Chapter 3: Cast in Iron

I've got a whole ass plan written out for this story. Also there's a new challenge up for fics in the Pertemis Discord server so my entry for that may already be out by the time this is up.

Chapter 3: Cast in Iron

Artemis blushed as she held the flower she had been gifted by the great warrior victory Perseus. Well, she knew him personally as Percy. Purple leaves lined with white veins curled upwards as though it were irked by the sunlight beaming down upon its yellow base.

"Y'ever consider he's sucking up to you because you're a princess?" Came the voice of her friend and the twin sister of Percy, Cali. She had cleaned up after the duel, and this was a private area of the palace - the gardens - where only the royal family and those permitted at the time could enter. As such her attire was informal much like Artemis'. She wore brown cloth pants that were rolled up at the knees, needing to air out her legs since metal boots were so stuffy, and likewise had a tan common shirt that ended covered all up to her collarbone and she had her sleeves rolled up too.

Artemis, since she was in the private section of her family's estate, was permitted to wear more freeform clothes than her usual corset and rich dress. As such she had much the same outfit as Cali, only she had boots on and were pant legs weren't rolled up. However, if she wished to so much as walk out the front door of the palace she had to be changed into her royal attire by her maiden staff.

"No he's not. We both know he's not like this. Unlike most people around here." She rolled her eyes, thinking about all the lords who had spent the day sucking up to her mother, father and older brother. Cali's own father was one of them in a way, though by this point Zeus and Poseidon were much more friends than king and vassal. He gave the crown prince his eldest daughter's hand in marriage, though by the way politics worked it was more like the crown prince deemed his daughter beautiful enough to be worthy of his hand.

And when the time came Artemis knew that - as the last in line of Zeus' children to the throne and the youngest daughter, it would not be up to her whose hand she received. Athena would be the important match, get the most desirable and valuable husband, and Artemis would be forced into second place.

"Ah well, I tried. Looks like you've already fallen hard for saltbreath." Cali smirked, sitting down and leaning back against the tree in the garden, while Artemis was merely sitting with her legs crossed.

Artemis rolled her eyes again. "Whatever. I'm not smitten over a boy." She defended herself somehow both adamantly and half-heartedly. Romance was usually a far cry from Artemis' mindset.

Cali hmph'd. "I can see it in your eyes. It's the same look village girls have when they watch some of the prettier knights roll through on horseback. You're crushing." She told her decisively.

Artemis sighed and put the flower back resting on her ear. She then reached down beside her to the bronze pot she had brought outside with her before opening the lid and pulling out two long vipers.

Cali audibly gasped and backed up, banging her head on the bench behind her. The noise frightened the serpents, who wriggled uncomfortably within Artemis' grasp. Instead of caring to notice her friend, Artemis shushed and soothed the snakes in the hands, making sure they didn't go batshit insane and start biting them both.

Cali watched with her heart pounding, her eyes widened and her instincts kicking as she sat frozen in place. Artemis saw this out of the corner of her eye and smiled while raking her thumb down their scaly backs. "Do you like them? Father bought them off a southern trader who had traveled the Great Way. They like me, I can keep them calm." She assured Cali, who had just now discovered she was terrified of snakes.

They'd seen aspis before by way of snake charmers and traders from far and wide in the south - which was the trading hub of the continent. Virtually all goods flowed through Heliopolis, Atlantis or other port cities, even those that came through the Great Way which stretched from Vulca to Vestasia. However most traders decided to skip the mountain route and instead board ships through the Sea of Angels and then either into the Lethe River or out through the Isthmus of Vulca out into the Pontus Maximus to access the Deusian and Titanian ports. The Great Way was really just to serve as a main road in the low-infrastructure regions of the Pannic Steppe.

Cali gulped, sitting up straight against the bench. "I'm good." She was sure to let her friend know. She watched in a mixture of fear and fascination as Artemis danced the snakes around her hands like she was flipping two knives.

