Chapter 17

Percy and Phoebe walked side by side into the clearing, exchanging a reassuring glance before approaching the other members of the Hunt.

Phoebe slipped back into her vacated place at the table unnoticed, while Percy strolled to the other end, sidling into his empty seat and propping his feet up on the table.

"But when will Percy join us? Won't we need his help to find Emily's dad?" Alexis demanded from her seat, her ferocity nearly lifting her out of her chair and onto the table.

"His help is not necessary, but would be appreciated, yes. However, I will leave it to Percy to decide when to rejoin us, as he can perform his duties just as well from a distance if he so chooses," Artemis replied firmly, causing Alexis to press her lips into a line in displeasure.

"Well, I could," Percy drawled, causing the girls to all jump and whirl towards his voice. He popped a grape into his mouth and grinned. "But where would be the fun in that?"

"PERCY!" the younger girls screamed, launching themselves at him. His smile widened as he opened his arms to receive them, but quickly disappeared when, instead of hugs, he was attacked with dozens of tiny punches.

"Ow, ow, OW! Munchkins – ow – what are you doing?" he exclaimed, having fallen backwards out of his chair and holding his hands in front of his face, refusing to ward off the blows in case he hurt one of them.

"You. PROMISED. Us." Alexis growled, her eyes slightly red around the edges.

"You said you wouldn't leave!" Cali wailed, giving up on attacking him and burying her face in his leg instead.

"Everyone was really sad when you were gone," Emily said quietly, sitting by Percy's head while he fended off the other girls' strikes.

"Family doesn't leave," Luna spat, more venom in her voice than even Artemis expected. The girls continued their attack for a few seconds longer, than gave up and tackled him with hugs.

"But you came back," Ally relented, her voice muffled as she pressed her face against his chest. Percy sat up carefully, disentangling each of the girls and setting them in a half circle facing him.

"I'm sorry I left. I really am," he told them, looking each of them in the eyes and holding their gaze.

"But I did it to protect you. All of you. If my being here puts you in danger, I will leave again in a heartbeat. Because that's my job, as your Guardian, and as your big brother – to protect you, and do what is best for you above all else, even if it means going against what either of us want. Can you understand that?" he asked solemnly.

The girls all grumbled, refusing to look at him, and Percy sighed.

"All I can promise is this – I will never willing leave like that again unless I absolutely have to, okay?"

"Swear it on the Styx!" Alexis demanded, the shrillness of her voice betraying the hurt that lay beneath her anger. Percy held her gaze, searching her eyes and recognizing the steely determination that he had learned to associate with the familiar stormy grey color.

"Percy, don't be rash," Artemis warned. Next to her, Thalia crossed her arms but said nothing. She had done plenty of stupid things herself, and she knew that Percy had learned his lesson when it came to oaths.

"I swear on the River Styx that I will do whatever it takes to protect you, and that I won't purposefully leave you all again unless I absolutely have to, alright?" he vowed, looking at each of the girls in turn.

Up at the table, the older Huntresses exchanged glances, raising their eyebrows at Percy's lack of hesitation when taking the oath. They were impressed despite themselves.

"Alright," the girls chorused happily, and the rest of the Hunters settled down, satisfied that the interruption was over. Not a second later, a burst of noise sent their newly reclaimed silverware clattering to the table as they turned with wide eyes to see what the sudden commotion was.

Down at the end of the table, the younger girls were standing around a stunned looking Percy, who was doing his best to follow what was happening as each of the girls launched into their own narrative, all of them trying to capture his attention as they pulled him back to his seat at the table.

"Thalia taught me how to use a bow, and I–"

"I miscalculated the wind resistance but once I fixed that it wasn't hard–"

"You were watching us, weren't you? The feather I found–"

"Are you going to train us now? You said you would–"

"What were you doing when you were gone? Did you miss us? 'Cuz we–"

Artemis looked to Thalia, who had a grin stretched across her face as she watched Percy's panicked attempt to hold a different conversation with each of the girls. It was fairly amusing, Artemis admitted to herself, before her thoughts drifted to the plans ahead.

She was loathe to let Emily go, ingrained as she was into the Hunt already, but the girl was young and deserved a childhood with her father, if that was still possible. Hopefully they would be able to track him down, but Artemis had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation. Darkness was stirring once again, and she was growing weary of this constant fighting.

Still, there was nothing more she could do now, so she brushed it off and returned her attention to the table, where the energy that seemed to accompany Percy had infused life back into the girls. The entire table was chatting animatedly, enough that she almost overlooked the occasional glances the girls kept casting towards the seat at the end of the table, as if subconsciously making sure Percy was still there. Almost, except for the fact that she couldn't stop herself from doing the same.

****LINE BREAK****

"I'm glad you're back," Ally told Percy as he pulled the covers over her. He smiled.

"Me too, Ally-Cat."

"Percy! Percy, do we get to hear more of the story tonight?" Cali asked eagerly, and Percy chuckled.

"Sure! Where was it that I left off?" he pretended to think. The girls giggled.

"Prince Percy and Sir Grover and Lady Annabeth were going to find the Lightning Staff!" Luna supplied, and Percy nodded.

"That's right! So Emily, the story began with Prince Percy going to Half-Blood Kingdom, but his mother, Queen Sally, was kil-kidnapped by an evil Bull-Man. He and his best friends – Sir Grover Underwood and Lady Annabeth – went to find King Zeus's Lightning Staff because Prince Percy's father, King Poseidon, was blamed for stealing it. If Prince Percy finds who really stole the staff, he might be able to save his mother. Does that make sense?"

Emily nodded from her bed, pleased to be included, and Percy ruffled her hair.

"Okay then! So Prince Percy, Sir Grover, and Lady Annabeth were about to start on their quest to find the Lightning Staff. Prince Percy went to see the Oracle, in the hopes that he could find out who took the staff and where his mother was. The Oracle, an old, creepy mummy living in the attic, tells him not what he wants to hear, but a prophecy…"

Artemis listened to Percy's story from outside of the tent, where she sat leaning against one of the posts holding it steady. She smiled serenely, marveling at how easily Percy held all of the girls' attention and chuckling at his patience with the younger hunters' questions. She could almost picture the scene inside the tent without needing to look – Percy's wild hand gestures, growing bigger and more dramatic as the story went on, all of the girls leaning in without realizing it, even the older hunters who pretended not to care.

There was something about this hero, Artemis thought to herself. Something different – something special. All heroes were special, but Percy…she couldn't put her finger on it.

Artemis put the matter aside and sat contentedly, choosing instead to listen to Percy's story and gaze up at her lovely silver moon.

A/N: I am so sorry that it has been so long. I would like to say it won't happen again, but life happens and it probably will – I apologize in advance. That said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will do my best to get another one up soon! Thank you all, and don't forget to review! 3 Until next time!