They arrived at a secluded area. Arya immediately dropped the boy down onto the grass with an oof. She then rushed into the center of the base camp and came out of the supplies tent with a few strips of ripped fabric and some ointment. She came back to the secluded opening where Artemis was glaring hatefully at Kyros who was out from blood loss. Arya knelt and gently eased out the bloody arrow which caused the boy to moan in pain, rubbed the salve onto him. The ointment had been from Chiron who specialized in medicines.
The ointment fizzled around the wound and the boy twitched from pain. It cleaned it of dirt and anything that could infect it. Then, lifting the tunic just enough, she wrapped the white cloth around the boy's wound and stomach. Arya stood up and examined her work.
"Are you done fussing over the swine yet?" Artemis sneered.
"What did this boy do to you for you to hate him so much?" Arya asked.
"He is a boy. That is enough excuse for me to hate him." Artemis replied simply. "Men are foul creatures that taint the Earth. Why you choose to help the boy is a mystery to me."
"You tried to kill him." Arya said quietly.
"He tried to kill the Ceryneian hind!" Artemis retorted.
"So you are saying that, by hunting a stag, he must die?" Arya asked, angry.
"It was under my divine protection!" The Hunt goddess yelled.
"How could he have known that?" Arya questioned. "He was just hunting." She then sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. If he does anything against your hunters, you may gut him or curse him or whatever it is that you wish. He has not done you any wrong yet, Artemis."
The said goddess huffed angrily and stormed off. Arya ignored her but caught the backward glance that Artemis had sent her. She ran her fingers through her hair and threw the silver cube onto the ground, a silver tent springing in place. She then lugged the boy, Kyros, into the tent. She placed him on the straw-stuffed mattress and left him be. She returned to the base camp but, before she could even survey her surroundings, she was bombarded by Chloe and Zephyrine. Well, mainly Chloe and less so Zephyrine.
"What happened?" She demanded.
"Artemis shot a boy and… I saved his life." Arya admitted everything.
"What?!" The huntress hissed in disbelief. "Why would you do that?!"
"I trust Kore." Zephyrine piped up. "If he does anything, we can kill him anyways, right?"
Arya nodded, glad for the support. "It'll be fine Chloe. Artemis agreed to the truce that, as long as Kyros doesn't do anything out of line, he can live."
"Kyros?" Zephyrine echoed. "Is that his name? Where does he come from?"
"It is unknown to us yet, but I do know his is the son of Nike." Arya shrugged, unbothered.
Zephyrine soon left Arya but Chloe stayed behind. "Be careful, Kore." She warned. "You will see one day that men are not to be trusted. They will betray your trust and milk you for all your worth before throwing you away. That was what happened to me." She added the last bit under her breath but Arya still caught it with her keen divine ears.
"I promise I won't leave you." Arya hugged Chloe who stiffened at the touch. She relaxed into the embrace and hugged back.
"Thank you, Kore." She whispered. "You have no idea how much it means to me."
Arya did not reply but buried her nose into Chloe's neck instead.
When Kyros woke up, everything ached. He groaned and sat up, the blanket falling off him. The boy blinked his blurry eyes and looked around. Where was he...? Kyros remembered going on a hunt and spotting a brownish-yellow stag with antlers of pure gold and rushing after it, hoping to catch it bring it back. He had already started imagining the faces of those peasants when he brought back the prize prey. Then he remembered shooting it, triumphed. The rest was even more confusing but he remembered being shot by a silver arrow. Kyros felt angered. Who dared to shoot him - the son of Nike herself?!
"Do not move." A voice commanded him when he tried to get up.
His head shot up and he saw a girl. Her red hair flowed like the River Phlegethon and her bright green eyes were like fresh shoots of grass, sprouting from the earth. She was beautiful but unlike most other women that Kyros had met she had a timeless beauty about her. Kyros noticed the way she stood, like the kind the most experienced hunters did. She looked ready to spring up at any moment and hunt down an entire forest.
