Hestia stared down at the wonderfully quiet night, gazing at the children of Athens and Greece sleeping peacefully in their cots. She watched it through the flames of her hearth, smiling at them and blessing the children one by one with warm, happy, and safe feelings. Then she stopped, for one child was not slumbering, but sitting awake, sadly gazing out her window at the multitude of stars winking down at her from the heavens. She was young, about 15. Hestia appeared in her room in the form of a beautiful, little cherub. "What's wrong darling?" Hestia asked. The girl looked at her with a wistful gleam in her eye, she answered, "I'm in love with the stars O'great Hestia. They're so beautiful and bight, up in the endless sky. And I feel as though, every night, a new star shines even brighter than the last, just for me. I would give anything, anything to be with them!" This response troubled the goddess, for she knew that this was quite preposterous. "Well, I'll see what I can do precious, but I'll need a name to go with that pretty round face." To this the reply came, "Lupa Lumera. Daughter of Teria the graceful and Amexius the swift." "Bless you and pleasant dreams Lupa." called Hestia as she rematerialized in the the great halls of Olympus. This worried her and she quickly set out to find a solution to the problem. Little did she know,but in the misty forest bordering the village and the sea, a lonely grey wolf stared forlornly down into the village. "Come away from the tree line Hector or the humans will have you hanging on a temple wall before you can blink." Called Darkclaw. Hector turned to look at the older,stronger wolf. "I'm sorry Darkclaw, but you know I can't do that." Darkclaw sighed "This about that girl again isn't it? Hector,you know it can't happen. If you so much as approach the village a volley of arrows will come sailing over the walls to strike you down. Come back into the shadowed trees and we can share a nice deer leg." "Nothing you say can convince me to forsake my Lupa's protection. I have devoted myself to her completely. Goodnight Darkclaw." At that Darkclaw turned and padded softly back into the woods. On the way back to his den he thought to himself, I wish that Hector could see the folly of his mistake, or that the gods would grant him a chance to be with his precious Lupa Lumera. Hector continued to stand guard at the edge of the woods, watching the village for even the slightest indication that his beloved Lupa might be in danger. He waited until the sunrise, tense as a bowstring, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. But the stars rose and set, leaving their wake a beautiful sunrise as Apollo flew his chariot across the sky to usher in the dawn. Hector then retreated in the forest,silent as a shadow, returning to his cool den to rest. Hestia paced in front of her great hearth, her mind in a turmoil, jumping from idea to idea at speeds that would fry a human brain. She let out a cry of indignation. "Why must this girl have such impossible dreams? Could she not remain happy where she is? Even more infuriating, why must I feel personally obligated to fulfill this blasphemous request?" She sat down in front of her hearth and contemplated the enigma that had been set before her. Then an idea floated into the foreground of her mind fully formed as though it had been there all along,waiting for her to calm down enough to make a rational decision. She set off immediately to find Asteria, for the first stage of her recently formed plan relied strongly on her cooperation. On her way she felt a disturbance in the air, and went to investigate. She found herself in the middle of the woods bordering the village where Lupa lived and the sea. She turned herself into a beautiful silver she-wolf as to circumnavigate the forest better. She glided swiftly through the forest,listening to the sounds of nature, searching for the source of the disturbance. What she found was a pack of wolves, a large male with dark fur and deep twinkling eyes. A sleek,streamlined female with a few pups surrounding her yapping for attention, and a pair of average sized wolves that appeared identical but for a winding scar twisting down from a mangled ear and through his eye to stop at his long, thin muzzle. When She entered the clearing they all turned as one and stared at her with a deep,throaty growl. Could this be the disturbance I was looking for? Wondered Hestia. "Who are you stranger,and what be your business in this neck of the woods?" Snarled the large male. "I'm Hestia, goddess of the hearth and I am here because I sensed a disturbance in these woods." This shocked them all into silence except the pups who continued to pester their mother, for surely the female was their mother. The dark wolf answered"I beg your humble pardon O'Hestia. I did not recognize you. I am Darkclaw and this is my family. My mate Davia," at this the she wolf bowed her head, "as well as the pups and my eldest sons Hector," the unscarred wolf bowed his head, "and Petrov." The scarred wolf made a sweeping motion with his paw as he bowed,clearly the dramatic one in their family. "What could the disturbance have been Darkclaw?" Inquired Hestia. Darkclaw reluctantly answered. "O'Hestia, you