forgotten the fact the source of the gold was part of me. But instead the puppy had simply licked its lips and given me the pleading eyes as if too ask for more which I had to deny off course. It took 3 weeks to grow back the feathers he ate as it was.
The other reason I liked him was the fact he had eaten Minos when the annoying ghost who had been forced to act as a servant to Nico had complained rather aggressively about having to fetch Nico a happy meal and said something along the lines of he would rather go back to punishment and get eaten alive.
Well he got half of it right at least, turns out that spirits, though they can pass through the living, can't pass through a monsters gut.
Eventually though when all the campers had began to eat I finally realized that it been days since I last ate anything and probably a week or more since last actually ate normal food rather than just Nectar or exposing myself to water to return my strength.
So when Nico decided to summon his customary cheeseburger happy meal I had fallen to temptation and summoned a platter of a variety of foods from Barbecue to Takeaway the only thing that was not present was seafood because though of course I had eaten it before I still was wary of eating the denizens of my father's domain. Hera's sacred animal however could be found in abundance on my plate as I walked to the campfire being careful to blend in with the campers which was a whole lot easier when they are all starving and want to get back to there tables as soon as possible.
After waiting till I was the last one in line and making sure a certain friendly goddess was not around I tipped a piece of pizza into the fire.
'For Poseidon.' I said aloud before tipping a piece of extra lean steak into the fire as well.
'For Artemis.' I said quietly with a smile before turning around and walking back to my seat, noticing the smile on aforementioned goddess face as I walked around her end of the table despite it being the long way back to someone observing carefully.
'Thank you.' She said quietly as I passed her, giving me a small smile before quickly returning to her neutral expression of indifference though she still looked cute, it was kind of hard for a 15 year old looking goddess to appear anything but cute, well except maybe Melinoe when she was younger perhaps I thought with a shudder.
The rest of the meal passed quickly and by the end of it, I swore to not just rely on ambrosia and Nectar sure they were great food and tasted of whatever you wanted them to and were if anything slightly addictive especially when you were no longer prevented from indulging on them with the threat of spontaneous combustion but you just couldn't get the same satisfaction as you could from eating the real deal.
The best source of amusement however could be seen on the hunters table where the whole group seemed to have taken it upon themselves to see how much food Nemea could eat in her diminutive cub form which turned out to be a ridiculous amount as I watched barbecue, fish, ribs (bones and all) all disappear down her throat with no consequence as the cub simply moved to the next hunter and begged for more when she had cleared the previous plate. The only one who restrained herself was of course Reyna but even she eventually relented under the golden kitten's eyes and gave her a sausage which disappeared as if on a conveyor belt. Yet at the end the only difference on the cub was the face contentment she bore as she curled up in a ball next to Thalia and fell sound asleep.
If she could eat that much as a kitten, I would hate to see how much she could eat as an adult, probably a whale or two or perhaps a whole herd of something. Unfortunately for her though with my recent lesson on conjuring or more accurately 'borrowing' that was not going to happen anytime soon.
Eventually though as the sun began to descend and the campers began to make their way towards campfire I couldn't help but be thankful as it would mean I would get a chance to elope away for the night, sure I didn't exactly know what I was going to be doing tonight but to be honest I was just happy I would get to spend it with Diana. Speaking of whom Artemis who was sitting alone had a look of complete boredom as she alternatively looked from the goblet of ambrosia she held in her hand which she seemed to be swirling around to the darkening sky above probably knowing that it would be soon time to return to her chariot.
Eventually Chiron excused himself from the head table and galloped of towards the campfire which seemed to serve as a signal to all the remaining campers and the majority of the hunters that they should also do the same.
As much as I used to enjoy the story telling and singing that used to accompany the campfire, I just no longer felt it was right for me to attend and listen to tales of the ancient heroes. This was not because of hubris on my part but more for the fact that over my adventures I had learned a lot more of the truth about what the 'Heroes' had actually been like and how they treated those others in their stories. For example I used to admire Heracles until I learned about Zoe and then had actually met him and found out he was one of the biggest douches known to anyone.
