Banished

43

Artemis PoV

I took a deep breath as I sat down at the dining table.

Percy pulled up a chair so he could sit next to me and massage my temples with his thumbs. "I know today was exhausting, dear. Look at it this way; now that we've actually told everyone about our engagement, we can kick back and enjoy knowing that we're getting married."

I rested my head on his shoulder with a smile. "You're really good at making me feel better."

"Well, people do say, happy wife, happy life" he replied. "So, future wife, what would you like to do now?"

"You should pick this time," I decided. "I'm always the one who chooses what we do."

"You could come monster hunting with me," he suggested. "It's pretty interesting and not a bad stress reliever."

I stood up. "As long as it's not in the same forest as my hunters. I plan to let them process everything for about a week before I contact them again."

My fiance wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sure they're happy for you, dear. They think of you as a mother or a sister, and they're probably happy that you've found someone who looks out for your well being."

"Are you suggesting they don't believe I can care for myself?" I questioned, snapping my fingers to change into attire better suited for hunting monsters.

"Of course not," he replied. "You have many responsibilities, and that doesn't leave much time for you to look after your happiness. With me around to think of that, your hunters would no longer have those concerns."

I sighed and kissed his cheek. "So, what are we hunting?"

"Some really nasty monster mutations," the man started. "Drakons that can blend into their environment."

"Those sound incredibly dangerous," I remarked. "It's a good thing we're going after them instead of some random demigods who can't shoot straight."

He gave an indignant snort, feeling that he had once been a random demigod who couldn't shoot straight.

Now, he was a god who couldn't shoot straight.

Percy took my hand and we appeared in a grassy plain. "Just remember, we have to capture the monster. We only need one for Athena to analyze."

I noticed how the grass seemed to shift and pointed it out to him.

He nodded and attacked before I could explain any sort of plan.

This ended up costing him dearly, as there was a second drakon hiding nearby.

Without hesitation, I killed the one that posed more of a danger to the god.

Or so I thought.

The remaining drakon ceased its blending into the environment and revealed that where the monster I had killed was about twenty feet long, the other was well over a hundred.

My future husband, being the brilliant man he was, decided to tackle the beast.

I sighed and just watched him cling to the monster as it thrashed around before summoning several large bolas to throw.

When the drakon had its head reared and my fiance was thrown off of it, I threw one of the bolas.

The monster was confused by the resistance when it tried to open its mouth, but I knew one alone wouldn't be able to hold.

I threw six more of the large bolas, which each tangled around the monster's mouth, before looking to see where Percy had been flung off to.

He had been thrown into a tree and was now standing, holding his back.

I felt the ground begin to rumble, and the last thing I saw was the look of horror on his face.