Hey!!! Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter!!! I can't do the whole line of thank you's because I have to go to bed and I just wanted to update for you. So maybe next chapter. For all you romance lovers… I find it awkward to write romance (b/c people I know read this stuff…) but I will have more. I'm thinking something when Ares and Apollo visit.

CONGRADULATIONS TO ME!!!! I HAVE MADE IT TO THE TENTH CHAPTER!!!! YESSSS!!!! Keep on reading and I'll keep on writing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Holy Grail and I still don't own Mutt Williams! Darn.

*** (Break)

Artemis was up before she needed to be, as always. It was the job of a warrior to be ready for her soldiers. Today was the day, the day she would teach archery to children, boys no less. 'But,' she figured as she dressed, 'These children have seen much more than most. They might be eager to learn. I'm looking forward to the Apollo kids, at least.' As a last minute action before heading down to breakfast, she attempted once more, to wipe the makeup off of her face to no avail.

Sighing, she began on her way. The day was beautiful, as it always was at Camp Half Blood. She could see that the outside world was drizzling from too much sun the past few spring weeks. But it was now summer, and what better way to start it off then a nice batch of rain.

The naiads were looking particularly beautiful today, as they now had better competition. Artemis rolled her eyes at the gossiping water spirits and continued on her way. What she was worried about now was being ambushed by a bunch of love struck satyrs. "If only they would get the hint…" she muttered to herself as she was approached by none other than Grover.

"How did you sleep milady? Was everything to your liking?" Grover inquired anxiously.

"Yes, but I could have done without the group of satyrs serenading me in the middle of the night. As leader, I would have expected you to restrain your subjects more carefully," a bemused Artemis replied. "And the one that was chucking rocks at my window quoting Shakespeare must be locked up somewhere. There is no excuse for telling a goddess she has nice… well, just tell him off. That was rude and very inappropriate."

"Yes, milady. It shall be done as you wish," a slightly crestfallen Grover said. Then a tree nymph appeared from out of the woods rubbing her green eyes tiredly. Catching Grover by the goddess she turned a lovely shade of red- purple and yelled at him from across the water.

"You have no business being near her!" and "Grover, when will you learn some manners!" also "Don't you dare pull a Woods!" Artemis smiled slyly and told Grover that if he wanted to be a single man then he should keep on talking.

"Ahh, no. I don't think I would like that very much, no. Hey Juniper, wait up! I can explain! I was being a good host!" and then the satyr ran after his girl who had once more disappeared into the brush.

Relieved, the goddess kept on walking. She was close to the eating area (oh so very close) when the Ares cabin came running to her. Artemis couldn't catch their expressions so it was undetermined whether they were angry or happy or whatever. That was not a good thing.

Clarisse, being their ring leader, spoke up first. "So, it seems you're working here now, are you." It was not a question, but a statement and Artemis was slightly amused that a group of demigods would dare speak to her in such a manner. A credit to their father, she supposed.

"Yes, I suppose I am," she coolly replied. Secretly, she wondered where this conversation was going. Artemis doubted whether Ares would be happy if she accidentally maimed one of his children from a short temper early in the morning.

"Well, we were wondering," Clarisse began slowly, taking her time while the goddess waited impatiently. The girl sensed her annoyance and grinned, a similar one to her father. "We were wondering, why you're here. I mean there must be a better reason for sending a god here then kissing someone." She grinned again and her siblings behind Clarisse laughed in synchronization.

"Well, if there is a reason besides that, I was caught unawares. If my father had a greater intention then he hid it from me. I am not able to read minds, and my father's head is as thick as Dionysus' stomach." The Ares cabin laughed again, telling her they approved of her dry sense of humor.

"We now see why our dad likes you so much. He talks about 'cha all the time, man. Whenever we see him it's non stop you. It gets super annoying." Clarisse rolled her eyes for emphasis. Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? How do I know you're not lying to me?" Artemis grinned, liking these children.

