53Disclaimer: All characters and settings from the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles belong to Rick Riordan.
This story may eventually be Rated M, but for now it's Rated T: Depictions of violence and death. References to torture, sex, and sexual violence.
A/N: Percy doesn't enter the story until after the prologue.
xxxxx
Prologue: I love you more than you can imagine
Sally
Ding!
The light for the seatbelt light turned on. The plane captain's voice could be heard crackling over the intercom.
"Good evening folks, this is your captain speaking. If you look out the window, you may see some lightning and storm clouds. Our arrival will be delayed by ten to fifteen minutes as we reroute around the storm. We will experience some turbulence in a few minutes, but it's completely normal. Don't worry, your co-captain and I will make sure you arrive at your destination safely." A final crackle signaled the intercom shutting off.
"Sally, you need to buckle your seatbelt," Jim Jackson said to his daughter who was sitting in the window seat to his left.
The seven year old girl attempted to follow her father's instructions, but was unable to clasp the seatbelt mechanism. After watching her several attempts, Jim reached over to help as she impatiently squirmed. When she was fully buckled, Sally proceeded to press her forehead against the window, watching the dark clouds as the plane turned. She was quiet for a while when something caught her eye.
"Dragons!" she exclaimed. "Daddy, there are dragons outside!"
Jim dismissed her statement, opting to read a book he had bought at the gift shop. "Sure, there are, sweetie."
"Look!" Sally insisted, pointing her finger at the window. "There's two of them. One is green, and the other one looks gold. It's so cool! The gold one can even shoot out lightning."
Seeing that her father continued to read his book, Sally, reached over to grab his shirt and pulled as hard as she could. To her frustration, her father did not budge. She only succeeded in stretching his shirt.
"Come look!" she tried again.
Coming to her rescue, Sally's mother Estelle called out from her aisle seat on the other side of her husband. "Dear, why don't you take a look?" she softly chided.
Stuck between his daughter and wife, Jim finally relented. Sally cheered as her father bent over to look outside the window.
"Oh, that looks like trouble. I thought the captain said we were rerouting around the storm," Jim said when he saw lightning flash closer to the plane than he expected. "What do you think, dear?" he asked his wife.
Sally returned to look outside the window while her parents talked. She was mesmerized by the dragons that were quickly coming closer and closer.
Suddenly, the Jacksons were jostled in their seats as the plane swerved.
CRACK!
Something large had torn through the right wing of the plane, taking out the side as well. Emergency air masks deployed from the overhead compartment, swaying above the Jacksons. Luckily, they were on the other side of the damage, but this piece of fortune wouldn't matter for long as the plane was quickly descending.
Clinging to her father, Sally screamed, "Daddy!"
The plane was only falling faster and faster, tilting out of control. Nothing could be done. Knowing that this could be their final moments, Jim tried to comfort his family. He reached out embracing them to his sides and saying, "No matter what happens, know that I love you two more than you can imagine."
Even through the wind, Sally heard her father. "I love you too," she responded.
For a moment, Sally felt safe flushed next to her father's side. Despite the chaos occurring around them, the warmth from her father's body comforted her as she burrowed her head further into his chest.
Several more moments passed.
Then everything went black.
xxxxx
Sally woke up to piercing pains throughout her body. She tried to move, but failed to move even a finger. An object was over her face, so she was unable to see anything. Everything was wet and cold.
Panicked, Sally cried out, "Mommy? Daddy?"
No one responded. All she could hear was the splattering of rain.
"Mommy! Daddy!" she tried again, frantic.
Sally continued to call for her parents but only succeeded in making her voice hoarse.
Sally drifted in and out of consciousness not knowing how much time was passing. During one of her lucid moments, she felt the object covering her face being pulled aside to reveal the face of a girl glowing silver, wearing a silver tiara like a princess.
Feeling two fingers pressed against the side of her neck, Sally heard the tiara-wearing girl shout, "Phoebe! Come to my location Immediately. I hath discovered a survivor among the wreckage next to two other dead passengers. It is a young girl."