The two friends sat in a comfortable silence for a while, Cali with her head back and her eyes closed resting after all the horse riding and that blow to the gut she'd taken that day. Without her eyes open, she couldn't see the look on her close friend's face as she played with her pets. "Is he really putting on an act?" She asked sadly, making Cali open one eye in confusion.

"Percy? ...No, no he's not the type to do that, he just doesn't normally flirt. I don't know, I haven't probed my brother about his love life." Cali tried to assure her after seeing the genuinely worried look on Artemis' face. If she had her suspicions of the young princess' infatuation with her brother, it was basically confirmed by her question and expression.

Artemis didn't respond, going back to her animals. Cali leaned back again and shut her eyes, this time a small smirk playing at her lips. While she genuinely couldn't say for her father, Percy wasn't ambitious enough to toy with a princess' feelings, and by everything she'd seen from the both of them their feelings were mutual. Now she'd leave it up to her twin to find a way to interlink his and Artemis' hands without losing his head in the process.

---

Zeus truly had little mind for battle tactics, but thankfully neither did Hades nor anyone else of the muddy centuries. They arrived in formation, but rather than link shields and form a wall it was basically to wait for the first line to die and then move up. Rinse and repeat until you kill all the barbarians, pray they don't kill all your lines first.

Needless to say Cali wasn't a huge fan of the Deusian decision making.

Their lines had broken and the battle had turned into a skirmish as Zeus and a few other nobles sought glory by raking their horses through a distraction barbarian horde while shouting and spearing them. How they hadn't been dragged off and stomped to death Cali had no idea.

All she knew was there was a lot of screaming around her, so when she flipped around to get up she jumped a mile as she saw another hairy cave person rushing towards her with a hammer raised. She grabbed her spear but with its tail dragging along the ground she couldn't properly stand it up or pick it up and stab him. She settled instead for rolling on her side so it would line up with him more and sure enough she heard the sound of meat tearing as he ran himself down it trying to finish her.

The hammer dropped as his expression blanked and of course had to land right on her knee. Clank! Cali yelped as the weight forced her leg to lie flat on the ground without letting her foot adjust much at such a high speed. In a moment of weakness she dropped her spear and clutched her knee, only to receive a metal plate to the face as someone - friend or foe - ran past without looking down or just thinking she was a corpse.

The majority of the knee's force was blocked by her helmet but the part of her face not covered still received a good line of steel down it. She likely tripped the guy up but she was more focused on grabbing her nose in pain. It didn't feel out of place but it was throbbing, and Cali's vision in general seemed to be tunneling.

Several thuds sounded around her, making her look and see multiple bodkin point arrows embedded in the ground. Several screams rang out among the screeching of clashing metal as several soldiers on either side fell from a mix of friendly fire and accurate archers. Cali even saw a full plate-armored knight collapse from a lucky arrow to the back of the neck.

Quick on her feet, Cali jumped to her feet and rushed through a crowd of clanging armor and blades. She lifted a steel sword from the ground next to a body and raised it against an enemy. It bounced off his chain at first but with another more forceful swing it broke and gashed his side, leaving him defenseless against another random swing from a Deusian.

Cali then raised her sword as though it were a spear against another barbarian. Kicking it into second gear she rushed towards him while he was preoccupied by one of her comrades. The lackluster chainmail also did little to block her thrust, and the steel blade swam straight through his torso and out the other side. The man looked down with a gasp before falling, nearly breaking Cali's wrist as the weight drifted sideways, but she managed to pull it out before that happened.

Her blue and bronze shield lay on the ground, and needing every bit of protection she could get Cali bent down and quickly picked it up. She narrowly dodged a decapitation swipe as she came up, the plumes of her helmet being sliced or swept back. Her sword swung up to the assailant's armpit where the armor was weakest and sure enough his arm damn near came off. He fell to the ground while Cali rose, knowing he'd be trampled to death before he could be anymore of a threat.

"Cali!" A voice came from right next to her, making her snap her head to the side to face it. Through the eye and mouth slits of the steel Corinthian helmet Cali could recognize her older brother Triton.

