I'm trying to update a little earlier for more reasonable hours. Christmas Break guys! More writing time! Yay! I've been trying to come up with a picture for Percy's tattoo. I'm sorry for all the spelling mistakes, I'm just typing really fast and wattpad doesn't like that, so forgive any mistakes or weird looking sentences please. I try my best because I freak out over the tiniest mistake and I've looked over my chapters and seen where wattpad was trying to catch up with me as I typed. Thank the gods there aren't as many as I thought there were going to be. I'll try and look it over before I post it to make sure, if I miss anything, I apologize. Guess what! i was given a gift fom one of my old friends today and it was a bracelet with a silver owl that has sapphire eyes! Isn't that a little ironic, but I love it!!!!!!!!!! EEK!!!!!!!!!!! I also was given a free hand pencil and colored in drawing of Asuna from SAO!!!!!!!! I completely freaked! It was from one of my other friends. I was so giddy today. I got to play Mortal Kombat and Injustice, Gods Among Us with a lot of friends instead of watching a movie. And I Christmas Caroled with my french class in the allways for teachers! It was a liad back day and I had so much fun! Now that I've gotten a little more excitement into my system, please welcome the next chapter, my lovely readers!
Chapter Fourteen: In the throne room of the gods, on Olympus.
Point of view: Perseus Jackson
Demeter holds out her hands and I hand her the Airia. Then she and Artemis head to their thrones and the rest of the gods flash into theirs. I kneel in front of Zeus's throne.
"And you are positive my son is ready for this, Artemis?" Zeus asks his daughter.
"Yes, father. He has proven himself worthy. He cares for the Hunt and I like we are his own. He abides by all rules and takes it upon himself to do any menialtasks so we don't have to. Things have become more fluent and easy since his presence has traveled with us. I wish to bestow upon him his title oficially and immediately." Artemis answers her father.
"As you wish it, so shall it be. Perseus Jackson." Zeus looks down at me.
"Yes, Lord Zeus?" I reply.
"You have already taken your oath and pledged yourself to Artemis and her followers. Now, as king of the gods, I must ask you. Will you continue to do so? Will you carry on the proud tradition of being the Guardian of the Moon and Hunt?" Zeus asks seriously.
"I solemnly swear to do so. I will keep fulfilling my position as long as I may live. I will never go back on my oath." I promise.
"Would you rather die?" Zeus continues.
"Yes, I would." I admit.
"Now, I will explain to you the full description of your role. First I must brand your skin with moonlight." Artemis hops down and shrinks as she comes before me. "Rise, my Guardian."
I straighten and I am towering over my patron. "What must I do?" I ask.
She looks up at me. "Follow me to my shrine and the gods will meet us there to witness it. I must lead you and you must have faith that I lead you in the right direction. Close your eyes and do not open them until I tell you. Give me your hand." She holds out hers.
I place my hand in hers and shut my eyes. "Do you trust me?" Artemis asks.
"Yes, my lady." I answer.
I feel her tug me and I let her pull me along. "Do you love the forest, the night, the stars?" She asks me as she leads me.
"I do." I say.
"Do you love the Moon?" Is her next question.
"Always." I tell her.
"And the Hunt?" She continues.
"Yes." I feel cold air rush over me and I feel an emptiness, like I'm floating over the ground. I feel weightless.
"Will you stay with me forever if I ask you to?" Artemis asks.
"I will." I nod and squeeze her hand.
"Do you still trust me?" Artemis wonders at me.
"Absolutely." I reply.
"Then open your eyes, Guardian." Artemis tells me.
I open my eyes to find Artemis and I are floating up above Oympus. We stand in the air, under the moon. I look down, but I do not fear the height. I feel at peace, more so than I have been in quite some time. My soul hums with power.
"Can you feel it? Your soul is calling to my domains. Joining with mine." Artemis whispers.
"Yes. I feel the woods all over the planet, I feel the moon churning the tides of the oceans and fresh water, the wolves that run in packs and the lone ones. I feel the weakening of the roots of the trees and the freezing night air. I feel you." I whisper in return.
