1The Wrath of Hera
Chapter 3:
All that night, Artemis had been gazing through the leaves, trying to find the sky, yet to no avail as the leaves of this forest blocked even the keenest of eyes. Lonesome and weary, the goddess cowered within the branches of the unfamiliar tree. Neither plant nor animal sought to comfort her. She could not even discern a recognizable call in all this expanse of wilderness.
Shivering in the cold, Artemis wished her brother would appear and make a small fire for her. She wished anyone would appear, to find her and take her home.
Then she remembered what the mirror had shown her. The horror weighing on her shoulders at the thought that she may never return to her own forest, with its own birds calling sweet dreams to her, animals murmuring good night, and leaves whispering a lullaby in her ear.
This goddess, perhaps the fiercest of all the Olympians and Titans of her world, could not contain the single sob that echoed through the night.
Legolas lay beneath his tent, imagining the lay of the stars that he had memorized for almost three thousand years. The entire encampment was silent, all elves sleeping, Gimli had ceased snoring, and Merry and Pippin had long since been chastised into slumber.
The only restless being among his fellowship, Legolas thought only of the woman he had seen. He knew she had been by the camp. Though he could not see her, he had felt her presence.
He only wished he had been able to speak to her without causing her to escape as she had.
As he contemplated the day's events, he heard a distant sound reach the Elvin city.
Though the echo had startled him, the Elf had already slipped far into the realms of sleep, and was unable to dredge himself from its depths. Even the sudden realization that the sob had belonged to the woman he had found could not stop his approaching slumber, leaving him to dream of her face, and of comforting her. Indeed, this was the most pleasant dream befallen any of the fellowship since Sauron and his orcs had resurfaced.
The alien chirping of birds awakened bronze, rounded ears. Stirring from an uncomfortable doze, the being in the tree disentangled long, multi colored limbs from a mass of auburn curls and feathers, and bronze, gold, red, and green skin.
The eyes of a deer looked to the sky, only to be blocked by dense leaves, with little sunlight filtering through.
The sunlight merely fell from the sky in this strange world. Apollo fought to reach the ground, here it only landed.
This was but one of many reminders that the goddess waking with a stiff neck was nowhere near her home.
Plummeting almost gracefully from the high branches of the tree in the sore state she received from sleeping in an awkward position through the night, Artemis landed in a crouch, much like a cat would. Removing pomegranate seeds from a pouch on her skirt, Artemis ate her breakfast. However, when she tried to drink from her flask, she found that she had emptied it during the night. This led her to seek water.
Though she had been in a stream the day before, Artemis had fled that area until she had found herself in the city of the gorgeous beings. The goddess found herself hopelessly lost, with no hint from plant or animal.
Meandering through the woods in an aimless direction, she sought a stream of some kind. While the day before she had been in haste, now she took the time to walk stealthily through the foliage, leaving neither track nor sign of her ever being there.
It was soon evident that these particular plants did not take well to strangers, causing her path to be entirely difficult.
Finally, she heard the telltale signs of a stream; the trickling, burbling laughter of flowing water.
Bending to fill her flask in the water, Artemis did not hear the voices from farther downstream until the wind shifted in her direction.
"And you, Gimli, son of Gloin, what do you wish for as parting gift?" drifted the melodious voice of the amazing and terrible beauty, Lady Galadriel.
Remaining in her crouch, Artemis crept forth along the banks, until she neared the gathering that stood alongside the stream. She had remained unnoticed and took this opportunity to dive behind the bushes lining the flowing water.
When she turned to peer between the leaves, the sideways glance that gazed in her direction told her that the sudden movement of her actions was not wise. Her pursuer was the only one to noticeably acknowledge her, yet to her confusion; he turned back to the Lady and ignored the spying goddess.
To her surprise, the short and immensely furry male had received three golden hairs from the glorious Lady's head. Artemis watched as each of her chaser's company received gifts. One a sword, some arrows, some blades, Frodo a strange crystal, and among them her pursuer received a beautiful bow.
After being presented with more supplies and cloaks, the men turned to the boats that lay waiting in the stream and set sail, following the current. The graceful company watched the rested males sail away. Then they turned toward their city and returned into the woods. But not before the Lady Galadriel turned toward Artemis' direction and smiled. Motioning toward a bundle lain by the banks, she nodded. Then the woman whose beauty rivaled that of Helen and Aphrodite receded into the foliage beyond.
