Welcome back dear readers to the next part of "The Legacy of the Tiger".
I wanted to thank you all at the very first place, with so many views and so many subscriptions I really would not have expected.
I hope that you will also enjoy the next part.
One thing in advance, I try to let the story develop slowly to avoid possible logic and content jumps. That said, the first act is well on its way to being finished. It provides the basis for all further processes.
Have fun while reading
Holding on to the past is dangerous. You just have to keep going - Robert Redford
Silence. Unbearable silence prevailed for several moments after the goddess Artemis had accepted her punishment and was banished among mortals for a lifetime. Each of the deities hung on his or her own thoughts until finally Zeus broke the silence:
"Now that the punishment of Artemis has been carried out, we now turn our attention to the punishment of my other child, my son Apollo."
All the gods present now flinched noticeably, was their father or in some cases brother so heartless? The remaining children of Zeus and his adopted daughter: Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, Dionysius, Hephaistos and Hermes exchanged restless looks, looking for something to support them after this day had been so upsetting. Their gaze fell on Hestia, who had turned her gaze to the ground and now no longer poked and fanned the coals of the hearth. At that moment, despite their differences and quarrels, they all agreed that there had been enough tragic moments for today, for none of them wanted to see and make their common aunt even sadder now.
"Father, hasn't enough already happened today? Hasn't enough already been judged today? It is true that Apollo's words were clearly misguided, but they were spoken out of sadness and pain." Athena asked first...
"Athena, I want to settle this dispute and the eternal arguments between Apollo and his sister once and for all, they have been going on for over two millennia now." The father of the gods replied
"But Father, hasn't Apollo suffered enough already? He still mourns for his son, no matter what he did or wanted to do, Apollo has lost his child and therefore I am of the opinion that it is not necessary to punish him" Hermes now also interfered
"YOU are a loveless and bad father, you should still consider to punish him as well - he has not only lost his son, but also his sister in a certain way, even if this is only conditionally" nagged Aphrodite
Before Zeus could even open his mouth, Hephaestus went into the word:
"Is it not enough for you to have thrown a child from Olympus? In any case, I remember it well when the same fate befell me, just because I were ugly. Enough father! And don't you dare to hit on my brothers and sisters or my wife, we have already heard about enough tragedies and had to make difficult decisions today".
But now the Queen of Heaven intervened and screamed:
"How dare you talk to your father like that. I am disappointed in you, my son. Your father has every right to punish Apollo for his words. Do not interfere in this matter."
For Hera now wanted to see the second twin of her husband's illegitimate children punished to take revenge on her husband. Too many times she had been cheated on in her marriage with him, and too many descendants he had fathered with different and above all different women than her of his wife. She became bitter and cold towards everything that had not been conceived properly, in a marriage, through centuries of cheating.
But before anyone could say anything to the younger generation of gods or Zeus, the other siblings of the older generation of gods also interfered.
"Sister" started Demeter, trying to find a compromise, because on the one hand she could understand that a punishment was necessary, but on the other hand her nephew already mourned for two persons. It was enough for one day, not enough for a decade.
"I understand your desire for justice and the desire for the right education of my now unfortunately often immature nephew, but also consider that Apollo is already punished with the death of his son and with the task to watch over the hunters. The one who in their eyes has brought their patron goddess into banishment. I cannot imagine that my daughter is at least happy about this fact. I'm sure they will not make the coming time easy for him."
Poseidon also added:
"The younger generation is right, look sister how much you are torturing your sister Hestia by giving more punishments. I, for my part, agree with Demeter, because I don't want to see Hestia in this state of mourning anymore. I am sure that Hades, if he were here, would agree with us. Hestia is his favorite sister after all. Brother it is enough, even if I cannot tell you what to do and what not to do."
Hera now looked at the stove in the middle of the throne room, where her sister, in the form of a young girl, looked sadly to the ground. The fires of the hearth had also burned down and were now only glowing, a clear sign of the sad state of the goddess of the family and the hearth. She now let her gaze wander and looked at her son Ares and his siblings, who all had the same determined look on their faces. Her brother Poseidon and her sister Demeter looked worn down and dejected.
However, she saw in her husband's glance a determination to nip future quarrels in the bud, but his gaze was also fixed on the goddess of hearth and family, and his face became unreadable and the determination in his electric blue eyes began to waver.
For in view of the closed unity of the otherwise so quarrelling and divided family, he began to rethink that he might have acted wrongly after all. For contrary to what had been reported about him in mortal lore, he was more of a harmony loving God, and wanted his family not to quarrel to the point of blood and knife at every council meeting, and new conflicts were constantly arising, and he constantly had to speak law and order in his role as God of justice. But on the other hand, he did not want to be told what to do by anyone or anything. His pride did not allow this, especially when he agreed with his brother Poseidon. And yet to see his big sister Hestia so sad had also left its mark on him. Like all his siblings, he loved and esteemed Hestia idolatrously and wanted nothing more than to see her happy and laughing. He had to find a solution and it had to satisfy him and Hera but also the other gods without losing face.
