[Third Person Pov]
Chiron stood quietly for a moment and started sulking after they had all given him a gentle intervention about their growing weariness with Capture the Flag.
“Since this is a quest regarding Lady Artemis, perhaps the competition should be one focused on hunting,” Annabeth suggested while leaning back comfortably in her seat.
“We don’t hunt for sport, only for survival,” Phoebe interjected, crossing her arms over her chest with a deep frown of displeasure.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. “I never said exactly what you would be hunting. I obviously wasn’t referring to animals, and it would have been stupid of me to suggest that since it would give you an unfair advantage. The competition would be fair for everyone involved.”
“Elaborate,” Artemis said with a hint of curiosity in her voice as she motioned for Phoebe to stand down.
“The contest should be a battle royale, a free-for-all competition,” Annabeth explained, motioning lazily toward everyone in the room with her finger. “And what you would be hunting would be none other than yourselves. The last three surviving members will be the three chosen to accompany us on this quest.”
“Hm…” Artemis hummed as she contemplated Annabeth’s words thoughtfully.
Seeing Artemis’s hesitation, Annabeth went into more depth. “This will mostly be a contest of both adaptability and survival. Only those who truly have what it takes to survive should join us on something this dangerous.”
By the end of the explanation, Artemis was nodding in agreement. She also knew they couldn’t afford to waste any more time trying to come up with a better idea, so she accepted Annabeth’s proposal.
…
Everyone soon gathered outside at the entrance of the forest, even in the middle of winter. Since this had been Annabeth’s idea, they allowed her to facilitate the contest. Using a touch of magic, she amplified her voice so it could be heard clearly by everyone present. “This contest will officially take place within an illusion created by yours truly, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally maiming or killing anyone. Feel free to go all out to your heart’s content…!”
While Annabeth was sharing the details with the group, Artemis stood a little ways away from the crowd. She was sitting by the campfire, slowly running her hand along Sebastian’s smooth obsidian hide.
Hestia walked over and sat down beside her. She looked at her niece with clear worry in her eyes. “I know that what you’re going through can’t be easy, but I want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to…”
Although Hestia was speaking directly to her, Artemis only registered it as a low droning noise in the background. Her voice grew smaller and smaller as Artemis focused entirely on running her hand over the stallion’s dark coat. Her gaze remained fixated on its fiery mane, the soft crackling sounds slowly morphing in her mind into the crunching of sand beneath her feet.
…
A few days ago…
Artemis stalked through a snow-covered forest, the fresh snow softly crunching beneath her feet with each step. She held onto the strap over her chest for a moment before slowing to a complete stop.
She crouched down and pressed her hand against the snow. The white powder shifted and parted on its own, revealing a clear trail of paw prints all around her that had been hidden beneath the surface. When she withdrew her hand, the snow covered the prints once more. She glanced briefly to the side and then took her bow off her shoulder.
She reached into her quiver, nocked an arrow, and scanned the area from side to side before continuing forward with careful steps.
She held her bow close, the string drawn taut, moving silently through the trees. The usual sound of snow crunching underfoot had entirely vanished.
Then, without warning, she spun on her heel and fired a straight shot toward a distant tree behind her.
The arrow stopped just centimeters from Lucian’s face as he caught it effortlessly with one hand. The shadows around him slowly receded, revealing him casually leaning against the tree. Most of his features were obscured by the sweater pulled up over the lower half of his face.
“Hello to you too, Lady Artemis. The pleasure is all mine,” Lucian said, bowing theatrically with a dramatic flourish.
“Oh, it’s just you,” Artemis responded flatly. Her bow remained held in a defensive position, her stance rigid and unchanged. “What do you want, Lucian?”
Lucian raised an eyebrow at the rather cold reception. “Did I do or say something wrong? What’s with the cold shoulder? I thought we were cool.”
“Are we?” she questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Yeah, we are,” Lucian replied confidently, though still clearly a bit confused. “Is this because I’m technically not classified as a child anymore?”
“If it was?” she challenged, never taking her eyes off him.
“Then I would have to call you a liar,” Lucian scoffed. He tossed the arrow back toward her, and she tilted her head slightly so that it landed neatly back inside her quiver. “You’re not really a man-hater despite how you like to portray yourself.”
“Oh, so now because I was kind to you when you were a child, you think you know me?” Artemis asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That man who saw you naked in the bath—I can’t be bothered to remember his name—you turned him into a deer and then hunted him down,” Lucian said calmly. “Others might think of it as a cruel punishment for someone who accidentally saw you bathing. After all, it was an accident, right? But they would be wrong. The reason you punished him wasn’t because he saw you naked, but because right after he had the audacity to demand that you marry him.”
Artemis unleashed another arrow, this one faster than Lucian could fully react. It left a shallow scratch across his cheek. In a cold voice she asked, “I won’t repeat myself again, Lucian. Why are you here? Why did you come and find me?”
Lucian touched the fresh cut on his cheek and stared at the crimson stain on his fingers. He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, then looked back at her. Her eyes were practically pleading with him to leave.
‘Oh, I get it now…’ he thought with a quiet sigh, still staring at his fingers. ‘She’s scared of what’s happening and is trying to protect herself—and me—by creating distance between us. It’s honestly quite endearing.’
“I had a dream about you,” Lucian answered honestly, taking a slow step closer to her.
Artemis immediately shot an arrow at his feet. She narrowed her eyes and pulled another arrow from her quiver. “You had a dream about me?” she asked coldly, her tone threatening. “You want me to turn you into a deer and hunt you for fun as well?”
“Not that kind of dream, you pervert,” Lucian scoffed. He began dodging and weaving between her arrows with surprising agility. Halfway through closing the distance, he transformed into a raven, instantly covering the remaining ground before transforming back into his human form right in front of her.
He gently pushed her bow aside and looked down at her, now standing face to face. Artemis froze as she stared at his features, which had grown much older and more serious since the last time she had seen him. “I mean it, Artemis,” he said, addressing her informally for the first time.
“You were calling to me for help, and I came as quickly as I could,” Lucian responded sincerely. He released her bow and took a respectful step back in surrender. “I hid myself at first because I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
On the outside, Artemis maintained a calm and collected expression. On the inside, however, she was a complete mess, unsure how to react. A whirlwind of conflicting emotions ran through her all at once, threatening to overwhelm her completely.