Chapter 9: Tears of the goddess of the Moon
Over three millennia had passed since the 'Orion incident' and the hunters still don't talk about it. It is a sensitive topic even among the oldest of hunters. True to her word, Artemis kept away from males and went back to her original man-hating self.
As for Apollo, he came over a few days after Artemis' temper went down, to show her the truth about Orion. He made her see what Orion had done to the princess that led to his banishment from the kingdom. Needless to say, Artemis was seething with rage. The day's events were still fresh in Artemis' mind.
That morning, Artemis woke up late, but just in time for breakfast. The number of disgusted glances at her had reduced significantly after she found Zoe alone and apologized to her. Zoe accepted the apology and both of them came back to the hunt with smiling faces. As they sat down for breakfast, a bright golden flash indicated the arrival of the sun god.
He smiled brightly, blinding almost half the girls at the table. He looked at Zoe and winked. Immediately, all the hunters drew their bows at him, arrows ready to fire. The sun god just laughed and waved them off.
Artemis, at the head of the table, looked guilty as she lowered her head, staring at the plate of food before her. She felt ashamed of her behaviour and that Apollo could see a threat from miles away. She was supposed to be protecting her younger brother, not the other way round.
"Hey there, Artemis. Why are you so grumpy early in the morning?" Apollo asked as he sat down at the table after telling the hunter who sat there to move to the end. Not a great impression, but he needed to speak with his sister, preferably alone. Brushing it aside, he conjured a plate of his own and filled it with the delicacies on the table. The hunters looked at him weirdly, but shrugged it off before returning to their own plates.
After breakfast, the hunters returned to their duties. Artemis, choosing to go to her tent to speak with Apollo. As Apollo stepped into her tent, he whistled, looking at all her hunting trophies- pelts of ancient monsters and animals; A bow hanging off the wall, a pair of hunting knives on the table. Artemis looked uninterested at the gesture of appreciation.
That was when Artemis made her first mistake. She looked at Apollo in the face. An unknown rage welled up in her. How could he be so happy and easy-going when he made her kill her own friend. She wanted to slice his throat off with the same hunting knives he was admiring.
Her eyes narrowed. Apollo seemed to sense her anger and held his hand up, signalling her to wait. He took a deep breath before starting his side of the story.
"You must be wondering why I made you kill him?" He said, stupidly. Artemis sighed in exasperation but nodded nonetheless.
"He is not whatever he told you he is."
"How do you know? You've never met him at all. I spent a lot of time with him and he was the most respectable man on Earth. He is more than what you can be." Artemis yelled, trembling in rage.
Apollo's reaction was to only grit his teeth in anger. She was making this session incredibly difficult.
"If you'd allow me, Artemis, I'll show you the truth." He said, extending his hand to touch her forehead.
The maiden goddess didn't trust him at all. "How do I know you're not lying? How can I be sure that whatever you show me is what happened?"
"I AM THE GOD OF TRUTH, ARTEMIS. I CANNOT LIE EVEN IF ZEUS ASKED ME TO. If you still don't believe me, I, Apollo, swear on the river Styx to show Artemis nothing but the truth of the crimes of Orion." Apollo exploded in rage. Artemis, stunned by his sudden outburst, lowered her head. Apollo placed his index finger on her forehead after she nodded, giving her permission.
Artemis was instantly teleported to a bright morning in some kingdom. She saw people moving every which way, going on about their jobs. Then she saw him, the son of Poseidon, Orion. He was walking on the streets of the market with a female. She was very beautiful. Realization struck Artemis. This was the princess Orion had loved before he came to the hunt. An unknown feeling churned up in Artemis' stomach but she dismissed it. Orion whispered something in the woman's ear to which her eyes brightened and she nodded.
The scene immediately shifted to Orion and the princess standing near a lake. In the blink of an eye, Orion's loving eyes showed only one feeling- lust. He pushed the woman against a tree and began to kiss her forcefully. Artemis' fists curled up into a ball as she grit her teeth in annoyance. He was about to have her way with the princess when Artemis couldn't take it anymore.
"STOP!" She yelled. The next moment, the forest surrounding her was replaced by the familiarity of her tent. Apollo was standing before her with a serious expression on her face. Artemis was breathing hard as she took the support of her bedpost to stand. Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes as the feeling of betrayal hit her head on.
"Luckily, the girl was saved by some passers as they reported it to the king. Orion was banished and that was when you met him. I couldn't let him get close to you after what I'd seen him do. For what it's worth, Artemis, I'm sorry." Apollo finished.
Artemis looked at her brother before wrapping him in a big hug. The younger sibling chuckled before returning it with just as much intensity.
"Just tell me before you do anything stupid next time, alright?" The elder sibling asked.
He stepped back and smiled, before vanishing in a small flash of light.
