Chapter 7: A hero(-ine) is born
Artemis slowly opened her eyes and felt her entire world revolving. Groaning in pain, she clutched her head when a male voice spoke.
"You should rest, sister. That was some nasty poison that went into you. I had to remove every drop of it before I could treat you." She turned her head to the right where she saw Apollo sitting in a chair beside the bed she was laying on. The entire room was bright golden and it was incredibly difficult to see. She guessed it was Apollo's palace. It didn't cater to her taste. There was too much gold.
Apollo seemed to realize that she was observing the room. "This is real sunlight. It is known to cleanse wounds with UV rays or something." He said, waving his hand dismissively.
Artemis opened her mouth to talk. "Hes-" she fell into a coughing fit. Luckily, Apollo seemed to have caught on.
"Oh she's safe. She never left your side for the last two days. I sent her to get some rest. She should be back in a couple of hours." He went silent for a moment before he spoke again.
"What happened to you, sister? Why were you hurt so badly?" Apollo's eyes narrowed with worry for his sister. Artemis wanted to answer but she couldn't. She moved her finger and rested it on Apollo's hand. She channelled all her memories of that day. Apollo seemed to be receiving it as his face showed his growing anger. He seemed to relax when he knew Artemis made the demigod fade.
He stood up and offered his sister a goblet of nectar and a tray with small cubes of ambrosia. Artemis took it gratefully and gulped the entire goblet down before she moved to pick up a couple of squares of ambrosia. She instantly felt better and sat up.
"Thank you, Apollo. Where is Hestia now?" Artemis enquired.
"I teleported her to your palace. I hope that's not a problem?" Apollo replied, doubtfully.
Artemis shook her head no and hugged her brother before vanishing in silver light. She reappeared in the bedroom of her palace. She found Hestia sitting on a couch, holding her head in her hands. She could hear her sniffles from the other side of her room. She made some noise as she made her way towards the daughter of Atlas who raised her head to look at the Olympian.
Hestia's eyes grew wide. She stood and ran the length of the room to hug the life out of Artemis. Artemis felt her breath being pushed out of her body by the force with which Hestia slammed into her. Nevertheless, she smiled and hugged back. She'd missed this feeling. She'd missed her friend. Both of them stood interlocked for a couple of minutes before Hestia broke the hug and started to speak.
"Thank you, Artemis." She said sincerely. Artemis just smiled and nodded. One question plagued her mind.
"What were you doing in the forest? Weren't you supposed to be at Mount Othrys. I heard you and your sisters were supposed to guard the tree of immortality."
Zoe looked down guiltily. "I missed you a lot, Artemis. I heard that you became a goddess after I left Delos. I wanted to come visit you and was waiting for a chance to come out of the grove. You see, the Hesperides can't move outside their area without someone from the outside bringing them along. I waited for ages for someone to show up, whom I could use to get out of that cursed place. That was when Hercules came. He was so desperate to defeat Ladon." Artemis shivered at the name. She'd seen pictures of the hundred headed dragon and it was terrifying to say the least.
"He struck a deal with me. He said if I helped him get an apple of immortality, he'd take me with him on his way out. So I crafted a sword out of my immortal essence and gave it to him. Ladon would never hurt me. Hercules used this trick against my dragon, chopping off all ninety nine heads, conquering the beast. He consumed an apple from the tree, turning into a full immortal. As he came down, he kept his promise and escorted me out of my home. My sisters got to know of this and informed my father about it." Hestia teared up at this point. She wiped away tears under her eyes before continuing.
"Atlas was very angry when he knew I betrayed my home. He disowned me. That took all of my powers and the remaining immortal essence. Now I am fully mortal." To prove her point, she picked up a fruit knife on the table and made a small cut on her palm. Red blood rolled down. "Anyway, Hercules brought me away from my home before showing his true colors. He tried to- r-rape me" The mortal now cried her eyes out, clinging to her goddess friend who held her tight and rubbed her back. She composed herself and continued. "That was when you came."
Hestia's eyes narrowed when she remembered something. "Artemis, you were scratched by some poisonous plant. How are you now?" She asked, looking at the arm which was bandaged.
Artemis moved her hand and winced at the pain. "Hurts. But won't kill me. Apollo said it was the poison of the nightshade that went in. I might have scratched myself before I found you." Hestia gasped. The poison of the nightshade was deadly to the gods. It first sucks out their power slowly and then moves on to convert their ichor into mortal blood. Immortals can survive only small amounts of this poison. A full vial can result in instant fading.
"Hestia, thank you for calling Apollo. I would have lost more of my powers if you hadn't. And, about the immortality you lost, I can give you something similar to that. Today I was at a meeting with the Olympian council where the gods gave me the ability to grant partial immortality to maidens who pledge loyalty to me, swearing off all romantic love with men."
Hestia's eyes widened at getting back her immortality. "What do I have to do, Artemis? It's not like I had any interest in boys anyways." They might or might not have moved closer to each other as Hestia's breath fanned Artemis' face. They held eye contact for a while before the goddess cleared her throat awkwardly. Hestia might have sounded a little too excited as the goddess chuckled, breaking the awkwardness between the duo.
The goddess asked her to repeat what she said. Hestia does, her eyes brimming with loyalty to the goddess. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the romantic company of men. I pledge to aid my mistress and the Olympians in battle when it is required of me."
Artemis smiled and invoked her father's blessing to give partial immortality to her best friend. "With partial immortality, you will not be affected by diseases or old-age. But, you will only die if you fall in battle."
Hestia nodded in understanding. "Do we have to do something now?" Artemis wanted to say yes, and hug her best friend for the rest of eternity. But she reigned in her feelings and decided to say something else. "Yes, we travel around the world saving all maidens in distress. Once we have sufficient numbers, we will kill monsters on the order of the Olympian council."
Hestia nodded, excited. "Artemis, I need another favor. I was banished from my family. The only connection to my past is my name. Can you give me a name, my lady?" The girl asked, emphasizing on the last two words all while smirking at the goddess
Artemis went deep in thought. A perfect name struck her. A name that'd inspire fear in all beings. A name describing her friend's fearful personality while not erasing her compassionate side. Deadly to both mortals and immortals alike, a poison feared by all. She looked into her hunter's eyes.
"Zoe," she said. "Zoe Nightshade"
