Hello dear readers,

I hope everyone is doing the best they can. I won't say much here, but I am happy to finally deliver a chapter. We are nearing the events of the Titan's Curse at last :) Thank you all for the reviews and feedback on the story! This chapter was written over a period of four months, so it is subject to small changes!

Enjoy!

Even though the Hunt was safe in Maine, with its brisk winter air and thick woodland retreats, Artemis could sense the restlessness growing throughout their campsite. The pine forest was caked in a fresh layer of powdered white snow that painted the landscape in a beautiful wash of white. Hunting was easy now with the onset of winter. She was donning her silver parka, with its fluffy grey-silver fur trim that decorated the slim design of the coat for ease of movement, especially so in the snow-encrusted forest floor. In all honesty, while Artemis found herself padding back to the Hunt from a foyer into the woods for fresh venison, she couldn't find the will to blame them of being rash or insubordinate. She felt the same after all. The woodland surround that kept their campsite hidden deep in the middle of the forest had been riddled with the Hunt's tracks, from hundreds upon hundreds of patrols and hunting parties.

Seldom was it the practice of the modern-day Hunt to stay in one place for over a month, let alone the five long months that had passed since the Summer Solstice affair on Mt. Olympus. Her contact with the Olympian council had ceased altogether, despite the fact that Artemis knew that Poseidon and Athena both were keeping tabs on her. She had never shot an owl before, but she was awfully close to doing so on her daily patrols through the winter forests.

In that regard, Artemis knew why the Hunt had stayed so long. The excuse she gave was that the three new hunters needed time to integrate into the disciplinary order of the Hunt. But the induction ceremony for Olivia, Celyn, and Naomi had been over three months ago. Now, the days of foraging, patrolling, and teacher were monotonous and unhelpful for all parties involved. The new hunters needed to see real action, not mercy killings of gaunt hellhounds and lone deformed drakons that paled in comparison to those last fought while on the trail on Poseidon's demigod.

The real reason that Artemis continued to isolate the Hunt in the north was her desire to be nowhere near Camp-Half Blood. She had no qualms that should she travel south towards New York, the woods there being amoung her favorite places to camp, would result in an 'accidental' meeting with Poseidon or Athena. Or perhaps she would be unlucky enough to run across a certain demigod of Poseidon on a demigod mission. An unreasonable fear, especially after her and Zoe had been so candid recently about her own past, but it remained a risk she wasn't willing to take at the moment.

The time to talk to her formerly close companion deities was coming, she was sure of that, but she would rather put it off until the last possible moment.

The snow crunched under her sandaled feet, the cold merely a sensation rather than discomfort, as she walked leisurely back to the campsite. She had no venison with her today, her only targets seen being a mother deer and her undergrown fawn. She wasn't willing at that moment to be the judge and executioner of the natural order, despite the fawn's slim chances of survival in the bitter cold of Maine's winter nights.

The sun followed her path towards camp, as the shining rays of light began to pierce through the snow-laden canopies of the trees around her until she finally emerged back at the Hunt's campsite. Immediately, the sounds of metal on metal clanged through the clearing, and Artemis saw the commotion before her.

"No, no, no!" Phoebe huffed in the center of a hastily constructed ring of waist-high logs that hadn't been there the day before, "Come at me, Celyn! A dracaena isn't going to give you the time and space to sit back and plan. Do you want to best one? You get inside its guard before it gets inside yours!" Again!" Her steely-eyed Spartan Hunter was wielding a spear and shield, while Celyn, looking a bit harried and bruised, had two silver Hunting knives clenched in her pale fists.

Celyn leapt forwards, deflecting Phoebe's reactionary spear thrust with one knife before she spun to the right and shoulder-checked the wide pseudo-hoplon shield that covered most of Phoebe's torso. The move staggered the older hunter slightly and Celyn tried to lunge through the opening it provided with her other knife, but that thrust was deflected as Phoebe brought the shaft of her spear down in a counter swing.

"Good!" Phoebe grinned, "Be aggressive! Don't let an opponent judge what they think you will do!"

Celyn's eyes hardened as she bobbed up and down on the packed earth of the ring, with melted snow turning some patches into mud slicked terrain. She vaulted forward again with the tenacity of a honey badger, undaunted by her larger opponent. Artemis could only smile at the sight, especially as she realized that a half a dozen other mud-splattered individuals were perched around the ring as active spectators. Artemis recognized them all immediately. Angelina was there, alongside Christina, Emily and… Artemis felt her eyes bulge as she looked at the last three figures. In mud-covered parkas, leggings, and boots were a familiar trio of hunters: Victoria, Elizabeth, and Kathleen.

She'd never seen her Victorian-era hunters so dirty before in all their time in the hunt, which included many missions into the catacombs and sewers of Europe. All were focused on the bout, and they didn't notice Artemis's approach, save for the one hunter on watch duty at the edge of the clearing, who happened to be Winifred

Artemis arrived at the edge of the ring in time to see Phoebe trip up Celyn with a low blow to the back on the hunter's knee, which sent the young girl down into a mud patch.