"Well, I guess you're just gonna havf'ta trust us." The cabin split in half making a path for her into the open caf.

'Well, I suppose picking favorites is out of the question. But if I were playing capture the flag, those kids would be on my team.' Artemis thought to herself as she sat at the employee table, awaiting the others.

She did not have to wait long. It seemed that the other campers were just as excited to start their morning meal. As the demigods filed in and sat in their semi- assigned seats, Chiron and Dionysus came in and joined her at the table. They gave her a nod in greeting and asked their plate for food and their cups for drink. Catching on, Artemis did likewise.

She decided that camp food wasn't so bad.

"So my dear, how you sleep?" Chiron struck conversation politely.

"Fairly well, thank you. Could it be at all possible, Dionysus, to inform your satyrs that it is exceedingly inappropriate for a minor to address a pure goddess' butt as 'lubricant?'" Dionysus sniggered but obliged.

Returning to her breakfast (toast with eggs, sunny side up!) she picked at it unenthusiastically. Deities didn't need to eat, they chose to because it made them happy. Really, gods couldn't get fat since they chose what they wanted to look like. Because of this, Artemis wondered why Dionysus continued to burden himself with unneeded weight. She supposed it was to give his kids self confidence and morality.

"Lady, you will be instructing the Hermes cabin first thing this morning, if that is alright with you?" Chiron chided, looking at her.

"That will be wonderful. Start the first morning with a batch of troublemakers. Oh the joy!" Artemis was very good with her sarcasm. She looked over at the Hermes cabin in which a sixteen year old boy was shoving a French Fry up another kids nose. "I can't wait."

She bit into the last of her toast and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I will scout the perimeter."

As the paranoid goddess walked away (and a couple of nearby satyrs swooned simultaneously) Dionysus leaned toward Chiron and whispered, "Is she going to be a pain in the neck the entire summer?"

"Do you remember your first summer?" Chiron asked and Dionysus nodded. "Then that's exactly what she's going to be like."

Dionysus groaned and slapped his face with his hand. This was going to be a very long summer indeed.

*** (Break)

"Allright, I want you guys to know that even though I am a goddess capable of doing unthinkable damage to you if you piss me off, I am your friend. Ok maybe not your friend but a very good acquaintance," Artemis stood before them like a drill sergeant as the Hermes cabin sniggered. "Who has done archery before this summer?" A few little children raised their hands tentatively. "Don't worry, with myself and the rest of your cabin to help you, we're going to have a very interesting summer."

"Pick up a bow from the crate that you feel comfortable with and let's begin." There was a commotion as the entire cabin ran to get their hands on a bow first, the littlest ones most eager. After a couple of stink pellets, a firecracker and a mini brawl later, Artemis finally had all of the bows distributed.

"Do you all know how to hold a bow?" she inquired and an older member of camp raised his hand.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Artemis scowled at his nerve. "Are you insulting our intelligence?"

"No, I'm insulting your capability to listen to direction. Do you all know how to hold a bow?" Artemis repeated. Some of the smarter kids nodded their heads while the new ones shook them. The more rebellious ones refused to give her an answer.

"I think that maybe the older ones might know how to hold a bow. We were in war last year," another child pointed out, this time a girl.

"As was I," Artemis said coolly. "I'm testing to see if you can answer a simple question. Judging by the fact that I didn't get an reply from a select few, I would assume that they didn't know how, in fact, to hold a bow. Let's see now… you… you… you and you, stand over there. Yes, the ones who answered my question. You will be aiming for those targets located on the far part of the arena. The ones who don't know how will stay with me."

This was embarrassing for the older campers because they were stuck with the new kids. They didn't dare anger the goddess further (they wanted to keep all their limbs, thank you very much) so they scowled and stayed were they were as Artemis went through the many techniques of holding a bow properly.

They had done this already. This lady had to go.

