Punishment

"You are charged with the misuse of godly powers on the night of September the fifth, with the intent of maliciously interfering with several mortals. How do you plead?"

"If it's a crime to punish those who destroy the natural world, then guilty as charged" I calmly replied.

Zeus' eyes crackled with anger.

"This is not a matter to be taken lightly" he roared, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. "You have interfered with the mortal world without permission. For that, you must be punished!"

Athena's eyes flashed with interest.

"Did you have a punishment in mind Father?" she asked.

"Oooh I hope she has to spend some time working on some high-end fashion designs" Aphrodite squealed. I snorted in disgust. Like I would ever spend my time with something as useless as that. Clothing should be efficient and practical, not glitzy and colorful.
"I for one hope she has to spend 10 hours running under the sun so she can finally get a tan" Apollo laughed, flashing his perfect smile.

"Enough! I have thought about a fitting punishment for quite some time and have made up my mind" Zeus said. "Artemis, you are sentenced to live without your godly powers for 500 years. This includes your immortality. However, if you and one mortal can retrieve the pieces of the lost sword of Perseus within that time your sentence will be lifted immediately".

"What?! This is outrageous, unheard of!" I yelled.

"Well it is now" Zeus stated. "Now, be gone from here".

Black spots filled the corners of my eyes as my vision went blurry. I felt unsteady on my feet and started falling backwards. All I could see was the ceiling of the Olympic Council Room as I lost consciousness.

First I felt a throbbing in my head. Then the soft fingers of grass all around my body. My eyes blinked open to reveal a serene field. Flowers dotted the landscape as far as I could see, their white petals winking at me in the sunlight. I groggily stood up but collapsed as soon as I did so. My body felt so weak I couldn't support my own weight. Kneeling forward I planted my hands on the grass and pressed down, stretching my legs. I slowly raised my head to the sky. The clearest blue welcomed me, and the sun shone down not with a harsh light but an enveloping one. I smiled. This is what I loved most, nature at its finest.

A buzzing bee flew near my arm. I held out my hand for it to land on, so I might say hello to a friendly creature. It lazily flew in close before descending to my palm. Seconds after I cried out in pain while shaking my hand. I examined my hand as the bee wandered off. Blood began trickling out of a small indent, a parting gift from my friend. I stood there stunned, trying to comprehend what just happened. Creatures of the wild had never hurt me before unless they were monsters, and I was certain that lazy bee was no monster.

I closed my eyes and sought my last memory before coming to this place, wherever it was. From the blackness came the glaring face of Zeus and my whole body felt shocked. He had removed my powers as punishment, that's right. For how long was it? 500 I think. A vague notion that there was a shorter way crept into my mind but I dismissed it for now. Since I was basically a mortal now I need to find food and shelter, neither of which can be found in this field. I began walking across the field, hoping to find something of use at its end. If it had one.