Note- I don't own anything.
Poly's POV
"Atalanta, where are you?" I pleaded as I took another bite of my microwave dinner. Its flavors were dull, and chewing on this so-called meal felt like biting down on plastic. I looked at my dinner with sad, dead eyes.
I've been really spoiled by having a world-class chief for a daughter, haven't I?
Or maybe it's the modern world that's spoiled me. Life is easier now than it was in the past, easy enough for me to be complaining about the taste of my meal.
At least this meal wasn't made by Artemis. I would probably be dead from food poisoning if she was the cook.
Maybe I could get Atalanta to try and teach me to cook again... I snickered at the thought.
Atalanta would make fun of me but still try to teach me. Even though it would be a waste of time, she would never give up. Which is why I've decided not to waste her time trying to teach me something I'll never learn.
My thoughts were broken by the sound of my phone ringing. I quickly grabbed the tv remote and clicked the mute button. I then pulled my phone out of my shorts' pocket.
I need to grab a pot and a wooden spoon if it's a telemarketer. Just answer your phone, then quickly put the pot over it, and start banging. The nose will get them to hang up real quick while just being plain fun.
I looked at the caller ID; it was my oldest sister, Mary. I'm not going to try and blow out her hearing. She knows where I live, after all. At least she isn't scary when she's mad, unlike a particular goddess.
Answering the phone, I pushed the phone up to my ear, "Yo."
"Hey," Mary responded with a relaxed tone. There was very little background noise on her end, and her voice was crisp. She's probably lying down in her bed, enjoying her new apartment before she has to start her new job on Monday. Or, at that, what she told me she was going to do.
"Why'd you call?" I asked my sister as I set my microwave dinner on the kitchen counter and started to walk towards the living room.
"I just wanted to check up on you and Atalanta," she said as she let out a yawn. I guess she's still adjusting to London's time zone.
"Atalanta is currently on a trip with her Mom but should be getting back tonight," I said, though I was just guessing that last part, based solely on the amount of clothing Atalanta had packed in her bag.
"Oh well, that's nice. It's good for Ata to spend time with a positive female role model."
'Positive,' I briefly glanced to the side in guilt as she said that. The only reason either of my older sisters or my older brother like Artemis is because she brainwashed them to, while also making it, so they don't question her absence most of the year or view it as a negative on her parenting.
The level of mental manipulation possible with the mist is frankly freighting. Not that it was worse than what the gods could do during my first life, I, of all people, know that. However, what was worse was that any teenage half-blood could manipulate the mist.
Mary is right, brainwashed or not. It is good for Atalanta to spend time with a role model other than myself. And it's always good for a child's mental health to spend time with a loving maternal figure.
I let out a sigh, thinking about my daughter's mental health; I just hope Artemis helps our daughter and doesn't make things worse. Not that I believe Artemis would do that on purpose, but she and Atalanta are similar to each other in the wrong ways, and they may just end up reinforcing their flaws.
"What was with that sigh," Mary asked, probably thinking I was sighing at her statement.
"I was just thinking about Atalanta's mental health," I said honestly, not wanting to lie to any member of my family. Sure, a family can be built on lies, misdirection, and omission, but a family where its members don't trust each other isn't a family at all. Besides, maybe she can help me figure out what to do.
"Is there something going on with Atalanta?" Mary asked with a hint of concern, but I could tell it wasn't just for Atalanta, but myself as well.
It's just," I stopped and bit my tongue. How do I best explain it to Mary, "Atalanta lacks any self-esteem whatsoever and doesn't seem to take pride in anything she does. It's like she views everyone around her as being better than her."
"Do you know if she is being bullied at school?" my sister questioned me, immediately jumping into her armchair to help, "children can be ruthless. I can personally attest to how vicious some girls can be in grade school."
I held back my laughter, if only barely. Anyone who tried to bully my little moon probably ended up running away crying. She's more vicious than most monsters I fought in my past life. And it's not like they could physically intimidate her; half-bloods are too strong. Atalanta could steal her teacher's lunch money.
At that, I lost control of my laughter. The picture of my tiny daughter holding up teachers for lunch money was just too funny.
"Sorry," I told my sister, who was probably annoyed that I was laughing during such a serious conversation, "No, there's no way it's due to bullying."
"Have you said anything that could destroy her self-esteem? Or somehow embarrasses her to the point her self-confidence was destroyed."
"Nope, I've done nothing of the sort," I thought over Atalanta's growth. It might be better to give Mary more information, "Atalanta's issues aren't new; I just haven't talked to you about them. They started when Atalanta was three."
I heard Mary make a surprised sound, "I didn't notice."
"You didn't notice because it was all subtle. The first signs were that she started to grow embarrassed by things like her height or clothing, then she stopped wanting me to help her. Then she started to blame herself for things outside her control. All that culminates in her calling herself worthless. And she refuses to let me in. Instead, she just wallows in those negative feelings, feeling like she doesn't deserve help. She is resigned to being constantly depressed."
The worst part about this whole situation is that I don't know what's causing it. And I can't properly help her without knowing what's causing her to feel this way. I could just make her feel worse by deepening her issues.
If the issue is simply a lack of confidence, then I can help her by doing everything in my power to boost her confidence. I could do this by complimenting her appearance and her intelligence. Or by putting her into situations that force her to compare herself to other girls her age. That way, she'll see how extraordinary she really is. If this was the issue, it would probably be best to rely on positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement when parenting her.
On the other hand, Atalanta's issues could be caused by her mother. Young girls often look up to their mothers for guidance and try to follow in their example. Atalanta's internal image of who she is might not match up with how she sees Artemis.
To Atalanta, Artemis's cold personality and appearance are things to emulate. And while Atalanta may possess the same cold personality as her mother, she might feel that she can't match her mother's beauty, despite their nearly identical appearances. This inferiority complex could be the reason why Atalanta feels she is worthless too. Her issue with her clothing could be caused by her associating what Artemis wears with what she should wear, causing her to feel embarrassed by wearing 'girly' things.
This would also explain why Atalanta cares so much about her hair since, unlike the rest of her face, it's the one thing she can change and improve.
Though this could all be overthinking everything, Atalanta simply doesn't think of herself as a girl. That would explain her issues with her body too, and why she stopped liking a lot of her clothing.
If her gender isn't female but is instead male, then Artemis would be able to change her physical sex to match her true gender. And if Artemis refused to do that, then there are doctors that can help us instead.
But it could hurt her emotionally if this isn't the case, and I confront her about it, especially if the issue is that she lacks confidence in herself, since, from her perspective, it might look like I was implying that she would be better as a boy than a girl. Even though I love her no matter what her gender or sex is.
The inverse is also true. If she views herself as any other gender than female, then trying to help Atalanta gain confidence in herself as a girl would be damaging to her. It would seem like I expected her to be a girl.
I heard the sound of shifting from Mary's end of the phone call.
"Have you tried taking her to a child psychologist?" Mary asked, with worry in her voice, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"No, I don't think that will help. She's not the type to talk about what's bothering her, with someone she doesn't know."
Though that's only one reason for not sending Atalanta to a psychologist, the other reason is that monsters will probably start to come after Atalanta soon, and she wouldn't be able to talk with a psychologist about that. If she did, then she would be either institutionalized or heavily medicated.
This problem extends to all the other aspects of her being a demi-god now that I think about it. She wouldn't be able to talk to a psychologist about most things that bother her.
Mary let out a sigh, clearly worried about her niece but unsure what to do, "And how are you holding up?"
I blinked at the change in question before smiling, "No worse than the last time we talked."
There was the occasional day of depression from my failure to protect my second parents, which was only made worse by living in the house they died in. But I can't wallow in depression, not when Atalanta needs me.
"Why don't I believe you," Mary sighed, "Listen, if you need to talk about what, then don't hesitate to call."
"Sure, and you better make sure you don't fall asleep on the job."
I heard Mary yawn after I said that "My new job at the British Museum will be a lot of fun. It's not a job where you can just fall asleep."
I rolled my eyes after she said that.
"Did you just roll your eyes at me?"
