Pertemis: A Wolf’s Tale novel Chapter 38

Artemis’s point of view

Paecus' words were like drummer clanging in Artemis's mind that her sleep could not go peacefully. The decisions always at the knot being pulled apart but somehow the tighter the knot, the harder the force made

Artemis head ached more. Sensing the method of trying to close her eyes and forget everything didn't work, Artemis decided to take a walk. Creaking opened the door of her room, the corridor had no one in sight made Artemis mind a little more relaxed. Normally she would be nervous and cautious, but somehow tonight that loneliness didn't affect her. She made her walk outside the hotel, it turned out to be a resort more than just an accomodation. The two building blocks where they slept were divided by a garden in the middle with different kind of trees and shrubs and flowers. In the middle of the garden had a stream. Though Artemis never tried to discover the source, but this water had a strange colour like rainbow. As she walked across the garden, Moonlace bowed down at her feet as Artemis smiled, their pollens sparkling as they dropped on the green grass like fairy dust with such beauty that nothing can compare. The sky was an eddy of molten amethyst, sapphire, and ruby, all bleeding into a final pool of onyx. She wanted to swim in it, to bath in its colour and feel the stars twinkling between her fingers. As she walked, all the spirit sang in their harmony of peace between the flowers and the bushes, and the moonlight danced on top of the grass as they opened the path for her. There when she reached the wooden bridge that led across the stream to another building, her steps stopped. He was sleeping on that side, should she continue to go forward, or just retreat back to her room? Her palms turned sweaty as the skin felt the slippery of its own, her heart pouncing and like a the hammer that forced upon a stone and the void in her heart, Artemis slowly stepped back. She was scared, for the first time she was scared walking up to a male and she understood why. Is this how people have a feeling for someone? She hated it how it made her weak and so pathetic. She knew she had the strength to face all this, but the thought of gazing upon his face made her heart skipped again. So there she turned away from the bridge.

But her movement stopped when her eyes caught him. He was there looking at her just from the other side of the bridge as he was too surprised to see her. There the singing of trees in the night breeze stopped and the sounds of crickets froze and it seemed only the moon that was active that moment as its light like the light on stage and they were two actors that were about to step in and perform on that bridge.

She wanted to walk away, she did. But the moment he made his step forward, it was her own legs that betrayed her and moved towards him. They met at the middle of the bridge, and Artemis had nothing to say nor dare to look into his eyes. She suddenly found interest on her feet and Percy just kept trying to clear his throat, yet no word expected to come.

"Y-you can't sleep?" Artemis managed to break the silence since it was too awkward for her to keep going.

"Ye-yeah" he scratched his head. "You too?"

Artemis slightly nodded and she turned to her side, focusing on the water flowing between rocks under the bridge below, trying not to face him or she would just start blabbing stuffs or screw something up. Percy followed her and turned to his side as also he too observing the fish in the water.

"Careful" he said. "Don't get too excited and fall into the water there. That would be suck"

Artemis chuckled. "It's not like this is my first seeing fish Kelp Head. Besides, if I fell into the water, I'd just take your shirt to dry myself anyway"

"Hey that's bullying right there" he accused, arching his eyebrows in a cute way that Artemis wanted to smile.

"There's no mummy for you to cry Perseus" Artemis waved her hand and turned her attention back to the water. Percy sighed as he rested his elbow on the rail and as Artemis peaked at the corner of her eye, he was smiling while staring up at the starry sky.

"What are you smiling at?" Artemis frowned, thinking of something stupid things that were swirling in his mind.

"I've just realised time is so short" he said, still looking at the stars.

Sensing Artemis silence, he knew she was confused by his words and turned to face her. Artemis hitched a breath. "Don't you realise it?" He asked.

"Realise what?" Artemis snapped to hide the blush was coming up her cheek. That grin always caught her off guard and those dimples.

"I'm disappointed Artemis" he sighed sarcastically. "It's been nearly a year since we first met, I believe next week will be that day."

Artemis just stared at him in shock as her mouth form a letter O. "Oh" she just managed to make and turned her eyes to the water again, the blushing was visible on her cheek and Percy just laughed at that.

"I can't believe it's already a year" he said, turning to his side.

"Yeah" Artemis smiled as the memories started coming back, of how they first met on that same bed and the argument they had the first time. "A lot has happened since then"

"I'm just glad that I was able to live up until now since I got to meet the lady of man haters" Percy saw she was about to glare at him and raised his arms with a grin. "Jokes"

There they had a little silence, now enjoying each other company more than before that awkward moment when they first arrived. The old flashback came and they both smiled at some moments that they shared. True there was sad, yet time flowed with also the good memories and Artemis now realised how happy she was since the very first moment until now. She was angry, was furious yet she found the will to enjoy her life, to live to its fullest and for the first time, she favoured the immortality and appreciated it. It was because of him, of the way he made her smile, the way he made her heart pacing, the way he made her blush and her mind running wild. Truly Artemis had never shared such intimate things with a person, not even Leto or Zoë or any of her hunters and surprisingly enough this idiot somehow ran in and able to shared it with her. He now was part of her life, a centre of her circle and she trusted him more than anyone could think. First Artemis was pity for him, of his terrible and tragic youth. Then her feelings turned more stronger and that protective feelings made her deluding into thinking that it was a sisterly feeling towards him. But time developed and now she had discovered what is the truth of that feeling was. And she was glad she found it.

