You didn't really think I'd leave you hanging like that did you? Well I'm not that mean but you are going to be... angry with me for how this turns out...

Have fun...

Secret of the Silver Bow Part VI the Broken Bow

One

The Hunter

With one light on in one room
I know you're up when I get home
With one small step upon the stair
I know your look when I get there
If you were a king up there on your throne
Would you be wise enough to let me go
For this queen you think you own
Wants to be a hunter again

-Hunter, Dido

Aikatrina

I bounced out of bed and looked over at my sister, Lily was still asleep. She was not a morning person, never had been and never would be. I hoped out of bed, my feet hitting the soft earth beneath. I pulled on my silver hunting tunic and dashed out side, not even bothering to brush the curled black mess that was my hair.

I ran across camp in the cold February morning, the sun was just beginning to rise and my parents weren't up yet. It didn't occur to me that Grace might still be asleep, but when I opened her tent I saw her pulling her short hair into a pony tail.

People have told me it used to reach her waist when she first joined, but after about a hundred years she cut it. She cut it to her shoulders, which was just long enough to have a ponytail, right after the incident about fourteen years ago. They also tell me Grace's eyes used to light up when she spoke, though I had never seen that, they always seemed to either be the same dull way the always were or they were brimming with tears.

Grace turned and looked at me, I smiled, and she waved at me to come in. I sat on her bed which smelled like Lilac and something else I couldn't quiet place, it was an old scent though, I'm sure Grace could smell it.

"Aikatrina," Grace spoke in her accented voice. "Have you brushed your hair?"

I giggled. "No."

"I can tell." She said. Her jeans were a big too big, as was her t-shirt. I don't remember a time when everything didn't hang loosely on her, though I'm not surprised it does, she eats very little and sleeps even less. It's not healthy but I know she lays awake at night and thinks about him.

"Why should I?" I wrinkled my nose.

"What would your Mam say if she saw you like that today?" She turned and looked at me with those piercing eyes, the ones that would catch everything, every hair out of place, ever movement; none of it would get past her watchful eyes.

"She doesn't care!" I scowled.

After fourteen years my mother still resents me a bit, I know I ought to be dead, I know someone they all cared about died for me years ago. Him. Shamrock. My brother. They tell me he was a character, snarky, undaunted, fun, danger prone, yet he seemed to care about everyone. They tell me he had great adventures, they even tell me they thought he'd died several times before he actually did.

All of this and I have never once seen his picture. My mother can't even look at me, and when she does its comparing me to Shamrock. My father raised me more than my mother and Grace was like a mother, a sister and an aunt all rolled into one.

"Grace?" I asked.

"Yes Aikatrina?" She turned back around to face me.

"What did Shamrock look like?" I asked.

"Well he looked a lot like your sister, Silver eyes, auburn hair; he was 4'11" and 90 pounds 6.5 ounces. His entire body seemed to be made of muscle and bone." She said softly.

"Could I have seen his hair?" I asked.

"No probably not." She whispered.

This would be a good time to explain that I am red-green color blind, I have never seen grace's hair, never seen the leaves in the summer. I don't know why or how I just know some things I can see in color and everything else is in shades of gray.

One other question has been burning in the back of my mind for a long time, but I've never asked it. I know if I do I could hurt Grace and before I haven't wanted to do that, but now I have such a burning desire to know that it just kind of spills out of my mouth.

"Did you love Shamrock?" I blurted out. Grace sighs and smiles weekly, looking down at me. "I'm sorry I didn't think!" I tried once I'd processed what I'd said.

"Its fine, sometimes I forget you are going to stay ten years-old forever." She whispered. "Yes though, I did. The entire hunt did, even though he drove us crazy half the time."

I thought about telling her that she hadn't answered the question, I had been specifically asking about her, but decided I should hold my tongue.

That's one thing Grace taught me well, to always see and care about others emotions, she said that if I didn't it could get me to trouble. Something about her during this entire lesson had seemed, well, different. Sadder then she usually say, because Grace always looked to be just moments away from tears.

"Are we going to the memorial today?" I wondered. In all fourteen years of my life I can never remember once going to a memorial, usually Grace and I did our own type of thing, hunting in a favorite spot of his or doing something he loved, one year we even went to Ellis Island, the sight of one of his adventures.

"No Aikatrina, we're not." She sighed, looking over me. "Now go put something good on."

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I'll tell you when you put your dress on." Grace was firm, she always had been. I sighed and resided to going to get dressed.