"N – No," I stuttered at being caught by my older sister.
"If you don't believe me, then why don't you and Atalanta come and visit someday?"
I thought of her proposal, she probably just wants us to visit so that she can make sure we're ok, but I can't fault her for that, "Fine, we can do it over a Christmas break, once we get the chance."
"Good," I could tell that she was happy at my agreement.
"Is there anything else you want to talk about? Cause I got to go, Atalanta will probably be back soon."
"No, tell Atalanta I love her."
"Will do, see you later."
"Thanks, love you."
"Love you, too," I responded as I hung up the phone.
I placed my phone back in my pocket as I sat up from the couch I had moved to.
"Back to my horrible dinner," I said as I moved back to the kitchen, resolving myself in the face of my now-cold dinner.
I heard the house's backdoor open just as I finished cleaning the dishes.
"I was getting worried that the two of you somehow got lost," I said jokily, as a goddess and our daughter entered the kitchen.
"No, I just didn't want to see your face again," Artemis responded with her usual coldness.
"Oh, so I guess our little moon forced you to come back," I said with a smirk as I moved closer to Atalanta, preparing to hug her, "I bet you missed your favorite parent, right?"
Artemis sent a glare my way, annoyed that I claim to be Atalanta's favorite parent.
Atalanta, meanwhile, was strangely quiet, withholding any of her usual sarcasm, and it didn't seem like she was preparing for one of her rare showings of affection.
Looking her over, she was wearing a white jacket, with a moon embroidered on the back, it looked like one of the jackets that Artemis had given Atalanta, but something about it was different. She didn't look tired and definitely didn't look like she had just come out of a week-long camping trip. She looks healthier than when she left.
As soon as I reached Atalanta, I brought her into a hug, placing one hand around her neck and the other around her back.
"I've missed you, Atalanta."
Whatever was on Atalanta's mind seemed to fade for a moment as she reached around and hugged me back.
"I missed you too, Dad," she said with more emotion than she normally would. Her eyes still contained the same hidden sadness, but it seemed deeper somehow.
Why?
"Poly, there's something we need to talk about," Artemis said with a serious tone. It might be in my best interest not to mess with her right now.
I unwrapped my arms from around Atalanta and looked up at Artemis.
"What is it?"
"Apollo appeared at the hunting grounds and found out about Atalanta. Also, I told him and Atalanta the story of how she was conceived."
It took me a moment to process what she was saying.
"So, Atalanta knows…." I started as I looked at my daughter, whose face had its normal cold appearance.
"Yes, she knows that she's a demi-god and that I'm Artemis," Artemis declared like it was no big deal, "but I didn't go into your past beyond what was necessary."
Several emotions hit me at once, shock at the fact that Atalanta now knows the truth, concern for how she'll handle it, and anger for being left out.
Revealing Atalanta's true heritage was something we were supposed to do together, that way, she would have both of us for support. At worst, I thought Artemis would tell Atalanta the truth about her heritage by herself, and we would handle the rest of the conversation together.
I suppressed the anger and shock for now, though. They would only make what comes next harder.
"I see," I said as I started to walk back to the living room, "let's sit down to talk about this."
Moving quickly, I jumped onto the couch, causing Atalanta to roll her eyes at me, "Dad, you need to act more mature. You're going to damage the furniture if you keep jumping on it."
"No, it's fine to jump on the furniture every once in a while," I said, smiling as Atalanta acted like she always did. She looked slightly grumpy at my dismissal of her concerns.
Atalanta sat on the other side of the couch, while Artemis went and sat on an armchair, the seat furthest away from me.
"What did your mother tell you already?" I asked her.
"Mom told me about Orion," Atalanta responded, as anger quickly spread over her face, "and told me about you being a reincarnated hunter but didn't tell me anything else about your original life."
So, Artemis at least gave me the chance to talk about my past, I turned to thank her, but her glare shut me up.
She probably doesn't want my thanks.
"Ok, do you want to know about my past life? Or would my perspective on your conception be more interesting? Maybe you want to know how I adjusted to the modern world?" I listed several ways for us to start this conversation, leaving the direction of the discussion in Atalanta's hands.
"Dad, I don't care about your past life," Atalanta said as the anger disappeared from her face, "There's only one thing I need to say. Thank you for taking care of me."
A warm fuzzy feeling spread throughout my body as she said that.
"Atalanta, you don't have to thank me for taking care of you. Just being with you is enough of a thank you," I told her in complete seriousness before swallowing, "the truth is I felt responsible for the death of your grandparents. Every day was just me putting on a fake smile to reassure those around me that I was ok, even when I wasn't."
"Dad…" Atalanta said, a deep sadness forming in her eyes.
"But that was until I had to start taking care of you. Once you came into my life, I finally had something to motivate me to get up out of bed in the morning. On top of that, you forced me to smile, to be happy."
Atalanta sat quietly, taking in what I said.
Artemis wasn't paying attention. Instead, it looked like she was trying to get comfortable in her chair.
To someone who doesn't know her, this might have looked rude. Her child, and the father of said child, were having a heart-to-heart conversation, and it looked like she didn't care at all. But I know better than that.
This was her way of giving me time to talk with Atalanta, about my past, without any interference. Maybe this was her way of making up for the time she had to speak with our daughter alone. Or, she was doing it out of respect for me and Atalanta's relationship.
"Atalanta, I know you said you don't care about my past, but I still want you to understand exactly who I am. That way, you'll understand why you made me smile."
"Ok, Dad, but I don't have high expectations," she said with a serious tone.
Well, at least she still has her sense of humor.
"My name in my last life was Hippolytus," I started as I sensed that Atalanta had a question.
"Wait, Dad, did you just change your name to Poly, or did you just so happen to have part of your old name in your new name?"
I could tell from the tone in her voice that she was preparing to say something sarcastic, but I won't let her!
"It's the latter, I just so happened to have part of my old name in my new name," I responded quickly, not giving her a chance to unleash her sarcasm, "I was the son of Theseus, king of Athens, and Hippolyta, the first queen of the amazons."
It would probably be best to explain what happened in my life, then tell her about my relationships, "I was Theseus's elder son and was expected to continue the family line, even though I wasn't interested in sex. Instead, I went and joined your mother's hunters, pledging myself to chastity. During my pledge, I even went so far as to scorn the very concept of sexual love itself. Aphrodite was enraged by this, so she made my stepmother, Phaedra, fall in love with me."
As I said this, I saw Artemis subtly ball her fist, angered by something. I guess Aphrodite's name drew her attention.
I knew she still cares… or she might just automatically get angry when Aphrodite is involved.
Atalanta, meanwhile, was paying attention. She was visibly disgusted by Aphrodite's actions.
"I obviously rejected her love because eew. On top of that fact, I'm asexual. Phaedra handled my rejection with the same amount of grace you would see when I'm cooking, killing herself, and leaving a dying letter claiming I had raped her. Theseus then responded by having Poseidon send a bull from the sea, frightening my horses, causing me to fall off my chariot and become entangled in the reins. I was then dragged to death. Luckily for me, your mother came to the rescue."
Artemis looked at me after saying that, finally joining in the conversation after I purposely provoked her, "Clearly, that was one of my greatest mistakes."
Atalanta decided to keep us on track, "And then Mom took you to Asclepius who healed you, then you went to work in one of Mom's temples, as a priest."
"Yeah," I responded, surprised by my child's knowledge. I wonder if they teach my story in her history class.
"That may be my past, but just knowing what happened doesn't really help you to understand me or why you mean so much to me," I said with a serious expression on my face, "Do you know what my relationships were like?"
"No, but I guess they weren't good," Atalanta said blankly, "ancient Greek families weren't known for their stability or their healthy relationship."
"Yes, most of them weren't good. The best relationship I had was probably with my past mother, Hippolyta, who was an energetic person who loved children. She respected those who fought with honor while hating those who fought dishonorably. The issue was that I didn't get to spend much time with her since I had to live with my father, and she was killed by Hercules just before I joined the hunters."
