Chapter 17: I Miss You
THALIA POV
It had been three days since the attack that resulted in Percy's capture and I was still a wreck. My eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying, I hadn't eaten much, and sleep escaped me. I took it upon myself to make sure that the little ones took care of themselves. They refused to leave each others' sides, not that it was much different before, but I even had to set their tent up so all six of them could sleep together. If you walked by their tent at night, you could hear the faint sobs and sniffles.
Artemis didn't seem to be doing much better than me, which was bizarre. She and Percy had certainly become friends over the nine months since his position as Guardian, but I didn't expect her to be so distraught. 'I'll have to talk to her about it later,' I thought as we arrived at CHB.
Chiron ran up and approached us, "Welcome, Lady Artemis. It's always an honor to have you," he said and glanced around the blank faces of the Hunt. "Milady, where is your Guardian?" he asked and Estelle and the little ones couldn't hold back their tears. They all ran to Artemis' legs and hugged her fiercely. That's another thing I've noticed; Artemis has been spending more time in her 18-year-old form. Never when we're hunting, but every other time she is.
I noticed Artemis crouch down to hug them and the tears were threatening her eyes as well. I looked at Chiron and shook my head sadly. He seemed to age another thousand years. "Right, well. Get settled in and we'll call a meeting," he said and I nodded and thanked him.
3RD PERSON POV
The immortals of the camp sat down at the ping pong table along with the head counsellors, Thalia, and Lady Artemis herself. Chiron sat at the head of the table. Before he could begin the meeting, Annabeth interrupted. "Where's your Guardian?" she asked and Thalia visibly flinched at the lack of use of his name.
"He's in Tartarus," Artemis said quietly, not looking at any of them. "WHAT?!" everyone yelled. Everyone but Annabeth. Annabeth had tears in her eyes and her hand covering her mouth, shaking her head. Thalia just looked at her and nodded, then the tears flowed freely. "How?" Jason croaked, and the two hunters recounted the ambush.
"Okay, so what's the plan? How are we going to get him back?" Leo asked this time, albeit shakily. "We're not. We've been ordered to stay at camp for the Hunt's safety and to boost your defences in case they attack here again," Artemis said and everyone was outraged. "What the fuck do you mean we're not going to get him?" Nico, who Thalia sent word to immediately after she recovered, said in a steeled tone.
"Apollo said he'd get out on his own. So we'll wait and have faith in him until then. And be ready for any attacks," Artemis said, though she sounded like she was still trying to convince herself. Annabeth was shaking with rage at this point and the unexpected happened.
*SMACK*! Annabeth slapped Artemis and left a handprint on her cheek. "This is all your fault. If you had been better prepared and took care of your hunters like you're supposed to, he wouldn't be back in FUCKING TARTARUS!" Annabeth voiced, the volume getting louder with each word. Nobody moved or made a sound.
"My fault? I wasn't the one to break his heart and set him on the path to becoming Guardian of the Hunt. That was you. You pushed him away. Don't let your pride make you forget that," Artemis' voice was the same cold and emotionless tone that Percy so often used, it sent goosebumps throughout everyone in the room.
Artemis turned to leave and spoke one last time, "I will overlook this incident Annabeth Chase. For I know what you meant to my friend. But speak out of line or touch me again, and I won't hesitate." Thalia offered a sad smile to everyone in the room before also disappearing. There was a long awkward silence until Leo tried to lighten the mood, "Lady Artemis, the biggest man-hater of all time, called Percy her friend. What can't the guy do?"
He got a dry chuckle out of Jason and some of the other counselors and Piper went up to Annabeth and wrapped her in a hug. "Leo's right. Percy can do anything. He'll make his way back again," she said with thinly veiled charmspeak and the meeting concluded.
ARTEMIS POV
I stormed out of the meeting and went straight to the beach. The son was coming down and the sunset was beginning to look like it was trying to set fire to the ocean itself. 'I wish Percy were here. He'd love this,' I mused as Thalia approached me.
She sat down next to me on the sand. "Everything okay, Milady?" she asked and I chuckled humorlessly. "No. The daughter of Athena was right. I should've been more prepared and I feel like an utter failure. And now, they have the one respectable male on the planet. My first and only male friend, doing Zeus knows what to him," I huffed and felt the tears sting my vision again.
"It isn't your fault. If anything it's mine. They appeared right from underneath us when we were in the field. I was there. It's my fault," she said and I just looked at her. "I don't blame you, Thalia. And neither does Percy. I've known him long enough now to know that at least, so don't blame yourself," I said and she nodded before looking at me again.
"Did you just call him 'Percy'?" she asked and started to smirk. I rolled my eyes at her, "Yes. I did just admit he is my first and only male friend. He makes me call him 'Percy' when we're alone." Thalia sported a knowing smile and said, "Alone? With a male?" I immediately blushed, but forced it down nearly as quick.
"Just teasing, Milady. That Kelp-Head can get anyone to like him," she said and I smiled as I thought about how our friendship started. "Yes, that Sea Sponge is always full of surprises," I said as I smiled wistfully, thinking of the night months ago where he played guitar. "Sea Sponge? I didn't know you had a nickname for him, Milady," Thalia replied and I blushed in embarrassment again, this time harder to hide. "Well, he insists on calling me Moonlace, so I needed one to fight back," I said and immediately regretted it.
"Oh Gods," Thalia gasped. I whipped around my head to look at her, "What?" "You have a nickname for each other and he hasn't been turned into a furry critter... he's your only male friend..." she trailed off. "Oh my Gods! Milady!?" Thalia whisper yelled. "What, Thalia?" I said, really unsure where she was going with all this. "You have feelings for Percy!" she whispered yelled again and I froze.