Remaining completely still where she was, Artemis watched for the graceful race to return, wondering if they all knew of her presence. After a while of waiting, with no sign of their approach, the goddess leapt across the swiftly flowing waters, landing on the bank across.
Upon closer examination of the bundle she retrieved, she found that it was in fact a cloak much like what the others had received. Concealed inside was a loaf of strange bread wrapped in a leaf, a dagger, and a green stone pin, with gold imbedded in a design.
After closer inspection of the bread and dagger, Artemis fashioned a sack from the cloak, and lay the bread and pin inside, then slung it over her back alongside her bow and quiver. Then she placed the silver dagger inside the mid-calf length leather boots she wore.
Looking once more in the direction the beings had left, and silently thanking the Lady, hoping she could hear Artemis as well as she had heard the Lady, the goddess set off to follow the group of men. It was clear to her; from the mirror and the indications that the wise lady had left her that she was meant to be with this company.
Of course they have to be all men, the woman thought ironically to herself. Then setting off at a fast pace as to catch the boats, she followed them.
Clearly underestimating the speed with which the waters flowed, the goddess could not catch sight of the floating company before the stream had merged with the river that flowed through the vast forest.
At first Artemis remained behind the tree line for the advantage of secrecy. Here, the sound of their chatter could reach her ears even above the roar of the river. Particularly the sound of the short men could be heard as they called to each other. This way, she could learn some things about this group that she was so obviously meant to follow, such as the short and squat fellow was Gimli, the one she had heard and had received the golden hair from the Lady Galadriel's fair head.
As the hours wore on, and the fellowship showed no signs of resting, Artemis resignedly set an even pace as to keep parallel to the boats and be able to rest while she leapt through the woods.
Suddenly a presence filled her senses. Much like the feeling she had received from the ring that Frodo carried, though much less powerful, yet much vaster. She knew there were many who held the same significance that the band of gold possessed. Now she kept behind the tree line so as not to draw attention from the wrong beings.
"Aragorn, I sense something in the woods." Legolas said.
"As do I, Legolas. They are along the western banks. We camp the night on the east while they may not yet cross." The dark haired man replied.
Legolas nodded in agreement, and the boats made way to the safer side of the river. As they grew nearer land, Legolas also noticed a familiar presence not far off, surprising him. He knew it was the same woman he had seen the day before.
Opting not to inform the others of the company, he realized they would look to interrogate her, scaring her off again. No, he would wait for her to show herself.
While they set their supplies on the ground for the night, Legolas found himself preoccupied while the others set camp, as he thought of the woman.
Shortly, he realized that while Aragorn had been helping the gruff dwarf and rowdy hobbits, and he had been thinking of that bronzed skin, Frodo and Boromir had disappeared.
Warning the others, he left in search of the ring bearer.
Artemis had approached the camp. Watching them, she saw the blonde man who had given chase to her brooding, while the scruffy man tried to manage all of the small men.
She also saw Frodo disappear, with a less scruffy man follow him.
Curious about the ring and why it had caused such a commotion, the goddess stealthily trailed them.
What she saw only confirmed her fear of Men. What she sensed from the tall man warned her not to trust him, for she felt the compelling and repelling power stronger in his heart than any other in the company. Frodo had been surprised by the fact that the taller man had followed him. Startled, he had put the ring on. To Artemis' complete shock, the short male had completely disappeared from view.
What plot did I find myself in, exactly? The goddess thought.
Shocked, she could not find it in herself to interfere with the man, though she soon realized that Frodo had not disappeared entirely, for he was merely invisible, making a trail of leaves to state the obviousness of his whereabouts.
So entranced was she that she had not felt the growing feeling of the presence she had felt earlier, the feeling that something similar to that ring which held so much power, was coming closer. Artemis did not notice this until the sense was nearly upon them.
By then it was too late to give warning, for as she had noticed the creatures approaching, so did the men, and they readied themselves for battle. She watched them prepare until she realized Frodo and the two tall, scruffy men were gone.
Racing after the direction of their trail, and wanting to avoid her pursuer, she soon found Frodo visible again, with his hand outstretched toward the darker male, who then motioned for him to keep the ring. She felt rather than heard the sigh of relief let loose from Frodo's mouth, before she realized that she had in fact uttered a similar one. For reasons beyond what she could determine, the ring felt right in Frodo's possession.
Suddenly a swarm of ugly, large, black creatures invaded the clearing that Frodo and his comrade stood in. Frodo managed to escape with the ring, while the taller man fought expertly against these strange and monstrous warriors.
