Lonely Spirit

As I untied the silver reins of my steeds, having just finished raising the moon, I stole glances at Apollo, who was nearby untying the golden reins of his steeds. I noticed how fidgety he looked and how so deep in thought his eyes seemed to be.

"Something bothering you, Apollo?" I asked him loudly. He snapped out of his trance and looked up at me. He exhaled a deep breath and shook his head, replying, "Nothing. There is nothing."

I could sense only half-truths coming from him and frowned. "Is it because of Orion?" I asked. At the mention of my hunter's name, Apollo froze, exhaled a deep sigh and muttered, "Well, I'm thinking about him."

I set aside the reins on my moonstone chariot and made my way towards him with crossed arms. "What is it about him that bothers you?" I questioned calmly, trying my best not to try and provoke him.

Shaking his head again, he replied, "Nothing about him bothers me. I'm just thinking about him. That is all."

I wasn't too convinced by his answer. "Thinking what about him exactly?" I pressed, walking around his chariot, past his steeds, until I stood right beside him now.

Apollo rolled his eyes in annoyance at me. "Gods, you're so pushy," he muttered as he coiled his golden reins around his hand.

"Come on," I pressed even more, ignoring his comment and starting to nudge him on the arm with my elbow. "Tell me, or I'm never going to stop asking you."

Once realizing that resistance was futile, he let out another irritated sigh and finally answered, "He seems like a perfect gentleman. Polite and mannerly. He also seems very close to you, if I might point out. He sees you more as a friend than as a leader or a teacher." And then, he met my eyes and asked, "Do you like him?"

I raised an eyebrow at his last question, wondering exactly why he was asking that. But I remained calm and gave him the answer that I had given to Aphrodite. "I like Orion as a friend. That is all. He respects me and treats me as such in return."

Apollo nodded in understanding and looked away. But as he began to lead the steeds into the stables, I could hear him say, "Well, of course. You don't really expect yourself to like him as more than that, do you?"

I frowned at his question. "What do you mean by that?" I questioned him, walking towards him quickly so that I now stood right in front of him and blocked his way to the stables. "What makes you say that?"

Apollo stared right at me and, judging by his facial expressions and body gestures, I could tell that he really did not want to answer the question. But I responded with my own look on my face which says that I won't back down until he told me his answer. I truly was curious as to what had caused him to say such a thing. Luckily, I had managed to get an answer out of him.

"Artemis, you're a sworn virgin," he said informatively and seriously. "And a sworn virgin is to never have any close relationships with a man that is not her kin. I thought you knew that."

My eyebrows furrowed even more as I stared at Apollo incredulously. Truly, I was so confused by what he was saying. Why would he actually bring up a topic of me being a sworn virgin right now?

"What? What do you-"

Apollo cut me off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Come on and get your horses in their stables. Dinner is starting soon. We don't want to be late, right?"

And without another word, he moved around me and led his horses to the stables, leaving me baffled with my own two steeds nudging at my elbows to bring them in.

He does not want to admit that he was jealous. But he could not deny it.

Every thought of his precious sister with that giant was like poison to Apollo's mind. He snorted at just the memory of him; his jolly teal green eyes, his wide smile that never seemed to falter, the brightness of his soul and more. He grimaced at the mental picture of him and his sister laughing together, playing with each other and giving each other private smiles.

Oh, how it made him sick.

She can't have another man in her life. he thought to himself as he stood on the sill of glassless window, looking out at the night sky full of shining stars with a concentrative frown. She's a virgin. It's practically a rule. She cannot forget about that.

But no matter how much the urge to voice his opinions bothered him, he suppressed it within himself. Apollo did not want to say anything for fear that his jealousy would then be taken into mind and that Artemis would disapprove of his ill-thoughts of her Orion.

"I can handle it," he started to say to himself assuringly in an attempt to ease his thoughts. "Besides, Artemis would never just forget about everything just for this man. She's smarter than that. So calm yourself, Apollo. Artemis would never forget you. She would never leave you alone."

Of course, Apollo was so sure his older twin sister will not forget him. They have a bond that was as strong as the force that keeps both his sun and her moon high up in the sky. That bond was impenetrable and infinite. Never once had the bond between them faltered. It always remained strong, connecting the both of them to each other in spirit.

However, just as Apollo turned away feeling slightly better, a thought popped up into his mind that made him uncertain once more.

And what if things do not go as you wish?

He had no answer for that, but he knew that if it were to happen, he would absolutely not like it.

Sunlight streamed through the glassless window of my room, giving light everywhere. I could hear the birds chirping and the soft sound of the breeze as it billowed around the palace.

Once the silver circlet was placed on the crown of my head, I stood up from the small seat at my dressing table and looked in the mirror to assess myself once more.

I was wearing a knee-length hunter green tunic with loose sleeves that reached my elbows and a brown sash tied around my waist. My brown hunting boots were laced up to fit perfectly and my hair was styled into a loose but secured braid.

