The Unknown Story of Artemis and Apollo
As you know or at least I hope you know that Apollo and Artemis are twins. Except Apollo came out first then Artemis. Apollo is the god of the sun, music, young children, and medicine. His twin sister Artemis is the goddess of the moon, hunt, young children, and childbirth. Unlike her brother, Artemis wasn't at all interested in love. Well, at least that's what the myth says. But before that, know that Artemis never lover loved Orion. He just offended her and she declared his death. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
One day, Apollo was thinking about all the Olympian Greek goddesses. "Let's see, Hera is my stepmom and Aphrodite is way too nosy. Demeter and her daughter only talk about harvesting and growing plants. Athena doesn't make any sense when she is talking about anything. Only my sister isn't annoying and she actually understands me," Apollo thought. Apollo picks up a golden drachma and sends an Iris message to his sister. An image appears of Artemis and her nymphs sitting under her favorite tree. When Artemis caught sight of her brother she said, "My servants, you are dismissed, leave us alone for a while."
"Hello, sister."
"Apollo what is it? Is something wrong?"
"No, I just got bored and thought I'd like to talk to someone who understands me."
"Um… thanks, anyway, why talk to me on an Iris message if it's personal? Come and see me."
"OK, I'll be there in a flash," Apollo said winking. He disconnects the Iris message, and appears next to his sister in a flash of sunlight.
"Welcome, my brother."
"Hey."
"Can my nymphs get you anything?"
"Well… there is something…"
"Anything,"
"I'd like some time alone with my dearest sister."
Artemis turns her head away, so the nymphs wouldn't see her blushing.
"Everyone is dismissed until I summon you again later."
"Yes, my lady," the nymphs said. They bowed once to Artemis and Apollo and vanished.
Apollo smiled and sat next to Artemis. With a flick of his wrist, Apollo dimmed the sunlight within a one mile radius of where they say. Artemis turned her head toward Apollo; she was still blushing, but not as much as before. Apollo's expression softened.
"You know we should do this more often, sis," he said taking a hold of her hand.
"Apollo, you know we're not supposed to be doing this."
"Shh," he said putting his other hand gently over her mouth. "We don't want all the gods finding out, just, yet." Apollo slid his hand over to brush her hair out of her face.
"Anyway, there isn't a rule about it, is there?"
"No, but I wished to remain a maiden forever and-"
"But, you didn't swear on the River Styx."
"Apollo, why are you really here anyway?"
"My dearest sister, don't you remember? You invited me over. Besides, by the way you look, I think you already know." Artemis blushed even harder and was turning her head away. Before her head turned the other way, Apollo caught her head in one hand. His skin felt warm on her skin at the slightest touch. He gently pulled her head slowly toward him till he was looking into her dark brown eyes. As time passed Apollo and Artemis drew closer and closer, till their lips were exactly an inch apart. Artemis softly whispered, "I can't believe we're going to do this."
"I know so shall we?" Artemis nodded.
As their lips made contact there was an eclipse, except the light of the sun and the moon glowed with blinding light.
(Artemis' Point of View)
When Apollo kissed me it felt like the warmth and sensation of the sun mixed with the feeling of joyful music throughout my body. It felt so good that I kissed back softly
(Apollo's Point of View)
When I kissed Artemis I felt the cool and soothing-ness of the moon mixed with the exciting thrill of the hunt. When Artemis kissed me back I couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness knowing she never did this in the past with someone else.
(Anyway Back to the Story)
They kissed for about 2 to 5 minutes and time seemed to stop for everyone. All the people of the world looked up in awe at the rare event in the sky. Though the people didn't know what was happening, when the gods caught sight of it they fully understood, but were still shocked. Apollo and Artemis pulled away.
"We're going to get in so much trouble at the council of the gods, aren't we?
"I don't think so."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I asked for your permission, didn't I? And you said yes." Artemis blushed, but was smiling.
"I'm guessing everyone knows already?"
"Yeah, but who cares? We're together and that's all that matters, right?" Artemis came closer and rested her head on his chest and said,
"Right." Apollo grinned and wrapped his arms around Artemis.
15 minutes before the meeting started on Mt. Olympus the Olympians were getting ready for their yearly meeting and party. The buzz about Apollo and Artemis kissing was already known by everyone in Olympus, from the gods to the lower class slaves.
"Well, it seems that my little sister has taken my advice about boys," Aphrodite chuckled.
"I still can't believe they kissed. Are you absolutely sure?" Ares asked.