Sally took comfort in the girl's arms as she was lifted into a carry before once again slipping into a deep sleep.
When Sally awoke this time, she found herself lying on top of a bed of soft pillows inside what looked to be a tent. Although she was still in pain, it had dulled to a throbbing ache. She looked around to make sense of her situation. Finally turning her head to the left, she saw a muscular ginger haired girl sleeping on a chair who also glowed silver like the tiara-wearing girl.
Sally stared at her, unsure whether to wake her. After a moment though, the girl's eyes flipped open before quickly rising to run outside.
"She's awake!" Sally heard her say.
In the next moment, the ginger haired girl returned with the tiara wearing girl and a new girl with auburn hair who had the brightest and most beautiful silver glow yet. All of them looked to be in their early teen years.
Stunned by the newest girl's unearthly bearing and forgetting her situation for a moment, Sally blurted out, "You're really pretty."
The girl responded with a smile and approached Sally's bed side. "Thank you. My name is Artemis. What's your name?"
"Sally Jackson," she replied shyly.
Artemis continued, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm… ok," Sally began, returning from her dazed state. "Do- do you know where my mommy and daddy are?"
Artemis' face morphed into a slight frown. "What do you remember?"
"Um…" Sally looked up trying to remember. "I was on the plane. I was looking out the window. Then I saw some dragons-"
"Dragons?" Artemis interrupted.
Sally was offended. The girl seemed to not believe her either. "Yea, dragons" -she harrumphed defensively-"and even Daddy didn't believe me. I tried to make him look. Finally, mommy made him look too, then…" With a dawning realisation, Sally slowed to stop.
"Where's my mommy and daddy?" Sally asked again, panic creeping into her voice.
At this, Artemis had a troubled look on her face. "I am sorry," she started. "They are… dead. You were the only survivor."
Although Sally still did not know what death truly meant, she knew that she would never see them again.
"It's- it's my fault," Sally cried, falsely blaming herself. She tried to wipe her tears away, but her arms still could not move. "I- I made daddy look at the window when he didn't- didn't want to look. If I didn't make him look, they would still-" Sally's voice croaked to a stop.
Artemis began reaching out to Sally's shoulder, but pulled back inches before making contact. Placing her arms along her sides, Artemis said with a guilt laden voice, "If anyone is to blame, it should be me. I falsely believed my Hunters were still in control of the hunt, and failed to account for a mortal plane. If I had returned-" Artemis interrupted herself with a shake of her head. "You need rest. We will talk again after you have had a good night's sleep."
Sally could only nod her head, too absorbed in her grief and self-blame to fully pay attention to what Artemis had said. The tent entrance flapped close as Artemis and the other two girls left.
Tears soaked her pillows as Sally laid her head back, remembering her father's final words, 'Know that I love the two of you more than you can imagine.'
xxxxx
Sally woke up to light peeking through the tent's entrance. Artemis was already waiting next to her bed.
Making eye contact, Artemis was the first to speak. "Are you feeling better?"
"A bit," Sally muttered.
Artemis continued, "No need to force yourself. We can talk when you are ready."
Sally nodded her head. "It's ok. I'm ready."
"Then I have a question for you," Artemis said gently. "Do you have any other family who could shelter you?"
At 'family', Sally almost broke down again, trying but failing to keep her sobs from leaking out.
Before Sally could respond, an African American girl with pink scars on her face entered the tent and addressed Artemis. "Lady Artemis, we successfully tracked the injured dragon and dispatched it, but Camp Half-Blood's Bronze Dragon was nowhere in sight. We were only able to retrieve the wings. What-"
Artemis raised her hand to stop her. "I will receive your report later, Elisa."
"Yes, milady," the African American girl replied before exiting the tent.
"I am sorry for the interruption," Artemis said, looking at Sally. "Please, continue."
"Um, it's- it's ok," Sally began, the sudden intrusion of the other girl actually helping her to distract herself from her grief. "I only know of my uncle. He's not a bad person, but I don't like him much."