I brushed invisible dust off my tunic and decided that I looked alright enough. I walked out of the bathroom then, grabbed my silver bow, my quiver of arrows and my stone-bladed dagger off the bed and made my way towards the doors, tucking the dagger into my sash and slinging the strap of the quiver over my shoulder as I went.

When I first stepped out into the hallway, the golden doors of my room closing in my wake, I was greeted by a feminine voice asking me, "Off to see him again, Artemis?"

I turned my head in the direction of the voice to find Aphrodite leaning against the golden doors of her room, her icy blue eyes looking at me playfully with a perfectly arched eyebrow. I noticed immediately that her really long platinum blonde hair was in multiple plaits with jewels adorned in her locks, some as crimson red as the flowing and fitting silk halter dress she was wearing.

"Yes, Aphrodite, I am, if you must know," I answered her in my best civil manner.

"Excited?" she inquired in a sing-song voice.

I snorted, "Why should I be? I see him every day."

Aphrodite then tutted and got her back off the doors to walk towards me. "Come now, Artemis. At least feel a bit of excitement to see him," she reprimanded gently, and then added cheekily, "Orion is indeed something worth anyone's excitement, including yours."

I snorted even more and turned away, muttering, "Don't get any ideas, Aphrodite."

But just as I was about to walk away, Aphrodite suddenly stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder.

"What is it now?" I asked haughtily as I turned to look back at her.

Aphrodite didn't say anything. She just simply lifted her hands to the circlet around my head and adjusted it a bit. Then, after arranging a few wavy locks of my bistre hair around my face, she took a step back and said with a pleased look, "You look very nice."

Despite the irritation I felt at her cockiness just a few seconds ago, I found myself smiling and giving my thanks to her before walking away.

And so I made my way to the courtyard, passing by servants and helpers and some distant family. I even passed by Hermes, Hestia and Dionysus, all of whom I greeted 'good day' to. They also asked of what I was about to do and I simply replied, "I'm going off to meet Orion."

Two satyr servants helped to open the golden main doors of the palace and I thanked both of them with a bright smile. I took notice of how soothingly warm and bright the day was when I first set foot outside. Another perfect day for hunting in my eyes.

But just as I had made my way down the steps, I suddenly caught sight of a head of golden hair over at a golden chariot. Apollo was tying the golden reins to his horse, completely focused on his task at hand until I called out to him.

"Apollo," I greeted him when I stood by his side and then stood on my tiptoes to give him a peck on his cheek, a usual show of affection from me towards my younger brother. He returned the gesture with one of his bright smiles.

"Want to go hunting with me?" I asked him, actually hoping that this time he would agree.

Suddenly, the smile vanished and his facial expression turned into a look of hesitation. "With Orion, I suppose?" he asked, his eyes turning back to the knot he was tying. I could sense discomfort coming from him when he said Orion's name, but just simply brushed it off.

"Yes," I answered. "Or are you busy?"

He nodded and said, "I'm off to see Cliantha."

Hearing that, I wanted to mentally smack myself on the forehead then. Well, of course! Who else would he have gone to see? Her, as per normal.

"Oh, okay. Have fun then."

Apollo simply nodded and muttered, "Will do." I felt slightly uncomfortable by how the conversation just ended then and gave him another kiss to his cheek to somehow lighten things up. It seemed to work, for he gave me another smile. It was small, but it was still there.

I then went off into the stables to bring out my steeds and the silver reins. When I came back out, I was just in time to see Apollo ride off into the sky.

I took a moment to just stand there and watch after him. As I did, I wondered to myself why he had acted in such a way, and something in the back of my mind was telling me that it had something to do with Orion.

Maybe that was it. Apollo hadn't exactly taken the news of Orion too well the first time, and though he acted civil towards my hunter yesterday, he was still somewhat cold in the way he spoke to him.

But somehow, I wasn't too bothered by that thought. Apollo had his Cliantha to calm him down anyway.

I was completely surprised when I found him sitting on a huge rock on the shores of the beach. Orion watched with a smile as I landed my chariot expertly underneath some trees before getting off from the rock and making his way towards me.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned as I hopped off my chariot, the same time he reached it.

With a smirk, he replied, "I was waiting for you."

"Yes, I can see that. But why are you here? Usually, you wait for me at your clearing."

It was then he pointed to his bronze hair, which I now realized was wet and plastered flat to his head. Some sunlight shone on his head, making his tresses glisten slightly.

"I took a swim in the morning," he told me before I could ask. "It was a nice swim, if I do say so myself."

The sound of neighing suddenly caught Orion's attention and he walked away then to my steeds, which both started to neigh in excitement at the sight of the jolly giant. He laughed at their enthusiasm and began to run his fingers through the mane of the female and petted the snout of the male. Both sniffed and messed up his hair in delight, making him laugh even more.

I strolled to his side, watching in amusement as my steeds greeted him like happy pets. "They really do miss you," I pointed out with a laugh. I caressed the mane of the female, but her attentions remained focused on Orion.

