Chapter 6: Saving a maiden
A few years had gone by since Artemis was granted the status of an Olympian and life on Olympus was monotonous. She never thought that she would describe life on Olympus as this, but she missed her days on Delos a lot. Those carefree days when she would leave in the morning, hunt all day and go back home for dinner and rest for the night suddenly seemed like an unscalable mountain. Artemis wanted a purpose in life, apart from keeping her domains in check and riding the moon chariot all night. True, she felt energized and fresh when the rays of the moon touched her pale skin, but over the years, all activities had turned mundane. She wanted to hunt, desperately. She couldn't do so without the permission of Zeus. All the Olympians had to keep their domains controlled. Zeus would explode if any of their domains went out of hand.
Artemis had had enough. She teleported to the throne room and summoned the bow Poseidon gifted her and launched an arrow into the ceiling where it magically disappeared. In bright flashes, all the gods arrived, taking their thrones, convening the council of the gods.
"Lord Zeus, I have a proposal for you." The god in question waved her hand, gesturing to her to go on. She took a deep breath and started.
"Father, I would like to form a group of maidens called the hunters of Artemis, for mortals, demigods, and immortals, who were abused, and provide them with a home. In return, they would have to pledge off romantic love with boys and pledge themselves to me. I would also like to give them immortality so they will stand strong during battle."
Zeus rubbed his beard thinking deeply. "What you ask for is too much, daughter. We don't give away immortality just like that. It has to be earned. It will not be fair on the part of males if only women get to join your hunt. Besides, how can we trust you to have an eye on your powers when you are with the hunters?" He looked down at his daughter, unable to give her what she asked.
Poseidon chipped in again. "I believe I may have a solution for this, brother. What if you give the hunters partial immortality. That way, they won't die of Old age of sickness, but only if they fall in battle. Also, think about the strength of Olympus if a band of dangerous women is at your disposal during wars. No one will dare attack Olympus if the hunt is formed. Think of it as Olumpus' own only-maiden army." That did the trick. Zeus seemed to be considering the offer. Artemis knew for a fact that Zeus would accept, being the power-hungry moron he is. And he did not disappoint.
"Very well. You may do so, my daughter. But you should swear loyalty to this council. I must not be threatened by my own daughter and her personal army sometime in the future." Poseidon rolled his eyes and sent a disapproving glare at Zeus which was promptly ignored.
Artemis didn't even hesitate for a second. "I, Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, moon, archery, childbirth, chastity swear on the river Styx that neither I nor anyone in the hunt will go against the interests of Olympus and will answer the call of battle from Olympus immediately. I also swear to monitor my domains to the best of my ability to avoid any unbalance in power."
Zeus' eyes looked greedy. "I, king of the gods, bestow upon Artemis the power of making an individual partially immortal where the said individual shall not be affected by old age or illnesses but can only die if they fall in battle."
Artemis was ecstatic. She ran forward and hugged her dad. "Thank you, dad! I love you." Not that she wanted to do that. In fact, she hated Zeus for leaving her, Apollo, and their mom alone for years without checking on them. But, Zeus being the attention seeker he is, would grant anything to her in the future. In other words, she had Zeus wrapped around her little finger. Zeus chuckled and awkwardly rubbed her back. "Anything for my favorite daughter".
Poseidon snorted. Artemis turned and gave him a glare for good measure. He just shrugged.
"If that is all, daughter, can we get back to our duties?" Zeus grumbled while Hera eyed him suspiciously. Zeus had another secret relationship going on? Artemis shrugged it off as she didn't want to get into matters that involved the infidelity of her father. On that note, Artemis had been hearing of a demigod son of Zeus called Heracles. Rumors suggested that he was so strong that he could break boulders with his bare hands.
She made a mental note to spy on the demigod later. But first, she had a group to form. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Poseidon eyeing her.
"Meet me after the council meeting, niece." He said in her head. Artemis nodded discreetly.
Artemis nodded to her father who left in a flash of thunder, grumbling. All the gods left in bright flashes of light in quick succession, leaving only Artemis and Poseidon.
"I was just wondering when you'd get bored of your routine. Even Apollo has other jobs going on in secret from the council, or so he thinks." The sea god said with a smirk. "On a more serious note, I think you need to be somewhere right about now." Artemis opened her mouth to ask what it was but was silenced by the sea god. "Hold tight, I'll teleport you there. The scene might be disturbing but I believe you should be there."Poseidon said, all traces of his previous jovial personality were replaced by a serious exterior. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "And niece, be careful." With that, Artemis' world went black. She could smell instances of sea mist, supposedly Poseidon's method of transporting her.
When the visions returned, Artemis found she was standing in a forest clearing. She checked her immediate surroundings for any signs of danger and relaxed when she found none. So why did Poseidon send her here? Her question was answered by a scream for help somewhere in the forest. Artemis ran in the direction of the sound, jumping over branches and leaves but still making close to no sound. She ran until she arrived at a small clearing. The scene she saw made her blood freeze. And boil.
She saw an all too familiar face. The same dark Onyx colored eyes, the olive colored skin. The same face she'd said goodbye to about seven years ago. The same person she cried for days over. Before her was her best friend, her crush - not that Artemis would admit it, ever - Hestia.
There was also a bulky man standing over her. Looking at the scene, Artemis knew the man had ripped Hestia's clothes off and was about to force himself on her. Artemis saw red. She'd let no one harm her friend. The bow Poseidon gifted her materialized into her hand and an arrow notched on it as she pulled the string back, all within three seconds. She released the string as the arrow sped to the unsuspecting man, grazing his back. Gold colored liquid poured down from the wound which startled Artemis. Was the man immortal? Her question was answered as he turned around to face her.