I said that with a grimace as I remembered the woman I met only a handful of times, her long dark red hair, and her strange mixture of soft cloth and leather clothing, "All my other relationships were far worse. Even before being bewitched by Aphrodite, Phaedra and I didn't see eye to eye. She didn't understand why I won't sire an heir or take the throne. She turned my two half-brothers against me, leaving me completely alone. Also, Theseus always sided with her over me, making it feel like I couldn't rely on anyone growing up."
"I can't believe they would treat you like that," Atalanta responded with a harsh tone, clearly angry at my treatment.
"Yeah, but at least they weren't Theseus. He may have been a great hero, who killed the Minotaur when he was younger, but all that heroism was gone by the time I was born. I'm pretty sure the only reason he managed to sleep with Mom was because of his past heroics, not who he was when they met. Anyway, he hated me for not siring any sons since he thought it was a slight on his legacy, not realizing he destroyed that when he tried to marry a 13-year-old girl. "
He would probably still hate the present me. And would treat Atalanta like garbage since she isn't the grandson he wanted.
"You really don't like Theseus, do you?"
"Of course, the man didn't even try and understand me. Instead, he tried to change me to be who he wanted me to be. He broke one of Greece's most sacred rules of not killing family members by killing me! By your mother, he went down to the underworld and tried to kidnapped Persephone while I was grieving the death of my mother! And when he was finally freed from Hades' punishment by the man who killed Mom, he told me to grow up! Saying that men shouldn't cry. It felt like he didn't view me as a person, but instead as a tool to make himself look better," I said the last part coldly, as I realized I was showing my daughter a part of myself I didn't want her to see.
Atalanta wanted to say something, I could tell just how much she wanted to help me, but she didn't know what to say. She clearly had some thoughts on Theseus's treatment of me and linked it to something.
My paternal instincts tell me that Atalanta feels that her thoughts won't help me feel better.
I decided to follow my instincts and continue talking, showing Atalanta how she helps me should make her feel better.
"The way my old family treated me was wrong, but I only realized how wrong it was when I was reincarnated. My new family treated me with love and respect. My siblings supported me, while my new parents accepted me, flaws and all. It touched my soul more than you can imagine. Which is why it hurt so much when my parents died," my mind flashed back to that day, standing over their body, "but that experience helped me overcome the nervousness I felt when Artemis told me she was pregnant. I was scared that I would fail you in the same way Theseus failed me, but the memories of my new family gave me the strength to try and be the best possible father to you."
Atalanta let out a chuckle after I said that, and I heard her whisper under her breath, "no wonder you're my father."
I probably wasn't meant to hear that, so I acted like I didn't hear it, "To do that, I followed the very basic logic of doing the opposite of what Theseus would do. And I decided I would determine how good of a father I was, based on how much you smiled. Unfortunately, your mother's personality took hold over mine, causing you to become a nearly expressionless little girl that only truly smiles when you're super happy. Unlike Theseus, though, once I realized that was who you were as a person, I accepted it and decided it just meant I had to work harder to make you smile."
"So, that's why you act like you went to clown school?"
"No, your father's always been a clown," Artemis said as she rested her back against her chair.
"hum, you two just don't know how to laugh," I said indignantly, "despite it being depressing how little you truly smile, your personality seemed to match mine. Which always made spending time with you so much fun."
The air around Artemis seemed to stir when I talked about watching our daughter grow. She's probably just jealous of how much time I get to spend with her.
"What do you mean our personalities match? We're basically opposites."
"How best to explain?" I asked out loud before it hit me, "I know, Atalanta, why don't I tell you about the average Saturday alone with toddler you."
Years ago
"Ugh," was my only response to waking up before the crack of dawn on a Saturday. Turning on my side, I turned off my alarm since it was pointless to keep it on now that I'm awake.
I rolled onto my back and sat up, looking directly into a familiar set of round silver eyes. The owner of said eyes was staring back at me, resting their back against one side of their crib.
"You know, most kids cry when they wake up," I complained to my daughter as she just sat with her arms crossed, slightly pouting.
Though most babies cry at all, I had to move Atalanta into my room because she refused to cry. It left me constantly worried that something had happened to her.
A smile formed on my face as I quickly got out of bed and moved to turn off the bathroom light that I left on the previous night, "Wooo, the whole world is gone. You're on your own now, Atalanta."
I said that playfully in complete darkness, then I stopped moving at all, staying as quiet as a mouse. It was so quiet that I could hear it raining outside.
After a minute or two of no response, I stood up and turned on the lights.
Atalanta was still staring directly at me from her cage, unimpressed with my display.
"Fine, if that didn't make you laugh, then how about this," I shouted as I sprinted across the room, causing the little caged god to blink in confusion before I reached down into her crib and started to tickle her.
She is especially ticklish in the armpit area and her sides, so I made sure to dodge those areas. It would be boring if I ended this little game that quickly.
Atalanta responded with a cold face, doing her best not to laugh, though I could see the sides of her mouth start to move upwards after twenty or thirty seconds. She tried to kick me and use her tiny hands to pry away my own.
I slowly moved my hands apart from her stomach, moving towards her sides. As I started to get closer to her sides, she held her breath to stop herself from laughing. Her puffed cheeks make her look like an adorable chipmunk.
Unfortunately, that won't last. I quickly pulled up and started to tickle Atalanta's armpits. Her eyes widened, but it didn't take more than a second for her to close them again. She started to break out into a series of giggles, a smile on her face. She tried to roll over but couldn't. She was completely at my mercy.
I tickled her for a couple more seconds before stopping, "Atalanta, did you know that some scientists say we laugh when we're tickled as a sign of submission. In other words, you just submitted to the cometic powers of your father, I expected you to laugh at all my jokes from now on as a sign of respect, or I'll tickle you till you laugh."
Atalanta just stared at my quietly, her cheeks red from embarrassment at having lost our game, that she always losses. Though, I didn't really mean what I said about Atalanta laughing at all my jokes or the threat of being tickled.
I picked up Atalanta from her crib with ease. She was surprisingly small for her age. It was time to change her and get her ready for the day.
I quickly changed her from the white onesie she slept into a green one instead.
"Are you hungry?" I asked Atalanta as I got up from the floor of her room, having gone into it to grab her new clothing.
Atalanta just had a disturbed expression on her face, just like she always does when I ask her.
Grabbing Atalanta's hands, I helped her to stand up. We took it slowly since she's still having trouble walking quickly.
I led Atalanta to the kitchen, letting her walk on her own but staying close by in case she fell.
After placing Atalanta in one of those modern-day baby chairs, I turned on the stove, grabbed a pan, and started to make breakfast. Atalanta was seated in the opposite direction of where I was preparing our breakfast.
Her judgmental glare was simply too much. I could almost feel the respect she had for me drop when she first tried my cooking. Atalanta went so far as to ignore me, acting like I had committed a crime against humanity.
The only thing I can do now is continue and try to win back her respect. Nothing will stop me!
I looked back down at the pan.
Oh, now it's on fire. I quickly grabbed the pan with one hand and ran outside. Where I quickly threw the pan on the ground, cooking side down, and tried to help smother its flames with my shirt.
Or at least that was the plan until I realized it was raining. And I was standing outside with a grease fire. The pan then proceeded to turn into a small blaze. I did the only reasonable thing I could and threw the pan in the middle of the driveway, where it wouldn't light anything around it on fire.
I just sat there quietly until my breakfast, and the fire was gone.
In utter silence, I solemnly turned around in respect for the fallen bacon. Only to stop when I look at one of the windows in the house. Which allowed me to see Atalanta clearly, due to the position I put her chair in, and the same could also be said for her.
Our similar-shaped eyes met briefly, but the message was clear.
'I had low expectations for you, and you still failed to meet them.'
My only response was to lower my head in shame, not looking Atalanta directly in the eyes as I entered the house and made my way towards my room to get a new change of clothing.
At least until I heard a sound coming from Atalanta, "da- da-"
It sounded like Atalanta was finally about to say her first words, and it was going to be saying my name! A smile formed on my lips as I rushed over to my daughter.
