❛ 𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐒 ❜ ━━ 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐱 𝐎𝐂

𝐈𝐈

ᵇⁱᵃⁿᶜᵃ ⁻ ᶠⁱⁿᵃˡˡʸ ˢᵒᵐᵉ ᶠʳᵉᵉᵈᵒᵐ

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆.

THINGS WERE STARTING TO GET REALLY MESSED UP.

While Percy and those other people had been fighting the manticore, Bianca and Nico had run over to Menodora.

Bianca wanted to cry all the water out of her body. She tried to be strong for Nico, but the sight of Menodora's life slowly seeping out of her body was more weakness than Bianca could hide.

"I told you," Bianca mumbled, choking on her tears. She gently pushed her fist into Menodora's stomach, but hard enough to let Menodora know how pissed she was. "I told you you should've taught me how to fight! I could've done something."

Menodora laughed weakly. "I'm not dying, Bianca. It just hurts really, really badly. My goal is to get you away from harm. And that's what I did."

Nico layed his head on Menodora's lap and hugged her waist. "Do you feel better now?"

"A lot better. Thanks, Nico," she smiled, patting his head.

A warm hand slithered onto Bianca's shoulder. As if she were made of metal, the warmth flowed through her every vein, lifting her spirits. Artemis smiled warmly at Bianca.

"Is she going to be okay?" Bianca asked, watching as Menodora's eyelids faltered.

"Annabeth already did a great job with the ambrosia, but my Hunters will heal her," Artemis said. "Menodora is a true warrior."

"Wow," Nico breathed, letting go of Menodora. An aura embraced her body, slightly levitating her body above the ground. Coursing harmoniously with her limbs. Her cuts healed surely, and the wrinkles in Menodora's face smoothed.

That expression on Meno's face reminded Bianca of their countless days at the Lotus Hotel. When all three of them were happy, carefree and Menodora wasn't keeping secrets from Bianca and Nico.

Bianca wanted Menodora to float like that a little while longer; at peace. She didn't like this secretive attitude Menodora was starting to take.

The moonlight shone brighter when it collided with Menodora's face, reflecting its light through Mendora, making her skin glow.

Bianca wished the moon would make her glow. Bianca wished she could look that pretty. Bianca wished the moon loved her as much as it did Menodora. Even if it was a figment of her imagination.

A placid silence followed. Her body softly pressed into the ground, and the ground absorbed the moonlight.

"I suppose it's been taken care of." Artemis was the first to speak. It had physically made Bianca ache thinking of disrupting the stillness.

Zoë got on one knee, and bowed her head towards Menodora, who still limply laid against the soil.

The other Hunters followed her example, including Thalia and Percy.

A minute of this passed. Zoë got up and kneeled down next to Menodora, stroking her cheek.

"Okay, so," Bianca said. Everyone turned towards her, giving her their full attention. "Who... who are you people?"

"The better question to be asked, my dear," Artemis said, "is who are you? What's your parentage?"

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said banally. "Me and Nico—we met Menodora and ever since she has been taking care of us. We don't have any family, except for each other."

Everybody kept staring at her, as if to demand more information. "Uh... well, I suppose there's a bank trust that pays for our school."

Confusion and uncertainty was etched deep into their eyes. It made Bianca's skin feel too tight. "What? I'm not lying."

"You are a half-blood," Zoë said, not bothering too face Bianca. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"Olympian? As in an athlete?" Nico asked, genuine confusion lacing his tone.

"No, as in one of the gods," Zoë corrected.

"Cool!" Nico said happily.

"No!" Bianca countered. "Not cool! This is not cool! You mean more like Dr. Thorn have tried to kill us? And I don't imagine why they'd stop."

"Does Zeus really have a lightning bolt that does six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"

"Shut up, Nico!" Bianca yelled. "This isn't your stupid Mythomagic game! This is real life! There are no gods!"

Thalia, the girl with the black, spiky hair, attempted a smile, but it didn't come over as encouraging as Bianca would've hoped. "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."

"Dangerous? Like Menodora? I mean, this isn't the first time she came back looking rough," Bianca asked. "Like the girl who fell?"

Bianca hadn't seen it, but Percy's pleads were enough. Even Thalia turned her head away from Bianca, away from the cliff.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," Artemis said. "She was a brave maiden."

"Is," Percy corrected her in a hushed tone.

"If she can be found, I'll find her," Artemis promised.

"Then why won't you let me go and look for her?" Percy said, referring to the hunters holding him down.

"Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Your friend disappeared," Artemis said darkly. "Strange magic is at work."

