Searching For Serenity

Chapter 12

Artemis
Back at camp
"What the fuck!"
I whipped my head around, while releasing my grip on Percy's neck.
"Thalia!" I hissed, trying not to bring the rest of the Hunt out with a scream.
She stood in place, hands balled at her side and electricity sparking off of her, sending a murderous look over my shoulder.
"What is this?!" She screamed.
Percy stepped forward at my side, "Thal-"
BOOM
Thunder rolled threateningly overhead cutting Percy off. Thalia started walking eerily slow towards Percy, like a lion stalking a gazelle.
"...You're back for ONE FUCKING WEEK and you are already fucking my mistress!" She screamed, clearly getting more worked up.
"No! Thalia it's-"
"If it's not like that, then why are you holding her by the waist," she said before turning to me, "And you! You were wrapped around his neck! You made all of us swear a maidens oath and here you are falling for a boy within a week!"
I was stunned, I've never seen Thalia this upset, she was almost scary calm. The look in her eyes reminded me of our father's.
Realization was pounding itself into my brain. We'd been caught, and it hadn't even been a full twelve hours.
I feel sick that I could be such a hypocrite. I know this is wrong, but yet I don't have any regret in me, other than for not being more careful, making myself feel like even more of a piece of shit.
Should we even try to hide it? I asked myself, unsure if I can handle keeping a secret of this magnitude from my hunters, Would it hurt them more if I told them or if I hid it from them? What's the fuckingdifference?!
I still stared at Thalia, my mouth agape, my mind sprinting a marathon putting it all together.
Should I admit to everything?
Should I try and bullshit my way out of this?
I turned and looked at Percy. He had the same wordless, panicked expression that I knew we shared. He looked from Thalia to me, and gave a slight distressed smile before shrugging, as if he didn't know the answers to internal questions.
With the ball remaining in my court and Thalia not relenting, I had to make a decision.
Will I have any hunters left? Will my father disband my Hunt?
I was becoming increasingly disturbed as I ran all the possibilities through my head.
A life without my hunters and knowing that they resent me? Painful, probably the most terrifying thought.
I glanced at Percy to see him by my side. A life without him? Impossible. I wouldn't let him leave me if he wanted.
I made my decision, "Thalia...can we go somewhere else and talk, calmly, about this...?" I asked hopefully.
"No! You're not gonna sit me and talk to me like a kid," she retorted, still very hurt.
"I can just go Artemis...,"
I shot my eyes over to him, meeting his eyes. I examined his face, trying to decide if he was trying to help me or make a break for it.
I went with the latter and gave him a curt nod.
"No," Thalia interjected angrily, "You're the reason this is happening in the first place! You're not just gonna leave and pretend you don't have to e-explain yourself to me!" She finished, now sounding more hurt than angry.
Is she upset that we didn't tell her or that it's happening in the first place? I thought, the direction of the confrontation threatening to spin me off my feet.
"Thalia...I know how you must be feeling, but please at least give me the chance to explain before the others wake," I pleaded with my now tearful half-sister and lieutenant.
She threw another glare at Percy, but slightly nodded, looking as stiff as a 4x4.
Percy reached towards my hand to presumably give me a reassuring squeeze but seemed to have thought better of it considering the situation. He gave a worried look before turning away and heading farther into the lightly snow covered forest.
I turned back towards Thalia, "I know it looks bad, and it is, but it's not like tha-"
"Then what's it like exactly?"
I looked at my feet, "I'll tell you, and you'll have every right to tell the Hunt, but I would appreciate if you didn't. At least for now. This is still fresh and there's a lot I'm gonna have to figure out before I'm ready for everyone to know."
Thalia raised an eyebrow and gave a quick nod.
"Soo...," I started awkwardly, "me and Percy are in love."
Thalia glared at me and I knew she already suspected as such, "Is that all it takes? He kills a monster and saves your life and now you're acting like...like-uh..a bimbo! Falling over him just because of tha-"
"No! Before you assume, maybe you should ask," I said, anger pushing itself into the forefront of the plethora of emotions I was experiencing.
She stared at me, worried that I would have such a tone when she was supposed to be the mad one.
"It started a long time ago," I relented on the angry tone, set on explaining everything to her, "Not because he took the sky from me, but because I saw his loyalty when Annabeth was thrown from the cliff. He's proven time and time again that he cares more about the safety of the people he loves than his own life. He is the complete opposite of the stereotype that I despise."
I looked to her to see that she was tracking.
"You know him better than I do, and you must know how great of a man that our cousin is," I said, wincing at myself calling Percy my cousin.
Thalia cringed as well, "Please don't ever say that again."
I croaked out a short laugh, "Yeah that's probably for the best...," I trailed off. "Thalia I've lived a millennia long life and every second of it has been without a lover and I've been fine with that, but Percy is different."
She stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
I looked into her eyes and steeled myself, "I'm going to spend the rest of my life with him, it's the hardest and easiest decision of my life. I understand you and the rest of the girls will probably think I'm a whore, but I can't live without him," I finished with tears in my eyes.
Thalia instinctually stepped forward before stopping, "Milady...are you sure you're not rushing into this?"
"Thalia, ever since that night he has been in my mind's eye. Whether I knew I had feelings for him at the time or not..."
She just stared at me with a surprised look on her face for the first time.
"It is love and it is true, I've even had that more or less confirmed by that whore Aphrodite," I explained, "And even if that idiot over there doesn't know it, I'm going to marry him. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, and I know this is unlike me, but this feels like fate. Me and him belong together, like we were made for each other and I can feel it. Literally, I can feel it, my aura entwined with his as soon as I awoke in his arms after he saved me.
Thalia looked thoughtful, as if she wasn't sure how to feel.
I sighed, "I completely understand if you and the rest of the hunters d-dont w-w-want to stay in the Hunt. I can't explain my feelings or how sorry I am, but I h-have to do this...I'm sorry." I said, the dams in my eyes bursting open.
Thalia sighed in response and stepped forward and put out her arms, which I gratefully accepted, leaning into the hug, still crying over her shoulder.
"I'll stay with you milady, if you were to ever find a male to love I'm glad it's Percy."
Her words slapped me across my face, "Really?!" I asked holding her at arms length, staring into her eyes.
"Yes. As long as I don't have to listen to you guys porkin' it out every night," she replied with a slim smile and wink.
"Gods no. That's not gonna happen. Still a maiden..." I trailed off, my mind moving onto a different track, tears still rolling down my face.
Thalia looked at me warmheartedly and spoke softly, "You want kids don't you?"
I looked down at the fallen snow and let my hands slip off of her shoulders, "Yes. Yes I do. I'm not saying right now, but I will eventually no longer be a maiden, Zeus willing or not."
"But how do you plan on getting around your oath? The Styx doesn't forget!" She said sounding worried.
"Actually I never swore on the Styx, I asked father if I could take the oath and made him promise to never marry me off like property," I explained.
She looked confused but nodded anyway.
I sat down on the soft snow, and patted the spot next to her, "Why don't you sit down and I'll explain it all."