I also knew that some time in the future maybe a few years from now or a hundred and they could be talking about me and my friends and that I too would be a victim of storyteller's embellishment.
I was broken out of my musings when Piper stood up and gave Jason a look that silently said 'That includes you too.' With which the son of Jupiter had little choice in the matter which caused me to snicker a little at his misfortune even if it was ironically similar to what Leo had said about me and Artemis only without him knowing we were genuinely dating, though to be honest Artemis could quite easily probably kick my ass if I underestimated her. Which if our practice a fight weeks ago had shown, she was more than happy to fight dirty if it was required.
The others had soon began to leave as well though the rest chose to go their separate ways as Frank and Hazel left to return to Camp Jupiter, Leo walked of into the woods with a few of his siblings who were loitering around and I guessed they were going to this secret workshop of theirs. Normally strolls through the woods at night would not be condoned but I guess when you have your godly brother escorting you the Hephaestus kids were allowed to.
The last one left was on my table other than Artemis and I was Nico who was looking happier that it was turning Dark which I supposed was only natural after all, well until he began to hear the sound of singing in the distance and looked as if someone was scratching a blackboard and announcing he was going back to the Underworld. In the past I would have said him spending time away from others and instead in his fathers domain was unhealthy for him but after a few months of occasional visits to him down there. I knew that it was not a result of him not wanting to be with others but more of a fact he liked to keep the dead company and listen to their stories first hand rather than others exaggerated accounts of their exploits.
So after the Ghost king faded into the shadow the only ones left in the pavilion were myself, Artemis and a pair of hunters one of whom was cradling a curled up kitten as they walked across to our table. I rose from my chair which disappeared as I left it, I guess which was a result of the fact it was not supposed to be there and was soon replaced with the standard stool I had replaced earlier not that mattered really as I walked along the table towards the goddess who was looking relieved we were almost done here.
'Milady is their anything you want the hunters to do tonight or in the morning?' Thalia asked politely still holding Nemea. Sure Artemis gets the formality treatment while I get the electric shock therapy.
'I want to have full information on what range of demigods they have in the camp at the moment ahead of the capture the flag game in 2 days time. Do not worry about the gods of heroes we know what they are capable of and Perseus and I can deal with them if necessary but I want to know if there are any surprise entrants in the contest that could be a problem. Once that is done I want all the hunters briefed on how to play without maiming the campers and make sure you remind Phoebe it is a non-fatal contest I don't want a repeat performance of the incident where those Stoll boys took revenge on her.' Artemis explained and I remembered the game which had been a loss for me and Thalia as Zoe had beaten us both in that game and it had ended with the old Oracle traveling halfway across the camp and telling two of my friends they were going to die and that my future girlfriend was held prisoner at the same time as my late girlfriend by the same guy, who was now ironically my friend.
Gods my life was messed up, I don't think any storyteller would ever find an audience that would believe all the stuff I had been through as they would believe it was unrealistic for one kid to go through so much.
'I am sure she remembers milady, she just chooses to have selective memory during the games. Though I believe she will want to get those two boys again for the centaur blood prank. I will also explain to the twins the rules so there is no confusion. Though can I suggest you leave some of the gods for others as this is personal, I need to remind my little brother who is the older and better.' Thalia said with a smile and it was rather obvious from the armored hunter behind her it was not just Thalia/Jason we were talking about.
'I am sure we can make something happen for the pair of you just remember that the game comes first, I am not losing our winning streak in the first game I have actually participated in otherwise it is Perseus's fault.' The goddess replied before giving me a playful look.
'Yeah it was his fault we lost the game against Zoe after all.' Thalia piped up.
'Hey I was the one who got the flag on my own while you and half the camp couldn't.' I retorted.
