The Lone Guardian (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

                 

The next morning, I awoke with a yawn and a smirk as I remembered the previous night's events. After I scared the schist out of Smelly Jake (I saw the chance and I took it), I reappeared in my tent at the hunters' campsite.  By that time, all of the girls had turned in for the night, so I changed into some sweatpants and went to bed. Now, I took a shower and put on some jeans, a sea-green t-shirt, and black Converse before going to the mess hall. Surprisingly, all of the hunters were already sitting at the table.

"Good morning, ladies.," I said with a bow.

"Morning, Perce!," Thalia responded. The others only nodded, except for Elizabeth, who ran up to me and shouted, "Hi, Percy!"

I smiled at her.

"Hello, Lizzie.," I said. She frowned.

"That's not my name. I prefer Elizabeth.," she said matter-of-factly. I blinked before chuckling a bit and turning to Thalia.

"You see it, too, right?," I asked her. She nodded and smirked.

"They're so alike, it's scary.," she said and smiled sadly. "Annabeth would've loved her."

I nodded, but felt a tugging on my shirt before I could respond. I looked down to see Elizabeth with a pouting look on her face.

"What are you talking about? And who's Annabeth?," she asked impatiently. I looked to Artemis.

"I assume you've told her everything and her parentage?," I asked. She nodded and I turned back to Elizabeth.

"Annabeth was your big sister... and one of my best friends.," I said softly.

"Really? What's she like?," Elizabeth asked curiously. I sighed dreamily.

"She was beautiful and incredibly smart. She had gorgeous gray eyes that always sparkled when she laughed, which she did a lot when I did something stupid, and her blonde hair was curled like a princess, just like yours.," I said, while ruffling Elizabeth's hair as she giggled.

"She could beat anyone in a fight, even without a weapon. She loved architecture and would talk about it for hours with a glint in her eyes that always appeared when she was thinking. She never ceased to amaze me.," I finished quietly. I looked up to see the hunters' staring at me and I blushed furiously at what I said, but Elizabeth was awestruck.

"I want to meet her!," she said excitedly. I smiled sadly.

"I'm afraid she passed away, Elizabeth.," I whispered. Her smile melted off her face and turned into a frown.

"Oh.," she said softly. She looked at me for a moment. "Did you love her?"

I closed my eyes, picturing Annabeth's smiling face with a small smile of my own.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. I loved her a lot and... I always will.," I said, a single tear falling down my face. Elizabeth wrapped me in a hug and I smiled as I gratefully hugged her back.

"Percy?," Artemis suddenly asked. I cleared my throat and faced her, ignoring the stares of the hunters.

"Yes, Lady Artemis?," I asked politely. She smiled viciously and for a second I thought it was directed towards me.

"Please report Jake Hale's punishment. In detail.," she said. I sighed in relief and explained exactly what I did to Smelly Jake, occasionally covering Elizabeth's ears when I got particularly graphic. When I was done, Artemis and the hunters were all smiling and nodding approvingly.

"Good. The pig got what he deserved.," a black-haired huntress named Lisa said.

"I like to call him Smelly Jake.," I interjected. Thalia snorted.

"Is that a reference to your old stepfather?," she asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Duh. This guy gave Smelly Gabe a run for his money, and that's saying something since he smelled like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts.," I said, wrinkling my nose at the memory. Now, all of the hunters looked disgusted. Ha. Try living with it, ladies.

"Who is this Smelly Gabe?," Phoebe asked with distaste.

"Smelly Gabe is my lousy excuse for an ex-stepfather who, even though he treated us like trash, my mother put up with to protect me, since he was so repulsively human it masked my demigod scent for years. And before you go hunting him down for how he treated my mom, she turned him to stone with Medusa's head after my first quest.," I explained. The hunters were practically seething at the beginning of my speech, but by the end they were clapping in approval of how my mom handled the situation.

"Your mother was a wise woman.," one hunter named Sarah said, the others nodding  in agreement. I nodded in agreement, too, a sad smile on my face.

Artemis cleared her throat.

"Percy. Once you have finished breakfast," she began and smirked, "you will begin your chores. First, you will wash the dishes. Then, you will sharpen the arrows in the armory, after which you will do the laundry."

I held back a groan.

"Of course, milady.," I said respectfully.

"Hunters, while Percy is doing his chores, you will be practicing your archery and we'll all be giving Elizabeth her first archery lesson while you do so. Understood?," Artemis said.

There were shouts of "Yes, ma'am" as the hunters all left the mess hall and walked towards the archery range. I sighed and ate a quick breakfast of bacon and a chocolate-chip muffin before trudging towards the kitchen area to start washing the dishes.

It wasn't until hours later, as I was finishing folding the last of the laundry, when I heard the screams.