The Child of Artemis

Chapter 10

"I am Luna, daughter of the moon."

Well, at least, that was what the Phoenix had told her.

"Who am I?" She would ask. "Who are my parents?"

And Pyron and Azura would answer, "You are Luna, daughter of the moon." It was all she would ever get out of them. Nothing else. They were normally avid storytellers, teaching her of heroes and villains and figures in between.

Behind her, the three women stumbled along loudly. "At this rate," Luna thought, "We'll get attacked before we reach the cave!"

Luna still didn't quite believe there were people like her. "Demigods," Pyron had said, "They are people who are just like you, Luna. And one day, you will get to meet some of them."

Luna didn't think this was what he had meant. Although, she had to admit, capturing them was rather interesting.

The males had been easy enough. They were loud, obnoxious, and awfully slow. It was a wonder they hadn't been attacked before she met them.

The females, on the other hand, had looked a bit more intelligent. Luna could tell that they might be able to explain a few things to her. Things Pyron and Azura would clam up about.

"Hey, Luna," one of the girls,the laughing one, tapped her on the shoulder. "Are we almost to the boys? We're kind of doing something important and the quicker we have them back the better." She was giving her a strange look, like she'd known her before but forgotten.

Luna turned to glare at her. "I'm sorry, but I never asked about your schedule. And I'm not the one who trespassed on someone else's territory. That was all you."

"We've told you over and over, we didn't know this was your territory. And anyway, you're the one who decided to capture them in the first place!" The shortest one stumbled, and the blonde one caught her by the elbows, setting her upright.

"Well, they were running around with weapons and were setting traps. How was I supposed to know if they were monsters or not?"

"Okay, Okay, that's quite enough." The shortest one stepped between the two of them. "We don't need to have anyone else injured tonight."

"I told you I didn't-."

"Yes, we know. You didn't hurt the boys, you only "took them captive"." The blonde finished. "Let's just keep moving."

They tramped on through the woods. Luna was tempted to jump into the trees and travel by branch, but she doubted the women would be able to keep up.

Soon, they reached the cave. The two torches on either sides of the entrance were extinguished. The Phoenix were not there. Most likely out hunting or gathering.

Luna pushed aside the woven vines covering the entrance, and the three of them followed her inside.

"There," she pointed to the males, who were lying asleep in the foyer of the cave. "See? They are unharmed."

"Percy!" The blonde one cried. She ran straight to the male with black curly hair. "Percy, can you hear me?" She turned to Luna, a fierce look in her eyes. "What did you do to him? You said you didn't hurt him!"

"Calm down. I merely sprayed him with something that would knock him out for a bit. He should wake up within the hour." Luna walked past her to the end of the cave, and placed her bow, quiver, and dagger on the weapons table. Behind her, the other two women had gone to tend to their males as well.

Luna shook her head before going to the food cellar to see if there was anything edible. It was going to be a long night.

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"Percy, Percy can you hear me? Come on Seaweed Brain, wake up!"

Percy's moaned and opened his eyes. Annabeth was leaning over him, looking worried. "Percy, can you hear me?" She whispered.

"Annabeth? Why aren't you back at the camp?" Percy glanced around and noticed the dark, rocky interior of the cave. "Wait, where are we?"

"Don't you remember?" Annabeth asked as she helped him sit up. "You got kidnapped." He frowned as the flood of memories hit him. Silver nets and a soft voice. Jason running and getting attacked. Falling asleep, then waking up here.

"Well, now I remember." He muttered. "So where are we?"

Annabeth looked around before answering. "We're in a cave that belongs to the daughter of the moon." She answered. "Percy, I think we found her."

"Annabeth, what are you talking about?"

"The person who kidnapped you and brought us here. Her name is Luna. She said she's the daughter of the moon." Annabeth whispered urgently. "I think she's telling the truth. She looks and acts like Artemis!"

Percy tilted his head. "Are you sure? She could be lying. What if she just overheard us talking about the prophecy and is trying to trick us?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No, Percy, I think she really is Artemis's daughter. But the thing is, I don't think she'll come with us to Mount Orthys. She seems pretty stubborn."

Percy shrugged. "We can worry about that later. How are the others doing?" He hoped Jason, Frank and Leo were alright. There was no telling what Luna had done to Leo.

"I'll go check on them." Annabeth placed a gentle kiss against Percy's forehead before going over to Piper. She was bent over an unconscious Jason, who looked slightly rumpled, but otherwise fine.

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"How's he doing?" Annabeth whispered.

"He's good. I think he'll wake up soon." Piper muttered back. She brushed some stray hairs off his forehead. "How's Percy?"

"He's awake and just fine. Hey, have you checked on Leo?"

Piper shook her head. "No. Would you mind doing that please?"

"Not at all." Annabeth got up and went to check on Leo.

The Latino demigod was missing his signature tool belt, but seemed okay otherwise. He was sound asleep as Annabeth propped him up against the wall of the cave.

"Leo, wake up." She whispered. "Leo, come on." She snapped her fingers near his face, but to no avail.

"I think I may have sprayed him more than the others."

Annabeth jumped as Luna seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Would you quit doing that please?" The older women glared at the girl. "Frankly, it's a bit creepy."

Luna rolled her silver eyes. "Whatever. I just came to tell you that I may have sprayed this one with a larger dose than the others. He might take longer to wake up." She squinted at Leo. "I honestly don't know what you see in these males. They are insufferable and loud. How can you stand them?"

Now it was Annabeth's turn to roll her eyes. "They aren't all insufferable. I mean, Leo can be a bit annoying sometimes. But, you get used to them."

She glanced curiously at the girl. "Don't you have a mom or a dad?" She regretted asking when she saw Luna flinch.

"Well, not exactly. But I do have guardians."

"Oh. Okay then." Annabeth tucked the information away to be studied later, watching her carefully. "Do you have anything that might wake him up faster?"

Luna shook her head. "No. And anything you try won't work. My guardians will be back soon. Perhaps they know something that will wake him up faster. You'll just have to be patient."Annabeth sighed as Luna walked away.

Unfortunately, patience was not one of her strong points.
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