"Tri!" She wailed as suddenly all the fear and emotion came crashing down on her at seeing a loved one. It felt like she didn't even need to protect herself anymore, that she was safe, like any blade that may come crashing towards her would undoubtedly be parried effortlessly by him. He always was a better swordsman than either her or Percy.

Triton stopped her. "Cali, stop." He told her, holding her back from just hugging him. Her black hair was draping out underneath the rim of her helmet and it looked disheveled, bouncing as she nodded at him in understanding. He held a hand up to calm her, having lost his shield by this point too.

"Cali, you have to find Percy, find our father. They're concentrating on the right flank, they're trying to break us and we need help." He told her, making sure she knew for sure what he was talking about.

Cali nodded, upset that the battle wasn't over and that she couldn't hug her brother and be safe just yet. "Where are they, I'm, I'm- I'm lost." She said as the crowd of soldiers had closed around them to a choking point by now. Steel clashed against steel with little effort due to the lack of mobility. Mud hindered all movement but falling was a death sentence as you'd suffocated trying to stand - if you weren't trampled that is. "I can't breathe." She told him, and in a panic and fit of madness she tore off her helmet, gasping for air as chainmail and plate armor from other soldiers constricted her breathing.

Triton grabbed her helmet as it fell, pushing it back into her face trying to give it to her. "No, dammit, put it back on. Breathe, little sister, breathe. They'll be near the king, you could find him easily. Cali, brea-" Triton tried calming her before a series of thuds and screams sounded out as another arrow volley came, one hurling directly into Triton's left eye slit and killing him instantly.

---

Triton's body was sent back home to their mother in Atlantea, so that he could be buried in the family tombs. He wasn't shipped on one of those carts with the piles of corpses, rather the Lord Poseidon paid for his safe travel while he and the twins traveled back by caravan to the capital.

The ride was somber, Cali and Percy's faces not lifting at all for the 29 day journey. It was made all the more worse by the fact that because they weren't all cavalry making the ride, they had to ride at a walking pace so the king's entourage and the returning levies didn't fall behind. The twins wanted nothing more than to kick it up a notch and be home in just over a week, but stupid wine-bearers and fucking dancers had to slow them down.

In a sense Cali blamed herself for the death of Triton, despite their being little to no logical reason for this, something Percy and Poseidon had taken care to imprint in her brain several times since the Battle of Charcaldys. Still she was stubborn and emotional - being a teenage girl after all.

They finally arrived back at the palace and capital to crowds cheering for their kings and lords. Their cheering only pissed the twins off even more. It felt like they were rubbing it in. Here they were returning without the heir to Atlantea and these dirty vagabonds were cheering. Cali wanted nothing more at that point to run them down with her mare.

They all disembarked at the palace and of course, since this was King Zeus, a feast commenced. It was mandatory to attend, so despite the twins' desire to go to bed and stay there until it was time to return to Atlantea, Poseidon had them up and in proper attire by the time the sun was halfway down the sky.

Despite the glum mood of the twins, the feast was to all others in the room bar Poseidon and a few others who had lost close family in the battle a merry occasion. Lords and the ladies who had accompanied some of them were lining the tables of Olympus' great hall, drinking and feasting and telling stories.

Percy and Cali had nowhere to be really. Their father sat at the high table next to the king's youngest child and second-in-line to the throne Prince Apollo. The Theoi twins' place was among the nobility and equites filling the hall, but considering they were in a process of month-long unresolved grievance they didn't quite feel like being peer-pressured to laugh or tell some hilarious story. For one thing though, both of them felt like a drink.

"Leave it to Deusians to splurge this gold on feeding themselves when there's an unresolved war going on and riots in the street." Percy said blankly, taking another sip of his disgusting wine imported from Zagr.

"Is that racism I hear, brother?" She asked without too much emotion either, more intent on swirling her wine cup like an evil queen rather than actually drinking. Alcohol made her have fun, and now was not an appropriate time for the youngest child of Poseidon to have fun.

Percy took another sip, not slowing down with his coping. "Yep. One hundred percent." He replied, not even flinching like it was a joke. That's how disillusioned he was becoming after his first battle. They always said it wasn't like the fairy tales, but they never mentioned it was a nightmare.