For several minutes there was silence, and everyone looked at the God of Heaven, as he was lost in deep contemplation and possible solutions to the new problem. The deities could see that it was a bitter struggle with its fatal weakness of vanity and lust for power, and it was impossible for them to predict which side would now win this battle. They hoped, however, that he would overcome his pride and come to a compromise, as Demeter had suggested. Zeus now looked into the assembled round and looked at each and every one of them and made his decision, even though he knew that it would incur the wrath of his wife, but here she was one against the wrath of ten. Moreover, the banishment of his daughter Artemis was also hard on him, even though he never gave it openly and loved all his daughters, she was his favorite daughter. She got her strong will to assert herself and her stubbornness from him, even though he had often sighed and moaned about both, he was infinitely proud of her. It was not easy for him to send her into banishment, because despite the circumstances he also caused her twin brother endless suffering. And so, he spoke in a loudly resounding voice:
"Apollo, your punishment will be to honor the oath you have taken to your sister and, in addition, to inform the hunters that their protective goddess is now gone. Furthermore, for the next decade you will clean the shelves in the library of your sister Athena without the use of divine powers and take over the daily tasks of your subjects".
Before Apollo was able to open his mouth, Zeus reassures himself to his now completely perplexed wife:
"The punishment may seem mild to you now Hera, but consider how lazy Apollo is, he can't even keep his own palace tidy, despite the use of his divine powers. Athena's library is huge and covers several floors in her palace. The hunters will also give him a hard time and the boy may finally learn to grow up."
With this comment, the previously incredibly tense and agitated mood in the throne room was broken, as most of the gods giggled behind reproachful hands, such as Aphrodite, Hermes or Dionysus, but others, such as Poseidon or even Demeter, who recognized the attempt to punish a loving but strict father, laughed openly and resoundingly at this. Ares and Hephaestus even fell from their thrones since they could no longer hold on to themselves.
Despite the pronouncement of a punishment, the corner of Apollo's mouth twitched upwards and the trace of a smile could be seen, inwardly he was very happy about this "punishment", because this way he could keep the promise to his sister to take the rare opportunity to spend time with his daughters in the hunt, because as an anti-men group it was difficult even for him, a god, to stay there for a long time. Even though this could probably be since he flirted with the hunters repeatedly, thus incurring the wrath of his sister and her hunting party. But he wouldn't do this in her absence, because he had sworn to protect the hunters and it was more of a pastime for him anyway to get his sister upset.
Hestia at the hearth fire couldn't help but giggle, she found the forced situation of her nephew just too funny. Even though she hadn't told Artemis, she wanted to stop by the hunt every now and then, since their mother could no longer take care of them and the head of the family was missing from the hunt. She could imagine Apollo already loaded with mountains of various cleaning utensils and how he was dusting his sister's library. This thought alone helped immensely in suppressing her sadness, even though she would later mourn the death of her great-nephew despite his misdemeanors.
"Zeus, you are once again much too soft on the boy, so he will never learn that his actions have consequences." Said Hera, even if it sounded rather half-hearted, because Apollo had received a punishment after all and was humiliated in front of everyone by pointing out his mistakes. She also found the punishment extremely amusing, not what she would have chosen, but amusing, nonetheless. There was also a hint of a smile on her face and her husband was clearly relieved that he would not sleep on the couch for the next few days.
"Alright pops, I'll take this punishment on myself. Even if the thought of cleaning and dusting won't let me sleep well the next few days. Not to mention the thought of playing the butler to the hunters. That's what I need a drink on right now." Apollo now replied
"No, Apollo, you will go right now and without further ado to the hunters and explain everything to them. No drinks and no excuses, this is part of your punishment so do as I tell you" his father rumbled in a tone that left no room for contradiction
"Okay, okay, okay, all right. Can't you even make a joke here to lighten the mood, I'm going. It's not like you have to meet a bunch of immortal angry teenage girls with weapons." Said the sun god hastily now
"Well, now that all matters have been settled, this council meeting is closed. If anyone has anything to add, you are all dismissed and free to go" Zeus droned
On this question everyone shook their heads because they were glad that this grueling session was finally over and that they could resume their Divine duties. One by one, they disappeared under flashes of light of all possible colors until finally only Apollo was left, who wanted to concentrate on the conversation ahead of him. He noticed that his favorite aunt had also been left behind. She looked into his eyes and smiled:
"Apollo, I am proud of how you stood by your sister despite this tragic incident and made this decision easier for her. This shows that we as a family can stick together even in such situations".
"Thank you, Auntie Hestia, I could never live with my sister being sad even after all that has happened. We are twins and twins must always be there for each other."
