Chapter 5 ~ Forming Bonds

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, etc. are the property of JK. Rowling and Rick Riordan. The OC characters and storyline are purely my imagination running wild. My story is for entertainment only and is not part of any official storylines. I do not have any association with J.K. Rowling or Rick Riordan even though I wish I had. No copyright infringement is intended.

######

"And now there is one last decision to be made before Abby and I can go back to what we were doing before." Lady Artemis said as she turned to Bianca.

"Would you like to join the hunt, my dear?"

Bianca hesitated. "I don't know milady."

"What… oh you want Bianca to join your huntresses? What about Abby?" Percy asked.

"I have already agreed to join the Hunt. I will pledge myself to Lady Artemis soon." Abby answered softly.

"Yes, Abby has agreed to join this family already. I would like to offer this to Bianca as well but…" Artemis said trailing off.

"Nico…" Percy asked looking at Bianca.

"No, not just him, there is the camp and growing old with a husband and children, with the hunt I will not have that," Bianca said before continuing. "Percy, you know the camp at least. What would you do? Would you leave if you had a chance?" Bianca pleaded.

"You would ask him? Of course, he would like you to join the camp." Zoe said shocked.

"I would like to hear his overview of the camp as well Zoe," Abby said before turning to Percy. "That is if you are willing?"

"Would you like my honest opinion?" Percy asked.

Bianca nodded as Abby answered. "I believe that will be the only way you will be able to help Bianca now."

Nodding Percy turned to Lady Artemis. "My lady, are we protected from other listeners?"

"Yes, as well as we could be. Why?" Artemis questioned intrigued.

"I am about to give you guys my honest uncensored feelings regarding the camp and it would be very unhealthy for me to have my feelings known by someone other than you guys." With nods of understanding, Percy continued. "If you were a clear-sighted mortal then I would say run and never look back. I cannot speak about serving Lady Artemis, but this is not a life a child should be living. Unfortunately for you, you cannot run – this is your life now. As for camp, I do not know what would happen, but I can tell you that Abby would not be accepted there – they will believe her to be a monster but you Bianca, I just do not know. You could be claimed the minute you step into camp or die before getting any sign of who your parent is; all the while being stuffed in Hermes' overcrowded cabin." Percy finished bitterly.

"Is it that bad?" Bianca whispered sadly.

"Worse actually," Percy sighed. "We were able to find you. We will never know just how many kids died before they could be found. Some remember they had kids and will assist, but a lot of the kids die before coming to camp, and then some do not remember they had kids at all. Growing up as a demigod is not a life I would have wanted. As for a husband, the only males that would understand you are those who are within the divine world, and to be blunt I have not been impressed with any of them."

Bianca looked confused. "Wait, what about our classmate, the one you know about? You and the other girl seem to be friendly with him."

"Grover, he only interacted with me because he was my keeper before I joined the camp. Not once did he indicate the danger I was in with my uncles. He indirectly led me to fear my sanity and he was the indirect cause of my mom's abduction. Last summer he created an empathic link to me without my permission."

"What! He did what now?!" Lady Artemis exclaimed.

"Why would he do something like that? More importantly, has it been removed?" Abby asked in pure anger, knowing the danger such a link could cause.

"Saving his life, the link did help guide us to find the golden fleece and save Thalia but still. He never once explained to me what one was other than what I observed, communication in dreams, other than if he dies so do I. He never offered it to be removed so no, it is still there."

"Wow, this seems to be a bigger deal than what you made it out to be Percy after all Zoe, Abby, and Lady Artemis are getting angry on your behalf," Bianca spoke up seeing the rage on their faces.

"Yes, bonds of any kind, should never be taken lightly especially not in our world. The bond of your word, which is meaningless in the mortal world, holds far more weight in the divine world, imagine how much stronger other bonds might be." Lady Artemis said.

