Broken and Battered, My Love [Pertemis Story]

Love, War, Death- Wait, WHAT?!

This day sucks. Sorry, that was an understatement. My life is complete, utter, suckery. I don't care if that's not a word. Because thinking about how it probably isn't a word reminds me of Annabeth, and that sucks a lot. Why? You might ask. Well, let me start from the very beginning.

Like every other time, after the battle with Gaea concluded, Rachel started to spew out green mist. Meaning, yes, another prophecy. It went something like this;

"From maiden's vows a weary soul resides,

to Olympus it shall rise,

a hero's broken soul must submit,

in order to end his battered rift,

heartache must not prevail,

for in the end it will end with maiden's veil,

through crossroads the two souls must choose,

and make sure that the pit will lose."

Yep, this was more confusing than I ever thought it would be. Apollo assured me that this prophecy couldn't be about me. The only maiden he could name at the moment was Artemis, and she wouldn't break her vows for anyone. The chances of that prophecy dealing with anyone I knew were very unlikely.

So, logically, with my luck, it had a lot to deal with people I knew. Now I can partially agree with Zeus turning Apollo into a mortal. I mean, it makes sense. He couldn't even figure out a prophecy that came from his oracle. Or maybe he had just been lying to make me feel better. At any rate, I couldn't seem to wrap my fingers around the fact that a hero would manage to woo a maiden that seems to fit the description of Artemis, based on Apollo's hasty answer. I mean, Artemis was a man-hater. It couldn't be a girl either. Whether it was a mistake or not, the oracle had most definitely used male pronouns to define this hero. So some guy must've been asking for a death wish from Zeus because I don't think the man who dates Artemis will come back alive.

Now, of course, I find out the prophecy is about me. Because that's the logical thing to happen in this crazy, messed up, mythological world. Blame everything on Percy. Oh, did I forget to introduce myself? The name's Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, two time hero of Olympus, boyfriend of Annabeth Chase. . .I could go on for hours. Don't think I'm bragging. I'm quite literal. It sucks. Big time.

I know you probably came for some epic love story about Artie and I getting together and defying ancient laws and stuff like that. Ha, no. If you came for that, then it's nothing like what you're about to see. Without further delay from me, seeing as Artie is going to slaughter me if I keep rambling, back to your scheduled story.

Battle raged out around us as I grasped Riptide tightly, dodging, parrying, and hitting my way through the hoards of monsters and demigods that were fighting. Annabeth. The name kept repeating in my head. It seemed all my other thoughts were gone and my brain was on autopilot. There were two things my mind did on autopilot; 1) kill the bad guys and try to stay alive; 2) stay by/defend Annabeth. I could only do one of those things without my girlfriend by my side. Narrowing my eyes, I narrowly missed getting decapitated by a spatha, before I spotted her. Fighting alongside her mother, I almost laughed. She looked like it was taking all her effort to not correct her mother with certain tactics. It was almost comical. "Annie! Need some help?"

This, is where I went wrong. She turned to laugh at me, and managed to forget about protecting her back. In just mere seconds, there was a sword sticking through her chest, covered in her blood. I let out an unearthly scream and ran to her aid, protecting her body over the giant that she and her mom had been fighting. I help Athena strike it back, and eventually killed it. Then I ran back to Annabeth's side. "Wise Girl," I whispered, tears falling as I held her hand.

"Seaweed Brain," she responded softly, with a painful rasp as she tried to laugh. "Never thought I'd live to see the day I passed in battle. I actually believed we could have a future together. I was wrong to get your hopes up, Percy-" "Don't say that! You'll be fine, we'll get you some medicine and we'll fix this. Right, Apollo?" The fighting had yet to cease, but Apollo seemed like one of the only gods who wasn't fighting, yet rather, healing. He came over, his head hung low and bags under his eyes. It seems that this healing was draining every bit of him. He bit his lip as he saw Annabeth's state.

He didn't need to say anything or shake his head. I knew what the answer was without him batting an eye. I screamed, frustration pooling out of my very being. That was quite literal, by the way. The ground shook and water shot out of everywhere, washing away the dust from monsters killed, and drowning the live ones. The only enemy that was left was Gaea. But I didn't have the energy to create another tsunami or earthquake or whatever that was. I barely had the strength to stand. So I spent the last of my energy crying over Annabeth, every fiber in my being was weeping as I tried to desperately cling onto her.

"Hey, Dirtface! You have yet to meet the wrath of McShizzel Valdez! I dunno where you think you're going!" Came Leo's voice as he charged at Gaea with his hands ablaze. The stupid goddess seemed to realize she was about to loose. Anger and frustration clear in her eyes, she stared straight at me. "You may have won, Perseus, but every war has a price. It's a shame your plans for the future will never come to pass." She said snarkily, before accepting fate and allowing Leo's fire to consume her. The words drove a spear through my heart, but all I could do was watch.

Now, before you start to cry, no, Annabeth didn't die at that second. That's just cliche. No, she died 30 minutes later, lying in my arms. Sorry, that was blunt. Let me say it in a nicer, more poetic way; We sat there for her last minutes, silently mourning our losses. Athena sat next to me, cradling her daughter's fragile body. Poseidon had a hand on my shoulder, offering comfort. The rest of the seven and the gods crowded around us.

After a few minutes crying over her dying form, I pushed the hair out of her face and kissed her softly. Tears pricked my gaze as we starred at each other. "I love you, Annie." I breathed softly, kissing her forehead and ignoring Athena's pointed glare. "I love you, too, Seaweed Brain." She managed a small smile before the light drained from her face and she let out one last, final breath. I let out a guttural scream as tears pour from my eyes.

I don't remember much after that. As embarrassing as it to admit, I passed out from exhaustion just moments later. Although, I've been told that as I passed out, the air grew thicker and heavier, as if mimicking my emotions since there was no large body of water nearby to do so.

*~*~*~*

Boom, there's your first chapter! Only about two years late

Sorry about that. School has been getting the best of me, recently.

Also, I'm seeing TLT tomorrow! I'm really excited, because I have been waiting for MONTHS to go!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If there were any story errors, spelling errors, etc., please let me know so I can fix them!

And, that's about it. The next chapter shouldn't take as long. I dunno though, I'll have to see.

Until next time, folks,

~Lillian Winchester, Daughter of Aphrodite