Carmen's POV-

The girls and I are still in the treehouse, talking. "Hey guys, you need to come back," Sebastian says with his head popping up from the floor.

I nod and notice Hannah blushing slightly. We all leave and follow Seb. Gia and Hannah are in front of me and Sebastian. "Why do we need to go back?" I ask him.

It's like he didn't even hear me when he says, "I know you like both of them."

I look at him. "What do you mean?" I ask him.

"Nothing," he says.

I shake my head. He's acting very weird right now. "Why do we need to go back?" I ask him again.

"Lady Artemis is here with the Hunters," he says.

"OK," I say quietly.

We make it to Half Blood Hill and I see a group of women. We walk up there and I notice that Emma and Natasha are already there.

"Hello Lady Artemis," I say once I reach the top of Half Blood Hill.

"Hello Carmen Jackson," she says. She looks like a young girl even though she is thousand, maybe more, years old. "Ah Chiron. I need to speak with you."

Chiron nods and trots away with Artemis following. "Where's Thalia?" I ask Sebastian.

I have only met her once but it was a fun time. Sebastian sighs and says, "She's dead, Carmen."

I gasp. "How?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Hey," I hear Hunter whisper behind me.

I jump slightly and turn around. Hunter looks like he is the one who died. "Are you OK?" I ask him.

He shakes his head, his blonde hair flying. I hug him and he collapses in my arms. "It's going to be alright," I whisper to him.

He shakes his head and whispers, "I'm trying to be strong for Mom, Dad, and Diana. But it hasn't been working out."

I smile slightly. "You can let it all out now, if you want," I whisper back.

"Not here. Meet me at the treehouse at dusk," he whispers back.

I nod.

"Thanks," he says and I smile.

We stop hugging he smiles a little at me. Hunter leaves as Artemis approaches me. "I'm so sorry for your loss," I tell her.

She nods. "She was a good lieutenant," Artemis says.

I nod. Artemis walks away to the Hunter's. I notice Natasha walking up to Artemis. "What is Natasha doing?" I ask no one in particular.

"She told me that she wants to join the Hunt," Emma says, standing next to me.

"What?" I ask her.

She nods. I look back over at Natasha and see that she looks kind of younger, glowing. "Oh my gods, she actually chose it," Emma says.

I just stand there. One of my best friends is a Hunter of Artemis. "Why didn't she tell me that she wanted to be a Hunter?" I ask Emma.

"Well you made new friends and didn't spend time with us," Emma says quietly. "And you were on that quest."

I nod. "Listen, Emma, I didn't mean to leave you like I did," I tell her. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."

"It's fine Carmen," she tells me. I hug her and whisper, "You look nice with Seb."

Her ears turn really red. "And you look nice with Hunter," she whispers to me.

I blush so much that I probably look like a fire truck. We stop hugging and she smiles at me. I smile back.
*****
The camp horn blows. I walk to the pavilion and I sit down at the Poseidon table. Dad sits down with me and so does Sebastian. Mom goes and sits at the Athena table. Soon everyone is here. "Nice to see you guys," Chiron says. "Today, we have Lady Artemis here."

Everyone starts clapping. "Since she and the Hunters are here, we are going to play Capture the Flag," Chiron says.

Dad smiles. "Good memories with Thalia and your Mom," Dad whispers. His smile soon fades.

I put my hand on his arm and he looks at me. "Its going to be alright," I whisper.

He nods. "At dusk, we will start Capture the Flag. We have to eat first," Chrion says.

Dusk! Gods that is when Hunter and I are meeting in the treehouse. Crud. We better be on the same team then. Dad, Sebastian, and I get our food and put it in the fire to sacrifice it to the gods. After we did that, we went back and sat down. "Seb, how is Emma?" I ask.

He blushes slightly and says, "She's doing good."

I nod. There's nothing but silence at the Poseidon table. I look up at Chiron as he stomps his foot. "Everyone!" Chiron bellows. "Welcome Lady Artemis!"

Everyone claps as she stands near Chiron.

"Thank you, Camp Half-Blood," Artemis says quietly. "Sadly, my lieutenant has died. Thalia Grace was a wonderful girl and great Huntress."

I look over at the Zeus's table and see Hunter crying with Jason. I look back at Dad and see a tear roll down his cheek. "But to get off the sad note, I have a new huntress. Natasha Zhang, please come up here," Artemis says.

Natasha walks up there and smiles at everyone. I clap and Emma follows my lead. Natasha beams at Emma and me. Artemis and Natasha goes and sits back down. I eat my fried chicken quickly so I can make it to the treehouse. I look over at the Zeus table again and I don't see Hunter. "Excuse me, Dad, I have to leave for a moment," I tell him.

He nods. I get up and walk away. Once I get to the forest, I sprint to the treehouse. I climb up there and see Hunter. "Hey," I say quietly.

He jumps and turns around. "Hey," he whispers.

I walk over to him and hug him.

"You OK?" I ask him.

"No," he says, getting choked up.

"I know you aren't," I tell him.

I rub his back and he says, "Man, I'm a mess."

I laugh and say, "A little."

I stop hugging him and look into his eyes. He smiles a small smile at me. My heart flutters a little bit. He leans down and I go on my tippy toes. Our lips meet and he gives me a gentle kiss. He pulls away, looking scared that he did something wrong. "It's fine, Hunter. I liked it," I tell him.

He blushes. "Carmen," he says, "I have liked you since I was thirteen. But I never realized it until the quest."

Now it's my turn to blush. Gosh, two kisses in one day. "Hunter! Carmen! Where are you?" I hear Sebastian yell.

I sigh. He has to interrupt our magical moment. Hunter looks sad yet again. "Its going to be OK," I tell him. "But we really need to talk sometime."

He nods. I stick my head out of the window and yell, "We're up here!"

Sebastian comes running to the base of the tree. He starts climbing until he makes it up here. He looks over at Hunter glares. "Come on," he says, "time for Capture the Flag."
*****
Just so you guys know, we got grounded so we don't know when we can update again. I'm not sure if we'll get ungrounded by the First, so we're sorry.