Gods and Demigods Read the Queen's Champion

Chapter 19: Journey to Epirus and Through Tartarus

Ch.19
Artemis teleported from the throne room on Olympus and onto the Argo II.

Perseus perked up as he heard Artemis's name. He never really knew the full story of what happened with her when he was in Tartarus.

When she arrived, she noticed all her hunters sitting at the front of the ship, a general feeling of sadness clearly evident on their faces.

Perseus face shifted to a look of sympathy and almost regret. He hated seeing any of the hunters sad.

As she approached her hunters, she noticed a small figure sitting on Phoebe's lap with her head buried in her shoulder.

Chloe smiled as she remembered how close Phoebe and her got that day. She always viewed Phoebe as more of a sister than the other hunters. Thalia was more like a friend, Zoe was kinda like a stepmom in a way, but Phoebe was her sister, her older sister.

Artemis' eyes widened at the sight. Phoebe loved her sisters but the daughter of Ares had never been one for emotional moments or consoling grieving hunters.

Phoebe smiled. "I've learned to open up through Perseus's guidance. It's not easy, but it's something," she said. "Something I plan to work on for the future."

Artemis' eyes widened further when she noticed the red around Phoebe's eyes; evidence she had been crying recently.

Perseus approached Phoebe and hugged her. Phoebe smiled softly as she had to admit she was upset that Perseus had chosen to jump into Tartarus, even though she knew his reasons.

There was only one other time in Phoebe's fifteen hundred years in the hunt that Artemis had seen Phoebe cry; and that was after Zoe's death. Artemis felt a fresh wave of pain enter her heart at the thought her longtime lieutenant and best friend.

Zoe wrapped an arm around Phoebe. She leaned in and kissed her forehead in a sisterly manner and whispered something to her making her laugh.

The only relief came when she thought about Zoe spending eternity peacefully in the sky, away from all this war and conflict.

Zoe laughed. "Whoops. Then again, I couldn't exactly tell you that I left the sky."

Hades frowned. "Must've slipped my mind," he said. "Or grandad simply never told me about the move."

Artemis approached her hunters silently, taking a seat next to Phoebe, who had little Chloe on her lap as she rubbed her back soothingly.
"Can the Olympians do anything to help get Percy and Thalia out of Tartarus?" Phoebe asked as she looked at her mistress.

"No," they all said at the same time.

"I mean," Hades said. "I could, but I would be essentially a mortal. I would risk fading or worse."

"What could be worse?" Perseus asked, curiously.

"Believe me, you don't wanna know," Hades said. "The amount of enemies down there that we're responsible for putting. I shutter to think what they might do in an inescapable room with any one of us down there for them to prey on. And it's not like we could just escape either."

Artemis shook her head sadly, "Hades doesn't have any access to Tartarus so there is little anyone can do but hope Percy and Thalia can make it out."
The hunters' heads dropped at the words of their mistress.
Chloe picked her head off of Phoebe's shoulder and looked at Artemis with red eyes, "D.. D... Do you think they can make it milady?" She asked softly as she looked like she was still trying to keep her tears at bay.

Perseus held Artemis's hand, Poseidon held Athena's hand looking for comfort, and Hera held Zeus's.

Artemis gave her a small smile and nodded, "If any two people can make it then it is Percy and Thalia. Since he was twelve years old, Percy has achieved everything people said couldn't be done. I know he will not let Thalia or any of us down. It's not in Percy's nature to let people down. He's never done it before and I know he isn't about to start now. We will do our part and take control of our side of the doors and I know Percy and Thalia will be able to fight their way out and back to us." Artemis finished feeling more confident herself at the end of her words.