"Ugh! Gods above!" Celyn groaned while on her hands and knees, a large stain on mud covering the front of her parka.

The spectating hunters cackled, likely out of their own failures in the ring, Artemis guessed, and Phoebe stood over Celyn, helping the younger girl to her feet.

"You have good instincts, Celyn. Be decisive, and you'll get the hang of it in no time." Phoebe said, "Now, which one of you is next?"

"I'll give it a go," Artemis spoke up from behind Emily and Angelina, who were too enraptured with the fight to notice that Artemis had crept up to within six feet of the wooden railing.

Instantly, seven pairs of eyes and bodies whirled around at the sound of her voice, and Artemis could only grin at the looks of shock and slowing creeping grins of amusement.

Angelina was the first to respond, but not with words.

"Ah-ha!" The dirty blonde-haired hunter crowed, "Prepare to eat mud, Phoebe!" Other giggles and cackles emerged from the other spectators, including a snort from Kathleen, who looked mortified upon emitting it.

Phoebe and Celyn didn't have the same reactions, however. Celyn looked floored, with her eyes full of excitement and wonder, while Phoebe's red eyes hardened into a focused gaze of competitive spirit.

Artemis vaulted over the side of the ring, as Celyn was scrambling out the other side. Her feet impacted some of the slippery slushes of snow and mud. As she landed, she tested the give and balance she needed to fight on it. Across the ring, Phoebe was already limbering up and settling into a defensive stance with her shield and spear.

Hmmm. Artemis narrowed her eyes at her elder hunter, recognizing the spear as a long-range threat. She wasn't planning on using her godly powers for this spar, and the reach disadvantage wasn't insignificant, especially was she to wield two hunting…

'Wait a moment.'

Artemis grinned, as she snapped her left hand, and instantly one of her ornately crafted silver hunting knives' appeared in that hand. With her right hand, she reached across to her left hip and gripped the pommel of a now-familiar weight that sat strapped to her waist.

She drew Perseus's sword with a flourish, before she too settled into a ready stance, with both her hunting knife and sword held out in front of her.

There was a chorus of surprised gasps from the surrounding Hunters that were silenced when Artemis heard Celyn mutter a question to Angelina: "Wait, what is that sword Lady Artemis has?"

Artemis froze in her stance, her body locked in a brief moment of panic before she settled back into a fluid stance as she trusted the Hunters around her to honor her wishes about discussing the Macedonian Expedition.

For now, Artemis focused on Phoebe and the fight at hand. There was more on the line in this duel than the usual stakes with her old friend. Phoebe, being driven and hardened by her upbringing in ancient Sparta, was a competitive adversary in the Hunt's daily training. But with three new Hunters watching? Phoebe would hold nothing back; Artemis was sure of it. And so, Artemis fell into a mindset of kill or be killed, as she met the steely red gaze of her opponent and grinned.

They both surged forwards across the slush and mud with an unspoken signal between them. Artemis slide into a guard position as Phoebe launched herself forwards. Artemis narrowly deflected a spear thrust before she reactively somersaulted away from Phoebe's shield bash, that whiffed through the air where she had stood moments before. Artemis sprung to her feet near the left rail from where she had started, with Angelina behind. Already, Artemis felt the cold damp snow and mud seeping through her entire back and backside. Already, Phoebe was tearing across the slippery arena surface towards her.

No time to think, no time to plan. She let her instincts take over, letting the thrill of a fight rush through her mind and through her veins.

Artemis didn't hesitate a moment, as she met Phoebe's assault with her own. Artemis saw Phoebe's spear humming towards her neck in a wide-sweeping attack. Instead of rolling away, Artemis stepped into the blow and caught Phoebe unprepared. Before the spartan could react, Artemis swung her hunting dagger in a counterstroke, catching the ash shaft of Phoebe's spear near the spearpoint. The dagger bit into the wood, sending the sweeping point of the spear downwards. In the same motion, Artemis swung Perseus's sword at the shaft of the spear with the flat of the blade.

In the blink of an eye, Phoebe's assault left her weaponless, as the spear was wrenched from her grasp and slammed into the thick mud at her feet.

Phoebe hissed loudly, shaking her wrist once as she stepped back a few paces, "Oh, I see how it's going to be," she exclaimed as she unbuckled her shield and tossed it to the side. With a flourish, Phoebe drew the two silver hunting knives at her belt.

Artemis gave a grim smile in reply, her mind already evaluating what Phoebe would do next. She prowled around the periphery of the arena, testing the ground wherever she could for points that were dangerous for her footing. This was Perseus's preferred fighting style, and Artemis knew it was throwing Phoebe off. Artemis had drilled the Hunt countless times over many centuries about the importance of taking the initiative in a fight or battle.

Phoebe had lectured Celyn not a minute before about getting inside an opponent's guard. It wasn't illogical to assume that Phoebe would keep up the assault.

So Artemis mirrored Phoebe's waiting for the moment to strike a counterblow. Her muscles thrummed with nervous energy, waiting to be unleashed at the opportune moment. Artemis relished it, the suspense, the focus that it brought her. The spectating Hunters, all murmuring and talking around the fight, faded away into nothingness. The gentle breeze tickled her skin, the hairs on her arm raised as the cold air seemed to heighten her senses. It was her versus Phoebe. Everything else was put to the side.