This was a big given how much effort I've put into helping her learn to talk. Atalanta has shown the ability to understand and identify things like she clearly knows what a tree is but has just been unable to say the word tree. It always seemed like she wasn't used to her own mouth or something.
But that didn't matter now. My little moon is about to speak!
Atalanta's face was scrunched up in focus as she tried to form the words, "dad- daddy…."
My heart nearly melted when I heard her finally call me daddy, though she wasn't done yet, "daddy is … a id- idiot."
The stress on Atalanta's face-melting away, replaced by a childish smile that was followed by her giggling. This was a rare event that almost never happens because Atalanta likes to hide her emotions.
Meanwhile, the rest of my body joined my heart in being melted, causing me to collapse on my knees.
"it's not fair," if only I could mutter in response to Atalanta calling me an idiot. On the one hand, I should be insulted that my kid's first words were making fun of me. On the other hand, she said my name before Artemis's and seemed so happy.
Forcing my way back onto my feet, I placed my hands on Atalanta's head. Her smile disappeared after I did that; in its place was a confused expression. Maybe it's because I've never pated her on the head before?
"Good job, my little moon," Atalanta was looking up at me, but for some reason, her gaze had become transfixed on my smile, at least until I called her by her nickname. The pure joy that was on her face beforehand didn't come back, but I noticed her lips were turned slightly upwards on her otherwise cold face. She was in a great mood.
I removed my hand from her head and turned to go change out of my wet clothing, but I stopped as I noticed Atalanta's face had become completely unreadable after I removed my hand. The edges of her lips were no longer turned upwards, and her body posture also changed slightly.
She noticed the fact that I stopped and tried to say something, "gow, pik ui,"
It seems that Atalanta hasn't completely mastered talking, but she made it clear by raising her arms. She wants to come with me. Or she might not want to be stuck in this seat alone while I'm changing.
I picked Atalanta up out of her chair and then sat her on the ground. She then got up and started to point at something with a smug look on her face.
"What is it?"
Atalanta responded by standing up and moving towards the stove.
"Hey, be careful, that is still on," I said as it hit me that I left the stove on and had completely forgotten about it. But based on that smug look, Atalanta didn't.
I lowered my head in shame as I walked over and turned the stove off. My mood returned to the level it was before Atalanta started talking.
Atalanta and I made our way out of the kitchen, but Atalanta veered off course into her own room.
I let her go; she should be okay while I change.
Making my way into my bedroom, I grabbed a fresh set of clothing and quickly changed into them. My new outfit was made up of a long blue long-sleeved shirt and black pants.
Walking out of my room, I walked over to Atalanta's room to see her picking up some things I left lying around her room. She had a content atmosphere around her as if she was enjoying cleaning.
At least that made one of us.
Atalanta noticed me looking in from her doorframe.
"What's wrong?" I asked her after she gave me an annoyed glare.
Was she furious that I left her room a mess?
"I only left some clothing on the floor, and a couple of toys, and some candy, and some of your baby toys," I stopped talking as I realized just how messy I left Atalanta's room. At least the area where Atalanta's crib was, was clean, "fine, I'll help clean."
My daughter's annoying glare disappeared as I entered her room helped her to clean up. It didn't take long for us to clean up most of the room.
My stomach started to growl, lack of breakfast catching up to me. Soon after, Atalanta's stomach growled too. Her face blushed red, looking away.
That's right, Atalanta hasn't eaten yet either.
"Let's just have cereal for breakfast," I said with a sigh as I picked up Atalanta.
"Enough," Artemis said, enter interrupting my story, "you've made your point. Stop your stupid prattling."
It looks like Artemis reached her limit on letting me talk.
"Mom's right," Atalanta agreed with her Mom. She crossed her arms across her chest, "all you need to say was that you were a goofball that can't survive on their own."
"You're just embarrassed."
"The only one who should be embarrassed is you. Seriously, how could you tell that story without feeling embarrassed?"
"Because it was a story between you and me."
Atalanta's face turned slightly red, and she looked away.
I smiled at her reaction and then scooted across the couch.
I brought my daughter into a hug. And she didn't resist.
I let go of her after a moment.
"Are you done?" Artemis asked me.
"Yeah, I've said everything I need to," I responded.
"Good, now we need to discuss the future," Artemis said while sitting up.
Atalanta sent her Mom a nervous glance.
"Are you talking about camp half-blood?"
Atalanta looked confused, "Dad, what's camp half-blood?"
"It's a camp for demi-gods like you, though your mom knows more," I responded.
"Of course, I do," Artemis arrogantly said, "Camp half-blood is meant to be a safe place for demi-gods to train and develop."
"So, this camp will teach me to use my powers?" Atalanta asked.
"Yes, Chiron has trained many demi-gods."
"Wait, Chiron?!" I asked, shocked, "isn't he dead?"
"You, of all people, shouldn't be shocked by that, Hippolytus."
I cringed at the use of my old name, "fair point."
"Dad, you don't actually know much about the world, do you?" Atalanta asked, mocking me.
"Not really," I responded, "I've tried to stay away from magic as much as possible."
Atalanta's eyes sharpened when I mentioned magic, "Dad, your parents in your past life were demi-gods, right?"
"Yes," I answered tentatively, not sure where this was going.
"Do you have any divine powers?"
I just shook my head, "No… I don't have any powers."
At least not in this life. Not that I've really checked.
"Atalanta, you shouldn't worry about your father's heritage. It won't affect you."
My daughter looked momentarily confused, "but Dad's divine heritage might affect my powers, right?"
"No, your soul only holds the authorities you inherited from me. Any powers you could've inherited from him would've ended up blotted out by the stronger influence of my divinity."
Artemis sounded a little too pleased.
"I see," Atalanta stated while crossing her legs, "that makes sense, given how much stronger a full god's divinity should be."
Artemis looked even more pleased after Atalanta said that.
I hope you know that being stronger doesn't mean Atalanta loves you more than me!
I didn't say that out loud. Instead, I decided to make a positive contribution to this family meeting.
"Atalanta," I called out to my child, causing her to look at me, "Camp Half-Blood is a summer camp, meaning you still have to go to school."
Atalanta just looked at me bewildered, "Is that really what you're thinking about right now?"
"Your education is important," I mentioned while nodding, "and I won't let you skip school to 'train.'"
Honestly, I think Atalanta is smart enough to get by without going to school, but she would miss something more important.
Interactions with normal humans.
At Camp Half-Blood, Atalanta may be able to train under the best pony around while being free to use her powers in a safe environment, but that won't help her heal.
I may not know how to heal my Little Moon, but I know that she can't do it alone. She'll only get better with the support of others. At school, Atalanta has the chance to make lifelong friends that will help her in ways that I cannot.
There have already been times when I couldn't make her happy, but her friends did just by being around her. Atalanta enjoys being around her friends, whether it is Katie, Aris, or Silena. However, she would deny this simple fact while launching sarcastic insults at anyone who dared to point it out. She's too much like her mother in that regard… well at least she isn't killing those who insult her.
Katie forces Atalanta into situations she wouldn't normally take part in or drags Atalanta in to help clean up her mess. She forces Atalanta to open up in some ways and helps Atalanta get over her social awareness. Aris has an introverted personality, just like Atalanta, and serves as a sort of refuge for when Atalanta is overwhelmed socially.
Unlike the other two, Atalanta hasn't known Silena since she was a baby. They haven't even known each other for a full year. Yet, Atalanta seems to enjoy spending her time with Silena more than the others, even though they act like they hate each other. The truth is that there isn't any hatred in their fights. They just seem to instinctively like messing with each other. And Atalanta enjoys every moment of it, especially when she's messing with Silena.
Atalanta would lose these bonds if she went to Camp Half-Blood year-round, and I don't think she would make new ones at camp either.
In my experience, most demi-gods are loud, prideful, and selfish, the exact opposite of my quiet Little Moon. Atalanta is simply incompatible with a lot of them. The only half-bloods she could get along with are the small number of half-bloods that aren't like Theseus.
As Artemis spoke up, I snapped back to reality, "I, unfortunately, have to agree with your father."
