Chapter Four: I Attempt To "Loosen Up"

Zoë Nightshade

Sleep was not easy that first night at Camp Half-Blood.

There was crying, weeping. I didn't know Artemis could cry. Lady Artemis was strong, as she demanded her Hunters were. Yet, here the goddess was crying. My lady was afraid.

I dreamed of Artemis. I dreamed that she was trapped.

She was under a burden. I could not see it. There was laughter all around her, male laughter.

As a demi-titan, I had a horrible ability to see the future in my dreams, similar to how demigods saw past and present. Did that mean this dream was going to become reality?

The lost girl… Annabeth... was on the floor, writhing in pain. Artemis tried to smile comfortingly at her. But... my lady could not smile.

I awoke with a start. "I need to talk to Chiron."

I slipped out of my comfortable bed with the silvery sheets and tiptoed across the floor, careful not to wake any of my sisters. As soon as I was out of Cabin Eight, I began to run, the ground soft under my bare feet. It was only a matter of minutes before I was knocking on the door to the Big House.

Argus, the security head, answered. He gave me a nod that I took to mean "yes?"

"I need to speak to Chiron. It is a matter of utmost urgency," I told him.

Argus grunted and blocked the door. "Do you truly refuse entrance to the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis?" He grunted and nodded. "Oh, you beast, Artemis is in dire peril. Does comprehension elude thou? Her Hunters are needed! We must make the necessary summons! Call to Chiron!"

He again refused. I crossed my arms over my breasts. "Boil-brained lout."

"Proud cockabaloo."

I started back. Argus speaks? Not only that, but he has a grip on older English. Impressive, for a male.

The door opened, and Chiron trotted out. "What's all the fuss?" he asked. "People… and centaurs… are trying to sleep, you know."

"I need to leave immediately," I insisted before Argus could tell Chiron he was handling it. "It is an emergency."

"Zoë, it's three thirty in the morning. What could you possibly need to leave for? Besides, you can't. Artemis insisted you stay here until you receive orders from her."

"How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?" I pleaded.

Chiron froze for a moment, then stared into my eyes. "Go back to sleep, Zoë. We'll deal with this in the morning."

"No! We must pack up the Hunters and go now!"

"I said no!" Chiron screamed. I was shocked into silence. "Now," he continued. "Head back to Cabin Eight. Loosen up. What was this, a dream? I have the prophetic dreams too. But you can't change the future. We can only deal with it when it comes."

Grudgingly, I trekked back to Cabin Eight. I slipped back into my bed and tried to sleep, to no avail. Luckily, soon the sky began to lighten, and the Hunters rose one by one.

I made morning announcements- two days worth since we didn't have time for them yesterday. I slipped Bianca the notebook where we kept our daily notes, and she immediately took down the things I said. Her handwriting was especially neat for a twelve-year-old girl. I was impressed.

"Hunters!" I called. "We have a busy day ahead. To begin with, I would like to inform you of the schedule for the duration of our stay at camp. We will rise promptly at seven; that's an hour before campers rise. This will give us time to practice our skills in relative peace. At eight, we will eat breakfast. From there, we will participate in camp activities until two, when we will resume Hunter practices until dinner. From there, we will do as the camp wishes. Do you have this, Bianca?"

"Got it, Zoë."

"Also, remember, we are invited to play capture the flag tonight. Our current score is fifty-five to zero. Shall we make it fifty-six?"

The Hunters all screamed "Yeah! For Artemis!"

"For Artemis..." I echoed sadly.

Phoebe and Magia glanced at me. "What's wrong, lieutenant?" Phoebe asked.

"I had a dream last night."

Immediately the cabin hushed. "Tell us," Jenn insisted.

Rose nodded. "It's good to get things off of your shoulders."

Off my shoulders. I frowned deeply. If Phoebe hadn't been the only one who knew my past, I would have thought it was a subtle jab at parentage. "It's about Artemis. I dreamed that she was held captive under a great burden."

Held captive under a great burden. But that... that was impossible. Stop thinking what you're thinking, Zoë.

Bianca smiled at me. "It's okay. Nico has bad dreams all the time. They're not real, you know."

"Except for Zoë's are," Jenn noted. "She's got prophetic dreams. It's helpful in the hunt."

"So... Artemis is trapped?"

"Not yet," I said, my voice grim. "However, she undoubtedly will be."

Phoebe slung her backpack over her shoulder. "So, when do we leave?"

"We don't."

The Hunters gasped. "Why not?" asked Chrysanthe.

"Chiron declined us permission. There is nothing else we can do." I gulped back tears. "So, while we think of a way around this, let us act as though we are having fun."

We headed to the pegasus stables and mounted quickly. Bianca had never rode a horse, much less a pegasus, so I asked Jane to give her a quick lesson. Jane was brilliant on horses- before she became a Hunter, she was the daughter of a senator, and their country home had many horses. She had been riding from a very young age, and she was the go-to if someone needed assistance.

