AN: This story has not reached it's end, and I hope your forgiveness to me you will lend. Warning: Spoilers for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I would have omitted it, but words, I don't like to mince.
I gulped and took a reflexive step back.
"Listen. We're both reasonable gals. You attack me, I get kicked out of camp. How about we let bygones-" I tried to reason with her, but she cut me off.
Artemis stuck her hand out and my throat closed up. It's pretty scary when your mother takes a leaf out of Darth Vader's book. It's a horrible book.
I tried clawing at the invisible hand around my throat, but it was no use. I started to feel like I was falling through a tunnel. Then, saw someone charge at Artemis and tackle her.
"Run!" Ward yelled at me as he turned to face her. Feeling like the biggest coward in the world, I ran like a gazelle.
The fear and adrenaline of knowing what would happen when she caught up to me made me run faster than anyone has ever run (or so I'm guessing). My brain went on autopilot, and the scenery became a blur. It was getting dark, so I tried to find civilization.
Panting, with my poor excuses for abs burning, I looked around and- BOOM!
An explosion lit up the sky to my right. I dropped to the ground, thinking that someone was shooting at me for some reason. Then I heard a crowd ooh-ing and Ahh-ing and the fizzle of burned out fireworks, and I felt vaguely ridiculous.
Desperate for whatever protection a crowd could offer, I dashed towards where the fireworks had originated.
Breaking through the last of the trees, I stumbled into a clearing with about 200 people in it.
Knowing that Ward couldn't have distracted her for long, I quickly ran towards the biggest clump of people I could find. I weaved around the little kids frolicking around with flags, and ran to the center.
In the very center of the audience there was a collection of kids my age, and I dashed towards where they were, ignoring the looks they were giving the weird teenage girl wearing camouflage with tears all over it. Just as I collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, severe pain wracked my body and I could hear Artemis's voice in my head.
"I'm coming for you."
I erupted into goose bumps, and I jumped to my feet to look around. A brilliant blue firework shaped like a star exploded in the sky, and with it's light I saw a silvery figure emerge from the woods, on the opposite side of the clearing.
Again, she invaded my brain, and this time she showed me a horrifying image.
Ward was bleeding in a hospital bed, and Mr. D was yelling and ordering people around, looking frantic. Chiron was wrapping up what looked like a shattered shinbone. Suddenly, I was shaking and I couldn't stop. She was going to do the same thing to me.
I saw her look around, and she strolled towards the back of the clearing, probably so she would be less conspicuous. A scarlet, sphere-shaped firework made the entire clearing look like it was doused in blood, a fact that I didn't like one bit.
"You have 1 minute to reveal yourself before I start killing innocents." her voice pounded through me and I winced at the pain of it. At this point, I hadn't slept for about 36 hours, so it wasn't a huge shocker that my senses weren't working too well.
"You're bluffing." I thought out quietly, testing the cursed connection.
"Try me. 59. 58." her voice confirmed the reality of my situation, and I knew that I was in serious trouble.
Always the martyr, I stood up and started walking towards the back, knowing full well that I was marching to my death. The awful thing was, I could picture Artemis cutting people down left and right until I revealed myself.
Finally, I saw her, standing off by herself (shocker). With knees quaking, I took my final steps towards her.
"1. I guess you aren't as big of a moron as I thought. Now, we have a score to settle." she grabbed my shoulder, and suddenly, we were in a different clearing. I was disorientated by the sudden change in scenery and there were trees on every side of me, so I had no idea where we were. Great.
Artemis was about 10 ft away, and she waved her hands. Something appeared at my feet
It was a sword. I picked it up, using one hand, then two. Swords are really pronking heavy!
"What?" I asked, confused. I thought this was going to be a murder, not a fencing lesson.
"I fight fair. Prepare to die." she said. A sword appeared in her hand, and she charged me.
The first thing that went through my mind was "This most definitely isn't a fencing lesson."
The second thought was "Hades she's strong!"
She swung at me, and I was knocked back at least a foot, onto my back. I laid there, certain she was going to stab me while I was down.
"Get up." she ordered, standing over me.
"I'll pass." I said, not wanting to prolong my experience.
A bright silver glow appeared around her, and she placed her sword directly over my heart.
"Get up."
Groaning, I got to my feet and faced her again.
