Apollo's Bet

Chapter 2

A Starlit Night

xXx

The date with Artemis had indeed been some experience.

Percy had expected it to fall flat on its face. Heck, at the time, he was already preparing himself mentally for life as a jackalope. What acorns he'd pick out at camp, which Gods to pull favours with to turn him back. It was no doubt what Apollo expected her to do.

Instead, what Percy had gotten was a pretty friendly one with a dignified, quirky, albeit rather short-tempered lady. Artemis showed a certain tenderness that he only saw her show to her Hunters. Especially when she looked toward Zoe's constellation. He never saw this side of Artemis, and couldn't help but be intrigued.

Still, it had been a month since then.

Ever since that day, Percy had included Artemis in his prayers, even sneaking her an offering or two in a few dinners. While he did smell the familiar fragrance of pine and even a little bit of spice from the sacrifices, it was about all he received. Other than that, it was completely silent, like nothing had happened at all.

Percy should have expected it. In all honesty, it had been quite a miracle that he had survived that day, especially after all the cheek he showed her and given her track record with the opposite gender.

Normally, he would understand that immediately and moved on, but Artemis made that promise.

'We should do this again.' She had said.

Sighing, Percy continued to glumly eat his dinner. He had managed to keep his word to Artemis, containing all events of the date from everyone… well, except his father.

And let it be known that this time, Percy Jackson had a valid excuse.

The huntress had pretty much marooned him there. Percy needed to get back to camp quickly. A long absence would mean questions he'd rather not answer. So he turned to the only one he could trust with the knowledge, which was his father.

It took some explaining, and making his father swear to the River Styx (twice for good measure) - which the flabbergasted Sea God did in the midst of nervous laughter - but he managed to get out of that sanctuary with the help of a few, very excitable Hippocampi.

He still remembered the Mist shrouding over the place - a certain blurriness, like water running down a glass wall, diluting the dark green of the sanctuary to the blacker surroundings. The Huntress constellation shined brighter than ever, as if to try to entice Percy to turn back and wait for Artemis' eventual return.

It pained him, until now. If he had stayed, would she have returned? Not that he knew. Well, he never really cared about another relationship, after the little thing he had with Annabeth. They were young, yes, but there was a spark there. He knew it. And it ran strong, until their duty set in to slowly snuff it all out altogether.

And duty was something Artemis had in spades. Inwardly shrugging, Percy quickly broke himself out of his thoughts, walking toward the campfire, where Chiron waved a greeting towards Percy, who returned it.

"Interesting coincidence, Percy," Chiron looked down at a few papers on his hand.

"Eh?" Percy tilted his head, wondering what the old centaur was on about.

"I've just received an iris message from Thalia," Chiron said. "The Hunt is coming this Friday."

Instantly, Percy perked up, but managed to control himself from doing anything he'd regret. "Uh, right. Why?"

"Well for starters, it's the third anniversary of Gaea's defeat," Chiron explained.

"Oh, right." Apparently, the Gods had planned for a pretty big party for the demigod heroes in Camp Half-Blood. Not that the demigods cared much for it.

After the war, everyone pretty much just wanted to be left alone.

"So, the whole Hunt's coming?" Percy almost wanted to hit himself for blurting out that question.

"Of course, the whole of the Hunt will attend," Chiron raised an eyebrow at his query, before adding. "Even Lady Artemis herself."

Percy nodded rather quickly and let out a muffled "right" when he heard Artemis' name, and then bit his lip as he saw Chiron slightly purse his lips and raise his eyebrow even higher. As always, the centaur had seen through him.

"Anything I should know, Perseus Jackson?" Chiron asked, his tail flicking.

Percy quickly answered. "No, no sir."

With that, the demigod quickly turned and went straight to his cabin, not daring to look back towards Chiron. He never even bothered to ask what the coincidence was about. Crashing on his bunk, Percy ruminated on the upcoming celebration event.

He started to remember the wars, and couldn't help but feel a clench in his chest as he remembered all the sacrifices that was needed, the sacrifices that a victory memorial couldn't do justice to. Closing his eyes, Percy started to slowly recite the names of each fallen hero that he could remember.

