Chapter 3: Goodbye?

The next morning, she woke to someone shaking her from side to side, violently. "What is it, Hestia? Let me sleep for some more time." She groaned from under her blanket.

"Artemis, we have to meet Lord Poseidon at the beach today, remember? He won't be so kind when you turn up late. I'm leaving now."

Artemis shot up from her bed and rushed to get ready. She grabbed her bow and ran alongside Hestia, who decided to wait for her. They reached the beach and the sea god wasn't there yet. They walked around the beach for a couple of minutes when a strong scent of sea foam filled their nose. The sea god was there, as promised.

"Good morning, girls. What fine weather today. Let's head out, shall we?" He asked, totally not expecting an answer. Artemis and Hestia nodded eagerly as the lord of the seas smiled. He held out his hand and a wooden boat surfaced. It was very simple, had four oars and two benches for them to sit on.

He went and sat on one of the benches and gestured to the two girls to take a seat in front of him. They obliged. The boat lurched forwards as they set out into the horizon.

Over the next few weeks, the girls had training sessions with Lord Poseidon and the bond between them only strengthened. They were able to speak freely with the sea god and even pulled his leg at times. The god too, laughed along. He treated them like they were his own daughters. He taught them how to sail and to build and manage a ship. He taught them about the different species of fishes and how to catch them, which turned out to become their hobby.

But their training was totally opposite. The sea god was brutal. He was a killing machine on the field. One would be surprised to see such power behind that friendly face. He didn't even care to hold back on his moves. He didn't care about the injuries that he'd caused. The first couple of weeks, Leto was surprised to see the girls come back home with cuts and scratches all over their bodies. As he decided that his pupils had passed one level, he increased the difficulty levels, attacking the young immortals with a variety of tricks. They moved on from weapon to weapon. Artemis had mastered swords, long reach weapons like tridents and spears. The first level was complete only when the elder god was disarmed and immobilized with a weapon at his throat when they fought on land. The second, however, was even more difficult. The rules were the same- to disarm and point the weapon at him, the only challenge was that they had to do it on a boat, which swayed violently to the whims of the sea god. Yeah, no challenge at all! Defending themselves from the onslaught of attacks was one aspect while maintaining their balance and not landing on the backsides was another.

Still, the girls managed to master the weapons the sea god wanted to teach them to wield. They'd mastered all the weapons that he knew of. Artemis had tried to teach her uncle the art of Archery. But it turned out that he was a terrible shot. None of his arrows even flew in the direction of the target. Artemis soon lost all hope and stopped teaching him.

The sea god also taught Hestia to use her powers over the water, which she got from her mother, a being of the sea. While Artemis could only breathe underwater, she was thankful to Lord Poseidon for allowing her to enter his domain. She could feel her tired muscles relax after a hectic day of hunting. She could relax in the cold deep waters while observing fishes flowing past her in schools.

Soon, the god's visits became less frequent. But they still sailed and caught fish together every weekend when the god would pop up beside them and scare the girls half to death.

Weeks changed into months. Months into two long years. That one day arrived which Artemis would never forget in all her immortal life.

While the girls were hunting, a boat approached the land of Delos. There was one woman standing at the front, her dark hair flowing with the wind. The boat reached the shores and the woman jumped down from it. Beside Artemis, Hestia gasped. Her legs started moving out of their hiding spot as she walked towards the woman.

"Mother!" Hestia said just one word. But it conveyed a lot of emotion. It held hurt, pain, anger and most of all, sorrow.

"Hestia, my daughter, you have grown into a fine young woman." She hesitantly opened her arms inviting her daughter for a hug which she accepted doubtfully. Hestia broke down in the embrace and cried on her mother's shoulder. Though she had no complaints at all with Leto's parenting, a true mother's love is totally different and special.

Artemis slowly climbed out of her place behind the shrub and made herself visible to the sea nymph. Pleione looked at her daughter and demanded an explanation with a mere eye contact. The girls led the woman to their cottage where she met Leto and Apollo who was now in his late teens.

