tHE gIRL wITH tHE iRON fISTS

cHAPTER 13

cHAPTER 13

Hunter Carpenter

B stayed with us for a day. She didn't do much. B needed a lot of rest. She woke up late yesterday, but today B woke up early in the morning. I found her sitting on her bed, staring at her sword.

"I need to find my friends." I heard a voice in my head.

"Who said that?" I looked around the room.

"Me. It's B. I stole some of Khione's power."

"Woah. That's weird." B smiled.

"I need to find my friends. We are on a quest."

"A quest? What for?" I sat on the chair near the door.

"We have to save our camp director. He's sick. Chiron was poisoned."

"Chiron? The centaur?"

"Yes, him. And we only have a week to save him. It has been 2 days. We are losing time fast."

"Let me come." I blurted out. "I mean, I think I can be a good resource in your quest. I can cook and heal."

"You say it so formally. I guess you could come. But what about your mom?"

"My mother?" I thought for a moment. I couldn't just leave her. "I can't-"

"Hunter?" I saw my mother's face through the doorway. "You want to do this?"

"You were listening?" My mom nodded. "I don't know if I have a choice." I admitted. "There has to be a reason for B to appear. It's like the Fates had it planned."

"They did." Another voice spoke. Everyone spun around. B fell of the bed. She fell off earlier when I brought her food. Must be a habit. "Terribly sorry about the sudden appearance. But it's true. The Fates have it written that you must join B on her quest." B suddenly gasped.

"Lady Artemis." She bowed.

"No need for that." Artemis waved her hand dismissively. "There are more important matters to take care of." B nodded.

"Were you the bunny? You have the same eye color has it's fur." I asked a question before stammering out "Uh, Lady Artemis."

"No, he was a follower. Thank you for taking care of him." I didn't know what to do, so I just bowed.

"Forgive me for asking, my lady, but why are you here anyway?" B went straight to the point.

"To aid you on your quest. Zeus has it forbidden that Hades interfere with this quest, as he is already angry with him. Hades sent me, as a request. Also, I had to meet with Hunter." She glanced in my direction.

"Ma'am." My mother had spoken this time. "Does- does my son have to come with you? I can't live without him."

"Miss, I assure you that you will be alright. Your son will be all right in the end, and I promise that you will be well accounted for." My mom nodded.

"I'm just... worried." My mom admitted.

"All mothers are." Artemis spoke in a kind tone. "If it feels any better, I am sure that Zeus will assure your comfort. Even if he refuses, my brother will stop at nothing to insure your safety." Mom smiled. "But I have to say, that they must leave as soon as possible. I have bags packed already with the necessities." The smile disappeared.

"I understand." My mom spoke. She walked over to me. She whispered in my ear. "Stay safe." She looked me in the eye. "Promise?"

"I promise." She kissed my forehead. She walked over to B and whispered something to her too. Her cheeks turned fire engine red. Mother turned to Artemis. "They are ready."

"Good. Be ready in 10 minutes."

We stood at the door, 10 minutes later. Lady Artemis walked over to me. "Hunter Carpenter," She spoke in a formal, yet commanding voice. "I, Artemis, give you my blessing. May the Fates guide you to your destination." Her tone switched. "My blessing will guide you to B's friends. From there, go to the nearest city. The city is a 5 mile walk. Your friends are 3 miles west." I nodded. I somehow knew where Artemis was talking about, and just nodded my head.

"Thank you for all of your help, my lady." B put the backpack on.

"Travel well, children." Artemis nodded.

And we were off.

***

Mariah

"We can't move." I pleaded to Damion. "We have to keep looking for B."

"No. We have to move. We won't be able to complete the quest in time." I looked at my feet.

"But she's part of the group."

"I know it's hard, but maybe we'll stumble across them-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A loud voice rang in my ear.

"Get out of the way!" I immediately felt someone push against me and I fell down with an 'oof'. I saw a flash of purple and my foggy mind went to B's purple hair. I looked around to see a huge snowball hurdling toward Damion. He fell and got caught in the snowball. As if we were in a cartoon, the snowball gained more snow and Damion got stuck between the layers. He smashed against a tree, and thankfully catapulted up to the top of a tree. I almost died laughing.

"Oh my gods!" I heard a voice say. "Are you alright?" I looked up to see a guy with brown hair leaning over me. He had tan skin and brown hair. He was holding out a hand. I took it and sat up. "I'm so sorry. My and my friend stumbled and almost got caught in the snowball. I do hope your friend is alright."

I looked up at Damion. "Oh, him? Psh, he's fine."

"No I'm not! My head hurts." I snorted.

"Why do my feet feel so weird?" I thought aloud. A weird question, but I was standing on something really cushiony. I couldn't see what it was, as snow was covering up.

"That's my butt." I gasped. I jumped off as I caught a glimpse of purple hair and an all too familiar-

"OH MY GODS, B, IS THAT YOU?" I heard Damion yell from the treetops.

"B?" I said in shock. The other guy looked utterly confused.

"Thanks for the warm welcome." B grumbled. "But yes, it's me." I wrapped my arms around her.

"We've been so worried about you!" I scolded her. "What happened?"

"Blowing off steam. Didn't notice that there was a huge cliff under me. Don't ask about my hair. Probably had something to do with Khione."

"I'M SORRY ABOUT GETTING MAD AT YOU, B." I heard Damion yell again. "CAN YOU GET ME OFF OF THIS TREE?" B almost died right there. She walked over to the tree Damion was on.

"I'm sorry, but you're B's friends? Are you a demigod?" The brown haired guy asked. I almost forgot about him.

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that. My names Mariah, daughter of Athena."

"Hi, my names Hunter. I'm the son of Apollo."

"You've been blessed by Artemis too. There's a silver aura around you." I pointed out. He looked at his hands.

"Oh, that must explain those weird direction thing. I thought-"

"AHHHHHH!" I heard another yell from Damion. All I could see was Damion falling down through the branches and landing in a pile of snow. I also saw B's outstretched foot, and her hilarious expression. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO KICK THE TREE?" I saw Hunter laughing and began to laugh with him. Soon enough, we all were collapsing because of us laughing to hard. Once B managed to calm down, (yes, she was the one who couldn't stop laughing, anything new?) she managed to tell us how she and Hunter met.

"That's interesting." I spoke once she was done speaking.

"Yup." B agreed.

"We should get moving though. We should find shelter before sundown." Hunter spoke. "There's a town around here somewhere."

"You're right." Damion said. "We should go north." He pointed in a direction.

"That's south." Hunter spoke.

"I was just testing you."