Artemis paused in thought. "I have a choice for you. You can either go to your uncle, or you can stay here with us."
"What do you mean?" Sally asked, confused.
"You see," Artemis explained gently. "I take care of special little girls like you. We can all see the same special creatures that you do." Sally couldn't believe it. They could see them just like her? Artemis continued, "You have a special ability called clear sight, and it is very useful in my Hunt. However, you don't have to join us. I can send you to your uncle in the mortal world. I promise that I will not force you to stay. What do you think?"
"Mommy says I need to stay with an adult at all times. You don't look very old," Sally pointed out.
Artemis chuckled. "I am older than I look."
Sally weighed her options. On the one hand was the uncle she did not like very much. On the other hand, these girls could see the same strange creatures that she saw.
Slowly, Sally answered, "I- I think I want to stay here."
"Wonderful," Artemis said delighted. "I think you are going to like it here."
xxxxx
For the first two months, Sally was stuck in bed. Phoebe complained that she would have healed faster if she was a demigod or had Artemis' blessing so that they could use something called ambrosia and nectar. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Sally had to heal the slow and natural way.
Sally's time was more or less enjoyable despite the recent death of her parents. The Hunters were there whenever she grew melancholic at the memory of her parents, providing distractions to busy her mind even when they couldn't truly replace the lost warmth from her parents' love.
A Hunter named Daisy in particular regaled her with tales of their many pranks against each other and especially against the boys from a certain Camp Half-Blood. Meanwhile, another Hunter named Elisa, the African American girl with scars on her face, began Sally's education teaching her how Artemis was actually a goddess and how the girls were all her immortal hunters. Of course, Sally didn't fully understand what this meant for quite a while.
One day during a dinner, Sally asked, "Lady Artemis, why can't I have the blessing yet?"
"Because you are too young," the goddess answered. "My blessing stops you from aging forever. Even with the enhanced abilities from my blessing, you would still be too small to be able to protect yourself if I gave you my blessing now. I wait until potential recruits like you are at least ten years old before I give them my blessing. Plus, do you want to be this short forever?" she said with a chuckle.
"I see," Sally said with feigned understanding. "That's okay, then. I don't want to be this short forever."
Although Sally was never able to truly overcome the grief of her parent's death, life in the Hunt allowed her to push the grief to the back of her mind so that she could focus on the present. In the six years since she had stayed with the Hunters of Artemis, she focused her energies training in many skills like archery, tracking, cooking, knife handling, and more. Though much of her time was spent learning to survive in the continued existence of the Greek mythological world, she was also taught modern knowledge such as reading and mathematics by Elisa. As Artemis put it, 'The ignorant are doomed to be fooled by man.'
Recently, the Hunt was tasked with clearing out an expanding flock of Stymphalian birds located just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The flock was large enough for the Hunter's lieutenant Zoe to decide to divide the Hunters into two groups on alternating shifts every other day. Clearing the monsters was expected to take at least two weeks, so it was necessary to give the Hunters appropriate rest in between to maintain the focus needed to maintain effectiveness and safety against the Stymphalian birds. They may be minor mythological monsters, but they were monsters nonetheless.
"Fweet!"
A loud whistle signaled the end of the day's Hunt, originating from the supervising Zoe. Sally secured her bow and moved to regroup with the rest of the Hunt. Moments after joining the march back to camp, a girl with hair the color of wheat matched pace with Sally.
"How many did you get today?" the girl asked.
Sally shrugged her shoulders. "Only a couple dozen or so. They were too fast, and if they saw even a hint of me, they would all come rushing to attack. How about you, Daisy?"
"Oh, I got enough," the girl said noncommittally. Bumping Sally's shoulder with her own, Daisy asked, "Hey, when are you finally going to accept the blessing from Artemis? It's been three years since Artemis officially offered it."
Sally had been delaying the final step in becoming a Hunter. It was a silly reason, but she had a gut feeling that she had to wait for the right sign. Although she enjoyed her time in the hunt, something was holding her back. Besides, Artemis never rushed her, always respecting her decision to wait. Recently though, Sally was starting to push aside her hesitations. The Hunt was all she knew at this point. It was only natural for her to officially join.
