𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋.
her eyes remained focused on the cliffside annabeth had just been tossed into.
everybody else was shocked.
grover knelt in the snow. "thank you, lady artemis! you're so.. you're so.. wow!"
"get up, goat boy!" thalia snapped. "we have other things to worry about. annabeth is gone!"
"i'm gonna jump after her." cherry nodded, going along with the first plan she came up with.
"not a good idea." bianca di angelo said. "hold up. time out."
everybody looked at her.
she pointed her finger at everybody in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots.
"who.. who are you people?" bianca questioned.
artemis's expression softened. "it might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? who are your parents?"
bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at artemis.
"our parents are dead. we're orphans. there's a bank trust that pays for our school, but.." bianca faltered, with a huff, seeing as they didn't believe her. "what? i'm telling the truth."
"you are a half-blood," zoe nightshade said, in her old-timey accent. "one of thy parents was mortal. the other was an olympian."
"an olympian... athlete?"
"no. one of the gods."
the siblings had two completely different reactions.
"cool!" nico spoke, face brightening up.
"no!" bianca's voice quavered. "this is not cool!"
"does zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? does he get extra movement points for-" nico began to inquire.
"nico, shut up!" bianca put her hands to her face. "this is not your stupid mythomagic game, okay? there are no gods!"
percy was anxious, and clearly a little sad.
he'd been the same when he found out he was a demigod.
cherry remembered it vividly.
"bianca, i know it's hard to believe. but the gods are still around. trust me. they're immortal. and whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well.. our lives are dangerous." thalia explained.
"dangerous." bianca said. "like the girl who fell."
thalia turned away.
even artemis looked pained.
cherry bit down on her lower lip.
"do not despair for annabeth," the goddess said. "she was a brave maiden. if she can be found, i shall find her."
"then why won't you let us go look for her?" percy asked.
"she is gone. can't you sense it, son of poseidon? some magic is at work. i do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished." artemis told him.
percy was beginning to like cherry's idea of jumping after annabeth.
he wanted to search for her.
he had to.
"ooh!" nico raised his hand. "what about dr. thorn? that was awesome how you shot him with arrows! is he dead?"
"he was a manticore," artemis said. "hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. they re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."
"or they'll hunt us." thalia said.
bianca di angelo shivered. "that explains. nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in dc?"
"and that bus driver." nico said. "the one with the ram's horns. i told you that was real."
"that's why grover is watching over you." cherry explained to them.
"to keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods." percy finished her sentence with ease.
"grover?" bianca stared at him. "you're a demigod?"
"well, a satyr, actually." grover kicked his shoes off to display the goat hooves.
bianca seemed to be on the verge of fainting.
cherry could laugh, if she wasn't still eyeing the edge of the cliff.
thalia motioned grover to put his shoes back on.
"bianca." percy said. "we came here to help you. you and nico need training to survive. dr. thorn won't be the last monster you meet. you need to come to camp."
"camp?" bianca asked.
"camp half-blood." percy told her. "it's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. you can join us, stay there year-round if you like."
"sweet, let's go!" nico was quick to agree.
"wait." bianca shook her head. "i don't-"
"there is another option." zoe said.
"no, there isn't!" thalia said.
thalia and zoe glared at each other.
they seriously hated each other.
cherry and percy made eye contact, sharing the same bewildered look.
"we've burdened these children enough." artemis announced. "zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. raise the tents. treat the wounded. retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."
"yes, my lady." zoe answered.
"and, bianca, come with me. i would like to speak with you." artemis motioned.
"what about me?" nico asked.
artemis considered the boy. "perhaps you can show grover how to play that card game you enjoy. i'm sure grover would be happy to entertain you for a while, as a favor to me?"
grover almost tripped over himself getting up. "you bet! come on, nico!"
nico and grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch
of other geeky stuff.
artemis led a confused-looking bianca along the cliff.
the hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.
zoe gave thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.
"the nerve of those hunters! they think they're so.. argh!" thalia stomped over to cherry and percy, who were in the middle of a conversation.
"i like them." cherry frowned. "i just wish we could do something about annabeth without them saying anything."
"i'm with you." percy agreed with the black-haired girl. "i don't trust-"
"oh, you're with me?" thalia turned furiously. "what were you thinking back there in the gym, percy? you'd take on dr. thorn all by yourself? you knew he was a monster!"
"if we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the hunters getting involved. annabeth might still be here. did you think of that?" thalia continued to yell, her eyes moving to cherry.
percy's jaw clenched.
cherry could practically hear the insults swirling in his head.
something navy blue lying in the snow at his feet distracted him. it was annabeth's new york yankees baseball cap.
thalia didn't say another word.
she wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off.