"Of course I'm sure!"Declared Aphrodite.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Ares on this topic. Artemis has always hated boys. She'd rather kill them than kiss them," Hermes included.
" I'LL kill you all, if you don't help me with the preparations for the party!" yelled Athena from the other side of the ballroom. "Ares, the sharks need to be annoyed till they look hungry," Athena said pulling Ares along.
"Hey, Athena, are Artemis and Apollo here yet?" asked Hermes.
"Um… Yeah. Artemis is making the moon glow a perfect shade of blue. And Apollo is outside making the disco ball shine," Athena said.
"Well, I think I'll pay my little sister a visit," Aphrodite said and in a flash she was gone. She left the scent of rose petals behind. Aphrodite appeared in a flash of pink dust next to Artemis.
"Hello, Aphrodite," Artemis said.
"Hi," Dionysus said in a drab voice.
"Dionysus, Athena wants you to taste the wine if it's any good." Aphrodite lied.
"Finally a job that I like." Dionysus said and disappeared.
"So… Aphrodite, you've heard." said artemis.
'Why yes, I have. i can't believe you wouldn't think I'd know that?" Aphrodite said knowingly.
"I guess that'd be true. As I recall you are the goddess of love." Artemis said.
"You're correct, so you should also know, that I know about every single kiss in the universe, and who they were," Aphrodite said while looking at her nails. Artemis smiled and said, " Don't tell me you were spying on us."
"I wouldn't call it spying, I'd call it my job," Aphrodite said smirking.
"I guess you heard and saw everything as well?"
"Yes, it was so cute! Apollo luring you into the kiss, and you agreeing without hesitation. Also, I'm pretty sure you kissed him back." Artemis blushed and said,
"Aphrodite, I'm glad I can talk to you. Something has been bothering me."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I've been having this weird feeling every time I'm around Apollo. It's like butterflies in my stomach." Aphrodite's expression softened into a smile and said,
"Little sister, it's called the feeling of love. It's when you have affections for someone else and you want to impress them."
"Huh?"
"Come on, let's take a walk and I'll explain it to you."
"Actually, i think that's my job." Hera said confidently. "Aphrodite, Athena needs your help setting up dating games."
"Fine, I'll leave it to you, Mother," she said as she vanished.
"Come my stepdaughter."
"Coming Lady Hera."
Meanwhile, Zeus went to see his son, Apollo, to talk to him about recent events.
"My son."
"Huh? Oh, hello Father,"
"Do you have an idea about what happened with the sun and moon today?"
"Um… Well, I was with Artemis and… um," Zeus smiled and laughed, putting his arm around his son.
"Yeah, I know about what happened with you and Artemis. You don't have to answer that question."
"Thanks, Dad."
"You know, I'm proud of you."
"What? Why?"
"It has been very hard, if not impossible to get Artemis interested in love."
"It was fairly easy," Apollo said. Zeus gave his son a questioning then knowing look and smiled.
"Yeah, i was kidding. It took a few millennia, but I gained her trust," Apollo said triumphantly.
"Well, I'm glad my daughter has found a man she gladly trusts. Let's get to the throne room."
"Yeah, or Artemis and Hera are going to have our heads." Zeus snapped his fingers and they both were teleported to the entrance of the throne room.
Anyway back to the walk with Hera and Artemis.
"So… Artemis…"
"Yeah…"
"Are you gonna tell me what happened or do I have to tell you?" Hera said angrily.
"Tell you what?"
"Fine, I'll tell you what I heard. All the gods saw the sun and moon instantly collide and both glowed. that made all the gods report to the throne room. Everyone was present, except for you and Apollo. Aphrodite looked out the window and said, 'No wonder they're not here.' I asked her what she meant and she said, 'You see the way the sun and moon are positioned. It's not even an eclipse, their edges are just touching. Do you even know what that means?' All the other gods including me shook our heads no. That's when she told us you two were kissing."
"No offense to Aphrodite or anything, but she's a bit nosy," Artemis said.
"So… is it true?" Hera asked questioningly. Artemis looked at Hera and said,
"Yes, every word of it was true."
"Even the part about you kissing back?"
"You were listening to Aphrodite and me talking weren't you?"
"Of course I was! Now please, answer me." Artemis sighed and said reluctantly,
"Yes, I did kiss Apollo back."
"Oh my gosh, you're finally growing up."
"Wait, was that just a compliment?"
"Yes. Of course."
"I thought you hated me."
"How can I hate you if you have found that special someone in your life, Artemis?"
"But still."
"You know you and Apollo look so cute together." Artemis smiled and said,
"Thanks, Hera."