"For instance, the Styx, never and I mean never swear a vague oath. The risk for such an oath is too dangerous. While there are some protections against certain oaths, it was never really focused on and thus can be dangerous. The system works fine if it is explained, and all the parties agree that the oath is in good faith. Just remember never swear on the Styx lightly." Zoe explained to Bianca and Percy.

"This is all very interesting, and I would like to know more about oaths in general later, but can we go back to empathic bonds please?" Percy asked worriedly.

Abby stood up and began to pace. "Empathic bonds are very difficult to explain and I am not sure if it has the same meaning in the divine world, but in the magical world it means the beginning of a slave bond."

At this, the others all yelped in shock. "Slaves."

"Ah, so by your reaction, this bond differs a bit?" Abby asked.

"Yes, my dear. Can you please tell us a bit more about the bond before I explain what it means in our world?" Artemis asked worried about why Abby would know about slave bonds.

"If you wish it," Abby said before continuing. "This bond is more known as the Empathic Slave bond, the bond assists the slave to become more in tune with their master's emotions, wants, and needs, also if the master dies then so does the slave, but it is one way if the slave dies than the master will live on without fearing their life. The bonds take about 2 years to fully settle, and it is unbreakable. Unwilling Empathic bonds can be broken by the goblins and now the gods as well."

Artemis sat back in shock while the other teens were all gaping at what Abby just informed them about this bond. "Okay, I will remove the bond before you leave my tent, Percy. Abby, why do you know so much about slave bonds?"

"I read up on it in my grimoire and my godfather Sirius informed me that the empathic bond is the bond Lord Voldemort has between him and his followers," Abby said softly as she stroked Hedwig's chest lightly.

"Who is Lord Voldemort?" Bianca asked in curiosity.

"A true sadistic monster that has his eyes set on killing me," Abby said before continuing. "I will tell you more after I have taken the pledge, as I promised milady I would, and I do not mind if Percy, Bianca, and Zoe join either milady."

"Thank you, Abby, but for now let me explain to Percy and Bianca what Empathic bonds are to the divine world." Lady Artemis said softly.

Turning back to Percy Artemis continued. "An empathic bond means a great deal in our world, but it is hard to explain. Simply put it is the highest bond one can create without a ritual or divine assist." Artemis raised her hand forestalling Percy, who looked like he was about to interrupt, and continued. "Those in the later stages of courtship naturally create an empathic link. The forming and maintaining of one often being an indicator of impending marriage."

"Marriage?! Okay, no I do not want this bond at all!" Percy exclaimed.

"Parents have one with their children that normally breaks down as they age." Percy's consternation remained though. "I have a bond with each one of my huntresses. When formed with consent information passes in both ways allowing to become closer. My own let me know both where all my girls are and how they are doing."

"Forced bonds are only one way, this is the slave bonds Abby talked about. Grover knows everything that the bond tells him, but Percy is only given what Grover lets him have. Further, it seems like either he was lying or is terrible at bonding as empathic bonds cannot cause death in the divine world, especially not forced bonds." Artemis concluded.

"Well, this is even worse than what I could find about bonds. I just found that they share a great deal of information and nothing on forced bonds being a thing." Percy stated worriedly.

"Yes, the knowledge about forced bonds tends to be left out of being documented. One can do a great deal of harm with such knowledge." Artemis stated solemnly.

"So could Grover have read up on bonds, knew the theory of how it worked, and modified it to change it to a forced bond without meaning to?" Bianca asked.

"Yes, at this point Grover is still guilty of a great deal but not necessarily of forcing an empathic bond. He might have tried to create some other bond, but it changed into one." Artemis conceded.

"So, in other words, Grover is still an idiot, but maybe not malevolent?" Percy asked.

"Indeed. Well, what about Chiron then? He is the guy that trains heroes correct?" Abby asked.

"Are we truly going to go through every male influence that I have encountered since I joined the camp?" Percy asked with a mix of exasperation and amusement.

"If you are willing and we do have time," Artemis answered before continuing. "Coming from you regarding the actions of these males speaks louder than from me and it should also help Bianca."