I was not bad on horses myself. I mounted a pegasus named Norbert and rode alongside Phoebe, Chrysanthe, and Sabina. "I cannot believe this," I muttered darkly. "We should be out looking for Lady Artemis, not stuck here."

"I agree," Sabina said. "It's not fair of Chiron to keep us here. This is not our place."

"Except for that Artemis did tell us to stay," Chrysanthe noted.

Phoebe snorted. "A good handmaiden anticipates her lady's wishes in advance. And Artemis would want to be saved."

"I believe Artemis would rather we kept out of danger," I said slowly. "This is not an average hunt."

The three girls stared at me, and Sabina turned up her nose. "Really, Zoë. Next, you'll be saying that you want to date boys." Chrysanthe snickered.

Phoebe waved her hand. "Zo would never. She's still too into Thalia."

"Excuse me!" I cried. "You dare to bring up the name of Thalia Grace in my presence? Phoebe, I thought you were kind to me!"

"She's grown calmer and wiser. More like a true Hunter. I doubt she would hurt you again, Zoë." Phoebe winked at me. "You should go for it."

"Present redemption does not erase past transgression. I willnever 'go for it.' Never."

"Whatever," Phoebe shrugged. "So, fearless leader, what's the plan for capture the flag tonight?"

"The plan is already set into motion. Jane's affinity for horses will help our backup plan. If it looks like the campers might win... we stampede. If that is not needed, we'll use Operation Scorpio and sting from behind."

"So, same as usual and pray to Artemis that they haven't figured out that we always do the same thing?"

"Essentially," I smiled slightly. Then my face fell. "I wish we did not have to do this at all."

"Yeah, me too," Sabina said. Chrysanthe and Phoebe echoed.

We landed and dismounted. Bianca was gone, and Jane was arguing with the Aphrodite counselor about how love was worthless.

Worthless? No, maybe worth something. Hurt as I am, I still value the time I spent with Thalia.

No, no, Zoë. Love was a waste of time well spent hunting. I sighed at my endless mental battle.

The day passed with slow torment. We went through dull camper activities and then our normal Hunter training, the only time in our day we could truly let loose. Eventually, we huddled up at dinner, and from there went on to capture the flag.

My sisters looked to me for the game plan, although everyone but Jenn and Bianca likely had it memorized by now. "Hunters!" I cried. "In the tradition of the Hunters of Artemis, those playing for the first time get the most important jobs. Bianca di Angelo will be guarding our flag. Jennifer Ladastra will come with me to recover the Camp flag. The rest of you know what to do. For Artemis!"

"For Artemis!"

Jenn and I ran towards the borderline as soon as the horn sounded. Though Jenn was only five years into the Hunters, she was as silent as I was- one of our best runners. We cut straight up the middle, then jumped into nearby trees. We climbed up quickly. "Doest thou see them?" I inquired.

"Easily," Jenn smirked. "We have one group going left, one right."

"So we anticipated correctly that they would not move up the middle. Good, good," I mused. "Magia's group will give chase, making them think we bought into their scheme. Sabina's group usually arms the woods with trap arrows and defends against any groups going that way. You and I take middle. Most of the time, they assume that if there are two large groups, the three who are not part of any group will be defense. In reality, only one is- Bianca."

"Brill. Whose strategy is that?"

"Mine. It is the strategy we always use. And since ancient Greece, campers have bought into it."

We jumped down from our trees and silently ran up the center. Suddenly, I pulled Jenn back. "Quiet. Someone approaches."

It was Percy Jackson, the boy Lady Artemis took a strange liking to. He was running right through the center, past us, but he didn't even notice. It would have been easy to take him out, but the risk that he would alert them to our presence was too great. We slipped by him and ran to the campers' flag, doubling our speed.

There were four guards at the large chunk of rocks that the flag was perched atop of. "Jenn," I whispered.

She smirked. "I got this, Zo." And silently, she disappeared, only to reappear holding a bow at the eldest of the guards' throat.

They stood there in silence for a moment, and then the guard yelled "Well don't just stand there! Attack her!"

Nico looked confused. "Bianca told me to never hit girls."

The two twin guards laughed. "She's not a girl," one said. "She's a Hunter!"

"What'd he just say?" asked a growling voice. I turned to find Phoebe standing behind me. She quickly aimed her bow and shot two arrows into the helmet of the twin who spoke, making him look like the annoying insect he was. The boy turned, but didn't see us… however, he was coming over to investigate.

"I'll make this quick," Phoebe said. "Bianca just raised the alarm. Magia's group is headed over to check out the damage. I'll take Sabina's group and Jenn and be the distraction. Zoë… the win is up to you."

"My pleasure," I said, smiling slightly. I rigged up a zipline arrow and sent it flying into the flag. Quickly, before anyone could notice, I pulled the rope down and the flag with it. As soon as it was safely in my arms, I was running.