"Your quite welcome, my dear. Now shall we go to the throne room?" Artemis nodded and Hera teleported them to the throne room's entrance.
Hera teleported them twenty feet behind Zeus and Apollo.
"Apollo!" Artemis cried happily and ran over to Apollo. Apollo turned around and hugged Artemis , then kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey, Artemis."
"Aww! you two are so cute!" Hera said.
"Yes, a mighty fine couple you make. Come Hera, we must be the first to take our seats in council," Zeus said taking Hera's hand.
"We'll leave the new love birds alone for a while," said Hera walking off with her husband. As they left, things became very awkward between the couple.
"So…," Apollo said.
"So…"
"Why is Hera so happy?"
"You're never going to believe this, but Hera is actually happy for us."
"What! Did I hear you correctly?"
"Yeah, you heard me. How was it with father?"
"How did you know…"
"He was with you when I got here."
"Oh, right. Well, we'd better take our seats before everyone else comes."
"We're no going anywhere until you answer me," Artemis said with a mischievous smile.
"Father was ok. He didn't make me explain all the details to him," Apollo said.
"You are so… lucky."
"Let me guess, Hera wanted every single little detail about everything."
"Yep, and she already knew all the details."
"How could she know all that?"
"Aphrodite saw everything that happened. Then she spilled every single detail to every god and goddess part of the Olympian council."
"Ugh, forget it. It's finished let's take our seats." Artemis nodded and then they both entered the throne room and took their seats. All the other gods came in one by one. Athena took her throne next to Artemis nudged her and had a slight grin on her face. Ares came in and said,
"Good job, man!" as he hit Apollo on the back, then took his seat. Apollo groaned and tried to melt into his seat. He quickly sat up as everyone else came in and the meeting began.
At the end of the meeting Zeus said, "Great well we will work together to achieve these goals." Zeus looked at Apollo and said, "Apollo, are you even listening to me?" He had his IPod headphones in his ears, and nodded and said, "Yeah, sure."
"Then what did I just say?" Apollo's eyes were closed and he started singing.
"Shawty's got a melody in my head… Did you say something?"
"No offense father, but I don't think Apollo is listening to you, "Athena stated.
Artemis laughed and said, "When Apollo is listening to music, he won't hear a thing anyone is saying."
"Never mind," Zeus sighed then exclaimed, "The council is dismissed."
"Let's party!" Aphrodite said as she jumped our of her throne and ran out the doors. All the other gods and goddesses walked out as well. Apollo lingered behind along with Artemis. Apollo took off his earphones and looked at Artemis and offered her his hand and said, "May I escort you to the party, my lady?"
Artemis smiled and said, "Yes, you may." She took Apollo's hand and stepped down from her throne. Then she took his arm and they walked into the party together.
It was loud in the ballroom, only a few people saw them. A group of minor gods fist bumped as they saw them together. Zeus looked over and smiled directly at Apollo, Hera smiled at Artemis and sighed. Then she said to her husband, "Aww, they look so good together." Zeus nodded and said,
"It's like they were meant to be."
"Yes, I know, but they are truly as different as the sun and moon."
"Different, but only together they are able to keep the balance. And, well they are the god and goddess of the sun and moon," Zeus said sarcastically.
"Now is not the time to be sarcastic, we have to congratulate them on their newly found love." Hera said plastering a smile to her face.
"My darling, we'll do that after the party."
The party had its fun moments, but 5 hours later it ended. The sun was going down and all the guests went home. Each of the gods and goddesses left one by one until Apollo and Artemis were alone once again. Apollo reached down and held Artemis' hand and walked out to the garden. They strolled hand in hand past the ancient plants and herbs. Then they sat down on a golden bench looking at the setting sun. Apollo looked at Artemis who returned his gaze, and they locked eyes. They came closer together and locked lips, then pulled away.
"I've been wanting to do that all day," Apollo said smiling. Artemis blushed, then smiled. She leaned closer and rested her head on Apollo's shoulder. Apollo grinned and put his arm around Artemis, and they watched the sunset together.
It was nearly pitch black.
"It's getting dark," Artemis said.
"We should be getting home," Apollo said sadly.
"Yeah, but it's already dark like my bedroom. I'm sick of the dark, but I'm sleepy and I'd like to sleep with a little light tonight," Artemis said while yawning.
"Well, I think that can be arranged. Want to come sleep at my house tonight?" Apollo said with a sly grin on his face.