"And so do I," he replied back. giving both my steeds another pat to their snouts before finally turning back to me. "So, shall we continue?"

I nodded my head and went back to the chariot to get my bow and arrows while he went off to get his weapons from wherever he placed them. When he got back, he helped me untie the silver reins and bring the horses to a nice spot to rest before walking off with me into the forest.

As we walked, picking fruits and eating them along the way, we talked about mundane topics like what both of us had been doing in the morning before we met up and how the day was as gorgeous as always. Usually, I would have snored at such boring topics, but I found myself really engaged in the conversation with Orion, who seemed to be able to make any sentence sound interesting.

That was, until he said something that was already interesting on its own.

"My father talked to me earlier on today."

I turned to look at him with curious eyes. "He did? What did he say to you?"

Still keeping his eyes ahead, Orion said, "He spoke to me through the sea breeze, asking me if I was going to spend the day with you again. I said yes and he asked me if I enjoyed hunting with you. I said yes, and I could sense that he smiled at my answer."

I nodded my head thoughtfully. "Once again, you flatter me by saying you enjoy my company," I noted with a knowing smile.

Orion turned to look at me and I met his eyes in return. With seriousness in his teal green eyes, he said in a solemn tone, "Artemis, I'd be willing to say that I do enjoy your company a thousand times if that is what it will take to convince you."

I laughed and shook my hand dismissively, saying in between laughter, "No, no! It's alright. I believe you."

Orion gave me a satisfied smile before looking back ahead, leaving me still chuckling in mirth to myself. But the very second I stopped laughing, he asked, "What does my father look like?"

And that made my both eyebrows to rise in confusion and my eyes to become wide.

"You've never met him before?" I questioned.

A faint blush appeared on his cheeks and he nervously raised a hand to run it through his hair (which was now dry but messy). Under his breath, which I was still able to hear, he murmured, "Not even once."

Okay, I seriously did not expect that. Judging by the few times Orion spoke affectionately of his father and that time at dinner when Poseidon boasted proudly of his son's hunting skills, I of course would assume that they have met each other. So this obviously came to be kind of a shock to me.

"I wonder why is that?" I wondered.

Orion shrugged as a gesture to tell me that he himself did not know the answer.

I got out of my shocked stupor and cleared my throat to answer his question. "Well, he has shoulder-length silvery-white hair with blue hints and sea green eyes, which you inherited the green tint. Sometimes he has a mustache or a beard or both, and sometimes he has neither. He's tall, taller than you even, and bulky muscular."

When I was done describing Poseidon in detail, Orion smiled and commented, "Funny. That's how I usually imagine him to look like. I guess that means I must have known how he looked like all along, even though I've never met him."

I could immediately detect the sadness and disappointment in his voice, and I felt my heart break at the same time.

At that moment, I felt pity for him. Because in a way, that mean that he was somewhat of an orphan. He had never met his mother before nor has he ever seen his father. He was left to fend for himself since young without the care and affection of his parents, even though Poseidon was still somewhat around to guide him. But Poseidon was only there in sound, not in sight or touch.

Suddenly, I came upon the realization of what he truly was underneath the face of a great hunter.

Orion was a lonely spirit.

He had no one to ever stay by his side throughout all those years. For all his life, he traveled alone, ate alone and hunted alone. Sure, there were several women in his life, including Side, Merope and Eos, but they never did stay permanently. They just came and go, leaving him to himself once again.

Honestly, I don't know what I would have done if I had never met my father or my mother. Especially my mother, whose love and care for me since birth had given me a strong foundation in my life. I also wouldn't know how I would cope with being lonely, since I had the close relationships with my half-siblings, my aunts, my friends and even Apollo, my other half.

I wanted to salute to Orion then, because I was truly amazed by how he had managed to be strong and continue on with life. I wondered how exactly he was still able to smile and laugh as though there was no evil in the world, despite those tragic things that had happened to him and the years of being alone.

Suddenly, I was reminded of Persephone's words from that day.

He must have a strong spirit

The thoughts of him were what caused me to reach a hand out and grip his shoulder tightly. The both of us stopped in our tracks and Orion looked at me in confusion, but he made no move to shake me off or question me.

"Orion…" I hesitated, not sure of what to say. But in the end, I just exhaled in one breath, "You know I'll still be here for you, right?"

His eyes were confused, I could tell. He was probably wondering what made me say such a thing to him, what's more so out of the blue. But then, slowly, his familiar smile, that wonderful smile, appeared on his lips, looking warm and bright as it always did.

"I don't know why you're saying that, but I do know that what you're saying is absolutely true."

Author's Note:

So my bro and his new wife are in Hawaii right now, probably surfing waves and doing the hula :P

Anyway, I am soooooooooo tired right now, and what's more is that I am actually having a fever as I type this little author's note. Well, let's just hope it goes away soon so that I could concentrate on the next chapter, alright?

Peace out till Friday... I'm going to bed now...

Muse of Fanfiction