"Here. This comes from Apollo himself though I have only met him once." She smirked for some reason.
Kyros sipped from the wooden bowl and drank it. The taste made him think of sweet victories, running through the forests by himself and swimming in the river. He kept drinking until the girl took it from his hands. She set it down on the floor. Kyros suddenly felt energized. He licked his dry, cracked lips.
"More." He demanded.
The girl shook her head. "Any more nectar and you'll die."
"Who are you, fair maiden? I will reward you for taking me in." He said, sounding impressive.
Instead of thanking him, the girl laughed. It sounded loud and brass, nothing like the girls back at the city acted. She then giggled before calming down and brushing her fire-red hair back. "I doubt you can reward me with anything I wish for, Kyros."
"What is it that you want?" Kyros asked. "Gold? Perhaps you wish for expensive silks and perfume?"
"As if!" She scoffed. "I do not need anything from you."
"How about I marry you? What could be better then to be wedded to the son of victory herself?" Kyros tried.
The girl blinked in shock. "Wha - No, I do not seek marriage."
"I will hunt down a whole forest for you! Is it the golden stag that you wish for? If so, I shall slay it with my bare hands for you, fair maiden." Kyros proclaimed. "Marry me."
She leaned back away from the boy. "You do not even know my name yet, boy."
"Then what is it, fair maiden?" He asked.
"Kore, goddess of Spring and foresight, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, huntress of Artemis." The girl replied. Kyros paled. He had just asked a huntress of Artemis, goddess of the Hunt, to marry him. Though he may be arrogant, he knew boundaries too. And a daughter of the almighty King Zeus too!
"Is the boy awake yet, Kore?" Another girl came in.
"Chloe." Kore smiled and Kyros found himself wishing she would smile more. "He has awoken."
"Ah, is that so? I shall alert Lady Artemis, then." Chloe said, leaving the tent quickly.
Kore turned, apologetic. "Chloe is not very fond of men as they have caused her pain in the past."
Ah, right. Kyros was unsure of what to make of his predicament. He didn't know where he was but he assumed that he was in one of the camps of the Hunt which frightened him. He had heard of the hunters and that they were vicious women who wouldn't think twice about killing a man. But Kore had been kind enough to him.
Then he remembered the drink she had given him. What if it had been poison? He panicked and it seemed that Kore saw it.
She chuckled.
"We will refrain from killing you, demigod." She smiled, amused.
Kyros was annoyed; there was nothing amusing about being poisoned or viciously murdered in his sleep by some hunter women or attacked by a pack of wolves. But, of course, Kyros didn't voice any of his thoughts. He stayed silent and simply watched the beautiful Spring goddess before him.
Arya was unsure of what to make of Kyros, the demigod. He seemed arrogant from the moment she had set eyes on him. She had been outright shocked and weirded out when he proclaimed that they marry. Did all people do this in Ancient times? And then there was the offer of hunting the Ceryneian hind and gifting her with jewels and silks. If Arya was to be honest, it woul dhave been quite sweet and romantic if she had actually known the boy beforehand. As it was, she was creeped out. No wonder so many joined the Hunt, if they all had to marry before they even had a proper conversation with the guy.
"Kore?" Chloe asked, sitting down on the log next to her.
Arya made a noise of acknowledgement, still not tearing her gaze from the sunset.
"Do you think it will be safe to have the boy in camp?" For once, Chloe didn't sound confident any more.
"If anything happens, I'll stay by your side always." Arya replied, turning to look her in the eyes. And she meant every word of it.
If anyone hates Kyros yet, then good because I kind of was aiming for him to be annoying because I feel like this story is going too nicely (other than poor Zephyrine). I thought that since he was the son of Nike, he would know only victories and therefore be very egotistical and stuff. He's also a man in Ancient Greece so I don't know what else you guys would expect from the son of Nike who lived in Greece thousands of years ago. Also, Kyros and Arya won't be a ship. Ever. I already ship her with someone else. Not gonna spoil it though (and it's not HadesXArya though that will happen).