"I'm thinking about accepting the blessing on my birthday in two months," Sally replied.
Daisy was ecstatic, pumping her fist in the air. "Really? This is the first I heard of it. I can't wait to tell the rest of the girls."
Sally and Daisy continued to chat for the rest of the march back to camp. They separated back at camp to put away their gear in their respective tents to prepare for dinner.
Oftentimes, meal times were rambunctious affairs with the occasional prank to further liven the atmosphere. Today, Emmie cursed all the meat Phoebe put in her mouth to turn into tofu at the request of Daisy who was avenging the rotten egg Phoebe hid in her tent. Daisy and Phoebe have been having a prank war for who knew how long.
Despite enjoying the ensuing squabble between Phoebe and Daisy, Sally left dinner earlier than usual to catch Zoe before the lieutenant could retire to her tent. Knowing that the Hunt would be stationed by the city for at least two weeks, Sally wanted to use this opportunity to go to the library in the city, but she required Zoe's permission.
Reaching Zoe, Sally called out to her and asked, "Can I go into the city tomorrow? I want to read some new books."
"Art there not any books left for thine use in the camp?" Zoe queried.
Sally simply replied, "No."
Zoe sighed. "Very well. Thou mayst enter the city, but remember to return by sundown." Seeing Sally's unbridled excitement, she also reminded, "And remember to proceed with caution around males."
"Thanks, Zoe! And I'll make sure to stay away from any stinky boys," Sally said with a laugh, finally leaving the lieutenant to prepare for the following day.
xxxxx
Sally greeted the morning with excitement, and the summer day in turn seemed to reflect her own positive mood, bright and cheerful. She had long exhausted the recreational reading material available in camp- and even all the reading materials from the personal belongings of Hunters.
With a hidden dagger in her boot, and notebook and lunch in her knapsack, Sally jogged into the city. When she reached the city's edge, she asked a woman walking her dog about the location of the library who was kind enough to grace her with an answer. Luckily for Sally, it was not as far as she thought. After an additional thirty minutes jogging and taking public transit, she finally made it to the library.
It was peaceful in certain ways impossible in the Hunt. The noise of the street fell away, and it only became quieter the deeper she delved into the library. Few people were in the library, so Sally could easily find a quiet corner to claim for herself, where she remained until it was time to return.
Sally repeated the trek to the library and back to the camp a multiple times over the next week, always making sure she returned well before sundown. Who knew if she needed extra time to deal with any monsters on her way back, though it was unlikely since the nearby flock of Stymphalian birds scared away monsters.
Coming every couple days and spending her entire time at the library, Sally was quickly noticed as an avid reader by the librarians. One even asked her if she wanted to set up a library card, but Sally refused saying that she was only visiting the city.
Sally continued to enjoy her new routine when a week into her visits to the library, a latina girl around her own age meekly approached her while she was reading. She had seen this girl around the library, but had never approached the girl herself.
"H-hello," the girl said quietly. "Do- do you like The Animals of Farthing Wood series too?".
Sally couldn't help having an amused smile. It was rare for her to encounter a girl as meek as the latina girl. Most of the girls in the Hunt were very self-confident, which was only natural considering the lives they had to live.
With a welcoming smile, Sally responded, "Yeah! I think it's really fun how it takes the perspective of the animals."
The latina's face brightened from the warm reception. "Me too! Have you read the fifth book yet?"
"There's a fifth book? I only saw the library had four books in the series," Sally said curiously.
"Lucky for you, I was just returning the fifth book today," the latina said enthusiastically holding up the book in question. The next moment though, she flushed red hugging the book to her chest, suddenly embarrassed from her actions. "I'm sorry," she started, her voice almost disappearing. "No one else back home or my friends like to read, so I have no one to talk about it." The girl's shoulders squeezed into her body as if she was trying to disappear, and turned to leave.