Her eyes lit up and my life flashed before my eyes (man I played a lot of video games). She attacked rapidly, flowing from move to move so quickly that I didn't have time to counter any of them. It's times like this that I was the daughter of Zeus, or Poseidon, or a god that was famous for sword fighting. Then my reflexes could conveniently kick in and I could avoid being sliced and diced.
I thought I would be dead within the first few moments, but she was only hitting me with the flat of her blade, leaving monster bruises everywhere the sword touched (which was everywhere. At once.).
Finally, desperate, I swung at her middle, twisting to the side at the last second possible to try to get her to drop her sword. To my utter shock and horror, I managed to cut her hand, enough for golden ichor to seep out.
We stood frozen for a second, staring at her hand, and then she slowly looked up at me. Her eyes had gone completely black and I could feel unadulterated fury radiating from her.
Everything I had gone through before this was nothing compared to the terror I felt now.
Artemis's silver aura was replaced with a midnight black one, and I could only see her silhouette against the starry night sky.
My hands were shaking so badly that I dropped my sword and backed away.
"I didn't mean to! I'm so-"
Artemis yelled, and it wasn't an ordinary yell. It sounded like every wild animal in the world was roaring with her, and shock flooded through my mind. An explosion seemed to come from her, and I was thrown backwards, into a tree about 20 feet away from where I had been standing. Ouch.
I heard a crack somewhere in my general spine area and felt my arms and legs go numb, and my vision started to go blurry. Seeing her stomp towards me with her black eyes, I whispered with the last of my energy, "Lord Zeus, save me!"
Nothing happened, and I slumped back, into the tree.
And then I died.
Okay, I didn't die. But, man did it hurt.
I awoke later to the burning of every square inch of my back.
The pain consumed my mind for a while, but eventually I could understand the noises around me. It sounded like two people arguing, and I tried to focus.
"'Mysterious Explosion in Woods: Ongoing Police Investigation.' 'Strange Lights coming from Forest, Terrorist Plot Suspected.' Do you have any idea how stupid, no, how utterly moronic you behaved? She gets kicked out of camp, and so you almost blow our cover? It's a miracle you didn't kill her! What were you thinking?" a man's voice yelled, and I guessed that he had been reading newspaper headlines.
The other person sighed. "I just lost control. Is father really that angry?"
"'Angry'? Of course he's angry! He might make you mortal for this one! And then how will you deal with Aphrodite?"
Artemis (of course it was her) sighed again, and I opened my eyes to see her rubbing her forehead.
The other person saw me, and I recognized him as Apollo.
"Emily! You're awake!" he exclaimed, rushing over to the side of the bed I was lying in. I recognized the room as one of the standard Olympian-brand ones, so I guessed I was back on Olympus. This won't end well.
"What happened?" I muttered, still groggy.
Apollo shot a quick glare at Artemis and said "Well, after my idiotic sibling lost control, my dad heard you call out and he sent me to rescue you. He wants to see you two in the throne room as soon as possible. Do you think you can walk?"
I attempted to smile. "I can barely breathe."
Apollo frowned and let his hands hover over me. The pain from my back lessened a lot, but I guess it was so bad even the god of healing couldn't completely fix me.
"If I carry you, can you manage?" he asked, standing up.
Nodding, I tried to sit up in my bed. Gasping, I collapsed back into my bed.
Sending a death glare at Artemis, he picked me up and carried me out the door.
I could tell that he was trying to be gentle, but my back burned at every slightest bump, which really took away from the experience.
We walked down what seemed like a never-ending hallway and I saw Artemis following behind us, reluctantly.
Finally, we got to the throne room. Zeus was sitting in his throne, but the rest of them were empty. Apollo snapped and a chair appeared, which he sat me down on.
"Dismissed, Apollo." Zeus said, not taking his eyes off of Artemis. Artemis's fury at me for getting expelled paled in comparison to the rage that was pouring from Zeus's eyes.
"My lord." Apollo said as he bowed out, shutting the door with an ominous clang.
"So, daughter," Zeus said, making it sound like the worst thing in the world. "what excuse do you have for almost revealing yourself to the mortals? Or do you even have one?"
Artemis flinched at his tone and tried to explain herself. Halfway through her tale, Zeus cut her off with a wave of his hand.
"You couldn't have possibly chosen a worse time to do this. First the Aphrodite thing, now this? What am I going to do with you?" Now he sounded more like a dad than a cruel tyrant, which is usually preferable "I think there is only one option. They are going to demand that you disband the Hunters."