*** (Break)

"Good job! You're doing great… er… you're actually supposed to put the arrow in the other way… otherwise you won't shoot anything." The other, younger kids loved her but the older kids refused to be humiliated by a girl. Because when it came down to it she was a girl. But she was a girl who could kick their asses. That's why this would have to be done very carefully.

Maybe it was time to bring things to daddy.

But in the meantime they bit their tongues and aimed at small targets about five feet in front of them because they weren't 'ready' for the big shots. Oh they so were. Until they were able to talk to their father, they would have to endure anything she dished out.

'I wonder if they know their dad likes me.' Artemis thought as she helped a younger, overly excited demigod load her sheath of arrows. "That's it honey! They go in the other way… ohhh… yeah I'll get you a band-aid…"

'These kids are amazing; I've never seen such energy. But I'm sensing hostility from the ones over there… I'd better keep an eye on them…'

The bell rang, signaling the change in classes. Artemis breathed a visible sign of relief. It was her first day on the job, after all and she was certain that she was doing well.

The goddess picked up a roll of paper that held her schedule and it said that she would have the Athenian cabin next. This should be fun…

*** (Break)

'Oh Zeus; it's only twelve thirty!' Artemis thought as she trudged into the Mess Hall. Today she had Hermes first block (impossible), Athena second (they are very good with weapons), Apollo third (they cooperated well) and Poseidon (as in Percy) fourth. Now it was lunch time for an hour and after that she would have Ares (oh goody!), Demeter (they'll be fine), free time for an hour, then dinner, a sort of Volleyball League and a Campfire Singalong.

Tomorrow she would have Aphrodite (can't wait!), Hephaestus (they would be nice but not very graceful with a bow…), Dionysus (as in Pollux), Nemesis, and then two empty blocks for Zeus and Hera.

The next day consisted of a blank for Hades, herself and Hestia. The rest of the blocks were reserved for 'minor gods' children, as were the rest of the week's classes. There were events that she needed to be a part of such as Archery knockout on Wednesday, Trials of strength on Thursday and Capture the Flag on Friday. Other than those classes, she had a lot of free time.

She noticed that she took Chiron's classes, now instead of teaching two subjects he was just teaching Ancient Greek/Greek Mythology with Annabeth. She figured the old centaur needed a break so it was refreshing to be needed for something like that. She couldn't imagine seeing these hyper, hormonal, powerful storage houses more than twice a week or she might just explode in little godly pieces.

It was really interesting to read the schedules. The campers had classes like 'Ride the Rapids' and 'Monster Assault Techniques' and 'Firework Making', it was crazy. 'Kids shouldn't be doing these things,' she thought until she realized that these were the exact same things that she was making her Hunters do. Burying the thought in the back of her mind, she grabbed a plate and sat at the High Table, awaiting her colleagues.

Soon the campers filed in eagerly, chatting like birds in a worm- rain (don't ask… the Black Plague was a very strange era to live in). 'I wonder if I was ever like that… carefree, just talking with my friends…' that was until she realized that she, in fact, never had any friends. Ares, Hermes and Hephaestus were the closest thing she ever had to friends. 'Friends… ha, yeah right… gods don't have friends… only family and that doesn't keep us from fighting.'

But then Chiron stood (?) and began, "I hope that you're first day back… or first day in general…" many newly arrivals laughed. "…was enjoyable. Isn't our new teacher absolutely fabulous?" This was awarded with scattered applause from parts of the Hermes table, parts of Ares, almost all of Athena and Apollo, and Percy. "I know that some of you haven't had the pleasure of meeting Artemis yet in the Arena, but I promise you, you won't ever forget her teachings." Now several of the older Hermes cabin sniggered. Chiron continued, "Well, I won't keep you any longer. Dig in!"

And so they did. There was food everywhere. Artemis was curious about these children. They weren't like her Hunters at all. Her Hunters were always hard and tough because they had to be, but these kids were different. They all had different skills and talents but yet they were able to cooperate and get along. Almost all of them had been through war but yet, here they were, laughing and joking with their friends. It confused her. Weren't warriors supposed to be brave and strong?