I bounced onto my bed and over to my dresser pulling out the lovely pink dress Grace had made for me. It had white flowers on it and a beautiful purple "A" embroidered on it. This was one of the many things Grace had made me over the years, but one of the only, normal things. Usually she made hunting tunics.

In the days when I had been small I would often be playing by the river or in the camp and she would be making a tunic, or repairing a pair of jeans. Bed time had always been my favorite; she would tell me a story right before I went to bed. Usually it was about her family in Ireland but occasionally they would be about my brother. Those were the ones I loved the most.

I pulled the dress over my head and ran back into Grace's tent. "Can we go now?" I asked.

"Alright fine, I'll tell you where we're going" she rolled her eyes in that very Grace way. "Your brother used to live with Apollo in a house in the woods. The house isn't too far from here, that's where we're going."

"Really?" I squealed.

"Aikatrina." Grace warned.

I rolled my eyes "I know I know, squealing isn't lady like." If there is one thing Grace put lots of emphasis on in raising me it was being lady like, which I was pretty good about most of the time. Of course I did slip up but she always warned me when I did.

"Well you are a lot like your brother I guess I should know I can only expect you to be lady like ninety nine percent of the time." She smiled.

"Grace, was my brother badly behaved?" I pestered.

"I wouldn't say that. I would call him danger prone and a little bit of a wild child." Grace smiled. "It wasn't really his fault he was just born that way. He also had a million pet peeves. Crying children being one of them. No matter how much he denied it though, he really did love you."

"Grace, he died for me didn't he?" I whispered.

"Yes. He did, but I'm glad I didn't try to stop him." She said.

"Why?" I Asked.

"Because if I had then I wouldn't have Shamrock, he wouldn't be the same, and you wouldn't be here." She whispered. "Now let's go tell your father we're leaving."

Grace and I walked over to my dad's tent and I peeked in, he was sharpening arrow heads with Sirius at his feet. "Daddy, Grace and I are leaving now."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Alright, have a nice time." HE came over and hugged me. "Be good for Grace."

"She's always good Lord Orion." Grace said.

"Alright, have a nice time I'll see you when you get back." He said.

"Can we take Sirius?" I asked, more to Grace then my dad. Dad never minded if we took the dog, Grace on the other hand did, she minded a great deal if the dog slept in my bed. He wasn't that big just a small white dog. He used to be my dad's, then when he died for the first time my moms, after that Shamrock's. Now he's more of the hunts dog.

"Alright, just this once." Grace said.

"Yay!" I grabbed the leash from next to his bowl. "Come on boy!"

"Goody bye Lord Orion." Grace said and we ducked out of the tent and the cool morning air came over us. "Aikatrina, where's your jacket?"

"In my tent." I said.

"Go get it." Grace ordered. I sighed and complied, knowing that it was no use arguing with Grace, it never was. She had always been very strict, if I was asked to do something I was expected to do it immediately, no questions asked. I usually didn't argue, but sometimes I did, she says I'm too much like my mother not to argue sometimes.

I don't like being compared to my mother, the woman who was so distant from me. The woman who left me in the care of a fourteen year old (Even if she was immortal) since I was just six months old, sure Grace had taken care of me with the help of my father but it wasn't the same. I felt like Grace was more my mother then Lady Artemis. I had never even called Lady Artemis mother, when I was starting to talk I always called Grace my mother, and she would always correct me. Insisting that I called her Grace.

Secretly when I'm alone writing in my journal (Which Grace insisted I keep) I call her mother, because I needed one, and when I did she stepped in. Occasionally we would go for a ride in the moon chariot with my mother and for as long as I can remember I would insist on Grace coming with me and I would sit on her lap. I know that must have hurt my mother but strangely I didn't care.

I grabbed my jacket and straightened the pillows on my bed. The Jacket was an older style, Victorian style. It was a beautiful deep Blue, with a silver ribbon around the middle; Grace had made it for me.

She always loved to dress me like a child from her time, on heritage day I had the option of dressing in the Victorian era clothes Grace had made for me (Which were much more extravagant then the clothes she had grown up in) or the clothes from my father's time. Usually I opted to wear the ones Grace had made for me, partially because I knew how they went on. The ones from my father's time had no zipper or buttons and I wasn't ever entirely sure how to get it on.

I ran over to her and grabbed Grace's hand. "Come on Grace!"

"Okay Aikatrina!" She laughed a little, something I didn't really ever hear her do. I drug her of and soon we were running at hunter speed, my hair was flying and I couldn't help but laugh. I loved this.

