The Moon's Shine (PJO)

Chapter 11

Percy stood in front of the silver gates of Lady Artemis' palace, feeling fear build up in his gut. No matter how dense he was, he knew one thing:

This was the stupidest thing he'd ever done.

Of course, one had to jump out of their comfort zone to tell their friend-turned-crush about one's feelings for them. But Percy had it worse for two reasons.

Firstly, he was dense. Like really dense. And he knew it. Ergo, he didn't know he had feelings for Artemis until Lady Aphrodite showed him the evidence. So now he was going out on a limb, trusting a deity with something serious.

Secondly, his "crush" wasn't on a random girl. Instead, she was one of the only deities—and certainly the most powerful of them—that hated males for a living. He'd heard horror stories about what happened to males after they'd looked her in the eyes—and he was planning to profess his love to her.

Percy stepped back and gulped in fear. Nope. He would prefer not to get castrated. Or killed, for that matter.

Just then, he heard a snicker. Percy spun around.

A group of demigods was currently passing him. He didn't know why they were on Olympus—there was probably another council meeting the camp was invited to, but like always, he wasn't told—but he couldn't care less. 

However, he did care about the patronizing smirks on their faces.

He knew how he looked: A weak demigod, staring "longingly" at the castle of Lady Artemis. Just like every other male who'd seen her in her young adult form.

One of the female demigods—the one with red hair—burst out in laughter. "I'd get away if I were you. Lady Artemis doesn't like pathetic males like you."

One of her friends added, "Especially ones who have nothing to do except stare at her castle creepily."

Percy's eyes flared in anger. She didn't have to be so mean about it. He felt hot under his collar, but a moment before he spoke, he got a brilliant idea. They thought he was weak, so why didn't he prove them wrong with actions rather than words? 

As they were watching, Percy walked back to the gate and rapped the shining silver with his fist twice.

Behind him, the demigods backed away warily, as if expecting him to get killed.

However, Percy just stood there, smiling slightly.

Only, as the seconds ticked by, nothing happened.

Percy turned around upon hearing the demigods burst into laughter once again.

"Wha-what did you think was going to happen?" cried out the red-haired girl. "I admit, I am surprised you didn't get impaled on the spot, but there's the hope you still will." She glared at him.

Meanwhile, Percy was confused. Why didn't anything happen? Every time he visited Artemis, he entered using that trick. Unless . . . she didn't want him there anymore?

The son of the sea was broken out of his thoughts by the sounds of weapons being drawn.

The two boys in the group had their swords out. "Look," the older one began. "We know that you have no life and you're weird and all, but that gives you no excuse to attempt to break into an immortal's property—even though any sane person knows it's impossible. Still, that's illegal, and we can't stand aside anymore." The two boys advanced while the girls stood at the side, watching.

Percy was torn with emotions. One angry part of him wanted to fight, but another, opposing part wanted to run away. They might've been spoiled and rude, but they were demigods at heart.