Okay I know this is early but we get our stuff tomorrow and I don't think I will be able to update then.

Chapter Six

Secret of the Silver Bow Fun Fact 6: Chapter 3 of Fire and Ice was written on two hours of sleep, a pot of coffee and upbeat music while I was sick.

Everything is Going To Be Alright

Key – The Wild

The Conscious

The Instinct

Shamrock

Shamrock

No! This is wrong NO!

I felt as though a part of me was being ripped out. A part of who I was had disappeared and something foreign had slithered up to take its place, something that didn't belong in my core, and certainly didn't come from Artemis. It was terrifying, and yet I felt more human than I had before, more like I could feel something others could, but I previously hadn't been able to. This thing was perhaps what made me different from my mother, this would make me different from her for the rest of my life.

I looked up at Grace and for the first time I saw her in a whole new light. Her red hair cascaded down her shoulders like a perfect waterfall of fire, her green eyes were the perfect shade of emerald, that seemed to read me like a book. The sleeveless dress she was wearing seemed to hug the curve of her waist. Her shoulders were pale and smooth, and when she was bent over like that the neckline of the dress was just shorter so I could just-

No! Not there look away!

I must have looked pretty pathetic, or upset sitting there gaping, because Grace knelt next to me and put and arm around me. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Y-yeah fine, I think Aphrodite just did something funny to me." I said weakly I had never felt this exposed or weak in my life, it was terrifying.

"Um, no hon." Aphrodite's voice came from behind Grace. "How do you feel?"

"Well like I'd go to the end of the world and back, like I will never be good enough, like I want her to trust me, I want her to love me." I was really confused, more confused than I have ever been in my life. What was this new feeling?

"Well hon that would be called love you developed it on your own. The other things are typical male human nature that only surfaced after you realized you loved her." She said waving her hand like it didn't matter that I had just perhaps set in place the biggest disaster of all time (Just my luck) or given my mother a lot more to handle with two dozen teenage girls, Orion, and a hormonal teenage boy, the only that could give her more trouble was a baby, but even my luck isn't that bad.

I looked at Grace. "We should go back in now." She nodded and we walked back into the party, though I was still shaking and more confused than I had ever been in my life.

Lilly

This was not good. Well okay, duh, that much should have been obvious I had looked at Nico and realized I was in love with him. Which me being a child of Artemis was bad enough, I shouldn't feel any romantic love, but for a child of the dead to be the one I love? That's just six different kinds of wrong, even Shamrock couldn't mess up as much as I had this time around. Nico came over and frowned at me.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No." I muttered, shaking a bit from the mixed sense of detesting being this close to death and the joy that I he was noticing me.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, as though he could sense that this was something to be kept quiet.

"I'm in love." I managed to get out.

"I don't think that's generally a bad thing." Nico frowned, he was probably right, most people embrace and enjoy love. Not me.

"I'm in love with you." I managed again, he looked hurt, well okay he should look hurt.

"And there's the catch, she's in love with the son of death and she hates it. Gee that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside doesn't it?" Nico rolled his eyes, scowled and turned away from me. I grabbed his shoulders and made him turn around. I pressed my lips to his. He pulled away looking bewildered.

"I never said I hated it, but the last thing I need is for my family to find out." I told him.

"Your mom would kill me." Nico nodded, rubbing his throat as though to make sure it was still there.

"Then my brother would make you more dead." I said, Shamrock and his over protectiveness would kill Nico as fast as one could say 'hi'.

"Not possible. Luckily." Nico muttered, well he would know.

Shamrock

My mom was arguing with Apollo (Nor surprise there) in a low tone while Orion held the baby (didn't see that one coming, Orion looked terrified of the baby). I walked over to him he frowned when he noticed me. It's nice to know I was so loved by everyone; they all seem to frown when I come around.

"What are they arguing about?" Grace wondered, which seemed like a stupid question, they argue all the time.

"Me." Orion sighed as though this was old news to him. "They are arguing about me, which is apparently still Apollo's favorite thing to argue about."

"Was it his favorite thing to argue about back when you are alive the first time?" I asked.

"Yeah it was, he used to hate me. I think we're on better terms now but I had to die once to get those better terms." He said.

"I take it you aren't even going to try for great terms?" I asked.

"No, I had to die by an arrow through the heart from your mother to get on better terms , I don't even want to know what good terms will take." Orion chuckled, and shifted the baby's position.

"Where did you get Aikatrina?" I asked him. He frowned like he didn't know what I was talking about, I rolled my eyes. "The baby?"

"Oh, Apollo." He answered switching his hold on the baby to the other arm.

Grace furrowed her brow. "Shamrock, she looks like you." She frowned, again with the frowning, I thought I was a cute baby, if Aikatrina looked anything like me then she should take that as a huge complement.

"What? No she doesn't!" I insisted, but I looked at the baby, other than her back hair and the dress she did look a lot like the pictures of me when I was a baby. The same round, tiny head, small, bunny slope nose, and itty bitty fingers (Well I guess the itty bitty fingers are a baby thing) she was even really tiny like me, she fit in Orion's hand. Yeah the guy had big hands but that was still tiny for a baby.