"I was hoping you'd say that," Artemis said grinning. Apollo snapped his fingers and in a flash they were in Apollo's bedroom. The walls were painted yellow, with diamonds, rubies, and topaz lining the edges like crown molding. The furniture was made of solid gold and diamonds replaced the handles and knobs. There were three doors; one leading to the rest of the house and the other two leading to two separate bathrooms. Apollo gestured to the bathroom door that was lined with diamonds and said, "Artemis, you can use that bathroom to get ready for bed. I'll use this one," Apollo said pointing to the bathroom door that was lined with topaz.
"Ok. Thanks Apollo." Artemis entered and washed up. Then she undid her long black braid and brushed her hair. After that she willed her evening gown into her silver nightgown. She walked out and saw the lights were turned our, but there weree candles lining the floor along with rose petals. Apollo was sitting on the bed with yellow pajama pants on and his chest bare.
"You look beautiful in candle light," Apollo said as he caught a glimpse of Artemis in her sleeveless silver night gown and long black hair.
"Well, you look cute… as always," Artemis said sitting on the bed playing with her hair and tracing the lines of Apollo's muscular body absentmindedly. "Oh… sorry, I didn't-" Artemis said realizing what she was doing a moment later.
"It's fine, your icy fingers cool down my hot body." Apollo said grinning.
"Your outward appearance or just in general?" Artemis asked teasingly.
"Both," Apollo said smirking. Artemis' face broke into a grin. She noticed Apollo had hair gel in his hair. Artemis reached over and messed it up.
"Hey! What was that for?" Apollo said trying to fix his hair.
"If you wanna know, you'll have to catch me first!" Artemis said laughing and running out the door. Apollo smiled wide, then ran after his sister. Artemis leaped over furniture while being closely followed by Apollo.
"Artemis, I am so gonna to get you!" Apollo said as he chased her back into the bedroom and locked the door. He caught Artemis by the waist and pulled her closer.
"Gotcha!" Apollo said. "Now why'd you mess up my hair?" Artemis laughed and then said,
"Apollo, it's not that messed up. Anyway, you know you look cute when your hair is a bit messy." Apollo grinned,
"Thanks."
"Now can we please just go to bed?"
"Sure just hold on a minute." Apollo said letting go of Artemis and turning on his radio, romantic music was playing when the couple got in bed. Artemis noticed a bag between the pillow.
"What's in the bag?" Artemis asked after the couple settled.
"Open it and find out." Artemis opened the bag and stars flew out then, floated above their heads.
"Stars!" Artemis said in awe while rearranging them.
"This is for you," Apollo said handing Artemis a necklace with stars on it. She gasped at the constellation the stars made. It was a heart shaped locket and inside was a picture of them.
"It's beautiful."
"But not as beautiful as you." Apollo looked at Artemis with loving eyes, Artemis blushed but returned the gaze.
"Apollo, thank you," Artemis said coming closer. She rested her head on his chest and findered Apollo's muscles. Apollo smiled then put his hand on her waist and whispered in her ear,
"Good night, Artemis… I love you."
"… I love you too. Sweet dreams."
Then they both fell asleep.
Exactly at 5:45 in the morning, Apollo woke up. The sky was still pitch black. Artemis was still sleeping soundly on his chest, but as Apollo stretched she awoke.
"What is it, Apollo? It's way to early to get up," Artemis said yawning.
"I must get ready to start the day. I have to drive the sun over Mt. Olympus to wake everyone up." Apollo went into the bathroom, washed up and changed clothes. Then he said, I'll bring you to your house to get some rest." Apollo picked Artemis up and teleported to her bedroom, Apollo tucked her in bed.
"Thanks Apollo. See you at dusk?" Apollo smiled,
"Meet me in the garden under the golden apple tree. Together we'll go hunting, just the two of us."
"Sounds great," Artemis murmured closing her eyes. Apollo bent down and gave Artemis a kiss, "See you later, sis."
Later during the day around noon, Athena and Aphrodite just finished eating lunch.
"ALERT! ALERT! CODE PINK ACTIVATED! ALERT! APOLLO AND ARTEMIS, CODE PINK!" Aphrodite's computer system said.
"What's that?" Athena asked.
"The love detector programmed into my computer. It tells me when an act of love is shown, who was it, and it gives me a video of what happened," Aphrodite said clicking the video box.
"AHHHHH! Oh my gods!" Aphrodite screamed after watching the video in less than three seconds.
"What is it Aphrodite?"
"Come and watch yourself." After watching the video from the garden all the way till Apollo tucking Artemis in bed, Athena was astonished.