Percy turned to Bianca. "Would it help?"

"Yes," Bianca said eyes downcast.

"Okay, and honestly I do need to get this off my chest and the four of you are helping," Percy said as Abby returned to her seat next to Lady Artemis.

"Chiron has the same problem as Grover does, he made a house call to teach me but during said house call he allowed a fury to attack me and never assist me in any way, I had no training whatsoever," Percy said.

"Wait, wouldn't that have caused more problems, I mean Percy at the time did not know anything about the divine world and now he had to kill a fury?" Abby asked bewildered.

"Yes, it would have, killing Alecto would have Percy question himself which then increased his scent drawing more monsters to himself. Chiron could have hoped that uncle would have ordered her away before then." Lady Artemis answered.

"Perhaps" Percy conceded before returning to his explanation. "On my first day at camp, he barely answered any of my questions, most of the time he ignored them, and he failed to tell me anything important about the camp other than hey the Gods are real and one of them is your father. Once I was claimed, he allowed the passive-aggressive bullshit the whole camp pulled to happen, making it very clear that I am not wanted. When I got my first quest, he did not once tell me anything important beforehand and still failed to inform me of anything important after I accepted the quest. He sent me off to complete the quest with barely 3 weeks of training and refused to allow me to choose my companions for the task. And this is just the first summer!" Percy ranted. "Let's not forget that the only weapon he gives me is a sword that makes me want to weep every time I use her."

"What do you mean? I have never heard of such a thing?" Artemis interjected, helping to end Percy's rant.

"I have, milady, this normally only happens with soul essence weaponry. It is rare and out of practice but is more common in the magical world. When forging a weapon, you essentially insert a piece of your soul within, I have such a weapon, and works best only for me or my blood descendants." Abby said softly.

"That is very interesting but let us continue with your tale Percy," Artemis said intrigued.

"Anaklusmos," Percy said as Zoe hissed at this. "It feels like someone ripped part of a soul and shoved it into a blade. She is crying out for her other half, begging me to rejoin her. She only recognizes me as a wielder because I am of the sea. I would like to rejoin her to her other half. She did cry out in joy when you arrived though, so maybe it is one of your huntresses she is calling out to." Percy said slightly confused.

"Zoe," Artemis stated looking at her lieutenant.

"My lady, please…" Zoe replied looking pained.

"Move on my lieutenant, you can fix one of your regrets. Not many get that chance." Artemis said softly.

Sighing Zoe turned to Percy. "Very well. Perseus, Anaklusmos was once mine. I poured my immortal essence and connection to the sea into her, fashioning a weapon for someone I foolishly trusted. The cost of this was that I was cast out of my family, forgotten, and left mortal, in the end, I joined Artemis and regained part of what I had lost."

Abby whimpered softly as Zoe's story struck a chord within her, reminding her of how her parents trusted someone who caused her to lose her family and be forgotten.

"Abby, are you, all right?" Artemis asked worried at the whimper she heard.

Nodding slightly, Abby indicated Percy to continue not wanting to talk just yet.

Worried, Percy continued. "But not all of it, well I cannot give you what was never mine, so here take her back. Though I am going to need to find a new weapon, nothing else worked for me." Percy trailed off.

The other girls look flabbergasted, while Abby looks off into the fire, worrying Percy even more. "What, even if I didn't want to give her back, I now know that she belongs to you, so I would never be able to wield her again." Looks of understanding flashed through the girls' eyes.

"Thank you, Perseus, I don't know if she'll accept me back though," Zoe said longingly.

"Zoe, she has been crying out for you the entire time I wielded her. I don't think you have anything to fear." Percy said softly.

"I am not quite sure how to regain my connection to the sea, something to look into I suppose. Thank you again, Percy. But what about you? You said that no other blade worked for you?" Zoe said while Artemis gained a thoughtful look.

Abby looked up at this worried before she caught her Lady's expression.

