Act I – Tension in the Woods
The night was heavy with moonlight, the air sharp with the smell of pine. Percy walked the forest with Kaal above him, shadowing his steps like a dark star.
Artemis emerged first, silver cloak flowing, wolves pacing at her side. "You come too often into my woods," she said, but her voice lacked the sting it once carried.
Before Percy could answer, a column of white light flickered between the trees. Athena stepped forward, robes trailing, her owl perched solemnly on her shoulder.
Artemis stiffened. "What do you want here?"
Athena's gaze was steady. "The same as you, it seems."
For a long, sharp moment, the air trembled with rivalry. Wolf growls rumbled. The owl's feathers bristled. Percy stood silent, watching time slow around their tempers.
Act II – Collision
Artemis broke first. "You cannot," she spat. "You are wisdom, law. You cannot long for what I long for."
Athena's eyes flashed. "And you—virgin vow, untouchable huntress. Yet here you are. Do not pretend your silence is not filled with him."
Artemis reached for her bow. Athena for her spear. Both dissolved into mist before they could draw. Time had frozen them, Percy's hand raised.
"No more lies," Percy said, voice low but steady. "Not to me. Not to yourselves."
The forest hushed. Even the moon seemed to pause. Artemis lowered her head, breath ragged. Athena closed her eyes, fists trembling.
Finally Artemis whispered, "I cannot—yet I cannot not."
Athena answered, "Reason abandons me where he stands."
Their words cracked the air. Truth spoken aloud for the first time.
Act III – Choice
Percy released time's hold. The owl ruffled its feathers. The wolves whined softly.
Artemis and Athena looked at one another—expecting fury, rivalry, betrayal. Instead, they saw their own longing mirrored back.
It was Artemis who laughed first—short, sharp, disbelieving. "The scandal will be endless."
Athena's lips curved, a rare, wry smile. "Let Olympus choke on its gossip."
They turned to Percy together, no longer divided. Artemis stepped forward, her hand brushing his shoulder. Athena followed, resting hers on his arm.
"You stand beyond the Fates," Artemis said.
"You stand beyond reason," Athena added.
"And yet," Percy murmured, "I stand with you."
The forest glowed silver and gold as the stars wheeled overhead. For the first time, three deities chose one another, not in rivalry, not in secrecy, but in defiance of every vow, every law.
The moment rippled across Olympus. Aphrodite laughed until she cried. Hera seethed. Zeus thundered. But none could unmake what had been chosen.
Aftermath
The Hunt sensed it. Artemis' maidens whispered, scandal and awe tangled in their throats. Athena's philosophers grew restless, sensing a shift in her clarity. The Fates themselves wove furiously, threads snapping where Percy's presence unraveled them.
But beneath it all, the truth had been sealed. Artemis' vow broken, Athena's reason undone, Percy no longer alone.
Three stood where once had been one.