The Unclaimed

Chapter 47: What takes place before entering the woods

   I had expected monsters to attack us left and right today as we traveled West. If my enemies were as adamant about me not finding out who my father was as they acted, then that should have led to today being full of monsters. But so far it was so uneventful that it was boring. Every now and then I talked with some of the hunters. We chatted as we ran, but our conversations could only last for oh so long before they became boring. Everyone, including Artemis, seemed to be on high alert. No matter how relaxed we acted or how casually we talked, we were all mentally preparing ourselves to be ready for an attack.
   For the most part we ran through clearings and villages, Artemis liked to be able to see all of our surroundings. But then we came across a forest. A look of worry flashed on and off of Artemis's face in the blink of an eye. If I hadn't been paying attention to her, I would have missed it. She stopped running so all of us hunters did the same. Artemis shifted so she was facing us.
   "It is time for lunch," her comment wasn't what I had been expecting. She visibly took a deep breath. "After lunch, we must run through the woods that currently stand in our path. While I know that all of you are more than capable of dealing with any enemy that we may face, do not enter this forest with ease. The woods can be our friend but other times it can be a dangerous enemy. With all else going on right now, we must assume that today it will be our enemy." There was a murmur of agreement and understanding that was passed through out the group. Everyone started moving around, setting up a camp fire. Within minutes we were sitting in a circle around the fire, eating. Idle chit chat went around but no real conversations actually took place. Once we were all done, we packed everything up. I was standing off to the side, Artemis's earlier warning had left me nervous. Thalia had been helping the other hunters pack up but then she caught sight of me. I couldn't hear what she said hit the next thing I knew, she was walking towards me.
   "Are you ok?" She asked me quietly. I hesitated, not sure what to say.
   "Physically, yes," I answered. "Mentally, no. I can't get what Artemis said about the woods out of my head. I know it's probably silly but," Thalia cut me off.
   "You're not being silly," she told me. "You have every reason to be scared. But all I can tell you is that when we go into those woods, you are going to be under the best protection possible. Not to mention, you're also extremely strong. Even if we get into the woods and have to fight against many monsters, it will not be an easy fight for them. Understand." I nodded. "It will all be ok." As much as I wanted to believe her, my gut instinct told me otherwise. But as Artemis motioned for us to come forward, I put on a brave face and followed Thalia's lead. Once we got to the edge of the woods, Artemis gave us all a grave look and then we slowly entered into the woods.