As he finally closed his eyes and uttered the last name though, he found himself seeing Artemis, her radiant face slightly slacked in slight sadness, though there was a hint of a smile on it. Her wavy auburn hair slightly blowing in the wind, and her silver eyes holding a tender gaze, Zoe's constellation beautifully reflecting off it.

Boy, was he in trouble. At this point, Percy wished he was still that dense fifteen-year-old he once was.

xXx

The Hunt came in with all the subtlety of an army of jackalopes raiding a carrot pantry. The silver and all the bows, and everything, not to mention Thalia squealing "SEAWEED BRAIN!" before nearly crushing him in an embrace he was sure not to forget for a while.

"Where's Annabeth?" Thalia asked, before letting out a sympathetic grimace. "Sorry."

I casually waved my hand. "It's alright, Thals. Anyway, she said she's coming in a bit; apparently she's still got a few matters to settle. Seriously, you all think we hate each other."

Thalia managed a smile, before catching up with Percy about the last few years. Apparently, the Hunt was worked much harder than before, as the Gods looked to finally finish off all their enemies in hiding. Percy didn't miss Thalia's large sigh, as she finished her story about the last hunt they did. Percy couldn't blame her; they were all tired of fighting.

"So, you guys still work together now?" Thalia asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, yeah. The Roman guys have been really great help in the recovering thing," Percy told. "Jason and Reyna work really well together in all of this."

"How about you?" The daughter of Zeus looked rather concerned.

Percy shrugged. "I stepped down. This was never my thing anyway."

"Right. Anyway, Lady Ar-" Thalia stopped, as the mandatory Hunter/Camper squabbling started. "Oh Gods. I'll talk to you later."

"Later, Thals!" Percy laughed, before he turned around and saw her.

Approaching him, was the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. Except that this time, she was in her child form, so Percy felt slightly weird. She gazed intensely right into Percy's eyes, and the demigod couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"It has been some time, Perseus," Artemis cordially said. "You're still alive."

"Of course, Artemis," Percy bowed slightly, to which she laughed slightly.

"There is no need to bow, hero," the Goddess tilted her head, before smiling slightly, a glint in her silver eyes that Percy couldn't quite place. "Well, I must take my leave. I hope you enjoy the party, Perseus."

As she left, Percy could feel his heart pounding. He almost didn't notice the scent of the sea - his father.

"How appropriate that we should hold such a celebration at the home of the true heroes," Poseidon broke into a proud smile.

Percy nodded at that - the Gods were finally acknowledging their children's contributions. It was a shame that it took a lot deaths and suffering for that to happen, but well, it was a start.

"Seaweed brain!" Thalia called. "The party's starting, come!"

Percy gladly obliged.

xXx

The party was rather rowdy, especially with Apollo blasting his music over the Hephaestus-grade boombox. It was a shame that Apollo had a quirky taste, resulting in Iris making a huge profit on the magical ear cotton that night.

Aphrodite was more bubbly than usual, giggling with her children as they gossiped. Even the normally stoic Athena sported a rare smile during the party, as she spoke to each and every child of hers.

The Gods were closer than ever to their children, and Percy could not help but raise a glass to Luke, and so many other of his friends, who had fought, and sacrificed for all this.

Annabeth had kept her promise, and by the gods, she could not stop rattling off or rather, gushing about her new projects and future plans. She was happy, and Percy knew that. And he could not help but feel happy for her. After all, she was his best friend.

The party went on and Percy found his throat becoming rather scratchy, after all the talking. Taking his leave for a bit, he went to a small crowd, where apparently there was a game going on. He saw a few grinning faces as he approached, and couldn't help but be curious.

"Percy! Percy! Percy!" A chant started to sound.

"Um, what's happening?" Percy asked, before being pushed into some sort of makeshift arena by a grinning Travis Stoll.

"A fight, then!" Chiron called, his voice commanding, but half-laughing as well. "Who will step in the arena with Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon and Hero of Olympus?"

There were a few cries, for Annabeth and Thalia, and even Ares. Clarisse especially wanted a rematch. Suddenly, the crowd was silent, as a familiar voice said, "I will."

With cat-like grace, the owner of the voice leaped into the arena, and Percy could hear a few gasps.