Oh but they were. She could sense it. These demigods were an unusual bunch; unusually strong and powerful, that is. In all her godly years she never saw a group this dominant. Now she could see why Kronos decided to strike the last year; it was because he could sense their power before the gods could. Why? Because they never took the time to really know their children's extent.

Artemis looked around once more and then decided to eat. She had the Ares cabin next, after all. The food wasn't quite Olympus standards but exceeded first expectations. It certainly beat Hermes pot roast; you have to be immortal to endure that form of torture. She shuddered and plucked at her salad (Greek, of course!).

When lunch was over Artemis stood and shouted over the ruckus of the Mess Hall, "Ares Cabin, follow me!"

And to everyone's utter amazement; they did without complaint. Never in Chiron's many years did an Ares Cabin go to a class willingly; and with such a teacher! They seemed to have formed a mutual agreement to protect the new addition. This summer couldn't get any weirder.

Artemis was just as surprised. She had just thought that their initial warmness had been fake; or even sarcastic, but she never expected that it was a true respect for her. On the way there she spoke with Clarisse.

"Is it normal for you to treat all your new teachers with such vigor?" Artemis asked of Clarisse. Clarisse pondered a response for a moment.

"Well, usually it's a different kind of vigor. Usually the new instructor ends up with a bucket load of worms in its bed." Artemis grinned and Clarisse continued on a more serious note. "But really, I couldn't stand Aphrodite. It was only out of respect for Selena that I continued to tolerate any of her offspring. She absolutely repulsed me and fellow Ares children. Personally, we could never see what he saw in her."

"But why have you taken a liking to me? And don't pretend; I know you guys like me at least more than anyone else." Artemis prodded.

"Well, we like you. It's as simple as that. Plus, you have a certain girl- power that Aphrodite never had. You were always a major inspiration to us; except for the whole anti- boy thing. I do have a boyfriend. If dad's willing to have you over Aphrodite than the Ares cabin is behind you all the way." The entire cabin gave a cheer and Artemis simply glowed (even more than usual).

"Yeah, we like you." piped up a seemingly Haitian boy from Clarisses left. "You're a lot like dad. But without the blood thirst."

"Well, it seems that I have some allies. I should probably get to know you. But first; your names. I know you, Clarisse. How about you?" she addressed the Haitian.

"My name is Pierre Phillip. I'm strongest with a trident which is weird for a child of Ares. I guess that's also why Percy and I get along so well." This was awarded by an eye roll from his friend. The names continued all the way back to the arena and Artemis remembered them all.

"Who's new this year?" Artemis asked after the cabin found seats on the grass. "I need to know who I can instruct first."

"No one. It seems dad stopped reproducing with ol Markie here." Pierre gestured to a small but aggressive looking boy to his right. The boy, Mark, scowled at Pierre's bravery and punched him in the shoulder which easily resulted in a small brawl between the two brothers. Clarisse, who normally wouldn't have cared, sat right between the boys, breaking up the fight.

"Well, that's great then! You're the first class after Percy's that I don't have to teach anything! We can do some fun stuff this period. Now, I know you're father and weapons so I hope you guys will have enough restraint not to kill one another. Ares will not be very happy with me."

The campers smirked and slapped one another on the backs. Pierre high fived Clarisse and said, "Yeah we won't. No one's smart enough to want to mess with dad on his bad days. But if we were playing with the Aphrodite cabin maybe…"

"Well, the game goes like this; there will be two teams and two bows. Let's break into the teams now. Clarisse and Pierre, you guys are team captains." Artemis waited on the side, watching as the captains picked their players. This would be an interesting game; there were no best players because they were all so large and skilled so it made it difficult to choose the best players first. She figured they would both be pretty evenly matched.

When all the players were on one team or the other Artemis stood, ready to give further direction. "Ok, now you see those bows over there?" she pointed to a small barrel that held all the bows. "You guys have to each pick one out that fits. You do that now." The cabin enthusiastically ran to the barrel and begun to pick out their bows. Artemis distributed colored pennies to one of the teams while the other was siding out their weapons and then they switched. She decided to use pennies because she figured they wouldn't need to use the color coordinated battle helmets and armor.

