Chapter 1 Tale of War and Separation

N/A This continues from the alternative ending. The other is just too depressing that I can't even read ?????

In the conflicted area - Northern forest.

Artemis ran through leaves and trees. The old dead branches slid her cheeks making a clean cut of gold. He was here. All the tracks led to this place. He has to be here even in this mixed and desperate situation. Artemis mumbled in her head.

The sky drew darker and the shadow of her grew dimmer on the ground. The area was restricted to any immortal now. If she did not find him today, perhaps she would never have a chance too. The risk of coming here again was too high.

The clouds were twirling and the lightning rippled through their heavy greyness as her memory drew back to the moments she had with him.

Just like what Lucien said, her brain and his and everyone knew about their relationship had warned them. Once they got together, their dooms would start to hunt them both.

She didn't expect it to come that early. She was actually prepared for it and in her mind, she always thought she would face it with him. But oh the cruel Fates had another script for them.

Right after they confessed to each other at the cliff that day. The memory of that moment exploded again in her stomach and it warmed her heart. She thought they could finally have time to enjoy each other, to at least for once live in peace and do not have to hide anything from the others. They did enjoy it for a time. But it wasn't for so long.

Artemis's memory.

She remembered perfectly that day, the day that ruined and caused all of this. It wasn't any special day for them. That morning she woke up again in his arms with a shore arm since she had it laid underneath him. She didn't know was he actually fives years old or three thousand four hundred years. After that long, he still slept drooling. It was gross to her of course and worse of all she had to sleep next to that pig. Yet one way or another, there was some thing adorable about it. She didn't dare to wake him up, since he had a tough time with the hunters the night before. Artemis slid off the bed carefully and stealthily walked to the bathroom as if a thief in hers own bedroom. Which was also weird of course. She didn't have much time to think about their relationship and the progress. It wasn't like after the confession they supposed to be a happy couple and cuddling and kissing and all those grossing things. They still fought like dogs no matter how advanced was their relationship. She would still shoot arrows at him, he would still provoke or mock her and she would rant at him day and night as if nothing had ever changed between them. Yet in her heart, it was changed, much more than what she initially expected. It wasn't cold stone nor icy but warm and filled with excitement. She didn't have that grudge against males like before, it was there still but less. Nothing can change just after a couple of nights. Her impulsiveness was somehow contained and she was calmer, stubborn still yet certainly not unreasonable (if that what Percy always said about her) like before.

That day things seemed a bit odd as if Apollo had been working day and night and now he just not brother for patrol and duty anymore. The Northern winds came through the forest, penetrated through the halls of leaves were stronger and colder than usual. The crows somehow occupied the area that morning and the ways they looked at her gave Artemis a creep.

Just when she was about to chase those birds away, thunder shook the world and lightning ran a zigzag line across the sky even though there was no cloud. Zeus summon.

At the time she didn't have anything to worry since Percy was now safe and things had cooled down. The prison break and slaughter on Olympus did cause havoc and many died and some couldn't be recognised at all since only part of their remains was left. Some how Aphrodite did a good magic and the Olympian Warriors fought with Artemis that day at the gate of Olympus now were thinking they were fighting a pink stag. Don't ask her why Aphrodite did that. Somehow, fortunately of course, Artemis managed to wove an incredible and believable story that Percy was amongst the deaths and no werewolf existence could be found on Earth again. They bought it even Athena.

So Artemis flashed to Olympus with nothing heavy in her mind. But how wrong she was.

The street of Olympus was empty the moment she got there. Walking through the silent street reminded her of the horror after the slaughter. It was beyond everything she had ever encountered. Those white columns and marble floor and stone were once stained by blood. It was a great labour to clean the city and now they were just starting to recover. Yet that pain still craved deep in any citizen on Olympus. A strange atmosphere filled the city like a ghost town and it actually gave Artemis goosebumps. A foggy smoke filled the street, tendering and filtered the air as if she had just walked into a cemetery in the middle of autumn. Like those mortal horror movies she saw about Halloween. Artemis was about to draw her weapon since she began to feel something wrong was going on until she started to hear whispers of different voices. She darted to the end of the street and turned to her right (which was also towards the gate to the city). A crowd already formed there and the people around the circumference were trying to stand on their toes to see what were before them. Artemis was curious yet sighed in relief. She was afraid another invasion just occurred.

