Pertemis: A Wolf’s Tale novel Chapter 35

Artemis’s point of view

The golden globe of Apollo seemed to be late that morning, dew seemed to form more than normal without the evaporation of the morning sun. The camp was cold, fog embraced it with a curtain of blurriness from afar and the birds seemed to be comfortable with the straws of their nests.

But it seemed the moon not irresponsible, or perhaps it had passed the time for its wax, nonetheless, Artemis awoken to the cold morning air.

She swept the sleep off her eyes, holding her head because of the turmoil therein as her hand reached for the cup off water on the nightstand, something she expected seemed to be missing.

The feeling of not having Percy next to her seemed somewhat normal now, ever since he ran away. But to her, whenever he returned, that hope and the feeling of lost still lingered within her in the morning, where she couldn't feel his presence next to her.

Her silver eyes that mesmerised every mortal and god darted to the idiot that somehow she had an interest and feeling on, and he never stopped to fascinate her sleeping on his stomach on the couch just few feet away from her bed.

Did he afraid of her that he couldn't sleep on the same bed anymore?

The thought was terrifying. Although she always had that stern countenance around him, she always tried to make up the fault she made that day. She'd always wanted to fix it. All she wanted was to make everything look like before, where he was comfortable around her and she was comfortable him. But now it seemed there was an invisible wall between to Artemis. It was so high that even the walls of Donald Trump couldn't have been higher (????????? N/A I'm just kidding with this part, but it's just too funny ?)

His eyes slowly opened, blinking few times and the moon touched the waves. They just stared at each other, the fire burning within them and the waves churning in their chest whenever his green and her silver contacted. It was him the first to speak.

"Sobbed up?" A smirk came to his face. "You were completely wasted yesterday"

"Who said I was drunk?" She snapped, "I was just...tired."

That stubbornness of an excuse never enough for her. She had no idea what had happened last night, even the slightest event was now blank. All she knew was that they had a party, and she assumed she was pretty much a mess afterwards. This is Apollo's fault.

"Yeah keep believe in it" Percy said as he moved to the closet. All his clothes she was still packed in, it was in case if she need a catalyst to cause her brain fall asleep on the first few weeks of his runaway. He somehow now had that impact of her routine, she had never felt this dependent before.

"I'm surprised you still keep my clothes" he said with his back to her, digging to find something.

"What you hope me to throw  them in the wolf cages?"

She could feel him smirking as she snapped her finger and the bed was fixed. It was not that she relied on her power and lazy, normally that was the discipline in camp. But she was too tired that morning to even care about those principles.

That was until she felt something weird about her jacket. Did she just grow over the night?

"Why does my jacket is so tight?" She frowned, examined it as it wrapped around her body.

She felt Percy stiffened, an aura of nervousness radiated from him.

"Probably you spilled the drink on your jacket" he suggested. "And they are still drying"

Though his voice telling he was thinking otherwise. Nonetheless, she didn't push since she was afraid he would pass out from the nervousness.

Weeks passed and things seemed to be coming back into place, just like how it should've been. It was that morning when Artemis was playing with the eternal Pearl on the couch, it was the a gift from Poseidon her uncle for sweeping out the entire population of Telekhines on the west sea. It was satisfying.

The globe glowed with a strange blue and green light, that iridescent colour flow and danced within it like the current of the ocean. It was eternal because of the light that will glow forever, and no matter what method you use, it will ever be broken. That precious pearl marked the alliance of her and hers uncle because besides Aphrodite and Apollo and Hestia of course, Artemis had no one to support her on Olympus.

Suddenly, her fingers twisted the wrong way that the pearl fell from her hand and rolled under the bed.

Oh Chaos!

She crawled forward, swirling, twisting her forearm and fingers to reach for the pearl. A feeling of coldness of the pearl contacted her skin as she grin and slowly retreated her hand with the pearl within. But the glow reflected something else under the bed and made it glittered for a moment. But Artemis eyes were too sharp that to not heed the object.

She used the power to increase the buoyancy around the bed and the wooden bed floated on mid air within a second. The thing she discovered threw questions to her.

A tattered, silver jacket laying on the brown carpet. She slowly picked up and presented in front of her.

It was her jacket, and most of all, it was very concentrated of liquor sense that nearly choked her out.

But suddenly, the memory started flooding back like water as she was about to drop the tattered wine splattered silver jacket.

That night where they were on the bed, the wild time where her walls were broken down, where she allowed something never thought to.

Why are you so stupid?

It was her, the one that started all things. That fire dancing as his voice whispered, lingering still at the present and in the room.

Dammit, why do you have to be so beautiful?

The wild experience, all the lips and skin and touches that happened on that same bed as Artemis lost control of her power, the wooden legs clashed on the floor created a tremendous sound as if her father weaved the clouds with his seer lightnings. That roar, of the pout jacket took the damage from his claws. That desire and lust brunt like a fire within the room, that scene that was replayed to Artemis. She felt exposed; to the world and to all things that she had sworn to hide and to hate. But deep down, part of her felt nothing, like they were aware of what could happen and even them also desired it to be.