But Phoebe didn't charge in. Artemis bored her vision to Phoebe's red eyes, noticing her hesitance to probe forwards. It was the only thing she needed. That slight glimmer of hesitation.

Artemis advanced, with slow deliberate footsteps sinking through the slush and mud. Instantly Phoebe kited to her left, angling to stay on Artemis's left side, and Artemis let her. As both of them closed the distance, in the final few steps, Artemis flipped her hunting knife into an icepick grip. The change caused Phoebe's eyes to narrow a split second before Artemis planted her right foot forwards and twist her body to thrust Perseus's sword forwards in an arcing lunge.

Perseus's fighting style dictated decisive, controlled motions that sought to end fights whenever possible.

With the added reach of Perseus's sword and the small deflecting motion of her knife movement, the lunge hummed straight for Phoebe's upper chest. Artemis saw a blur as Phoebe's left-hand blade reactively deflected the sword thrust, making Artemis lurch forwards with no resistance with her own blade. But she was ready. Her foot twisted in the slush, pivoting her entire body around in a sharp spin. Already, Phoebe's own counterstroke with her other hunting knife was slicing downwards towards Artemis's collarbone.

The stroke came down before it streaked across Artemis's own hunting knife. A moment later, Phoebe was knocked out cold on the ground.

The world around her came back into focus as Phoebe hit the ground, her knees first before she toppled into the slush face first. Artemis stood there; elbow still raised with her hunting knife guarding her vulnerable forearm.

Artemis remained there for one more moment, making sure Phoebe was down before she instantly sheathed her weapons and knelt beside Phoebe's unconscious body. Around her, the watching hunters were expressing their opinions about the bout.

"HOLY OLYMPUS" Angelina yelled loudly, her voice easily carrying all the way across Hunter's clearing.

"That was so…. sudden, "Celyn spoke to Christina and Emily, as she winced from Angelina's boisterous reactions. Artemis missed Emily's reply as she turned her gaze to Angelina.

"Angelina!" Artemis called, "You could do without the yelling, thank you." She looked back down to Phoebe and gently turned her over onto her back. There was already a bruise forming on the side of her head. With a soft hand, Artemis pressed her palm to the forming wound and closed her eyes. She felt a small reserve of her godly power race through her veins with a pulsing sensation before that power seeped through her hand unto Phoebe's injury.

She opened her eyes, with the silver energy fading from the air around Phoebe. Almost instantly, Phoebe began to stir on the ground.

"Ugh… I feel… wet," Phoebe moaned, blinking her eyes open. Her red irises were unfocused for a few seconds before they locked on to Artemis's own eyes. "Damnit, nice move, My Lady. That was… a new one." Phoebe's eyes briefly flashed with the annoyance of losing before they turned inquisitive. The spartan narrowed her vision as she took Artemis's hand to help her up, and Artemis gave her the slightest of winks before she rose from the muck herself, unmoved by the mud and snowmelt that had seeped around her knees and lower legs.

"Celyn, could you tell me your thoughts on the fight?" Artemis looked over to her newest Hunter, having heard the girl's muttered remark a moment before.

"Oh! I-uh... It was very fast." Celyn stuttered, as she flushed, before looking down at the rail, "I mean, sorry, it was… It was…"

"Nothing like what you were expecting?" Artemis prompted, smiling a little, as she watched Phoebe retrieve her fallen spear and shield. "Don't worry Celyn, this won't be the last time you see me spar, nor will you be a spectator for all sparring sessions. The real-world battles that are fought are done so with decisive actions. Seldom do monsters, gods, or demigods fence back and forth with their blades. One move, one predicted action will win a fight. Anything different is only a fighter showing off."

"My Lady, Perhaps thy will allow me some time to… 'show off?'"

Artemis turned from Celyn the familiar sound of her lieutenant speaking from behind her. As she turned, Artemis saw Zoe leading the majority of the Hunt over from the camp. There was a fire in Zoe's onyx eyes and immediately the Hunt thrummed with energy.

Zoe vaulted into the ring as the hunters all gathered around.

"I knew I heard Angelina yell, dibs on next match!"

"Oh, here we go!"

"Emily you gave me a bad steak yesterday, we are so going!"

"Can I yell now, My Lady?"

Artemis smiled, feeling freer than she ever had in all her centuries of bottled up sorrow. She wheeled around to face Zoe, letting herself slip into a ready stance.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The sparring lasted throughout the day until the Hunt was finally spent in the late evening. Every hunter had gathered around the central firepit, save for those on watch duty, eagerly watching Emily and Christina tend to the simmering pot of stew that bubbled over the fire.

Artemis sat comfortably on her own log, sore from the day's exercises, but in no worse wear for it. All of the hunters around her sported bruises and shallow bandaged cuts from the day's fighting. But there was contentment, as jeers were traded over the fire as dinner was almost ready to be served.

