This is set after the Titan's Curse, but might have some parts of the Labyrinth in it too. Very much a ThaliaxLuke romance. Emphasis on romance. Lots and lots and lots of it. There will also be stuff from the others -- I don't know what or when yet, since I only have a very basic outline.

Hope you enjoy!

Lizzy, the Ink Stained Quill

Thalia: At the Cliffs By the Sea

"Hunters!" Artemis called, her voice breaking. "Retreat!"

As one, we turned from the cliff side, and our enemies pursued us along the steep cliff's edge. There were too many of them against us to continue. Under my breath, I bitterly cursed Luke. How could he have done this? Became so cruel and unfeeling. Seven Hunters lay on the ground behind us, never to rise again. I tried to convince myself that the tears I couldn't seem to hold back we for them, tears of rage not of sadness.

"Elena!" cried one of the newer recruits, Katereen. I turned to the look back. Little blond Elena, barely old enough to be a Hunter at all stumbled as a hellhound nipped at her heels. Without a thought, I sprinted back to help her. The instant the hellhound saw Aegis, it fled in the opposite direction: right over the cliff.

Suddenly I was morbidly curious; Would it land directly on the Princess Andromeda's decks, or into the ocean? As Elena scrambled after the others, I checked to be sure that our pursuers weren't too close, then peered over the edge. I could see nothing but the rolling waves and Luke's ship, far below. I made to turn away, but something caught my attention.

There was a blur in the air and a familiar whine, then a sickening impact as the arrow hit my right shoulder. Pain made stars dance before my eyes. I fell to my knees.

"Thalia!" I heard one of the Hunters -- maybe even Artemis herself -- cry, before I pitched forward over the cliff, blood seeping from my wound.

I wish I could have died for something better then idiotic curiosity! I thought. I wish--

I passed out.

-

When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a bed.

How strange, I thought. I didn't think there were any beds in the underworld.

And I was warm too. I struggled to sit up, then winced as pain sparked in my shoulder. The arrow had been removed.

It was dark, very dark. And there was someone else in the room. I could hear the deep, even breaths of a sleeper, slightly out of sync with my own. Instinctively my lungs took up the rhythm. More gingerly this time, I sat and swung my legs out of the bed. The grime of battle had been cleaned from my clothes and my hair, grown out since I joined the Hunters, was loose and untangled.

Carefully, I stood, feeling around for any kind of weapon. Bed . . . bedsheets . . . nightstand . . . water pitcher . . . glass . . . lamp . . . . Nothing of much use. I could use the lamp as a club, of shatter the pitcher and glass, but neither option would help me much in the long run. Shards of glass would be as likely to hurt me as anyone I attacked, and a club would need a lot of force behind it, and at close range too. Not a good option with my dominant arm wounded.

Ha! I thought as I felt along the floor and my fingers touched something. The tip of a sword sheath.

A sword belonging to whoever was in the room with me, someone I probably didn't want to wake up.

Gritting my teeth, I felt up the sheath to where it fastened at the sleeper's belt. The person was sitting in a chair, so I'd have to bend around the arm like --

My wound burned with fire like white lightning and an involuntary cry burst from my lips. The sleeper stirred. Lightning! I thought weakly as sparks danced before my eyes. Why didn't I just use lightning?

"Thalia?" The voice came from nowhere, or somewhere in the dark.

I jumped back in surprise, my battlefield instincts telling me to move move move! Unfortunately, my backwards leap sent me straight into the nightstand and down with a clatter. I held perfectly still as my shoulder screamed and my vision grayed out, seeing it I was going to fall unconscious again. After a few minutes, the ringing in my ears faded, and I realized that someone -- the sleeper probably -- had picked me up, was talking to me.

"-- should have let me know you were awake in a less spectacular manner. " he said in a familiar husky voice. "But that would be going against the grain, wouldn't it. You never have done anything by half, Thalia."

He laid me down on the bed again, and at last I caught my breath enough to gasp out a single, shocked word.

"Luke?"

To be continued . . .

I still haven't decided how . . . intense I want to make this story. You tell me -- intense or really intense? And yes, I am into cliffhangers! -- Lizzy