"All this happened LAST NIGHT?"
"Yes! O… M… G, give me my phone, I have to call and text everyone what happened between those two last night,"
"Or," Athena said grabbing Aphrodite's phone first, "We could tell dad and have a secret emergency meeting." Aphrodite sighed,
"Your way is so-"
"You can break out the news to everyone at the meeting," Athena said.
"Great, I'll bring my laptop."
"No, you won't."
"What! Why not?"
"Give a little respect for our little sister's privacy, please!"
"Fine. But I'm saving that video." Athena rolled her eyes then teleported them to see their dad.
"Father," Athena called urgently, "Aphrodite and I must call a secret emergency meeting WITHOUT Apollo and Artemis."
"Did something happen between them?" Zeus asked with wide eyes.
"No! Not that serious, father," Athena said quickly.
"Well, not yet," Aphrodite said with a sly smile.
"Yeah… you're not going to mess with their relationship, Aphrodite," Athena said to her sister strictly.
"Well, I'm not promising anything,"
"Aphrodite!" Zeus said strictly
"Fine." Zeus picked up a golden drachma and then said, "Show me my son, Hermes." An image appeared of Hermes.
"Father, what can I do for you?" Hermes said attentively.
"Hermes, I want you to send a message to the Olympians to come to the throne room immediately for a meeting."
"OK, a message to everyone-"
"Wait, I nearly forgot. Do not invite Apollo and Artemis."
"Oh… I'm guessing the meeting is about them, huh?"
"Yes, I do not want any of the gods to spread the rumor around. If the twins find out, I will severely punish whoever told or even gave them a clue about the emergency meeting."
"Of course father," Hermes said bowing then disconnecting the Iris message.
As dusk was falling Artemis woke up to the sun shining through her window. Then she remembered she was supposed to meet Apollo in the garden to go hunting together. She threw the covers off and went to the bathroom. Artemis washed up and combed her hair, then braided it. She willed her night gown into her brown hunting dress. Artemis grabbed her bow and quiver full of silver arrows. She looked at her nightstand and saw the necklace Apollo had given her last night.
"I think I'll wear it today while hunting," Artemis thought aloud. She picked it up and put it around her neck. As Artemis adjusted it, the stars glowed like diamonds. Artemis teleported herself to the Olympian garden's entrance. She walked along until the tree was in sight. Apollo was leaning against the tree holding his bow and his quiver with golden arrows inside. He walked up to Artemis and said, "Hello, Artemis." They kissed and exchanged hugs.
"Don't you get tired driving that big sun chariot?"
"Don't you get tired staying up all night looking at me?"
"Apollo, you're such a joke, but that's why I love you."
"I love you too," Apollo said, he saw the necklace on Artemis' neck, "You're wearing the necklace!" Artemis touched her neck, "Of course I wore it, I mean, who gave it to me?"
"A smart musical, hot god like me?" Apollo teased.
"Sure says the cool hunter goddess." Artemis responded.
"Why the sarcasm? Apollo asked with a big smile on his face.
"Ugh, you started it," Artemis scoffed.
"Nah uh,"
"Yuh huh,"
"Nah uh,"
"Yah huh,"
(Note: Reader, you must know that the argument went on for thirty minutes. After that, they forgot what they were arguing about)
Artemis and Apollo were laughing.
"Artemis, what were we arguing about again?" she replied by trying to stop laughing.
Apollo slung his bow over his shoulder and grabbed Artemis' hand then snapped his fingers. In a flash, they were in the sacred forest that was directly between their temples. They landed on tree branches, then jumped down. Apollo and Artemis looked at each other and whistled at the same time to call their hunting hounds.
"Hi girls," Artemis said greeting her hounds. She knelt and they came closer and licked her face.
"Hey," Apollo said putting all his hounds. Then they caught a glimpse of a very, very large elk. Unlike most elk this one was very fast. Apollo gave Artemis a meaningful look and she nodded in response.
"Everyone! Take your seats please!" Zeus yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Father," Hephaestus called, " Why are we here? Where are Apollo and Artemis? Wait a minute, this is about them! I'm gonna Iris message them." Hephaestus started to pull out a drachma.
"Brother, don't, this is regarding what happened last night." Athena said clinging onto Hephaestus' arm.
"What happened last night?"
"It's too hard to describe in words."
"But, I have a clip," a voice said. Athena and Hephaestus turned their heads to see Aphrodite walking over to them.
"Aphrodite, you dare to disobey me?" Athena glared at Aphrodite.
"No, I don't dare. You just forgot I had a flash drive with the video on it."
