LoSP Side Story Ch.7: The Best Lieutenant (Patreon)

The faint yellow sun hung high in the blue sky, lazy white clouds drifting across its expanse. Birds chirped amongst the trees around the clearing, Artemis’ falcons perched on the branches, watching them with their beady eyes.

Silver arrows thunked against wooden boards, sinking into the red marks painted in their centers. With a light bang that echoed through the camp, three more boards soared into the sky.

“Do you think we could ever do that?” Thalia watched as a huntress— Iphigenia, shot three arrows in blurs of silver, all of them sinking into the red dot on the boards in mid-air. “Shoot like that.”

“Probably.” Annabeth’s gray eyes remained fixed on the huntresses standing in circles marked on the forest floor. “We are huntresses now. It comes with the job description.”

Thalia felt the wind behind them shift.

“My lady’s blessing will allow you to do far more than shoot at mere wooden targets, daughter of Athena.” 

Annabeth whirled around, startled, as Zoë came to stand between them, her obsidian eyes staring at the huntresses practicing archery. 

“Zoë.” Thalia’s eyes flicked toward Annabeth. “Aren’t you supposed to be overseeing the new sword fighting lessons?”

“I gave them a break.” Zoë’s silver tiara gleamed in the sunlight as she tilted her head. “Many girls are not used to heavy melee weapons and the physical strain that comes with wielding them.”

“I guess you usually only practice archery here?” Annabeth’s voice turned disapproving.

“Lady Artemis teaches her hunters whatever they are comfortable with.” Zoë slowly turned to Annabeth. “Be it swords, spears, daggers, or any weapon that they wish to have. It is just that for most, archery comes the easiest, thanks to her blessing.”

“Is that why I feel different?” Annabeth shifted. “Can… the blessing change you so much?”

“You’re immortal now, Annabeth Chase.” Zoë turned a critical eye on her. “And also the handmaiden of Artemis, like all of us here. You are no longer just the daughter of Athena. Your mother’s powers— or shall I say, her intellect and warrior spirit still rest within you. But now, they are accompanied by the spirit of the huntress.”

“So, it means we have new powers?” Thalia blurted. 

“Not exactly.” Zoë pursed her lips. “You have a hunter’s spirit. While what it bestows could be crudely called powers, they are but a small push that will aid you become a great hunter. The way you nurture it depends on you entirely.”

“So the blessing enhances our senses and our physical bodies.” Annabeth’s gray eyes turned calculating. “And make us more sensitive to nature.”

“It could be put that way, yes.” Zoë inclined her head. “Now, how skilled were you both in archery at the camp? And using other weapons, of course.”

“I can handle any weapon, really.” Annabeth replied. “I am not as good as the Apollo archers in archery or Percy in sword fighting. But I can hold my own against most.”

“Lord Apollo’s children tend to be born archers. Some, I believe, barely need to be taught.” Zoë glanced at the girl who stood in the center, shooting at flying targets. “As for Percy, I believe there has been no demigod his equal in history when it comes to the art of sword fighting. Even Lady Artemis seeks to ensure that we huntresses don’t look utterly incompetent when he comes to our camp to teach us.”

“Wait, he is going to teach you all?” Thalia’s forehead creased. “I thought he was coming to learn under Lady Artemis and kick monster ass.”

“Lady Artemis believes in utilizing the opportunity to its fullest.” Zoë’s lips curled into a smile. “Which might turn out to be a good thing. The hunt needs to be prepared for any challenge that might come our way.”

“And there’s no better teacher than Percy.” Annabeth agreed. “He taught us both. Thalia more than me, but he did.”

Zoë raised an eyebrow and turned to Thalia who nodded in affirmation. 

“He trained her in fighting.” Thalia’s eyes darted to point at Annabeth. “But he taught me to fight and use my powers while doing so. When I met him, I could barely shoot a few lightning bolts. Now, I can do a lot more.”

Thalia’s fingers cracked with electricity, a breeze blowing through the area, carrying the faint birdsong with it. 

“Impressive.”

“This is a parlor trick, you know?” Thalia snorted. “My dad made a tornado right in his hand and crushed it like it was nothing.”

“Your father is the lord of the skies.” Zoë said. “While he may not be the Stormbringer like his brother, he can cause them just fine. I am guessing, so could you in time.”

“I have tried to do it. I saw Percy call upon a storm and tried to do the same. Didn’t exactly work.” 

“It would come easier to him than to you, Thalia.” Annabeth said. “Poseidon is the Stormbringer. It is in his very nature to cause storms.”

Thalia nodded slowly, staying silent, watching as more arrows sank into targets, courtesy of a new huntress.

“Zoë, the girls are waiting!” Phoebe’s voice rang across the camp. “Are you coming?”

“I am.” Zoë glanced at Thalia. “Do you want to help me with a demonstration for the other huntresses? Show them how a real melee fight happens?”

“Sure, if you can keep up.” Thalia flicked the cap of her mace of canister and a spear sprang into her hands, tendrils of electricity cracking on its tip.

“Let’s go then.”

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A sea of silver surrounded Thalia and Zoë, as huntresses craned their necks to see what was happening. Both their circlets gleamed in the sunlight as they circled each other. Zoë’s eye glanced away from Thalia as the huntresses to her left parted, allowing Artemis to enter the ring, her eyebrows raised.

“What’s happening here?”

“We are having a spar, my Lady.” Thalia replied. “Zoë wants to show the girls how melee battles are fought. I am going to help her.”