"Wait," Sally called out with a giggle. "My name's Sally. What's yours?"
The girl's face brightened in response. "It's Christina, but most people call me Chrissy."
"I don't have many who I can talk with either. I wouldn't mind if we talked some more," Sally offered.
Chrissy gladly accepted the invitation. They spent the rest of the day in the library, reading next to each other and sharing their interests. When it was time for her to leave, Sally told Chrissy that she couldn't meet up with her the next day since she had errands to do for her family. She would return in two days instead. Chrissy was understanding as she was simply excited to have made a new friend with similar interests as herself.
Another day taking down Stymphalian birds came and went without any surprises. It wasn't long before Sally excitedly followed the now familiar trek to the library. She found Chrissy just inside the entrance when she finally reached the library. However, there was concerningly a young man next to her who was holding a book just outside of Chrissy's reach. Sally quickened her pace.
As she approached, she heard the man say, "You're reading this again chiquita? Haven't you finished this book already?"
"Stop! Give it back," Chrissy protested, jumping to grab the book to no avail.
"Hey!" Sally yelled with a determined glare. "Give it back to her."
She was already thinking through all of the different techniques the Hunters taught her for taking down a male. He was bigger than her and appeared to be around eighteen years old. He didn't seem like an experienced fighter, but looked light on his feet. Taking him down to her level would give her the tactical advantage, so a kick where Apollo's light didn't shine or kicking out his legs would be an effective first move.
Before Sally could enact her plan though, the man had already returned the book back to Chrissy.
"So, you're Chrissy's nueva amiga," the man said in a low tone, examining Sally closely.
Sally simply glared back. Seeing that Sally appeared ready for a fight, Chrissy intervened, stepping between the two. "Wait! Sally, this is my overprotective brother Jorge. He's nosy and always tries to figure out what my new friends are like to make sure I don't get into trouble. He likes to tease me a lot, but he's harmless."
Jorge's demeanor suddenly changed as he moved to bring Chrissy up into a hug. "Overprotective? Of course I am because I love you more than you can imagine, chiquita. We already lost dad. I wouldn't know what I would do if something happened to you, too. Also, Remember that I'm picking up you later tonight. We have to set up the surprise retirement party for abuela."
He leaned over to kiss Chissy's cheek. "Ew, gross," Chrissy squealed as she batted away at him to put her down.
As he was leaving, Jorge looked at Sally to say, "It was nice meeting you Sally. You seem like a good kid, seeing as how you were ready to defend her from me."
Sally had a complicated look on her face. Perhaps, she was too hasty with her judgement. He seemed like a decent person.
More importantly though, what Jorge said to Chrissy reminded her of the final memory of her parents, bringing unwelcome grief to the forefront of her mind.
"Finally, he's gone," Chrissy said with exasperation.
With Jorge gone, the two were free to enjoy their time in the library, Sally successfully suppressing her moment of grief to focus on the present. They found a quiet corner deep in the library to read and chat, where the rest of the day. Occasionally, Sally would pause her reading to write down notes in a notebook. Seeing her write in her notebook multiple times over the course of the day, Chrissy finally couldn't hold back her curiosity.
She asked, "What're you writing in your notebook."
"Oh, this?" Sally responded. "I like to write down ideas, characters, settings, or anything that might be interesting while I read. I want to be able to write my own story someday, and I heard writing down ideas whenever you think of them is important for a writer."
"That's so cool! Can I take a look?" Chrissy asked with arms outstretched
Sally laughed. "Of course," she said as she handed her book to Chrissy. "I don't know what I want to write yet, but-"
"There you are," a male's voice interrupted. "I've been looking all over for you. We have to go Chrissy." It was Jorge.
Why was he back here already?
Sally looked around for a clock. To her dismay, the clock she saw on a nearby wall displayed that it was already past 7:00 pm. She would usually be back at camp by now, but she had lost track of time.
