So, it was official, I met the one who gave birth to me, eventually, under a circumstance that I was sure nobody fancied of. At least with demigods.
A quest. A deadly one.
"Can't be as bad as mine." - Percy's voice rang in my head. Yeah, thanks. But it wouldn't be easy, either, right?
"... for 13 years since the Giant War, this is the most dangerous quest." - Chiron confirmed my thought, and I had to fight back the urge to roll my eyes as Apollo shot me a warning glance. - "Of course, traditionally and as Rachel had said, Arwen can pick two other campers to accompany her." - The centaur continued. - "And I do hope you pick wisely, because this can influence greatly on the result, as well as your future."
I bit my lips to stop myself from groaning out loud. It's just brilliant! Honestly! Great! The best family reunion ever! You met your blood mother for the first time in your life and a deadly quest was thrown right at your face! Not to mention the said mother hadn't spoken a word to you since she saw your face. Wonderful!
I sneaked a glance to where Artemis was standing, her back to us, as if she heard nothing, just a mere statue that was placed there purely for decorating purpose. Her Huntresses had left early, leaving her behind to deal with family stuff, as Thalia had nicely put it in. So far, no word had been spoken between us, after that intense stare of her, which was only broken because Apollo pulled me away. I still had no idea what she had looked for in my eyes.
I glanced back to the God of Sun, who were talking in a low voice with Chiron. I bit back another sigh. How long would I have to wait to tell him about my brother? Gods, he was in a grave danger! All I wanted to do right then was head straight outside and call the whole camp (okay maybe not whole) searching for him. Gods I didn't even know his name yet! Oh how much I wanted to scream! This whole nonsense finding Artemis's stolen bow could be saved for later...
"You say what!?"
I almost jumped out of my skin. Thank Gods that neither Apollo nor Chiron noticed it, since they were in a deep conversation. I looked around to find the source of the mysterious voice in my head. Or precisely, to avoid the obvious source.
"Well? Wanna repeat what you've just said?"
I bit back a rude retort, refusing looking at her. Nope, I was never going to share anything, especially about my brother, with the so called mother over there.
"It is rude invading people's thought. Didn't your mother taught you?" - I thought, hoping Artemis could catch up the amount of venom I put in.
A deadly silence. Well, at least between us. Then...
"Chiron." - The verbal conversation at the other side of the desk was cut smoothly by a low dangerous tone - "Would you mind leaving us alone? I would like a few words with my..." - She paused, considering - "... relatives."
"Of course." - The old centaur replied and left behind a thick, almost visible silence. Apollo glared intensely at his sister's back, and judging purely on the murderous look he wore, the god didn't like the sound of the "relatives" word a bit. I myself didn't mind.
So... we just kinda sat there, Artemis looked outside the window, Apollo glared at her back, and I stared at both of them. Just it.
The clock was tickling, and none had spoken. Not me, obviously, despite my desire to point out to both of them that there were only two immortal beings in this very room. My time was running out, so was my brother's...
"Stop mentioning it!" -Suddenly Artemis spatted, glaring dagger at me. Apollo quirked an eyebrow up, and no doubt, searched in my head for the answer instead of asking.
I glared back at her, playing back the image of my brother's eyes in my head. How ironic that his eyes were exact the same as hers... I mused with the thought, which clearly annoyed Artemis to a whole new level, and entertained me like never before...
"Arwen. Enough." - Apollo said firmly, but gently nonetheless. I obeyed, not wanting to upset my uncle, but the image stuck. His eyes got clearer and clearer though I tried to shake it away. And suddenly I could feel the pain in my left leg, and the exhaution...
"Arwen!"
Opening my eyes (I didn't even know I closed them), I gasped, meeting a pair of concerning blue eyes, and another pair of blue steel. That was when I realized that I was laying on the ground. Apollo helped me up, his eyebrows knitted in worry.