"Alright guys. Now I want you to stand in a line across from the targets over there. This game doesn't really have much archery involved; it's just a game I do with my Hunters when they are feeling over stressed and need to loosen up a little bit. You will stand with your group on the white lines." Both red and blue teams rushed over to stand in their spots. "Now, this also is a game that will allow me to access your skills and it will tell me where you are archery wise. You will aim at the target in front of you. I assume we have enough?" The kids nodded.

"Good. Now, you know how to hit a target right? Ha, no need to get sarcastic guys I was just kidding! Anyway, the outside rim is worth ten points, the middle ring is twenty and the center area is worth fifty. You can see that first, you are pretty far away from the targets and also that the center area is fairly small so don't be upset if you don't make it. Now, you have three arrows to get as many points as you can. These arrows are especially made for no cheating. Not that you could cheat on this but anyway. When you have shot your three arrows, let me know."

The Ares cabin eagerly began to shoot their arrows. Artemis could see that they were all very good fighters, but had difficulty handling such a dainty weapon as a bow. Their rather large hands were having trouble using the instrument without breaking it. They made good shots though; most made it at least to the middle ring. Some, like Pierre and Clarisse made it to the center.

"You guys done?" all of them shouted an affirmative and she stood and went over to a nearby chalk board. "I'll start with the red team. The first person will tell me their total score and we'll go down the line to the blue team. Whoever gets the most amounts of points will get the ball first in dodgeball!" the entire Ares cabin screamed and yelled in excitement; they were being very cooperative.

It turned out that the red team (Clarisses) had the most points in the end. So she brought them over to an open part of the arena where a line of golden balls were on the grass. The red team grabbed the balls and flexed their muscles to look intimidating but the other side was not impressed. It seemed this was a sight they had often seen.

"Ok, on my whistle… three… two… one…" and they were off. It was easily the scariest match of dodgeball she had ever seen be a bunch of teenagers. Good thing that they were also special balls that prevented anyone from getting hurt. They sort of bounced off the opponent and they also made it impossible to lie about if you were out or not because they would keep hitting you in the gut until you went into the jail zone.

Clarisse was easily the best fighter and she never got out even once. She was just too practiced. She jumped and swirled, it wasn't really a surprise when the Red team won.

"Shake hands with the blue team!" Artemis said and the two team captains joined in the middle and shook hands. The bell then ironically rung just as they broke. "Hey guys, could you help me get ready for Demeter? Just put away the bows and balls where you found them! Could you also take out the arrows and put them in their sheaths?" Then the cabin scurried about to do just that. She walked them to their next class and returned to teach the Demeter group.

*** (Break)

"How was your first day, Lady?" Chiron inquired.

"The children were surprisingly well behaved; especially the Ares cabin."

"Yes, it does seem that they have taken a liking to you, doesn't it? Well, I think it's good that they aren't all bullies all the time. It's good that they're branching out. Don't you agree Dionysus?" Chiron turned his horse hind to face both the gods and flicked his tail.

"Yes the little bullies have finally found an ally." Dionysus didn't even look up from his solitaire game. "But it seems that you've gotten the cold shoulder from Hermes."

"Yes, I find that's really strange, their father and I are very good friends. I just think it's because the jokesters became the joke-es. I really think that no one has ever stood up to them before. I like them a lot and Hermes used to be just like them… before Luke that is." Artemis explained and sat down on a poufy chair to enjoy her fellow Olympians company.

"We don't talk about Luke much around here. He's sort of become a Taboo subject." Chiron said sadly and tittered on his hind legs. "The Hermes cabin has been much moodier lately. I guess it's a good think that they've started pranking again."

"Speak for yourself, horse- man." Dionysus snorted. He recently found his shoes to be filled with toothpaste. Bubble gum toothpaste. "Can we change the subject please?"