Hastily grabbing her bag, Sally gave a quick goodbye while rushing out of the library. She looked down the block to the bus stop, and saw her bus was already there. Unfortunately she was unable to arrive in time, but she also couldn't afford to wait. She had to try to cut through a few streets and catch it at its next stop.
As she was running, Sally heard a voice calling her name from behind her and stopped to look back. To her confusion, she did not see the person calling out to her when looking back, only the other pedestrians minding their own business.
Sally continued on her hasty shortcut, but almost bumped into someone in the process of turning a corner.
"Oh, hey Daisy. I didn't expect you here," Sally said startled.
Softly chastising her, Daisy said, "Zoe sent me when a wolf sent to patrol reported that you were not on your way back yet. Good thing I came too. You were almost attacked by a man, but I took care of him. He shouldn't be able to harm you or any girl anymore."
"What do you mean?" Sally asked, unable to follow what she was saying.
Daisy explained, "There was a latino man running and calling out from behind you, but I was able to pull him into an alley and 'take care' of him before he could hurt you."
The longer Sally listened, the more she worried as she began to understand the meaning of Daisy's account. She left Daisy at the corner of the block and ran back to the library, faintly realising that the voice she heard calling out to her was probably from Jorge.
And Daisy 'took care' of him.
Panting, she traced her path, looking at each alley along the way. Daisy was a full-fledged Hunter. Who knew what kind of damage she could do against a regular mortal. Finally as she peered into an alley from the sidewalk, something caught her eye.
It was her notebook, spotted by a few drops of dried blood.
Heart pounding in her chest, Sally picked up her notebook, then looked around the area. She saw two legs clothed in blue jeans jutting out just past a dumpster. She must have left her notebook behind at the library, and Jorge dropped it when Daisy knocked him out unconscious.
Hastily, she approached, hoping his injuries were not too severe. Walking past the dumpster, she glimpsed at Jorge's condition. To her horror, his condition was worse than she could have imagined. His face was pale. His eyes were glazed open. Most concerning of all, his body was very still. When she looked at his chest, there was an alarming amount of red visible through his shirt and denim jacket.
Sally stepped back in shock, but forced herself to crouch down next to Jorge to check his pulse from his arm. She waited. Maybe she somehow checked his pulse incorrectly and tried again. This time she checked the pulse on his neck, pressing her fingers deep in her desperation to find a pulse. Still, there was none.
Sally turned away and puked, the bile stinging her throat. The ensuing smell only caused her to puke again and again. Eventually, she had nothing left to expel as she continued to dry heave.
After her body calmed down, Sally looked back at Jorge's body. She knew that under his shirt past all the blood, she would find a single line just under his ribs. Clean and surgical. It was one of the lethal ways she was taught to defend herself from men who tried to hurt her, but it was only supposed to be a last resort. She had only met Jorge today, and he did not seem like the kind who needed to be killed. Maybe knocked unconscious, but not killed.
She knew the Hunters hated men, and many had good reasons for it. She understood why they would be wary around boys, and she even joined them on the numerous pranks against the male demigods on the few times they visited Camp Half-Blood.
Beating up boys who deserved it and playing pranks were one thing, but murder? Moreover, murdering a completely innocent person? She couldn't comprehend it. No. She could, but didn't want to believe the Hunters she knew were capable of such atrocities, especially Daisy.
Daisy was a caring daughter of Demeter. She was environmentally conscious, kind to animals, and very attentive to the needs of her fellow Hunters. She was even vegetarian. It was hard to picture her as someone who could so easily kill. The dissonance between her outward personality and the reality of her actions was extremely unsettling to Sally. How many of the other Hunters were the same? How many of them would be just as brutal?
Sally heard footsteps approaching her behind, and looked to see the source of the sound.
"Artemis?" she said in surprise. At first, she thought it was Daisy coming to take her back to camp, but was almost alarmed to see the child-like form of Artemis instead. Hesitating, Sally asked, "Why are you here? Where's Daisy?"