'Anyway what Lady Artemis says is right I will not lose the game just for the sake of a bit of petty vengeance, don't get me wrong I am looking forward to actually playing this game and I won't say I don't have ulterior objectives when we play it but the game comes first. After all none of us gods willing are going anywhere anytime soon so there will be future opportunities for others. For the moment the hunt has the legacy of invincibility in the game and we do not want to waste that. The problems begin when the enemy knows you can be beaten, we need to show them that despite our few numbers in the face of Octavian's….actions we are still the same the same group of badass girls.'
'OK that was very impressive but you are forgetting about someone little Miss Praetor.' I said jokingly.
'Your right seaweed brain I forgot about the awesome killing kitty we have as well.' Thalia joked only to quickly drop the kitten when she began to grow as I focused on the Lioness and made her grow to the size of a cougar before she landed on her paws and looked around the four of us before focusing on me.
'Oh no you don't you have already eaten enough tonight, everyone in the camp saw you so don't give me the hungry look.' I told the golden feline who tilted her head giving me the same look as Puss in Boots from Shrek which would have worked if I had not become immune to it in the last year. It was quite something to see when she tried to do it in her adult form and was dwarfing me in size.
'What is the ruling on that anyway Milady is she allowed to participate in the game as she is a monster technically? Hannibal is allowed to fight in the war games but he is still only a natural animal.' Reyna asked.
'Well Tyson took part in the chariot racing and he was a monster if that helps.' I added.
'What do you mean was a monster?' Thalia said taking notice of what I said a little to much.
'Tyson is now god of Cyclops.' Artemis said simply thankfully for me as my cousin seemed to simply assume it was probably a reward from the gods.
'Oh ok then what about Mrs. O'Leary?'
'No, she never took part in anything but real battles.' I told her.
'Whatever the case I will discuss it with Chiron, as long as she does not injure anyone more than normal it should not be a problem. Though I think it would be unfair if she was allowed to play in her adult form as then gods or not she could probably beat the whole camp single-handedly.' Artemis explained which served to make Nemea turn towards her at the praise before she decided to sit at the goddess's side with her head resting on her lap where Artemis gently scratched behind her ears.
'Don't we know it Milady.' Thalia said happily in affirmation.
'Seeing as how she practically killed Leon on her own and helped me kill Gaia yeah I would say it was highly likely she could as long as she kept her mouth shut and didn't get hit in the eyes. Even Hazel would not be able to do anything against her because her fur is not technically gold.' I concluded remembering the one advantage the gods had over me though I did not know if that was still a problem if I fought wingless for the battle or at least until she was taken out of the fight.
'Exactly. Now then Thalia, Reyna go keep an eye on the other hunters I don't need them ruining the stories for the campers by calling out all the hypocrisy in Heracles Labors or any of the other tales though if they decide to bring up a certain son of Poseidon in their stories I will make I a point of showing exactly how wrong that myth is in relationship to my feelings.' Artemis said sternly but as the two listened she flashed me a quick wink and I struggled not to laugh or turn bright red at the double sided implication of what she said. Thought the pair took it at face value with no concern to the son of Poseidon standing directly in front of them.
I suppose I should technically say son of Neptune but that just feels wrongs to say, so hey who cares anyway other than the fates and if today had shown anything it was the fact that my dad and me had the ability to tell the fates where to shove it. Don't get me wrong I did not want to get beaten down by a trio of cudgel wielding women but I was not living my life as if was already written in stone according to theirs and their mothers decree. If it was they really had gone a little over the top at the writing stage.
'First mention of Orion they get an arrow warning. After that they get a furry surprise, right Nemea?' Thalia said to the Lioness who looked back to her before giving a yawn and went back to get her head scratched.
'Wow Thalia way to go get ignored in favor of a scratching.' I chastised playfully earning a murderous look.
'I know what you can do now Seaweed brain and I wont let you do the same thing the next time.'
'That's the best bit Thalia. I have all the Time in the world literally at my finger tips.'
'That is such an unfair ability how come Kronos chose you of all people? I could do so much more with all your powers.' She said crossing her arms.