"You are becoming a Guardian for life, Perseus. Your answer to one of my questions. I must ask you now. Will you stay with me forever?" Artemis asks, looking into my eyes.
"I will." I answer, staring right back, my gaze will not move from her eyes.
She puts her hand over my heart. "This will hurt. And it will hurt when I brand more. Moonlight is searing. Are you ready?"
"I am." I say and a silver light comes from her hand and I feel a burning sensation right where my heart is.
She moves her hand to my right shoulder and the light follows. We still look into each other's eyes.
"Turn around Perseus and trust that I mean no harm." Artemis says.
I nod, rip my gaze away from hers, and turn around. She lifts my shirt up and over my head and I hold it at my elbows. Her hands press into my back and I shiver. The burning heat moves up and down my back. I feel the light moving around and after a few minutes, the heat seeps from my back and Artemis turns me around.
"The picture your soul drew with the moonlight is more elaborate than I thought it would be. Would you like to see?" She asks me softly.
I nod and she holds out her hands. A mirror appears and I see it is a special mirror. "Show me my Guardian's soul drawing." Artemis whispers and I see my back in the mirror.
I look at the bright silver drawing etched into my skin. A moon is near my right shoulder blade, a cliff with a wolf howling up at the moon itself. The sea is below the cliff and swirls under the moon beams shining down upon them. The wolf is shining as bright as the moon, while the cliff and sea blend different shades of silver. The wolf's fur is golden and has the symbols of my patrons, the symbols of my father, and my own symbols. The symbols glow with the colors they bear when they are shown in real life. The moon holds the Airia in its clutches, in red and black. A man sits next to the wolf, holding a silver bow in his lap and has one hand resting on the wolf's back as he looks up at the moon. His other hand rests on his bow. He is outlined in black and his shadow is mixing with the wolf's. The stars shine in the constellation of the Huntress.
"That's on my back?" I ask hesitantly.
"It is. I realize now that I may have chosen the perfect guardian. Look at your heart, it holds the moon. Then your shoulder holds a trident for your father." Artemis says.
The moon over my heart is pure white and the trident marking my shoulder is royal blue. But there is a chain of silver and sea green connecting them. Two chains. The color of one is silver, the other sea green. Then I notice the difference about my body. My scars.
"You took away all my scars." I whisper in a small voice and slip my shirt back over my head.
"Are you mad?" Artemis asks confused.
Tears well in my eyes and I shake my head. She looks at me and I look back. I pul her into my arms and hug her. "Thank you. Again you have made me feel better. I don't know what else I can say." I tell her as the tears spill over and I shake with relief. "I can't be mad. You gave me back my missing pride."
She returns the hug. "You weren't missing your pride, you were missing your faith in yourself." Artemis whispers into my shirt.
"It doesn't matter now. I can leave my past behind. I can be free from the constant reminders of what happened." I say and I release her. She wipes the salty tears off my face.
"Did it hurt?" She asks me gently.
I shake my head. "No. Not really. Nothing will ever really hurt again, but I could feel the searing hot pain concentrated where the light touched."
"Let's head to my shrine. I must lead you again, but your eyes can remain open." Artemis tells me.
She lets us descend and we land in front of the throne room doors, where the gods all stand and she pulls me towards her shrine.
When we enter the shrine, I am blinded by the bright moonlight coming through the ceiling. She stops me and turns us around to face the door. "Perseus and I must finish the process alone." She declares and the door closes shut tightly.
Artemis takes me to another room and sits me down in a chair.
"You have to bathe in the light of the moon." Artemis states.
"How do I do that?" I ask curiously.
"Stepping into the realm of the Moon." She answers.
"Where is it?" I ask.
"Through that passageway." She motions to the door opposite of the one we came through.
"What am I doing now?" I ask.
"Listening to your duties. You already know two of them." She says.
"Which are?" I ask.
"Guarding and protecting the Hunt and I." Artemis says.
"And the others?" I ask gently.
"Bringing new recruits, never leaving my side without permission, sharing everything with me, no secrets from me, living with me on Olympus, you have to become a god, and I..." She sighs. "I have to ask you to go back on your personal oath." She says slowly.