Yes perhaps this is it. She should tell him what she felt. How he's affected her. Maybe he's dense and all and would not comprehend it, but at least Artemis know what she had tried and gave it a head start to be warmer to him. Even though she already was.

"Artemis-"

"Perseus-"

They say simultaneously and looked away in embarrassment. There they tried to gather the courage to speak up again.

"I-"

"I-"

There again they caught and looked away. Gods this just too awkward and embarrassing! Artemis screamed to herself. Who knows the Fates were bored and decided to have a little fun.

"Hm I think you should say what you have to first" he suggested, still not looking at her.

"No you say what you need to" Artemis told him.

"But i think yours is more important and-"

"Perseus I want you to say what you have first." She gave a harsher voice since she didn't want to start this. The courage to speak up now faded within her and she had to strength left to face him. Sorry Percy but I'm really a coward at this moment. She sighed to herself. He didn't oblige immediately but waited in silence and so Artemis let it be. It was better to keep this silence and listen to random sounds of the night than to speak something that turns out to be awkward.

"You know..." his voice suddenly came in like a wrecking ball (??) "I'm glad that I got to meet you and know you Artemis. Thank to you I've learnt many new things, to journey beyond my knowledge and find my life more lively. Even now if somehow gives a chance to change the past, I'll always again choose to follow you because...because you are part of me now and I know I'm dense and all and I'm ignorant sometimes. But I'll try to change it so that to make you happy and...I uh I...."

He blushed and looked down at his feet, not knowing of what to say next or word to complete his sentence. His words nearly made her sob right there. So now he had showed her how he felt. She thought he had no chance to make decision and was forced to go with her, but now, those words just warmed her heart that even Hestia fire could be more matched. Then she realised it.

Is he confessing?

Now her heart suddenly started to pace again and then thundered onto her chest. What should she respond? Now is the chance for her to say yes or no. Paecus voice vibrated from a far again. 'Accept it and you both face what darkness waiting ahead, or reject it and you both hurt but safe from all the judgments and things that to come'. She could not face Percy, afraid she could not deal with it, but she couldn't run away at that moment either because it was the same as rejecting.

Why of all time now it has to happen now? She wanted to shout to the sky. It was too fast, she hadn't made the decision yet and that was the reason why she came here in the first place. She didn't expect to run into him. She was worried that she had to start it first, since Percy was so dense, but now he had eliminated that weight by starting it. All she had to was to say yes or no. Yet each word seemed to weight like a mountain and her jaw just barely hanging on at the verge of holding them.

"It's...umm....nice to uh-here that" she suddenly stuttered out still keeping her eyes on the flow of water below. If there was a thermometer and was placed upon her cheeks, it would've been over a thousand Celsius by now. It was just so embarrassing.

"Y-you know what" she forgot to catch herself since her brain was in a debate. "I-I think I'm gonna return to my room now so....see you..."

And she started walking away from him.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?

She screamed to herself. Why is she backing up she didn't know. It was like the nervousness took control of her for a moment and somehow it persuaded her mouth to spill out those words. She can't retreat now, just not yet. She had to tell him how she felt, she wanted to keep him back, to keep his hope up that there was possible future for them, Artemis really wanted to. Yet she did not know how to express it nor the courage to speak up to him. At the moment she would rather trade fighting a thousand monsters than to stand in front of Perseus and say how she felt for him.

Does it mean that I've chosen yes?

It suddenly hit her. If she wanted to keep him, if she wanted to tell him how she felt even though she didn't not have the courage to speak. But it all indicated that she wanted to say yes to him, to change their relationship and perhaps their lives forever. Artemis was shock yet she was glad that for a stupid moment, that subconscious mind had revealed what she really wanted. But now what would she say to him, she can't just say goodbye and turn back to tell him how she felt. That would be so weird and so awkward.

He's leaving Artemis

Paecus voice came again and now it was like a saviour more than a mind torment. Yes, she could bring this up, then she could stop him from leaving and then reveal her feelings. It was a perfect plan and a smile tilted on her lips.

"You're leaving the Hunt" she stopped on her track, her back still facing him so she did not know how was his expression, disappointment or confusion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's...uh...." he was shocked when she mentioned it. "....I'm still deciding"