Chapter 1 – The Sentence
"Oh, come on, Artemis!" Apollo, my twin brother, urged. "It would be fun! I promise."
"No," I insisted. "We'll definitely get into trouble."
"We won't."
"Apollo, you're the elder one. You're supposed to be the more matured one! Be a little responsible, will you?" Apollo rolled his eyes. I stared at him. "No! And that's final!" I crossed my arms.
We stood there, glaring fiercely at each other, till Apollo said, "Oh, come on. We could just–"
"Drop it, Apollo." I said sternly, flipping my dark hair out of my face when the light autumn breeze blew through the window.
"Fine. I'll do this myself." Apollo left my room and slammed the heavy doors shut.
No, he wouldn't get himself into trouble like that, I think. Would he? Just because I didn't agree to spoil a Cocktail Party organized by our evil stepmother Hera, doesn't mean he could get himself into trouble like that! I have to stop him. Fast.
I ran after Apollo and grabbed his shoulders. "You don't know what you're doing, Apollo! Snap out of it. You'll be banished to the Earth if she finds out."
"That is–if–she finds out." Apollo amended smugly. "Come on, Sis. She has been awful to us ever since the day we were born. Don't you think we deserve some kind of revenge?"
That's true. Hera has been trying to find ways to make our lives miserable. She was horrible to us and she even killed our mother. "But—"
"No buts. We should just do this once and feel good about it. I know you want to. Let's go!" Apollo grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the dining hall, where the Cocktail Party would be held at.
The dining hall was already decorated nicely. The plates and cups stacked neatly, food arranged in bowls accordingly, chairs pushed in under tables. Candles were set up everywhere around the room, making everything looked warm and cozy.
"Artemis, you go pour out all the food onto the white tablecloth to make it dirty. I'll throw the plates around." Apollo instructed. "Just make this room as dirty and unorganized as possible, alright?"
I nodded hesitantly, thinking of the consequences of our actions.
After we're done trashing the room, we blew out all the candles and hid in my room. The Cocktail Party didn't start at all, but the silent, peaceful night was pierced by Hera's violent scream. She stormed into my room and grabbed the collar of my dress.
"What have you done now, Artemis?" Hera's high-pitched voice screamed. "I have put up with you long enough. This was the last straw, you ungrateful daughter!" She threw me to the ground. "You are now officially banished to the Earth!" She boomed.
"Artemis has nothing to do with your little Cocktail Party. It was my fault. She didn't do anything. The person you should banish is not her. It's me." Apollo spoke up in my defense.
"What did you say? You think my Cocktail Party is little?" Hera demanded. Apollo nodded, making her as furious as ever. "Oh, fine, then. Both of you are banished to the Earth." She said it as though banishing people to the Earth was a common thing for her.
"Hera," A deep voice sounded from behind Hera. "What is going on?"
"Father." I acknowledged. "She's banishing us. To Earth." I pointed at Hera with a disgusted expression.
"Zeus, it's not like that. I have a reason." Hera widened and batted her eyes in a failed attempt at innocence.
"And the reason is…?" Zeus asked, making his way towards Hera.
Hera fake-sobbed and placed her head on Zeus's shoulder. Zeus's hand shot up to caress Hera's cheek to wipe away tears that were never there. Hera explained everything in between fake sobs and added some awful lies about things that we had never done and always said good things about herself. How she tried to be fair in her judgment and never suspected us at all – until we shouted at her, which was so untrue.
"Alright, Hera. Thank you for telling me." Zeus handed a tissue to Hera and turned his attention to Apollo and me. "Now, as your punishment –"
"But, all she said were lies!" I protested.
"Well, Artemis, did she lie about everything?"
Yes. But, of course I didn't say that. I just kept my mouth shut. You don't ever want to get Zeus mad at you. It'll be hell.
"I'm sending you both to the Earth to reflect on your bad behavior. It was wrong of you to break your mother's heart. You will no longer be able to live like an Immortal, until you learn your lesson. " Silence.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, everything went black. I was falling, and falling, and falling. Everywhere around me was darkness and I couldn't see anything. I might be falling through the universe. I wanted to scream and say something to make everything that's happening a little bit real. But, nothing was sounded. My voice box was locked away.
I landed with a heavy thud on the ground. Knowing it wouldn't hurt because of Immortality made me feel a little better. But, I was wrong. The fall made my right arm hurt. Every muscle in my body was rigid and I felt … vulnerable. I couldn't move a finger. Water clouded my already blackened vision. Tears? Actual tears?
So, this was how it felt to hurt. This was how it felt to be a Mortal.
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