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A heaving cough racked the young man's body, his heavily muscled shoulders shaking. Blood trickled out of his mouth, and his dark stormy eye's looked unfocused as he stared down at the young girl on the ground before him. He stood over her, his arms held straight out; his legs shaking with the effort it took to for him to stay standing. All around them the air echoed with the sounds of war. Monsters howled and shrieked, Demi-gods roared and cried out in agony. Metal struck metal, and the twang of bows firing arrows shook the air. The sounds of swords and spears splitting flesh were as common as the sounds of swords striking shields. The young girl stared up at the man above her, not in fear or even a little bit of terror, her face not even looking like a little girls, though her body was that of a ten or eleven year old one. Her eyes shown with a timeless knowledge, her entire body radiating a timeless youth like a bright light. The girl lay on the ground, staring up at the man, her lips attempting to speak, yet not words came.
"Lady Artemis," Another young girl ran to the first's side, sliding to her knees, a hand on her shoulder. "Lady Artemis, Lord Zeus has ordered a retreat. The Demi-gods are falling back, we must…" The girl stopped as her gaze fell upon the young man.
"Marcus. What, what happened?" The girl stared at him, and then looked to Artemis. "My Lady, we must go," Artemis ignored her, her gaze locked on Marcus. He flinched as another arrow struck his back, dropping to one knee. The young girl could make out the black shafts of several other arrows. She looked from him back to Artemis, and then back again.
"Why? Why would you do this, Marcus, I don't understand," The girl was shocked as tears began to roll down Artemis's cheeks, her hand reaching out and touching his cheek. The girl reached out to put a hand on Artemis's slender shoulder, and was shocked as Artemis shook it off.
"I….I promised you….Didn't I," Marcus's voice was rough and cracked, his words slurred as though he was drunk. He coughed again, blood flying from his mouth unto the ground, the green grass stained crimson already. The pool of blood on the ground was a deep crimson red, bright and dark at the same time.
"I promised you, Artemis. I promised… that one day…..I…I'd prove to you…..that not all men were worthless. That some of us can keep their word, and do have honor," Marcus reached out a trembling hand, cupping Artemis face. His eyes drank in her face, as if he wanted to hold onto every detail. "Artemis, I also made you another promise, didn't I?" He smiled, although it looked more like a grimace. He tried to lean towards Artemis, but fell, and yet despite his size, Artemis caught him in her arm, his head on her shoulder. Artemis looked at him, her eyes questioning, and the young girl next to them looked at them both, her expression a look of confusion and fear. All around them, the sounds of battle were getting louder and louder, and already she'd had to fight off three monsters.
"Lady Artemis, we have to go. It's not safe for us to stay any longer," She looked at Artemis, Marcus gaze was glassy. His Stormy gray eyes' were bleak, and his face held the ghost of a faint smile on his lips. "My Lady, he's dead. We have to go," The girl didn't wait for a reply as she grabbed Artemis under the arms, pulling her to her feet and continued backwards, as two other girls appeared out of the woods. They fired silver arrows, striking down several monsters as they charged at Artemis and the girl who held her. Artemis struggled, fist flying, shouting incoherently. The four figures moved quickly, disappearing into the shadows as hordes of monsters broke through the forests edge, a large group of young demi-gods in front of them. The suns rising rays appeared, stopping the monsters in their tracks, their bodies bursting apart and crumbling to dust. The demi-gods let out victorious cries as they continued to sprint up the hill, to were the old oak marked the camps magical boundaries, and the light of funeral pyres could be seen burning on the edge of the horizon.
Artemis stood on the top of the grassy hill, the burned remains of a funeral pyre next to her. Zoe walked up the hill towards her, seeing that Artemis was no longer in the form of a young child, but now a young woman, around late teens to early twenties. Her silver hair was tied back in a ponytail. Zoe stood next to her, looking at the charred remains of the wooden pyre, the silver flag was still intact for the most part, burned and blackened around the edges. Artemis bent forward, picking it up, holding it close to her chest.
"He was a strange man. Never before have had I met a man so determined to prove himself, nor have I met one who could actually prove that he was honorable." Zoe placed her hands on her hips, looking at the pyre and feeling sadness in her heart. It was strange, how she had come to like that smile of his, and how he had fit in so well with her and the other huntresses. There was even a time when her and many of the others had actually had a crush on him. But they had talked to each other, wondering what it meant. Zoe looked at Artemis, and was shocked to see tears rolling down her cheeks, her white skin glistening.