After minutes of squeezing and pushing her small body through the crowd, she finally made it to the clearing (actually she couldn't have made it if the people didn't recognise her). The twelve Olympians were already there and even Paecus as well and the atmosphere around them didn't appear to be good. Artemis made her way to the semi-circle formed by the gods and stood next to Paecus, whom gaze was focusing onto something on the stone path before him.

She followed them and the scene stayed in her mind forever.

In front of her, a symbol that was drawn by something like blood on the street of the city. Two red swords with their hilts leaned onto each other like a compass and created a letter A. These swords were wrapped in a red circle and at the top of the circle, a seven pointed star was marked as if an indication of direction to the North.

"Wha-what is this?" A cold sweat making its way down Artemis cheeks as she stared at the symbol which could've been drawn by blood.

She had a glance at Paecus face and never in her life she had seen him this nervous before. He was calm if you did not pay much attention to, yet she could still perceive the tension in him. Slowly, his lips moved.

"Mark of the Seven Clans of Wolves" Paecus said. "They declared war on us."

After that it was just a blur. An uproar came from the crowd and the gods were basically sent to panic. They thought the werewolves were extinct, but now a united clans just popped out and declared war on them. Artemis heart sunk to the bottom of the sea. This time they came wasn't because of Lucien right? They didn't come to seek vengeance because of an emissary. Just when Artemis thought things were perfect, now it came to this.

There was a lot of debates whether the declaration was just a fraud or a prank of some stupid immortal. Yet not many people know the existence of werewolves (they thought werewolves were made up characters) until recently let along knowing their symbols. The people had knowledge of these were either old and involved in the wars with werewolves before and she meant her fathers and uncles and aunties. Or those that had time to do research like Athena or Paecus. Obviously Paecus would immediately know the moment he saw the symbol since he once lived with the wolves for a time, but that was still a secret to Artemis.

In the conflicted area - Northern forest.

Artemis suddenly stopped on her track as the sounds of horns came from all sides around her. It was too late. She couldn't find him and now she was about to be caught. The sun had come to its peak and its light penetrated through the thick canopy above. She dashed through the forest and ran for her dear life. It was so close, so close to find out him and yet the Fates now had to take it from her. As she ran, the flashback came again.

Artemis moved camp further South after that day since the only passage of werewolves were North down. The further away they stayed from the northern border, the safer. She remembered Percy was out of his mind when the new came that day and seeing him all worry concerned her as well. She just wanted to have a peaceful life with him, enjoying their time together and yet it slipped through them too fast.

Artemis's memory.

"Relax Seaweed Brain" she sighed at the sight of him pacing around the room in panic. "Anymore thinking and it gonna fry the seaweeds in your head. You know your brain is considerably small right? Gotta conserve it"

"What if they come for vengeance? What is their purpose here? Why can't they just stay up north and wait until the time come and they can disappear from this universe forever? Why war now?" He kept mumbling, completely ignored her.

Artemis sighed. Since she couldn't help nor do anything because she didn't know much about the situation herself. It still concerned her though but not to the extreme like Percy at the moment. She stood up from her bed and walked up to him. He was still pacing around the room until she came from behind him and laid her hands on his shoulders.

"Just let the unknowns slowly unfold themselves" she smiled and spoke softly behind his ears. "It won't help if you keep guessing without knowing the situation. Nothing has happened yet"

That was when he stopped and remembered that he was still on Earth. He jerked his head to his side and looked back at her. He gave out that stupid grin that she loved.

"Sometimes I really need a rope to hold me back from those intense speculations. You know me Artemis, a genius always has his way complicated."

"Oh shut up" she laughed and playfully shoved his head. "Your brain is full of seaweed. The only incredible thing I can see there is fish."

He turned around suddenly and caught her by surprise. He hooked his arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground. He looked up as she looked down at him.

"Still smart enough to know you have a soft spot for dumb guys" he smirked.

"Oh wanna test for that?" Artemis gave out her famous stare and sneer. "Cuz I've just formed a perfect plan for a dumb guy to do"

"How about we don't test it then" he jerked his eyes away and turned nervous.

Artemis laughed as she cupped his cheeks with her hands. "Relax. What worse can it get from me?"

"Trust me I've faced yet the worst from you and I know" Percy reminded her.

She laughed at the memories came back, especially the time when she actually stabbed him right on the torso. In other circumstances, those memories in fact weren't pleasant, yet now they were all beautiful in their mind. It was what they'd shared and endured and those memories she would hold forever with her.

Their laughter stopped and she looked deeper into that eyes. His windows opened for her and she swam in it. She would never forget those eyes or the way he looked at her now. Without saying, she brought his lips to her. Percy was taken by surprise first but slowly

he made it in sync with her.