"And that's what I'm so proud of, nephew. Family is what really counts" the peace-loving goddess agreed with him
"Go now to your protégés, be honest with them and treat them with respect, then their attitude towards you may not be considered too bad"
"Do you really think that they won't hate me or try to castrate me? After all, I am responsible that their mistress is in banishment," Apollo said sadly and looked down
"Do not give hope to nephew, I am sure" and with these last words she disappeared under a flash of orange-red light
Apollo took another deep breath to arm himself and disappeared in a bright yellow flash of light to get to his sister's temple. He appeared at the door of the palace in a flash of wisdom and knocked.
After Artemis' departure, the hunters had crowded together in the common room, close to each other, on the couches there and tried in vain to comfort each other. They held each other in their arms and wept over the loss of their "mother" but also over the sacrifice of her and the love they received from her. Zoë and the other veterans had gathered around a table and tried to keep a cool head and develop a plan for the next decades despite their emotional chaos.
But they didn't really succeed, because all of them followed their thoughts and were captivated by their emotions. The half thought-out plans were postponed to another period because they were not able to make clear decisions. At that moment, however, they heard a knock from the palace door and interrupted their strategy session. Who would stand on the other side of the door? A lecherous god against whom they would have to defend themselves now without their patron saint? Would this now already so bad evening end in an even greater catastrophe? And so, they walked carefully to the door armed with ready-to-hand hunting knives and opened it carefully. But instead of the expected lascivious god, they found a rather untypical Apollo, who did not, as usual, approach close to them and restrict their personal proximity, but a Lord Apollo, who respectfully waited for them three steps outside the door.
They bowed to him and after a brief exchange of glances with their comrades, Zoë began:
"Lord Apollo, we did not expect this visit so soon from you."
"Evening, Huntress, I would wish you a good evening, but there is nothing good about this evening. Too many terrible things have happened for anything positive to happen. May I come in, please. I have something important to discuss with you and your sisters."
The hunters exchanged glances again, the whole conversation seemed unreal to them, had the otherwise radiant God been joking or flirting with them several times before. The fact that he had said please had not escaped their attention either. The death of his son must have hit him hard and made them promise their patron saint again and after a short hesitation they nodded and spoke:
"But of course, Lord Apollo, please come in. We were not expecting you, please excuse our cautious behavior."
"No huntress, you expected a threat and were ready to defend your sisters. For this you cannot be blamed. In the time that I have known you all for so long, I expect nothing else" and with these words the God entered after he had been granted access and the girls had made room for him.
The door was closed and locked behind him, knowing that no other god but some allowed gods could enter the palace directly. The number of the privileged was particularly short in this case and was limited only to the messenger of the gods Hermes and Artemis' brother Apollo. This showed Artemis' paranoia about attacks on herself and her hunters. A fact that was only right for God, since he had an extraordinarily strong protective instinct for his sister and his daughters were better protected when they were hunting on Mount Olympus.
The group went into silence, neither of the two parties made any attempt to break it. The hunters did not want to anger the god, whom they had already angered by the murder of his son anyway, any further, and moreover, as part of their final command, their patron goddess insisted that they apologize for their hasty behavior and the crime that resulted from it.
Apollo, for his part, remained silent, firstly because his thoughts were with his Dead Son and the now imminent conversation with his sister's hunters. On the other hand, he was also with his sister, who was banished to Gods knows where through him and would return to him in 80 years at the earliest. During this time, she was completely on her own without access to her memories and powers. He shivered, the thought of what could happen to her was unbearable.
They finally reached the common room, from which sniffing, sobbing and crying could still be heard. The noises suddenly stopped when her sisters, accompanied by the sun god, entered. The girls quickly stood up and bowed. No one said a word.
Apollo looked at the otherwise proud elite troop of Olympus. Their fighting spirit was visibly broken. The only thing he could see were teenagers who had suffered a great loss. No partly arrogant looks that looked like inviolability, instead, frightened and cried eyes were staring at him. His expression obviously had to intensify the fear because some of them began to tremble.
"Sisters of Artemis..." he now began in a neutral and indefinable tone.
"I am here to inform you that your patron goddess is now in banishment for a mortal's age..." whereupon many of those present burst into renewed tears and sniffs, but also broke Apollo's neutral mask and showed how much this circumstance also affected him. After a short pause for breath he continued.
"The Council of Olympus has also decreed another punishment..."
At these words, the hunters clearly flinched, thinking that it would affect them and that their sisterhood would possibly be dissolved after all. The God continued this remark in a much softer tone:
"During the quarrel between my sister and me I became rude and as a result I was punished by taking over your daily household duties without the use of divine powers, besides the cleaning service at Lady Athena's house."
Here he clearly pulled a face, a clear sign that he was very taken with the idea of cleaning. However, some of them had to snort at this sentence and his visibly pleased face. The thought that Lord Apollo, the god of the sun, was walking through a palace with cleaning utensils in his hands, loosened their spirits visibly. This was exactly what he had intended because some of his daughters were also members of the hunt and so he did not want to see them crying and in fear of him any longer.
