Chapter 8

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AN: Hey guys, welcome to part 8 of my story. I know some of you want Perzoe, but I kind of want to do Perthena, and make Annabeth Perseus' daughter. I want to do another Percy story after I finish this one or my Alex Rider story with Perzoe, so this will be Perthena. Please let me know how you feel about this, no matter if it's positive or negative, as there is still time to change the ship: I am still open to doing Perzoe. Thanks so much and enjoy!

Recap:

"You might have had better luck if you sent more than one," Perseus replied, directing it towards the King of Mycenae. The King looked over at the prince with wide eyes. He looked at the other men accompanying him, but no one wanted to try their hand against Perseus.

"This isn't over Perseus," Agamemnon snarled. "You will pay for crossing me."

"I look forward to it, my lord," Perseus said with his signature smirk. "I hope you have a better challenge for me instead of one simple spearman."

Agamemnon was furious. He spun around and headed back towards his tent. "Prepare for war! Tomorrow, we march on Troy!"

Present:

After Agamemnon's announcement, Perseus went back into his tent to meet with his brother and Zoë. As he walked in, Achilles clapped him on the back. "Good showing brother, you really embarrassed him. I think he pissed himself after the spear broke on your chest. Nevertheless, Zoë is safe."

Perseus chuckled. "I hope he tries again. It felt good seeing his face."

Achilles chuckled as they went towards the back of their tent. When they got to their beds, Zoë looked at them in shock, but mostly at Perseus. "You killed a man to protect me?"

"Not by choice," Perseus said with a shrug. "Agamemnon was threatening you, and he needed to be put in his place. Even though he is a king, he can't order me around."

Zoë looked back at him with shock, and then in fear. "You said that you own me now, right?"

Perseus shook his head convincingly. "Of course not, you are your own woman, and if I owned someone, my mother would surely kill me. No, I just had to make it look like it in front of the rest of the army."

"So, I'm free to leave?" Zoë asked shyly.

Perseus nodded and gestured to the entrance of the tent. "Yes, you are, but I would feel better and you would be safer if you didn't. You are your own woman, but you are very beautiful, and others might want to...exploit that, if you know what I mean."

Zoë cheeks started to burn at the compliment. She looked back at Perseus, who was looking straight at her.

"If you want, I can get you out of here in a few months. I know somewhere you can go that will accept you with open arms," Perseus said with a smile.

Zoë looked at him, with a smile on her face. "You...you would do that for me?"

"Of course," Perseus said. "I would never leave a woman helpless, and I feel like in the time we will spend together, I think we will become friends. And I would do anything for a friend."

Zoë broke out into a wide smile. "Thank you so much Perseus." As she said this, she jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. Perseus chuckled softly, before returning the hug. Zoë broke away from Perseus, her cheeks a bright red. Perseus saw this, but didn't mention it.

Perseus' face quickly shifted to a more serious expression. "I want to help you, but first, I need to know your story."

Zoë looked down, but quickly realized Perseus wouldn't judge her. He already scoffed at the fact that she was a daughter of Atlas, and he just shrugged it off. She started to retell her story from the beginning. She started to talk about her life as a Hesperide to her meeting Heracles, how she fell for the hero and helped him get past Ladon and retrieve a golden apple. How she gave him Anaklusmos and was abandoned by him, which led to her losing her immortality and being banished by her sisters. When she finished, a few tears rolled down her face as she recalled her life.

Perseus was silent for a few moments before reaching over and wiping the tears from Zoë's face. "If it's any consolation, I just killed one of Zeus' sons."

Zoë looked at him for a few moments, before punching him in the arm playfully while laughing. She was happy that she found someone in her banishment that was willing to help her, even if it was out of pity.

Perseus, as if reading her thoughts, said, "I don't pity you. I see someone who put their trust in the wrong person and got unfairly punished for it."

Zoë looked at the warrior with a smile on her face. "Thank you Perseus."

Perseus nodded. "You might have to bear with me for a while. I don't know if the idea that I have will work, so I need to ask my mother about it."

Zoë nodded, before looking at him with a scared expression. "What happens if you fall in battle?"

Perseus looked at her, before chuckling. "The chance of that happening is very low, I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" Zoë asked curiously.

Perseus lifted up his shirt. "Can you pass me a knife?"

Zoë nodded silently before giving him a knife from a table in the tent. Perseus stabbed himself in the gut, eliciting a shriek from Zoë. However, that was quickly forgotten as she saw the blade snap against his skin. She looked at him in shock. "How?"

"I like you," Perseus said. "But that information is only known between my brother and my mother, and it stays between us."

Zoë nodded in understanding before taking a close look at Perseus. He and his brother looked nothing alike. While Achilles had blonde hair and pale green eyes, Perseus had dark black hair and sea green eyes. His body was muscular, but lean, which she found attractive. She forced herself to look away. After all, the last time she looked at a man, she was banished.

"What about you? Who is older? You or Achilles? Also, why do you look so different from each other?" Zoë asked in quick succession.

Perseus tensed up, before calming down. He realized that she spilled her guts to him, while he barely told him anything about himself. "I was adopted by Thetis as a child. Ares was sent to kill me and my mother, and succeeded in killing her. However, before he did, my mother went to the sea to beg for protection from her lover. Thetis protected me from the war god and raised me as her own son. However, we don't know who is truly older."

Zoë's jaw dropped. "Poseidon's your father?"

Perseus' jaw clenched. "I have no father; I am a son of Thetis. Zoë, you must tell no one of my parentage. I beg of you."

Zoë nodded. "Of course I won't."

Perseus nodded his head in thanks.

"Why did you tell me your true parentage?" Zoë asked curiously.

Perseus looked back at her before shrugging. "You told me who you were and how you got here, so I thought it was only fair I told you mine."

Zoë was surprised, but nodded quickly, feeling happy that she wasn't being lied to by another man.

"Get some rest, I'll inform you when I leave in the morning," Perseus said gently.

"Where can I sleep?" Zoë asked.

Perseus patted the bed, making Zoë nervous again.

"Relax, I would never touch you on purpose. I'll bring in another bed for myself later."

Zoë was relieved, and nodded wearily before laying down on the bed. As Perseus started to get up and leave the tent, she said, "Thanks Perseus...for everything."

Perseus responded with a smile before exiting the tent.

While Zoë was drifting off to sleep, she couldn't seem to get a certain son of Thetis out of her mind, no matter how hard she tried.

AN: Hey guys. I just finished school, yay! Summer is here, so I will try to write more. However, I am in the middle of my college process, so I might not have all that much time to pump out chapters, so I'm sorry if I don't write more than twice a week, but I'll try to write a chapter at least every other day. Again, please let me know if you want longer chapters, I'll just have to take more time to write them. Thanks so much guys and please review!

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