The Child of Artemis

Chapter 6

Annabeth immediately felt bad for Hazel and Frank. They had traveled all the way from Camp Jupiter to celebrate, and probably didn't expect to get hit with another prophecy. To be honest, none of them had really expected it. Annabeth could practically hear the Three Fates laughing at them.

Frank frowned. "What are you talking about Chiron? What new prophecy?" He glanced around the table, and noticed the grave looks of the others. Even Leo looked serious, which must have been hard for him.

Chiron sighed. "Miss Dare, would you mind telling him?"

"Of course, Chiron." Rachel offered Frank a sad smile. The red-haired Oracle had been walking since yesterday, and would soon be off her cane altogether.

"Yesterday, I delivered a prophecy," Rachel spoke slowly and carefully, as if addressing a live land mine that could go off at the slightest touch. "I was unconscious at the time, but Annabeth and Piper were there." She turned to the two women. "Could one of you please...?"

Annabeth shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to recite:

             "A new demigod, The daughter of the moon,
             Shall bear the weight of the sky holder soon.
             The Seven shall rise up to fight a new threat,
            And save the goddess who's strength is not gone yet.
           The thief of the flames has escaped his end,
           The bane of the gods, a hated old friend"
 
They were all silent. Annabeth could see them digesting this. Beneath the table, Percy reached over and gripped her hand. She squeezed it, trying to say what couldn't be said. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you."

For a moment, none of them spoke. Then Leo cleared his throat.

"So, are we gonna try to dicipher this thing or what?" He grinned his crooked grin. "Let's get to it." He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"So, I'm thinking the daughter of the moon is gonna be a daughter of Artemis. She's the moon goddess, right?"

Annabeth and the others gasped. She stared at Leo, waiting for him to be struck down by some lightning or silver arrows, but he remained the same, if a bit confused.

"What?" He asked, "Is there something on my face?" He rubbed his fingers over his nose and mouth. "Guys? What's wrong?"

"Leo," Chiron said gently, "Artemis is a maiden goddess. She has no children. To imply that she does would be considered blasphemy of the goddess and her honesty."

Leo frowned. "Then, what about her Hunters? Those aren't her daughters?"

Jason shook his head. "Man are you forgetting? My sister, Thalia, is her lutinent. The Hunters are nymphs, or daughters of other gods who join the Hunt."

"Oh, yeah. Right." Leo sat back, slightly embarrassed.

"Moving on," Percy said with a side glance at Leo. "The Sky Holder is defiantly Atlas. So this new demigod, who ever they are, will have to hold the sky for some reason or another. And we're going to have to fight someone or something. That's not a whole lot of information."

"Don't forget the whole "the thief of the flames" part." Rachel interjected. "I'm no Greek scholar, but wasn't there a myth about a titan who stole some flames from Hestia's Hearth and gave them to humans? What was his name, Promesus?"

"Prometheus." Chiron corrected her. "But yes, you are correct. He stole coals from the Hearth on Olympus, albeit against Zeuce's orders, and gifted them to the human race. He was captured and punished in Hadez. Well, up until the War against Kronos. Unfortunately, we lost track of him after the war. If he's finally resurfaced, he may be out for revenge against the gods. Olympus knows he's had enough time to plan."

"So, The "hated old friend" must mean him then," Jason said. "So, it sounds like all we have to do is find the new demigod, and Prometheus, and have her hold up the sky." His brow furrowed. "Well, that doesn't make any sense."

"Do prophecies ever make sense?" Percy muttered. Annabeth chuckled.

"Don't forget the part, "To save the goddess who's strength is not gone yet." Piper recited. "Is one of the goddess sick or something?"
"No, I doubt it." Chiron said. He appeared thoughtful. "Although prehaps i-."

"I'VE GOT IT!" Frank shouted. The group jumped, all looking to the normally quiet demigod, who was shining with his new idea. "Guys, I think know what's going on!" He turned to Chiron. "It's possible to imprision a god, right?" Chiron nodded without comment. "So, what if Prometheus has one of the goddesses cages up somewhere? It could happen, right?"

"Wait." Rachel held up her hands. "It's possible to imprison a god?"

"Yes. It is a fact the gods prefer to keep "under wraps" so to speak. But yes. It has happened several times before. Ares was captured and put in a jar by the twin giants, Zeus was tied up by the other gods for, er, tyranny, and Hera was chained to her throne by Hephaestus as revenge."

"Don't forget when Hera was chained over a lava filled chasm by Zeuce," Percy added, "And when she was caged in the Wolf House. And when-."

"Thank you, Percy, that's enough." Chiron eyed the demigod sternly. Percy calmed his mouth shut.

"Wow." Hazel commented. "In a hindsight, Hera gets imprisoned a lot."

"Is there any wonder why?" Percy muttered under his breath. Annabeth heard him and suppressed a chuckle.
Both she and Percy were not fans of the Queen of the Gods. The goddess had messed with them once by making Percy forget everything and sending him to Camp Jupiter. Annabeth had spent months looking for him. It wasn't the best way to spend a summer, but it was a memorable one.

"Leo, please continue."

"Well, what if Prometheus has escaped his punishment and has somehow captured one of the goddess' and is now feeding off her strength and trying to become a god? Like with Hera and Porphyrion." He took a breath. "And what if we need this new demigod to hold up the sky for Atlas so that he can fight Prometheus? That's possible, right?" He looked around the table at the shocked faces. "Right?"

Annabeth nodded. "Leo, I think you're on to something. If your guess is correct, then we need to track down Prometheus and this new demigod, and fast."

Piper frowned. "Guys, I know it sounds impossible, but... what if Artemis really did have a daughter? I mean, there was once a demigod who was formed from the essence of Athena and Hephaestus. What if, somehow, a monster got a bit of Artemis's essence and used it to form a demigod. That could explain the whole "daughter of the moon" thing." She looked around the table. "At least, it seems possible to me."

Chiron stroked his beard. Annabeth noticed that there were quite a few gray streaks forming in his hair. It made her feel sympathetic for the old centaur. He out of all of them deserved a bit of a break.

"It is plausible," Chiron said at last. "That what you are suggesting is the case. Lady Artemis would never break her vow, but if instead a monster made a child out of her essence, she would not be guilty of... intimacy with someone." He nodded. "I think you are correct, Miss McClean." He backed his wheelchair away from the table.

"Now come. We must prepare you all for the quest."
~~~
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