"I still think you made this stew to spite me, Emily" Victoria laughed, "Now I can't complain if my steak is a bad cut."

"You want to cook it next time then?" Emily taunted, her brown eyes dancing playfully against the dusk sky.

"I'll take anything to get rid of this headache," Phoebe cut across the two bickering hunters and she peered over the pot, with the delicious scent of meat and bubbling broth wafting over everyone.

Artemis smiled as she looked to the night sky, not even bothering to look at Phoebe, "You are getting slow Phoebe, any other Hunter would have blocked that elbow."

"OHHHHHH!"

"Oh, my," Kathleen laughed lightly as Victoria was coughed after taking a drink next to her.

"Artemis, you savage!" Angelina cackled.

The Hunt continued to jeer, as Phoebe lashed out, "Oh quiet you lot, you are happy now, but I'll run you all into the ground tomorrow on conditioning runs if I need to." The younger Hunter's instantly quieted, already knowing to fear Phoebe's prowess for physical activities.

"It was a rather predictable move, thy has to admit," Zoe smiled lightly, her even voice cutting through the silence around the firepit.

"ZOE NIGHTSHADE!" Phoebe threw a stick at the lieutenant, as the two oldest Hunters reignited the mad laughter and revelry around the fire.

Artemis remained separated from it all by a few feet, as she stared up at the night sky, with a grin spreading across her face. Apart from a few scattered clouds, it was clear, with a few twinkling stars shining down under the rapidly darkening sky. She was about to turn her attention back to the firepit when she saw something flit across her vision.

There was a lone majestic owl soaring up above, its wings cutting through the air in a silent glide. Its wings were contrasted against the purples, reds and blues of the sunlit clouds and night sky.

'For the love of the Gods.'

Artemis frowned, instantly using her divine sense to discern the true identity of the owl. It was Athena who soared over the clearing, before the goddess landed in one of the low branches of an oak tree at the southern edge of the surrounding forest. Grey eyes flashed in the dusk air as the feathered wings of the owl flapped once, before she landed in her owl form in one of the low hanging branches.

For a few heartbeats, Artemis didn't flinch as she locked eyes with Athena. Her earlier thoughts welled up inside: that stabbing feeling of betrayal was fresh, no matter how many moons had passed since the summer solstice. The air was crisp, and the trees were bare, yet it changed nothing for her. She knew her flaws included her constant inability to let go of her past and this event hadn't left her mind once. No matter what she told Zoe and the Hunt, there would always be a lingering wound in her heart, one that she knew would remain until the day she faded from this world. Athena and Poseidon were among her most trusted individuals that Artemis had relied on since she had become a fully-fledged Olympian deity. Forgiveness was hard to give when everything about her past seemed to sap her willpower away like her immortality during the Macedonian Expedition. But there was a new thread of hope there as well. and Artemis found herself latching on to that warm bead within her soul, resolving to never let that feeling go again.

Her eyes bored into the dull grey of Athena's as the Hunt continued a light bantering revelry around the fire pit. It was time for answers, no matter how much Artemis wished she could relapse back into the lighthearted atmosphere of the Hunt.

She stood from her place at the edge of the ring of Hunters, "I am off for a nightly patrol girls. Zoe, I trust that you have arranged for the sentries for the night?"

There was a slight lull in the conversation and squabbling as Emily had Victoria in a headlock on the far side of the firepit as they were comically frozen, still wrapped up in their steak feud. But Zoe met Artemis's question and nodded.

"Yes, My Lady, thy need not worry. I have given out assignments."

"Excellent, I expect they do their duty well," Artemis cast a meaningful gaze over all the hunters before she turned away in a swift trot away from the warmth of the fire. The veteran hunters likely knew the meaning behind her last comment, but Artemis internally hoped that they would stay silent and that Zoe would test the new recruits on sentry duty tonight. Artemis hadn't surveyed all the finer observational skills of the newer hunters since that moonlit night with Angelina where Athena had paid her a visit before the solstice.

Putting the muted voices of the Hunt behind her, Artemis steeled her gaze and mind as she walked with brisk steps across the soft grassy clearing. As she neared the treeline, the Hunt's camp now almost out of bowshot where she had passed the fighting ring they had used earlier, the owl that stared back at her unblinkingly suddenly shimmered with a light blue flash of energy, before it slide off of the branch. Midair, that shimmering blue energy flashed once more, as Athena morphed into her own form. She had a long white dress on with a form-fitting metal chest piece they grey-eyed goddess carried no weapons, neither her spear nor aegis in her line of sight, but Artemis knew that Athena could summon both in the same manner that she could summon her own hunting knives.

Artemis came to a stop ten feet from the goddess, arms crossed, with mud caked on her arms. She was well aware want sight she must have struck. Mud splattered and wrinkled tunic with wild untamed hair. She hadn't bothered with cleaning up, even when she could have done so at the flick of her finger.

"Athena. Bold of you to fly here tonight. What do you want?" Artemis snapped.

Some of the wisdom goddess's posture seemed to crumble for a moment as Artemis lashed out with every bitter emotion she had been harboring before Athena's eyes flashed dangerously.