Whatever Artemis had expected, it appeared that it wasn't nearly as horrifying to her as this. She turned a ghostly white and fell to her knees.
"No! No! Father you can't do that! I'll do anything! Anything!" she begged, and I made a mental note to mock her later when I wasn't half unconscious with pain.
Zeus sighed, looking more tired than I had seen anybody look, ever. "Fine. If you are so desperate, then you must agree to something else."
"Anything." Artemis promised rashly, and even I could tell that she was going to regret her words in a second.
"You and Emily will be joined by an empathy link for 2 months."
"What?" Artemis and I both yelled together. I don't even want to be in the same room as her, much less linked to her! Of course, they ignored me.
"You heard me. Now do it."
"Please, father. Don't make me do this. Send me to the Furies if you want, but not this!"
Zeus frowned at the suggestion of feeding his daughter to Hades's minions.
"It's either this or disband the Hunters. Your choice."
There was silence as Artemis considered it. Then, suddenly, she placed her hand on my head, ignoring my violent spasm, and started murmuring under her breath. Then, a new, foreign feeling swept through me. It felt like another person was sharing my body, and I didn't like it one bit.
On the plus side, my back hurt a lot less. I turned to ask Zeus what the platypus had just happened, and I noticed Artemis wincing.
The hamster wheels in my head started turning. I quickly straightened up, ignoring the agony. Artemis gasped and slowly rose to her feet.
I grinned, too overjoyed to speak.
Finally, I could get her back for all the pain she had caused me. Testing how well it would work, I twisted to the side. I groaned and she twitched violently. My back felt like it was being hit by a cannon, but I was having too much fun to stop now.
I was about to try to stand, until I saw her face, a strange mixture of anger and fear (which is how I must look like, like, all the time).
Immediately, I felt like an awful person, which made me kinda mad. She had had good reasons (sometimes) for all the garbage she put me through, and she had tried to protect me from the worst of it. And now, when I could finally pay her back, my stupid conscience made me feel bad for it! Where is the justice in that?
I sat back down, and she relaxed a little.
"It seems you two have reached a agreement." Zeus, who had been watching my internal struggle with great interest, said. "Now, that only leaves us with one question. What do we do with you?"
That question had obviously been stumping the gods for a while. Camp was out, and I didn't really want to go back anyway. I'm sure my old school would have some questions for me regarding the mysterious disappearance of Ms. Lynch, and I didn't have any answers that wouldn't end up with me in a padded cell.
"Can I go home?" I asked, remembering that my dad would be back from his business trip this month.
Zeus and Artemis, who had been talking in Greek, turned to look at me like they had forgotten I was there.
"Your home? Why would you want to go there?" Zeus asked like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"Because I have a dad who loves me..." I said, using my "that's a stupid question" voice (I love that voice. Surprisingly, teachers don't appreciate the humor.)
Zeus seemed to consider it. "Well, I really don't have any other ideas that don't involve a quest..." he trailed off hopefully, like he wished that I would choose that option.
My last questing experience left my vaguely cationic, so I quickly shook my head.
"But your father won't be there for 3 more days. You'll need someone to help you as you heal. Artemis, you will take that role."
Artemis frowned and I said "Could anyone else do it? Someone less prone to exploding in fits of rage?"
She gave me a dirty look and turned to Zeus.
"It shall be as you command, father. Thank you." With that she strode out of the room.
Which left Zeus and I in an awkward silence.
Uncomfortable, I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind "How does Hera feel about all of this?"
Zeus frowned, and I mentally kicked myself for bringing her up. "Well, Hera wanted me to disband the Hunters. Her and Artemis have never really gotten along, and this was her final straw. So, how does it feel to be the first child of Artemis?" He leaned his chin on his hands in a very grandfathery pose. He probably had a lot of practice.
I sort of half-chuckled half-grimaced. "It's okay, sometimes. Except for all the abductions, arguments, explosions, etc."
He laughed and looked at his watch. "Well, I would love to sit and chat, but I have pressing engagements elsewhere. Have Apollo patch you up, and then you may go home. And don't abuse your new link. Remember, it's only for two months, and we Olympians hold grudges." With that, he snapped his fingers and I was teleported to the room I had woken up in.
I laid there for a couple seconds, and then I tried to stand.
Before I knew it, Artemis was back in the room and she pushed me back down.