Soon we were in front of a house. The lights were off, the door handle was dusty. He pain on the outside was faded from yellow to a dirty dull color. The door had antlers carved onto it and the entire thing buzzed with immortal energy. Apollo had put a protection all around it. Only me, Grace, my father, my sister ad Lady Artemis were allowed in.

Grace stood for a few minutes outside just staring at the house. I looked at her and for a few moments her façade slipped and I saw her face flash with a thousand emotions.

"Are you okay Grace?" I asked looking up at her, the façade flew back up instantly and she kneeled down to my height.

"Aikatrina, it's been fourteen years since I've been here, and the last time I was here was when we found out who you were. This place means more to me then you will ever understand." She hugged me tightly. I still got the feeling I wouldn't understand because there was something she hadn't told me about who Shamrock was to her.

I always knew they had been close friends, but I never knew how close. Grace had never even shown me a picture of him. I knew she must have one somewhere, but I had never asked because it made her so sad to talk about him.

At home when referring to Shamrock we always said 'him' never 'Shamrock' or 'Sham' I knew Sham had been his nickname and Uncle Percy and Aunt Annabeth often referred to him as Sham. I never really knew who they were talking about though. Shamrock was one topic I hardly ever went to Grace for. Sometimes I went to dad but if I was really dying to know or something the Hunt or Apollo wouldn't tell me I went to Aunt Annabeth and Uncle Percy.

Grace stood up, the knees of her pants wet from the snow and she drew her jacket close around her, it was a boy's jacket, black hoody, she'd been wearing it for as long as I could remember, it was a little big on her but she didn't seem to mind. After years it had taken on a soft scent of lilac, but there was always the stronger scent of something wild there. No doubt it had been my brothers.

"Come on we'll go inside, I've brought some Hot Chocolate and the heat should still work." She said, and we stepped over the boarder to go in. I got the feeling we weren't so alone anymore…

Grace

Grace's green eyes opened to the cool February air. Another day to drag herself out of bed and into the world. She had been doing it for fourteen years and she was going to do it today if it killed her. She threw the blankets – which still carried a hint of his scent – off of her and stood up. She pulled open the dresser and ran her finger over a series of black, green and silver hunting tunics. They were his, none of them had been worn in years, and they would never be worn again.

Grace closed the top drawer and opened the middle on, she pulled out a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. She unbuttoned her night gown and let it fall to the ground. She glanced at her self in the mirror which was above the dresser, her skin was pale, and her hair like fire. That didn't distract from the dark circles underneath her eyes from just a few hours of sleep, it had been years since she had slept properly. Or eaten properly, she had to be five pounds under weight.

She pulled the clothes on and tied a piece of rope around her waist to keep the jeans up. Grace grabbed a brush from the dresser and started to pull her hair into a ponytail. Years ago she had cut it short enough to just be pulled back into a ponytail. Shamrock used to love to play with Grace's hair most of the time he got it knotted but she didn't mind, it was kind of cute.

She glanced over at the tent flap and saw Aikatrina's black curly mess of curls peering in at her. She beckoned for her to come in. Little Aikatrina Faye Clover, came dancing in just like the little fairy she was named for. Her hair was a mess.

"Aikatrina." Grace's voice was stern. "Have you brushed your hair?"

Aikatrina giggled. "No."

" I can tell." She said sternly, tying the rope a little tighter around her.

Aikatrina wrinkled her freckled nose. "Why should I?"

"What would your mam say if she saw you like that today?" Grace raised both eyebrows. The truth was probably nothing.

"She doesn't care!" Exclaimed Aikatrina. The sad part was that it was true, Lady Artemis could hardly look at sweet little Aikatrina. Lady Artemis could hardly look at the child, which meant that the task of rasing her had been left up to Orion all these years. Orion was a good father, but more often then not Grace got put with the task of raising her.

Aikatrina was often the cause of Orion and Lady Artemis' frequent spats, they disagreed on just about everything about her now. Orion wanted Lady Artemis to give her a chance but Lady Artemis didn't want her. If it hadn't been for Orion and Grace's pleading Lady Artemis would have had her sent straight to the orphanage. It made Grace sad, no child should be raised like that.

Grace turned away from the child, tears threatening to spill over.

"Grace?" Aikatrina asked. Grace took a deep breath and regained control.

"Yes Aikatrina?" Grace asked, turning back to face her.

"What did Shamrock look like?" Aikatrina asked.

Grace ought to have seen this coming, Aikatrina had never seen a picture of Shamrock, and had no memory of what he looked like. She had asked almost every other question but never this one. Grace had answered most of them, but others she waved off.

