Percy Jackson: Guardian of the Huntress

"From Dust to Dust"

Hello readers, wassup? This is a very important chapter, so be patient and stay with me.

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"I know what you're planning on doing."

"Oh?" I slide my vambraces on and clip them into place.

"You spoke with Rowan about that son of Zeus, Heracles."

"That's right." I tighten my shin guards and stand up, cracking my knuckles.

"You're going to fight him, aren't you?" She notes.

"Only if it comes to that." I reply, "But I'd rather not fight a son of Zeus. I'll certainly have some choice words for him though."

Alex sighs, "You are staying for the memorial, right?"

"Of course I am." I nod, "I would never disrespect our fallen comrades but ignoring their memorial."

"Say, after the memorial, why don't we find Xander and Sheena." Alex says, "You know, get the whole training unit together. We could even do that now."

"I know what you're trying to do." I smirk at the daughter of Demeter, "And it's not going to work. Besides, you're just looking for an excuse to talk to Xander. Which you could being doing right now, instead of pestering me."

Alex opens her mouth, then promptly closes it, apparently unable to come up with a response.

"Oh come on. It's pretty obvious how you feel about him. Just talk to the guy." I laugh at her shocked expression.

"Is that so?" the Guardian of Apollo gets a wicked gleam in her eyes, "And what is going on between you and a certain goddess of the hunt, hm?"

I glance sidelong at Alex, "Those are very dangerous waters you're treading. Artemis would vaporize you in an instant for saying even less than that."

"Okay, okay." Alex holds up her hands in surrender, "Forget I said anything." She then grumbles under her breath. I think I hear 'stubborn' and 'denial,' but I can't be completely certain.

I finish strapping on the last of my armor and glance at the sand timer, "Styx! Come on, we need to get going. You can drool over Xander during the meeting.

It's the Winter Solstice, and because of that, all of the Guardians are required to present alongside their Olympian charge. It's the only meeting where that is required.

Alex blushes furiously, then punches my shoulder, "Very funny Seaweed Brain, now let's go."

Together, the two of us walk out of the Guardian barracks. As we walk through the lower floors, younger Guardians, mere trainees, stare up at us in awe. One, a young girl, cranes her neck around to stare at us, tripping as she does so.

At this, I hear a bark of laughter, then in a whisper, "There goes the weak link, tripping herself up again." This is then followed by another, quieter laugh.

I kneel down next to the young girl, "Are you alright there, young Guardian?"

Her eyes widen as she scrambles back, "Yes sir, Lord Guardian sir."

Alex lets out a snort of laughter, "Lord?"

I shake my head and chuckle as well, "Please, I'm no lord; just a Guardian like you. The only Lords are the gods. Now tell me, what is your name?"

I sense Alex step aside, but remain focused on the eight-ish year old in front of me.

"Bi-Bianca sir, daughter of Hecate, sir. I'm a part of training unit four." She seems a little unnerved.