"Give me that," Athena said swiping it from Aphrodite. Athena glared at it and it disappeared with a pop.
"Hey! I wanted to keep that," Aphrodite exclaimed, "I can't believe you broke it!"
"Sister, I didn't break it. I simply got rid of it for two days."
"Ugh, so I have to wait two days for it to reappear? That's so-"
"Don't worry I'll get it for you later."
"But-"
"Listen Aphrodite, you're NOT going to show anyone else that video."
"And what if I do?"
"Then you will get the punishment of a lifetime!" Zeus said angrily.
"Sorry Father."
"Now, everyone, sit down."
All the Olympians sat on their thrones and focused their attention on Zeus. Zeus sighed and flicked his wrist and the thrones moved to assemble a circle. Apollo and Artemis' thrones stayed in place.
"What is this meeting called for anyway, Dad?" Ares said cleaning his 5 foot long sword. Zeus sighed and said, "Ares, put your sword away before I take it. And this meeting was called to discuss the recent events of two of your siblings."
Ares made his sword disappear and his eyes widened and said, "What happened with Apollo and Artemis?"
"Your sister Aphrodite will show you, Ares. Or should I say tell you about it." Hera answered with a fairly calm tone. Poseidon made a spring sprout in the middle of the circle. Aphrodite leaned over and threw some gold and silver sparkles into the water.
"Finding a couple like two for one, show me a picture of the moon and sun," Aphrodite chanted.
"Whoa," Athena said under her breath.
"Awesome," said an astonished Ares. Instantly the lake glowed and a picture of Artemis and Apollo's faces appeared in the water. Behind Artemis' head, there was a picture of a crescent moon. Behind Apollo's head, there was a picture of the sun.
"OK, everyone listen up. This meeting was called to discuss the recent events of your-"
"Oh, Zeus, stop being so formal," Hera said, "Apollo and Artemis had a sleepover last night and they had some romance!" Ares' jaw dropped and stared at Hera. "Oh, not that serious!" Hera exclaimed. Many of the Olympians gave a relieved sigh.
"I was 'bout to say," said Ares.
"ANYWAY!" Aphrodite said, annoyed.
"Excuse us, sorry Aphrodite," Zeus said, "Carry on with your speech." Aphrodite nodded and then said,
"I'll start this story from the beginning. Yesterday, after the council they say in the garden till the sun went down. Then, they went to Apollo's house and had a bit of a passion play before bed. After that, they got into the same bed together and played with stars. And before they fell asleep in each other's arms, Apollo gave Artemis a necklace made of actual stars.
"Wait! Wouldn't that blind or possibly burn her?" Ares asked.
"No, it wouldn't. Apollo and Artemis are the god and goddess of light, and stars are made of nothing but light. And besides immortals can't be blinded unless they were blind at birth. And Ares would you please let your sister finish?" Athena said fairly annoyed.
"As you wish," Ares said grinning.
"As I was saying… In the morning Apollo took Artemis to her room and tucked her in bed. Before Apollo left to drive the sun in the sky, they made arrangements to go hunting together at dusk, alone."
"As you can see this is Artemis' very first romance," Athena said.
"It may be her very first, but if it keeps going like this…" said Hera.
"Their love will become permanent," Aphrodite finished.
"Wow. That was a lot to take in," Hephaestus said.
"I got the whole love thing between them, but what's that gotta do with us?" asked Ares.
"It means we don't want anyone messing with their romance." Hera said.
"That means no teasing, meddling, or giving them 'help' or 'pointers' on their love," Zeus said strictly.
"Are you serious?" Aphrodite and Hera said in unison.
"Quite," Zeus replied.
"Didn't I tell you to drop the formal tone?" Hera asked.
"Perhaps."
"It's obvious that the goddess of love and the goddess of proposals and marriage would want to meddle," Athena said rolling her eyes.
"Well, I wouldn't really call it meddling," Aphrodite responded.
"We'd call it our job and our responsibility," Hera said slightly offended.
"As you always say," Athena mumbled.
"Ugh! You obviously don't-"
"Hera, please!" Zeus said.
"Please what?" Hera retorted.
"Please let fate take its toll on their romance. Only fate can say if this relationship was meant to be," Zeus said rather calmly.
"Zeus, We're gods. We can-" Hera said.
"Even gods and goddesses can't tamper with fate," said Zeus firmly.
"That definitely has been proven before with the prophecies," Ares said. The other Olympians nodded in agreement.