Percy could tell even Chiron was taken aback, but he managed to regain himself and say it anyway. "The challenge has been accepted, and she is Lady Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt!"

"Whoa there, try not to kill him alright, sis!" Apollo called.

"There will be no killing today – hopefully," Chiron sighed, before raising his voice. "The fighter who draws first blood, will win the match. No powers are allowed. Now, fight!"

'Oh gods.' Percy could barely hear his own thoughts over the roar of the crowd, as he pulled out Riptide and picked up a shield that was tossed on the ground. Looking at his new opponent, Percy couldn't help but observe- her knife flying to his face.

Quickly dodging, he rolled into position. Cursing himself for being distracted, Percy strafed, trying to watch Artemis' feet. He was confident that his shield would hold against her hunting knives, but didn't want to bet on it. Stabilizing, he dodged yet another thrust, before raising his shield to parry the follow-up.

Yet, he didn't notice the foot placed behind his ankle as he continued backing up. Tripping over and falling on his butt, he winced as he swiped his sword to deflect the two knives driving down toward his chest, and bashed his shield on Artemis to knock her off him. Artemis leaped back, a small smirk on her face.

Rolling to his feet, the son of Poseidon had almost no time to recover as he evaded, blocked, and parried a vicious series of attacks from the Goddess of the Hunt. His mind was on auto-pilot, as he deeply concentrated on trying not to be cut into little ribbons.

Percy knew he couldn't hold his defence for long. Artemis' strikes were growing in strength. Yet, her increasing aggression would also mean more openings. Percy hoped to bank on that, trying to frustrate her with his defensive style.

Suddenly stepping back, Percy had caught Artemis overextending to reach him, and he took the opportunity to counter-attack, sidestepping her thrust and slashed her across her torso- at least, he tried to. Artemis used her already tilted body to her advantage, and turned to dodge the slash, before viciously slicing her knife across Percy's cheek, who barely managed to dodge it.

Percy cursed. He was caught by surprise by Artemis, and almost lost it. She was two steps ahead of him, and had already planned a counter in advance. He had to stop giving her the initiative.

Instead of blocking her strike, Percy bashed his shield toward her, to which she yelped in relative surprise and leaped back. Seizing the opportunity, Percy changed his stance and charged, forcing her on the defensive.

And here, Percy noticed Artemis' brow furrowing. He had frustrated her, and he knew it. That said, he couldn't drag the battle for long. He was slowing down, and if he allowed her to continue her onslaught a moment longer, his defense would eventually break.

In a final push, Percy started slashing erratically towards Artemis. He was after all, the Son of the Sea. Unpredictability was his weapon, and Artemis believed in being patient, and calculating.

Then, he found his opening, when he did a bit of a mad move. Instead of avoiding and backing away from Artemis' frontal, fluid assault, he moved into it, his shield up to protect his head. The huntress was caught off-guard, and uncharacteristically took a step back, a mistake which the veteran noticed, before slicing his sword across her cheek.

There was a moment of complete silence, as golden ichor started to drip on the arena floor. Percy tiredly looked up to the audience who all looked disbelieving.

That said, he knew Artemis was holding back- which baffled him. Percy had personally saw Artemis fight Atlas, and knew how dangerously quick and fluid she could be. And yet, she was holding back against him, barely using any of her supreme agility and godly speed to overrun his defence. Instead she simply assaulted him head-on and relentlessly with her hunting knives, and that was about it. And he had no doubt that had she been serious, she would never have made that mistake in the end.

Her face was of complete shock, as she looked directly into Percy's sea-green eyes, and she reached her hand around her cheek. Yet, she gave him a small nod, and then to Chiron, who promptly shouted. "And the winner is, Perseus!"

The crowd cheered, earning a rather subdued wave from the son of Poseidon.

"You defeated me," Artemis said flatly. "You, a man. You will want a reward, yes?"

Percy was too tired to answer, but shrugged.

Artemis sighed, as if expecting this answer, but straightened herself. "Come with me on a hunt. Together, we will find game worthy of your victory over a God of Olympus."

Cheers continued to ring around the little arena, and Percy glimpsed an odd look on Apollo, as if he bit on something sour. Before he could start fearing for his life though, Artemis grabbed his hand, and he felt himself being flashed away.