'That's the problem is that you would use my powers for everything just like your dad, no offence Artemis.'
'Says the guy who can fly, control light, the stars and even time over people and has an Arsenal that rivals most of the Olympians put together.' She stated.
'Yeah but remember one thing, you stole my kill and no one likes a kill stealer. That should have been my sword but I let you have it because I am a nice guy.' I said with a smile.
'Oh how generous of you Lord Kelp Head.'
'Enough the pair of you Thalia, Reyna you may go, Perseus you are free to do what you with while we are in camp because if anything happens again while we are here I will raise it to the ground and they know it.' Artemis said seriously and I knew that it was not an idle threat, she had let her guard down once and paid for it dearly.
'Yes Milady.' The pair replied at once with a small bow before Thalia turned and left while Reyna paused to nod her head respectfully towards me before following her. As soon as they began to walk away Artemis rose from her chair dislodging the head from her lap as the Lioness looked confused why her pillow had decided to move.
'Hey Nemea follow them they have marshmallows and other snacks.' I told the Lioness whose ears pricked up at the mention of food and bounded off after the pair as a golden flash.
'Well I thought that would go on for ever.' She said letting out a sigh.
'Well we had to make an appearance on at least the first night back, I am sure we can not turn up tomorrow and the game is the night after that so it shouldn't be that bad.' I said reassuringly.
'At least you had people to talk to, I spent the whole evening waiting for it to be over so it be just the pair of us again.' She said simply.
'Well look at the bright side now we have the night to ourselves, so let's get out of here.' I said grabbing her hand just as she flashed us away from the camp. For the first time I had no regrets about leaving the camp behind, sure it had been like a second home to me for many years but now my place was beside the girl next to me.
(Diana)
As I reappeared in the chariot with Percy and changed Aspect I felt confused for a little as I tried to think why I felt no different. Normally whenever I returned to the chariot for the evening it made me feel stronger and made up for the decrease in my power since the loss of more than two thirds of the hunt last year but now I felt nothing.
The thing was it was not a result of the chariot that was the problem and it not making me feel better because I actually felt great the best I had in a long time to be honest.
'Orthrys to Diana anyone home.' Percy called to me snapping me out of my thoughts.
'Huh? Oh sorry I was just confused about something strange.' I said simply which of course only served to make him confused.
'Every time I come back here it makes me feel stronger and more powerful that is why I come back here every night well that and the fact that someone needs to guide the chariot. But now I am feeling nothing, I just feel great naturally and I don't think it is a result of you before you start to feel big headed.' I said certain that my newfound ability to actually love someone was not to blame for the situation.
'Me. Bigheaded. Noooo. Never, it was only an impossibility that got us to happen in the first place, I would never take credit for it.' He said jokingly as I crossed my arms in annoyance at him.
'Ok then fine well what else could it be that is different from before nothing else has changed except well me…that's it you got a new domain as well didn't you and well you spent enough time underwater. See being the little Mermaid is good for you after all.' He said and I realized just as I was about to throw him of the back of the chariot that he was actually probably right.
'As if enough hadn't changed me already today, sure they have all been for the positive with possible exception of you but it is hard to think that so much has happened in the space of a day. 24 hours ago you were in a coma and I was trying to find a way of saving you and now here we are.' I said leaning against the chariot rail.
'Hey if I was such a bad thing to happen to you, you would stop me from doing this.' He said with a smile before putting his arms to my side and leaning forward and kissing me and I pretty much had to agree that he one the argument there and then as I quickly reciprocated it as I made up for the last 2 hours of not being with him as my hands made their way to the back of his head and grabbing his black hair.
Eventually though I had to pull away though in a confined space that didn't really account for much more than tilting my head back happy with the fact we were still holding each other.
'So as much as I would love to spend the entire night making out even I know that eventually it would have to get boring at some point and we are still far to early in our relationship to be doing anything more.' Percy said and I had to agree with him on both points. As much as I loved him and would probably admit that we may get to that stage in the future it was still far too early.