Artemis had a grumpy air around her after backing me up. I wonder if she realized the real reason, I want our daughter to go to school.
Atalanta just looked between us and sighed before nodding.
"Good," Artemis said while getting up from her chair, "we've discussed enough for one night."
Artemis declared that, putting an end to any more discussion.
"You're leaving now?" Atalanta asked that while staring at her mother.
"Yes, you need some time to digest what we've already talked about, and it's almost your bedtime," Artemis said while looking at the clock.
She then looked back at Atalanta before turning away again, "I also have to tell my hunters about you, and I want to do that tonight."
I sent a glance Artemis's way. The first two reasons were probably the real reasons Artemis wants to end this conversation now. Artemis's third reason was to justify leaving, not to Atalanta, but to herself.
She wants to stay here, even if it means sleeping under the same roof as me. Or in other words, her love for our little moon was greater than her hatred for me.
Even if I'm no longer one of Artemis's hunters, seeing her struggle like this made me uncomfortable. The only thing I can do is throw Artemis a lifeline.
"Artemis," I hesitantly called out, causing a pair of cold silver eyes to turn towards me, "I think telling your hunters about Atalanta can wait until morning. Why don't you stay here for the night?"
Artemis's stare somehow turned even colder. It felt like I was taking an ice bath, "no, I am going to tell my hunters about Atalanta tonight. Besides, this was the night I told my hunters to expect me back, and they may start to panic if I don't arrive soon."
It seems Artemis took my lifeline and lit it on fire.
"It's ok, Mom," Atalanta looked at her mother, her silver eyes seemed to be emotionless, but I could feel the intense love she felt for Artemis, "but when are you coming by again? I still have some questions."
Artemis's face softened. Her silver eyes were now an exact match for Atalanta's, "I'll visit again soon."
Artemis started to make her way over to Atalanta while I sneakily reached into my shorts' pockets.
"I guess I'll get to meet your hunters next time?" Atalanta asked as Artemis reached her.
Artemis bent down to the eye level of the sitting Atalanta, "Yes, so prepare yourself."
Atalanta's cheeks reddened as she quickly got up and hugged her mother, "don't worry, I'm prepared."
Artemis looked down at the little girl, that looked almost identical to her, and hugged her back, "as expected of my daughter. Don't let me down."
At that moment, I finally got the camera app open on my phone.
Atalanta was hugging her mother, a genuine smile on her face. Looking at her now, you would never guess she was one of the coldest people you could ever meet. I smiled at her rare display of affection.
Artemis was smiling, holding our daughter in her embrace. If someone went back in time and told me I would one day see Artemis smile so purely, I probably would have called them crazy. Even now, seeing Artemis smile so purely, without hiding anything, causes my heart to stop, just like it did when I first met her.
A moment like this needs to be preserved.
I took a picture of the two of them just before they broke apart.
Atalanta turned and looked at me, "Dad, what were you doing on your phone?"
"Huh?" was all I let out as she looked at me with cold silver eyes.
Artemis then turned and glared at me too, "Poly. Did you take a picture of me and my daughter hugging?"
"Yeah," I responded with a little bit of annoyance in my voice, due to Artemis for calling Atalanta her daughter instead of our daughter, "I thought that you two were having a nice familial moment."
"And what part of that requires you to take a photo?" Artemis asked coldly.
"He probably plans to embarrass us with the photo later," Atalanta added in, though her tone implied she was messing with me.
Artemis, meanwhile, was 100% serious, "I hope that you know what will happen if that picture gets out, you stupid man."
Artemis's tone was icy. It was the tone she takes right before she explodes. I guess she is terrified of some of the other gods, Aphrodite, making fun of her.
"Don't worry, I won't let anyone steal the picture," I said while raising my hands in defeat, "anyway, Atalanta, you should go take a bath while I show your mother out."
"Ok," Atalanta responded while looking between her mother and me, "I'll try to leave enough hot water for you, especially since you need it more than me."
"Thanks!" I cheerfully declared before seeing Atalanta smirk.
Did she just insult me?
I don't think she was, unless…
My eyes widened as I realized that she basically said I was the one in need of a bath. She basically said I stink!
"You really are mean," I told my daughter, who was walking out the room.
"To be bullied by your own child, you really are pathetic," Artemis said to me before looking back at Atalanta one last time.
"Bye, Mom," Atalanta waved to the grumpy bear a couple of feet across from me.
"Bye, Zoë," Artemis responded as Atalanta left the room.
"Artemis, there are some things I need to talk to you about alone," I told her as I got up and started walking to the living room door that led outside, "do you have time?"
The goddess's face turned sour, her displeasure clear, "fine, but you better not waste my time."
Artemis followed me. We exited the house and walked to the small plot of yellow flowers.
A familiar melancholy feeling spread within me. The horror of that night played through my mind, just like it always does when I see these flowers.
"It's strange to think about, isn't it?" I said after looking up from the flower patch, "it's been years since that day, yet it still feels like yesterday."
"I hope you didn't bring me to this spot just to reminisce," Artemis truly growled that out. I could feel her anger, and the air around her started to glow silver. It seems that I'm not the only one who's still suffering from that night.
"I'm sorry," I told her with as much sincerity as I could muster, "I truly didn't mean to drag up any of your memories of that day."
My sincerity managed to get through to Artemis, who calmed down, causing her silver aura to dissipate, "then why did you want to talk here?"
"Because," I said before stopping to swallow, "despite the horrid memories I have of watching my parents get killed in front of me and the feeling of being cut up by that monster. This little garden calms me down, as I know nothing could be as horrible as that day."
Artemis didn't say anything. Her face was completely blank. Even her eyes were empty, or it might be more accurate to say hollow.
I wonder if she was silent because she understood what I was saying and didn't feel the need to comment. Or if she imagined something worse than that day.
I know of a few possibilities that could be far worse than, but I've decided to block them out.
"Anyway, the first thing I wanted to ask talk to you about is our daughter's strength. Do you think she has enough potential to live a full life?"
I asked this while thinking about the times I've seen Atalanta use a bow. It's kind of embarrassing to say this, but my daughter is already a better archer than me. She just doesn't miss.
"Potential is worthless if it isn't used, Poly," Artemis explained the obvious, "but Atalanta has immense potential and has already begun to tap into it. Her skills with a bow are already greater than many of my brother's children."
I always knew you were something special, my little moon!
My smile grew as Artemis talked. This was one of the rare occasions that our hearts we aligned. I could tell Artemis felt the same parental pride as me.
Especially when she mentioned our child being stronger than her brother's children, the world would have limitless energy if it could convert Artemis's smugness, at that moment, to power.
"Her bow skills weren't the only thing that impressed me. Her sword skills were better than I expected, and her style was different too," Artemis seemed to pull up her hand while thinking about something.
"What was different about her style?" I asked, interrupting the moon goddess train of thought.
She looked at me, annoyed, "I was just about to get to that, you fool. Most half-bloods' combat styles match their parents. A child of Ares is likely to be a bruiser, while a child of Hermes is likely to be a more agile fighter. Atalanta's style was different from what I expected it to be."
"How so?"
"The only way her style was similar to my expectations was how she focused on speed and agility. Her blade work was very passive; all she did was block until an opening appeared. Once an opening appeared, she took it and tried to win while hurting me as little as possible. It was a style of a gentle pacifist that tries to minimize the opponent's suffering. The truth is, I thought that Atalanta's style might be more aggressive, like a predator that never lets up. Think back on it. That was foolish of me."
I had to stop myself from agreeing with Artemis's last statement. The fact that Atalanta's fighting style is gentle makes perfect sense to me. It matches her personality perfectly.
"Thank you for telling me this," I told Artemis while bowing slightly, "I've been worried about monsters attacking her, but I'm less worried now. The other thing I wanted to talk about is our daughter's mental health."
Artemis looked at the ground, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. It looks like she knows what I was talking about.
"Artemis, Atalanta's mental health needs to be our biggest concern, and it's not something that we can fix alone. We need to work together to help her. I don't want to see our child end up in the Lonnie bin, or worse," I said as seriously as I could.