In that moment Perseus could have sworn that he saw Artemis give him a small, sly wink.

xXx

"So, which God did you tell?" Artemis asked, her voice holding a dangerous tone.

She was now in her adult form, which made it all the more intimidating. And beautiful too, especially with her red hair slowly blowing in the breeze, fiery strands that stood out within the surroundings, and her radiant, flawless face. And her silver eyes... the deep silver eyes that anyone would lose themselves in.

"Stop ogling," Artemis snapped. "Answer me."

Percy gulped, and said, "How did you know?"

"Well for starters, you left too quickly for you not to have any help; this island is under a rather powerful magical barrier," Artemis pointed out.

"My dad," Percy prepared himself to be turned into something. He inwardly hoped it was a sea animal so he could pray to Poseidon to change him back quickly.

It was then, Artemis laughed. The musical, high pitched laughter that he had longed to hear again for the past month. Percy grimaced, and held back his smile.

"I see. It wasn't that difficult, was it? Do not looked so frightened, Perseus. I'm not going to kill you, or turn you into a, ah, sea creature," Artemis said, her voice dripping with rather excitable amusement. "I'm fulfilling my promise. To do this again. And because this is the period of what you mortals call "the new moon", I am not so bound to my duties."

"Did you really need to do all that, though?" Percy asked.

"Of course," Artemis said, her voice rather serious. "Apollo and Lord Zeus would especially get suspicious otherwise, and even with all this, he is already suspicious."

"Chiron might already know," Percy piped up, earning a glare. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

Percy explained how it happened - Artemis' hard stare didn't budge.

"Typical man" Artemis shook her head. "Your kind are terrible at keeping secrets."

"Well, gossiping is kind of a woman thing, so there," Percy pointed out.

Artemis turned her nose up. "Only if it's Aphrodite's children. The women I know - well, do you want to be turned into a jackalope, Perseus?"

Percy smiled at the familiar question, before replying yet again, "No, I don't."

To that, Artemis yet again giggled, and then she started talking about the Hunts that she had recently. Basically, they all boiled down to the Hunters trapping some poor sod (or a group of them) in some nasty trap which ranged from classic bear traps all the way to celestial bronze barbed wire, before turning them into a pincushion of silver arrows.

Percy lost track of time as they spoke, but he knew the night was darkening, and turning completely black. It was almost midnight already. It was then, Artemis stood up.

"Come with me, Perseus," She beckoned Percy, who dutifully followed.

He had hardly spoken a word, only letting out a small laugh now and then, especially when Artemis started cursing out the other Gods for their "misuse of the Hunt".

Following the Goddess, it hit him. Artemis was leading him, and it was truly her date with him.

"You are unique, Perseus," Artemis suddenly blurted out.

"Uh, what?" Percy was equally taken aback.

Artemis stiffened, but conceded. "You are unlike any man I've seen, that's all."

Percy was dumbfounded. Yet, he noticed the normal arrogance missing from her voice. She sounded sincere. They entered a small clearing there, with her moon chariot safely parked at the side.

The Goddess stopped, before sitting down, crossing her legs. She looked up towards the night sky, littered with stars. The expression of wonder, and calm serenity was clear on her face, as she watched the little lights twinkling in the blanket of darkness above.

"The stars are beautiful today, Perseus," Artemis said, to which Perseus nodded.

"Especially the Huntress?" Percy asked, noting Zoe's constellation.

"No, all of them are beautiful," Artemis told sharply. "In this engulfing darkness of night, their light provides guidance."

Percy blushed, and she continued with amusement, "But yes, the Huntress seems particularly bright today. I see your point."

Perseus nodded and Artemis gave him a small smile, before turning her head toward the stars.

"Do you know why I made that promise?" Artemis asked.

"Erm, no, not really," It was the truth; he had no clue why Artemis wanted to do this again.

"Eloquent as ever," Artemis gave Percy a radiant smile. "It's simply my gratitude to you, Perseus."

"You're welcome?" Percy asked, to which Artemis laughed yet again.

"And like I said, you are unique," Artemis flicked an auburn strand behind her ear. "And I want to know why."

