"I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."
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I take an arrow from the quiver behind my back, placing it on the string, fingers tightening up naturally against the wooden bow. I ignore the muffled talk behind me and pull the string back with full force, eyes concentrated on the dummy a couple feet away. I close them for a moment, lick my lips and let the string go, watching the arrow as it hits its target; Right between the dummies eyes. I put the bow down and turn around to see two girls in matching silver parkas behind me.
Dayi stood with her hands behind her head, her dark hair tangled up in knots as she tries to do her first ever French braid. It was not working out, to say the least. "Gods, this is the most complicated thing ever! Geez, Mel, how do you do it?"
Melissa Fares' bright blue eyes squinted as she stuck her tongue out. Being a daughter of Iris, she was often mistaken for one of Aphrodite's kids. She was absolutely beautiful in every way, and I had envied her from day one. Artistic and kind, she was the complete opposite of me. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to hate her. She was too sweet, too caring. I just wish she didn't seem so perfect all the time.
"It takes patience and practice, D. Your luck won't help you this time," she states teasingly and I let out a snort.
"Oh haha, very funny," Dayi replies, letting her hands fall from her head to her sides, dark eyes rolling in mock irritation. As the daughter of Tyche, I can see why she depended on her luck. We would tease her many times about it, and it never got old, but it sure did for her.
"Shh, do you hear that?" Melissa whispers all of a sudden, her eyes widening a bit as she looked to the side, searching for the sound that only she had heard.
I furrow my brows as Dayi shakes her head. "No, haven't heard a thing besides Dayi's failure."
Dayi faces me and frowns. "You can't hear failure, that's not possible."
"Oh really, then how come I can hear your's?" I smirk as her cheeks redden. She opens her mouth to protest, but Melissa slaps her hand over it to silence her. "Don't. I'm serious. Just listen." Dayi and I look at each other and obey, but regret it immediately, because once we do, we hear exactly what the daughter of Iris was talking about.
"Run," I demand, and we all start bolting forward. I can feel Dayi pant next to me and Meli rushing to catch up."Faster Mel! Speed up!" She says something incoherently but I continue to run until I make contact with the ground as something hits my back.
"Gah!" I yelp out. I'm tackled to the ground by who else, but our very own lieutenant.
Thalia Grace flips me over and grins mischievously. "Getting out of shape there, Angie," the daughter of Zeus says, her smirking, electric blue eyes taunting me.
I scoff and roll my eyes as Thalia stands up and offers me her hand. I ignore it and get up myself, reaching down to pick up my bow and arrow Hekatos, (or Far-Shooter, in English) and turn it back into a sun shaped keychain. I stuff it in my pocket and look up at Thalia.
"I'm not out of shape, I was just...slow," I state and Thalia laughs.
"You can't be slow, daughter of Apollo. You're a hunter," she mocks and her eyes look me over. I shake my head and sigh, turning to face Melissa and Dayi who were both catching their breaths. They were the new recruits, but I had warmed up to them quickly. Thalia, on the other hand, was always making sure to test them. I loved Thalia, I really did. She was the only one who could stuff more cheeseburgers down her throat than I could and she had great taste in music. But, I'm not the only one who agrees that she could be a bit too aggressive and tough when it comes to our job.
"Hey, newbies, you alive?" she asks Dayi and Melissa. The daughter of Iris nods breathlessly while the daughter of Tyche puts one thumb up in the air.
Thalia snickers and I give her a look. "Ease up Thal, seriously."
She shrugs and and puts a head on my shoulder. "I'm just playing. Everybody gets teased when they first join. Even you," she pinches my cheeks and I groan, slapping her hand away, causing her to laugh once again. I flash her a soft smile and roll my eyes. "Alright boss, we made it to camp, now what?"
Thalia puts a hand under her chin and hums before snapping her fingers. "We eat! And, as tradition follows, we play a rousing game of capture the flag." I nod and off Thalia goes to tell the other hunters. I stay back and wait for Melissa and Dayi, who walk over to me with tired expressions.
"That scared the jizz out of me," Dayi says. "I thought it was that hellhound we fought before we got here again. He almost got me that one time."