"I am not sure," Percy said worriedly. "But back to the subject of Chiron though, apparently he has taken the time to teach Thalia to manipulate the mist while never showing me a demigod could do it. This is despite how much trouble I have had with mortals trying to interpret the mist. No, other than administrative capacity and teaching archery I have not seen much of him. Considering that I am banned from the range due to my 'skill to be unskilled' as one Apollo camper put it, I've not seen much of him."

"What about Dionysus? What do you think about him?" Zoe asked with disgust.

"He views interacting with the campers as a punishment, that should be able to give you a good idea of how unpleasant he can be," Percy stated while Abby and Bianca looked at the others for confirmation.

"Do you have any other males that you would like to talk about, or do you wish to move on to the big three?" Artemis asked.

"Well, there is my brother Tyson." Percy gained a fond expression. "The only bad thing I can say about him would be that at the end of last summer, he went to Dad's forges to learn," Percy said before continuing. "Don't get me wrong, I am very proud of him, but I miss him, he has a very refreshing personality, and he is the only male in my life that I do not have trouble with. I could talk about Luke and all the shit he has done towards Annabeth and Thalia, but the simple fact is, he betrayed us all for grandfather and no one sane should want him to rule."

"Quite. Why do you refer to the crooked one as grandfather, I would assume that you would want to cut all ties of the family from him?" Artemis asked confused.

"Oh, I do. I just called him that once and from all the raving he made regarding it, I would assume he disliked it. Also, we should not call him by name, this would seem to be the fun way to refer to him." Percy said cheerfully. "Calling him something like the crooked one gives him power over us in some way."

"You have a habit of angering immortals it would seem. I still remember Medusa's head on the first quest, the look on Zeus' face was priceless." Artemis smiled at Zoe.

"What did you do with her head?" Bianca asked intrigued.

Percy answered quite cheerfully. "Oh, I mailed it to the council. Said Percy with love. Looking back on it, it might not have been the best choice. I could have angered some of the goddesses that I respect, which would be very unfortunate."

"Not gods?" Abby asked.

"Not on the council or at all really," Percy said.

"So, who do you respect Perseus?" Zoe asked with an edge of danger in her voice.

"Well, she isn't on the council but Hestia, though I doubt you will find anyone to disagree with that. While I do not like her, Hera, not snapping and killing everyone is impressive given her domain and who she is married to. Other than her pride I mostly like Athena, but she does too much stupid stuff for me to fully like her though. Aphrodite scares the shit out of me with how she messes with people's love lives. Percy finished fearfully.

"And what about Lady Artemis? What do you think about her?" Abby asked narrowing her eyes ever so slightly.

"Hell, if there was a way for me to swear to her, I would probably do so without much thought. Yes, she has a role in punishing others but all of them should have been punished in one way or the other after all you do not say that you are better than the gods for example." Percy answered with a shrug.

"But angering them is just fine?" Artemis asked in amusement.

"Meh, most of the gods already hate me for being born due to the oath, so calling them out would not change much." Was Percy's flippant response.

"But anyway, she is the only goddess that regularly interacts with non-divine beings and would help those who are in need," Percy said getting back on topic.

"And why didn't we start with you wanting to swear to Lady Artemis, to begin with? It would have saved us a lot of time." Bianca asked sweetly with narrowed eyes causing Abby to snort in laughter.

"Um… because I just realized it myself, you have to understand, I do not normally allow myself to think of such a thing," Percy said slowly.

"Percy, you are not trying to be impudent, are you?" Zoe asked Steely.

"What, no. Like I said, wanting grandfather to rule is nothing but insane. Would I like some changes in the way things are done, then yes." Percy answered.

"Clearly you are not loyal to the council. Where does your loyalty lie, Perseus Jackson?" Artemis asked in concern.

"With my friends, my family, and the two goddesses who I trust." Was Percy's steady reply.

"Would you give your life for them, Perseus? Would you turn your back on those you are loyal to?" Abby asked steely as everyone lapsed into a tense silence.