Yup I'm dead. Zeus is going to kill me.

Why you ask? Because, remember that whole pesky deal we made about me distracting Hera for four days a week? Well I may or may not have run away to stay with Artemis and the hunt. And I may or may not have been here for the past two weeks.

Whoa! Whoa! Before you freak out at least give me a chance to explain myself. So you see I was sad and ummm.... yeah I got nothing.

But it's really nice out here. The autumn colors have just started to hit, and everywhere you look there is stunning shades of orange and red with an occasional splash of yellow.

The summer's smoldering heat has begun to give way to crisp autumn breeze and the bird migrations have just started.

Bird migrations are really good for the hunt. They provide endless entertainment and competitions while also giving us a steady source of food.

The hunt has been my lifeline here. There's something about being out in nature with a bunch of girls, shooting arrows and trying to kill things, that is very soothing to the mind.

I mean it's a very nice environment. Very peaceful. It's good for my mental health (yes nymphs have mental health too, though sometimes people, *cough* Zeus *cough* act like we don't).

Currently we are hunting a stunning white stag. It's as elusive as it is beautiful. It has pure white fur and it's antlers are decorated with stars.

The stag also leaves a trail of star dust behind it wherever it goes. It is called, believe it or not, drum roll please.......the white stag. I know so original, right?

A few days ago I had asked Artemis why humans never hunted it. Turns out humans can't see it. It's a celestial being, human eyes simply can't comprehend such beauty.

I'm here riding with Artemis and Callisto (another huntress and a dear friend of Artemis). When the stag darts through the trees and we quickly give chase.

"After it!" Artemis calls.

Callisto notches an arrow and takes fire, she misses, but nearly takes the head off of a very surprised wren.

"Careful Callisto!" Artemis says, "Remember, we're here for our prey. Don't take anymore than you need."

"Of course milady," Callisto says meekly. But her and I exchange a knowing look.

Artemis has been getting so angry at hunters lately. She can't stand how they just sweep through the woods, killing everything they can see, even though they have plenty of food at home. She always gets like this during hunting season.

It's times like this that she makes it very clear that the huntresses only hunt for what they need.

A couple days ago, a few of the girls were shooting at some ducks for fun, boy did she get furious when she found out.

Anyway back to the hunt.

We're racing through the trees in pursuit of the stag. We finally have it surrounded! A couple of the girls start cheering and Artemis notches an arrow to deliver a painless, killing blow. When just like that, it vanishes.

Artemis looks shocked and says some choice words in Latin.

Callisto groans and says, "Maybe *Hermes took it, you know he is notorious for stealing livestock." This garners a couple of laughs from the girls.

Artemis looks at her sharply, she opens her mouth as is she's going to scold her, but decides not to and instead lets out a slight chuckle.

"Alright ladies, that's enough for today I guess. Why don't we all go down to the springs and bathe after a long day of hunting? Some of you could use it," she says with a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

Most of us giggle softly, but I notice a couple girls in the back looking rather indignant. I sigh, some people (*cough* Hera *cough*) have no sense of humor.

We had chased the stag far into the deep woods, so it was a long walk back to the spring by our camp.

Some of the newest huntresses were complaining about the long walk (the horses had been running all day and needed a break), and I could see Callisto rolling her eyes at them.

Callisto had been here longer than anybody else. She has been Artemis' closest confidante for the past hundred years. She took her maidenhood vows very seriously and I could tell that the girls complaining about a little walk was irritating her.

"Ugh, my feet," groaned one of the new recruits, Sheila, I think her name was. "Hey, girl at the front of the line! Artemis' pet! Oh what's her name?" Sheila asked the girl beside her.

"I think it's c something," the other girl said. "Like Caviar or some other weird shit like that."

If Artemis had been there, she would've probably either kicked the girls out of the hunt or whipped them into shape. But Artemis had gone ahead.

Callisto wasn't going to say anything, she's the most polite girl I've ever met. But I could see their insults were hurting her. If they had shut up then, I probably wouldn't have done anything. But no, they just couldn't stop running their mouths.

Sheila started going on about how horrible  Callisto's aim was and her bitchy friend kept laughing at every immature thing she said.

Then I turned around and stared daggers at them both before grabbing Callisto's arm and marching off to the spring with her. I made a mental note to talk to Artemis about it later.

Eventually we made it to the spring and I, as usual, was the first one to throw my dress on the bank and plunge into the water. (I have an obsession with water, ok, get over it)

We splashed in the crystal clear water most of the afternoon. We played games and took naps. Everybody savored the relaxation time that was so rare in the hunt. Either you're hunting or you're gathering something. So Artemis giving us the afternoon off was incredibly rare.

I was soaking in the water when suddenly, a blood-curdling scream rang through the trees, startling the girl who was trying to balance on her friend's shoulders and causing her to fall into the water with a splash.

My head jerked up immediately, I knew that scream. That was an Aika scream.

Instantly I was out of the water and running towards the scream. Artemis running beside me and most of the huntresses following us.

