Why Onions Make You Cry
The story of Artemis And Draco
by sad115
Once a long time before Artemis was love and marriage hating, or even before she was a
goddess, she was an athletic young woman who had always loved the hunt.
But most of all she loved competitive sports. She was undefeatable in all the sports
Except one, the chariot race. Whenever she set foot on the chariot even the
Calmest and most well trained horses started jumping about and lurching in fear. It was
as if they expected her to kill them or to drive them to the wolves. One time
when Artemis was competing in the finals of the sword fighting event she went up
against the most recent gladiator champion. They faced each other and saw
each others faces and immediately fell in love. Each could not fight the other let alone
kill them, so strong was their sudden love.
They refused to fight against each other and the spectators went mad with rage because of
their long awaited excitement ruined. Both Artemis and Draco had been unbeatable so far
and this match was expected and attended by all the nobility of Greece and Rome and even
a couple of the gods, Ares and Hera. Everyone had long expected this match, which was
more awaited then Demeter's nine day harvest festival which only came once every five
years. So full of rage from being deprived of an event to be talked about for centuries to
come the gods and nobility organized in the only time that man and god worked together
for a common goal (except the Trojan war of course)
. They devised a quick plan on how to punish the two young athletes.
They let the gates to the loins, tigers and wolves' dens open. Artemis and Draco were
flooded with angry confused and hungry wild animals, but they weren't the best athletes
in history without a reason. They ran right out of the arena and the kept running because
they heard the sounds of the crowd going after them. When they stopped running they
were so tired they just fell on the ground and slept. When they awoke they immediately
embraced each other, when they let go of each other they got their bearings. Apparently
they were in a forest in the middle of somewhere to the side of nowhere.
The two young lovers speculated on the situation that had befallen them: They had a
murderous mob after them and no food or water with them. Being fighters in the arena
they mostly had to fight for themselves, therefore they didn't develop a strong belief in
the gods. Now with fortune against them they abandoned all belief in the goodness of the
gods thinking that no merciful and good gods would sent a horde of one hundred
thousand people after two fighters guilty only of the sin of love. The gods of course
immediately knew of their thoughts, Artemis and Draco were in for some brutal
punishments for their lack of belief. After their angering of the gods things only got
worse for the young couple, All the gods except for, mysteriously Zeus, were after their
blood. The gods strengthened the bloodthirsty crowds anger by a thousand fold.
Not long after they wore up Draco and Artemis heard the rumbling of many galloping
horses in the distance. They knew they couldn't possibly escape by running away so they
started looking for a place to hide away. They came upon a small cave and amazingly
they saw a chariot with horses beside it. After coming a bit closer Artemis noticed these
were the horses that always shrank away from her in fear during the chariot race
competitions. And surely when she came closer they started snorting and stomping in
fear. But she and Draco were to desperate to let that stop them.the stepped onto the
chariot, Artemis took the reins by which the horses had calmed down as if resigned to
their fate. And they made the horses break into a light run to conserve energy. As they
deeper into the woods the gods sent a pack of wolves after them which killed they horses
but from which Draco and Artemis miraculously escaped from, albeit with many small
cuts and bruises. What Artemis and Draco didn't know was that Zeus was the one who
allowed them to escape.
"Draco"
"Yes, Artemis?"
"How will we survive?" Artemis wailed close to sobs. "I know of a common plant with
edible roots, but it has a very unpleasant taste" replied Draco resignedly. "In fact, I see a
patch of it right over there" he said, his voice raising with the excitement of a starving
man finding food. They both fell upon the plants and immediately began digging with
their bare hands for the bulbous roots. They immediately started devouring them not
caring of the roots' dirty state and highly unpleasant taste. After eating all of the bulbs
that they could find they became very thirsty not having drunk anything after their flight
by foot.
They went looking for fresh water, and then they found a small but surprisingly deep
stream. They drank the water until they were satisfied. Then they wanted to go into the
stream and bathe their wounds. As soon as they jumped into the water they experienced
unbelievable pain as if they jumped into salt water, but they knew that the water they
drank was fresh. Through their haze of pain they hardly managed to crawl out of the
water before mercifully losing consciousness. When they awoke they found themselves
in the clouds with the most enchanting music they have ever heard playing softly. They
said the word at the same time: "Olympus"
When they stood up and turned around they both yelled in fright, for before them was
lying an enormous winged lizard, larger than the largest elephant they have ever seen.
Draco cautiously approached the lizard which seemed to be asleep. When he got closer to
the head, it's eyes snapped open and lifted it's ferocious head displaying his deadly teeth
and he licked the side of Draco's face in the manner of a playful puppy. Artemis came
closer to the enormous lizard and Draco. "I think this beast may just be our passage back
to home". They both mounted the animal and Draco fashioned reins out of their sandals'
strings. Then Draco kicked the lizard's sides with his heels (well, as much as he could)
to start flying. They started flying when not long after all the Gods except strangely Zeus
stopped them. They violently flung Artemis and Draco from the lizard. They kicked them
until they were crouching before them.
Hades seemed to be the one speaking for the rest of the gods. "You will renounce our
ways and thoughts about the gods" he said, his voice sounding cruelly imperious.
"Besides", he said with a smirk, "it's not like we are giving you a choice". Draco was the
first of the two to speak, he said one simple word "No".
Pain. Pain is what Artemis could remember after Draco said no. They found out exactly
what it meant it meant to say no to a god. First they tortured Artemis in front of Draco.
They made many cuts on her, most of which she should have been dead from a long time
ago. But it seemed they were keeping her alive to prolong the pain. The unmerciful gods
poured salt into the cuts, she screamed until blood came out of her mouth. She wished it
would just end so that she could sink into the blissful arms of death. But it wouldn't end,
Draco kept on trying to brake free but he was powerless against the gods. Then came the
most painful part for Artemis, when they tortured her precious Draco. They broke his
bones slowly so that he could feel them splintering inside his skin. They popped all his
joints loose so that he was in additional constant pain. And all that time they made
Artemis watch in helpless agony while they tortured him, her sweet Draco, her lover, her
friend. Then they told him to ask Artemis if she loved him, he asked, but she
couldn't answer. The gods held her mouth closed with their power. she saw betrayal in
his eyes. She had killed him he looked dead, like he had nothing to live for anymore.
Then they killed him. It was all oh-so-slow and painful he screamed until his voice box
broke. Then he could only twitch and spasm in constant agony, his eyes wide with pain
and betrayal. Finally and at long last he was welcomed by everlasting death.
And then the gods moved on to Artemis. But before they could kill her Zeus burst into
the scene Yelling with murderous rage as he drove all the other gods away. After healing
Artemis Zeus explained that she was actually his and Leto's daughter and that she was a
goddess and that was why she didn't die. But she was sent away from mount Olympus as
a baby. The reason for that was because the oracle at Delphi predicted that the next child
of Zeus (Artemis) would cause the other gods to do great misdeeds. So the other gods
decided to imprison her under the ever watchful eye of Argus. But Zeus didn't like that
idea so he secretly sent her to Greece until she could meet her destiny as a goddess.
After that Artemis started living in mount Olympus, and of course none of the gods
recognized her as the battered, starved and helpless human they had tortured. But Artemis
had two requests for Zeus, that he make bulbous root that Draco had survived on make
anyone who looked at it weep in honor of Draco's pain, and the other request was that the
lizard who had almost saved be given Draco's name. As time went on Artemis got more
adjusted to life, but the pain of Draco's love and death was always in her heart.
Finis