"Furthermore, I would like to discuss with you how I can protect you from encroachments of a divine nature in order to keep the oath I have taken. So, I have thought about that if you are in a situation that requires my intervention, pray to me and I will come and deal with it. BUT be warned that if you take advantage of this or try to trick me, you will be severely punished by me. I have not forgotten what you have done hunters. The murder of my son and for some of you even your half-brother is something I won't forgive or forget so quickly. I only took the oath out of love for my sister, even though I would have had absolutely every RIGHT to refuse her requests and pleas."
He said the last part in a clearly louder and threatening voice, so that all the sisters of Artemis clearly flinched and bowed their heads. His Divine Aura came out minimally for a moment, which now increased the power of his voice. He now looked directly at Zoë and the other elders and spoke:
"Especially from you, who have been part of the hunt for centuries, I would have expected more. Yes, your punishments are still the same as they have been since ancient times, but you know just as well that should such a case occur, the divine parent must be informed and the son in question will be judged before you carry out your punishment. The only exception is when the accused is caught in the act. Since the accused was only given a look at you and words were spoken, this punishment was wrongly set. You were granted regulations after the incident with the scum of hunter Orion, why didn't you follow them?"
The name of the son of Poseidon he spat out with contempt and hatred. After all, this scum was the reason for the just mentioned rules. Yes, it was true that the hunter Orion had planned to rape Artemis in order to force her to marry and be appointed god. But this fact became known only after his death, before that his sister had lamented the death of this scum and made him a constellation in the stars. Only Apollo knew from the beginning what kind of man Orion had been. He was the one who had treated the first victim of this animal after a crying and deeply disturbed huntress with torn clothing and blood-drenched femininity was found near the camp of the hunters. She was bound under a stygian oath of silence towards the hunt and its patron saint, but not Apollo, and so the truth came to light. Apollo, in an act of revenge for his wounded niece, tricked Artemis into shooting a fish in the sea after claiming it would definitely miss him. What Artemis didn't know, however, was that Apollo, in an act of kindness, wanted to give the hunter his blessing for his sister when he took his arrow out of the sea and brought it back to him. The subsequent revelation of his identity and the controversy over Apollo's trick led to a heated discussion that revealed the truth about the rape of Hermia, daughter of Athena. In the end, after countless days of deliberation, the following rules were established to guarantee that the hunters were protected and, if necessary, could defend themselves against the assaults.
The hunters now bowed their heads even further and the veterans, too, experienced a shiver of guilt. Yes, they had known better, but the boldness with which this boy stared at them and did not cover his eyes and apologized for disturbing them while bathing, not to mention the requests to break their oath for his desires, and to demand this from their patron goddess, his aunt, had been too much for veterans.
But Apollo now continued in a softer tone:
"But I can understand your side as well, despite my own consternation. Atalanta, my daughter, you lost everything from your old life because my sex could not hold back and thought it was the superior thing. I see you have feelings of guilt for the murder of your brother, but I also see the parallels to the robbery of your family and just wanted your family, who took you in when everything broke around you...I understand this as well as the actions of your sisters, who went through very similar fates. Therefore I would like to say to you, give me time to deal with the loss of my son despite his mistakes and let us try to make the time until...until...until my sister's return your mistress of service bearable. Because just like me, you have lost someone who is particularly important to you today."
The girls were not prepared for such a speech and everything that happened that day had to come out of them again. The five daughters of Apollo within the Sisterhood led by Atalanta stood up and, despite their fear and insecurity, went up to their father and hugged him. For in this part of the speech they had realized that they needed a father's reassurance over the loss of a mother, just as their father needed the embrace of his children after the loss of one of his children. For several minutes no one said a word, in which the daughters reassured their father, and the father reassured his daughters. Finally, after a mute exchange with Pheobe and Cassandra, Zoë broke the silence:
"Lord Apollo, we the hunters of Artemis deeply ask for your forgiveness for our deeds. We acted rashly and dishonorably when we passed judgment on your son and carried out the punishment. We cannot undo our deeds and your loss cannot be made up for by any action we can take. I therefore ask you, as your current representative, for forgiveness for me and my sisters' deeds and you and your daughters have my share in the loss of your son, may he be judged righteously over his life in the underworld...".
The last part of these words was visibly difficult for her and you could clearly see her struggling with the right words. Apollo now looked up with a sad smile and replied:
" Hunters of Artemis I thank you all for the words of condolence and comfort. I pray to the fates that he will receive a safe passage and a just judgment. You too have my condolences and sympathy for the loss of those you consider to be mothers. I promised my sister that I would protect you from harm and I will do so! I judged her wrongly and spoke lightly of her not knowing what it means to be a parent. I will not allow my sister to lose one of her daughters when she returns, I..."
But he was not to go any further, he had turned to Zoë at the last words and suddenly became stiff and rigid like a column. His eyes, which before had their usual blue color, suddenly became poisonous green and green clouds of mist gathered around him. His daughters resigned hastily, frightened by the fact that their father would now make a prophecy about the continuation of the hunt. The entire sisterhood held its breath.