"Well he looked a lot like your sister, Silver eyes, auburn hair; he was 4'11" and 90 pounds 6.5 ounces. His entire body seemed to be made of muscle and bone." Grace said softly, even those few brief sentences brought a vivid image of him to mind.

It was a warm day and they had been babysitting Aikatrina. Shamrock was dozing in the grass and Aikatrina slept on top of him. Sham's hair was being blown by a gentle breeze, and her seemed happy. This was what was brought to mind at that moment, and it was almost too much for Grace.

"Could I have seen his hair?" Aikatrina piped up, bringing Grace out of her thoughts. Aikatrina was red-green color blind and most likely wouldn't have seen anything other then a dull brownish-gray for Shamrock's hair.

"No, probably not." Grace whispered, and again the image of Sham and Aikatrina came to mind. She even remembered what he was wearing, a gray Artemis Hunting Tour t-shirt, and a pair of faded jeans. His bow lie next to him and an arrow lay waiting by his side. Again Grace was driven to the point of near tears, but that couldn't have prepared her for what came next.

"Did you love Shamrock?" Aikatrina blurted, Grace jumped and looked at her, debating if she ought to tell her the truth or not. Guilt flashed across Aikatrina's sweet little face. "I'm sorry I didn't think!"

Grace decided on a partial truth. "It's fine, sometimes I forget you are going to stay ten years-old forever." She whispered. "Yes though, I did. The entire hunt did, even though he drove us crazy half the time."

Aikatrina looked like she wanted to ask more but held her tongue. Grace had taught her to think before she spoke, and it paid off, though occasionally Aikatrina slipped up.

"Are we going to the memorial today?" Aikatrina asked. Grace had never once in the last fourteen years so much as set foot near the memorial service, it had always been much too hard for her. She had considered it this year, though the very thought of setting eyes on yet another shroud with his picture on it had driven her to the point of tears.

"No Aikatrina, we're not." Grace looked over Aikatrina, who knew quiet well what she was wearing was not appropriate for the occasion at all. "Now go put something good on."

"Where are we going?" Aikatrina pestered, another thing Grace was slowly teaching her not to do.

"I'll tell you when you put your dress on." Grace said, in the firm tone Aikatrina was so used to hearing. She knew what it meant and scurried off.

Grace had spent time making all of Aikatrina's clothes, from the ones worn on heritage day to the ones she played in. Each stitch had been hand sewn and every detail embroidered on.

Aikatrina came dancing in, she wore the pink dress with the little white flowers and embroidered A today, the newest one Grace had made her just for today's occasion. "Can we go now?" She begged

"Alright fine, I'll tell you where we're going" Grace rolled her eyes, something else she had spent years doing around Aikatrina. "Your brother used to live with Apollo in a house in the woods. The house isn't too far from here, that's where we're going."

"Really?" She squealed jumping and skipping out of sheer joy.

"Aikatrina." Grace warned, she knew very well that squealing wasn't lady like at all.

"I know I know, squealing isn't lady like." She rolled her eyes in a way Grace supposed she had learned from all those years of watching her roll her eyes. All the years Grace had put into making the child as lady like and honest as possible and there were still a few things that needed to be worked on. Squealing was one of them

"Well you are a lot like your brother I guess I should know I can only expect you to be lady like ninety nine percent of the time." She smiled. Yes the girl was a lot like Shamrock, though much less reckless. She was just as head strong though.

"Grace, was my brother badly behaved?" Aikatrina pestered, it was always the day of the memorial service that she wanted to know everything about her older brother.

"I wouldn't say that. I would call him danger prone and a little bit of a wild child." Grace smiled down at her. "It wasn't really his fault he was just born that way. He also had a million pet peeves. Crying children being one of them. No matter how much he denied it though, he really did love you."

"Grace, he died for me didn't he?" Aikatrina whispered. Sometimes the child was too smart of her own good.

"Yes. He did, but I'm glad I didn't try to stop him." She said honestly, she didn't know if she could have forgiven herself for making Shamrock stay and having a baby die.

"Why?" Aikatrina pushed. Grace debated not answering her question for a moment but decided the child deserved to know.

"Because if I had then I wouldn't have Shamrock, he wouldn't be the same, and you wouldn't be here." She whispered. "Now let's go tell your father we're leaving."

Grace walked over to Orion's tent, Aikatrina ducked in and pulled Grace in behind her. "Daddy, Grace and I are leaving now."

Orion looked up from what he was doing.. "Alright, have a nice time." HE came over and hugged Aikatrina, something that Her mother never did. "Be good for Grace."

"She's always good Lord Orion." Grace said.