"You have feelings for Percy!" echoed in my head. 'No I don't! Me, A maiden Goddess?! Impossible!,' one side of my brain argued. 'Hey now, you do like spending time with him. You admire how he treats all women he comes across, especially the hunters. You secretly like the nicknames he gives you. And you're far more distraught than you should be for a male,' the other side countered back
'I'm distraught because he is a friend,' side A thought. 'But he's your only male friend and possibly your best friend since Zoe,' side B countered. 'He probably doesn't reciprocate those feelings because of the Athena spawn anyways,' side A again. 'Aha! So you care if he reciprocates those feelings or not. Just admit it: you're smitten with him,' side B provided.
'Shit! Thalia's trying to get your attention,' both sides said simultaneously. I came back to Thalia snapping her fingers in front of my face. "Milady?" she asked and I blinked several times. "Yes, sorry I was lost in thought," I said and she smirked. "So you do like him," she said more as a statement this time. I rose from the sand as the blush rose to my face. "Don't be ridiculous, Thalia. He's just my friend and he has a job to do. I can't have him getting lazy like the rest of the male species," I said and walked off to the cabin.
3RD PERSON POV
The thought on both hunters' minds as Artemis left and Thalia stared at the ocean a bit longer was the same. 'I miss you, Percy. Please come home.'
APHRODITE POV
'Omg. Omg. Omg! Arty finally entered my domain. AHHHH! It's not big or grand yet, but something about this one feels different from others. I wonder who it is. Probably that Guardian of hers.'
'Mmm. Percy Jackson. Talk about a man. That strong warrior/swimmer's build. The flowing black hair. Those gorgeous emerald eyes. And a smile that rivals Apollo's. AH! I can feel myself heating up just thinking of him. I'd do anything just to climb him like a tree and have him pound me into orgasmic bliss.'
Those were my thoughts and I had the free time, so I let my thoughts of the hottest demigod hero of this generation roam free while I... had some me time.
3RD PERSON POV
While it had only been three days on Earth, it had been a year in Tartarus. Kronos, in an effort to break Percy's spirit, had told him how differently the time flows. Apparently, one month on Earth is a decade in Tartarus. So from Percy's perspective, he endured the last year of torture. Kronos and Polybotes visited him the most out of everyone.
His body was still riddled with so many scars and cuts and bruises, that had his face not been left alone, he would be unrecognizable. They broke his bones everyday and then dumped saltwater on him to heal him. He lost count of how many times they had snapped his arms and crushed his knees. He was immune to the pain by now. He didn't scream. He didn't protest.
All he did was sit there and tongue lash his tormentors. Picking on any little thing he could to get under their skin and make them angry. It gave him a sense of accomplishment; something he longed for from being chained up.
A year turned into seven in the blink of an eye. The physical torture did nothing for Percy anymore. He sat there and belittled whoever it was that came to do it to him. Titan, Giant, monster; it didn't matter. They couldn't break the demigod's sarcastic nature. But during the seventh year, they switched up their tactics.
PERCY POV
I was dangling from my chains, when the temperature in the room dropped. I wearily picked my head up and saw the embodiment of the Pit appear before me. I chuckled dryly, "Fancy seeing you here," I said and he cackled back in response, "Are you enjoying your stay, mighty hero?"
"Ehh, the service could be better. Kronos smells like shit and Polybotes is dumb as a sack of bricks. Otherwise, I can't complain," I said sarcastically. He chuckled again. "That sense of humor will be the first thing we break, demigod." I rolled my eyes, "No. The first thing you broke was my left arm. Dumbass." He reached out and smacked me, turning my head to the side.
When I looked up again he was gone, and Kronos and Polybotes were back. "What'll it be today boys?" I asked cheerfully, and got three small cuts on the right side of my chest making a "K". I looked at him in the eyes and said, "I know we've been together for seven years now Grandpa, but isn't that going a bit too fast?" He punched me in the jaw in response.
I spat blood at him and smiled as he placed a hand on the "K" and muttered some words. I stiffened. "What the fuck did you do?" I asked in a steeled tone. "I cursed you, Grandson. From now, until the end of your days, you will never get more than three hours of sleep. And I doubt that the dreams will be pleasant," he said and began laughing evilly.
"Today we begin your psychological torture. Physical means aren't really working anymore anyways. We'll still do it, but we want you to break, Jackson," Polybotes yelled in my ear. Then they forced something down my throat and my vision faded into unconsciousness.
3RD PERSON POV
It had been three weeks since Percy's capture and Camp was still in disarray. Activities still continued like normal, but no one's heart was truly in it. The Hunt trained everyday they were there. Estelle had joined the campers sword classes that Jason taught so she could continue her training.
Every night, Artemis found herself somewhere where the moon meets the tides. She gave Diana the Moon Chariot to perform the duty and Diana agreed seeing as Artemis was closer to Percy. The two aspects were remarkably similar, but Artemis was friends with Percy, not Diana. At least, not yet.
She would go to these places and reflect on all of Percy's time with the Hunt. How the two had become friends and all of their talks together. She came to realize that she does have feelings for him, considering he was all she thought about during the day.
She hadn't told anyone, nor did she plan to. She still hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Apollo, but she understood that it was for him to decide if and when they would. So if she wasn't reminding herself that Apollo would come around, she was reminding herself that Percy would come back to her. To her and the Hunt.
'I miss you, Percy. Get your ass back already, Sea Sponge,' she thought as she looked over the ocean at the moon's reflection.