10 Years Ago
Artemis
I look back over my shoulder. My father Zeus, my uncles Poseidon and Hades, my half brothers Dionysus, Hermes, and Ares, my aunts Demeter and Hera, my half sister Athena, and my brother Apollo, looking very disappointed with me, are all chasing me. I glanced down and placed my hand on my swollen belly. I could feel little thumps, as if the baby was kicking. The baby. It was hard to believe that whoever was in there had ruined my life. 9½ months ago, I had been living a normal life. Hunting with the Hunters of Artemis, recruiting teenage girls, and arguing with my brother Apollo about who was the better archer. He had a huge grin on his face then. I looked back now. He looked very disappointed with me for breaking my oath. I have been exiled, even by most of my own Hunters. I felt a tightness in my stomach. The baby was ready to be born. I deployed a Mistform Artemis and ducked into a cave. You brought this upon yourself, I thought. It wasn't anyone else's fault but your own. I stuffed a rag in her mouth to keep from crying out so as not to alert my divine relatives. Everyone except Hestia, who was too calm and controlled, Hephaestus, because he couldn't run, and Aphrodite, for obvious reasons, are furious about my pregnancy. I could have walked away from that mortal at the party. But now, because of my bad choice, I am in a cave, hiding from almost every single Olympian, ready to give birth to my first baby-alone. Oh, how I wish for my lieutenant Zoe, but Zoe would have no way of knowing that I'm giving birth. She was training the new recruits right now. My due date was not for 2 days. If I could scream, Zoe would come, fast. The best thing about Zoe was her undying loyalty to me. I had to hope that one of my few Hunters would come help deliver the baby. But no luck. I leaned back, my face beaded with sweat, trying to not think about the pain.