Betrayed To Frosting Point

Chapter Fourteen - Punishment

Muffled screams and sobs echoed from the forest on the outskirts of Camp Half-Blood. Only a few people knew who was causing the screams. Artemis had taken it on herself to punish Annabeth for leading the campers against the three Blessed of Chaos. She had figured out that Annabeth had been given false information about the Blessed, but for right now, she didn’t care. While one of the group was a male, Artemis didn’t care. She had helped Percy and Piper through their time in the mortal world, and for right now, it didn’t matter to her that Percy was a male, she needed revenge against Annabeth.

Artemis had taken Annabeth out into the forest, where she found a clearing, and had tied Annabeth to a tree.

“What do you think you were doing?” Artemis asked again. She had a feeling, but she needed to know for sure.

“They are traitors, I was told so!” Annabeth shouted. She immediately realized that she had just shouted at a goddess and recoiled. “I had a dream.” She said softer.

“And do you know who told you?” Artemis asked through gritted teeth. Her suspicions were being confirmed.

“A woman came and told me.  She had long black hair, and black eyes. She radiated power.” Annabeth said, worried for the reaction of the goddess in front of her. Artemis gritted her teeth. She was correct in her suspicions. Nyx had convinced Annabeth to get rid of the Blessed, and Annabeth had fallen prey to her plan.  Artemis couldn’t really blame Annabeth for falling prey, as Artemis had been in the presence of Primordial before, and she knew not to anger them, but she couldn’t believe that Annabeth was so naive to not ask any questions before doing the deed. The goddesses featured softened a little bit, but they were still stern and full of anger.

“Do you know who we are fighting a war against?” Annabeth shock her head. Artemis sighed before responding.

“We are fighting Nyx, daughter of Athena.” Artemis clarified. She waited for Annabeth to realize what she was saying. Annabeth’s eyes widened, and she looked frightened.

“Now,” Artemis started, “I will not kill you, but for your actions, you have been deemed a traitor to the gods, you will be punished, and have to work on Olympus for the rest of the war until you prove yourself again. Do you understand?” Annabeth nodded her eyes wide.

Annabeth couldn’t bring herself to speak, but she knew that she was screwed.  In her dream, she had been so frightened by the thought of Percy coming back that she took the word of the person in front of her without even thinking about what it meant for the world. She had noticed thought that after she had been removed from leadership, she had more naïve toward things, and it was now her downfall.  She was in for some bad punishment for her actions, and so she waited for the punishment.  Artemis drew her hunting knives and Annabeth’s eyes widened.

“You will not be killed, but you will leave this clearing with scars. Prepare yourself.” Artemis spoke. The goddess didn’t really want to do this, as it was her domain to protect maidens, but Zeus himself had said that she needed to be punished. Athena had protested, but upon hearing what she had done, she reluctantly agreed.

Artemis walked over to Annabeth and turned her around so her back was facing Artemis. Artemis lifted up her shirt, and began to run her hunting knives down her back, leaving long cuts in her back. Annabeth screamed, but it was muffled by Artemis’s hand.

“It will be better if you don’t scream.” She whispered, before she started again.

Zoë and Piper lead Percy back to the big house and into the room that the three of them shared. The sat him down on the bed and then they sat on either side of him.  His face was still a deathly shade of white, and he seemed to be staring off into space, not registering anything that happened around him. Zoë and Piper shared a look. They knew that it was hard for him to see the sword again, when it had been the one that had been through his abdomen before. They also knew that he was having trouble, as he was remembering the first time that he had been betrayed by the camp. It affected Piper too, but not to the same level as it affected Percy.

Zoë and Piper each shared another look after looking back at Percy, and then they each slowly pushed him back onto the bed as tears began to leak their way out of  his eyes and onto his cheeks. They turned him around, and placed him in the bed. They each lied down on each side of him, and waited until he fell asleep. It took a while, but he finally fell asleep, some of the color coming back to his face.  Piper and Zoë made sure that he was comfortable, and then walked out of the big house to the beach.  They sat down next to each other, and sat in silence for a while. Piper broke the silence.

“I don’t know what to do Zoë.” She said, Zoë looked at her confused.

“What do you mean?” She responded.

“About Percy, he seems so fragile when we are here. He tries to hide it, but he misses it here, and I can tell that he wishes that he could reveal himself.” Piper said sadly. It was the truth from what she had seen from Percy, but it was also part of the truth from her too. A few of the campers knew who they really were, but it wasn’t enough, as they still had to hide themselves and their real personalities when they were not around.

Zoë sighed, “I know Piper. I have seen it to, and I have to agree with him. It is very hard for me not to reveal myself to the hunters. I see them here and know that it they are still family, but I know that you two are more of a family than they ever were. I was somewhat feared by the hunters when I arrived, and being the lieutenant means that you have to be the bad guy sometimes, and I hated being the bad guy. Then I meet Percy, and it seemed like he was a real man, someone who you could trust and confound things in, and I wanted to befriend him, but I died and couldn’t. Then when I came back, I saw the opportunity, and I took it, and now I have a family, you too.”

Piper smiled a Zoë. “You are family to us too. We will stick together through anything.” Zoë smiled, and opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“I see that you are family, and now it is time to protect that family. The war will start in a few hours, the camp is about to be attacked. This will be the first of many battles, and probably the easiest. Be warned, they may throw tricks at you.” Piper and Zoë turned to see the creator standing behind them. The started to stand up, but Chaos shook his head.

“Rest now, and prepare the camp. I am sad to say this, but it is time for you to reveal yourselves. The camp will trust you more if you reveal yourselves. The daughter of Athena will not be a problem, as she will not be fighting, due to her, ah, traitorous nature.”  Chaos said. He nodded his head to the two of them, before he vanished. 

Zoë and Piper looked at each other, their faces showing apprehension about the coming days, but they both knew that they were ready. They sat in silence for a moment, before Piper stood up, and offered her hand to Zoë. She pulled her up, and they walked towards the Big House to tell Percy of what they were told, each worried about the coming war.

A/N: Hey guys and gals, thanks for reading. Im sorry that this is such a short chapter, but it needed to be done to get to the rest of the story. This story is nearing a close, with about four or five more chapters left until the end. Thanks for sticking with me through it.

This chapter is dedicated to: All of you who commented on the last chapter ansking for Annabeths Puishment. She will be needed later in the story so sadly I couldnt kill her, but I hope this works for you. 

Thanks, 

PiersonNyx