☾ The Child of Artemis ☾

22. I Am a Hunter of Artemis Reprise (Legit This Time)

          Surprisingly, I was grounded for more than a month. I was officially ungrounded on March twenty - first. That was a great start for the day I turned fifteen. Uncle Apollo came to me first and yelled, "Happy birthday, Nico! What a great nephew you are!"

          "Thanks, Uncle Apollo."

          "Nico, welcome to the Hunters of Artemis," Mum said. "I heard everything from Apollo. You told me the truth. Thank you. I also heard about your new lasso and diadem. Take good care of them."

          "I have," I replied. I ran to my cabin to get them. Mum grabbed the diadem and declared, "Nico McAngelico, I declare you my new lieutenant!" She placed it on my head. She even handed me the bow and arrow from before, when I was disguised as Nicole.

          "The arrow tips are made of imperial gold."

          "Wow!" I marveled, "Thanks, Mum."

          "Are you ready to join the Hunt?"

          "Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah!" Faith screamed all of a sudden.

          "I am," I calmly replied, unlike my excited mate.

          "Welcome to the Hunters of Artemis! Also, happy birthday, son," Artemis said.

          "This is the best thing that could happen on my birthday!"

          "Neat! Happy birthday, Nico!" Faith cheered.

          Thalia gave me a warm welcome. She patted me on the back, wished me a happy birthday, and congratulated me on being the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. The other Hunters weren't so sure about me joining, but a few reluctantly shook my hand and congratulated me also. "We're about to head out," Mum told Faith and me. "You should say your goodbyes now. I promise we'll visit about once a month."

          Faith and I ran off to say our goodbyes. "Bye, Hunter. I'm going to join the Hunters of Artemis!"

          "You're leaving now? But I'll miss you," Hunter whined.

          "I promise to visit once a month if I can."

          Hunter hugged me. "I'm sorry for everything I said since the beginning of your time here."

          "No Wuckas, mate."

          Hunter laughed. I sauntered over to Nigel. "I'm leaving, Nigel. I joined the Hunters of Artemis. Bye. I promise to visit every month."

          "Adieu, you drongo," Nigel bellowed.

          "Sorry you're such a fool, Nigel."

          I elbowed him and was about to really leave when, di Angelo stopped me. "Hey, Nico. Bye. When you were on your quest, I kind of realized that you're tolerable enough..." he muttered.

         "Is this an apology?" I asked, smiling.

          "Sort of," di Angelo stammered.

          "No Wuckas, then. I'll try to get some Maccas for you while I'm away."

          "Okay. Bye, McAngelico."

          He pronounced my last name wrong, just like he had in my dream. I didn't care. "Bye, di Angelo."

          We waved to each other and I left for real. I stayed at Mum's side. Faith was hugging Percy. "Make sure you don't run into dam problems while you're away," Percy joked.