Acceptance

Comfort

Artemis was walking through the forest in the realm of Nyx. The moonlight cast an ethereal glow on the fauna, showing its unearthly beauty. The silence was eerie but peaceful. In this tranquil atmosphere, Artemis could not help but feel the bliss in her solitude. 

However, she could not help but feel that something was off. Something akin to grief and regret was worming the way into her heart. She was confused. These were not her emotions. It seemed someone else was feeling these sentiments and she was caught in the crossfire. But, she knew this was not possible. Feeling other's emotions could only be achieved by a soul-link. To even have these links between two people was extremely rare. 

For two people to have these links showed that their hearts were intertwined. The forging of such a bond was extremely difficult, but once made, it was nigh unbreakable. People had wasted their lives to make these bonds but only a select few, those pure of heart had succeeded. But, forming of these bonds unknowingly? That was unheard of.

Artemis could not find another reason for the sentiments she was feeling. What she could not understand was, who was actually close enough to her to form the bond, that too unknowingly. Her first thoughts went to her hunters, but she knew they were not responsible. While she was very close to the hunters, no one could understand her on a personal level, except....Perseus.

He was one of the only people to comprehend her as Artemis and not as Lady Artemis. But it could not be possible. How did they form a bond like that? She wasn't even that close to the son of Poseidon. 

Snapping herself out of her musings, she decided to talk with Perseus and look if she was correct in her assumptions.

She walked towards the lake where Percy was stationed for guard duty. As she approached the lake, she heard sniffling and sounds of sobbing. She turned her head towards the sound and saw Percy sobbing with his head in his hands whispering, 'It should've been me, it should've been me'

Artemis froze. She knew that his girlfriend had sacrificed herself in Tartarus to save Percy. She was a brave maiden. Since Percy never talked about her, Artemis always assumed, he had moved on. Apparently, he hadn't. It seemed he still blamed himself for her death. All the guilt and grief were crashing down on him. 

Artemis approached him slowly. Without saying anything she bent down and gathered him in his arms and let him cry. He stiffened first, but then after noticing who it was, relaxed under her embrace.

He just cried. Cried for his friends, cried for the unfairness of the world, cried for his love. Artemis didn't say anything, for which he was grateful. He just leaned into her embrace and found solace and peace, something he hadn't since Annabeth. 

Eventually, the exhaustion caught up to him and he passed into the realm of Morpheus. Artemis noticed this but did not let him go. She just held him close to her and she, too, fell asleep, finding comfort in his arms.

They both knew it was wrong. They both knew this would never work out. But at that moment, they knew they had each other, and everything was okay. 

Gods that was fluffy. Next one will mostly be Match-making II. So stay in tune, guys.

cheerio!