Clouds seemed to cover the skies of New York, making the forest so dark one could have mistaken the time of day for night. A woman covered by shadows ran through the thicket of trees. She seemed to leave a trail of dark red behind her.

A black shadow shot from one tree to the next, its eye glowing in the moon's pale light. One could make out a club hanging loosely at its hip.

The woman ran into a clearing. The dim lighting revealed the small child in her arms. The child looked somewhere between three and five. The child looked over their mother's shoulder and saw the monster, sea-green eyes widening from behind raven-black hair. It became clear that the child was indeed a male like the beast had been told.

The boy recognized the monster as a cyclops when it entered the clearing. His eyes widened with fear.

"I-I'm scared, mommy," the boy stuttered. His mother pulled him away from her shoulder. Her clothing was stained with blood, but the blood was not hers. The blood belonged to the small child. His shoulder was bleeding heavily. His light blue shirt had a small circular hole where the blood was coming from.

"I know, sweetie, but I need you to stay behind me." The mother told her young son as she placed him onto the grass. She quickly took off a necklace with a wave charm on it. She puts it around her son's neck and kisses his forehead.

"Mommy?" The child said with concern evident in his voice. Sadly he got no response. His mother turned around, facing the cyclops. The monster laughed evilly.

'Please let my child be safe. That is my final wish' she prayed to whatever god or goddess that would listen.

The cyclops smacked the poor woman with his club, sending her flying into a tree. She rolled onto the ground, coughing up blood. With the woman out of the way, he walked over to the little boy.

"You truly are father's son. You look just like him." The monster spoke. He suddenly yelled out in pain as an arrow dug into its shoulder.

The woman's prayer did not fall onto deaf ears. A girl who had silver eyes and auburn hair walked into the clearing.

"Step away from the child!" She yelled as she got another arrow aimed for its head.

"This is none of your business, huntress!" It called back.

"Wrong answer," she said calmly. She let the arrow loose. The projectile made its way through the sky and found itself lodged in the cyclops eye.

The monster fell backward, but before it landed on its back, it turned to dust. The huntress ran to the woman who was barely holding onto life.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here earlier." The huntress told the lady.

"It's... fine, you came ri....right when we needed you..." the woman took a painful breath. "I'm not going ... to make it."

"Don't say that. I'll make sure you will live another day." The huntress promised.

"No need... all I ask is that... you take care of my child... I know you don't like males... lady Artemis but he is... still young." The huntress was shocked when the woman spoke her name. "Make him the... only good male out there. Please."

The huntress, now named Artemis, thought about it for a second.

"May I at least know your name before you pass?" She asked.

"My name is... Sally Jackson." She spoke before smiling. "Tell him I... loved him with all my heart."

"I will."

"Good." With that, she closed her eyes and breathed her last breath. Artemis put two drachmas on top of Sally's eyes before walking to the boy.

The boy backed away some before hissing in pain, his left hand covering his right shoulder. Artemis put her bow down with the quiver next to it.

"What is your name?" She asked calmly as the boy looked at her.

"P-Perseus Ja-Jackson," he got out after a few seconds of silence.

"Well, Percy, I'm Artemis-" she started.

"The g-goddess of the hunt, A-Artemis?" He asked nervously. The huntress nodded. "Then, that means t-the gods are real?"

Artemis nodded again. "You are brilliant for a boy. How old are you?"

"F-f-four years old today." He said with a sad tone. The goddess picked the child up and started walking in what seemed like a random direction to Percy.

🐺🐺🐺
🐺Percy's POV🐺
I shot up wide awake. Phantom pain covered my shoulder as I grabbed it. That dream... no, it's not a dream, but a memory. I had blocked out the best I could.

My hand wrapped around the wave charm that hangs from my neck. That had happened precisely seven years ago today. It was the day I became three things. The first was the 'the only male in the hunt.'

The second was 'the brother of the hunt.'

And finally, I became 'The Son of Artemis.'

Words: 839
I hope y'all enjoyed. I will be taking time tomorrow to update this so that everything will be around the same place.

-Red