A Midsummer Hunt

A Midsummer Arrival

Zoë Nightshade

It had been a long two weeks for Zoë, they had broke camp the morning after learning of the Heir's existence and had made the journey to Camp Half-Blood, Chiron was surprised to see them with no forwarning but accepted them easy enough, they had only spent a night there and so could not keep up the tradition of winning capture the flag against the campers. They had met with the rest of the hunt earlier the next morning, Daphnis informing their Lady that he had secured a means to travel to England via the open sea. Zoë hadn't liked that one bit, she did not wish to put any of the hunt on the god of the sea's radar, but her Lady had nodded in acceptance before the hunt had moved out to a pier to the south of the camp. Who they had met there surprised Zoë, she was sure it was going to be Triton or Poseidon himself, seeing that this was a deal between Gods, but it was Amphitrite who had met them at the port.

"Greetings Lady Artemis, and to your Hunters as well," The Queen of the Seas says with a bow of her head in respect, she was dressed in dark blues and greens, her dress woven from silk or seaweed, none could tell. Her red hair was done up in a messy bun and captured with a net, she wore strands of pearls and seashells, she was as striking as the realm she helped rule. She stood next to a large sea yacht that looked as if it could host a small army.

"Queen Amphitrite," Artemis greets with a nod, "while unexpected, it is a joy to see you again, I was expecting my Uncle here to see us off," the Goddess of the hunt says, though her passive face did not match the emotion she spoke of.

The Queen of the Sea chuckles, "My husband is aware of how uncomfortable he makes your hunters and did not want to cause any unneeded stress for them, so my King sent me to see you off in his Stead,'' the Queen told the Goddess with a smile, Artemis nods at her words.

"Then pass along my thanks to him for his thoughtfulness, and for the safe passage across his domain," Artemis told Amphitrite.

"Think nothing of it, he's still raving about The Draco that now sits in a place of honor in Atlantis," Amphitrite told Artemis before reaching into the sleeve of her dress and pulling out a stack of folded papers, "The yacht has been enchanted to bring you to the port of London without having to do anything, you will face smooth sailing and calm seas, all you have to do is hand these papers to the dockmaster when you get there," Amphitrite said as she handed over the papers to Artemis who had passed them off to Daphnis open and waiting hand.

"You will find the yacht stocked with food for your trip, which will take a little over a week to make, your hunters will also find fishing poles below deck if they wish to enjoy the bounty of the sea, all we ask is that if you release anything too small or endangered," the Queen of the seas said with a gentle smile.

"Of course Queen Amphitrite, we thank you for seeing us off," Artemis says with a nod of her head before turning to her hunters and ordering them to load up. Amphitrite dips her head before excusing herself, she and Poseidon were hosting someone in Atlantis, and she had wished to return as soon as possible and vanished in a breeze and spray of salt water.

For a little over a week, the hunt was aboard the yacht, some had to stay above deck with something to settle their stomachs for they had not found their sea legs while others had fished and respected the rules of the Queen of the sea, releasing anything too small or endangered to eat. Zoë herself had caught a shark after fighting with it for over an hour before bringing it aboard the ship and dressing the kill and the hunt had eaten well that night. Somewhere along the way Artemis had found a captains hat and had worn it for the rest of the trip with a smile, ignoring anyone who would not refer to her as "Captain Artemis", but before long they found themselves docked and anchored, and with Daphnis handing the dock master, Zoë was sent out into London to find the first of the wayward hunters she was to collect, the Fetish.