Seeing his skill with his blade, Artemis set off to follow Frodo, feeling that he had more need of her with his short height. That strange ring he carried may have the power to be invisible, but with a leaf strewn forest floor such as this, invisibility was not such a wondrous gift as a trackless path.
Thus she silently followed the short little invisible man. As she leapt from root to root as she always did, she pulled her bow from over her shoulder and notched a silver arrow on the bowstring.
Soon, they entered an area in the forest with fewer trees; perfect for fighting, or for being ambushed by hundreds of those dark beings. As the thought crossed the mind of the goddess, the shadows emerged from the foliage surrounding them.
Battle ensued. She saw Frodo suddenly remove his ring; he had not seen her yet. The other small men ran along the path she and Frodo had made, only to stop shocked to see her, then turn to Frodo as his protection. Soon the tall, paler man entered their clearing, also briefly taking notice of her before he turned in time to ward off the blow of the ugliest creature she had seen.
As a twig snapped, Artemis spun to block the heavy black blade that was aimed at her neck. Amazed at the effort it took at warding the blow, the goddess stood dazed until the next creature attacked her.
Where normally her skills at the blade and bow were more than enough to ensure her survival even without her immortality, now she found it difficult to hold her own. There were no such beings such as these, with their great mass and obvious thrill for blood, in the world she knew so well. She was accustomed to hunting deer, or boar. None were so arrogant to challenge the goddess of the hunt, one who assumed the role of greatest warrior among the gods.
She had never been challenged before. Now she knew fear.
It was a shock, to realize that fear was in fact what she was feeling at the moment. As the swarm of these great, rancid beats bore down upon her, she realized just how massive their volume was. After sheathing her blade for the moment, she stabbed the one looming over her with an arrow, only to turn in time to fire a shot at one approaching her from behind.
She had come to aid them, only to learn the hard truth that she had not wanted to acknowledge until now.
The truth that her skills had weakened.
She had felt it when she had arrived, but she had not realized it for what it was. In this world so different and separate from her own, her abilities had paled. Though she still possessed her natural born right, she could feel the hard fact that her powers were faded compared to what they had once been. She could feel her senses reeling in panic at this realization, and being surrounded by an enemy she had never known
She was alone in a world unknown to her. A goddess lost with no way home; unknown, unloved, and unwanted. A goddess whose abilities had slightly slipped away. Worst of all, a goddess with no followers, no one to worship her.
What was a goddess worth if there was no one to believe in her, to ask forgiveness of, to seek aid from, to respect, to aspire to impress? The gods were what made people follow morals, wage wars, and believe in a better afterlife than just ending. If there were no gods to punish, people would not be responsible with their actions. They would have no order. They would have no hope.
This thought numbed Artemis for a moment. Hope. What would her followers think if she did not accept the offerings of her next sacrifice? They would think she had turned her back on them. They would grow cold, and careless. What would become of her forest? Her beautiful forest. Would her people grow heartless and lose respect? Would she become a distant memory only retold in tales? There would be no new ballads about her sung from the lips of the bards. She would be lost completely to the world. The only ones to remember her would be the gods, who would not look for her forever.
She was lost, a shadow of herself in spirit, mind, and powers.
Cold now, Artemis turned to another creature coming at her. He approached, though from his stance, she knew he regarded her as a mere woman. He grinned evilly at her, slowed he walk to become more menacing, purposeful.
He is mocking me, the goddess thought. Any other day, any other place, she would have regarded his predatory approach with silent amusement and annoyance. But this day, the day she realized she was lost forever from her home, found herself weakened and alone, feeling fear for the first time in millennia, with cold acceptance to her fate; she felt neither amusement nor annoyance.
Instead, she felt rage. Not any anger or fury. Both those words implied that she was in control of her emotions and actions. No, she felt rage. Her cold acceptance, numb senses, and fear had all morphed into a blind, raw, burning sensation in her gut.
She knew no sound; the world was deafened to her ears in this mindless heat that was blazing in her mind.
Raising her bow, this being, this loathsome creature halted in his tracks, and laughed in her face. He clearly believed she was useless in the art of battle. He seemed to miss the deadly look in her eyes. The lethal glint shining her chestnut brown eyes were discarded as a warning to him.
He still mocks me…fool, she thought. Drawing the string taught, arrow notched and aimed at his heart, finger tips brushing the corner of her mouth, she watched him laughing at her. She watched him grow still, and then leering at her he pulled his blade from the sheath on his back. She watched him nearing her, settling his stance into the anticipation of the deadly waltz he expected.
She would gladly oblige.