"Arwen, what happened? Why did you collapse?" - He asked, rubbing my arms. I blinked at him, didn't he feel it? A small shake of his head, and a glance toward the figure behind me.
Artemis had stood up straight again. It was hard to ever think that she wound bend down at my limp body at any chance, but she did. However, it proved nothing, as her cold blue eyes were back the same, swirling with unrecognized emotions. I turned away, shutting the bitter wave inside me. I didn't mind Apollo reading my thought, but Artemis... let alone sharing the feeling with me. My brother's feeling of all thing. The unwanted child that she had just addressed by it. It felt like she had not only invaded a part of me, but also insulted it, simply by existing. I swallowed hard, tried to sink all my pessimistic feeling down somewhere in Tartarus.
"Stop it!" - She hissed. I didn't spare a glance at her.
Whatever.
The look Artemis shot was enough an evidence how much she loved me, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Apollo sighed deeply, looking at both of us before addressing me softly (why me?)
"Stop driving your mother insane, little one."
Immediately...
"Stop referring me as a mother."
"She is not my mother."
Both of us spoke as once, glaring dagger at the other. The god of sun sighed again, a look of defeated on his youthful face.
"Whatever you say." - He mumbled, sinking into the chair next to me, summoning a whole bottle of scotch. Immediately I felt sorry for him, suffering not only his stubborn sister but also me.
"I'm sorry uncle." - I mumbled, sat down next to him. - "I didn't mean to upset you." Apollo closed his eyes, as if he was exhausted, and took a deep breath.
"Artemis," - He spoke up after a while - "Arwen," - He gave me a small tired smile. - "Please, for the sake of my sanity, please. Can we sit down and at least have a proper conversation without trying to end the other's life? It doesn't have to last very long, just until we figure out what to do about this quest and your brother." - He ignored the hateful hiss from Artemis - "The moment we finish Artemis can go anywhere she wants and do whatever she likes, and Arwen can start her quest, or whatever." - The god added, seeing my reaction. - "Does that sound good enough to both of you?"
I nodded at once. It sounded perfect. I looked to the goddess. She sighed. - "The sooner the better."
"Alright." - Apollo took a large sip of his scotch before continueing - "So,..."
"The quest is inevitable." - Artemis said without looking at me - " It has to be done as soon as possible. My bow has gone missing, and soon enough my enemies will know about this. Without the power of the bow, it will be harder for me to fight them back to Tartarus. People will die."
I fought back the urge to ask about her other bows. Please, she was a goddess, why would she only have a bow? That sounded stupid, even for a mortal, let alone a goddess. I rolled my eyes instead. Apollo sighed, again.
"Okay, and then the matter of Arwen's twin brother..."
Artemis looked so murderous at that mere mention that for a moment I thanked whatever power for letting Apollo to stay with me today.
"What about it?" - She grumbled.
Duh, the arrogant stupid wanna suicide me screamed, nothing! Just my brother, the one you left to dead in the forest with me 13 years ago! Sound familiar?
She threw me a dirty look but didn't said anything. Apollo just ignored that little exchange. I guessed it was fine as long as we didn't actually try to kill the other.
"Clearly there's a link between him and Arwen." - He continued as if he wasn't rudely interrupted. - "As far as we have known, the boy is in serious danger, being chased by whatever it is and being injured. Good thing is we know what he looked like, but bad thing is we don't know of his location. Arwen, can you activate your shared link to find him?"
I was confused. So far there were only two times the link was activated, and I didn't even understand how. Artemis clicked her toungue, shaking her head.
"Think, idiot." - She spat - "Concentrate. What remind you of him?"
You. The answer came up before I could react. The thought made me want to vomit, but it was. They shared the same eyes, blue as clear sky, while I had dad's, brown, like earth.
"Think. What else?"
His eyes. Okay. Hair. Blonde, even more than mine, turned sliver while under moonlight. It was quite long, but I liked it that way. The way he held his sword kinda reminded me of Jace from The Mortal Instrument.
