3rd person pov:
"I'll go after her" the goddess sighed. Leaving the daughter of Athena and her half sister alone.
Annabeth watched as Artemis turned away, her silver cloak shifting in the wind. The goddess didn't hesitate, didn't glance back—just melted into the forest, her presence fading as if she had never been there. That should have been the end of it. But Annabeth wasn't done. "What–" her voice failed.
Her fists clenched at her sides, her heartbeat hammering in her ears. She turned sharply toward Thalia, her gray eyes burning with questions she refused to leave unanswered.
"You know."
Thalia exhaled, rubbing her temple like she'd been waiting for this. "Annabeth—"
"You know what happened to him," Annabeth snapped. "And you won't tell me?"
Thalia shifted uncomfortably but didn't deny it. "It's complicated."
Annabeth let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Complicated? COMPLICATED? THERE IS A HUNTER RUNNING AROUND THAT CAN DEFEAT A GODDESS AND HAS STOLEN MY BOYFRIENDS SWORD."
Thalia's expression darkened. "She got her sword from him." Thalia bit on her lip trying to avoid Annabeth's glare. "Thalia" Annabeth gritted her teeth trying to calm down. "I'm going to ask you this one time. Where. Is. Percy?" The daughter of Zeus kept avoiding her gaze, visibly uncomfortable she stayed quiet.
Minutes of uncomfortable silence between two former best friends. "Fine" Annabeth broke the silence. "If you're not going to help me find him I'll do it myself. But don't come asking me for help" Thalia looked up finally meeting her gaze. Her voice softened as her face slowly started returning to her usual self "Annie" interrupting herself with a deep breath "you won't be able to find him. He—" her voice failed. "He what? Tell me Thal I need to know" Clearing her throat before continuing Thalia finished "He changed. He isn't who you knew anymore. He isn't who I knew anymore. He's more. He's different. But I know he's happy and even if he doesn't know it. He's with someone he likes. A lot. And while I can't be certain I think those feelings will grow and develop until eventually both realise what is happening" "But— He's my seaweed brain. He can't just leave me" "He can and he did. She— I mean he was very clear about this. He won't ever come back to you. Hades you're lucky if he'll ever trust you further than he can throw you. You messed up Annie. Big Time." Thalia looked away from Annabeth who was on the verge of crying yet her brain was working at 110%. Something Thalia had said tipped her off. Something she had to notice but she didn't. "Did I mess up that badly?" She whispered. Thalia just nodded letting out a small sigh of relief. "WAIT" Annabeth suddenly exclaimed. Thalia turned around to see her face showing a number of emotions. Most notably realisation "You said SHE. You—" her voice failed "I can't believe it. That was Percy?" Thalia paled at her realization.
The girl in front of her continued enraged "What did your Lady do to MY Boyfriend" "Annabeth please. I swore to—" Thalia interrupted herself since technically she did not swear anything she just isn't saying anything due to loyalty. "I refuse to accept this. I will get him back. No matter the cost. I'll run through Tartarus again if I have to."
"No one said you had to accept it. But you need to understand it." Annabeth took a step forward. "Then make me understand." Thalia hesitated. That was all Annabeth needed to see. The flicker of doubt, the hesitation, the way Thalia's posture shifted like she was bracing for a fight. Because that meant there was something to fight. Her stomach twisted. "This wasn't just some accident, was it?" Thalia stayed silent. Annabeth's chest tightened, her mind racing. Would Artemis do this? Turn her boyfriend into a girl just so she could be with him or her or whatever instead? Then the real question hit her—the one that made her breath hitch. "Was it his choice?" The words hung between them, heavy and unrelenting. Thalia looked away. "I don't know." Thalia's eyes were filled with guilt lying to Annabeth like that. Annabeth's nails dug into her palms. "That's not good enough." Thalia's eyes snapped back to her, frustration flashing across her face. "You think I like this? That I didn't question it too? But Annabeth, you weren't there. I was. I saw what happened." Annabeth swallowed hard. "So you know if it was a choice or not. Tell me what happened"
Thalia exhaled, rubbing her arm. "She remembers everything," she admitted. "But… I don't know what she wants to share or not. What I do know? Kae is happy. And that's what counts for me."
Annabeth shook her head. "No.. HE'S Percy" Thalia's expression hardened "Swear you won't talk about it to others" Annabeth's eyes widened "Swear it" the daughter of Zeus kept pressuring her old friend. "No" Annabeth's voice showed no signs of empathy or friendship anymore. "You don't want to do this Annabeth"
Annabeth turned, her gaze falling on the spot where Artemis had disappeared. Annabeth sucked in a sharp breath, forcing her emotions down. She needed to think. This wasn't just about finding Percy—it was about undoing whatever Artemis did to him.
Kaelisia sat by the water's edge, hugging her knees to her chest. The night was still, the only sound the gentle ripple of the pond as the breeze moved across its surface. The moon's silver light cast her reflection in shimmering fragments, her face both familiar and foreign.