“Very well then.” Artemis met Zoë’s eyes and they shared a nod. “Ready?”

Zoë removed her hairclip and a bronze Xiphos appeared in her hand, its edges aglow with silvery-blue light. Zoë’s lips curled into a smile, as she took stance, the edge of her sword glinting sharply.

Thalia tapped her bracelet in response, Aegis springing into her hands. A shiver crept down Zoë's spine as she met Medusa’s stare off the shield, Thalia shooting her a smirk over the bronze edge.

“Three— two— one.” Artemis waved a silver handkerchief. “Begin.”

Thalia darted forward, the tip of her spear swinging toward Zoë who moved slightly, allowing the spear to swoosh past her. Her blade moved in a blur of bronze, screeching against the snakes of Medusa’s head. 

Thalia spun her spear, its rear end whizzing over Zoë’s head as she ducked, driving her fist into her opponent’s ribs. Thalia grunted, driving the edge of her shield toward Zoë, who backed away from her reach.

Thalia growled, charging forward, thrusting her spear at Zoë, who batted it away, avoiding a wild swing of Thalia’s shield. Zoë slashed her sword upward, pushing Thalia’s spear back before stabbing her sword at her.

Riptide bounced off the Aegis, a light glow rising in Thalia’s eyes. Zoë’s nose tingled with the odor of ozone as Thalia swung her spear, tendrils of lightning flitting down its length. The huntress rolled out of the way avoiding the strike before springing forward, her sword arcing lower. 

Thalia batted Riptide away, the edges of the sword glowing slightly as tendrils of electricity bounced off it.

“That’s just cheating!” Thalia shoved Zoë away from her with the Aegis. 

“Really? You using powers against no powers of mine?” Zoë took a step sideways, spinning her sword. “Doesn’t seem fair.”

Thalia smirked. “That’s the point, princess.” Electricity welled on Thalia’s spear tip. “Life and battles are never fair.”

A bolt of lightning cracked across the field and Zoë dove out of the way, the bolt tearing apart the ground it hit.

“You ignoble cretin!” Zoë spat as she rolled to her feet, deflecting Thalia’s spear.

“Is that—” Thalia stopped short as the sword hammered against her shield, the force rattling the bones of her arms, sending her stumbling.

Zoë swept forward, her sword glancing off Thalia’s as she took several steps back against Zoë’s relentless assaults. Sparks flew as bronze clashed against bronze, raining down on the ground. Thalia felt warmth swell across lines on her jeans, as blood seeped out of thin lines Zoë’s sword had grazed against.

“That was my favorite pair of pants!” A flash of white hit Zoë’s sword, sending her skidding across the ring, tendrils of electricity running down the bronze sword into the ground.

Zoë’s obsidian eyes hardened, emotions draining away from her face into a stone-cold facade. The glow around Riptide faded away, a breeze ripping through the clearing.

On the side of the arena, Artemis shifted, her silver eyes narrowing at her oldest friend.

With a yell, Thalia charged, her spear cracking with electricity. Zoë parried the blow, allowing the shield to slam into her shoulder before driving her fist into Thalia’s abdomen. The girl doubled over in pain and Zoë grabbed her wrist, twisting it.

Thalia’s shield hammered into Zoë’s arm rapidly, but the huntress remained unmoved as she twisted Thalia’s wrist, wrenching the spear out of her grasp. Zoë tossed the spear away without care just as a bronze flash rammed into her ribs, sending her stumbling. 

Thalia freed herself from her grasp, backing away from her with a deep scowl, tendrils of lightning flitting down her arm. Her eyes glowed like heat in a furnace, her hand balling into a fist, her knuckles white.

“You sodding bitch.” Thalia thrust her hand forward, unleashing a bolt of lightning that hit Zoë square in the chest, sending her soaring across the ring, crashing into huntresses.

Gasps rang all around, coupled with the groans of the huntress who had been bowled over by Zoë. The tendrils of electricity over Thalia’s arm died, fading away like the birdsong in the wind

Across the field, Zoë slowly rose to her feet, her eyes mad, a bluish hue surrounding her. Her silver parka turned to a sea green chiton, a silver armor covering her body. Riptide glowed, and Thalia could smell the salty gale as Zoë prowled toward her.

“What the fuck?” Thalia took a deep breath, calling to the lightning and winds. Ozone stung in the air as the clouds darkened.

She shifted her shield to her right arm as the huntress neared, her sword arcing toward her, sizzling with power.

Riptide banged against the Aegis, the strike throwing the daughter of Zeus off her feet from the force behind it as she skipped across the ground like a stone on a lake’s surface. 

Rage welled in her chest like a rising forest fire. The clouds rumbled as tendrils of electricity arced against the snakes of Medusa’s hair. She rose to her feet, lightning lancing across her body, her eyes glaring at Zoë who sprang forward, charging toward her.

A flash of silver erupted between them and a wall of force slammed into both the girls, throwing them backward as Artemis appeared, her auburn hair whipping like a halo around her head.

“That’s enough!” Her words cracked louder than the boom of thunder. “Both of you down!”

A wave of silver washed over Thalia and Zoë as Artemis snapped her fingers and they knew no more.

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AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the chapter!

This story was set just after the Titan’s curse, before Percy came to train with Artemis. In terms of LoSP, we are looking at chapter 21/22 when Percy was still in Atlantis in care of his father.

A huge thanks to Mughil and Anax for betaing this chapter.

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Stay Happy! Stay Safe! Keep Smiling! Keep Reading!

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