"To make sure we all stay on the same page, I want everyone here to swear upon the River Styx," Zeus said raising his right hand. Everyone began to do the same, Hera and Aphrodite were the last to do so. Then they all said together,
"We swear upon the River Styx that we won't meddle with Artemis and Apollo's relationship." Lightning flashed and the sound of distant thunder was heard.
As the secret meeting was coming to a close, Apollo and Artemis already had the elk cornered. They were in a small clearing with trees lining the edges and a very rocky steep mountain on one side. The hounds were all around the perimeter of the clearing barking, snarling, and baring their teeth. Apollo and Artemis were standing on tree branches opposite from each other. Apollo looked at Artemis and sent a mental note. "You do the honors, take your shots." Artemis shook her head and replied. "We'll do it together." The twins notched their arrows and shot the elk at the same time. When both arrow sunk in, the elk stopped breathing and fell to the ground motionless. Apollo and Artemis jumped down and gave each other high fives.
"Nice shot," Apollo said grinning.
"Thanks, you're weren't so bad yourself" Artemis said cracking a smile.
"What should we do with the elk?" Apollo asked.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Artemis slyly asked. Apollo kept on nodding and nodding until eventually said,"…no."
"You didn't have to be so conceited about it," Artemis chuckled.
"It's my nature to be conceited. What were you thinking?" You could easily see the curiosity filling Apollo's eyes.
"Remember the gut we both individually cursed?"
"The one where I said his skin would in sunlight and that you said he could only lurk in the shadows?" Apollo asked.
"Yes, did you know that he has bitten over three thousand people? His kind has flourished over the last millennia."
"So you want to give them the elk so they won't drink mortal blood, right?"
"Yeah, did you know that they've made a new name for themselves?"
"We named them Lamia, right? Well, what did they name their selves?" Artemis took a slow breath then she began to talk ridiculously fast,
"Well, all of them really didn't like eating regular human food so they decided to drink blah, blah, blah you know that part. Ancient lamias call their selves vampyres with a y and the newer generation call their selves vampire with an I."
"That's… a…. weird name. How do you know this anyway?"
"Hello? Goddess of the moon. Awake mostly at night. Take care of all nighttime creatures," Artemis said a little offended.
"Right. Sorry sis. I just didn't think you'd keep tabs on one person for centuries."
"I didn't. I just noticed many mortals missing, then I found their dead bodies. They were totally drained of blood and they two one inch bite marks on them."
"So you're trying to get their kind to drink animal blood instead of mortal human blood."
"Yep."
"Fine with me." Apollo said plucking the elk off the forest floor as if it was a rabbit, with one hand Artemis grabbed Apollo's arm and snapped her fingers. They were instantly teleported to the entrance of the sacred cave of the vampires.
"We should turn invisible for giving this little gift," Apollo said. He took Artemis' hand and they both closed their eyes and said, "Vanish." The twins entered leaving a trail of blood from the entrance of the cave.
The colony of vampires returned later that night exactly four hours after Apollo and Artemis left.
"Look," the first vampire said pointing to the trail of blood.
"It's elk blood," said the second.
"How can you tell?" asked the first,
"Look," the vampire said pointing to the dead bleeding elk and the basin of blood and organs.
"It's from the immortal twins who created our kind," said another from the crowd.
"They left a note," the first vampire said.
"Well, read it our loud," said the second.
"They wrote, 'Our dearest creations, We hope you enjoy our gift. Besides the blood samples, in the elk blood there is a bit of blood from other animals on the arrow tips that are still in the elk hide. That includes the blood of ancient Greek monsters like the minotaur. Enjoy P.S. We really don't want you to give us some as an offering it's all yours. Sincerely Apollo and Artemis.'"
"That was very nice of them considering what we have done to the mortals," a vampire said.
"For their sake we will switch to drinking animal blood. And then pray to them for forgiving us," an elder exclaimed. Then the crowd of vampires gave a loud cheer in agreement. Then the whole colony raised their right hand and together they chanted,
"All the vampires swear upon the ancient River Styx to only drink animal blood, Those who dare to drink mortals' will be cursed and they will be at the mercy of the Olympians." Then they all sat down and ate the feast the twins had given them.
The twins were about three miles away from the vampire cave. They teleported two miles and were walking in the early morning hand in hand in a hunting forest by Olympus. Then they heard the sound of distant thunder.
"You heard that right?" Apollo asked.
"You mean their oath or prayers?"
"Both."
"Yeah."
"I think you really influenced the younger generation of their kind," Apollo said grinning.
"You helped."