It was only a half minute before the eldest guard and Nico began to realize I was the issue. They held chase, but I could run faster than they could, and managed to get past them. I dodged attacks easily, savoring the wind racing through my dark curly bangs, almost rueful that the rest of my hair was stuck in a plait. Soon the creek was in sight- and Percy Jackson was too, holding our flag.

I was closer. I bolted across the small creek and shoved Percy Jackson out of the way. I could hear my sisters cheering and running to meet me at the creek. The campers walked slowly, heads hung. "The Hunters win... for the fifty-sixth time in a row..." Chiron muttered.

"Perseus Jackson! What in the name of the gods were you thinking?"

We all turned to see Thalia storming towards that boy.

Percy looked annoyed. "I got the flag, Thalia. I saw a chance and I took it!" And he threw the flag into her face.

My hands clenched into fists. It took willpower not to punch him for his lack of respect for Thalia. I knew though that she could take care of herself... and beside, she is not thy problem anymore, Zoë.

"I was at their base!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would have won!"

"You had too many on you!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?" She glared, a picture of fierceness.

"I didn't say that..." Percy said, his voice softer, as if he realized what he was dealing with and was scared.

"Argh!"

She pushed him and he flew back into the creek. I tried not to laugh, but it was difficult. Thalia was... in modern terms... cute when she was angry. To see that picture of beauty getting her revenge on a boy made me the slightest bit happier.

She turned pale at the sound of the laughter that some of my sisters could not hide. "Sorry! I didn't mean to..."

She did not finish her sentence. A whirlwind of water blasted into her face. "Yeah, I didn't mean to either," the boy said with a growl.

Thalia was nearly growling, angrier than I had ever seen her, even when we broke up.

"I can't be with you, Zoë. I love Luke. I will always love him. And he'll... he'll always love me. Not like you. You just want more Hunters. All you care about is Lady Artemis this and Lady Artemis that. You just want to add someone new. It's not about me at all. Well, good. Maybe then it won't hurt to lose me!"

"No, Thalia. It is not like that. I love thee. I love thee as much as thou loves the boy. I love thee more. Do not go, please. It is a mistake."

"Yeah," she muttered. "It was a mistake to make me think you cared for me."

She brandished her weapon. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed and raised her hand to the sky. A bolt of lightning came down onto her spear, then from there hit Percy in his upper torso. His clothes were on fire, and his hair was sticking out oddly, half-fried. He had been thrown into the creek, and his jeans were becoming soaked through.

"Thalia, that is enough!" Chiron begged.

Percy stood up and thrust his hands outwards toward Thalia. The water from the tiny creek rose into a massive tornado of water and ice. "Percy!" Chiron pleaded. Percy did not listen. He tilted his head forward, and the water started to rush towards Thalia... but suddenly, it dropped in a gigantic splash. Percy looked shocked and scared. Did his father revoke his powers?

Thalia turned and her face took on the same expression. Soon, all the Hunters and campers were looking after them... looking at a swirl of green mist, and at the center, Marjorie Richardson, the Oracle of Delphi.

She had been unpleasant in life, not at all a typical child of her time. She was not polite, and had no respect for her elders or her greaters. She walked among the gods and demigods and all of the true world that was not caked with Mist. She did not like it- she did not like us. And yet, she was trusted because her prophecies were true and she carried the spirit of the Oracle within her.

If Marjorie had been bad back then, she was worse now, falling apart. She was older. She had been fifty when she finally passed, and she still wore the dress of a "flower-child" from the late sixties. Besides that, she was a mummy. It all added to a highly unpleasant effect, and yet we were still forced to go to her. For she was the last Oracle. There would be no more, and so we were at Marjorie's mercy.

Marjorie's shell shuffled forwards, the green sickly mist that I was almost convinced was her smell curling at her feet. Suddenly her voice, multiplied, echoed in my head. I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

With a shudder, I realized that the Oracle was addressing me.

I swallowed my pride and stepped forwards. "What must I do to help my goddess?" I asked.

Marjorie's mouth opened creepily. Mist poured out and formed into the image of a mountain. Lady Artemis stood at it's peak, wrapped in chains. She kneeled and her hands were raised. It is my dream. It has happened.

The Oracle spoke.

Five shall go west to the goddess in chains.
One shall be lost in the land without rain.
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail.
The Titan's curse must one withstand.
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

One shall perish... Titan's curse... holding something up... get it off your shoulders...

I knew what the mission was.

As the Oracle collapsed onto a rock, I realized I was destined to die for my Lady.

Author's Note: Sorry this one's so short. This chapter doesn't have a lot of action, but what it does have is important to plot. Anyway, there hasn't been a lot of Nightgrace in the last couple chapters, but we have some great scenes coming up in chapter six! Sooo... stay tuned. And keep reviewing! Thanks to everyone whose been encouraging me!