Artemis was pulled out of her vision with the hunters making a perfect formation on the treetops as they stalked their prey. Artemis curled up her fists into a ball as her lieutenant caught the signal. Zoe brought the hunting horn to her lips and a loud sound came out, clear, signalling the entry of the hunt.
Artemis smirked as she saw the manticore freeze.
"No, it cannot be-" she heard him say. She notched an arrow on her bow and let loose an arrow, which caught the beast in the shoulder. The manticore wailed and shot a bunch of thorns in their general direction. The hunters shot their arrows at the spikes, intercepting them midair and slicing them in half.
Artemis walked forward followed by her hunters. The half-bloods before her looked at them with their mouths wide open. She heard the daughter of Athena yell out "hunters" but the goddess paid no attention to it.
Zoe stepped forward with her arrow ready to fire. "Permission to kill, my lady?"
"This is not fair, Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."
Artemis seemed bored. "Not so. The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She then turned to her lieutenant. "Zoe, permission granted."
After that was absolute chaos. The daughter of Athena jumped on the back of the manticore, lodging her knife in his back. Artemis admired the girl's courage and wondered why she didn't join her group.
Zoe barked an order to fire as all the hunters let their arrows loose. Arrows struck the beast's body. The monster fell off the cliff with the girl still on its back. Another demigod, strikingly close to Orion ran after to protect her.
Artemis then heard the sound of a helicopter flying overhead. "Mortals are not allowed to witness my hunt." She called out to no one in particular. With a flick, she turned them all into a flock of birds which flew away into the dark night sky.
Artemis turned to look at her lieutenant who gave her information on the remaining demigods. The son of Poseidon who was restrained by a couple of hunters was struggling to break free to save the girl.
She felt sorry for him. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help." she said, trying to calm him down. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Zoe narrow her eyes slightly. "You're in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," she continued.
"Who do you think you are?" The boy, Percy Jackson asked her. Zoe moved forward to slap him but she held her back. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."
"I am Artemis, Goddess of the hunt." She watched as the half-blood's eyes grew wide.
"Um, okay"
Artemis did her best to introduce the world of gods to the two young half-bloods, children of Hades. After that, she went back to her tent to wrap up the hunt. She'd also called Bianca to her tent to try and persuade her to join the hunt.
Artemis had called Apollo to give the campers a ride back to camp. She wanted her hunters to accompany them too, as she had to leave for a solo hunt… again. The ophiotaurus she'd saved millennia ago had escaped, thanks to a careless Zeus, and the king of the gods asked her to hunt it down.
As she watched the sun-bus shoot into the sky, plunging the forest in utter darkness, Artemis saw the track of the beast. She closed her eyes and called upon the power of the moon. Her eyes glowed harsh silver as she now saw everything under the domain of the moon.
The tracks of the beast led to the foot of the one mountain she didn't want to set her foot on. The mountain where Zoe's ex-family lived. It was where Atlas was chained, punished to hold the sky for all eternity. Without wasting time, Artemis teleported to the base of the mountain.
She couldn't use her magic on Mount Tam, or as it was called before, Mount Othrys. She started her trek upward first, to the garden of the Hesperides. Four bright flashes filled the dark sky. When the light died down, she saw the four Hesperides, all of them strikingly similar to her lieutenant.
"Lady Artemis" the four bowed. "To what do we owe this honor?" The eldest asked.
"I am on official Olympus duties. I wish to go forward to the prison of Atlas. I promise no harm to the tree nor the Apples of immortality." Artemis phrased.
The girls seemed to communicate with each other and slowly one of them nodded. "If you succeed in not waking Ladon," Artemis shivered at the name. "You can go past the garden." The four again bowed and vanished.
Artemis took a deep breath and walked forward. She crouched and moved slowly, not to wake the beast guarding the tree. Ladon shifted one of its ninety nine heads and blew a puff of smoke in her direction, making her freeze in her step. Sensing no threat, the goddess pushed forward.
Artemis was successful in evading the dragon. She tread up the mountain towards the chains of Atlas where she was sure the beast was kept. A cruel, cold laughter was heard. Artemis immediately looked at her surroundings but saw no one.
The deep chuckle came again. "Welcome, Artemis. 'Goddess of the hunt'." The voice mocked. Artemis grit her teeth and readied her bow.
"Show yourself, coward. Why do you hide behind the mist?" Artemis yelled into the night sky.
Another chuckle. "You cannot bait me, Artemis. I am far older than you. But you wish for me to clear the mist? Hmm" The voice said, before the area in front of her cleared. She saw the feared prison of Atlas. Where he was supposed to be holding the sky.
All she saw was a thin figure, trembling against the bonds. A girl, no more than thirteen, struggled against the weight of the sky.