Steadying her arm, the goddess drew breath and prepared to fire, the male before her raised his shield, ready to block the blow of her arrow. Smiling to herself in her wild rage, she switched her aim at another such creature in the distance that was becoming too close to the small, blonde men.
The creature that had expected the arrow heard the gurgle escape the arrow-pierced neck of his comrade in surprise. Taking this opportunity to advance upon him with her blades, she slung her bow over her shoulder as she pulled a blade from her waste. He turned to her as she attempted to strike him, only to be blocked by his upraised sword. As his one blade thwarted her own, she grasped the hilt of her dagger and stabbed upward, piercing his stomach.
Thrilled at the familiar sense of being a huntress, a gladly accepted sense after the turmoil of thoughts and emotions she had previously felt, she fought with a new sense she had never battled with before.
Once she had fought for survival, duty, or honor. Now she fought with that blind emotion that remained burning in the back of her mind. However, overall she felt the sense that this was her last tie to her old realm. The feeling that she was not fighting for joy, or sport, but for the necessity of survival for the company she had been following, and anything that gave her a sense of duty after the panic of being lost.
So it was with a new found purpose that she would aid these fellows, this Frodo, and his companions, that she rushed into a swarm of black beasts holding blades and arrows.
She fought valiantly, with no scrape to make her battle evident to others in the future. She fought to protect these small men who obviously were not skilled at using a blade. She fought so they could live another day. She fought to destroy that revolting sense she had detected from that small golden ring, and these beings she struck down.
She fought.
Suddenly there were too many. With all her skill, experience, and relentless energy, she found herself surrounded. Then she heard the horn that the tall blond man had carried. She was not the only one battling, he had appeared. The creatures they fought stopped to look towards him, but he had called warning to the others who were no doubt racing down the hill to their aid.
To her horror, she watched as an arrow pierced his flesh, landing in his chest. The man looked down upon it, and then seemed to shrug off the fact that he was wounded and smote another being.
The battle around her had paused, freeing her to gaze upon this man. It seemed that the being that had struck him with the arrow was a leader of some kind. The dark beasts watched the outcome of his fight.
Watching, helpless, she saw the second arrow embed itself in his stomach. He turned his sight from the arrow to another being before he stabbed at it too.
In all her millennia, she had never seen such valor, or heroic actions. Tales were told of the great Heracles, Odysseus, Orion, and many others. They had fought great beasts, the Scorpion, the Boar she had set upon an unfaithful town, many unimaginable horrors. However none had faced an army with arrows in his chest, and continued to fight knowing that immortality or pardons from the gods may not await them.
Well, she was a goddess, and though she may not hold the right to pardon him in this foreign land, she certainly may help him.
Rushing past the entranced army, she rushed at the being that held the bow. Ignoring her, he drew back and fired another shot at the man as it approached him. Finally the man fell to his knees, though no sign of defeat dulled his eyes.
The rage that had set her passion aflame moments before leapt to engulfing strength, and she unsheathed her other long blade from her back, deciding to fight the way the Egyptians did.
Dropping her beloved bow to the ground, Artemis held one blade facing the core of her body, and the other aimed away. Assuming a feline stance, she waited for the creature to approach.
The predatory gleam was evident in the smirk that tainted his already grotesque face. He set his bow aside and raised his sword in preparation for his attack. As he neared her, she gripped the hilts of her long daggers until her knuckles turned pale.
He rushed toward her; she averted his blow by moving sideways in a fluid motion. As he rushed by where she would have been, she turned and brought a blade down to slash at his side, though this only stalled him for a moment. Turning he rushed back toward her, only to be avoided and hacked again. Grunting at his bleeding sides and useless attempts, he turned back towards her. Taking on new anger at her success as of yet, he anticipated her next move, jumping to the side as she did, blocking her blow with the sword and landing his elbow in her shoulder, hearing the sound of the dislocated joint.
Crying out in pain, Artemis dropped one blade, comforting her arm with the other. Clearly she should not underestimate the intelligence of the leader, though the others had proved to be dumb, single minded creatures as of yet, the captain of the army was clearly one to be reckoned with.
The thought that she had been mistaken only fed fuel to her enraged mind. As she cradled her arm, he turned back to the man who was watching her from dazed eyes. She was surprised to see that the loss of blood had not dulled his keen eyes, only slightly shocked his mind.
She could not let this monster destroy this man. Though she hated men, he had shown such valor that she could not possibly let him fall to such a foul fate. Raising herself from her knees, she brought her blade up to stab into the back of the loathsome male approaching the poor fellow.
