The Assassin of the Hunt

The Acceptance

THALIA POV

That bitch. Wise my ass, how dare she do this to Percy. Luke and I raised her better than this. The first chance I get, I'm beating her and her new boyfriend into bloody pulps. The thought made me smile as I lied down in my bed. 

The next morning, there were no pranks on Percy. Instead, all he got was the sympathetic glance and the occasional sorry. He just stared at where his ring finger once was. He said it was a "necessary sacrifice" and his way of "showing dedication to our cause". 

He hardly sparred with Merina anymore, opting to practice solo. He would destroy the dummies, but we would never see it, since we thought it was best to give him some space. That is, until I decided to watch him. I watched as he took a throwing knife and tossed it straight into a head, while using the short blade to slit another's throat. He buried the blade into the neck, then punched another dummy a total of 10 times. He drew his main sword from his hip, and stabbed through a fourth's stomach, then kicked it, sending it back a good 5 feet. He proceeded to "kill" another 3 dummies before he noticed me. 

When he did, he walked over to the dummy with the blade in its neck and ripped it out, letting it fall to the ground. He sheathed the weapon and walked past me, muttering what sounded like "Sorry". 

That night, we were attacked by the Minotaur. Percy managed to shoot it in the knee with his crossbow but was sent flying back with a single punch. He looked very bruised. The beast managed to pin Artemis and was about to go for the kill. But before any of us could even pull our bows, Percy had twisted its arm, making it fall. It went for a punch, only to have all its fingers broken in under a second. He then started beating the shit out of it; breaking nearly all its teeth, giving it a black eye, and getting punched in the crotch so much that it would probably never be able to have kids. It yelled in pain, only stopping when its jaw was ripped out and driven straight through its eye, killing it instantly.

Percy twisted the broken jaw, and the monster dissipated into dust.  The scariest part was how Percy wasn't even phased. He just had a stone-cold expression the entire time. He helped up Artemis, who's leg was broken, and brought her to the infirmary. He then passed out, hitting the ground with a light thud.

She, being a goddess, healed quickly with the help of Ambrosia and other medical terms I didn't know. A few days later, Percy was busy sharpening arrows for his crossbow while I had a conversation with Sara, a hunter about 17 years old. 

"I gotta say, he is kinda hot." She spoke. I, strangely, had to agree.  He had a lean, yet muscular build and chiseled face structure, which could make any girl drop at his feet with a single glance. He was deeply focused on his work, so luckily, he wouldn't see us staring. But I quickly reminded myself that I was a hunter of Artemis, a sworn maiden. Plus, he was my cousin, and even though that really didn't matter in the Greek world, it kinda mattered to me. We continued talking until it came to the simple conclusion that he was hot, which he probably knew, yet stayed humble about it. That honestly kinda made him hotter.

Once again, I managed to remind myself that he's my cousin.

I ended my conversation with Sara, and walked over to Artemis, who seemed to be in perfect shape after the attack.

"What do you think of him?" I asked my half-sister curiously. "He's a respectable young man." She said distantly. Why she was distant, I had no clue. "What's on your mind?" I questioned. 

She looked at me, then at him. "He put his life in danger to save me. He could've easily been killed. Why?" she wondered. "It's his duty. He is the Guardian of the Hunt, after all. You're part of the Hunt, remember?" I answered.

She seemed to accept that answer. 

ARTEMIS POV

His bravery is admirable. He stepped in harm's way to save me in a way most males would not. And he didn't even ask for recognition or praise. If I didn't respect him in the past, I sure as hell did now.

Recently, I was starting to feel things for this broken hero. At first, I thought it was just a higher form of respect toward him. But now it's bigger. More than just respect or appreciation. During my brief interaction with Thalia, I couldn't even place words to describe him. 

I also noticed that some of the hunters would look at him with a strange look in their eyes. It took a while to place it, but I finally realized what it was. Want. 

They wanted Perseus, which I found quite strange until I looked at him. And I mean really look at him. I managed to place this toward his large yet contained muscles, his perfectly flowing hair, and his face. Oh, Chaos, his face. It was beautifully chiseled to perfection, like some ancient statue. I was starting to feel things I haven't felt in a long time. Not since Orion. 

Oh no.

I can't be, can I? This can't be happening, right? I can't be falling in love. With my Guardian, no less. I was taken out of my thoughts when a meeting was called. 

"Hermes, report." Ordered Zeus.

"There's a lot of activity in Italy, my Lord." The messenger responded.

"I'll go." I volunteered. I have no idea why, but maybe it was my Roman side wishing to go home. 

"Perfect. The location is in the cities of Florence, Venice, and Monteriggioni." He said.

Great. No Rome. What luck.

So, I kinda just threw in the Italy part at the end for more Assassin's Creed connections. Also, I'm thinking of throwing in a little romantic conflict for Percy with a certain Goddess. Hope you all are enjoying life and have a great day. Also, I may not post for most of next week because I'm going on vacation, but I'll try to put out some chapters the week after.