A/N: I hope you enjoy this next chapter, it's a little more action packed!

I have a Christmas surprise for you guys! On my tumblr (link is on my page), I'm going to post a few pictures of what I kind of imagine Cassia looking like. She's not exactly what I have in my head, but she's pretty close. It will be under my toff tag. :)

-Artemis-

The hunt had been fun.

Not only had Artemis and her Hunters snagged a chimera, they also managed to take out a drakon as well. It was the end of the hunt, and they had just happened to stumble upon one in the woods. Artemis had to go after it. Its scales were a wonderful blend of black, silver, and blue, and she wanted to have one for her trophy room. Drakons were easy enough to kill when you had a good shot. She already had her sport with the chimera; they were vicious creatures and would fight until their last breath. To kill the drakon, all it took was a couple of well placed arrows in the eye. She could have used her godly powers, but where was the fun in that? The hunt lost sport if she could just kill everything.

"Fun hunt this weekend?" her brother asked. Artemis nodded her head as she gazed out of the window. She hadn't gotten use to this view yet. It was so low compared to the view on Olympus. They had gotten themselves an apartment not too far away from the campus. Their father had talked to them, stating that he wanted them to undergo "the full mortal experience." They weren't banned from Olympus, but Artemis knew that this new development had to do with Hera. Her father's reasoning was that it would lessen mortal suspicion and teach them a lesson on humility and respect, but Artemis knew better. Hera probably bugged Zeus enough that he consented to this. Aphrodite seemed positively chipper at the new development, which bothered Artemis greatly.

"We're going to be late," Artemis sighed as she drained the last of her nectar. Her brother nodded his head, and together, they walked down to the elevator which would take them to the parking deck.

"Aphrodite is up to something."

Her brother just raised his eyebrows at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"Isn't she always up to something?"

"Yes, but I want no part in it."

"It's probably something to do with Athena. You know how badly those two get along," he reminded her as the elevator doors opened up.

"Maybe."

Artemis just couldn't shake the thought. She had a gut feeling, and her instincts were always right. Maybe Aphrodite just wanted Artemis's help with her scheme. She had helped the love goddess before, but it was a rare occurrence. Usually, her and Aphrodite just stayed away from each other, a sort of out of sight, out of mind relationship. The goddess of love's schemes ended in heartbreak as often as they did in a good relationship. Love was definitely not kind sometimes.

"Quit worrying about it, Artemis," Apollo sighed.

"I'm not worrying," she snapped.

"Sure."

They got into his chariot, riding to school in silence. It was just going to be another boring Monday. One week down, a ton more to go. Time seemed to blur today. It was one of the weird things about being immortal. Time would seem to fly by, but then it could go so slow! Life would drag on and on, and then suddenly, it is a hundred years later.

"You coming?" Apollo asked.

Artemis looked up to see they had made it to the school. She nodded her head, sliding out of the vehicle. Together, they walked to their lockers, grabbing their books for the next few classes. Something was bothering Artemis, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Something just felt missing. It had to be the separation from her Hunters. She loved being around them. Hunting with them was always a pleasure. Maybe she would go away again, and she could drag her brother with her. Athena walked up to them, seeming especially chipper.

"Good morning!"

Artemis just rolled her eyes and turned to begin walking towards her class. She wanted to take the south stairs for some reason. They were farther away, but they came out right at her classroom.

"Why are you going that way?" Athena cried.

"Because I feel like it."

"Well, why don't you walk this way with us?"

"Or you could walk this way with me," Artemis suggested, narrowing her eyes at her half-sister. Athena looked worried, like she was hiding something. The feeling in Artemis's gut intensified. Her brother was studiously staying out of the conversation. He had his head buried in his locker still, obviously trying to waste time. "Is there a reason you don't want me to walk that way?"

Athena's expression went neutral, and she cleared her throat. "Of course not. Aphrodite is down that way, and since you seem in such a fantastic mood this morning, I assumed you would want to avoid her."

Artemis sighed. Athena had a point. She wasn't in the mood to deal with her Aunt or think about her plotting.

"Fine," Artemis grumbled.

The rest of the day went by without much excitement. The only thing that was close to exciting was Athena and Aphrodite getting into a heated argument over Paris's judgment. It got close to a shouting match, and Artemis had amusedly watched the quarrel. Over the first four periods and lunch, all Artemis had accomplished that day was to doodle on at least twenty pages of her notebook. The only goal she had in this forsaken hell hole was to not upset her father and to fill this notebook with useless drawings. If she couldn't hunt or shoot, then she was going to doodle. Currently, she was drawing her brother falling from his chariot in the middle of the sky, begging for his sister's help. She laughed internally at the thought of her baby brother being so helpless. She was still thinking of the proper way to get him back for this whole mess. Maybe she could hide his chariot, that would definitely make him angry! At the thought, she began doodling Apollo, screaming in fury. She kept laughing to herself, ignoring whatever the teacher was talking about.

Hestia shot her a look, and Artemis bit her lip. Hestia sat beside her, and Hermes was in front of them. Artemis made a face, and Hestia simply rolled her eyes, looking back to the teacher. Hestia was listening dutifully, taking careful notes. She was always like that, though. Artemis shouldn't have to take any notes. If there was something she didn't know, she could always consult her Aunt's notes. Hestia might hold back for a little while, but eventually, she would give in. Hermes had his phone out under his desk, texting away furiously.