I skidded to a halt in a clearing. My eyes darted back and forth, taking in the scene that assaulted my eyes.

There was a young hunter with a bow and arrow directed straight at Aika's heart. Aika's dress was torn and she had a growing welt on the side of her face.

I glanced at Artemis and I could see the fury building up inside of her. While she might not have been too fond of Aika she was enraged that a mortal would dare touch a nymph in her forests.

The hunter, upon laying eyes on Artemis, dropped his jaw and stared at her.

Ooh fatal mistake buddy. As some of you may have guessed, there are two things Artemis despises, cheap coffee and being objectified. (Ok you might not have guessed the cheap coffee part).

It was terrifying being in her presence as she coldly calculated her next move. Her aura giving off waves of fury.

She stepped forward, calmly controlled, the epitome of elegance and grace. "You made three lethal mistakes today," she said coldly. "Your first, was daring to venture into my forests at all. Your second was attacking a woman under my surveillance. Your third, was having the audacity to sit there and stare at me instead of falling to your knees and begging for your life."

I could see his face turn white as a sheet as the idiot finally realized he wasn't here for an orgy.

Artemis looked at him disgust, she flicked her wrist and sent droplets of water spraying onto him.

The instant the droplets hit his hand, his hand started growing furry and hoof like. His ears began growing into antlers and his legs grew longer and sprouted hooves.

In place of the hunter, there now stood a large, magnificent buck.

Artemis put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. Through the foliage there came a crashing and out came two huge hounds.

They looked around in confusion for their master, but he was not there. What they did see however was a big, juicy stag, ripe for the killing.

The stag cast a frightened look toward Artemis before loping off into the woods with the dogs in close pursuit.

I rushed to Aika's side, helping her up.

She winces painfully when I try to touch her bruise. "Hands off. I can take care of myself thank you."

"Can we bring her back to camp?" I ask turning to Artemis.

"Well obviously she's not hurt too badly," Artemis responded looking cynical.

"Oh come on."

"Fine. Bring her back to camp. She can stay the night, but she will be expected to pull her weight around here. This isn't a vacation resort."

"I don't think anybody has ever, in the history of the world, mistaken it for one," Aika said snarkily.

"Backhanded compliments really don't work on me dear. You should stop trying."

"Ok, I'm sensing a little bit of a shade fest going on here, so I'm just gonna go find Aika a place to sleep," I said.

"Actually I need to talk to you. That's why I came out here to these god forsaken woods," Aika said tartly.

"What am I, an olive?" Artemis asked in irritation.

Aika ignored her and turned to me. "Zeus is going to kill you."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Aika groaned, "What were you thinking?"

"Hey, this is good for my mental health."

"You broke an oath to the king of the gods! Do you think having your head smooshed like a berry will be good for your mental health?!"

I opened my mouth to respond but she cut me off.

"No. Don't answer that. I will tell you right now, the answer is no."

"Ok, but I—

"Don't. Just don't. If you're refusing to come home, then I guess I'll just have to stay here with you. Do you really think you can just run away from your problems?"

I sighed, hating to see the truth in her words. "Just one more day," I say pleadingly.

"Fine, I will stay here for one day with the insufferable Artemis, but then we are going home."

"Deal."

                  **********************
It was the evening we were supposed to leave and I was searching for autumn olives in the bushes, when there was a snap in the air, and I knew I was in too deep.

I immediately turned and ran as fast as I could, but there was a crackle in the air and Zeus was right in front of me.

I swerved to the side and ran swiftly past a tree.  Zeus was strong, and he had the advantage of lightning bolts, but he was in his mortal body, which was a bit slow and clumsy.

He sent lightning bolts streaking past my head, barely missing me and decimating a nearby tree.

I ran as quickly as I could straight into a tree, jumping aside at the last moment and leaving Zeus to crash headfirst into its trunk.

I darted through the forests, weaving in between the trees and panting so hard I could barely breath.

There was a crackle, and a snap, and I screamed in pain and fell to my knees. A lightning bolt had hit my head. (how Zeus managed to hit something is beyond me, it must've been pure luck)

My head felt like an axe had been hacked into it and left there. There was a splitting pain as I tried to drag myself up. I could see Zeus emerging from the woods, a smug look on his face as he closed in on the kill.

Dread began spreading through my body as I pulled myself up against a tree. I shakily attempted to stand and nearly fainted. Black dots danced around my vision and it took every amount of resolve I had not to black out.

It was over, he knew it, and I knew it. I hadn't told anybody where I was going and there was nobody around to hear my screams. There was no way that I was going to be able to outrun him either.

But I was not giving up yet. I took a couple of painful steps towards camp, realized it was about a mile back, and then gave up.

I collapsed to the ground again, all hope gone. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the killing blow.

[Hope you guys liked today's chapter! Make sure to comment and vote!!
*Hermès, messenger of the gods, when he was born the first thing he did was steal Apollo's cow
Also I just wanted to say, if people bully you or ignore you, maybe it's because you're the white stag. Their eyes simply can't comprehend such beauty.]