"My Lady," Zoe began, but stopped when Artemis turned to her.
"How many years has it been Zoe?" Artemis turned to the sky, looking as the sun rose above the horizon, bathing the sky in a color like rosebuds.
"Excuse me My Lady, I don't understand."
"How long has it been since Marcus joined us. I'm immortal, so time doesn't mean anything to me, but when Marcus died, he told me 5,476. I thought about it, and realized that he meant 5,476 days, 15 years. He joined us 15 years ago and has loved me ever since. I didn't believe him, never did. Until last night, when he pushed me down and took the arrows intended for me. He would have survived to, had those arrows not been tainted with centaurs blood." Artemis pulled her Silver jacket tighter around her shoulders, her silver eyes fixed on the sun.
"My Lady, I don't understand," Zoe stepped closer, a hand resting on Artemis's shoulder. "He was a good man, well, as good as they can get. But he was still a man. I understand that he was a hunter, but why are you like this?" Artemis turned sharply, slapping Zoë's hand away. Her eye's flashed dangerously, causing Zoe to stagger away.
"Of course you wouldn't understand. He was different, like Orion, except, he was honest. He never beat around the bush, he always spoke his mind. And he kept his promise," Artemis voice dropped to a whisper, and Zoe could see the tears coming again. She started forward, but halted short as Artemis spoke again.
"He promised on the night he joined me that he would love me and only me for as long as he lived. He said he'd count the days, and when he died, he'd tell me. And he did. 5,476. The number of days, and he kept that promise, but why?" Artemis looked up again as the sun flashed brightly, and a beam of light struck the ground a few feet from where Artemis and Zoe stood. A man materialized out of the light beam, his radiant blond hair flaring as he stepped forward. Apollo wore a black suit and tie, his cheerful face somber and grim. He wore the expression of mourning, the likes of which none had ever witnessed. He stepped to his sister's side, a hand resting on her shoulder. Zoe half expected Artemis to slap him away, to shout at him to leave, but instead she turned and through herself into his arms. She sobbed into his chest, her body shaking with the heaviness of her sobs. Zoe went to their side, reaching to her mistress. Artemis collapsed to her knees, Apollo holding unto her all the way down. Zoe barely registered the other flashes of light, until she jumped back as the gorgeous Aphrodite and the terrifying Ares knelt beside Apollo. Ares removed his leather biker's jacket, throwing it across Artemis shoulders. Aphrodite took Artemis into her arms, crooning into her ear. Zoe was stunned at the site before her. The ever vigilant maiden Artemis, sobbing on the ground over a fallen male, her annoying twin brother and her least liked siblings surrounding her in attempts to comfort her. This stunned her beyond anything she thought possible, but then a bolt of lightning blasted the ground a few feet from the group. As the smoke cleared some, and the scent of ozone permeated the air, an aging man with the body of a muscle builder and gray hair and a beard stepped forth. His electric blue eyes pierced everything that he saw, harsh and cold, until they fell upon the shaking figure of Artemis. Zeus knelt beside his weeping daughter, his hand on her shoulder, his head bowed. Zoe couldn't contain herself anymore, and crawled towards Artemis. She was halted by Apollo, who grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her away. He guided her away from the gathering, up the hill to a small outcropping. Zoe would've been shocked to see all the other huntresses gathered there, if she'd still been capable of the emotion. Apollo sat her down beside the others, his eyes full of sympathy. He moved back from them, taking a seat on a rock across from her. "I know you're all confused by the events that have transpired with Artemis today, and I wish it was a simple thing to explain, but it isn't." Apollo shook his head sadly, "Marcus was a strange fellow, and one of the few I've ever met to have fallen so deeply for Artemis that he was willing to do whatever it took to prove it." Apollo observed their expressions, not the least bit surprised by the shocked and confused expressions. "Marcus was a strange fellow, but what was even more unprecedented was that my sister had fallen for him as well. She couldn't bring herself to tell her huntresses who'd vowed to push away all males, had indeed fallen for one herself. Marcus loved Artemis, and she him." The huntresses all gasped as he said this, and were beyond shocked. Zoe stood and walked to the edge of the hill, staring down at the gathering bellow by the burned down funeral pyre. Apollo watched her go, and finished what he'd been saying. "You all new Marcus as the only male hunter to ever join Artemis, and you all were friends with him, maybe even had feeling for him, but I will know tell you a tale of Marcus, the love of Artemis, that you do not know."
