NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: Artemis
A/N: Nvm, I was bored on the plane ride back home, so I wrote this.
I woke up in the middle of the night, my back arching up all of a sudden, as the lines of cursed energy that I had laid on the direct path to Camp Half Blood were tripped all in a row, in almost constant intervals of each other.
'They're here…'
"Ah, it seems like I won't be able to finish the one man play of my childhood…"
Well, no worries, it was about to end anyways.
'I can probably condense it down into these next 20 minutes at best, so let's get to it quickly!'
If my calculations were right, then they would all reach Camp Half Blood by around 5:00.
Glancing at the analog watch on the motel room's nightstand, I figured that I had a good 30 minutes or so to tell my story.
There was no way in hell that they'd be going at the speed they were going at right now for the rest of their journey.
The monsters would catch up to them.
After all, it was a canon event.
~~~
A Couple Months Since the Last Act of the Play (Shalom is on the Cusp of 13)
According to Zoe, Shalom had finished her training as a hunter.
And she had passed with flying colors at that.
There was nothing that she hadn't been able to pick up and replicate perfectly.
Even skills that depended on years of experience to fully master, she was able to get down in less than a few months.
It was both scary, and incredible at the same time.
After all, Shalom had not a single drop of divine blood within her body.
Yet, even I had to admit that she probably had the most divine looks out of all the hunters, including me.
Even when referencing my own standards of beauty, natural beauty, instead of Aphrodite's standards of beauty, Shalom was still the most pristine… specimen I had ever witnessed.
Anyways, because both Phoebe and Zoe had completed their coaching of her, it was now about time that I gave her my blessing.
Although the majority of the hunters were around the age of 18, give or take 2 years, the age of 12 really was the best age for a hunter to be blessed, for multiple reasons.
One, it was around the age of 12 that girls truly hit that sweet spot between having enough muscle to move around fast and being small enough so that they could hide behind and blend into almost anything within the forest.
Heck, that was why I was in my 12 year old form for almost every waking hour of mine.
Secondly, it was before they reached the age wherein they first… well, it wasn't like I was gonna hide it behind a euphemism or something. It was around the age of 11-13 that girls first had their period, and if I was able to bless the girl before this point, they would never have to deal with it for the rest of their life.
Because women's periods were part of their normal bodily functions, girls who had been given my blessing after their first one still had to deal with the pain of it every single month, even if there was no use for it anyways because of the oath that they had taken.
"Congratulations Shalom!" Shouted the group of girls in front of me, as they finished their dinner.
At the other end of the table sat the person they had all just referred to, her hands wrung tightly in her lap, as she looked down and blushed out of embarrassment.
"Aww, now where's the energetic twerp earlier?" Asked Zoe, who was sitting next to her, as she elbowed the youngest sister.
"...shut up."
Watching as the little girl acted so differently from her usual self, the rest of the hunters burst out laughing.
The scene before me really did elicit an emotion in me. I soon couldn't help it, as a smile slwly raised the corners of my mouth.
'She truly did add so much laughter and warmth to the hunt…'
Thus, I would gladly do what I had to do next.
As soon as they noticed that I had stood up, the hunters quieted down, watching in anticipation as I walked towards the youngest.
"Shalom, it's time." I said solemnly, playing a little bit into the rest of the hunter's teasing of the little girl.
I mean, it was clear that she was nervous about what was to come, and well, we all couldn't help but want to take advantage of that fact.
Yet, Phoebe had to ruin our fun as she patted Shalom on the shoulder, reassuring her by saying,
"Relax. You'll be fine. After this, we'll be a family forever and ever."
"Forever?" Wondered Shalom, inherently stuck on the concept of eternity, having not experienced the despair that nihility and the thought of what happened after death induced in a person yet.
Thus, instead of replying, Phoebe pulled her into a hug, one that Zoe quickly joined in on, sparking movement from the rest of the hunters as they all touched shoulders around Shalom, smothering her in their embrace, the amount of heat radiating from them even hotter than the hearth that gently comforted the camp at the other end of the table.
Soon, they all dispersed, once again taking their seats around the dining table, whilst I beckoned for Shalom to come before me.
Knowing the specifics of the ritual already, she quickly got down on one knee before bowing her head towards me.
Unleashing my godly aura just for this moment, I begin to swirl it around the two of us, isolating us from the rest of the world.
"Shalom, can you please repeat after me?"
"OATH"
Immediately after she finished her last world, the silvery aura that had been billowing violently around us stopped, before all of it streamed into the body of the girl before me, lighting her up.
She began to float in the air as the blessing did its magic, touching the ground only after absorbing all the power that I had released.
Touching the ground softly, one foot followed by the other, the now official newest member of my family elegantly dropped into a curtsy and bowed towards me.
"Thank you, Lady Artemis, for granting me this gift."
And with that, the ritual was over, as the roar of cheers and applause filled out little camp, the serious atmosphere dissapated immediately as the other campers once again dogpiled onto Shalom.
And once again, a smile couldn't help but tug at my face.
~~~
She had done it!
And now, she was part of the family!
I couldn't help but be ecstatic. She was the sister I loved the most after all, and now, she would be my sister for life.
Even later that night, as I tucked myself into the futon inside our shared tent, the smile still hadn't left my face.
I ended up smiling myself to sleep.
~~~
I woke up to feelings of happiness still swirling around my heart, almost akin to a never ending source of warmth.
I was happy, having woken up in the embrace of the person I loved the most in this world.
But, as my drowsiness wore off, and I regained awareness of my surroundings, I immediately sensed that something was off.
Something small and hard was pressing up against my back.
'Yet, Shalom's arms and legs are wrapped around my upper chest and legs, so what could it possibly be?'
Thereafter, a horrifying thought struck me.
Wanting to banish those thoughts from my head immediately, I turned around, uncaring for Shalom's sleep, as I quickly pulled down her pants and saw the outline of it behind the fabric of her underwear.
Gone were the ecstatic emotions from last knight.
Gone was my smile.
Gone was a part of my love for the girl, no, man that I had considered the person I was closest to.
All that was left in its place was my blanched white face.