The Sea and The Moon

Chapter 9

"Her name is Aphrodite, she is the goddess of ugliness and grime. Stay away from her, she'll turn you into a monster if you so much as look at her. The only reason I was able to resist her spell was because she has something of a crush on me," I said while smirking.

"I'll make sure to stay away from her. I don't want to be turned into an ugly monster like her," She said.

I knew that it probably wasn't right to lie to her like that, but it would be just too funny watching her call Aphrodite ugly and avoid looking at her.

We continued walking down the busy street until we reached a silver palace on the side of the road. I walked up to it and knocked on the door, hoping that was home. After a minute, I hear the sound of a lock unlocking and the door opened revealing Artemis in her usual hunting garments. She looked surprised to see me, but even more surprised by the little girl in my arms.

"Hello, Artemis, this is my little sister Ashley. I saved her from her abusive uncle and brought her to my home to care for her. Ashley, say hello to Artemis," I coaxed.

"Hello, Artemis. Percy said that you are a very nice person. He also said that you are not a man," She greeted while giggling. Artemis raised her eyebrow at me and I blushed a deep red.

"Hello Ashley, my name is Artemis and I am indeed not a man," She said while smirking. I put Ashley on the ground and let her take Artemis's outstretched hand, leading her into the house.

"I'm going to need to leave right now. I have to attend some business that needs to be taken care of. Would you please take care of her for a few hours while I am gone?" I ask hopefully. Artemis nods and leads Ashley into the kitchen before they disappear behind the wall. Artemis will be good for her. She needs a mother figure in her life as well. Wait, does that mean that I'm the father figure? I blushed at the thought and shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

I mist traveled away and back to the house to prepare my gear. Putting on my armor and strapping on my weapons, I slid Frostbite out of it's sheath. It was truly a beautiful sword, with engravings on near the bottom of the blade. The blade was an icy color, almost transparent, but it looked as deadly as ever. I resheathed it and went for a final check of my gear. I probably wouldn't need it, but I had learned from experience that you should never go out into the world unarmed.

When I was satisfied, I mist traveled away. I needed to go meet my mother after 2 years of not seeing her. I just hoped that she wouldn't kill be too painfully. I appeared near the front door of her apartment and raised my fist to knock before hesitating. If I knock, there is no turning back. Well unless I want to Ding-Dong-Ditch that is. I think it is time that I come home though. I rapped my knuckles on the door and waited for answer. It didn't take long before I heard footsteps leading to the front door and the latch being opened. There stood my mom.

She looked like she had aged five years since the last time I saw her. It was as if she had been worried and stressed out about something for a long time. Oh wait. Uh-oh, I thought as I realized what was causing this. She must have been worrying about me for the past two years, and now here I was.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" she asked. Her voice sounded fragile and it cracked in the middle of her question.

"You don't recognize me? You did give birth to me and raise me for two thirds of my life," I said feigning hurt. She looked at me confused for a second, before her eyes grew wide and her mouth opened slightly.

"Hi Mom," I said sheepishly. Her eyes welled up with tears and her body started to tremble. Before I could do anything, I was wrapped in a hug that would make Tyson jealous. Suddenly she pulled back and slapped me in the face. Hard. I was momentarily blinded by the pain before another slap was given to the other cheek.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I'VE BEEN HERE WORRYING FOR YOU, THINKING THAT YOU'RE DEAD. YOU HAVEN'T VISITED ME ONCE FOR 2 YEAR! 2 YEAR!" she screamed at me.

"I'm sorry Mom. I've been in the wild on my own for the past 2 years with barely any contact from the outside world. I just needed some time to myself after the war. Please forgive me," I said while hugging me again. She sobbed into my chest as I held her.

Paul came around the corner looking confused,"Who's there? Why were you screaming so loudly?" He saw his wife hugging a random stranger boy and immediately assumed that I was trying to do something to her.

"Hey! What are you doing to my wife, boy. And why are you hugging him back, Sally. We don't even know him!" He shouted obviously paranoid.

"Paul, we do know him. Look at his eyes and tell me you don't recognize him." Paul stared into my eyes before recognition shone on his face. His frown turned right-side up into a huge grin that covered his entire face.

"Percy? Is that really you?"

"Hey Paul, glad to see you too," I said, letting go of my mother and giving Paul a hug.

"Wow, I can't believe you're really here. It's been so long since I've seen you. What have you been doing these past two years," he asked.

"Let's talk about this where it's a little more private," I said.

They led me inside and there on the kitchen table was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. A huge plate of blue cookies stacked high with yummy goodness. I rushed the the table and started stuffing my face with cookies.

"Percy! Stop acting like a slob and stealing the cookies," she scolded.

"Sorry Mom. I haven't eaten blue cookies in 2 years. I was suffering from withdrawal," I said, still stuffing my face. Mom looked at me with a amused smile on her face as she shook her head. As I finished my mouthful I sat the couch and waited for the to sit down. They leaned forwards in their seats, excited to hear about my last 2 years living in the wild.

I explained to them everything that had happened over the past couple years including the training with Artemis and saving Ashley. After I was done they both hugged me and told me how happy they were that I was starting to recover.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get back to Artemis and Ashley. I left her at with Artemis so that I could come here."

They looked is disappointed but said,"Ok, but make sure you visit often. We want to IM me every week so that we know you haven't run off on your own again."

As I walked out the front door, I sensed something off. I pushed it down and mist traveled back to my cabin to put my gear away, before I went to pick up Ashley. Before I could reach the front door, a sword appeared in front of me blocking my path. I looked up to see a black figure, clouded in shadows, smiling down menacingly at me. His head was hooded so that I could only see his mouth and part of his nose.

"My master will be happy when I bring back your dead body," he snarled and swung his sword towards my neck.

(End of Chapter 9)

the guy who loves all gunpla: Shame on them. You should stop hanging out with them. I just kidding. It's cool, not everybody has to like pertemis.

Draconic King: Sorry if it was a little disturbing. I tried to give warning, but you may not have seen it. And I agree, it is kind of adorable.

ghostchilli666: HaHa! He has. Thanks for the review.

A.N: This chapter is a little short on detail, but I hope it's fine. Thanks for reading this chapter and thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows!

P.S: Tell me if you guys think the story is moving a little too slowly and I can try to pick the pace up. This chapter in particular is a bit slower than others though.