"Don't do that." she ordered, and I remembered that she felt the same stuff I did. "Yes. And two months is going to be over quickly, don't forget."
It sounded like one of her typical threats, but it lacked the menacing undertone that usually accompanied a statement like this. In fact, she seemed like a zombie of her former self.
"Where's Apollo?" I asked, not fully relaxing in case I got a chance to stand again.
Artemis didn't bother to answer, but she just looked at the door, expectantly.
Sure enough, Apollo walked in, whistling a merry tune.
"So, ready to be patched up?" he asked, much happier than he had been before. "Well, now that I don't have to worry about my baby sister, I'm a lot less stressed."
Artemis muttered something along the lines of "I'm older," but Apollo ignored her.
He let his hands hover over me, and my back cracked again, to the agony of Artemis and I.
"Sorry, but it was going to heal all funky. Artemis used her energy in the blast, and some of that bad mojo is still in you, which is why your back hurts. You should be fine in a couple of days or so if you take it easy. And no goddesses try to break you." he said, staring pointedly at Artemis, who had the decency to look abashed.
"Let's go Emily. Thank you Apollo." she said, hugging Apollo goodbye. Then she laid her hand on my shoulder and we disappeared. The vacuumy sensation was becoming commonplace.
We arrived in my living room and I looked around. Same old blue walls. Same old leather couch. Same old plasma screen tv. It's good to be home.
I hobbled over to the couch and laid down, setting a pillow up to make myself comfortable. Artemis was looking around uncomfortably, like she didn't belong here.
"When were you here last?" I asked, watching her closely.
"A couple years ago. Wild animals kept appearing in your backyard and your father asked me to keep them away. One thing led to another and we-"
I covered my ears. "For the hatred of Hades please do not complete that sentence."
She rolled her eyes. "I was going to say that we argued and I left."
"Didn't you want to see me?" I asked, trying to be casual.
She frowned. "Of course I did. I popped my head in your door and saw you asleep. I didn't want to wake you."
"You saw me asleep once, and that was enough for you? You are officially the worst mom ever. How could you just forget about your only daughter?" I sat up angrily, and didn't even notice the pain.
"Well, I'm busy! I can't let one little mistake-" she stopped mid-sentence, but the damage was done.
"Get out." I ordered, my voice as cold as granite. "Get out of my house."
She didn't move and I stood. "Leave."
Something in my voice made her narrow her eyes, but she walked to the door. "I'll be back when you've had time to calm down."
And she left, without so much as an apology. Furious, I stormed to the back door, determined to be far away before she came back. And then the door shocked me.
"I pronking hate you!" I yelled, knowing she could hear.
Stomping off to the couch, I threw myself down angrily. I grabbed the remote and the news appeared on the screen.
"Heat Waves across Northern New York," the anchoress said, and I relaxed. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
"Artemis? What are you doing here? Where's Emily? If she's hurt, I'll kill-" my dad's angry voice came from the hallway, and I turned over so I could see when he entered. I saw two shadows and then I heard Artemis interrupt him.
"Be extremely careful how you finish that sentence, mortal. Your daughter is on the couch, in one piece."
I heard footsteps and I hastily pretended to be asleep, knowing I would hear more this way.
"Where has she been these last few months? All I heard was that she had disappeared from school with two other students! You gods in all your 'infinite wisdom' couldn't send me a lousy letter? I've been out of my mind with worry! Maybe you care nothing for her, but she does have a parent who actually loves her!" At this point he was yelling, and I knew that Artemis wouldn't take much more of it.
Sure enough, "You aren't the only one who's been looking out for her! When she was trapped in Aphrodite's dungeon, I didn't see you rushing in to help! I had to introduce to the Olympian world, and I think I did a Hades of a job! If you so much as think that I'm a bad parent again, I'll change you into a rat!"
"She was kidnapped?" my dad's voice had a new level of anger that I hadn't ever heard before. "Was anyone planning on informing me of this?"
From the shadows, I could see that Artemis was pacing back and forth.
"It wasn't a big deal. I had it under control."
"Oh, I'm sure. You don't even have yourself under control." my dad spat.
"You little-" Artemis flung out her hand and my dad was thrown backwards into a wall.
"Dad!" I yelled as I jumped to my feet and ran to him. He wasn't unconscious, and he smiled when he saw me.