I shake my head. "Nah, Thalia's always up to something. Daughter of Zeus is definitely one to look out for," I reply back. Melissa nods and off we go to follow Thalia to the Pavillion. Once we make it, we are introduced as The Hunters of Artemis to all the campers and are presented with a game of capture the flag. Of course, we all agree to it, and then we are set free to dine and talk to the rest of the campers. But of course, truthful to the vow we took, we avoid any conversations with any of the boys.
A boy with sandy blonde hair looks my way and I send him a glare. He looks surprised for a moment before clearing his throat and averting his gaze. Good, I don't need any wandering eyes staring at me while I eat. That's just creepy in itself. After my offering to Apollo (though Artemis is like my adoptive mother, Apollo, her brother, is my true father), I sit down between Dayi and Melissa and in front of Thalia and Phoebe. We all dig into our juicy steaks with watery mouths and I chug down my water so fast I don't even take a moment to breath. I was starved, thirsty, and just overall exhausted. Thalia looks at me with a raised brow and I shrug, stuffing another piece of meat into my mouth. I watch curiously as Phoebe whispers something to Thalia, causing her eyes to widen and her goblet to almost spill over. She doesn't even excuse herself from the table as she stands up and walks away to the other part of the camp. I frown and turn to Phoebe, but she avoids my gaze.
"Is she going to finish that?" Dayi suddenly asks, and everyone in the table turns to stare at her. "What?" she says shrugging. "I was just asking."
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"He saved her."
"No he didn't, Athena's daughter did."
"No, all he did was just bring a blanket to her. Big whoop."
"The Golden Fleece is more than just a blanket you idiot. It can bring back life!"
After eating, the rest of the hunters kept discussing the reason for Thalia's disappearance. Phoebe wouldn't spill, but we got some things out of her.
"It's a friend of hers. A good friend," was all she said, but somehow that got everyone talking.
"Think it's like her ex-boyfriend or something?" Dayi asks me. I bite my lip and try to think of Thalia actually dating someone. I grimace and shake my head. "No way. Thalie with a boyfriend? Yeah right."
"Phoebe just said it was a good friend, guys. Maybe that's it. A good friend," Melissa says, nodding.
"Well he must be a real good friend if she just left her food like that," Dayi snorts.
"Why does everyone assume it's a guy? A girl can be a 'good friend' too, you know. You guys are my good friends," I say, because deep down inside, the thought of Thalia having been in any kind of relationship with a guy annoys me. We made an oath, and sure, she probably did all of that stuff before it, but still. She was like my older sister. That's what all of us hunters were to each other. Sisters. We looked out for one another, and right now, that was all I was doing.
A satyr runs to the middle of the forest ground, ringing a conch, signaling the commencement of the game. It was us hunters against the entirety of Camp Half-Blood. I was always up for a game of capture the flag, but right now my thoughts were on Thalia and her 'good friend'. All I remember were people running and yelling out battle cries, and next thing I know, my sisters have all deserted me. Was no one else concerned about this whole ordeal but I? I frown and start jogging off to the side, pausing as I hear footsteps.
"It's been so long, Sparky. You look different."
"I'm immortal, I couldn't possibly look different."
There are two voices, and as I press myself against a tree, I realized I knew one of them. Very well.
"But yes, it has been a while dude," Thalia says again.
"Very. Listen Thalia, I need to ask you something. I-I know you've already done so much for me, and I know you're busy with the hunters and all..."
I stuff my hand inside my pocket, taking out Hekatos and holding it tightly in my hand as the other voice kept talking. It belonged to a boy, I knew that much was true. And knowing that Thalia was alone with a boy threw me on edge. I suddenly hear a yelp coming from her and next thing I know, Hekatos is back to it's shiny black, bow and arrow form, and I am aiming it right at a boy with dark hair and lights eyes.
Thalia is near him, leaning down to hold her bare foot, but looks up at me when she hears me move. The boy stares at me with wide eyes but I stay in place and lock eyes with Thalia. She opens her mouth to speak, but it is too late, my arrow is shot and I hit the boy on his shoulder, causing him to yelp and fall to the ground.
"Percy!" Thalia screams and I just stand there frozen, cold hard realization washing over my face. I had just shot an arrow through someone's shoulder.
And that someone was Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon.

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