"Oo!" 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 D.C.?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real. Even Meno didn't believe me!"

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. The boy that had been so friendly with them turned out to have hooves for feet? This was just a tad bit too unnatural for Bianca.

First, it was that manticore. Then, Menodora floating, which wasn't that unsettling, and now a boy with hooves?

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said, noticing Bianca's expression. "You're freaking her out."

"No..." Bianca muttered, trying not to be impolite. "Keep on... hooving."

"Bianca," Percy said. "We came here to help you. People like us need training to survive. You're lucky to have Menodora by your side. But both of you need to be able to fend for yourselves, too. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" Menodora's voice made multiple heads snap into her direction. Zoë Nightshade walked by her side.

"What camp?"

"Camp Half-Blood," Percy answered her. "It's where half-bloods learn how to fight and that type of stuff. You can join us, even stay year-round if you'd like."

"Sweet! Let's go!"

"Nico! Please, just—" Bianca snapped. "I don't..."

"There is another option," Zoë said, swiftly glancing at Menodora.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia retorted.

Zoë's expression hardened. Thalia and Zoë gladed at one another with as much hate as they could. It made Bianca a feeling she knew all too well—the feeling of feeling like an intruder in someone else's story.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis said. "Zoë, we'll rest for a few hours. Set up the tents and heal the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady," Zoë said, giving Thalia one last glare before walking towards the rest of the hunters.

"And, Bianca, Menodora, please come with me. I'd like to speak to the both of you."

Menodora smiled at Bianca, walking up to Artemis. Nico jumped up too and ran after Menodora, holding onto her hand.

"Dear boy," Artemis said, facing Nico; they were about the same height. "Why don't you show Grover that card game of yours? I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you while I speak with Bianca and Menodora. As a favor to me?"

Grover just about tripped over himself as he got up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Nico shrugged as he skidded over to Grover. He showed him the metal figurine he had been holding in his hand. They disappeared in the woods as they talked about hit points, armour ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff Bianca knew all too well about.

"Come with me," Artemis said, starting to walk towards the cliff.

"What do you think she wants?" Bianca asked Menodora.

"No clue," Menodora answered. "But don't be anxious. I'm right here."

As much as Bianca didn't want to feel like a burden to Menodora, those words reassured her.

"Tell me what happened," Artemis demanded.

"As in, the manticore?" Bianca asked.

"Yes, let's start there."

So, Bianca and Menodora told her all about it. By the time they had wrapped up their story, they arrived at a tent.

"You fought bravely, Bianca di Angelo," Artemis stated, entering the tent.

Unlike the cold air outside, the tent was warm and cozy. Pillows covered the ground, surrounding a blazing fire. The walls were clothed with animals pelts; black bears, tigers and several others Bianca didn't know.

The goddess placed her silver bow on an oak display stand. She sat down and urged the other two girls to follow her.

"Before you were here at Westover Hall, where were you?"

"A bit everywhere. We were first in Las Vegas before..." Menodora was cut off by surprise. A deer walked into the tent. It brushed its fury skin against Bianca and Menodora before laying its head on Artemis' lap.

"Don't worry about, Bambi, here," Artemis laughed warmly. "Please do continue."

"So, yeah," Menodora resumed, "this lawyer came to get us out of this hotel we were staying. That's when she told us we should go to Westover Hall. She gave us the address and then just left. That's when the first monster tried to kill us. A centaur. Ever since we've been travelling to Westover Hall, fighting monsters and stuff."

Artemis hummed. Her eyes seemed distant, as if she was recalling something from a far gone past.

"How long have you been at this hotel?"

Menodora didn't answer. She looked at Bianca. "Uh... maybe a week or so? Menodora was there before me and Nico got there."

"Yeah, I've been there for a couple of weeks. Maybe a month."

"You don't remember anything from before, do you, Menodora?" Artemis said with a sadness as fond as the ocean.

"Only snippets," Menodora said. "I have dreams about people from my past, but nothing special."

"Who do you remember?" Artemis asked.

"Just faces. A boy and a girl. I can't remember anything else. It's all really hazy."

"How did you remember how to fight then?"

Menodora shrugged. "By force of fighting monsters for months, it just... came back to me."

Artemis hummed again. She turned towards Bianca. "And you? What do you remember?"

"What?" Bianca had sort of zoned out during Menodora's explanation. "Oh, me? Nothing at all."

"Someone has tempered with your memories," Artemis muttered. "Alas, there's nothing I can do."

The deer groaned sadly, reflecting Artemis' feelings. "You know me in your memories," she said clearly, "but those memories do not belong to you anymore, Menodora DeLune."