"Good. Now imagine. What would you do if you were him?"
Run, obviously. But the injured leg could cause a problem. The forest was dark and full of fallen trees, so he might hide under one...
...Then he pulled out another dagger, ready for the attack. But it never came. The chaser had disappeared. It was until then that he dared to breath. It was so closed, he could have died. He climbed out of the hole, exhausted, and laid on the ground. He needed to catch his breath first before running. The wound was deep, but he would live, he thought...
"Location, focus on. Look anywhere for anything."
... He sighed after taking care of the wound. It hurt so much. He glanced up the sky. Full moon, clear sky. He could also see the stars. Good, they would help him find the way home...
"I know it! I know!" - I gasped. - "I know where he was. We could find those stars and we'll find his previous location. Perhaps then we can trace him and help him on time!" - I grinned, looking around, but it soon faltered as I saw the grim look on both Apollo and Artemis's faces. - "What? We will find him, right? I can trace. I swear. I can go alone. You don't have to go with me..." - My voice died out as Apollo stood up and walked away, his back turned to me. Artemis looked at me with something almost as pity in her eyes.
"What?" - I pleaded - "What's wrong?" - What did they know that I didn't? What happened to my brother? He was alive, wasn't he? My heart was racing. He had to live. HE HAD TO.
The sound of glass shattering caused me jump up, Apollo had thrown away his bottle. He sunk down the floor, his face in his hands. What have I done wrong again? Please tell me. Please. What have I done wrong. I have promised...!
Tears was filling up my eyes, and for the first time in my life, I felt too scared to even breath.
What happened?...
Please. Please tell me.
What. Happened?
A pair of strong arms turned me around, and one more time, I found myself stared into the cold blue eyes.
"I know where it is, I know that place." - She said, eyes were searching, waiting - "It's up in the north, and it is where I was last night." - She paused - "The night my bow was stolen. The same exact place."
I could see what she was saying, I could connect the dots together. Apollo had found out, so had Artemis. There was only me left.
"No."
"There's only one way to clarify this, Arwen. You have to do this. Look into his mind again. Do it. Is there a bow Arwen? Silver, shinning one? Are there any bows? Do you see any bows Arwen?"
...The chaser had gone, clearly to fetch up her minions. He glanced around, a smirk creeped up his face. He reached to his bag, his grin widened, and pulled out something long, wrapped in cloth...
"What is it, Arwen? Tell me. WHAT!?"
...There it was, in his hand, the long silver bow, shining, humming as his fingers ran on it. The bow. The one and only ever existed. Artemis's bow. A giggle escaped his throat. He couldn't help it. He stole a bow of a goddess. The giggle was unstopable, and soon enough, he was laying on the groung laughing like maniac.
Artemis let go of me, her eyes were void of emotion. Breathing was suddenly so difficult.
"How?" - Apollo spoke up, his voice hoarse. - "How could he...? The bow can only be touched by you. You only."
Artemis still stared at me with her emotionless eyes. Say something. React. DO SOMETHING.
She closed her eyes and turned away from both her brother and me. Her voice, however low, just above a whisper, war clear to both of us.
"He has my blood, Apollo. It runs in his vein. He can touch and use it just like I do."
A cold shiver ran down my spine, my whole body was shaking violently, like it was no longer under my control.
"I WIL FIND YOU, YOU FILTHY LITTLE THIEF! I WILL FIND YOU AND BURN YOU ALIVE!"
Not only did I have to find and bring back Artemis's stolen bow but also I had to protect my brother from her wrath.
I would do it. And I would make it.
I looked up, and met the cold stare of Artemis. I knew she heard it.
I would not back down.
Phew... I think this chapter is the longest I've written. It was so difficult to write mother and daughter reunion. I had to rewrite three times and this is the best I could get. Hope you all like it! Please tell me of your opinion so that I could make the story better.
Thank you for reading!