Artemis looked sickened for a moment, then looked up at me, "Fine, but leave the actual solutions to me. Your only job is to remain alive."
In the beginning, I was gonna get annoyed that she obviously wanted to deal with Atalanta's mental issues alone, but then she tasked me with staying alive.
A smile formed on my face. Unfortunately, Artemis wasn't in the mood for jokes. Not that she ever is.
"I've told you before. I don't care about your life. The only reason I want you to live is that Atalanta loves you because you're her father. If you die, then she might breakdown."
I took a breath deciding that now wasn't the time to joke around, "why are you so concerned with how my death will affect Atalanta?"
The reason I asked that question was because of how convinced Artemis was that Atalanta would breakdown if I died.
"I told Atalanta about Orion on the first night of the camping trip. I told her about how my hunters were killed and about how close you were to dying. That night, Atalanta had a nightmare so bad that I could feel her fear. I calmed her down by brushing her hair and reassured her that I was with her. But as soon as I moved my arm, she begged me not to leave her."
Artemis stopped talking after she told me that and instead started to walk away.
I just stood in silence, clenching my fist. I tried to crush all my negative feelings: my anger, sorrow, this feeling of helplessness.
I've used this strategy to deal with my emotions for as long as I can remember; it has never failed me. At least until now.
That monster Orion killed my family, he killed all the hunters of my era, and that still wasn't enough for him. Now his shadow is terrifying my daughter, making her fear for her parents' lives. It's Wrong! Unfair!
Hatred continued to boil up in me. Years of resentment were coming to the surface. My chest felt red hot like I was about to explode.
I quickly relaxed my hands and took deep breaths. I focused on my happiest memories, using them to calm down. It took a moment, but I managed to calm down.
Looking around, I noticed Artemis several yards away from me.
Artemis looked weak; her hands were limp by her sides.
"Artemis, do you want to talk about it?" I asked simply.
"Why don't you focus on yourself first, fool," she responded without turning around. She then disappeared.
I stood in place, even after Artemis left. After a while, I sighed and then smiled slightly. I don't want my little moon to worry about me after all.
I made my way back into my home and walked to Atalanta's room.
I knocked on Atalanta's white door, "Atalanta, can I come in?"
"Yes," I heard her shout loud enough for me to hear her.
After opening the door, I quickly entered my daughter's room.
She was lying on her bed, wearing a pair of pajama pants and their matching white top. Atalanta's hair was wet so that she couldn't have been out of the bath for too long.
"Hi Dad," Atalanta said with a smirk while looking up from the book she was reading, "do you need help with the microwave?"
"I can work the microwave myself, you know!?" at least sometimes.
"And I'm very proud of you."
I rolled my eyes and walked over to her bed. I sat down next to her.
"Is there anything you want to say to me, now that your mom is not here, my little moon?"
Atalanta looked at me for a moment before sitting up and closing the book she was reading.
"My nickname, its because Mom's a moon god, correct?"
"Correct," I smiled down at my daughter, "though I stuck with 'little moon' because you react to it the best."
"I probably didn't react to any of your other nicknames because they were all ridiculous, like 'little twig.'"
I shook at Atalanta's accusation and then looked away from her.
Her ever-present smirk grew larger, "was that actually one of the nicknames?"
I just nodded in defeat.
She almost started to laugh. The little sadist.
"Changing subject, do you want to talk about your mom's true identity?"
Atalanta looked down and seemed to think for a moment, "It's hard to think of Mom as a god. Especially since she doesn't act like the Artemis of myth, its just had to imagine her butchering children just because their mother insulted Leto, or having a man killed with his own hunting dogs."
"That's because she's different around you, acting as Artemis the mother, not Artemis the goddess. And I can personally attest to her acting like her mythological counterpart."
Atalanta looked at me inquisitively, clearly wanting me to elaborate.
"A good example would be…"
Several thousand years ago, Athens.
"What do you have to say for yourself, boy," my father asked from atop of a throne. His naturally curly black hair was held down by his crown of gold. His clothing was embroidered with golden threads.
I shivered as I felt my father's sea-green eyes focus on me. I didn't dare to look up at him.
"I'm sorry, father," I responded while looking at the throne room floor.
"You're sorry," Father repeated with barely held back anger, "do you know how embarrassing your actions are? How much they hurt my reputation? Well, do you?!"
He screamed the last part out, causing me to wince. I took a second to stop my hands from shaking, Father always gets angry when I show fear.
Unfortunately, Father saw my hands shaking, "It seems I was right!"
I could hear a snarl directed at me, followed by the sounds of Father getting off his throne and walking towards me. It took him less than ten seconds to reach me. I winced under his stare.
"You're pathetic!" he shouted before reaching down and grabbing me by the neck, "I thought I was blessed with three sons, but it looks like one of them was actually a daughter! Real men don't show fear, nor do they waste time skipping through the woods!"
Father was choking me while he said this. With his strength as a demi-god son of Poseidon, it was easy for him to lift me up with one hand.
I tried to get free, kicking the air uselessly.
I… I was too afraid to try and kick Father directly. He might kill me if I fight back.
The pain coming from my throat was almost too much to bear, tears started to leak from my eyes.
The world around me was turning black, and I no longer could hear anything, but I think I saw Father's lips move a few times.
I willing gave myself over to unconsciousness, that way I won't have to keep feeling this horrid pain.
But, before I could lose consciousness, I felt the pressure on my throat disappear. Then I felt myself flying for a few seconds until I hit something hard.
My back screamed out in pain.
I started coughing, as I barely managed to roll over to my side. It took a few moments, but my vision was restored. I looked around to find that Father had thrown me across the throne room. And was marching towards.
This wasn't fair! What did I do to deserve this, to get treated as worse than a slave by my own father! Why was I so weak? What was wrong with me?
No, I can't let these feelings show, that will just make Father madder. So, I crushed down all my emotions. Though, in truth, I only had negative emotions to crush.
My hearing returned just as Father reached me, "my blood is wasted on a disgusting fool like you, but you're still my son. Maybe I should send you off to Pirithous, he's been looking for a partner with a pretty face and can teach you how to behave."
My body wanted to shake in disgust, but I managed to stop myself. Pirithous is a disgusting egotistical maniac. I don't want to be forced into any type of relationship with him, much less a pederastic one.
Just thinking about that kind of relationship makes me want to vomit. And not just with Pirithous, but with anyone.
Even when I was little, I found sexual relationships gross, but everyone told me I would understand it when I got older. But, even after twelve summers, I don't. If anything, my disgust has gotten worse.
"N- no, Father please don't do that," I begged him.
His face contorted from pure anger to being slightly confused, "I didn't get it, Hippolytus, I'm trying to help you. Yet, you reject my help every single time! What is wrong with you!"
The pain in my chest worsened. I already know something is wrong with me! You, my brothers, Phaedra, all of you have continuously made that fact clear to me.
You've also made it clear no one will accept me in this world, but I don't care.
My 'wrongness' hasn't hurt me; it makes me feel better. I've only ever been hurt by those who seek to fix me.
I wish that I had the courage to say that to Father.
"I-I don't know, Father. I'm just not interested in people; I would rather spend my time in the forest."
"I don't care if you're not interested in people, your responsibility to our bloodline comes before all else. You will sire a male heir."
I looked down in defeat.
"A banquet will be held in your honor two weeks from now. You will use this opportunity to try and find a wife. And know this, you already brought shame on me once by skipping yesterday's banquet, there will be severe consequences should you skip the next one."
"Yes, father," I whimpered.
"Good, now leave," Father said while walking back to his throne.
I didn't say anything. I just focused on leaving the throne room as fast as possible.
After leaving the throne room, I went to my room and start to prepare for a short trip.
There's a secret hot spring that's about a two-days ride from Athens. Not only is the water the perfect temperature, but it has strange healing properties. It heals my body far faster than any other method in Athens.
I quickly changed into travel clothing, and packed an extra set of clothing, along with my sword. I then snuck around the castle and got about five days' worth of food. Then I got my horse from the stables and set off the hot spring.