Aikatrina yawned and made a little squeaking noise like a puppy, or a mouse being stabbed with a fork (Not going to explain that one). My mom and Apollo turned slowly, as though mesmerized, than Aikatrina opened her eyes. Her big bright, silver, eyes identical to my moms, and now my own, I knew why Apollo was working so hard to keep her asleep when anyone else was around. I think Orion nearly dropped her in surprise when he made the connection, Mom walked over and looked at the child, and the realization in her eyes was instantaneous.

"Apollo." My mother's voice was deadly calm. I realized the entire throne room had now gone quiet as they watched the exchange between them, Orion handed the baby to me, and grabbed the back of my mother's tunic, like he knew what was coming. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Um, surprise?" Apollo gulped and did jazz hands, which don't ever do anything to help a situation, especially one like this. I'm pretty sure that had Orion not been holding on to her she would have lunged and killed Apollo, or tried to kill him. She probably would have gotten pretty darn close too, but Orion had a good hold on her. No doubt she could have broken out of it but there was some kind of clear message between them.

"You mean to tell me you created another child?" Mom growled, her eyes burning with silver fire, if I was Apollo I would have told the truth as quickly as possible then gotten out of there. Obviously though Apollo was immortal, and though I may be somewhat cocky, and perhaps a bit audacious, even I could tell what my mother was thinking at that very moment. That she would try her best to kill Apollo.

"Well, no, not me, this one jut appeared on my door step late at night, but Arty, she's dying. I'd be surprised if she made it six months." Apollo said. At this my mother looked heart broken, she hated anything dying. She came over to me and took Aikatrina, and held her protectively.

"Milady," Orion started.

"Orion, if we're going to raise three children you had better start calling me Artemis." She smiled one of her secret smiles, the ones few people ever got out of her.

Within fifteen minutes the entire event with my mom and Apollo had pretty much blown over, the hunters and I were sitting on the side lines of the dance. A few demi-gods danced, I saw Nico dancing with my sister, Percy with Annabeth. Thalia and Percy even danced once, something about a cousin thing, my mother sat on the side with Orion.

Lilly came over and nudged me. "Ask her."

"Ask who?" I wondered, though I knew who she was talking about.

"You know who I'm talking about." She insisted.

"No really, who?" I muttered.

"Shamrock Orion Clover, you had better ask Grace to dance with you!" She pushed, her eyes narrowing.

"But she said she loves me." I protested, I still felt really weird about that, but Lilly didn't find it to be much of a protest, as she rolled her eyes at me.

"All the more reason to do it, now go." Lilly pushed me off the chair and in Grace's general direction. I sighed and walked over to Grace.

"Um Grace?" I asked, shuffling my feet nervously.

She looked up. "Yeah Sham?" I couldn't help but notice that she seemed a little distracted with something, like she was trying to make a very difficult decision.

"Would you like to Dance?" I asked.

She smiled one of her special Grace smiles. "Sure Sham, I'll dance with you." She pulled me out on to the dance floor.

She actually turned out to be a pretty good slow dancer; I bet I was awful though I was shaking from the nerves and tension of being this close to Grace, my hands were sweaty and I was probably stepping on her toes.

"Relax, Sham I don't bite." She said. I sighed and tried to relax. Guess what? It actually worked I relaxed enough to loosen my death grip on Graces hands,

"Grace, I don't like this." I whispered.

"What dancing?" She asked.

"No, I don't like having Orion for a father, and I don't want a little sister." I whispered to her.

"Sham, Change is always accompanied by some discomfort, but over time we grow used to it." She muttered comfortingly, though I guess she would know this better than I would. We went back to dancing in silence and then the song changed. "Now for this on you are going to have to put a hand on my waist." She saw my hesitation. "It's okay, we don't have to dance." She led me off the floor to the foot of my mother's throne, slightly hidden so we couldn't be seen.

"G-Grace, I need to tell you something." I stammered.

"What?" She asked she was really calm about it. I guess that's the oldest sibling gene, the ability to be calm when people are terrified.

"I love you too." I whispered, and it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be but I was sure I saw a hint of fear in her eyes but only for a second. Then her face became expressionless, I realized though that she was as scared as I was about this.

She managed one of her smiles and said. "I know you do."

It was in that second I knew that everything would be alright, at least until I came close to destroying the world and those who inhabit it again, so maybe a month, but for now, everything was alright again, we were at peace. Who knows maybe this would be it. Knowing me though probably not.

The End (Or is it…)

Okay I really hat to say it but i don't know when I will update again. Or even if the next one will be coming. I don't even have it half done, and I don't know if or when it will be finished. What I'm saying is that s could be November before I see you again but it could also be as early as September.

I am at the complete mercy of Shamrock here, and he isn't talking right now. I suppose when he does I'll write it but I don't know when that will be.