"I hurt you, Artemis, I know," Athena responded in a hardened tone, as the goddess stepped out of the treeline, coming face to face with her. "When I found out from Poseidon that his son… I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe it, for your sake. But you know Poseidon and you know he would never lie to you… or me in that degree."

"I don't care, you have no idea the pain that you inflicted me with, by dragging his memory through my mind," Artemis bit back, "You lied to me, Athena. I hadn't known that my half-sister was capable of using my past against me. Not after I let my walls down for you." That was the crux of it. No matter how healed, how much better she could look at her past now, those dark memories of raw anguish flooded back into her mind after Perseus had died. Every happy memory was tempered with the sight of his lifeless corpse against bloodstained sands.

Athena winced at the words and Artemis relished that she was able to affect her in some way while he heart pounded, and her temper flared.

"Artemis, I can't defend my actions beyond stating that it was for the greater good," Athena sighed her gaze leaving Artemis's own as her grey eyes scanned the Hunt's campsite over Artemis's shoulder. "When I made the agreement with Poseidon, the only thought on my mind was to save you any pain that I could. Had you learned about Percy, Poseidon's son, on your own, I would have been at fault for not warning you. I also know you… Sister. I know that you weren't in a place to even fathom the idea of Perseus being reborn as a demigod, so many years after he fell…"

"Do you think I am ready now?!" Artemis half-shouted, before letting her voice fall into a normal seething tone, as silver fire coursed through her veins, "I searched for over a month after that night on the Solstice, searching for answers. There is only one person, one god who would know, and he has likely faded into oblivion. So there goes that one chance for closure to answer why I will always be broken inside. Why I am cursed with this fate to watch my past mistakes haunt me for a millennia."

"Please, just-" Athena started.

"And Percy," Artemis cut across the younger goddess, "Is he not a contender for the Great Prophecy of this age? I have not been so blinded by grief to forget the past decades:

A half-blood of the eldest gods

Shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end his days

Olympus to preserve or raze.

Artemis finished the Prophecy, feeling the fabrics of the Fates at work in the air around her seem to stretch and bend with the recitation.

"You would have me help bring this Prophecy to its completion. But what if it's him? Zeus has a child, ageless, stuck in the barrier tree of Camp Half-Blood by his own hand. Hades had two after the pact was made, but they went missing over seventy years ago. Killed, most likely, by Zeus's hand. And now we have Percy, alive and well at the age of twelve, conveniently placed when the Great Prophecy's time is nearing." Artemis said coldly, glancing back to the Hunt once, letting her senses flare, making sure that they didn't see this meeting.

When she turned back, Athena still looked to her. But where she thought to find annoyance and frustration, mixed with guilt. But Athena had tears in her eyes, grey pupils shining with the winter's moonlight.

The sight stunned her, as in the millennia Artemis had known Athena, never had she shown her emotions like the sight before her now.

"Artemis, I am not using you," Athena dropped her head, her pale hands running themselves through her curly brown hair, as her voice broke ever so slightly, "I…I…"

Athena looked up to her, tears spilling down her face, "I didn't know what to do. I had sworn to never betray your past, Artemis, truly. But when Poseidon came to me when Perseus was born… telling me that he had sensed his aura before, all those years ago."

Artemis let the information wash over her, as Athena continued. 'She had known for twelve years. Twelve long years that Athena had known, and she had come forward now?' But the thought also died there, as Artemis recalled where she had been twelve years past, in a cold and practiced routine of denial that had only festered further since the conclusion of the great wars I the 20th century. 'Was it better that Athena had waited? Would have it have helped if Perseus were never revealed to her at the solstice?'

"I felt the Prophecy's time draw close, the same as you in the past year. Poseidon had placed a spell over his son's aura, to mask it from most, even you. I had hoped that you would never have to learn of Percy's existence, hoping that the Prophecy wouldn't come to pass in the lifetime of Percy. But that hope was extinguished," Athena wiped away at her eyes, red-rimmed and swollen, "We both tried to hide something that we should have known would have come to pass."

Artemis felt her errant thoughts fall to the wayside as she looked closely at Athena. 'We both tried:' There was something in the way that Athena's posture had brightened, her eyes softening slightly at the words caught her attention. And that made her pause, because Athena hadn't ever come to her in the state before, unless it was in the thrashing rants of Poseidon when Olympus still reigned in Greece.

"I came here tonight, after so many attempts to see you, because I love you, Artemis," Athena said, tear tracks still visible running down her face, "I always have, ever since I first met you that day in the throne room. You've always been someone I trust most dearly. There is no one else who walks this world who has the power and will to stand where you are now."

"For so long, you endured your past alone. And when I heard what you had been hiding, what you had let fester in your heart for centuries, my only thought was how strong you were to even endure that pain in the first place," Athena took a small step forward, her hands beginning to stretch outwards in the beginnings of an embrace, "My only regret is not telling you the truth the moment I learned. But Artemis… I haven't seen you look so free and without such burdens since the days before the Expedition."