Percy scratched his head, but did not answer. He didn't really know how. So, he shared with her stories about the camp. Instead of barging into his words like she always did, Artemis intently listened this time, resting her chin on her palm, occasionally quipping "Aphrodite's children never change" or the mandatory roll of the eyes, shake of the head and "men…".

It was a different side of Artemis that he saw here and only glimpsed for a few moments in the first date, that was for sure. She was in a word, kind. Her tone of voice was much softer, with barely any steel in it, if any.

Still, she was relatively quiet as Percy rambled on. He was about as bad as Artemis herself at this point, but he didn't want to stop. He didn't want the night to end.

"- She's my best friend, so I kind of know her when she's talking utter nonsense -"

There, Artemis perked up. "It still baffles me how you and Annabeth are still best friends. Honestly, I didn't quite believe it the last time, but it appears that you are speaking the truth."

"Well, we didn't really split because of some big fight, um, well, we had a few towards the end, of course," Percy remembered the spats that was growing more frequent as they both eventually grew restless, Annabeth especially wanting to pursue her dream in Olympus. "But she- but... well, we're best friends. We've been through too much together to not be."

"I see," Artemis looked rather mystified. "But-"

"There's such a thing called "splitting amiably", you know," Percy smiled, to which Artemis glared at him.

There was no malice in it though.

"Well, go on!" Artemis waved her hand, and Percy continued. They spoke to each other well into the night, as animals started to roost, and Artemis' head was starting to lean into Percy's shoulder.

Percy stiffened, not knowing how to react to this, but she was leaning into his shoulder. Auburn hair and maiden cheek and all. On his shoulder.

"Anyway, well, and then Travis and I -" Percy's throat was probably as dry as a bone at this point.

"Be quiet, Perseus," Artemis said, leaning even more deeply. "Let us watch the stars once more. Dawn isn't long now."

".. Okay."

Every star constellation was tantalizingly bright, lighting up the deep, green grass around the two. A breeze started to blow, and Percy started to slack a little, as he felt Artemis' warmth beside him.

"Let's hope Apollo doesn't find out about this," Percy broke the silence.

"Even if he did, he wouldn't dare. You after all, are the Hero of Olympus, and Poseidon's undoubted favourite," Artemis whispered, before noting in amusement. "Not to mention that all of this stemmed from his own bet- that he won."

"But-"

"Percy?"

"Yes, Artemis?"

"Be silent." Artemis gave him a slight headbutt for good measure.

Percy quickly nodded, before looking toward the sky.

"Shame there's no moon," Percy observed, promptly noticing a slight blush on Artemis' cheek.

This time though, Artemis didn't bother to cover it. Instead she only closed her eyes, and together they enjoyed the last few moments of the starlit night.

xXx

It was dawn, and a salty, seawater scent permeated the air.

Percy woke up with a start, and instead of seeing fiery, auburn hair on his shoulder, there was only a blue pillow.

He looked around, and saw the familiar surroundings of blue, and green. Percy was in his cabin.

'Was it all a dream?' Percy couldn't help but wonder, as he noted a small, silver parcel.

Opening it, there was a note, and a familiar broken horn of a Minotaur. His lips started to curl into a grin as he read the contents of the note, elegantly written in Ancient Greek.

Your reward, in remembrance for your first Hunt. We will hunt together again soon. I guarantee it.

May the stars guide you, Percy Jackson.

Artemis

He lay back, rather content. She had made another promise… All of a sudden, the cabin door slammed open. The entrant was rather flushed – probably with alcohol from the party – and dishevelled, but Percy would recognize him any day. The blonde hair, and shades hanging off his neck gave him away.

Apollo.

"I was betting on it being a dream… a wayward vision… but the blessing she cast on you proves otherwise," He murmured, before raising his voice. "What have you done, Perseus?"

xXx

Rocky's A/N: Complete! Goodness, I'm so sorry this took so long! Well... this is the second chapter! I wanted to do it really delicately and properly this time, and stay true to the characters as much as I can. And wow… what an adventure this little story has been thus far. I dearly hope you all enjoyed.

There will be one last chapter with an epilogue after this, to wrap up everything. I'll try my very best not to take another one year hiatus. :p

Reviews are appreciated, and deeply listened to.