Chronicles of a Huntress

Chapter 8. "Force Of Nature."

Here it goes, chapter 8 and the last one in this fic!

So, at first I wanted to have seven scenes here, in which the women mentioned in the seven previous chapters would feature. But there was one scene I didn't really like how it ended up so as a result, I combined the idea of that one with the one I had for another, the last one in this chapter.

Thank you all so so much for reading! This story has been a complete pleasure to write and I'm so happy with the result. Thank you all for the support and I hope you guys continue liking my stories!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Also, there is some cursing here.

Chapter 8. "A Force Of Nature."

There was a sort of peaceful sadness that came with saying goodbye to someone. It was a feeling that Annabeth would never get used to, yet one she had learned not to fear.

Zoë Nightshade had been a force of nature. She had been a true Queen, in some ways worthy of even more recognition than the one granted to the Gods.

So large had her shadow been, so big had her influence been on those around her that though she'd never met her, not truly, Annabeth found that her life was now changed due to the leader of the Hunters, and in an irrevocable way.

After the group made it back to Camp Half Blood, Percy and Thalia had to face the excruciating task of recounting the fall of the Heroine. Excruciating because, for the honour of getting to tell everyone of Zoë's quest, it did not make up for the grief of describing her demise.

Still, they did. They had to. Their sisters needed to know what had happened.

They talked for hours. The hunters listened, withholding their grief until they were done. The campers gathered around the returning group, their heads hanging low because while they hadn't interacted with the Huntress, her story was too legendary for them to be nothing but sorrowful. Even Chiron gathered with the group, his eyes burdened, as if he had known of her fate all along.

That night, a funeral was held. A funeral worthy of a heroine such as Zoë Nightshade. A funeral honoured by the presence of Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo. A funeral held at night because it was a hunter the one honoured, and a fallen hunter deserved to have every star shining for her.

And above them, the constellation of The Huntress never stopped shining.

Annabeth should have been exhausted but somehow, her mind wouldn't stop reeling, not even for a second. So, taking the opportunity of having no harpies patrolling the Camp grounds - as Chiron had ordered a night with no curfew, for the night was the time for those who wanted to honour Zoë - Annabeth had wandered over to the lake.

And there she sat, with no company but the one of the stars.

Until she wasn't on her own anymore.

"I should have known you'd be here," Thalia commented as she plopped down beside the daughter of Athena. "Your mind knows better than to grant you any rest."

Annabeth cracked a small smile but her arms remained tightly around her bent legs. Her gaze was fixed on the starry sky above her. "And I should have known you would follow. You tend to disrupt my every attempt to seek peace."

"Disrupt? Annie, who even speaks like that?" Thalia snorted, quickly sobering up when Annabeth only rolled her eyes. "Annabeth, seriously. What is it?"

"I can't forget about Zoë," Annabeth replied, her voice softening as her mind wandered away. "Everything she's been through, everything she's sacrificed, gods, even the fate she was ready to accept. All because she was sure of the mission she had to accomplish in this world. I cannot comprehend the amount of willpower that must have taken."