For a long moment, there was a stunning silence between them, as Artemis watched Athena look to her with a hopeful expression. There was rage burning in her, with an instinct to lash out and maim the goddess dared get close to her after what she had done. But there was also the memories of the Hunt in the past months and of the hunters who had embraced Artemis's past in its entirety. The fears she had harbored for centuries, the hidden keening anguish that rocked her soul were unfounded, as Zoe, Phoebe, and all her other devoted Hunters had proven in their empathetic understanding of her past plights. 'Was she able to endure another prolonged self-isolation from her loved ones once more?'

She found her answer almost instantly, with a memory of Perseus flashing in her mind. He was laughing beside her after the Battle of Issus when he was injured but undaunted by the death that had surrounded them. And she had smirked in reply, staring at him in a curious fascination.

Athena's arms began to drop back to her sides when Artemis took that step forward to meet her half-sister. Being shorter than the grey-eyed goddess, Artemis slipped into the embrace and leaned her head up to rest her chin on Athena's shoulder as her arms wrapped around Athena's upper back. Athena let off a small noise of surprise, before she responded in kind and for the moment, Artemis breathed in the familiar smell of olive groves and parchment.

"I am still angry," Artemis spoke softly, letting the fire in her veins cool and settle into the peaceful brisk night around them, "You betrayed me and laid out all my past demons in a parade in front of my eyes…but I can see your reasoning. Poseidon will have to explain himself as well." that seemed to bring a little humor back to Athena's expression, before the goddess rubbed a thumb over her exposed shoulder.

"I will never do this to you again, Artemis," Athena murmured, "I will help you with whatever you need unto the end of days."

Artemis huffed out a laugh, as she untangled herself from Athena's arms, "I will hold you to that." And as she looked at Athena, her sister, she could swear that Perseus stood right beside the wisdom goddess, pale and ethereal, but with enough form to read the expression on his tanned bearded face: He was wearing a gentle smile, looking at ease and content.

"Artemis… you mentioned the Great Prophecy," Athena began, tearing Artemis out of the vision that had been conjured besides her, "but I fear you are out of date with many recent events.

Artemis blinked and the visage of Perseus was gone, faded into the night as if he were never there at all. But Artemis felt her weariness from the day and the ceremony of swearing in the new huntresses' fade for a moment, as her mind and heart found that silver lining of contentment in Perseus's memory.

When she looked back to Athena, her facial expression had changed entirely. When she had arrived, Athena had looked almost timid. But now, the wisdom goddess stood at her full height, shoulder back and chin raised, with a commanding presence that Artemis usually saw on the floor of the Olympus throne room.

"Zeus's daughter was freed from the barrier tree many months ago with the golden fleece I am sure you were not aware of this, due to your isolation, but Zeus's daughter, Thalia, is now separate from the tree. And you mentioned Hades' missing children… I remember what happened, and I have discussed that matter with Poseidon recently. He is reasonably sure that the children aren't dead. In fact, the rumor has grown to the point on Olympus that the only assumption now is where they could be, not if they are dead. I have heard the rumors that they were kept originally kept in the Lotus Hotel for many years, but they seem to have been taken somewhere else entirely now. Zeus is looking for them, as are many creatures who wish them harm due to their godly heritage."

"This is…" Artemis paused as she gathered the facts of what Athena was saying. In her months since the Summer Solstice, the world had kept spinning, and Artemis felt herself lurch as she tried to catch up to the events that had passed her by, uncaring about her involvement in any of it. She had reasoned with herself that the growing unease she had sensed surrounding the fabric of Prophecy was merely a prolonged period of awakening. A cause to be on guard, to be sure, but an emergency it was not. But now, knowing that four demigod children of the eldest Olympian gods were all appearing within a year… that could be no coincidence.

"What is the mood on Olympus? Surely there will be a vote for War at the Solstice?" The date was approaching soon, within a month. Artemis had been ignoring the date, due to the fact that she had no qualms about skipping the Solstice after the events of the previous one's events six months prior.

"It is split. War is coming, Artemis; I am sure of it. Poseidon and I have rallied enough votes from Apollo, Demeter, Hermes, and Hephaestus to get a split vote, but we need you, Artemis." Athena explained sheepishly, "I truly did come here to make things right between us, but I also came for the good of Olympus. Zeus would have the council do nothing against a rising threat from forces that can only mean a Second War between the Othrys and Olympus. Zeus refuses to believe that the Great Prophecy comes from external threats. He still resents the episode where his Lighting Bolt was stolen, despite Percy and Poseidon being innocent of the matter."

"What would you have of me then?" Artemis asked absentmindedly, thinking over the situation. She shrugged off the feelings of being unprepared due to her wallowing in past months, unaware of how serious things had been. There was no use in being overwhelmed in those failures.

"I need proof of escalation. In monsters, in anything that would spell the doom of Olympus. If the Prophecy is truly beginning, there won't be anything that is left to the wayside. Any intel whether it be from monsters, demigods, or omens could help turn the conversation to the immediacy of this threat." Athena rattled off, "Already, Poseidon has gone to Atlantis, inspecting the prisons of the seas where Oceanus and the monsters of the deep are locked away."