"The world set in change,
In banishment hunter's heir shall be born,
Hidden love known sworn,
away from his mothers and sisters reach,
Anger of the sisterhood will be inflamed,
of the mortal man maimed."
The Green Mist moved as quickly as it had come. The spirit of the oracle withdrew. The god's body tension released and he collapsed and lost consciousness. There was an eerie silence, for no one had the courage to break it. After a few seconds, the daughters of Apollo broke out of their rigidity and approached their now unconscious father with caution. Several attempts to regain consciousness failed until finally Christy, the youngest of them, managed to bring her father back to the land of consciousness with a bottle filled with smelling salts. Moaning, he now sat up and asked:
"Daughters, what has happened? You all look as if something bad has happened to someone?"
Shock came over him. Lord Apollo the God of prophecy could not remember anything he had said? That would mean that they had all just been witnesses to a great, earth-shattering prophecy. And this prophecy concerned their patron saint!
"Father..." said a still shocked Diana, a huntress who had served the hunt since the Gods moved to America in the early 19th century.
"Father, you...you...just gave us a prophecy"
"Impossible, I would have known if I had uttered a prophecy, you know yourself daughter that I only lose consciousness when I utter a great prophecy..." in the middle of the sentence he interrupted himself and realized what he had just said
"Please Diana tell me that I did not prophesy about your aunt..." he begged, knowing what consequences this could have for his sister
"Father, I would have to lie to you, which you know is impossible, if I say that you have not pronounced any" whispered a ghostly white Atalanta
"Lord Apollo, I will tell you the content of the prophecy if you swear by the Styx not to present it to the Olympic Council until we, the hunters, allow you to do so" Zoë now spoke with a rare authority and sharpness in her voice. Although her eyes and face radiated fear, love, hope and determination at the same time.
"How dare you, huntress..." the god began threateningly
"I am a god, a member of the Olympic Council and you, Zoë Nightshade, have the audacity to withhold the contents of this prophecy from me...".
But he did not get any further, because he was interrupted by an equally loud and authoritarian Zoë
"How I dare to ask Lord Apollo, this prophecy concerns the hunt and its members alone, in their absence it is my task to guide the hunters in Artemis' mind, as she has instructed ME. None of the hunters will breathe a word about it until the oath is taken."
Her vehement stubbornness was completely new to the God and he began to wonder what was so dramatic and important that an oath of silence was necessary. But this was also about his sister, he a God could not be rejected so easily? But the lieutenant of his sister had never been someone who spoke unnecessarily against the will of the gods in the whole time he now knew her. What could cause such a drastic reaction? He sat down on a nearby armchair and folded his hands together for reflection. No one spoke a word too shocked were the hunters about the behavior of their lieutenant and sister. Finally, he broke the silence:
"Zoë Nightshade, in all the time I have known you, you have never shown such behavior and I am shocked that you are rebelling against a god. But I have also seen how much my sister trusts you and accepts your advice whenever you are asked. I don't know what was said, but based on your reaction, the situation must be extremely serious for you to demand this of me. I, the god Apollo, hereby swear by the Styx to remain silent about the content of the prophecy until the hunters of Artemis give me their permission and will keep the content secret."
Thunder rumbled and the oath was sealed, and the shoulders of the half-Titan woman visibly sagged with relief.
"Lord Apollo, I apologize for my tone and the harsh words, but you will immediately understand why I did this. The prophecy you have spoken is
"The world set in motion,
In banishment hunter's heir shall be born,
Hidden love known sworn,
away from his mothers and his sisters reach,
Anger of the sisterhood will be inflamed,
of mortal man maimed."
The eyes of the god widened when he heard the fateful words and he understood immediately why the deputy of his sister had demanded an oath of silence. The words In Banishment Hunter's Heir is born keeping in his mind again and again and he opened and closed his mouth several times. His sister would bear a child. His sister who had taken an oath of virginity would bear a child. Could her oath thus be considered null and void? What would become of their hunters?
"No huntress, you don't have to apologize, because I understand the importance of these words as you do. You did this to protect yourself and your sisters from harm. I must apologize to you for my behavior. However, I believe that we should not ignore the rest of this hammer of fate. Too many terrible things have happened today and to let this get even more out of hand in this Minotaur crap would be extremely dangerous. If you wish, I would like to discuss the rest with all of you to find out what it all means.
He now looked from his hands at the young women present and still saw shocked and sometimes frightened faces. But also, the usual determination of the troop. Pheobe and Cassandra looked at Atalanta who nodded briefly at them and then at the rest of their sisters and finally Cassandra spoke:
"Lord Apollo we accept this offer because I think we all need clarity to process this message.
"Well then, we will try, but I need a drink first," nodded the God as he approached to ease the tense atmosphere.
"We could use all of them, but only one sister. There's no point in drowning our sorrows and worries," Pheobe said with a slight smile after looking at the still stiff face of her now leader, and so the god conjured up a bottle of whiskey and 21 glasses. The youngest of the hunters were the first to reach for the glasses, but the shock after this horror news was still too deep.