As the prince of Athens, I didn't have to sneak around the castle, nor did I have to get everything myself. I could have ordered one of the servants to do everything. But I don't feel comfortable ordering people around.
And I was also worried about running into my stepmother and brothers. I don't want to deal with my little brothers' bullying. They were like mini-Fathers when they started bullying me.
I didn't run into any trouble on the way to the hot spring, but I didn't reach the spring until nightfall on the second day of my journey.
The spring was hidden up a mountain, completely out of the way of normal travelers. I only discovered it because Mom is terrible with maps, and forced me to trek over said mountain, on my way back to Athens, due to her making a mistake.
I left my horse away down the mountain, as the area around the spring was surrounded by a thick forest, that made it hard to travel by foot. Luckily for me, the light of the full moon gave me enough light to reach the spring.
The spring came into sight, but I noticed there was someone else already in the spring. There was no telling if the person was friendly or not, so I went to hide behind a nearby tree. But stopped before I could.
My heart seemed to stop when I saw the person in the springs.
In the hot spring was a girl, two or three years older than me. She had auburn hair that went down her back. And had silvery yellow eyes that seemed to glow.
No, it didn't just seem like they were glowing, her eyes were glowing. But so, too did the rest of her body, it was like she was giving off light herself.
The moon was reflected perfectly in the tranquil round hot spring. It almost looked like the reflection of the moon was one with the girl. A silver light seemed to dance around the edge of the spring.
I released my breath.
"I know you're there," the red-hair girl said while looking in my direction, causing me to jump slightly.
I walked out, past the forest edge, "Hello."
The look in the girl's eyes was kind of scary, but not as scary as Father's. There was at least some warmth in her eyes.
The girl narrowed her eyes, "you dare to watch me bathe, mortal."
I swallowed when I heard the word mortal. I already guessed she wasn't human, but that confirmed it. One wrong word and I could die here. Though, that might not be so bad.
"I'm sorry," I said while bowing, "I didn't mean to see you bathe. I just came to take a bathe."
After saying that, I looked back up at the girl, who was standing in the water. I flinched, as I felt her get angrier.
"If you are sorry, then why do you continue to look at me?"
I blinked before looking at the girl once more, causing me to blush in embarrassment. I was so focused on her presence, that I didn't really look at her.
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were naked."
I looked down, nervous. I didn't try to run; I know that's pointless from experience.
After a moment, the hostile aura weakened slightly. I felt the girl's glare becoming curious. It felt like something was probing my mind.
"Did you really not notice my undressed state?"
"Yes," I answered leaving me confused. It felt like I was being compelled to answer her, "I was too distracted to notice."
"And what was distracting you?"
"Your presence, I was enamored by it the second I saw you. It felt so pure, looked so beautiful. More so than anything I've ever seen."
I felt the girl's anger returning, "so, you did desire me."
My face contorted in disgust when she said, "no, I in no way desire you."
Father would actually kill me if he heard me say that to a girl, "Your beauty is like the moon's reflection in the hot spring. It may be beautiful, but it will be ruined if you touch it."
The girl's anger disappeared slightly. I then heard movement in the water, I think the girl was getting out of the water, but I didn't dare look up.
"Do you not consider me attractive?" The girl asked as she got closer.
"I find you attractive in the same way one finds art attractive. And that is all."
I heard the girl make a curious sound, "you may look at me."
I looked up while doing my best to make myself look small. The red-headed girl was taller than me. She was now wearing a pure white peplos, its quality was higher than even Father's most expensive robes.
My body tensed when I looked at her eyes. There was only one thing in them now, curiosity. It almost made me take a couple of steps back, but that reaction has long since been beaten out of me by Father.
Despite the instinctual fear I felt, I felt something change inside me while looking at the girl. It felt like I had a small connection with her, it felt similar to the feeling I get when I pray to Athena. Though it felt more natural than the connection to Athena.
"Interesting, you're the first man to see me bathe and not fall in love."
The force that was compelling me to talk was still active, "my father says something's wrong with me because I don't feel the eros form of love."
The girl's eyes narrowed, she seemed angry, but at least it wasn't pointed at me, "And do you believe something is wrong with you?"
"No," tears started to form in my eyes, it felt like this girl was forcing my true emotions to the surface, "I'm happy just the way I am."
The cold red-head looked at me as if she making sure I wasn't lying, "good. You are fine just the way you are, child."
I stared at her, shocked. No one has ever said that to me. It caused me to feel kind of… happy.
"Who are you?" I asked after shaking my head. I can't let my guard down.
"I am Artemis. Goddess of the hunt and protector of virgins."
My eyes widened as the girl, Artemis, released some of her power.
I immediately got on one knee. I need to be careful; the gods are more unpredictable than the worst monster.
She didn't say anything about my kneeling, and her face was too expressionless to read.
At the very least, I don't think she was angered by my kneeling. I would be dead right now if she was.
I started to sweat. Artemis is known to transform men who see her bathing into animals, then she kills them.
"Do you seek the healing properties of my spring?" she asked while looking at the choke marks around my neck.
"Ye- yes, I didn't now this spring belong to a god. My apologies."
"Your apologies are worthless, you should be offering me thanks in the form of sacrifices. Particularly food."
"Yes, Lady Artemis," if I manage to get back to Athens, then I get the palace chiefs to make the best possible sacrificial meal.
"I shall let you bathe in my spring for tonight only, and you will offer tribute in return. After tonight, you're forbidden to return her, or tell anyone about my spring," Artemis then seemed to disappear.
What?
That was all I could think.
Artemis should have killed me or, at the very, forbid me from using her spring. Especially after seeing her naked.
I looked around the spring, trying to see if this was a trap, but I saw nothing. Maybe I should just go to be safe.
Artemis told me to use the spring; if I don't, then won't I be defying her will?
I sighed, as I decided to use the spring.
Are all gods this confusing, or is Artemis different?
"I hope you understand Art is absolutely capable of doing horrific things to strangers. Looking back on it, I was like an inch away from dying, one wrong word and I wouldn't be sitting here."
Atalanta was still sitting on her bed, deep in thought. I was right next to her.
"Why'd Mom spare you?" Atalanta asked.
"Who knows? Sometimes, trying to understand your mother is like dealing with an insane person," I admitted. "There are a couple of guesses though. Firstly, that meeting was right around the time Artemis was considering accepting more male hunters, meaning she was more lenient with men at that time. Plus I was also a child at the time, and Artemis is far more forgiving to children. Another possibility is that she didn't kill me because I wasn't attracted to her."
"Doesn't Mom kill any man who sees her body, even if they aren't attracted to her?"
"During my time with the hunters, I learned that while Artemis does have a bias towards girls, she will still treat them harshly. If a girl sees her bathing and makes a move on her, then Artemis will kill, or transform, said girl. So, Artemis is only slightly angered by the other sex seeing her body, she's truly angered by people being attracted to her."
"Then, the stories about Mom turn males to females, and forcing them to join her hurters…"
"Those were mostly little boys who wandered to closed to camp, though there might have been one or two adults. They didn't make a move on your mother, so they got to live. As an aside, what do you think about that ability? It can do the opposite too, turning females to males." I stated, seeing an opportunity.
"I won't want to have that ability used on me, I'm fine the way I am," Atalanta responded without thinking. Her eyes widened after she said, and she then looked down at herself.
"Atalanta…" I called out to her after her strange reaction. It seemed like she was surprised by her own response.
She shook her head, "sorry, I was just thinking about Mom's power. Anyway, that power could do some real good in the world and change the lives of an entire group of people, but it's useless to me. Now, can we return to Mom sparing you, or do you want to keep wasting time on this pointless detour?"
"Sure, but I don't consider any detour pointless!" I said with a smile.
"The journey is sometimes more important than the destination," Atalanta suddenly exposited some generic wisdom.
"Really? Did you hear that in a fortune cookie?" I lightly teased her. "Anyway, your mother spared me because a bunch of little things happened to align, along with her being in a good mood, and being slightly interested in me."
"When did Mom start to respect you?" Atalanta asked another question while digesting my answer.
"She respects me!" I repeat with false shock.