"How—" Menodora was positive she had never seen this little girl before, and the only one to know her real full name was the Big Boss.

"DeLoon?" Bianca asked, confused. "Her last name is Smith." Menodora didn't look at her. "Right, Meno?"

Menodora didn't answer. Had she lied to Bianca?

"What do you even mean by that? Someone took our memory?" Menodora asked.

"Perhaps," Artemis said. "But I cannot be certain. I know Percy Jackson has said all three of you can go to camp, but there are other options."

Bianca's eyes lit up. She had a faint idea of what Artemis might ask.

"I want you to become a hunter. Leave this life behind. You can come and hunt with us for as long as you wish. Of course, you can also go to camp, but I'd appreciate your company."

Become a hunter. The hunters fascinated Bianca; the way they handled their bows, they're femininity, they were just so cool. No annoying brothers, no one mortal to depend upon.

Bianca could already imagine the friends she would make. Roaming the woods, killing bad guys and just being appreciated. Bianca recalled Annabeth's admiration; she wanted to be admired.

"And Nico will just be at camp? Safe?" Bianca asked.

"Yes," Artemis said, "Chiron and the other campers will welcome him as family."

"You're not actually taking this into consideration?" Menodora said, furrowing her eyebrows at Bianca. "We can't just leave Nico behind."

"Nico can't always depend on you, Menodora. He needs to find his own path," Artemis said.

"Nico is barely ten! He's a child. A child has no business 'finding his own path' alone!" Menodora said. "The offer sounds lovely, but I'm not leaving Nico to fend for himself."

"I understand it's a lot, but just think about it." Artemis said, before getting up and walking out of the tent.

Bianca loved Menodora like a sister. She'd die for her, if it ever came to that. Nonetheless, Bianca hated Menodora for assuming she had to protect her and her brother all the time. Bianca was eternally grateful for it, but it made her feel bad. It made her feel bad that she was the reason Menodora couldn't catch a break.

"How can you even say no?" Bianca mumbled. "You love archery! And this could be a new start for us."

"For us. What about Nico? Already this year, it was so hard for him to make friends."

Bianca sighed. "That's because everyone is weirded out by his obsession with Mythomagic. Grover and Percy seem to like him."

"Please," Menodora scoffed. "Only because Artemis forced Grover too, and because Percy wants new campers."

Bianca was about to protest, but Artemis came back into the tent.

"Something dark is among us," Artemis said as she sat back down. "I have a bad feeling. I fear for our future."

Bianca and Menodora exchanged questioning looks.

The tent entrance ruffled, revealing Percy. He seemed troubled. His black strands of hair clinged onto his damp skin. Bianca supposed it had to do with Annabeth tumbling off the cliff.

"Percy Jackson," Artemis announced.

Percy just persed his lips into a small smile. He stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before Menodora tugged at his pants and urged him to sit down.

"Surprised by my age, I'm sure," Artemis laughed, playing with a braid in her hair. "I can be a grown woman, or a blaze of fire. But I prefer this. It's the average age of my hunters before they... go astray."

"Go astray?" Percy asked.

"Get smitten with boys. Become foolish, and insecure. They lose themselves. Sometimes in memory."

Bianca had a feeling she was talking about her and Menodora, but she didn't elaborate.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said, noticing Zoë glaring at Percy. "It is very rare for us to have boys in our camp. It's usually forbidden for boys to have contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp..." She turned to Zoë. "Which one was that again?"

"The boy from Colorado?" Zoë grinned. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Right," Artemis smiled, as if an old memory resurfaced. "I quite enjoy making jackalopes. Come what may, Percy Jackson, I've called you here so you can tell me more about the manticore. Menodora and Bianca have informed me of the... disturbing thing he has said. But, they may not have understood them as much as you would. I'd like to hear them from you."

So, Percy told her.

Honestly, Bianca preferred her and Menodora's watered down version where it didn't mean more killing monsters.

When Percy had finished, Artemis thoughtfully put her hand on her silver bow. "I feared that was the answer."

Zoë sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" Menodora asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at Percy intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"

"No, no. After that."

"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to Percy," Menodora intervened. Zoë's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand. "Go on, Percy," the goddess said. 

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot—"

"Stirring," Bianca corrected. "Yeah. And then he said something like 'soon we will have the most powerful monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus'"

The goddess remained as still as a statue.

"Maybe he was lying," Percy offered. Menodora frowned at him, nonverbally saying 'what the actual fuck, man.'

