The Huntress and Her Arrow

Annabeth

"Shut up Annie." Thalia says as we trudge through the dry Arizona desert.

"I'm just saying, does Lady Artemis actually like us?" I say barely missing some cacti. "I mean she choose us to go on this random quest to the Grand Canyon. She is clearly just trying to keep us occupied."

"She is trusting us to take demi-gods back to camp."

"The job of a satyr." No offense Grover. "Plus Lady Artemis doesn't even like camp. It just doesn't make sense."

Thalia walks a couple of paces ahead of me, "Maybe the Lady knows a certain demi-god needs to stop pushing down her feelings and get closure."

"I do not need closure!" I says stopping in my tracks.

Thalia turns around to face me, "You still sleep in your camp shirt."

"It's comfortable."

"Is that why you still hold Percy's flannel at night?"

My mouth drops open ajar, I don't know what to say. We haven't mentioned Percy since, lets call it what it is, since he left me. Us. Camp. Everything.

"I'm sorry Annabeth." Thalia says lowering her voice. "I shouldn't of mentioned him."

"It's fine." I start walking again, falling into line with Thalia. "I guess I do need to get over camp eventually."

It all started after the Titan War.

After we won I was overjoyed. I was planning a bonfire for that night, not only because we won but because it was his, Percy's, birthday. Tyson and I were gonna make him a blue cupcake. Then, well, I was going to ask him out. Finally tell him I love him. Kiss him, not like the last time, make sure he knows I mean it. But the gods had other plans.

They called us into Mt. Olympus, gave us the unimaginable. I mean they made me the architect of Olympus for gods sake.

When they called Percy up, when they offered him the chance to become a god, I laughed internally. I remembered years ago when I was offered a position as a Hunter, I turned it down because I wanted to stay with Percy. Because I loved him, I still think I do.

I thought, Percy would never leave everything he knows and loves to become a god, that's not him. Turns out I never actually knew him.

He said yes.

Standing only ten feet in front of me I heard, "Yes."

From a voice I heard so many times, a voice that still haunts me. He joined the very thing he hated, the very thing that made his mom raise him by herself, the very thing that he would cry into my arms about. He joined the gods.

He left me, he promised me he never would.

"Are you alright?" Percy asked me all those years ago. He was hugging his knees to his chest his raven hair falling around his shoulders.

"Yea it's whatever." I was sitting across from him on his bunk, staring around at the empty cabin. I thought that maybe one day I would be in this cabin with Percy, holding him. That day never came.

"Are you sure?"

"No."

Percy reached across and grabbed my hand, "Wise girl."

I sighed, "It's just, Thalia left me Percy. She joined the Hunters. I thought it was done, the being scared everyone was gonna leave. It had to be done, I mean who else could leave."

"Hey look at me," He picked up my other hand. "I promise I'll never leave. Got it? Till the end of time, I'll be right by your side. I know that doesn't get Thalia back. But maybe it'll make you not worry about me leaving."