'I don't know, I never was exactly a fan of all those romance stories you mortals have.'
'Hey I resent that grouping me in the mortal sub-category.' He protested weakly.
'When you woke up this morning you were still part mortal were you not, as it stands you have also spent more time with mortals after all for 12 years you thought you were normal.'
'Oh it must have been so hard to be born a goddess.' He said playfully.
'It wasn't for a day then Apollo was born and it went downhill from there, and then came the massive snake and finally the songs. That was the worst part getting him to shut up singing about the giant snake. I almost wish Python had eaten him.'
'It would probably save the pair of us a lot of problems in the future, though also both of us would have been killed by my arrows. So I guess we do actually need him. Maybe we can find a way of sewing his mouth shut like that terrible X-men movie.'
'Sorry what is an X-Man?' I asked totally confused by what he was on about.
'Oh yeah I suppose you wouldn't really be one for cartoons and comics. Long story short they are a group of mutants who have special powers similar to a demigod I suppose. There is this one guy who is talented with them but he is a smart ass and won't shut up so they brainwash, give him more powers and sew his mouth shut.' He said and I struggled to not laugh at him.
'Oh dear gods, I am dating a comic nerd.' I said feigning revulsion.
'No I just watched the movie, because the trailer looked good but the film totally sucked.'
'Still sounding nerdy.'
'Have you seen me, do I like a nerd? I had to do something to kill time when I wasn't kicking Atlas's ass.'
'If you wanted to kill time you could have always tried stabbing him again or getting his host to do it for you, it worked last time.' I said teasingly.
'Kill time metaphorically not literally.' He said exasperated.
'I know idiot you just look really cute when you frown, all three brain cells working in overdrive. It only took you seventeen years to learn to read your native language after all.'
'So are we going to spend the whole night with you finding ways to make jokes about me or is there anything we can do?'
'Well that depends on what we want to do.'
'Well do you have to stay up here, you said yourself that you are feeling stronger. Can you do what you did before when you did not have to come back here?' He asked and I had to admit it was possible but I would probably do a reversal of what happened in the past.
(Percy)
I had just asked Diana if it was possible for her to actually leave the chariot and she took on a look of thoughtfulness before she suddenly began to glow silver and disappeared from between my arms leaving me staring at the now vacant space where she had been, gripping the handrail of the chariot in total confusion. I had never seen anyone glow silver so I had no idea what it meant.
'Moon to Kelp Head.' I heard Diana say nearby.
'Behind you, Seaweed Brain.' She said again but sounding a little higher pitched.
Nevertheless I did as she instructed and turned only to be shocked at the sight in front of me as I found myself facing two copies of the goddess one of Diana as usual and another of an almost identical Artemis in her older form. The only to tell them apart was the slight variation in hair style in that Artemis had a pony tail and Diana had her hair down.
As I struggled to comprehend the two aspects of my girlfriend who were both looking at me with bemused expressions, I couldn't help but think I was either lucky or also extremely unlucky.
Not that it mattered because when they both leaned forward and pecked me on both cheeks, my mind went blank and I may have fainted.
AN. first things first I have to apologize for not updating sooner and the truth is simply I could not be bothered, things have been hectic at work and I simply didn't want to look at a laptop screen for more than watching videos. that and I rediscovered relatively retro games and things are a lot simply when you are chainsawing people than having to concentrate on remembering every person in classical mythology and their aunt/mother.
thank you to all of you for being patient and for still reading and reviewing in my absence. I don't plan on doing a vanishing act again anytime soon so don't worry.
as you can see Percy I going to be in for an amusing time when he wakes up. Originally I did not know if I wanted to have both Diana and Artemis appear at the same time but it was more of a case of why was it not possible. after all it is a more physical approach to an immortals schizophrenia and seeing as Rick showed they can be in more than one place at the same time in the TLO with Dionysius after all her chariot is the centre of her domain so why cant she separate an aspect there and be elsewhere at the same time.
So hope you enjoyed this and hope you read and review.