"All right..." Apollo began
"The world set in change, so we can consider that we have already seen, I mean, my world is already out of joint" Apollo laughed bitterly and the girls' murmur and nod of agreement came back
"In banishment hunter's heir is born," Pheobe spoke now, her voice sounded monotonous, but her eyes showed a clear fear
"There is no doubt that Me Lady will give birth to a child whenever and however that happens" whispered Megan, a daughter of Fortuna
A shiver seized everyone, because nobody knew whether and if so what kind of consequences this event would have. Apollo became stiff with rage and slightly lost control of his Divine Aura. Someone would touch his sister, who was taboo.
"Hidden Love Known Vowed" Atalanta literally spewed out, her anger and unbelief were clearly visible and was reproduced by her sisters.
"Does this mean that Lady Artemis has a relationship with a BOY?! Has she been lying to us all this time?!"
These words were followed by clear cries of anger and indignation, but no reaction was as violent as that of Zoë. She clearly flinched and her face showed clear concern, hurt and deep sadness. Apollo's gaze lingered on her for a moment and he looked at her for a long time but said nothing. He frowned - could it be that...no she would have said something or...
"away from his mothers and sisters' reach," quoted now the completely dissolved Diana
"...is...is this...related to her son?" stuttered Amy, a daughter of Hermes
"And why do they talk about mothers instead of mothers? According to Lord Apollo, Lady Artemis has none of your Divine powers to create a child with them for a woman? Christy wondered
With these loud questions, a single tear rolled almost unseen along Zoë's cheek. Apollo and Pheobe, who they thought they knew best and had been in her company the longest, stared at her. Pheobe, however, drew the wrong conclusion, thinking that it was still about the fact that her patron saint would father a child and that this child would become her new brother. To have a new little brother, the thought never left her. Apollo looked wide-eyed in Zoë's direction and her eyes. She withstood the gaze for only a few seconds until she interrupted it and directed it to the marble floor. She barely nodded her head noticeably. He understood and would speak to her about it in private. In the faces of the other hunters there was perplexity. None of them knew an answer to these questions.
"It doesn't matter sisters, if this boy really is Me Lady's son, he will be different than the rest. We should at least give him the chance to prove himself to us," explained Cassandra, who had also thought of her own brother at the mention of brother and sister and wanted to take this opportunity.
Agreeing murmurs were heard.
"But what is meant by away and reach?"
"Do you think he will not grow up with us or at least in Camp-Halfblood? Me Lady wouldn't leave her only child behind, would she?"
"I can't imagine Grace; you all know how much she loves small children, and her biggest wish is to have one of her own" Zoë joined the discussion for the first time.
Apollo now started her with her mouth open and spoke with a clearly recognizable smile:
"You speak true Zoë Nightshade; my sister would never do or allow such a thing. She and the other mother would never let the child out of her sight, unless it was in your company and protection."
And the sisterhood turned to the next line:
"Fury of the sisterhood will be inflamed," Atalanta recited.
"could it be that the boy is getting too close?" asked Dina, a huntress who deeply hated all male things abyss.
"Sister that could be, it could be other things. But if he turns out to be a scum..."
"Sister we are talking about Lady Artemis' son...you don't think she would let him..."
"I believe that she would raise him to be a man rather than let him become one of those animals..."
"and what if she didn't?! What if Lady Artemis fails?! Will she then do what is necessary?!"
the verbal exchange of blows among the hunters continued for several more minutes and became more and more violent until the sun god whistled loudly, he hadn't expressed himself yet.
"That's enough now. It is also possible that he was kidnapped, and you are directing your anger at him who kidnapped your brother. At least that would explain the previous line".
"But what if you don't?! Lord Apollo what shall we do if this boy behaves wrong?! Resentful Dina full of hate.
"Sisters, enough. We don't know what will happen. Yes, it may be that this boy is pressuring us - it may be Lord Apollo's guess. But it could also refer to another line. Until the boy is here, and we can assess him, you must refrain from such prejudices. At least Artemis' son should be given so much doubt," Zoë stated with finality.
The argument ended immediately because nobody wanted to see the lieutenant of the hunt angry. Dina now looked at her and nodded, and with a muttered "but only because he is Lady Artemis' son" she fell silent.
"of the mortal man maimed..." Amy now spoke with evil anticipation
"No matter who this animal is, we have a carte blanche to at least castrate it," she added and began sharpening her hunting knife.
This statement and her immediate sharpening of the knife elicited a hearty laugh from the other hunters. Could they nevertheless overlook the fatal events of the day, even if only briefly. Apollo's reaction, however, was rather typical for a representative of the male sex. He grimaced, shrugged and turned his lower body away from the girls as if he were the unhappy soul.
"Does anyone have anything to add, or any other idea what the lines mean?" asked a mildly amused Zoë, whereupon heads were shaken, or the question was quietly denied
"Okay, then go to bed now Sisters Today was a long, exhausting and above all, stressful day. Lights out in 10 minutes."
