Charmolypi

Chapter 146

"What?" Thea protested, suddenly glaring at Zoë.

"What? But you can't!" Percy pleaded, growing worried by the new proposed option. "You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."

"It is not the only way for a girl," Zoë said.

"Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and . . . I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?" Percy tried to understand, but it was the first time had heard of demigods joining the Hunters of Artemis.

"To begin with," Zoë said, "immortality."

"She wants to be immortal?"

"Why would she want that?"

Percy stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"

"Nope," Thea sighed.

"Zoë rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal . . . unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" Percy said.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"So basically you can become immortal if you serve her, unless you are killed during battle or decide to have a romantic relationship?" Andromeda asked for clarification, to which Thalia nodded.

"I wish I was a half-blood so that I could join them," Bellatrix whispered to her younger sister.

"Are the romantic relationships limited to male female relationships or do they include all types of romantic relationships?" Mary asked Thalia.

"Well that depends on what Lady Artemis decides," Thalia told her.

"Like you?" Percy asked, to which the goddess nodded. He tried to rationalize what she was saying. "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoë interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"

"Which are you, then?"

Anger flashed in Zoë's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wants to."

"Bianca, this is crazy," Percy said, trying as hard as possible to get her to stay with them. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."

"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

"She wasn't lying," Narcissa shrugged, giggling silently with her sister.

"So anyone can become a Hunter," Bellatrix said, her eyes sparkling at the thought.

"Are you considering it?" Narcissa frowned slightly at the idea that she might lose yet another sister.

"I'm too old for it, now," Bellatrix sighed.

"Hey!" Percy protested. Beside him, Thea snickered silently, knowing that what her sister was saying was actually true. Percy turned to her, his eyes wide, not believing that Thea was siding with the Hunters on that matter.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."