Daughter of Artemis: Fire and Ice

Daughter of Artemis 13*

<>Chapter 13<>

Nine shall journey far and wide, one will eventually run and hide.
The one who hides will say a final goodbye.
The eight more left, shall journey deep, go to the place that crawls and creeps.
There they shall find the demon king, and what they bring, will die and sting.

The moon said to me those exact words. What did they mean though? The place that crawls and creeps? Something dying and stinging? Besides the fact that it sounded sinister and creepy, it didn't make sense.

I was placed back on the ground softly. As I scanned my surroundings, I noticed I had a new outfit on. Okay. . . wardrobe change I guess. (outfit in media) I now wore a purple tunic with a black belt that held two double daggers. There were black leggings on underneath with sturdy, black combat boots. Bracers hugged my forearms tightly. Each had intricate designs running around them. My hair now fell onto my shoulder in a neat braid. The finishing touch was a black cape with gold embroidery. This is actually a really nice outfit, however unique. My bow was securely wrapped around my back, along with my quiver.

As I looked around, everything came back to me. The giant, the girl, dying. . . I knew I had to find my way back to the camp to tell everyone I was alright. It was. . . that way! I started running right towards a faint, orange light. As I drew near, I spotted Percy, Annabeth, Connor, Travis, Grover, Clarisse, Tyson, and the girl. So it turns out I was successful. Whether it was medical attention or the singing, she didn't die.

I ran forward excitedly, only to be pushed back by a rough force. What the heck? I stepped forward and I slammed into something. Rubbing my nose with one hand, I reached my other hand out. It came into contact with something flat. I tried pushing through but I couldn't. It's like it's an. . .

"Invisible wall," I heard a familiar voice say. I whipped around, jumping. A mobile shadow passed over a tree. "I'm afraid you're not allowed going over there," Hades said.

"Where's my mother?!" I shouted. I glanced behind me to see if anyone could hear my voice. No one stirred from their slumber. "What did you do to my friends?" I asked, frightened.

"Oh, I didn't do anything. It's the wall. They can't hear anything. Not even, lets say, a battle." I could almost hear Hades smiling.

"Let me ask you again, Hades," I said bitterly. "Where's my mother?"

"Your mother is just fine. Would you like to see?" A firey wall suddenly appeared. Through the fire I could detect Artemis. She was laying down on a stone table, her arms crossed over her chest as if she was dead.

"Artemis!" I called out. She didn't move at all. The fire vanished.

"Foolish girl, can't you see? You're invisible to the world. No one, not even your boyfriend, can hear you. They think you're gone. They think you're de-" Hades stopped talking mid-sentence.

There's that feeling again that I had from before with the Fury and spider attack. This time, I saw myself changing. My hair turned silver, and my bow grew longer along my back. Taking it off and loading it with an arrow, I aimed. I knew exactly where Hades was in the trees. I grabbed ahold of my string and pulled back. I studied his figure's aura in the trees. With a hint of pleasure, I let the string glide off my fingers.

Hades vanished just as the arrow whizzed past him, into the trunk of the tree. I felt dizzy, and before I knew it, I was falling into a dreamless sleep.

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I shot up gasping for air. I threw my hands around looking for something to hold onto. Soon I found myself holding onto something soft and cotton. I hurriedly looked up and found that I was cradled against Connor. Oh thank the gods they got to me.

Connor jumped when he heard me hyperventilating. He wrapped his arms around me, rocking me back and forth. I held onto him and sighed in relief.

"I thought you were gone. . ." He whispered. I shook my head, unable to say anything.

"Ew, love birds are already going at it," Clarisse yelled. I looked over at her with wide eyes, releasing Connor from my death grip. No pun intended.

Well, kind of intended.

She was smiling, despite the joke. "Glad you're not dead, moon girl." She slapped me on the back.

"Connor, you can let go," I said. He realized he was still holding on and let go.

I got up only to be knocked back down again. Someone had tackled me. Annabeth was hugging me just as tightly as Connor had been. Honestly, I think we were destined to be best friends. I don't really don't understand how all the fighting happened. She pulled back and laughed, crying tears of joy. "Don't ever scare us like that again," she told me. She was moved out of the way and I was lifted up.

"You're not dead!" Tyson yelled.

"Not yet." I laughed. I was set down. Grover was smiling at me. Then he was shoved aside and Percy came through to give me a big, brotherly hug. Finally, Travis came up and the hugs were done. Now, it was time to be interrogated.

"How are you not dead?" Clarisse asked.

"Are you real, or an angel?" Tyson asked.

"Where'd you go when you were dead?" Grover asked.

"Could you feel yourself dying?" Travis asked.

"Whoa, whoa, guys. Calm down," I told them. "How am I not dead? The moon granted me my life for my good deed. I'm still kind of confused about that, too. Am I real? Yes. Where'd I go? I don't know, really. Could I feel myself dying? I have no idea how to answer that. No, I guess." I answered all their questions as time passed.

"Hey, where'd you get that outfit?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know. It kind of appeared out of nowhere as soon as I was brought back to life," I told her. A lot more questions were asked, this time me asking questions too, before we all got tired. "Maybe we should get some rest and talk about this more in the morning," I suggested with a yawn. Everyone nodded and went back to their sleeping bags after exchanging 'goodnights.' I stopped Connor before he could walk away. "Thank you for being there," I told him. Gathering a lot of my courage, I pecked him on the cheek, and went to my sleeping bag leaving him standing there, beet red.

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And finally there it is! I got my laptop back FINALLY. It took forever! Well I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Also, that new outfit of Sylvia's was my Halloween costume lol. ok well bye, have a great day/night!