Silent nodding was the answer to the command of Atlas' daughter and the hunters went to their dormitory inside the palace. This had been set up for them, provided their mistress had a longer lasting council meeting and they were on Olympus.
Apollo had not moved and waited until all, but the lieutenant had left the room. Zoë had not noticed this, however, and had hoped to have a moment to herself to process the prophecy once more and digest the shock news. The tears that she had previously with difficulty held back now flowed freely. A sob escaped her, followed by many more, partly because of the joy of the thought of becoming a mother, partly because of the fear of the reaction of her friends and sisters, some of whom she had known for centuries.
Apollo, when he saw that the black-haired woman was not at all prepared and would not take leave of the tears without further ado, cleared his throat noisily. The circumstances were also remarkably close to his heart:
"Zoë Nightshade, I'm sorry to interrupt you in your obvious sadness and bewilderment, but I think we need to talk."
As quickly as the crying spasm had come, it also disappeared gradually. She looked at him with reddened eyes and croaked:
"Lord Apollo..." she bowed respectfully; she did not want to make any more mistakes than she had done before
"How may I serve you, my lord?"
"Zoë you can drop the charade; I want to know how close you are to my sister? And I can tell when you are not telling me the truth"
"My Lord, you are right your sister and I are awfully close to each other, closer than my position as you lieutenant requires. We have been lovers for almost 200 years and... and..." but she could not go any further than that, because a new wine cramp overwhelmed her, and she interrupted herself again
"How can this be?! My sister has sworn an oath! You have broken her oath!" the God now roared visibly in anger and shock. But Zoë regained her composure and replied just as harshly with tears:
"NO LORD APOLLO, I have not. The oath that I, the others and Artemis have sworn is only for MEN, NOT love in general".
Silence reigned after this exclamation and declaration. Apollo stood before her, looked at her with big eyes, opened his mouth and closed it several times without uttering a word. She was right, and yet the overprotective, over-protective brotherly instinct in him was awakening completely.
"You wanted to say something else, Zoe? What was it that you wanted to choke out before your feelings overwhelmed you, O fearless hunter" he teased
"we've been happily married for two centuries..." the half-Titanin dropped the bomb
"WHAT?! How in the name of Hades can this be? When and how?... "it gushed out of him
"This is our business, my dear brother-in-law" she said in a visibly amused tone, but in her eyes the sun god could see the obvious love for his sister
"But rest assured that all will be cleared up when my wife returns."
The words, brother-in-law and my wife, were clearly too much for the God and he then turned his eyes and without further ado tilted forward, overwhelmed by the information he had just received.
"Boys" sighed Zoë thereupon and without further ado carried him to the nearby armchair. Since he still had not returned to the land of the conscious after several minutes, she gave him a whistle
"Wake up!"
"Oh, my head, that really just happened. That wasn't a joke?" moaned a now-awakening sun god
"No, I wasn't joking, and I mean every word I say! Even though I would have preferred to have had this conversation with Artemis here at my side, I am surprised how well it went. I would have thought you would always burn me, Lord Brother-in-Law," the young woman smiled
Her face became serious again:
"I would appreciate it if you would give us both, Artemis and me, the chance to explain it to the others yourself. We both decided that a long time ago, right at the beginning of the marriage.
"Oh, you can only make this day worse and crazier" Apollo moaned, but then he remembered the single tear at the mention of the child.
"Speak Zoe, what do you think about all this? I, as a brother, can hardly grasp the events. I can hardly imagine what it is like for you to keep everything secret, to keep your composure in front of your sisters, and above all to play the strong, inscrutable woman in front of me all the time? I have seen how you cried at the mention of the child"
"I... I... am torn. On the one hand, I am happy that Artemis' long-awaited wish has been fulfilled by fate, but at the same time... I am jealous. Jealous of the person with whom she will have the child. She will see it grow up and I-I-I am here, and I can't be a part of it. And in the worst case I will never get to know the child and Artemis, the...the one I love, may never return." her voice trembled and finally broke, tears jumped into her eyes again
But suddenly she felt two arms close around her and she gently but carefully pressed lightly. She tensed herself briefly but clearly.
"Zoe, I don't think that will happen. My sister has been relying on you for centuries and if you really have been a team for decades, then even that won't change anything."
She nodded silently and released the hug again, he understood that she didn't feel comfortable in such a position but had accepted it with thanks.
"I know this too; Lady Aphrodite swore by the Styx that she will not interfere and even supports us, but the fear is still there. And then there is the hunt itself, will they accept me? For some of them like Atalanta, Kassandra or Pheobe I am and will always be the big sister who saved them. How will they react?"