"Anything else?" I ask.
"Well, yes. A lot more, but that comes as you settle into your position. You learn as you go." Artemis starts speaking faster, she's nervous.
"Which personal oath do you speak of?" I look at her.
"The one where you..uh.." Artemis blushes.
"Yes?" I gesture for her to continue.
"The one where you said you'd never love another woman!" She shouts quickly.
I just stare at her. She waves her hand in front of my face and I look into her eyes. "Why?" I ask quietly.
"Well, Selene was...intimate with her Guardian and well, another reason I swore off men was because I hadn't found a Guardian yet. And it is sort of...required." She coughs, turning more red with each second.
"So you're asking me to...?" I start.
"I'm asking you to be my mate. To put it bluntly." Artemis looks away at the wall.
"If I break my oath, then I'll be killed." I say.
"Zeus, well he talked to Lady Styx and she understood immediately. She released you of your binding not long after you made the oath." She puts her hands together in front of her.
"Oh. Why must I become a god? I'm already immortal, why am I required to be a god?" I ask.
"It has to do with becoming my...lover." Artemis whisper, barely audible.
"Was the last Guardian a god? Selene was a Titan, right?" I ask her.
"No, he was not a god, he was immortal like you are now. Because she was a Titan, he didn't have to become a god. We abide by a different set of Ancient Laws than the Titans do." Artemis answers.
"Okay. Why do I have to be...intimate with you?" I wonder.
"It is tradition." She says. "Do you feel nothing for me?" She asks, hurt in her voice.
"It's not that." I shake my head. "I've felt that way for you for a long time, but I was afraid of my life repeating. I have no qualms with it now. My oath was keping me away, not to mention I didn't think a maiden goddess would want anyone. Why is it tradition?"
She brightens and smiles at me. "I have to admit that I've been feeling this way for awhile. When did you start?"
"When I was with the Hunt for awhile. First I thought of you as my patron, then my mother, then my sister, now...I don't know what to call it. I didn't think I would view any girl like this again. I shadowed it with my memories. So I wouldn't be able to feel that pain again. I didn't want my history to happen all over again." I explain.
"Well, to answer you. It is tradition because of Ancient Laws and if you're going to be by my side forever and as the bearer of the Moon, I only feel this way about my Guardian. Orion drew me in with his skills. But I should have known better." Artemis shakes her head.
"So I have to marry you?" I ask slowly.
"Yes." She sighs.
"Won't you lose your Hunters?" I ask worriedly.
"No, it's only because you're my Guardian that I get to keep them. If it was another male, I would lose them as soon as I did...that." She explains. Her voice getting quieter the closer she got to finishing her thought.
"So, I need to bathe in moonlight, huh?" I change the awkward subject.
She looks up, grateful for the shift in conversation. "Yes. It will cleanse your soul. Any ties you have from your past life will be dropped. That means your fatal flaw won't feel the need to forgive anyone for their past mistakes. If we have any kids, they will either get personal loyalty or my fatal flaw as their own, or a mix." She makes me stand. "Uh, this might seem...weird, but you have to undress for this part and I have to go with you." She turns red again.
"Why?" I look at her confused.
"It needs to heal your body and I have to help heal you. So, I'm just going to lokk away. Thank Zeus I don't have to take my clothes off." She gives a sigh of relief.
"Like I said, it doesn't bother me. I just don't do it around people because it makes them uncomfortable." I chuckle at her reddening skin as she turns around.
"Just do it already. I'm not going to look until we are in the moonlight so I don't see you fully." She orders.
I laugh heartily and do as she asks. "What now?" I ask.
She holds out her hand and I take it. She takes us closer to the door, but stops before we can step in. She's looking in the other direction. "This won't hurt, it'll just feel like you're becoming a new person. According to Selene's Guardian."
"Uh huh. So, I'm technically being baptized?" I ask.
"Basically. Just in a different way than normal." She replies.
"Wonderful." I say and she walks into the moonlight, pulling me in behind her.
So, that felt weird to right. Hope you like it. All rights go to Rick Riordan for PJO/HOO. Tel me what you think, my lovely readers.