They caught up on six years' worth of events. The sea nymph introduced herself as Pleione, Hestia's mother. Leto served the group some refreshments. As soon as they sat down to eat, the lady from the seas revealed the purpose of her visit.

She looked at Hestia. "The war is over, my dear. The titans have lost. It's time for us to go back to our home, the only place where Atlas' power is unquestioned, Mount Othrys. Your sisters are all waiting for your return, we can be a happy family again."

Hestia's smile slowly vanished. Anger blazed through her dark Onyx eyes. "You were never my family. You left me here when you were busy with your foolish quest for power. You cannot turn up suddenly, looking for me as if I'd be waiting for you with open arms. My only family now is with Lady Leto, Artemis and Apollo."

Pleione's eyes hardened at the outburst from her daughter. She wanted to lash out at such insubordination but one look from Leto had her silenced.

Leto's eyes gleamed as both she and Artemis gave a small smile to her adopted daughter. But the titaness' mind betrayed the emotions on her face. She had been thinking about this for a long time now. The war being won, her children will be summoned to Olympus to take their rightful place among the Olympians. If Zeus found out she'd be harbouring a daughter of a titan, things wouldn't end well for either of them. Hestia would be imprisoned and an even worse punishment would be levied on Leto herself. Not that she minded, but she didn't want the young one to suffer for her doings.

She tried to talk some sense into the young lady. "Hestia, although I consider you my daughter, it isn't wise for you to stay here any longer. I think the safest place for you would be to go with your mother to Mount Othrys. You will be well protected there. Please Hestia, listen to us."

Artemis' eyes grew wide with shock. "Mother, you can't let her go. She's my only friend here. Why would you force her if she doesn't want to go?"

"Artemis, you are young. You do not understand the severity of the situation. I understand that you two share a close bond. If you wish for what's best for her, you know she has to go." Leto said calmly, looking straight at her daughter's angry face.

Artemis couldn't bear it anymore. She left the table and ran up the stairs and into her room. She slammed the lock and flopped on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. A couple of tears escaped her eyes which she wiped away violently. That was when the dam broke. Tears flooded out, wetting the pillow. Artemis was sobbing openly. She could still hear loud voices from below, only making her mood worse.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded at her door.

"Go away. I don't want to see anybody right now."

"Artemis please. I have to leave now. Please open the door." Hestia's pleading voice was heard from outside the door.

Artemis wiped the tears off her face and quickly set the room as it was before. She went and opened the door to see her defeated looking best friend standing outside. Hestia took one look at Artemis' face and tears pooled in the corner of her eyes.

"Artemis-" Hestia grabbed her friend in a tight hug. Tears streamed down both their cheeks as they held each other in their arms, one final time. They stayed like that for a long time. Slowly Hestia loosened her embrace as their hands dropped to their sides.

"You know I have to go, Artemis. Let us hope the fates want our paths to cross, sometime in the future. It will certainly be difficult. But it is the only choice I have. Thank you, Artemis, for all the memories we have together. I hope to meet you soon."

Artemis' heart felt heavy. She didn't want Hestia to leave. Not while she still had a lot to say. She wanted to tell everything in her heart. She didn't want this to be a goodbye. She didn't want to say goodbye at all. Why did the fates have to be so cruel in spinning their strings? Artemis couldn't meet Hestia even if she wanted to. Mount Othrys, the titan fortress, was no place for a young goddess such as herself. It was no place for a god at all.

Remembering the fact again was enough to bring tears back to Artemis' eyes. She pulled her friend into another hug which was reciprocated almost equally. Artemis quickly broke the hug and moved to the other end of the room. She removed her arrow from the stand and picked her quiver up. She walked back to the other immortal in the room and handed them over to her.

"Keep them with you, Hestia. I have a feeling you might need them. Be safe, my friend."

Hestia nodded and returned a small smile to the young goddess. She slowly turned back and walked to the door.

"Goodbye, Artemis."