"Fine. What did you teach the children?" Chiron began.

"Oh no not that! How about something like 'Why do you continue to wear that ridiculous makeup?'" Dionysus cut in rolling his eyes and scratching his protruding belly.

"I believe it's an invention of Aphrodite. I think it refuses to let you bury feelings or whatever. It gets super annoying and I haven't been able to get it off." Artemis gave a visual by rubbing her hand vigorously across the top lid of her eye, attempting to get rid of the eyeshadow. Dionysus just yawned, nodded and returned to his game.

"Hm maybe it's like a puzzle and you have to figure it out for yourself. Maybe you should discuss it with our new Oracle?" Chiron suggested.

"Oh yes Apollo told me about that! Rachel, I believe? I wonder; she can't marry anyway, could she become a Hunter?" Artemis asked.

"I doubt she would want to leave school, her friends and family."

"Hm I suppose you're right. But what if…? Whatever, I have enough Hunters. I was hoping to do some recruiting while here… do you mind?" Artemis questioned.

"I have no problem with it, as long as you're not shoving brochures down all the young maidens' throats." Chiron answered.

"I have no intention of doing so. It will be of their own free will. I do not wish to vex anyone or pressure anyone into anything that they are not willing to commit to." Artemis wised.

"Yes, well in that case I do not see how that would be a problem. Think over my advice on our Oracle and come to see me about it if you change your mind."

"Yes I see. Well, I take that as my leave; I will retire. Thank you for a charming first day." Artemis stood. "Bless you Chiron, imagine doing this for eternity." She sighed and Chiron laughed as she saw herself out of the Big House.

*** (Break)

"Brother, do you know if the Oracle could tell me what is with this makeup?" Artemis asked not twenty minutes later to Apollo via Iris message. She was brushing her hair and preparing for bed.

"I don't think it's the Oracles knowledge to know what gods do, she just works with the prophecies. You know; the future as we know it." Apollo was skeptical. "I mean you could try but her knowledge only goes so far. She could probably tell you maybe a rhyme or something to get rid of it?"

"I guess I will try then. I did not have very high expectations for this plan but I suppose asking will not cause any harm. How are things over your way?" Artemis asked, finished with her hair and sitting down to properly face her brother.

"Very well. Ares was not happy with his new job. He likes Hephaestus but conversations are awkward and the work is dull. He thinks you hit gold with this job. Speaking of which, how're things with you?"

"Surprisingly enough, I believe I have made allies with the Poseidon, Athenian, Apollo," Apollo grinned. "Demeter, Ares… all except for Hermes. Well, some of them. The older ones aren't fond of me because I told them off for being wise to me."

"Good for you sis, you're finally popular! Get any volunteers yet?" Apollo laughed some more.

"No not yet. This century everyone is obsessed with dating." Artemis said dryly and Apollo grinned some more.

"Yeah well good luck sis. Ares and I were planning on dropping in this weekend to see the kids… and you of course! Got to get ol dad's permission though. But we'll get there. Promise." Apollo winked and Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Well, do that and I'll talk to you soon? Take care will you?" Artemis scolded.

"Yes mother…" and their connection faded as he waved his hand through his end.

And as Artemis settled into bed, thoughts kept her company. She couldn't decide if she wanted to see Ares or not… she definitely wanted to see her brother. They've been getting so close… but Ares. She just didn't know. She reminded herself that it was the makeup. The makeup was causing these… disturbances. She hasn't been in her right mind this past year.

Artemis made a promise as she settled and began to drift… that she would find a way to make things right again like they used to be.

*** (Break)

Sooooo…. This has been my longest chapter yet! Who liked it?!? Raise your hands!!! Wow ten and a half whole pages… it took me all week. I'm hoping to update my other stories before this one so beware… I love you guys tell me how you liked it and yeah so… review!!!! Also, I need inspiration!!!! If you have any ideas feel free to tell me!!!!