"Hey Emily. Been strengthening up for softball?" he weak attempt at a joke distracted me from the imminent danger that he was in.
"Oh yeah," I joked "I've been putting in a solid 15 hours a day."
Artemis coughed, and I turned to face her, shielding my dad, who was struggling to get up.
"Go to your room Emily. Your father and I have some things to discuss." Artemis ordered, as if she knew where my room was.
I scoffed. "No. You can't just stroll into my house and start hurting my dad. You'll have to kill me before I let you hurt him." I challenged, completely serious.
Artemis smiled, a nasty half-smile that made my back twitch. "You can't beat me. You will never beat me. Now GO!"
To my horror, my legs followed her command, and I inadvertently walked out of the living room and into my room.
I lunged for my door, but it wouldn't open.
"Curse you to the darkest depths of Hades." I muttered, resorting to listening through the door.
"Why are you here Artemis?" I heard my dad ask with a sigh, like she was one of his college students who had bothered him for weeks about a grade. Man, that was specific.
Crouching down to look under the door, I saw him walk over and take a seat on the couch.
"Zeus ordered me to protect her until you get here. It's...complicated. I'll be in town for the next two months or so." she said, sitting at the table. I could picture my living room's layout in my mind's eye: the long L-shaped couch facing the huge tv, the chestnut table with a chair that always wobbled, the black
bookcase with all of our DVDs an video games, and the huge painting of some random people. But I couldn't picture Artemis in there. Artemis belonged in the outside, dangerous world, not in my happy safe haven from life's troubles.
"Listen, I don't know if it's a good idea for you to stay here. I can't have you cursing the neighbors for waking you up, and I certainly don't want to have another argument in front of Emily. So, here are the directions to the nearest park. Maybe you can cuddle with the deer or something."
I chuckled, but Artemis obviously didn't appreciate the humor.
"So that's where she gets her sarcasm. Ugh. And don't patronize me, mortal. Don't forget I could crush you in a second. Your life is a little candle that I can extinguish with a breath." This went on for some time.
Eventually, I was sick and tired of her putting my dad down, so I punched a wall, knowing she would feel it.
I was rewarded with a "Gah!" that matched my own.
I heard angry footsteps approach and I hopped to my feet. The door burst open, and Artemis stood there, glowing in the dim light.
"What did I tell you about abusing our link?"
There wasn't really a right answer, and I didn't remember what she had said, so I ignored her and went and sat on my bed. She sighed, and pulled my desk chair up to my bed's side.
"Listen. I'm sorry for losing control like that. I was just confused and angry and unsure of myself. I promise that won't happen again. Unless you really do something stupid. So, truce?" she asked hopefully, putting her hand out.
I frowned suspiciously. "Will you leave my dad alone from now on?"
Her eye twitched. "If he doesn't provoke me."
"You don't have to worry about that," my dad's voice floated in from the doorway. "One of her parents has control of themselves."
She rounded on him angrily. "You insolent-"
"Artemis! Stop! Just leave!" I said, pointing out the door.
With one last threatening glare, she disappeared. My dad breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your mother. She is something else, isn't she? Hey, I didn't get my hug."
I jumped up and ran into his arms. He was warm and I felt like nothing on earth could bother me as long as he was safe.
"Well, you're probably wiped. I know I am. I'll see you tomorrow honey. Love you."
"Love you too dad." I said as he turned off my lights and I snuggled into my blankets.
I was walking along my road, alone, using the moon's light to guide me. I was whistling a tune, and then suddenly my legs froze, and I could feel a cold wind sweeping up behind me. I wanted to turn around, but I couldn't. Then Aphrodite walked in front of me.
"So, you think you're safe. You and your little daddy. Well, we have an old score to settle." she said, checking her nails.
"And I'm coming for you." Ares said casually as he strolled past me to link arms with Aphrodite. "And if you mention this little warning to Artemis, I'll kill him. And, to show how serious I am, here." he swiped his finger through the air, but a real cut appeared on my arm. It started burning like 100 bonfires, which seemed like overkill.
"Enjoy." Aphrodite said nastily as they faded out of sight.
I woke up to an intense burning in my arm. My arm had been dangling over the side of my bed, so no blood had dripped onto my yellow sheets.
Still in my sleepy fog, I ambled to the bathroom and put a large Bandaid on my arm and collapsed back in my bed.
And then I died.
AN2: Sorry, I couldn't resist!