"But it was your idea." Artemis smiled and nudged Apollo before her elbow hit him, Apollo grabbed her arm and swung Artemis around then hugged her. They stayed that way for some time. As they hugged the sun and moon froze and time totally came to a stop. After a while Apollo finally let go and the couple smiled at one another.
"I wanna show you something," Apollo said pulling Artemis along. Apollo asked, "Do you remember this place?"
"Of course. This is where we had our first kiss," Artemis said while looking at the tree. After a while of walking, Apollo pointed at his house and looked at Artemis with knowing eyes. "This is where we slept together last night," Artemis said while blushing a little bit. They kept walking, till they came to the bench and golden apple tree.
"And here?" Apollo asked.
"Where we met to go hunting and where we kissed after the council and party." Apollo lead Artemis to a rose garden on the other side of the palace. This was a magical place that not many people visited. Even the gods didn't visit all the time. This place had a special purpose that you will soon find out. Artemis looked around at the elegant flowers and said, "I've never been to this part of the garden before." She sat down on a bench, "I don't remember this place, Apollo."
"Oh, you soon will," Apollo said grinning and sitting beside Artemis. Artemis look at her brother and said,
"I have a feeling you brought me here to talk about something, right?"
"Yes."
"Well…"
"Artemis, we've been through so much together, and we have an unbreakable bond. It's been that way from childhood till now."
"That is true."
"We pretty much know all there is to know about each other, but…"
"But… what?"
"I still have one more question," Apollo said standing up walking a few paces and fingering something in his pocket. Artemis stood and look at Apollo with soft eyes,
"What is it, Apollo?" Apollo turned around, pulled out the ring box, and knelt on one knee.
"I love you with all my heart. Artemis, will you marry me?" You could see the happiness filling Artemis' eyes. She was so surprised that her hand cover her mouth to hide the astonished grin on her face.
"Yes… I will." She extended her left hand and Apollo slipped the diamond ting on her ring finger. Apollo stood up smiling wide, Artemis grinned and wrapped her arms around Apollo's neck. His hands came up to circle her waist, they stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Then their eyelids fell and the couple kissed unlike before with both of them kissing passionately. After they pulled away, Apollo and Artemis hugged once again. Apollo smiled and said slyly,
"Feel like crashing the 'secret' meeting?"
"Yeah, like a meeting about us would go unnoticed by us."
"It's so silly, I mean don't they know about our powers?"
"Well, why don't we remind them," Artemis said while grinning.
"Well, now that this meeting has come to an end-" Zeus said.
"Well, I wonder what it was about," Apollo interrupted. The twins just poofed into the meeting and were sitting on their thrones in the circle.
"Would we be here if we didn't know what it was about, Apollo?" Artemis asked.
"True, very true," Apollo answered. Artemis looked around and said,
"Yeah, it's impossible to have a secret meeting about us in a room surrounded by windows."
"Don't you know that wherever there is light, we can both see and hear what's going on?" Apollo asked. Zeus slapped himself in the face and said,
"I keep forgetting that detail!"
Hera's necklace glowed and beeped.
"What's that?" Hermes asked. Everyone's eyes were on Hera.
"It's my engagement necklace. It will shine when someone gets engaged. It's really bright when they are in my sight, then shines the light on the ring." Hera reached down and clicked her necklace. The beam of light shone across the water and landed on the diamond ring on Artemis' left hand. The ring made rainbows appear all around the room when the light beam hit the diamond. All the Olympians stared at the ring and some gasps were heard. Apollo and Artemis looked at each other and smiled. The sound of Aphrodite smacking herself was suddenly heard.
"Oh my gods! I'm seriously not dreaming. This isn't a dream is it?" Aphrodite said speaking rapidly.
"No, you're not dreaming," Artemis said putting her hand up. The gazes drifted to Apollo.
"Yes. Yes, I did," Apollo said grinning. Aphrodite's eyes were so wide they'd pop out any time, then she fainted.
"When are you getting married?" Hera asked.
"At sunset," Apollo and Artemis said simultaneously.
"Congratulations!" Zeus bellowed happily. The sound of silence was interrupted by the sound of cheers. Zeus sensed this was going to be a social time for everyone so he put the thrones back in their original position. Everyone was talking to one of the twins. The boys were crowded around Apollo and the girls around Artemis.
Later that day at sunset, the wedding began. Artemis in a silver and white glittering wedding gown walked down the aisle to her groom. Apollo was dressed in a black tux with a yellow shirt and a red tie. The couple stepped up to the altar to begin the ceremony.
THE END
To be continued…
