The Queen's Champion

Love?

Ch.11

Percy put a hand on Artemis' shoulder and flashed both of them out of Camp Jupiter and the state of California all together. They reappeared in the clearing of a dense forest. The moon shone brightly in the sky, illuminating the clearing well enough to see.

Artemis whirled around with a hunting knife in hand, ready to kill whoever had the nerve to take her away from her hunters without her consent. Her blade was met with another as Percy knew this was most likely coming. When she noticed it was Percy she sheathed her knife but still glared at him.

"Sorry Artemis, I just wanted to talk and things were kind of crowded in Camp Jupiter." Percy said as he held his hands up in front of him.

Artemis nodded as she too wanted to talk to Percy.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Artemis asked as casually as she could.

Percy sighed and sat down in the grass. He motioned for Artemis to join him, which she did after hesitating for a second.

"About last night Artemis..." Percy started but was interrupted by Artemis.

"It's fine Percy. It was a mistake and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that even if it was the only way to calm you down." Artemis explained.

Percy stared at her for a minute before speaking, "No, actually I'm sorry Artemis. Everything you said to me was right. I tried to come back to Olympus to find you but Lady Hestia sent me to Seattle to rescue Nico and the other two from the Amazons."

Artemis' eyes widened slightly, she felt happy that he had tried to come find her but she also began to suddenly get very nervous. When she had kissed Percy it was on impulse just like her little rant afterword. She looked at Percy to see him looking just as nervous as she was.

"So what did you want to say then?" Artemis asked quietly.

Percy noticeably tensed for a bit but seemed to gather his courage to speak, "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have used her as an excuse because you are right. I may have thought I loved her but that was never true, I never even knew who she was." Percy said before taking a deep breath and looking directly into Artemis' silver eyes, "Artemis, I like you, a lot. I'm not going to pretend that I know what I'm doing because I've never been in any kind of a relationship or anything like it before. When you kissed me last night, it was the first time I'd ever kissed a girl in my life. I might not know how to this works or how it would work between us but I do know how much I care about you and if you still feel the same way, then I'd like to find out."

Percy looked down into his lap once he finished talking. His stomach was doing somersaults with the nervousness he was experiencing. Artemis was silent for a minute making Percy's nervousness grow into a sense of dread, but suddenly a small hand grabbed his and laced its slender fingers through his larger ones. Percy felt warmth spread from his hand to the rest of his body until his face morphed into a warm smile.

He turned to look at Artemis to see her face tinted pink but a warm smile also gracing her lips.

Artemis looked up at Percy, her expression growing more serious, "Can I ask you something Percy?"

Percy nodded.

Artemis bit her bottom lip nervously, "I know this is a first for you but it's also a first for me. I've spent thousands of years despising men after seeing what they do to my hunters and other women. This is the first time I've ever allowed myself to look at a man like this. I need to know Percy, can I depend on you?"

Percy was a little surprised at her question until he realized what she was asking. He squeezed her hand gently and leaned over until his mouth was right next to her ear, "I swear it on the Styx." He whispered softly.