Perianca Stories

The Maiden's Vow

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13352839/1/The-Maiden-s-Vow

"Crazy idea time."

"Anything," says Bianca.

"Okay, there's a maintenance hatch under its foot. There may be a way to control the thing, switches or something. I'm going to try to get inside."

What? Was he insane? Or suicidal? Or both? Bianca cursed herself. Why did the thought of Percy putting himself in harm's way like this make her so much more terrified? The truth is, she knows the answer, she just can't bring herself to accept it. The amszing thing was that it had crept up on her almost imperceptibly, starting with the moment she had first accidentally gazed into his sea-green eyes at the Winter Dance at Westover. That felt like ages ago now. It had continued when he had risked his life to protect her against the maniacal Dr. Thorn. That was when the hunters had arrived, and when Artemis offered her a place in the hunt, Bianca had only two reservations: one was her only remaining family, her little brother, Nico. The other was Percy. True, she'd hardly known him, but there had been a connection, or at least the beginnings of one. As soon as she took the oath, that connection was no longer allowed. So when Percy had secretly followed them on their quest to rescue Artemis, to say Bianca had mixed feelings would have been a massive understatement. Her head was telling her this: She was a huntress, she took a vow to Artemis, a vow to remain a maiden forever. Her heart was telling her this: Percy was kind, thoughtful, witty, and just clueless enough to be cute. His good looks didn't hurt either. She couldn't deny it any longer, vow or not, she liked him. And so she'd found her loyalties torn, because she still liked a lot of things about the hunt too, the freedom, the sense of belonging, the idea of a family who would always be there for you. So she'd restrained herself as much as possible when around Percy, she'd kept her oath. None of that was enough to stop the frantic pounding of her heart now.

"How? You'll have to stand under its foot to get in! You'll be crushed!"

"Cause a distraction, I'll just have to time it right."

She can't let him die like this. "No. I'll go," she says, determination in her voice.

This time it's Percy who is unable to hide his shock. "But you're new at this! You'll die!"

Bianca shakes her head. "Its my fault the monster came after us, now its my responsibility. I have to make it right." Before Percy can say anything, she picks up the little metal statue, the only one not in Nico's collection. She was supposed to give it to him, now she might never see the big smile on his face, never hear him rattle off Mythomagic stats from memory...

"Here," she says, "give this to Nico and tell him...tell him I'm sorry."

But Percy doesn't take the statue, instead, he takes Bianca's hand and pulls her closer, so she can't run off. "I can't do that Bianca. I made a promise too, that I would look after you. And- and I won't let you throw your life away. You have everything to live for."

Not everything. Not if you die.

Zoe Nightshade is distracted, she and the others are too busy fending off Talos. So Bianca makes a split second decision. Then she does the one thing she can't do, becuase she may never get a chance to do it again. She breaks her vow.

The kiss is sudden, it catches Percy by surprise at first, but he wraps his arms around her and reciprocates. And for just one brief moment, everything else has fallen away, and the two of them are the center of the universe.

When they pull back, reality hits, in a few seconds, one of them is probably going to die. Bianca still wants to go, but Percy closes her hand around the statue and quietly says, "I'm sorry, Bianca." Then he uncaps Riptide and charges at the mechanical monstrosity.