The Unclaimed

Chapter 8: My conversation with Artemis

     Thalia and I ran in  silence. As the trees started to thin, I began to be able to make out the outline of a group of silver tents. Right as we were about leave Camp Half Blood and enter Artemis's camp ground, I remembered Chiron's message to me as I had been running out of the infirmary. He forbade me from leaving the campgrounds alone and while I wasn't sure what would happen if I tried to leave, I decided to play it safe by using a loophole.

      "Hold on Thalia," she slowed down as I called out to her.

      "What's up?" She asked me, clearly confused. Without saying a word, I sped up so I was next to her. I grabbed her hand and then pulled her with me into the camp. She gave me a slightly weirded out look.

      "Sorry, Chiron forbade me from leaving camp grounds alone. So I needed to find a loophole." She nodded understandingly.

       "Do I even want to know why he didn't want you to leave?" She asked. I shook my head.

       "It's better we don't discuss it right now. Besides, we shouldn't keep lady Artemis waiting." I reminded her and she automatically nodded in agreement.

       "You're right," she started walking towards the largest of the tents. When we got there she help up and hand to signal me to wait. She entered the tent. I couldn't hear exactly what was said but before I knew it, Thalia was back at the doorway of the tent motioning for me to come in. The second I went into the tent I knew that some spell most have been placed on it; its interior was huge. Sitting on a couch, looking directly at me as I walked inside, was Artemis.

       The second I made eye contact with her I bowed and said, "Lady Artemis, it is an honor to see you." She stood and walked over to me.

      "Please dear child, you do not need to bow in my presence." I looked up at her surprised.

      "But I want to bow to you," I said softly. "Bowing to someone is a sign of respect for them and there are very few who I respect as much as you." What I said was true. Besides Artemis I respected Leo, Calypso, Will, Nico, and Michael. Very few others treated me in a way that I felt they deserved genuine respect. Artemis had been there for me basically my entire life; if it weren't for her blessing and her hunters, Michael and I would have died years ago.

      "I appreciate your respectfulness," Artemis said lovingly. "Now come child, I have much that I wish to talk with you about." With that she led me to the couch where she had been seated moments ago. When I sat down, I looked at her and waited for her to speak. She appeared to be waiting for me to speak. I took a deep breath and asked the same question I had wondered for two years.

      "Lady Artemis, do you know why my father hasn't claimed me?" She knew who my father was, so if anyone knew why I remained unclaimed it would be her. She gave me a sad smile.

     "I have talked to your father many times about you," she said softly. "He believes that by not claiming you, he is protecting you. I have tried to convince him many times that you deserve to know who he is but I am sorry to say that I have had no success." My head fell in defeat. I thought of all the cabins at camp, all but Heras and Artemis's had at least one child.

      "All cabins for male gods at camp have at least one demigod living in them." I pointed out. "Why could whoever my dad is claim his other children but not me?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye I sound Thalia look even more alert as she leaned in slightly, she looked to be curious about how Artemis would respond.

      "I wish I could answer your question young demigod," Artemis said. "But I am unable to as any more talk about your father would be surpassing the boundaries that gods have set. Now we do not have much time, our meeting here tonight is for more than just leisure." She said. Her tone of voice had gone from sympathetic to serious. I automatically straightened my posture.

       "What is our meeting for," I asked her. "I am honored that you came to talk to me but why now?" It had been over two years since I had last seen her; I thought of her everyday (after all I had her blessing) but I had never really thought about seeing her again.

      "You have been issued a prophecy that is supposed to end with you finding out everything you've ever wanted to know."Artemis said. "But your camp director has told you not to go on it. Your brother has forgotten who you are. And every day at camp you are treated with disrespect and like a specimen who is locked up to be examined." Everything she said was true but I didn't understand why she would remind me of all of it. Or why that played into this meeting. I waited for her to continue and for her to explain why she was here, but she never did. She stared at me as if she expected me to have the answer. As I looked her in the eyes, the final line of the prophecy came back to me.

      "But she will receive help from those who have saved her in the past and always journey the wild," as I spoke quietly, Artemis nodded. Thalia looked shocked, her gaze went from Artemis to me and then back to Artemis.

      "I am here to offer you assistance," Artemis said. "Assistance that the prophecy has foretold that you will need on your quest." I felt a sense of hope appear within me. Here was my chance to go on the quest and one of the lines had already played out for me.

      "I am beyond grateful that you wish to help me." If she hadn't come and found me then I likely wouldn't have gone on the quest. Without Thalia's assistance I would never had been able to leave the camp grounds without disobeying Chiron. Without Artemis I may have felt to scared to leave. Artemis put her hand up and the look that had appeared on her face caused my mood to dampen.

      "I do wish to help you but there are a few things that we must discuss first." Artemis said slowly. "To start, I feel obliged to tell you that within this week  Michael will regain his memory of you. It will start out slowly but by this time 7 days from now, he will remember everything. If you stay here then you will be able to help him through this rough time. Provide him with the love and guidance that only you can give him. But if you stay, you lose your chance to go on the quest and what might only be your only opportunity to get the answers that you so desperately seek."

       My excitement immediately plummeted. I could only imagine how Michael was feeling at the moment. How he would be feeling when he had bits and pieces of his memory come back to him but not all of it.  My concern and love for him almost made me want to tell Artemis that I needed to take the risk of never getting my answers, but I knew I would regret not going on the quest if I chose to stay at camp. I had the possibility to change how the other campers viewed me, to finally be able to understand who I was, and to learn who my father was. How could I give that up?

      "Michaels other siblings, the ones from his dad's side can help him." I told Artemis. "As much as I want to be there for him, I'll be back to see him after the quest. If I don't go on the quest I'm just know I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life." She nodded in approval at what I said.

      "I had a feeling you would say that and I respect your decision." Artemis told me. She looked hesitant before saying more. "There is one more condition that I feel you must be aware of to get the necessary help for your quest." I looked at her, the way she spoke was scaring me.

      "What is it?" I asked her. She and Thalia exchanged a look.

      "I know you have to travel west to succeed in your quest," she started. "Luckily for you my hunters and I need to start traveling towards the west tomorrow. I want to invite you to join us, as you will likely be facing monsters you have only ever heard of, but the only people who are permitted to travel with me are my hunters." It took me a second to process what she was saying. Slowly but surely, her words started to sink in.

       "You mean if I want your help, which the prophecy states that I need, I need to join the hunt?" I asked slowly. She nodded in response. I froze. The room became silent.