The Unclaimed

Chapter 7: I meet a mystery girl from my past in a tree

       Once I was out of the infirmary I automatically headed to the archery range. Tears were freely falling from my face as I ran. They were there for so many reasons. Ever since I came to camp things had started to go downhill; Michael not remembering me and Chiron forbidding me from going on the quest was just icing on top of the cake. The fact that Michael remembered his siblings who he known for two years and not me, the sister he had known all his life was a slap in the face. When I reached the range I only slowed enough to grab my bow and a quiver full of arrows. As soon as I had those items I sprinted into the woods. Technically speaking, unless you were doing training or a game of capture the flag was taking place, no one besides senior campers were supposed to go in the woods alone. Luckily for me, I had never been big on technicalities and the woods had never scared me.

       The deeper I got in the woods, the more alert I became. My bow was always drawn and ready to fire incase a monster came out of nowhere. Once I finally felt that I was deep enough in, I looked for the perfect tree to climb. When Michael and I were on the run as kids, we had learned to love climbing trees. We each got a rush from seeing how up we could get and we both loved the views that we could only see from the tree tops. Also trees were good hiding spots whenever we spotted a truancy officer nearby. I finally found one that had enough sturdy branches with its lowest one being in my reach. Once I was about 3/4 of the way up it, I sat down and started to shoot at random targets. I never shot at an animal though. It would have been different if I saw a monster, I would have shot it within the blink of an eye, but I never shot innocent creatures. My targets were branches in the distance, leaves, and other inanimate objects; I hit each target.

      "You have amazing aim," a feminine voice said. I nearly jumped and fell off the tree. I looked around and tried to find this girl but I couldn't see her. The woods were very dimly lit - the only light was coming from the moon as it leaked through the trees.

      "Umm thanks," I spoke cautiously. "Where exactly are you?" I asked, feeling very uncomfortable about the fact that there was a mystery person who was likely hiding in the same tree that I was on.

       "Look below you," she said softly while faintly chuckling. Doing what she said, I looked down and was able to make out the outline of a person. "Here slide over a bit."

       I almost wanted to protest; I wasn't sure whether I could trust her enough to be sitting next to her or not. But my curiosity overtook my nerves. I slid over enough so she could sit next to me. Once she was comfortable, she turned to face me. Even though the lighting in the woods was horrible, the moment I saw her face I gasped.

      "I know you," she raised her eyebrows and motioned for me to go on. "It was a little over two years ago. You saved me and my little brother from a hellhound. It was standing between me and him when you shot it with an arrow. You provoked it into chasing after you which allowed us to get a way. You're the reason we're still alive." She stared at me with clear amazement but nodded her head to signal that I was right.

        "You're correct," she said with a smile on her face. "I'm impressed that you remember it so well." I shrugged; my memory was no big deal for me, it had been above average for as long as I could remember. I studied her face closely. Her blue eyes were as bold and stormy as they had been two years ago.

      "Your hair is different," I realized as I studied her. "You used to be a brunette but now you have black hair." I pointed out the obvious. She started laughing at what I said.

      "Let's not bring up that memory," she said as she wiped tears from her face from laughing to hard. "My hair is naturally black and that's how I like it. The only reason it was brown the last time you saw me was because I had recently played, and lost at, a game of truth or dare with my brother and his friends. Less than a week after you saw me, my hair was back to being black." She finished. I looked at her.

      "Sounds like a fun time," I didn't know how to actually respond to her comment. She nodded.

      "Listen, this is going to sound really weird but can you with me?" She asked. "I understand why you might not trust me but I swear on the river Styx that I'm not going to bring you any harm. Lady Artemis wishes to talk with you." The moment I heard Artemis's name get mentioned I froze. The fact that she swore on the Styx made me recognize the fact that she was serious. I nodded; my brain wasn't functioning. I couldn't believe that Artemis was here and wanted to see me. Together in silence the two of us made our way down the tree, we both landed lightly on the balls of our feet when we got to the bottom.

      "Oh by the way," she began. "I feel like it's only fair that I introduce myself since I already know who you are. My name is Thalia Grace. I am the daughter of Zeus and Lieutenant to Artemis." She held her hand out to me and I gladly shook it.

      "Well Thalia, thank you again for saving me and my brother all those years ago." I said kindly; grateful to finally know the name of my mystery hero.

        "It was my pleasure," she said with a smile. "Now come on, we set up right at the edge of the border." She started running and, with bow and quiver in hand, I followed her.