"No, he was not," Artemis mumbled. "I have been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

Zoë's eyes flickered with fear, but she quickly pulled herself together and put on her brave face. "We will leave right away, my lady."

"No," Artemis countered. "I must do this alone. It is far too dangerous for my Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

Zoë seemed like she wanted to protest, but she swallowed her words. "As... as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I will bring it back to Olympus by Winter Solstice. I pray that will be enough proof to convince the Council of the Gods how much danger we're in."

"Can goddesses pray?" Percy asked. Menodora frowned at him again.

Artemis dismissed his question. She gripped her bow and stood up. She looked way too brave for a thirteen year old girl, and maybe even too brave for a goddess. Bianca admired her. Artemis reminded her of Menodora.

"Before I go, Percy Jackson, I ask of you a favor."

"Does it involve becoming a jackalope? Or a guinea pig?"

"Guinea pig?" Zoë and Menodora muttered in synchronisation.

"Sadly, no. I want you to escort my Hunters to Camp-Halfblood. They can await my arrival in safety there."

"What?" Zoë blurted out. "We can't go there! You remember what happened last time!"

"Yes. But it is your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. On top of that, I heard that they rebuilt the cabins you burnt down."

"Thanks to whom? Those foolish campers," Zoë grumbled under her breath. Bianca wasn't sure if everyone heard it, but she definitely did.

"And now, there is one last decision to be made." Artemis turned to Bianca and Menodora. "Have you made up your minds?"

Bianca hesitated. This new life she had been proposed sounded delightful; she could learn how to fend for herself and for Menodora and Nico. Yet, as annoying as he was, the thought of leaving Nico behind bothered Bianca.

"I'm thinking about it."

"Wait," Percy said. "Thinking about what?"

"They... they've invited us to join the Hunt," Bianca said, filling the silence Menodora was supposed to.

Menodora didn't seem as courageous when the Hunt was mentioned. Bianca wondered if she and the Hunt had some history with one another.

"What? But you can't! You have to come to camp so Chiron can train you! It's the only way you can learn to survive."

"It's not the only way for a girl," Zoë countered.

Percy looked at Menodora, but he only saw her hair curtain her face.

"Camp is cool! We've got pegasi, basically these flying horses. And there's a sword-fighting arena, and... I mean what do you get from joining the Hunt?"

"First of all," Zoë started. "Immortality."

Percy's jaw dropped, literally. "Come again?" Percy turned to Artemis. "She's kidding?"

"Zoë 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?" Percy asked.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up. To never get married. To remain a maiden forever."

"Just like you did..."

Artemis nodded.

"So, what?" Percy said. "You just go around the country recruiting half-bloods to join—"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoë interrupted Percy. "Lady Artemis doesn't discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Mortals, nymphs, half-bloods—"

"And which one are you?" Percy asked.

Anger flashed into Zoë's eyes. "That is none of thy concern, boy. The point is, Bianca may join if she wishes to. It is her choice."

"This is crazy, Bianca," Percy stated. He started talking about Nico, as if Bianca hadn't considered that a hundred times.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis reassured her. "But you will be free of responsibility. So will you, Menodora. Nico will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. How she wanted that. A place where she wasn't in the middle. A place where everyone was in the middle, together. "And free of responsibility?"

"Bianca, you can't do this! It's nuts!" Percy protested.

Bianca ignored Percy; he was really starting to annoy her. She turned to Zoë. "Is it really worth it?"

Zoë smiled kindly. "It is."

"What do I have to do?"

"Just repeat after me," Zoë said. "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"

"I... I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

Menodora snapped her head in Bianca's direction. Her eyes shone with sorrow, as if the moon was shining through her pupil.

"Bianca," she muttered. Bianca had never heard someone that desperate. Even the countless of homeless people they had lived among sounded more joyful. "Don't do this."

Bianca's eyes stinged, tears threatening to fall, but she didn't look at Menodora.

"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

Bianca repeated the lines.

Nothing special happened. Bianca almost felt disappointed. "That's it?"

"Yes. Now, if Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, it's binding."

"I accept," Artemis said.

A hot feeling rushed through her veins, like stallion-ants ravaging through her. "I feel... stronger."

"Welcome, sister," Zoë said, although Bianca caught her glancing at Menodora.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis reminded her. "It is now your life."

Bianca thought she'd get rid of the bitter feeling in her mouth as well, but it remained. Nico's going to be fine, she reassured herself. Just fine.

a/n
Everytimr i write menodora, it suggests menopause 😭😭😭

what do you think menodora's fav color would be?

I already know the answer, but i'd like to hear from u guysss

alr cya next chapter

-mae