A sudden bolt of realization came to Artemis at that moment as her own recitation of the Great Prophecy came back to her. "Athena, the Ophiotaurus!"

The wisdom goddess paused in her worried ramble of Poseidon's search, her eyes widening in realization, "Of course! Can you track it? It was last seen in Tartarus, but if it swims in the coastal seas now… I have to ask Poseidon about this. With the vote coming so soon, if we can prove that the Ophiotaurus is free, then the council will have to unite against this forming threat."

"I will search for it now. I told the hunt we would be moving soon. I will begin my search immediately." Artemis thought briefly on the path the Hunt would take, likely down the eastern coast, to pass Camp Half-Blood along the way… although… Something bothered her in that moment, about the Hunt's current location. They had been in an unseasonable campsite for months now and that resulted in a very low monster presence as time went by.

"Athena, Hades' children. Are there any rumors to their whereabouts? Any at all?" Artemis questioned, an idea rapidly forming in her mind. She had not seen any signs of Hades ever since she saw him before the Summer Solstice, but she knew that Hades almost always knew about her whereabouts, due to her proclivity in hunting monsters.

"None, why?"

"Hades would know if monsters were escalating their presence in the world better than most on Olympus. Where would you keep your children safe against increased monster presence? Especially in the last few months?"

"Wait," Athena paused, her eyes bulging, "you don't think that…"

"I will give Maine a thorough search before I track the Ophiotaurus. Monster activity has been light here and only the most arrogant monsters would dare come willingly into the radius of the hunt's influence." Artemis nodded, looking back to the campsite, a wave of resolve flooding over her, "Do you think the Prophecy will be decided before the next Summer Solstice?"

"I do not think so," Athena replied, "But to be unprepared now, with the first moves having been made a year ago with the theft of two elder Olympian weapons, I want to know what is happening right now. Should this be a false alarm, I will gladly receive reprimands from the council, along with my wounded pride."

"You mentioned Poseidon being in Atlantis for the moment," Artemis asked curiously, "How long has he been gone?"

"A few days," Athena answered slowly, her face morphing into a closed-off, stoic mask, "I will visit him tomorrow with news about your plans." And then, Athena's mask fell from her orator tone of voice once more.

"I truly do wish that I did not have to ask this of you, Artemis, especially having wronged you so deeply," Athena admitted, "but you are the only person I can trust on the council in this way. I tried to give you your space when you denied seeing me since the Summer Solstice. But if I didn't speak to you before the Winter Solstice… I don't think I could do enough on my own to try to make the others see the right in this."

"We can talk about this once more when the Prophecy is behind us," Artemis sighed. Despite the situation, there was resentment in her mind, with Athena changing gears to issues for the good of all, while she selfishly thought about her own problems. There was still her own shadowed thoughts of betrayal that lurks in her heart, no matter what she put aside for Athena's sake. "I will depart with the hunt in the morning, searching for Hades' children in the area. If I should fail here, I will depart down the coast within the week to search for the Ophiotaurus, alone if I must. The hunt is not equipped for such a task."

There was a small moment of hesitation, before Athena nodded, "I do love you, Artemis. And I will make this right, one day. Goodbye for now, sister."

"Farewell," Artemis nodded in reply. There was another flash of blue magic, as Athena morphed into a white and grey feathered owl, that quickly climbed in silent flight over the canopy of trees. Artemis watched her go, feeling the dull ache in her core as she thought about the conjured magic. There was no denying it to herself that she had grown weak in the past months, especially so in her frantic searches for information on Anubis and Perseus's rebirth. The ceremony for the new hunters had pushed her power to its limits and Artemis could tell that she needed to recoup her energy. But with the turn of the conversation, it looked like that wouldn't be possible.

With a heavy heart and a thousand thoughts on her mind, she trudged back to camp, her thoughts clouded with ancient memories of the First Titan War… and despite her best efforts… of Perseus as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The aftermath of the battle was a sorry sight, as Artemis found herself standing on the rugged sand dunes that surrounded the countryside of Arbela, in the fields of Gaugamela. Having been confined to a tent for a full week from her injuries, her restlessness had compounded and was only sated by Perseus's presence at her side.

But now, she had emerged to witness the funeral pyres. To witness the dead. Perseus hadn't told her how many of the Pellians had died and Artemis realized why at that moment, as the dark evening sky glowed a fierce orange from the hundreds of burning bodies. Of the Pellians, who had numbered five hundred strong when Artemis had first started to train them, only forty-one were still alive. Pericles, Perseus's door guard, was among those burning tonight.

She tried to rationalize the emotions that welled up at the sight, but in the end, she sat there on the dunes late into the night under Persian stars, wondering how it had come to this. Perseus refused to tell her the details of the battle, beyond the fact that Anahita had flown away near the end of the Pellians part of the battle.

Next to the funeral pyres of the Macedonian and Greek dead, there were the massive pits of the Persian dead. And besides those, were the crumbled bodies of horses, elephants, simurghs, and karkadann.

