First off a big thanks to all the lovely readers and reviews I've gotten! This chapter is a bit lengthy but any shorter would have just been too boring for me to allow myself to publish. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson nor do I own anything affiliated with it. Percy Jackson and all his friends (as well as his enemies) belong to the brilliant mind of Rick Riordan.
Chapter 3
Artemis stood there in the woods, phantom tears falling and silent sobs escaping. She has been away from camp for quite a while now; surely the hunters were beginning to wonder if not worry. She took in a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. She would not return to her hunters weeping like a child. After a few more deep breaths she managed to bury her emotions deep down and began to make her way back to camp. Once she returned she was greeted by the curious searching stares of the hunters. Of course they deserved an explanation as to why she had taken off and not returned for some time, but perhaps not the full truth.
She straightened up "My apologies for my sudden disappearance, an arrowhead of mine had broken off and took far longer to recover than I had thought." She gave a last nod to her hunters before entering her tent. She had not realized that while speaking she was holding the gold arrowhead in her hand. She looked down at it as if it were the last ray of sunshine before a cold stormy night. Squeezing her eyes shut she pressed it to her chest in her hand, and sat for what felt like centuries with her thoughts. Artemis had to admit, this emotion over her brother was a bit surprising. Apollo had always been an annoyance to her, but he was her brother none the less. Even when she had nothing, Artemis had Apollo. And now he was gone, just beyond her fingers' reach. It was torture. She let her tears fall, and fall, and fall until she wept herself tired and went to bed.
She should have known better that sleep offers no haven from troubles, it provides just the opposite. Apollo was hanging off a rocky cliff that dropped so far and didn't appear to have an end, and he was slipping. Artemis tried to run to him, but it was like she had stones chained to her ankles. When she finally reached him she knelt down and grabbed at his hands, only to find that hers passed right through his. She looked at his face, and rather than seeing the expected look of strain or panic, he only wore a warm smile. Their eyes met. Artemis tried again to grab her brother but she still passed through him like he was nothing. He met her eyes again and spoke. "Goodbye, sister mine."
Artemis' eyes widened and she began scrambling to try and grab him, but her attempts were futile. Apollo's fingers slipped from the ledge, and Artemis was left screaming after him as he fell slowly down and was consumed by the darkness.
Artemis awoke with a gasp, sitting bolt up in her bed. She was breathing heavy, and perspiration covered her body. She raised a hand to her cheek only to find fresh wet streams. She wiped them away and stood up from her bed, walking over to her desk. Planning a hunt always got her in a better mood, and with the hunt of the boars coming up surely it could help. After twenty minutes she realized it was hopeless. The loss of her brother was not something a mere hunt planning could remedy. She exited her tent and went to the center fire pit. The hunters would be up any minute now anyway. She started the fire going and began to fill her quiver with silver arrows, preparing for today's bird hunt. The hunters began to trickle out of their tents, preparing their equipment as well.
Thalia approached her. "The hunters are ready to move out, my lady."
Artemis gave a nod. "Thank you, Thalia." She rose to address her hunters as they gathered in a clump before her, quivers full and bows at the ready. "We shall move as one until we reach the birds. Then, split and cover more ground. Remember to be swift and quiet, make every arrow count. A scared moving target is never easily fallen." The hunters gave a call before following their goddess into the woods. They followed until they reached the site, breaking off into pairs. Artemis could hear arrows flying and sinking in to the bodies of the birds. Thalia was left as Artemis' companion, rightfully so as she was the second in command. Artemis stalked silently through the vegetation as she spotted a plump dove on a nearby branch. Thalia watched soundlessly as Artemis drew up her bow and took aim. Artemis eyed the dove, and the dove suddenly looked directly into her eyes. As Artemis looked at the bird her nightmare from the previous night came flashing across her vision. She was no longer staring at game, she was staring into the eyes of her brother about to fall to his doom. She let out a shaky breath and released the arrow, watching as it sailed narrowly missing the dove's right wing.
In that moment Artemis felt herself turn to stone. She had missed. She had missed a shot so easy she could have done it in her sleep. And what was worse was that Thalia had seen her miss the dove. Thalia was staring at her, a look of concealed shock on her face. She opened her mouth, hesitating before she spoke. "A-Artemis?"
Artemis struggled against the paralysis brought on by her question. She let out a breath before replying in a soft voice. "Yes, Thalia?"
Thalia paused, clearly trying to choose her words carefully. Finally after a minute her gaze fell to the ground and she said "Would you like me to retrieve the arrow for you my lady?"
Artemis felt relieved and turned to face Thalia. "If it is not too much trouble," she met Thalia's eyes "thank you, Thalia." It was clear to both girls that the thank you was not just for the retrieval of the arrow. Thalia gave a nod before taking off in the direction of the arrow. Artemis remained planted in the ground, a thousand thoughts running through her head. Thalia respected an individual's privacy, Artemis thanked the fates for that, but her hunters would surly find out eventually that something was wrong with her. If they were suspicious before, and Artemis guessed they most likely were, Thalia's suspicions were just proven right. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep this from the hunters, not forever. But she also knew she couldn't tell them, at least not yet. Thalia reemerged from the forestry and held out the silver arrow to Artemis, avoiding eye-contact. Artemis took the arrow with a kind "Thank you" and put it in her quiver. Together they rejoined the hunters and headed back to camp. The hunters managed to catch quite a lot of birds, Artemis felt almost guilty for not contributing to the haul. She returned to her tent and sat down. She couldn't shake the fact that she had missed that shot. She was taking Apollo's loss much harder than she had thought. She put her head in her hands and felt her tears fall in her palms. Never had she felt more suffocated by grief in her life. Even Orion didn't leave her this depressed.
Suddenly a figure entered her tent. Artemis jerked her head up and saw Thalia standing there, her eyes suddenly darting to the side and the ground. Artemis gave a small gasp before quickly wiping away her tears. "Now is not a good time Thalia." She spoke perhaps a bit more harshly than she would have wished.
Thalia dropped her jaw, keeping her gaze on the floor "My apologies my lady, I-I didn't mean to- I'm terribly sorry."
Artemis let out a calm breath, pulling herself back together. "It is fine Thalia. What did you need?"
"I… Well, you dropped this, in the woods. I just wanted to return it." She lifted her eyes slightly, though still avoiding the goddess. "I'll just leave it here, on this table." She set the object on Artemis' planning table. She moved toward the exit, turning around and speaking in a soft voice. "I won't tell the other hunters about… today. I swear."
Artemis nodded and gave Thalia a kind look. "Thank you Thalia." Thalia bowed and left. After she was gone Artemis got up and walked over to the table. She gasped once she reached it. On the table was the golden arrowhead. Artemis picked it up and stared at it as if it were cursed. She blinked back tears and squeezed the arrowhead in a fist. With an anger unlike anything she had ever felt she slammed the arrowhead on the table, leaving it sticking up like a three-dimensional island on her map. She grabbed the edges of the table and let her head hang, tears dripping down her cheeks and nose. No sleep would be obtained by her that night. She was too busy planning.