Artemis was staring right into a face that she was accustomed to seeing. The man had bright blue eyes that occasionally had hot white streaks of lightning flashing. He had the same face cut of her father. He was ripped, overly so, that it was almost ugly. He had a scar go through his bare chest which was relatively fresh. She was face-to-face with the demigod she wanted to see. Her half-brother, Heracles.
"Who are you, woman? Do not interrupt us. This is a matter of the gods. Begone before you share the same fate like her" He said, gesturing to Hestia who was whimpering, tears now flowing freely from her eyes. As he moved a bit, Hestia looked at her savior and her eyes widened.
Artemis was beyond pissed at this point. "Let her go, Hercules or else, face my wrath." She growled. Heracles' eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out who was opposing him. A smug smile slowly formed on his face, showing that he'd figured out who she was.
"Ah! Artemis. My dearest half-sister. The fates must be kind tonight. Originally I thought I'll just have her and leave but now I'll have you too. The youngest Olympian though I am not sure what my father saw in you to make you an Olympian."
A low growl came from Artemis' throat. "How about I show you what made him give me a throne on Olympus." With that, Artemis unleashed chaos on the son of Zeus. She shot arrow after arrow as he summoned his mace and a sword, dual wielding it to ward off the incoming projectiles. He swatted her arrows aside and slowly neared her. Artemis was forced to jump back and maintain a firing distance with the demigod. Apparently, Lady Tyche wasn't on her side as she walked back right into a tree. Heracles slowly gained more ground and Artemis was unable to shoot arrows anymore.
Nevertheless, she pulled back the string, summoning an arrow with the power of the moon. The arrow shone in a bright silver color and hummed with power. She smirked and released the string yet again, expecting the arrow to strike its mark. The arrow did strike the intended target but not before Heracles managed to bring up the sword, blocking its path. The arrow struck the edge of the blade when the strangest thing happened. The sword glowed the same bright silver as the arrow and absorbed the essence on the arrow. The arrow turned into a normal one and dropped onto the ground like the rest.
Heracles was now right before her. He caught her by the throat with his left hand and held her in place as she clawed away at his hand in vain.
"Not a 'mighty' Olympian are you now, Artemis? Never mind, you can be my wife when I become the strongest god on the Olympian council. We can rule the Olympians themselves one day if you wish for it."
Needless to say, Artemis was disgusted by his little talk. "Over m-y dead body-yy" she coughed out. The hold was starting to choke her. "Y-You monster." She managed to get out.
Heracles just shrugged. "Have it your way then." He brought up his other hand and got ready to punch her. Artemis could only watch as the fist came closer and closer. After a point, she could take it no more and closed her eyes. And waited for the strike. She still waited for the strike. And she still waited. But nothing came. Surprised, she opened her eyes. His fist was an inch from her face and closing in. The fist did come, but stopped a millimeter from her face. She didn't feel anything. He pulled his hand back and struck again. This time too, the hand stopped at a hair's width from her face.
The demigod was surprised. None of his hits were effective. He'd felt as if his hand hit something hard but Artemis was unharmed. Frustrated, he threw Artemis in Hestia's direction. Artemis landed with her back to a rock. One or two vertebrae would definitely have broken. She coughed as ichor dribbled down her chin.
Hestia rushed to her direction and started inspecting her for injuries when she found a nasty gash across her left arm. It frothed and hissed. Artemis had scratched her hand along some poisonous plant. She couldn't dwell on that now. She summoned her bow again and went for the attack.
"Artemis, wait. Don't use your powers against him. As long as he has that sword, your powers are useless against him. The sword is imbued with my immortal essence and you know you could never hurt me no matter how much you try." Hestia said softly in her ear.
Artemis summoned normal arrows and called upon her domain of Archery. Her eyes glowed silver and the color continued onto the aura around her. To anyone who would see her, she looked god-like. She fired arrows in quick succession, faster than what the other immortal could block. A lot of arrows passed through his weaponed defence, scratching his body everywhere. Ichor flowed in rivers but Heracles still pressed on. He was focussed on closing the distance, to stop Artemis from raining down arrows.
Artemis understood his plan and leaped from one side to another, increasing the distance. They continued their lethal dance for a while. Artemis grew tired of this and wanted to end it quickly. She pressed closer now. Her bow gave a sharp silver glow. When it died down, two silver hunting knives stood in its place. Oh she was going to love this fight. She'd defeated the sea god with these knives and in no way was she going to lose to a son of Zeus.
Now she knew why Poseidon pushed her hard during their sparring sessions. There were worst case scenarios where the god can't use their power. This, definitely classified as one. Artemis slashed every which way expertly, not taking one strike from the son of Zeus. In a few minutes, it was clear that the new immortal was now clearly outmatched. With one expert strike, Artemis beheaded the son of Zeus, forcing him to reform for at least a decade in Tartarus.
Sweat rolled down Artemis' forehead. She ran back to Hestia and teleported both of them to her palace in a bright flash of silver. Once they arrived, Artemis rushed and treated Hestia the best she could. She gave Hestia spare clothes to wear and fed her ambrosia and nectar. Once she deemed Hestia to be healthy enough, Artemis turned to take care of herself when her eyes rolled to the top of her head and fell forward onto Hestia, immediately blacking out.