He laid back on the bed and she still on top of him. Their kiss became more intense and it didn't feel embarrassing or that strange squeeze in her heart at the first time they kissed. She remembered at the beginning of their relationship, he always was the one that made the move first. That little bastard always took advantage of the situation and caught her off guard. And somehow, strangely and stupidly enough she always ended up lips syncing with him.

His hands moved delicately around her waist, his thumbs pressed that her lower back as a sign of joke and she responded by pressing her lips harder on his. She was never good at kissing and perhaps she would never achieve that. She felt bad for Percy having a girlfriend that doesn't know how to cook, doesn't know how to comfort her partner and doesn't even know how to kiss. Worse of all, that girlfriend find bullying him is amusing. Yet, she knew Percy would never leave her because of her imperfections. In fact, these imperfections were the catalyst for their relationship in the first place. They had their flaws one way or another in both him and her. But at the end, these flaws were the bricks that built up their relationship.

Ever since that day, the day that sealed them together, she never left his side for so long and of course he wouldn't go anywhere from the hunt without consulting her first. Somehow the relationship was like a shackle to her, but this shackle was what she wanted.

He broke the kiss and stared at her. A frown appeared on his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing" She ran her finger down his lips. "Just feel like how much I need you in my life right now"

"Certainly you are not" he smirked and gave her that stupid grin. "Since you think bullying me is amusing. I think you'll be bored to dead if I'm not around. Hmm?"

"I'm serious Percy!" She slapped his chest.

"I've bad feelings. They are strange but I know something is happening or is going to happen and I don't know it yet." She laid down and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek closer to his chest as she embraced his warmth.

"Look who just told me not to worry a moment ago" Percy sighed but he lifted her chin to face him. He leaned closer to her, his eyes piercing the layers of fear in her eyes.

"We have faced worst remember?" He smiled at her. "What worse can an army of werewolves do to us? Besides, I've said I won't leave you or nothing is gonna separate us again."

Artemis sighed and she laid her head on his chest again. His heart beat calmed her down somehow yet the fear was still there.

"I guess I'm just tired" she whispered on his chest.

"Then go to sleep Stubborn Girl" he brushed her hair and kissed the top of her head. Artemis closed her eyes tight as if that was the last kiss she could receive from him. Even though her head was full of concern, yet her eyes lids could stand due to his warmth around her. Just when she was about to let go and let darkness embrace, a strange sound occur from outside.

It just a rustle of leaves and something was knocked down. Percy slightly sat up and Artemis also as they both looked at the flap of their tent.

"What was it?" He asked.

"Could be just some raccoons passing" Artemis yawned. At the point, she really wanted to sleep.

"There are no raccoons in this area. I don't smell them" Percy frowned. "I should take a look"

Artemis eyes suddenly opened wide. She turned around as fast as a wind and face him. "Uh I think you shouldn't go out there now" she said. "Let's just check it tomorrow. It won't be anything serious"

"I will just go out and take a look. I won't go anywhere further away from our tent Artemis." He brushed her cheek. "You are overthinking yourself"

Somehow that didn't reassure her much better. That strange feelings were still inside her. She remembered the ways those crows stared at her that morning. It was a sign for something, something terribly bad. Yet before she could protest, he already connected their lips again. That little bastard know how to calm her.

"It's also my duty to keep everyone safe here" he whispered at her lips. "What worse can it take from a look?"

"Since when did you get the stubbornness from me?" Artemis smiled, pressing her forehead against his.

"Well I guess getting your morning breathe too much will make you stubborn after all"

"Eww you are gross Seaweed Brain!" she pushed him a away in disgust

He laughed and somehow she felt a little better after that. It was also why she loved him. With him, Artemis always found the joy to her laughters and everything.

"Promise me you won't make more than three steps away from our tent" she told him.

Percy kissed her forehead and whispered at her skin. "Aye my goddess!"

He walked away towards the flap and she sat on her bed looking at him. Somehow she felt it was a stupid thing to do, somehow she felt as if she had don't something she would regret forever. But other parts of her said otherwise. It was just like six feet away. Nothing that's gonna happen to him or anything that would happen and turn her life to hell. So she sighed and stared at his back.

He closed the flap of tent behind him as a gust of cold wind caused her to shiver.

He didn't return to her tent that night...

N/A sooo how was it? Exciting no? Anyone anxious or screaming? Votes and comment really help guys so don't be shy to give it a try. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time. *throw you guys my love ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️?