As her blade neared the dark cloth of the beast, another darted in to block her strike. She looked up to see that the other monsters had finally ceased being an audience. She heard the crashing of branches and looked to see the others of Frodo's fellowship careening down the hill to aid in the battle. Her pursuer was among them.
Somehow she found herself landed on her knees again, and felt a smarting bruise where the hilt of the beast's blade had smashed over her dislocated shoulder. Crying out in pain, she was too preoccupied to see the sword swiping down to her stomach, until an arrow impaled the neck of her attacker. Looking up, she saw the man who had found her in the stream notch his bow for a second arrow aimed just over her head. She smiled at him, and after seeing his acknowledging nod, she turned to bury her dagger into the stomach of the monster she knew was approaching her, saving that man his arrow.
After some more minutes of battle, fighting the swarm of creatures, finally they retreated. The men who had finally come to the rescue rushed to the man who still kneeled in a dazed state. It was obvious by now that he was dying.
Feeling out of place, Artemis stood off to the side, unaccustomed to the presence of men or the awkwardness of the situation. The dark, scruffy man promised him a brave and glorious ending. The short Gimli man stood solemnly to the side much like the goddess in their presence. Her pursuer wore a mournful expression, though there was no awkwardness, only sorrowful acceptance.
Suddenly, Artemis knew at least one comfort she could offer that he was more than worthy to hear. Stepping forward, she raised her voice. "You fought more honorably than all the heroes I have known. I will find some way to put you in the stars as they were, and your legend will live on through all the ages."
The man smiled gratefully at her, though she suspected he did not believe her words. "I swear to you, you will remain in the sky for all future generations to gaze upon and remember in the tales associated with your name." Though she knew he still did not understand how she could accomplish such a feat, the determined assuredness in her tone brought the sense that she was not lying to him.
Finally the spark of his life slipped from his eyes as he said his last farewells to the scruffy man. Gimli made an odd gurgling sound that Artemis suspected was a sob. The blond man did not ridicule him of it though from what she had observed earlier they were not entirely fond of each other.
After witnessing all this, a cold sense of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach.
The little men are gone, she thought.
Turning, gazing in every way, she realized that they were not in the clearing at all. None of them. Gimli was the only short man she could see in the forest.
O no, please, not after all this! She thought.
True, her powers were paled, and the forest had not shown any interest in her as of yet, but she could not let them disappear.
O forest, hear my plea! I am in much need of your aid! There were four small men, all below waist height, with innocence undeserving of ill fate. Please, I know I am no friend of yours, but I am no enemy either! Tell me so that I may rescue them from the true enemy that we have encountered today. The forest reluctantly agreed, and she could sense it's response to her desperate pea.
'You are correct in assuming that they were taken by the black beasts. Though only two, two others leave your company willingly in the other direction by boat, wishing to proceed on their quest alone. You will not reach them in time, and the need of the others is much greater.' With that, the forest was silent once again.
Remarkably, her pursuer heard what the trees had said. Whether he had heard her cries or not, he did not say, but he did gaze at her questioningly.
"The forest says that the hobbits are gone. Two by Orcs, two by river. I assume Frodo and Sam are in the boat considering they seek to finish the quest; Frodo has the ring and Sam never lets him out of his sight. We must save Merry and Pippin," the tall blond man said.
"It is true; Frodo knows he must be alone in his quest, though I suspect he could not shake Sam. Merry and Pippin need our immediate assistance, we must leave," the scruffy man replied.
"Yes, we cannot leave them to that dark fate." Gimli answered.
"We will follow," said the dark man.
Before they set off, they all turned to Artemis, as she had expected.
However, she stalled any questions in the hope that she may dwell on her answer for a while longer. "I know I am new here, do not ask any questions. Our task requires haste. I am ready for a swift journey, are you?"
"I have all that I require, Gimli, Legolas?" The scruffy man answered.
Gimli nodded, and Artemis realized her pursuer was Legolas, a name that seemed fitting to him somehow. He also nodded, and they set off at a jog, all the while the goddess ignored the pain in her shoulder. After all, she rarely was in a situation to feel such pain, and it offered a constant reminder to her that she was in danger in a new realm, with men, and a new purpose.
While it caused a quick intake of breath with every jolting step she took, it offered hope in some strange way. The hope that even though she was weakened in a new place, maybe she had a reason to be here. Maybe the Fates' power could reach this realm, and in that way she felt like a familiar friend was with her.