The Unclaimed

Chapter 33: The fourth morning

   The next morning I woke up feeling more rested than I had in a long time. My dreams had all be peaceful and unimportant. I could tell that we had slept in. The one thing off about the morning was that I woke up and was inches away from Thalia's face. She was sitting beside me, staring down at me. Despite my panic, a look of relief seemed to wash onto her face.
   "What, why, what are," I couldn't figure out what to say. My mind wasn't used to going from more relaxed than I ever had been to nearly having a heart attack. She laughed.
   "Good morning to you sleepyhead," she began. "A little bit longer and I pwould be saying good afternoon." I finally understood the saying of someone's eyes popping out because mine sure felt like that's what they were doing.
   "You mean that I've slept for nearly half the day?" I asked in amazement. Thalia nodded. "Am I the last one up?" I asked. She nodded once again.
   "Yeah, Artemis sent me to watch over you awhile back." Thalia told me. "We, meaning everyone but you, has already eaten breakfast. I'm supposed to brig you outside when you get up so you can grab something to eat before we leave." I was still in shock.
   "Was I the only one who slept in this late?" I questioned. Thalia chuckled, nodded, and then spoke.
   "Yeah," she told me. "But don't feel bad about it. It's just because you're still new to the hunt and your body isn't used to exerting as much energy as it did yesterday. Now come on, we should go see the others." I stood up and followed her out of the tent. It felt as if I was in some sort of trance; the fact that I had run so much yesterday and that I had slept so long today was amazing to me. When we stepped outside I was blinded by the sun. We were met by the sound of joking comments from all of the hunters and even from Artemis. The blood rushed to my cheeks.
   "How kind of you to finally join us," Artemis said with a smile. I bit my lower lip sheepishly.
   "Sorry m'lady." I said softly. Artemis waved her hand, dismissing my apology.
   "Don't be, I'm just messing around with you." She told me. I let out a sigh of relief that I hadn't even realized I had been holding. "I would have been surprised, and worried, if you hadn't slept in this much." I nodded.
   "That makes me feel better about myself," I said truthfully as I made myself a plate of food.
   "Glad to hear that," Artemis said in response. "But what needs to happen now is you need to eat so we can pack up and leave. You did need to sleep in but we need to leave soon." After she finished speaking I quickly started to eat. Then I helped pack up the tent and finally it was time to leave. Without a word, all Artemis did was check to make sure that all of us were ready and there, she started to run and we followed behind her.