At the high table the princess Artemis leaned past her older sister Athena and looked towards her parents. "May I be excused?" She asked not too loudly, only catching her mother's attention as well as Athena.

Hera raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "Fine, but be quick with it, girl." She snapped hushly, not wanting it to become a scene of the king's daughter leaving his own feast alone. Artemis nodded and stood up, scooting behind all the chairs down the high table and down the steps, Athena raising an eyebrow as she went.

She held her skirt up a tad so that she could get down the steps without face planting and having inverse top teeth, and made her way to the side door. The princess walked past a gloomy Cali and Percy as she did so, smiling and nodding at her dear friend and potential crush. The twins nodded back, both sipping some more as they did.

Percy looked back towards the high table where the royal family as well as some of the more high-ranking nobles sat. Poseidon sat three seats down from King Zeus, the gap filled by Crown Prince Ares, the future Queen Aphrodite and the young Prince Apollo. Poseidon caught his newly-eldest son's eye and nodded curtly but discreetly, ushering him with an expression to go.

Not keen on being scolded by his father later for not grabbing at every opportunity he could while he could, Percy sighed and handed his cup to Cali. "I'll be back soon. Better go appease the sociopath." He remarked to his twin.

Cali seemed to have forgotten her distaste of wine that night and gladly accepted a second cup. "Don't act like you're not jumping in your shoes at the thought of being out there alone. Just try not to get your head on a block." She reminded him, to which her ever so charming older brother smirked and waved before heading out.

By heading straight down the loggia, Percy would find himself inside the royal gardens which he knew from Cali was a frequent visiting spot of Artemis'. He walked through the open arch and knew he was not legally allowed to be in here, but trusted in Artemis' love for Cali that she wouldn't have his head on a pike or anything. He had chatted with her before, but Cali definitely struck her more as a friend. They were both girls who hated dresses after all.

He found the princess sitting on a bench looking up at the sky. "Bored of the party?" He asked, surprising the girl. At hearing a male voice in her private gardens she initially wanted to call for guards, but upon recognizing the voice she stopped herself and turned.

"H-hi Percy. Um, yeah, you?" She asked as he came around the corner and stood next to her. Artemis was hardly one to ever be flustered but something about Percy made her cheeks flare every time he spoke.

Percy nodded, asking if he could sit down. Artemis permitted him and he took a seat on the bench. "Not really in the mood for it, neither is Cali." He said somberly, looking down at his hands.

Artemis looked down too, twirling the flower he had given her in her fingers. She had taken special care to keep it alive the past few months, not wanting it to just die. Something about that seemed wrong, despite the fact flowers died all the time. "I'm sorry about your brother." She said quietly, feeling sorry for him. She wouldn't be too upset if Ares never came home, but then again she didn't have as much of a bond with her older brother like the twins did.

Percy smiled, appreciating the sentiment. "Thanks." He said, not having much else to say on the topic. They sat in silence for a while as the sun was down by now, the moon being halfway up the sky. Percy ended up looking to his left and seeing her twirling the flower in between her fingers. "You still have it." He smiled, the sight lifting his spirits.

Artemis looked at him and smiled, then back down at the flower. "Of course. How could I let a gift like that wither away? It does count me as one of the three most beautiful women in the kingdom after all." She teased, bringing a hint of red to Percy's cheeks barely visible in the moonlight.

WIthout saying a word, Percy reached down and grabbed the flower from her hand, bringing it up slowly and tucking it behind her ear. "That's better." He remarked flirtatiously, perhaps unconsciously so, but nonetheless Artemis' face flustered to hell and back.

The two sat staring into each other's eyes for a little bit, wondering what to do and whether to do it first.

I may have rushed that ending but I needa pee. I also may have covid. Yeah me and my sister woke up with symptoms so i took a day off but our tests came back negative so we gon try again in the morning. Anyway my head hurts like a bitch so I'm gonna go sleep. I may end up being locked in my room with my sister for a week so i'm gonna need as much sleep as I can get.

Word Count: 3600