I woke up the next morning with a killer case of bed head and a fuzzy recollection of my dream. So, I did my normal morning routine of stretching and grabbing some cereal.
My dad wasn't up yet, so I turned on my PS3 and started up Dynasty Warriors 6. After remembering how to play and going through a couple missions, my dad came, grabbed a controller and we played a couple co-op missions without talking, as was usual.
Eventually, "So, you got kidnapped?" he asked, button mashing like crazy.
I didn't look at him, but rather attacked some guy on a horse. "Yeah. Aphrodite wanted to get back at Artemis because of some old feud between them."
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
We played in silence for a couple minutes, finding the final boss, Lu Bu, (See the author's note in Softball and Swords for the outcome of this little adventure), until my dad said, "So, what do you want to do today?"
"How about we go for a 7 mile run, then go swimming, then go cut down some trees?" I suggested, putting my controller down and stretching. My back wasn't bothering me, so that's a plus.
"Sounds fun. How about we grab some lunch and then go see what's playing at the Castle?" The Castle is the most amazing movie theater in existence. Instead of chairs that you have to jump on to get them to stay down, the Castle has squishy armchairs arranged in groups of threes and fours.
The new Harry Potter was showing, and so my dad and I settled down in our usual spot.
The opening music came on and I settled in to enjoy the movie, hoping it didn't butcher the book too badly.
"Little chance of that," a voice next to me said. I turned to see Apollo sitting in the third chair to our set, glowing faintly in the theater's dim light. "Face forward. Your dad can't see or hear me, but he can still see you."
Following his advice, I muttered something about seeing something move to my dad and pretended to watch the movie.
"So, I hear Aphrodite entered into your dream last night." he said matter-of-factly, and it took all of my self control not to look at him. I did, however, widen my eyes in a shocked expression. "Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know things. And I came here to assure you that you aren't in any danger. Artemis and I have this covered. There's no way Ares or Aphrodite will get through us. So you can relax, little niece of mine. Well, I have to go. Any questions for me? I love spreading knowledge to those not as fortunate as I."
I snorted quietly and rolled my eyes, knowing he would see it.
"Well then, I'll see you later. PS: Dumbledore dies."
He said this last part in my voice loud enough for the entire room to hear. My dad frowned at me indignantly (he hadn't read the books) and I was assaulted by a chorus of "Boo"'s and thrown popcorn. I heard Apollo's laughter in my ear and then he was gone.
After the movie, my dad and I went home, and he took a nap, while I played some more DW6. It was almost like I had never left. Except for the empathy link, visits from my immortal relatives, and strange ability to glow. Minor details.
Presently, I heard a knocking coming from the door. I looked through the glass, only to see Ward standing there, looking like he was in one piece, which didn't fit the image Artemis had shown me.
"Ward!" I exclaimed, opening the door. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"
He looked stunned to see me, and I guess I was pretty stunned to see him too.
I showed him in and he sat on the couch and I sat next to him.
"Mind telling me how you're alive? I thought Artemis was going to kill you!" Ward said, gesturing wildly with his hands.
"I was going to ask you the same question! After you saved my life, I owe you by the way, I just ran. I found a clearing with people in it, but then she found me, and we had a sword fight, and I accidentally cut her and she exploded and now I'm here." I concluded, not wanting to go into the whole story. "How did you survive?"
He had been staring at me with his mouth open, and he shook his head like he couldn't believe it. "Well, after I charged her and you ran away, she was mad. Olympian mad. My shoulder was hurting because, well, she's a goddess, and she punched me in the chest. I'm pretty sure she broke my collarbone, and she was going to go after you, so I threw a rock at her. It missed and she muttered something and I couldn't see. By the time the fog cleared, she was long gone. I limped to my cabin and scarfed down some ambrosia. Then, I walked to the nearest town. I saw the headlines about the explosion in the woods, and I thought you were dead. I came to tell your dad the bad news."
I pulled him to his feet and hugged him fiercely. It hurt, but a lot less than normal so I ignored it.
We enjoyed our moment of peace, until I heard a voice yell "EMILY MARIE WOLF!"
AN3: So... about me not writing for a couple months... I don't really have a decent excuse, and I'm not going to insult your intelligences with a lie. And this chapter just kind of hit me, so I may not be updating again until the mood strikes. Thank you for all of your reviews (and your forgiveness?). Thanks, and gods bless!