She wanted to feel like herself. She should feel like herself. But the longer she sat here, staring at the girl in the water, the more Percy Jackson felt like a distant dream—something she could recall in pieces but never fully hold. A rustle in the trees pulled her from her thoughts. She didn't turn; she already knew who it was. Artemis stepped into the clearing, silent as ever, but her presence filled the space like the soft glow of the moon—gentle, steady, inescapable. She didn't demand attention the way the Olympians did. She simply was, and somehow, that made her even more powerful. "You left in a hurry," Artemis said finally, her voice quiet but clear. Kaelisia exhaled sharply. "I had to." Her fingers dug into the damp earth. "Annabeth—she…" The words caught in her throat. "She still reminded me of things." Artemis moved closer, but she didn't sit. Not yet. "And you don't?" Kaelisia hesitated. She looked down at her hands—slender, calloused from years of sword fighting. Her grip felt the same. Her instincts were the same. But the reflection staring back at her, the way her body moved, the way her mind processed everything… "I don't know what I see," she admitted. "I should feel like me. But the more time passes, the more I realize… it feels like a dream."
Artemis studied her for a long moment, then finally lowered herself beside Kaelisia, resting her arms on her knees. "You are not a dream," she said, her tone firm but not unkind. "You are here. You are real."
Kaelisia let out a hollow laugh. "But what if I wasn't supposed to be?" Artemis shook her head. "The Fates do not make mistakes." Kaelisia's gaze flickered over to her, but her expression remained distant. "You know I'm the daughter of Chaos. The Fates don't dictate my life. They never did."
The words hung in the air between them, heavy with truth. Kaelisia had never been one to accept fate's rule over her life, even if it was a path set in motion long before her birth.
Artemis let the silence linger for a moment before replying. "Maybe not. But there are forces larger than us, Kaelisia. You can't outrun all of them."
Kaelisia's shoulders tensed at the thought, but she didn't respond. The weight of the past still pressed on her chest, but in this moment, at least, she wasn't facing it alone.
As Artemis watches the Daughter of Chaos, the feeling that surges within her is unfamiliar. It's not a kind of admiration she's used to, nor the warm, protective care she often feels for her fellow hunters. This is different. The stirring in her chest, the fluttering sensation when their eyes meet, is something she's never experienced before.
Artemis, ever so composed and guarded, tries to push these sensations away, attributing them to the strange aura the Daughter of Chaos radiates. But every glance, every fleeting touch, only brings her back to the same uncharted territory. The sudden heat in her face when she sees the other smile, the way her heart seems to quicken with every laugh—Artemis tries to tell herself it's just because the chaos-born is so unrestrained, so free. But that doesn't explain why her thoughts linger longer than they should, why she feels oddly comforted in the presence of the girl who embodies everything Artemis has learned to avoid.
She's never loved before. Not truly. Love for her has always been the love of her hunters, the love of independence, of the moon, of nature's beauty. It has never been a human kind of love—never a connection that required vulnerability. Artemis cannot remember a time when she wanted anyone so close, when the thought of simply being near someone, listening to their voice, felt as though it could sustain her.
The more Artemis observes her, the more this feeling gnaws at her. She wants to understand it, but how can she? She has seen love between others, but she's always held herself apart from it. Her identity has never been bound to another. Her love for her hunters has always been of the purest, untouchable kind. But this—this new thing—is something different. It unsettles her, even as it draws her in. "Why do you keep looking at me?" the Daughter of the void asks, her voice cutting through Artemis' swirling thoughts, a teasing smirk on her lips. Artemis blinks, momentarily startled, and feels a blush rise on her cheeks despite herself. She clears her throat, her mind scrambling for a way to mask her feelings. "I wasn't looking at you," Artemis says, though her voice betrays a touch of uncertainty. Kaelisia tilts her head, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "Then what were you looking at?" For a brief moment, Artemis finds herself at a loss for words. Her heart thunders in her chest, but she stands tall, straightening her shoulders as though that will somehow ground her. "I..." Artemis begins, but the words falter. "I was just... watching the way you move." She tells herself the excuse is a convenient one, but as the words leave her mouth, they don't feel entirely true. She has always been one for precise observation, yet this was different. This was more than mere watching. The Daughter of Chaos laughs softly, but it is not mocking. It is light, warm, and full of a kind of warmth Artemis has never known. "You're not very good at lying," she says, her voice gentle but knowing. Artemis looks away, hoping the change in posture will mask the sudden anxiety crawling up her spine. She feels exposed, not because of the conversation, but because of the depth of her own confusion. She doesn't know how to make sense of this feeling, but she also doesn't know if she even wants to. "Perhaps you are more insightful than I realized," Artemis says quietly, hoping that it will end the conversation. The daughter of the void got on her feet looking at the goddess sitting. Before quickly pulling her up as well and embracing her in a Hug "thank you my lady"