She heard soft footsteps behind her in the sparse undergrowth of the dunes and the shifting of sand beneath sandals. She turned her head against the soft glow of orange-red flames from the funeral rites below in the valley and saw Perseus approaching. He was dressed in a plain brown tunic, wearing no armor at the moment. His hair and face were scrubbed clean, including his full cropped beard. Immediately, she felt herself flush, as she involuntarily smiled at the sight of him walking towards her.

"Good evening, Perseus," Artemis smiled, the circumstances dropping her lips into a frown as he came to her side and she turned back to the funeral pyres as Perseus settled in at her side. "You didn't tell me that it was this bad. How was tonight's meeting with the generals and Companions?"

Perseus looked to her, with a sad expression swimming in his green eyes, "I don't want to relive that battle if I am being honest with myself. I would rather have stayed in the tent with you, and forget this war." He nudged her in the shoulder and threaded his right hand into her left.

She smiled slightly at the subtle physical connection, which she had sworn him to outside their tent. Her left hand grasped his tightly, her thumb circling a small pattern on the side of his hand. Once, the very idea of holding hands with a man would have sent her into a rage. But now, with Perseus, it was a mere assurance that she was still here, that they weren't alone in this perilous journey.

"As for the meeting?" Perseus sighed, staring out into the firelit fields with her, "Alexander hasn't settled from his rage ever since the battle ended. Parmenion and Kleitos are barely managing to restrain him from launching a pursuit with the Companions across hundreds of miles of desert. He is none too fond of me either, but in that sense, I believe that the Expedition will march on the Persian heartland as soon as the funeral rites have been completed. Perhaps in a weeks' time."

Artemis hummed quietly, casting a quick glance around them as she listened to Perseus speak, looking for any possible onlookers. No matter how subtle Perseus was, even with her identity still a closely kept secret, she did not wish to garner the attention that her closeness with Perseus might attract.

"Are you worried? If Alexander would… reveal my identity?" Artemis asked quietly, remembering the lust and greed that had taken over Alexander in Egypt, in his quest to become a god. Her place in the Expedition had never been more precarious. She mourned the deaths of the hundreds of Pellians, yes, but what was she now? Perseus's mistress? The thought enraged her to her core and remained a source of conflict within her. Perseus understood her boundaries as a goddess, but she had not dared to ask him yet of the wife he left behind in Macedonia. It was shameful to admit that she was afraid of his answer. In her last week of bed rest, she had dared to look forwards to times after the Expedition was over. But a thread of doubt festered in her mind about Perseus's ideas. Would he be willing to leave his wife and mother behind to be with her? And the Hunt? What would they think? Never before had these questions seemed so prevalent, when before they were mere flights of harmless wondering. But now…

She watched him as he pondered her question, looking off into the night skies with a wisdom that seemed so far beyond his years. The Expedition had changed the man she had met in that meadow so long ago in the time of a mortal. She had never truly worried for him, save for his injury from fighting with the Tyrian god Melqart. But now, Perseus looked like he had been run to the bone. He was strong, yes, but the dark circles that surrounded his eyes had never fully vanished from their constant patrols for Simurghs in the past few months. Seldom did they banter as they did so many times before. Tyre had changed that. Siwa. And now Gaugamela. There was openness and trust. She wondered where she would be in Perseus hadn't been there for her for these long months- years- of this quest. She wondered if those in Greece saw this as a great expansion of power, a wonder that was unfolding, from the perspective of the gods and mortals alike. She wondered if she would survive to see the end of it.

"I don't think that he would," Perseus finally responded, deep in thought as he turned their intertwined hands over, "You have done so much for this Expedition and saved so many lives… if he was to reveal you now, those who have been here since the beginning would know that you never left this Expedition. From the day you marked me with your sign, up to the day you looked Anahita in the face at the Battle of Gaugamela and everything in between. Alexander would have to admit that his own successes came from a goddess who sought no praise. And with Alexander having been led to believe that he is the son of Zeus-Ammon…"

"How would that make a god look to have his successes built on another's accomplishments," Artemis finished Perseus's thought, bringing up her free hand to massage a dull throbbing pain in her skull, residual pain from the battle that still plagued her, "Somehow, that is the least of our concerns, with Anahita still unseen since the battle's end. And Darius still evading Alexander, who will likely flee as far as India, with Alexander likely to follow." Artemis knew it was pessimistic, but those were the long days that awaited them and as long at the Expedition continued, so too would she remain bound in mortal form. In some ways, she couldn't remember what it was to be a goddess, with the pain and aches that came with morality a daily routine after years of marching and fighting.

"Are you well?" Perseus murmured, "Your head still aching?"

Artemis let out a little snort as she shook her head lightly, testing the pain that was abating for the moment, "You know, it is still aggravating how caring you can be at times."

Perseus smirked, with some of the shadows that seemed to haunt him erased at the tone of her teasing voice, "We could always go back to teasing each other for a couple of years? Not voicing our thoughts, and then only doing so when one of us has a brush with a possible trip to the underworld."

"Hmmm, as tempting as that is… this… this is better," Artemis smiled, leaning her head onto Perseus's shoulder as the fires burned in the distance in front of them. There was loss and the road forwards was uncertain, but for the moment… she could rest.