A shrill ring filled the air, the sound continuing on. This was not the normal ring the bell had, and it wasn't even close to time for class to be over. Artemis looked around in confusion, wondering what in Hades was going on.

"FIRE!" one of the students laughed. The whole classroom broke out in laughter. The teacher demanded silence, but she could not quiet the talking completely.

"It's probably just a prank, but we will take this seriously, just like any other fire drill," the teacher said shrilly. The whole classroom groaned, and the teacher responded by giving them all a stern look. Her name was Ms. Argent, Artemis remembered. Apparently, this was an unexpected event. Artemis got up in confusion, heading out of the classroom with the rest of the students. Hestia wrapped her arm through hers, looking uncomfortable with the number of mortals swarming around her.

"What in the world is a fire drill? Are they going to practice burning things? I would know if something was on fire," she whispered. Artemis shook her head. She needed to be more up to date about these things. If her Hunters were with her, one of them would know. Hermes stuck his phone in his pocket and turned to face them.

"Gods, it's where they practice leaving the building for when it catches on fire. That sound is the fire alarm, so either there is a fire somewhere, which is unlikely, or this is a mortal's funny idea of a prank," Hermes explained. Of course Hermes would know anything and everything about pranks. Artemis thought this was pretty strange, but at least it go her out of class.

"MOVE IT JUNIOR SCUM!" a deep female voice yelled from directly behind her. A couple of bodies were shoved into her, making her drop her notebook and pencils. Her arm was ripped from Hestia, who was pulled away with Hermes in the surge of students.

"Artemis!"

"I'll catch up," she called out. She bent down among the horde, fury rolling through her. How dare these mortals shove her!? She had to remind herself that she was undercover, that they had no idea she was a goddess. She leaned down, grabbing the two fallen pencils. Bodies scrambled around Artemis, trying not to trip over her. She shoved them in her bag, cursing silently to herself. Her auburn hair had fallen in her face, and she tucked it back behind her ear. She looked for the notebook on the ground, but someone had already picked it up. The girl had dark hair with a blue stripe running through it and held out the notebook for her. Artemis stood, taking the notebook and putting it in her bag.

"Sorry, people can be ass-hats," the girl said firmly.

"Thanks. "I'm Artemis," she responded. She had to bite her tongue because she almost added 'goddess of the hunt and wild' to that. She could have erased the mortal's memory, but it would have been so troublesome.

"Cassia, but I prefer Cas."

They walked out of the school, following what was left of the crowd.

"You are the girl with the nice bow," Artemis remembered.

"Yeah, that's me," she chuckled. "I'm not worthy of it though."

"Oh?"

"My parents bought it for me as an incentive to stay out of trouble. I'm decent with it, but I'm no prodigy," Cas said sarcastically. Artemis could tell this girl was quite blunt. She seemed honest, which Artemis liked. She reminded her of Thalia, actually. This girl's eyes were a bright violet, a startling shade just like her lieutenant's.

"You have interesting eyes," she noted. Artemis had met very few people with that shade of eye color. It was a rare human trait, to have eyes that vivid of a shade of purple.

"Thanks," she said thoughtfully.

"ALL RIGHT, GET OUT OF THE SCHOOL, QUIT WASTING TIME!" a male voice yelled from down the hall. Artemis recognized him as the principle. The push of the crowd increased as the remaining students forced their way outside. Artemis turned to speak to Cas, curious to know more about the mortal girl, but she was gone. She looked around in the crowd, but she did not see her. Artemis shrugged her shoulders, heading outside with all the other students. She started to look for her brother and the others, scanning the area quickly. She groaned angrily, wishing she should have made herself taller when she took this form. She was having trouble seeing through the crowd of students. Everyone was talking excitedly, and the sounds of sirens filled the air. At least this was a way to break up the boredom today. Artemis would be able to sit outside instead of in that boring, stuffy classroom.

Artemis wasn't paying much attention to where she was going, focusing more on looking for her family. Suddenly, she stumbled, and a pair of strong hands caught her. She had walked right into this guy without noticing! How graceful was that?

"Sorry," she muttered, steadying herself with his assistance.

"No problem," he assured her. His voice was deep and had a pleasurable tone to it. Her heart skipped at the sound, and she looked up, into a pair of warm brown eyes. Her breath caught, shock running through her.

A thousand memories flooded her mind in that instant. All of them were memories she had been determined to hide away, to forget about. No wonder her heart skipped. Those brown eyes had a hint of gold to them, and she saw them him her mind, focusing as he prepared to fire his bow. The hands that held her were the same hands she had watched time and time again re-string a bow or skin their kill. His hair, a mess of brown silk, hung artfully around him. She had memorized the way he would toss it across his forehead as he pulled back his bow or how it hung just above his eyes when he looked at her. He looked just as she remembered, like a ghost from her dreams, threatening to haunt her sanity.

He was dead. He couldn't come back. She had forced herself to forget about him. It could never happen anyways, and it wasn't worth the pain.

But she didn't care at the moment.

Artemis's hand reached up to touch his face. His skin was just as soft as she remembered. It was the same olive skin tone the Greek people had, matching perfectly with his eyes and hair. For a second, his face was perfectly blank, in shock, she supposed.

"Orion?" she whispered, disbelief coloring her tone. She was in shock, too. What were the chances? He looked confused, his eyes narrowing at her.

"Do I know you?"

Don't hate me for leaving you hanging! :P

Please review!