Artemis simply looked at her, not responding to her question. "You cannot blame Daisy. In the past, she was just a regular demigod struggling to arrive at camp, but she was so focused on avoiding mythical monsters to reach Camp Half-Blood that she failed to protect herself from the worst type of monster, man. He was a man who had become obsessed with her and became enraged from her repeated rejections of his advances. He followed her and ambushed her from behind in a city. By the time we stumbled upon her, all sorts of atrocities had been done to her except taking her maidenhood. He was no doubt saving it for last in some twisted sense of savoring the conquest. Daisy was simply trying to protect you from suffering the same."
"But he was innocent! He was just a teasing older brother!" Sally argued, no longer interested in the location of Daisy. "She could have just knocked him out, maybe broken a few bones, but killing him? Isn't that too much, especially against someone she doesn't even know?"
Artemis replied with a melancholic sigh. "Daisy's trauma developed in an extreme way. I can give her a place of refuge from the cause of her trauma, but I can do nothing about her past."
"But you're a goddess," Sally countered.
Artemis slowly shook her head. "There are some things not even goddesses can accomplish alone."
Silence reigned for a few tense moments.
Suddenly, Artemis proclaimed, "I promised that I would not force you to stay. Even after all these years, that promise remains. If you wish to leave, I will not stop you."
Sally was speechless. For an instant, she was hurt. Despite knowing her for over half of her life, Artemis was willing to let her leave so easily. Did she not care for her at all?
Then, she thought of Jorge and Chrissy. Despite how Chrissy acted, Sally could tell that she loved her brother dearly. She would be absolutely devastated once she learned of his death.
When she initially saw Jorge, her first instinct was to incapacitate him. Would she be influenced by the other hunters to eventually develop a deep subconscious hatred for all men? Would she even someday deprive someone of their loved one like how Daisy took Chrissy's brother and how the plane crash took her parents? No, she would never want to inflict that pain on others. She understood it too deeply.
With striking clarity, Sally understood that she had to make a choice. The difficulty of the decision brought tears to her eyes, but she forcefully wiped them away.
"I'm sorry," Sally began, but continued with increasing determination as she kept her focus on Artemis' reaction. "I- I can't stay with the Hunt anymore."
For a brief moment, Sally thought she saw sadness flash through Artemis' face, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
"Very well," Artemis said with a stoic face.
Artemis began to glow. Sally, knowing what would happen next, closed her eyes and waited until the divine glow died down. When she opened her eyes, Artemis was gone. In her place was a backpack. Sally approached the bag and looked inside. It was filled with her personal belongings and a letter with an address on the back.
Dear Sally,
I had a feeling your Fate would lead you from my Hunt. Unlike many of the other Hunters, you were open to loving others, open to loving everyone. You carried no trauma against men, and held a just heart. It was inevitable that you would encounter the deep hatred that some of the Hunters held, and I knew that if you were unable to accept them, you would necessarily need to reject them.
All those years ago, it was my fault for not acting sooner to protect the plane that held you and your parents, so I never felt I could force you to stay. At the very least, I hoped to provide a refuge for you. I thank the Fates for keeping you alive. It was truly enjoyable to have a maiden as capable, independent, and caring as you in my Hunt, no matter how brief. I believe you will grow into an amazing woman.
If you follow the address, it will lead you to a foster home run by satyrs looking for fostered demigods. I've instructed them to help you assimilate back into the mortal world. I have also left a present for you. It is a bracelet. I hope that you will keep it as a memory of your time with us.
Artemis
Contrary to her usual demeanor in person, Artemis was more expressive in the letter. Slowly emptying the bag, Sally searched for the parting gift mentioned. Lifting an object from the bottom of the bag, she saw that it was a simple leather band threaded through a small silver rimmed wooden token engraved with the image of a doe, a symbol of Artemis.
Sally's memories of the Hunt flooded through her, bringing tears to her eyes. This time though, she let them fall freely.
After some time, her emotions subsided. Giving a last look at the body of Jorge behind her, Sally collected her things and headed for the address.
xxxxx
Published: 6-6-2020
Last Edited: 6-28-2020
A/N Deleted: 11-10-2020