« ───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───── »
the hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes.
seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire.
one of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. they began circling the camp like guard dogs.
the hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid. falcons watched them from the trees.
percy and cherry stuck together, next to the tents.
the air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling.
guilt weighed them down.
percy couldn't believe annabeth was gone. he had a terrible feeling that she was right.
that it was his fault she was gone.
cherry was in complete denial.
eventually, one of the hunters brought over two bags. percy's backpack, and cherry's purse. she clearly liked cherry much better, because she handed her both bags and left without even looking at percy.
cherry giggled.
with the things inside of her purse, she helped percy heal up his wounded arm.
the girls warm touch seemed to make percy melt.
her fingers traced the cut.
"there's ambrosia in the bag." cherry commented.
percy's entire body felt like jello.
he ate slowly. he found himself basically staring into cherry's soul between each bite.
was that what heaven felt like?
he was so tired.
he could imagine spending a lifetime with her, right then in that moment.
cherry was pretty. really pretty.
percy wasn't stupid, or course he knew that.
maybe he didn't say it out loud, but he definitely thought it. all the time.
if he looked at her for too long, percy knew he would crumble.
he was aware of the way he felt around her.
not for her.
around her.
he was attracted to her. he definitely was. he would never deny that.
but she was the goddess of love and beauty, of course he was gonna be attracted to her.
percy thought cherry was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen from the day they met. he'd chalked it up to her powers in a matter of hours.
grover and nico came back from their walk, just as cherry finished bandaging percy up.
nico took a seat beside them, rummaging through his own bag.
cherry pulled out a tube of lipstick.
nico held little battle replicas of greek gods and heroes. zeus had a lightning bolt, ares had a spear, apollo had a sun chariot.
"big collection." percy said.
nico grinned. "i've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! well, except for a few really rare ones."
"you've been playing this game a long time?"
"just this year. before that.."
"what?"
"i forget. that's weird. hey, can i see that sword you were using?"
cherry watched percy as she showed
to her, his soul was the epitome of perfection in a human.
not only that, but he was beautiful.
cherry valued beauty.
the soft blue of his eyes crinkled and shone with hues cherry could swesr she'd never seen before.
percy spoke softly as he explained to nico how riptide worked.
his hair was a sandy blonde color, and the waves of his hair fell perfectly against the top of his face.
"cool! does it ever run out of ink?" nico looked at the pen.
"uhm, well, i don't actually write with it." percy laughed a little, and the sound echoed in cherry's head.
"are you really the son of poseidon?"
"well, yeah."
"can you surf really well, then?"
"jeez, nico. i've never really tried."
"do you fight a lot with thalia, since she's a daughter of zeus?"
"uh.."
"is annabeth your girlfriend?"
that caught cherry's attention.
percy's eyes were wide.
he seemed to stumble on the first word of his sentence. he couldn't get any words. a light pink blush covered his cheeks.
"no." cherry answered.
the girl stormed away.
grover watched as the girl walked away, abandoning her belongings.
she was upset?
why would cherry be so upset about-
oh.
grover glanced at percy, who was frowning, watching the place the redhead had just been standing at.
percy was too stupid to figure out why she was so upset.
so was cherry.
if anybody had asked her, she couldn't have explained herself.
the forest was deep.
cherry had no idea where she was going, but she made her way towards the tents.
one of the hunters, zoe, peeked out of one of them.
"lady artemis wishes to speak with thee." she spoke.
cherry took her place inside the tent, as zoe went to retrieve percy.
cherry sat beside bianca, who was seated beside artemis.
the tent was warm and comfortable, with silk rugs and pillows covered the floor.
in the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke.
behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns.
a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, was resting
contentedly in artemis's lap.
cherry smiled in awe, which withered away the second percy entered the tent.
"join us, percy jackson," the goddess said.
percy sat across from cherry, on the tent floor.
artemis studied percy, and cherry easily recognized the uncomfortable look percy's face was decorated with.
"are you surprised by my age?" artemis asked.
"uh.. a little." percy shrugged.
"i could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else i want, but this is what i prefer. this is the average age of my hunters, and all young maidens for whom i am patron, before they go astray."
"go astray?"
"grow up. become smitten with boys. become silly, preoccupied, insecure. forget themselves."
"oh."
"you must forgive my hunters if they do not welcome you, it is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the hunters. the last one to see this camp.. which one was it?"
zoe stopped glaring at percy for just a moment.
cherry wanted to roll her eyes.
she definitely wasn't the male species number one fan, but she was percy's.
and percy was hers.
"that boy in colorado." zoe answered. "you turned him into a jackalope."
"ah, yes." artemis nodded, satisfied. "i enjoy making jackalopes. at any rate, percy, i've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. bianca has reported some of the.. disturbing things the monster said. but she may not have understood them. i'd like to hear them from cherry and you."
percy and cherry told them everything.
artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow when they finished speaking.
"i feared this was the answer." artemis frowned.
"the scent, my lady?" zoe sat forward.
"yes." artemis answered.
"what scent?" percy asked.
"things are stirring that i have not hunted in millennia." artemis murmured. "prey so old i have nearly forgotten. we came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one i seek. tell me again, exactly what dr. thorn said."