"As much as I do," Atalanta deadpan snarked at me.
"The sad thing is your probably right," I said while making a fake sad face. Atalanta's deadpan expression broke sightly, showing her profound concern for me.
"Anyway!" I suddenly shouted before Atalanta could say anything, "I and your mother's relationship developed over the decade I was a hunter. I joined her hunters when I was 18, and my first death happened when I was 28. She didn't start respecting me one day, it was only formed through years of devotion."
"Are you still devoted to her today?"
"In a way... it's complicated. I wouldn't give my life up to serve her, unlike the vow I made in my last life. I have too many people that I care for in this life, and who care about me. But I still care about her, and I want to help her," I stopped to think about what I should say next.
"Thank you, Dad," Atalanta cut in, "that's all I needed to know."
I was confused by my daughter's interruption. Atalanta pulled her left leg close to her chest and put her arms around it. Atalanta wasn't smiling, but she didn't look sad. It was strange, Atalanta almost always seemed to be sad, she just didn't express it. The only time she didn't seem sad was when she didn't have time to be or was truly happy.
If I had to describe my little moon's emotional state at that moment, I would call it relieved.
"I've been scared, Dad. Scared that Orion will kill you and Mom. I don't—I can't lose you either of you," Atalanta said as her eyes turned hollow, they were the eyes of someone who's lost everything, "but now I know, I wouldn't lose either of you."
"How?" I asked while doing everything I can to not jump up and hug my daughter. To tell her everything's going to be ok.
"Because, even with Gaia on his side, Orion is missing something," Atalanta blinked, and her hollow silver eyes were filled with hope, "one little thing that can outweigh everything else. Love."
Her answer left me momentarily shocked. Of all the things she could have said, I never would have expected her to call on the power of love. But I like this answer.
I smiled at Atalanta, "Yeah! We'll show Orion that the love of the Moonlit family is greater than his hate!"
I reached out and patted Atalanta's head after saying that.
She wasn't amused, "I'm serious."
"Hi serious, I'm Dad."
Atalanta looked annoyed.
"Why," she muttered under her breath, "why is everyone around me either stupid or crazy?"
She then looked me in the eye, "By the way, Mom said that those yellow flowers outside sprouted when she connects your soul with hers to heal you, right?"
"Yeah," I responded, not sure where this was going.
"That was when I was conceived correct?"
"According to Artemis."
"So, you gave me part of the thing you and Mom were laying on, when you conceived me, as a gift?" Atalanta looked at the yellow flower she kept above her desk.
Actually, how does that flower still look new?
"Technically it was beside me," I responded to her question.
"Technically doesn't matter. Image if Silena's dad gave her sheets from whatever Motel 6 she was conceived in, sure they may not be the actual sheets but they're close enough."
Ha, I think I get what Atalanta doing.
I smirked in assured victory, "You can't fool me."
Atalanta's face didn't reveal anything.
"I know you cherish that flower, otherwise it wouldn't be one of the few things in your room," Atalanta likes to keep her room empty, and constantly cleans it. So, anything that stays in here for more than a couple of weeks is important to her, "you wouldn't get rid of that flower for some petty reason."
I paused for theatrics, "No, this is all a trap to make me look like a fool! Your Mom told me that one of the first things she was going to teach you, was how to control the mist. You probably planned to goad me into grabbing the flower when, in actuality, you used the mist to disguise something else as the flower!"
I stared at Atalanta, who stared back at me.
Atalanta sighed, then crossed her arms. She looked away, without saying anything.
I turned around and laughed at what I saw. There was what seemed to be a sticky substance where the flower was, while the flower was on a different shelf.
"What gave it away?" Atalanta asked annoyed, "even if I'm not that good at it manipulating the mist, it shouldn't have been so obvious."
"You made a mistake, my little moon," I said smugly, "you made the flower look brand new when it should be falling apart by now. It was easy to link that to the mist."
"Dad, look at the flower," Atalanta pointed at the yellow flower.
"What about it?" I asked while looking at it.
"Is it falling apart?"
The smug smile on my face disappeared when she said that. The flower was in the same condition it was in when I first picked it.
"But… why didn't it get older?"
"Maybe because it's a magic flower?" Atalanta said, before looking away.
"oh," I quickly fled the room, before she could make fun of me.
Hello! I hope y'all are having a great morning, afternoon, or night.
As mentioned before, I originally plan to have a ton of Poly flashback scenes in one chapter, but I decided to cut most of them from this chapter. Instead, Artemis and Poly's back stories are going to be shown throw flashbacks spread throughout the story. And the short summary Poly give's Atalanta of his life/relationships, is just a way to give everyone some context on his backstory.
Theseus is going to be a horrible person going forward, since that's what he was in canon, and only come to regret his actions in death. In many ways, he's going to show a lot of the bad elements of ancient Greece. Also, Poly didn't tell Atalanta about all the details involved with the Theseus scene, some of it's reader only, that's why she really didn't mention it.
In case anyone's wondering about Atalanta having a nightmare of Orion killing Artemis in the last chapter, I thought that it would make sense she would almost have PTSD from everyone's she's lost. Like, Fate!Route Shirou can barely think about his Mom before repressing those memories. And the heaven's feel manga showed Shirou having a nightmare about the fire, including his parents last words. It seems reasonable that Atalanta, who went through a similar tragedy to the other two and suffered the same way, (just with the extra trauma of being betrayed by a best friend, seeing your other best friend get killed, failing to live up to the expectations of their second dad, and essentially loss their sister (even if they're still alive.) would have nightmares about losing her family.
Also, that line about love from Atalanta, was a reference to the battle against a certain blond doll. (before someone says that was an OOC moment.)
Anyway, now on to the main character of this chapter, Poly.
My goal was to try and show how he's a good person but has deep mental issues. He also seems to slightly over think some things when it comes to Atalanta, getting his logic so backwards that he fails to help.
One thing I want to point out first before talking about his character. His views on Camp Half-blood were caused by the fact that he associates Theseus with demi-god, causing him to have a slight bias against some parts of it. I think that I failed to make that clear enough in the chapter.
Anyway, Poly doesn't deal with his emotional issues, he just pushes it down completely. Because of this, he never really deals with the issues, but after his reincarnation, the love of his new family helped him to overcome a lot of those issues. Until his parents died because of him. Then a lot of the issues came back.
He also rejects any of his legacy powers, to the point he just claims he doesn't have them, without ever having tried. (Also, some legacies can have powers, others may not). This is because of his trauma from Theseus, and his refusal to use anything he got from him.
An important detail about Poly is that his humorous side is a natural part of him, he truly is a goofball. Its not something he made up to hide his pain or anything of the sort, though he does use it to do that sometimes.
Now then, the scene of Poly meeting Artemis for the first time. We're going to come back to that scene later, and we will get Artemis side on that. For now, it's up to you to decided if you think any of Poly's reasons were correct or not.
Off topic from Poly's character, but its kind of funny to see how his character evolved. When I first started thinking about this story, before I even started writing it, I just wasn't gonna use him [Atalanta's father], but then I thought about how a lot of the Percy Jackson books deal with bad parenting and focuses a lot of absent parents. From that thought, I figured it would be interesting to write about a set of parents [god/non-god] that fought, but were forced to deal with each other, for the sake of their kid. Then I remembered Hippolytus, and then the rest of the story took shape around that (when talking about Atalanta's parents specifically.) Its just funny, how Atalanta's father was going to be a major character at first, but now he's somehow turned into one of the main characters.
Oh yeah, if it wasn't clear, Mary's going to serve as a conduit to facilitate Atalanta's involvement with the Egyptian world.
Anyway, next chapter will involve Atalanta meeting the hunters, Silena and Atalanta's guardian will be introduced, and Atalanta will have her first run in with a Kane.
The next chapter should come out in a month or two (as I think I have finals next month, so I won't be able to write a lot, plus I have to come up with a name for Silena and Atalanta's guardian that fits.)
I can't decide between an ancient name, or a modern name. I can't figure it out even after thinking about it for over a month! *flips table.
Have a great day, and see you guys next time!