Chapter Five

"Wakeup, Kayla, wakeup!"

A soft and sweet voice stirs me awake. At first I thought it was my mother, until I saw Caston and a pretty girl standing over me. Caston smiles and says, "Kayla, meet Amanda. She's a hunter of Artemis, but she is my sister and also child of Aphrodite. Drew doesn't like her because Amanda likes to go on quests."

Amanda says hi, and I notice the similarity between her and Caston. Amanda's dark glossy hair is tied up in a high braid, and her dark blue eyes sparkle against her smooth, brown complexion. However, I notice Amanda looking uneasy being next to Caston and I remember how the hunters of Artemis are supposed to swear off men.

"So, Kayla. I was informed by Artemis to ask if you could possibly join the hunt," Amanda casually says. Caston looks slightly alarmed and shrugs. I think for a moment and say, "I'll think about it." Amanda nods and replies, "Yes, think about it." Her voice sounds thick and sweet with honey, possibly how she charmspeaks. Unlike her brother, Amanda seemed to be superb at charmspeak, and I start to think about the pros and cons of joining the hunt. Joining the hunt would mean being closer with nature, so I might be able to see my nymph friends again. However, being a maiden hunter meant no men, and I want to enjoy a normal life of studying with a possible husband. I decide to sweat over it later.

Caston and I walk out of the cabin and he introduces me to the nicer Aphrodite kids. I don't really listen, so I wander off to a group of Athena's kids. They were pretty nice and we discussed about life's mysteries. It felt nice to know someone as intelligent as yourself. Caston comes later to bring me to play a game of Capture the Flag against the Hunters of Artemis.

We take our positions on one side of the river and Caston points out Amanda for me. She looks different, possibly from her demigod abilities, and her hair is a light blonde to reflect sunlight. However, she was very good at keeping the hair color and the colors kept switching back and forth. She soon gave up as the game started and let her dark braid swing behind her as she ran.

I go for the the edge of the field and shield myself in a forest. I had picked with Athena's kids moments ago. It was a long and delicate sword with a tip so sharp that the tip of a needle was probably thicker. I had tested out my sword on a few wooden dummies and it was sturdy and sliced up the dummies easily.

Suddenly, a whinny distracts me from my journey across the field. Another one follows, and as an arrow is shot and lands next to me, I know my danger: centaurs. Centaurs aren't the most dangerous of the creatures, but still plenty lethal. I made a mental to not touch their blood, and I slowly step away from the arrow. Zing. More fly out. One had a better aim and grazed my leg. I start running away from the centaurs and to the safety of the open field. As I cover a distance, the aim improves. One shoots a pain into my body as it digs into my leg. I will myself to keep running until my body won't let me. Another arrow wooshes past and hits my arm. The field was up ahead. A few more steps and I'll make it. Unfortunately, I could hear the centaurs trotting behind me. My stamina falters and I slow down. "Help!" I croak out.

A hunter hears me, and yells, "Duck!" She takes her bow and shoots the centaur closest to me. I collapse onto the ground while some other hunters lift me up and defend me. They take me to their jail. I sit on the soft grass, bleeding, while listening to the game go on. When Chiron blows his whistle for a second round, I slowly push myself across the field.

When I reach the end of the field, I slowly lower myself into the rushing current. As the water cleans my wounds, I notice the cuts disappearing. Another gift of the gods. They don't want me injured or dying, or else it would ruin their research of the Mist. I sit in the water for a few minutes until all my injuries are gone. As the game starts, I decide to go for defense instead. Bad idea.