Her trembling lips touched by her fingers, trying to feeling that lingering touches of his on it. It was blank, completely when the scene ended. Slowly, but surely little by little, it all made sense to her.

Blush creaked her cheeks as she sat on the bed hard. Why could I be so stupid? I practically revealed how I felt to him, where would I hide my face from now on? She growled to herself.

The flap suddenly opened as Percy rushed, looking around confusingly.

"Is it just me or there was an earthquake occurred in this room?" He scratched the back of his head.

Her back was facing him, her gripped at the jacket she was holding close to her chest. Keep calm Artemis.

"Aren't you supposed to do laundry?" She questioned, trying to sound angry to decrease the suspicion. But it came out as a stutter. Dam you tongue!

Artemis could tell he was glancing around, even trying to look over her shoulders. Did he remember what happened between them? Of course he did since he was the one that hid the jacket. A realisation finally lingered, yet came to her that he had allowed it to happen. Even she was afraid, part of her didn't accept, but the question was now starting to form.

Could he have the same feeling like her?

She gripped the jacket closer, her nails piercing the fabric.

"Uh you ok over there?"

"No I'm not! Why didn't you tell me?"

She nearly punched her own mouth. It was just a question she had in her mind, that idiot always got it slip from her mouth. Now it was more suspicious about her discovery than before.

"You need something to drink?" He suggested, his step indicated moving backwards. "I can get one"

No I don't want it dammit! Why can't you realise it? She wanted to yell at him. It was too many questions that was bombarding her mind at the moment. If he liked her the way she liked him, then it could work out right? It wouldn't destroy their current relationship if someone admitted to another? But could he be drunk that day to the point he mistook her with Aphrodite. She just got him back, she didn't want to chase him away because of a sister that had a feeling of more than what it supposed to be settled for him.

No dammit, if she kept hiding, forever she'd be trapped in that dammed mud of assumptions. Nonetheless he should've discovered that obvious hint from her words that night. Even how stupid he is, he should've caught something.

She threw the jacket on the floor and turned back to him. But the moment that face came to view, her words uttered.

He gave her a frown as she struggled to form her sentence.

"Th-that night..."

His looked terrified immediately. Holy, what should I say next? She started to panic. Why would've thought Perseus Phoebe a.k.a Kelp Head, Brick Head can pick up the pace and understand it immediately.

"I-I'm sorry Artemis" he stepped back, started begging as she looked at him in shock.

"No, no don't be" he voice seemed soft and so gentle that both were surprised.

He looked at her for awhile, trying to compromise something. Seeing that, Artemis modified her words and made it clear for him.

"You don't need to understand Percy" she said. "I can understand..."

A blush was starting to form on her cheeks. What would he do? Would he confess now or forever leave her? She didn't know that she was holding her breath until it was released when Percy's shoulders dropped with a sigh.

"So...you are not angry that I accidentally broke your dagger?"

Her face expression would have been funny because every expectation crashed and collapsed like a high building after an earthquake. She wanted to just pick a an object she could find and slam on that head of him until the intelligence comes out.

Seeing her face, Percy's face turned nervous again since he knew he had done something wrong. That's right boy!

"DAMMIT WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO STUPID!" She roared devastatingly, holding her head by her hands.

"You said that night" he reasoned. "It thought the night two days ago that I made a mistake"

"Not that night you idiot!" she snapped. "It's the day your party happened."

Immediately everything seemed quite down when she noticed him stiffened. It was not afraid, just nervous, it was not terrified, just turned serious. Her anger suppressed when she saw him in that stage. So he knew, he still remembered that as she looked at him, her heart raced faster.

Now tell me you idiot! She wanted to yell. Say what you need and forever our future will be determined.

"Artemis I..." he paused.

Perhaps she should've started first. But it was now seemed impossible for her. Even when her mind was wishing she didn't have to discover that jacket, didn't have to see that replayed memory, that would've been normal where she unknowingly having a crush on him without him noticing. But part of her wanted to seek the answer, could their future change, could their relationship change? It was risky, it seemed terrified to her to even consider. But it could change everything between them forever, a hoard of treasure of happiness of satisfaction or the hole of devastation, of loneliness and abandoned. That answer shall reveal everything.

Suddenly, the light seemed concentrated outside the tent and the temperature raised rapidly. They both turned around to the flap until it was burned down and Apollo stepped in with his warlike look.

No...

"Apollo-" Percy started but Apollo marched to him with a rage of a lion.

"You!" Her brother's eyes glowed finger as he landed a fierce punch on Percy's cheek that sent him flying across the room and landed few feet behind her.

She was shocked completely at the moment that she couldn't move from her spot. Percy groaned as he tried to sit up, holding that bruised jaw.