discover what no other knows. My poor Hector fancies a human girl. Please talk so sense into him, or allow him a way to be with his beloved." Hestia sighed. Has the whole of Greece gone mad? "Who is this maiden that has stolen your heart Hector?" Hector replied quite boldly, "Lupa Lumera is the beauty with whom I am enamored O' great Hestia." This answer shocked her into a half stupor. But,...how? How could you and your frivolous dreams coincide with the wondering mind of a hopeful young girl? "What drives you to want her so?" Petrov interjected quickly "He saw her running across the top of the wall whilst weeping and humming an entrancing sonnet of love." When this speech was completed Petrov gave a sly grin of pointed white and yellow teeth. Hestia gave him a slight glare before turning to Hector. "Is this true Hector?" He gave a small sigh before he answered. "It is all true. I love her and I see myself as her protector. I don't know why but I find myself bewitched by her beauty and her voice. I feel compelled to be near her, as though she is about to be harmed at any moment. I just want her to be happy and feel sounds silly I know but that is no reason to forsake passion." At the close of this deceleration of love, Hestia's heart softened and she understood the situation completely. "Hector, I'm sorry,but you don't understand your feelings. This is not love, but a vision. Wolves are known to have them for they are creatures of the night, of the half-light world, of the waking sleep, or even of dreams. You fave had a premonition of an event that is inescapable, it is a fixed point in the future. For the vents that happen here and now set the gears in motion to cause this event. I can tell you no more, goodbye,but know this, your coveted Lupa shall never leave you again." At this final remark Hestia disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared in the halls of Olumpus where Asteria was waiting. "You wanted to see me?" Inquired the pretty goddess. "Rejoice O sister, for I have found one of our long lost brethren!" In the forest Hector and his family retreated into their den. "I do not understand," said Davia. "What did she mean by saying that Lupa would never leave you again?" "I will not pretend to understand mother, but what I have gleaned from the facts at hand, is that Hestia knows something we don't."replied Hector. "Ah, the fickle fates are cruel and decisive!"crowed Petrov. The entire company then stared at him with complete and total incomprehension. They then as a whole curled up and went to sleep. Lupa sat in her cozy house, embroidering a beautiful pattern of stars across a blanket when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!"she called as she absentmindedly put the final touches on an incredibly detailed constellation. Heavy footsteps caused her to look up from her work to see Jenuvius standing the doorway. "Hello Lupa!" He exclaimed. "I have come for a very important reason, your father told you I was coming?"during his speech her parents Teria and Amexius had walked quietly into the room behind him, they both had excited looks on their faces. "No I was not aware you would be visiting. Why did you say you were here again?"she did not like the direction in which this conversation was going. He then boldly went down on one knee, "Dear Lupa,sweet,precious Lupa, I humbly ask, will you marry me?"time seemed to come to a grinding halt. "What." Was all that she could gasp out before she fell backward off of her stool. "I, oh,um, this is all so sudden,I barely know you, I,I'm sorry I just can't!" She called over her shoulder as she stumbled to her feet and pushed past her parents and Jenuvius out the door. As soon as she was outside she ran,she ran up the stairs to the wall and began to run across it. Tears were streaming down her face and she hummed to herself to keep up her spirits. She came to the Westernmost edge of the wall which overlooked the sea and the forest. She looked over the edge into the sea below which reflected the stars. Like this they seemed near enough to touch. She then took a deep breath and sang loudly the final verse of the song "for life is but a trifle,for any god or idol, and I hope that one day we will sing together amongst the stars!" She then threw herself off the wall and into the abyss below. She never hit the water. Moments before she would have plummeted into a shallow pond filled with sharp rocks, she rematerialized in the great halls of Olympus. "What an I doing here?"she called out, but then she remembered, she was not Lupa Lumera,young daughter of Teria the Graceful and Amexius the Swift,but she was Artemis, goddess of the moon and lover of the stars. She looked about herself and gasped as she beheld Hestia and Asteria, combining their powers to create the portal that had allowed her to return to Olympus. "Thank you,thank you so much! That spell trapped me in human form and erased my memories. But I'm back and that is all that matters!" Then there was much rejoicing in the hallowed halls of Mount Olympus. But back on the surface,Hector realized what happened. He then let out a most mournful cry that all wolves still cary on today. And Artemis,goddess of the moon,still loves the stars.
The end.