The Lone Guardian (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

                 

At first, I thought to myself, 'Well that didn't last long.'

Then, I realized all I saw was blackness. No Underworld. No ferry. No Charon. Nothing. At that moment, the world around me came into focus and I was able to hear voices.

"He lost a lot of blood. Luckily, I got here when I did or he might not have made it.," a familiar male voice spoke to my right.

"Does that mean he'll live, Apollo?," another familiar voice, this one a girl's, spoke to my left.

"Yep. No need to worry, Arty!," Apollo said.

"Don't call me Arty!," Artemis growled. Their voices began to fade as the twins walked away arguing. I slowly cracked open my eyes and scanned my surroundings.

I was lying on a cot in the infirmary tent. I looked down to see that I was shirtless with bandages wrapped heavily around my torso with some more on my shoulder. I slowly stood while painfully clutching my side and put on a shirt that was waiting on a table next to me as I stumbled outside.

It was now nighttime, but I could see he hunters and Artemis gathered around a campfire. Even from here, I could see Artemis' face and she looked furious. As I shuffled closer, I could hear Artemis shouting, but no one noticed my slow approach.

"Who shot the arrow?!," Artemis shouted. When none of the hunters responded, she continued.

"Percy was fighting to protect all of us and he was winning until that arrow was shot. If it wasn't for Apollo, an honorable man would be dead.," she ranted. Most of the hunters looked shocked that Artemis called a man honorable, Thalia looked like she was choking back tears as she glared at her sisters. Finally, the huntress who woke me up with a cold bucket of water this morning, whose name I learned was Hannah, slowly raised her hand.

"I shot the arrow, milady. Why does it matter, though? What makes him so honorable? He is a male.," she said with a scowl. Thalia looked ready to explode, but Artemis gave her a steely glare before looking right at me and met my eyes, asking a silent question. I slowly nodded my head and she took a deep breath.

"You wish to know what makes him honorable?," she asked and the girls nodded. "Then let me tell you a story. The story of Perseus Jackson."

I listened from nearby as Artemis recounted the events of my life, starting with my first quest. It wasn't until she began speaking of my and Annabeth's time in Tartarus that I realized I was crying. The girls listened intently. A few even shed some tears. It was when Artemis  reached recent events that I decided to make my presence known.

"Everything was peaceful for once in my life.," I began. The hunters all gasped at my sudden appearance.

"I decided to visit my parents in the city. When I arrived, I found out that they were both dead.," I continued, my voice cracking on the last word as tears silently cascaded down my cheeks.

"I returned to camp, hoping to grieve in peace with Annabeth, one of my best friends and the love of my life, but I returned to see most of camp, my home, in ruins with a horde of monsters surrounding my closest friends, my family.," I said and took a shuddering breath before continuing. "By the time I came to help, it was too late."

Many of the girls were crying now and Thalia unashamedly came and stood by me with her arms wrapped around me in a hug.

"A week later, at the funeral, I realized that...," I hesitated, "I realized that I didn't want to live without them. I didn't want to live without my Wise Girl."

Some of the girls gasped, while others only widened their eyes in shock.

"It was then that I went to Olympus and asked the gods to kill me.," I said quietly. Now, all of the hunters were openly crying.