"i hate middle school dances." percy repeated.
"no, no. after that."
"uh, he said the general was going to explain things to us." cherry remembered.
zoe's face paled.
she turned to artemis and started to say something, but artemis raised her hand.
"go on." artemis waited.
"he was talking about the great stirring." cherry spoke. "soon we shall have the most important monster of all. the one that shall bring about the downfall of olympus."
artemis was as still as a statue.
"maybe he was lying." percy offered.
artemis shook her head. "no. he was not. i've been too slow to see the signs. i must hunt this monster."
zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "we will leave right away, my lady."
"no, zoe. i must do this alone."
"but, artemis-"
"this task is too dangerous even for the hunters. you know where i must start my search. you cannot go there with me."
"as.. as you wish, my lady."
"i will find this creature, and i shall bring it back to olympus by winter solstice. it will be all the proof i need to convince the council of the gods of how much danger we are in."
cherry looked at the floor.
percy tilted his head.
"you know what the monster is?" percy asked.
artemis gripped her bow. "let us pray i am wrong."
"can goddesses pray?" percy asked.
a flicker of a smile played across artemis's lips.
artemis stood up.
"before i go, i have a small task for you two." artemis ordered.
"does it involve us getting turned into something?" percy asked.
"sadly, no, though i do believe cherry would make an excellent hunter." artemis began. "i want you two to escort the hunters back to camp half-blood. they can stay there in safety until i return."
"what?" zoe blurted out. "but, artemis, we hate that place. the last time we stayed there-"
"yes, i know," artemis said. "but i'm sure dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. it's your right to use cabin eight whenever you are in need. besides, i hear they rebuilt
the cabins you burned down. and now there is one last decision to make."
artemis turned to bianca.
cherry knew exactly where she was going.
"have you made up your mind, my girl?" artemis asked her.
bianca hesitated. "i'm still thinking about it."
"wait." percy said. "thinking about what?"
"they invited you to join the hunt." cherry assumed.
"yeah." bianca nodded.
"what? but you can't! you have to come to camp half-blood so chiron can train you. it's the only way you can learn to survive."
"percy, if she wants too, she should be able to do it." cherry looked over at him.
percy huffed, a little upset that cherry wasn't on his side. "bianca, camp is cool! it's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and.. i mean, what do you get by joining the hunters?"
"to begin with.." zoe said, "immortality."
cherry nodded her head, and glanced over at percy.
"she's kidding, right?" percy asked artemis.
"zoe rarely kids about anything," artemis said. "my hunters follow me on my adventures. they are my
maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal, unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. or break their oath."
"what oath?"
"to foreswear romantic love forever. to never grow up, never get married. to be a maiden eternally."
"like you? so you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods-"
"percy, please stop talking." cherry begged.
"not just half-bloods," zoe interrupted. "lady artemis does not discriminate by birth. all who honor the goddess may join. half-bloods, nymphs, mortals-"
"which are you, then?" percy questioned.
"percy!" cherry huffed.
"what?" percy rolled his eyes.
"that is not thy concern, boy. the point is bianca may join if she wishes. it is her choice." zoe glared at him.
"bianca, this is crazy." percy said. "what about your brother? nico can't be a hunter."
"certainly not." artemis agreed. "he will go to camp. unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."
cherry wished percy would understand.
"you can see him from time to time," artemis assured bianca. "but you will be free of responsibility. he will have the camp counselors to take care of him. and you will have a new family. us."
"a new family." bianca repeated dreamily. "free of responsibility."
"bianca, you can't do this." percy said. "it's nuts."
cherry watched girls in front of her.
percy couldn't believe cherry was siding them, but it did make sense.
bianca looked at zoe. "is it worth it?"
zoe nodded. "it is."
"what do i have to do?"
"say this. i pledge myself to the goddess artemis.'"
"i.. i pledge myself to the goddess artemis."
"i turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt."
"i turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt. that's it?"
"if lady artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."
artemis spoke hee acceptance, and the flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room.
bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide.
"i feel.. stronger." bianca said.
"welcome, sister." zoe said.
"remember your pledge," artemis said. "it is now your life."
percy couldn't speak.
cherry didn't know wether or not to feel happy for her, or to be concerned.
a little bit of both.
"do not despair, percy jackson," artemis said. "you will still get to show the di angelos your camp. and if nico so chooses, he can stay there."
"great." percy spoke, with an aggravated tone. "how are we supposed to get there?"
artemis closed her eyes. "dawn is approaching. zoe, break camp. you must get to long island quickly and safely. i shall summon a ride from my brother."
zoe didn't look happy about the idea, but she nodded and told bianca to follow her.
bianca paused in front of cherry and percy. "i'm sorry, percy. but i want this. i really, really do."
then, she was gone.
"so." percy said, glumly. "we're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"
artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "yes, boy. you see, bianca di angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. it's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, apollo."