"I think you worry too much, Zoë." Now, from the off and out of the shadows came the other veterans
The god and the former Hesperidia flinched and whirled around, but before either of them could say a word, it sounded
"Oh, gods your faces" Cassandra laughed at it, resounding
"Zoë, you will always be the one who saved me, and I still see you as my sister, but I will not be the one who will destroy Me Lady's happiness after so long. But I tell you, hurt Me Lady and you will have to deal with me" said the daughter of Demeter with a serious smile
"Aye, I join my sister here, and if you, Mother, should make my mitéra unhappy, you will have the wrath of the only daughter of Ares to deal with"
"I will join the others with Zoë, and when I am done with you, even the wolves will not have anything to chew on" Atalanta said seriously
"How much did you hear" gasped a ghostly white Zoe, she was done for today with bad surprises
"Everything from the beginning but do not worry, your and Lady Artemis' secret is safe with us until you reveal yourselves. Now some of the prophecy makes much more sense and it also explains some of your reactions" warbled a now broadly grinning Pheobe
"Damn, with you girls has to be really careful" whistled the sun god full of awe and a certain degree of fear
Now it was up to Zoe to laugh, she couldn't help it. Too many emotions at once that she couldn't handle. A laugh coming from her stomach escaped her and she had to lean on the back of the armchair to avoid falling. This was truly not her day. And yet it had not ended as badly as it looked an hour ago.
"But speak oh lover of Artemis..." Atalanta grinned now
"How come Lady Aphrodite is helping you two lovebirds?"
"She will help us under two conditions: first, we are to rescue her nine-year-old daughter Layla from Olympia, Washington from her violent relatives, and second, Artemis and I are to openly identify as a couple after banishment before the Council, that was the price for her help and the Stygian Oath".
At the mention of the relatives of the nine-year-old daughter, all the others rumbled threateningly at the idea of what they would do with these animals and in Apollo's case would like to do. Children and young girls were sacred and should not be abused.
"We should leave first thing in the morning, the road to Washington is long and we should free them as soon as possible. If we are lucky, she will even join us, and we will get a new sister" Atalanta explained
"WOW, WOW always slow sister we are not yet finished with the interrogation of our dear lieutenant" put her Pheobe energetically into the word
"Aye sister, even if the thought of a new sister makes me happy and makes me forget the day, I still have a few questions for Zoë and our dear sun god" Kassandra interfered
Apollo stood there looking like a fish, so this is how the hunters were when he or Hermes was not in their camp. Of course, as the god of the sun, he could have watched them during the day, but he never did. On the one hand, because he did not want to submit to the wrath of his sister, and on the other hand, he could observe enough other girls through his gift.
"So, Lord Apollo, what do you think of the prophecy? You were extremely quiet during the whole unraveling of the lines and you certainly thought your part."
"I am a two-folded huntress. On the one hand, I am happy for my sister. She has been longing for a child of her own for so long but has always been averse to the necessary subject of men. Already when she received her divine domain from the Lady Fates, she was devastated that she could never call a child her own."
To this Zoë nodded silently, how often had she found Artemis in front of playgrounds in the last decades, where she had been staring at the playing children with longing eyes.
"On the other hand, she will give birth to this child..." he broke off in the middle of the sentence, because his sister-in-law, who had now revealed herself to him, was visibly tense and sniffed
"And that is something that I, as the older brother, cannot approve of at all, no man is and will ever be good enough for my sister" he concluded, but then tried hard to lighten the mood with his joke
"And you Zoë?" said Pheobe in a soft voice, which did not suit the otherwise rather coarse daughter of Ares
"I... I don't know, the prophecy speaks of mothers. This gives me hope that I can get to know and love the child. But what worries me is the fact that he will be separated from us and you, as Grace has pointed out. But I know that neither Artemis and I nor you and Lord Apollo would rest to find the child should this fear come true.
"But enough of bad tidings and bad predictions, we must sleep now and rest for tomorrow."
"You're right Zoë, we need to be rested and fit to cover as much distance as possible tomorrow, maybe even make it to Virginia"
"And another thing Zoë we are here for you if you want to talk and we will support you as best we can not only because it was Me Ladies last command to us, but also because we love you. You took us in and supported us when we were down and gave us a new home, a family. In a way, you have always been our 3rd mother" Atalanta and Pheobe spoke warmly and in the last sentence they winked at the now completely speechless Demi-Titanin, while Cassandra nodded affirmatively
Zoë, in a moment of gratitude, joy and overwhelming, threw herself into the arms of the three girls and dragged them to the ground. Tears of joy now flowed unconcernedly, since a huge burden was taken from her, that her longest companions, her daughters, did not reject her, but accepted her.
Apollo stood there for a moment, looking at the spectacle unfolding before him, and decided that it was time to dissolve this gathering.
"All right you girls get along fine, I'm going to leave now. The day has been far too long and too exhausting and I, too, must retire at some point."
And under a flash of golden light he disappeared, leaving behind the grape of hunters.
"Well, then... Daughters..." Zoë's eyes glittered
"March to bed, lights out, tomorrow we start the hunt"
"YES Mom" it came back played by the three, but they obeyed, and all went to bed and many shortly after in Morpheus gentle sleep.
That was the next part. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please let me know.
If there was something that bothered you, please be so kind and write me that I can adjust my writing style and improve constantly
Until then
Cheers ;)