"Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars."
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
''Aphrodite never finds love,'' the Moon Goddess smiled slightly, as she sat by the fountain on Olympus, with the Goddess of Wisdom and the Queen of the Underworld listening in. ''She but binds souls; twists fates; and lets the mortals fall in love with the love she'll never find.'' Then, with a smirk on her face, she added: ''And as a maiden goddess myself, I cannot believe that she doesn't see it as clearly as I do.''
Athena and Persephone both let out a chuckle that day. But the Love Goddess, entering through the arches that led to the fountain had heard the Maiden's condemnation, and it was at night, in light of the Full Moon, that she struck.
''I curse you, Moon Goddess!'' the Love Goddess screamed once they exited the Throne Room. The Moon Goddess but gave a glance to Aphrodite—who seethed with rage.
''Artemis, in the name of the pyres of love; the inextinguishable eyes of eternal flame; and the fervor that one many a man kills for; I curse you! Scarred by your bow and the unholy grace of your silver heart, an ornate man one befriends and dooms to its death—I swear, by everything that I hold dear, by the unforgiving flames of love and hate and pain alike—Heartbreak will break you!''
Artemis stilled. And before Aphrodite could utter another word, she laughed, loud and strong, laughed like she'd never laughed before.
''Curse?'' She choked out, amidst fits of giggles. ''You curse me? An eternal maiden who doesn't fall under your sphere of influence?'' She laughed even harder now, tears forming in her eyes. ''Good luck with that,'' the Moon Goddess snickered, and walked away without turning back.
There was a time when she was young without a care.
There was a time when she loved no-one; hated anyone who dared oppress her.
There was a time when she cared naught but for the Moon; her Duty; and the Stars.
She wished she could take back her words.
''And now, we shall crown Phoebus Apollo as the god of the Sun, the Light, the Music, and Prophecy. Please, sound your commendations.''
Polite applause erupted from the crowd. Apollo smiled with radiance, effectively hiding whatever nervousness or agitation he had. He took a quick glance towards Artemis, who returned a quiet smile. Behind the pedestal where Apollo stood in all his glory, Helios looked on kindly, his body emitting a dying light, ready to initiate the ceremony whenever the word was given.
There was a burst of blinding light.
And then she saw nothing but the throbbing pain in her head, her body, and most importantly, her eyes.
It was searing, as if a fire had been lit from the within and was burning her from the out. All around her, the dim cheering of the crowd was heard, but her mind was far from that.
Pain… the pain…
It was unbearable.
Tossing aside the furry robe she was given by Zeus, she blindly ran away from the crowd, and towards the clearing, where she knew the dense forests stood. She didn't care where she was going… just somewhere, where she couldn't feel the warmth of light or the acute burn from the sun.
The humid canopy brought her temporary sanctuary, but the light still crisscrossed from the gaps in between of the trees. She saw herself, running as if there was no end, waiting, waiting, for the daylight to disappear and for her territory, for the night sky to cleanse the light.
In the midst of the forests, she stopped in a haze of blinding pain and dropped to the ground. The dirt felt moist against her touch. Grasping a fistful in her hand, she clenched it tightly, as if she could mirror her pain onto something else… but felt something crawling within.
What?
Hesitantly, she brushed a hand onto the creature. It was smooth, glossy, and as she ran her fingers over the shell, temporarily distracting her from the unforgiving burn, an idea began to form in her head.
Not an idea. A realization.
It was an insect. Not just any, though.
It was a type of troglobite. And troglobites only existed within caves.
Which meant…
She grasped for more fists of dirt, crawling amongst the muddy grounds, trying to find more troglobites, and then she felt it.
A blast of cool air, a relieving parallel to the light that shone so painfully earlier. She crawled further within the cave system, and as she went further, the pain dimmed so…
But not enough.
It was still there, like a crackle or a sting, a haze of torment and she could only sit and wait. She pulled her knees to her shaking body and huddled there, waiting…
Waiting for the sun to set.
Suddenly, she heard another set of footsteps, riveting around the walls of the cave. Under the indistinct pain, she tried to be alert; lifting her head so and drawing her bow, but her slight trembling hands couldn't draw straight. The footsteps echoed; and stopped, right in front of her huddled form. He stared—and she thought of the worst—before he knelt down and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
''Are you alright?'' he asked worriedly. Artemis shook her head no, too dazed to comprehend… but managed a weak push in an effort to shake the man's placating hand off of her shoulder.
But if there any indication of her weak attempt, it was that the man knelt down and comforted her still. There was no attempt at what… most males would've done in their position, and the only thing he seemed to try was to calm her down and wipe away a bead of sweat from her contorted grimace.
She tried to yell stop, tried to push him away even if he didn't do anything wrong, but she couldn't find the strength to speak.
''Don't worry,'' she heard him promise. ''I'll keep you safe.''
It was the last thing she heard before all went dark.
A/N: Thank you for reading!
This story will be based on Artemis/Orion, from their love to their death—since there's simply not enough of them on here. This is also a loose prequel to Raze that explains Artemis' backstory over there.
Let me know your thoughts below!