"Alright, have a nice time I'll see you when you get back." He said.

"Can we take Sirius?" Aikatrina asked, more to Grace. Aikatrina knew full well Grace didn't like that dog, it was unhealthy for the dog to sleep in Aikatrina's tent, though Aikatrina loved it when he did. Sirius was more the hunts dog now then Shamrocks, or Grace's.

"Alright, just this once." Grace said, she figured that given where they were going they ought to at least bring Shams dog.

"Yay!" Aikatrina grabbed his leash and clipped it on his collar "Come on boy!"

"Goody bye Lord Orion." Grace said politely before ducking out of the tent. "Aikatrina, where's your jacket?"

"In my tent." Aikatrina said.

"Go get it." Grace ordered. Aikatrina sighed, but went to get her jacket. She had always been an obedient child, one who never failed to make Grace think about her own childhood. Of course there were still those little spats where grace knew she was a lot like her own mother.

Aikatrina had always hated being compared to her mother. Secretly Grace couldn't blame her, what kind of mother hated her child? Grace had some resentment towords her Lady ever since then and honestly wasn't the least bit surprised when Aikatrina called her "Mama" When she was little instead of Lady Artemis. Grace had been quick to correct this behavior.

Grace knew it would hurt Lady Artemis to see Aikatrina call Grace mother, but she almost hadn't cared. She knew Shamrock would have been furious at his mother if he knew that Aikatrina had been treated like this for so long. If he was still alive that it.

Aikatrina came dashing out, her black curls bouncing , against her Jacked. It was a beautiful deep Blue, with a silver ribbon around the middle; Grace had made it herself, hand sewing each stich and stuffing it with soft feathers. It was the kind of coat Grace had made in the factories.

She always loved to dress Aikatrina in the fine clothes of Victorian children, and often on heritage day Aikatrina had opted to wear a Victorian dress and Greek sandals and head dressings, showing she wasn't Victorian but had never felt entirely Greek either.

Aikatrina ran over and grabbed Grace's hand in her own small and cold one. Grace nearly scolded her for not taking her gloves but decided to let it slide this time. "Come on Grace!"

"Okay Aikatrina!" Grace laughed a little at how happy Aikatrina was. Something she never did often. Soon they were off at hunter speed, Aikatrina's black ringlets flying behind her and Graces own red ponytail streaming like a fiery ribbon.

Soon they stood in front of the house Grace had spent several days in after the Volterra incident. The lights were off, the door handle was dusty. The pain on the outside was faded from yellow to a dirty dull color. The door had antlers carved onto it and the entire thing buzzed with immortal energy. Apollo had put a protection all around it. Only Grace, Aikatrina, Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo could get in. Maybe Shamrock if he was still alive too.

Grace stood for a few moments, completely overwhelmed by emotions of happiness, sadness, anger, and nostalgia slammed into her with the force of a thousand claps of thunder. For one moment Grace felt like crying.

"Are you okay Grace?" Aikatrina asked looking up at her. Grace quickly pulled herself together, and put her familiar mask on and knelt down to Aikatrina, her elfish features looking at her. Her single metallic green eye that was so like Shamrock's looking back up at her.

"Aikatrina, it's been fourteen years since I've been here, and the last time I was here was when we found out who you were. This place means more to me then you will ever understand." Grace hugged Aikatrina tightly, fearing for a moment that if she let go of her then Aikatrina too would disappear and leave her alone.

Aikatrina had known they were close, yet Grace had no intent of telling her that she loved Shamrock. No use to send the child into a frenzy of how wrong it was that grace should ever love anyone.

At home when referring to Shamrock they had always said 'he' never Shamrock or Sham, and if Grace or the hunt wouldn't tell her something she went to Annabeth and Percy. They were always prepared to tell Aikatrina anything they could about her brother, but they didn't know all of the story. On rare occasion Aikatrina would go to Nico, who could answer questions about the death of her brother without getting overly emotional.

Grace stood up, the knees of her pants wet from the snow and she drew her jacket close around her, it was a boy's jacket, black hoody, Grace had been wearing it for years. It had been in his tent when she went to clean it out and she just couldn't bear to part with it. It smelled of the wild, of Shamrock. Though after all these years it had taken on the scent of Lilac and grass, but he was still there.

"Come on we'll go inside, I've brought some Hot Chocolate and the heat should still work." Grace said and they stepped over the boarder. Instinctively Grace felt in one of her jacket pockets, where deep down tucked in the corner lay a single three leaf clover, a single Shamrock…

Updates will be on Wednesdays ever two weeks so the next one will be on the 28th.