Acceptance

1

AN: As many of you are well aware, this is one of Fanofthehunt's books. I do not claim that I own it. Nor am I Uncle Rick, meaning that I do not own PJO/HOO.

Since Fanofthehunt's account got deleted, I took the liberty, and the duty, of being the saviour of all the Pertemis fans. Which means that I carefully preserved, and will be republishing several, though not all, of her books.

Also, in case you didn't notice, I also managed to save her covers. BOOM!

So, read on, and welcome to Acceptance, by Fanofthehunt, TheSonofTartarus republished edition.

Artemis PoV

I sighed, wiping off the small amount of makeup Aphrodite had insisted I wear to the ball.

My hunters had grudgingly accepted my father's decree, swearing not to kill whichever male had taken my hand in marriage by the end of the night.

Father had promised to never force me into marriage, and of course, he couldn't follow through.

Resigning myself to my fate, I pushed open the door, faced with every other unmarried immortal that resided within Olympus.

After the recent wars, more and more of my peers, comrades, and even enemies within Olympus had faded, but none were reproducing.

Anyone who had been around before the wars could see the difference.

During gatherings, attendees had more elbow room. During festivals, the streets were less crowded.

It was almost as though a blanket of dread had been laid out over Olympus.

Leaving my thoughts, I pushed away the male attempting to court me.

I vaguely remembered him as a son of Aphrodite.

Noticing a passing tray, I snagged one of the wine glasses.

Likely the first of many to be had that night.

After seeing the group of suitors preparing to court me, I downed the glass and set it on another passing tray, looking to find my sister, Athena.

I found her captivated, enraptured even, by one of the wittier minor gods of the third or fourth generation.

Zachariah, I think.

Turning away, I found myself encircled by several eager suitors.

A dark-haired man with a sharp jaw and green eyes whom even I had to admit was handsome caught my eye.

He seemed familiar, though I couldn't quite place him.

The man took a small step forward and paused.

I nodded slightly, and he continued forward, grabbing two glasses off a passing tray.

Before another suitor could approach me, the handsome man had arrived, offering a drink.

Accepting the alcohol, I moved farther from the horde of males.

"I know I shouldn't be happy to see someone else uncomfortable during a social event," he started. "But it's nice to know I'm not the only one who dislikes the nature of it."

I nodded. "Father believes that as long as there are gods, the era will not die out. He'll do anything to stay in power, even if it means breaking promises made to his favourite children."

"Oh," he mumbled. "Right. Good evening, Lady Artemis."

"I much prefer being referred to as Artemis," I interjected. "Formalities lose their meaning after the first century or two."