"Go on, Artemis. Would you save a maiden in distress? Or be like all the other Olympians? No care about the demigods whatsoever." Artemis stood transfixed. The voice, now identified as the Titan Atlas, was giving out a deep resonating laugh.
He had it all planned so well. He knew she was loyal to all maidens. She couldn't do anything but take the bait. Artemis ran forward. She kneeled in front of the figure and raised her head. Only to gasp. This was Annabeth, the daughter of Athena who was kidnapped by the manticore back in Maine. Taking a deep breath, Artemis pushed the daughter of Athena out of the way as she took the weight of the sky on her shoulders.
Her bones trembled from the pressure. Her blood rushed into her eyes, tinting everything with red. She saw the daughter of Athena on the floor, her chest heaving as she sucked in a generous amount of the cool, night air. Her ears rang and a few pops came from her back, making her wince. But she felt it was all worth it to save the maiden from this fate. She was a goddess for Zeus' sake. If anyone could hold it, it was her.
A few days passed with Artemis still stuck under the sky. She knew a search party was out. It was only a matter of time before they reached the mountain. Everyday, Atlas would come to gloat, filling her head with memories from her past, memories of Hestia and Apollo as siblings as they fought together, hunted together. All the happy memories from her childhood. Suddenly, she felt a sudden increase in power. Someone had sacrificed something strong to her. She felt that she could hold the wait of two skies now, not that she wanted to try. Adjusting her grip, Artemis waited for the search party to come.
Artemis saw Zoe first, flanked on either side by Percy and Thalia, the daughter of Zeus. Zoe looked like a goddess. The pride in her eyes, the anger, rage and fear were clearly seen. Her clothes were tattered looking like a dragon had swiped at her midsection. Artemis frowned as she saw Zoe approach.
Zoe seemed to tell something but Artemis couldn't hear due to the ringing in her ears. She gathered all her remaining strength.
"Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now." Zoe didn't heed her mistress' please but went on forward to tug at the chains. A couple minutes passed as Artemis tried to regain her strength to let sound enter ears.
She saw anger in the eyes of the son of Poseidon. She knew from past experience that something stupid always followed.
"Do not respond. Do not challenge him." Artemis cried out. The ringing came back. She frowned as she saw Atlas move forward and kneel before her. He tried to touch her face but failed as Artemis responded by trying to bite his hand off. He smiled evilly as he said something, inaudible to the suffering goddess.
There was a lot of hand waving from Atlas as the demigods listened. The banter went back and forth and was beginning to piss Artemis off.
She saw the son of Poseidon rewrite the book of 'Stupidest thing ever done' by running forward to challenge Atlas. She saw Percy not move as a javelin came his way. That was when she remembered the curse. The curse her stupid half-brother had put over the demigod. She only watched as Zoe challenged her father, raining down arrows.
She sensed someone near her. It was Percy Jackson.
"The sky, give it to me." He told her.
"No boy, you don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!"
"Annabeth took it!" He argued back. Ugh! The nerve of this male.
"She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long." She argued back.
"I'll die anyway, give me the weight of the sky." He just dropped down on one knee beside her and took the weight of the sky on his shoulders, pushing her out of the way in the process. She saw his face, all his face muscles groaning with the stress, sweat rolling down his forehead in rivers. But Artemis knew this wasn't the time to admire. In the bright moonlight, she felt her powers replenish as she conjured her hunting knives and attacked Atlas with all she had. She aided her lieutenant as they both shot arrows at the general.
Zoe and Artemis on the attack forced Atlas to defend.
"Get ready" she told the demigod under the sky, in his mind.
The response she got almost made her laugh. Almost.
"Agggghh-owwwwwwww"
They were equally matched. Two against one. But with one trick on his javelin, Artemis was forced to the ground. He attacked Zoe next, swiping with the back of his hand as she went flying to the rocks.
Artemis' anger knew no bounds. She grabbed the javelin shaft, and vaulted over it, kicking the Titan in the chest. She watched as the titan flew in the direction where Percy held the sky. The demigod loosened his grip on the sky as the titan barrelled straight into him.
"Nooooooo! Not again!" The titan bellowed, trapped under the sky again.
Artemis ran to Zoe. The sight of her lieutenant's body made her want to throw up. Zoe coughed as she tried to speak.
"Artemis, we both know what the p-prophecy meant." A cough. "I was destined to die at the hands of my father. Nothing we do could p-prevent fate from taking its c-course." Another cough. Blood stained her clothing. "I don't want to die without telling you how I felt." Tears welled up in the goddess' eyes.
"I love you Artemis, more than a friend, more than a sister-in-arms. I felt you didn't love me back, there was Orion with whom you were totally different. You were never as happy with me. This is why I hid it from you all these years. But now, my time has come and you must know, Artemis." The goddess only shook her head. Tears flowed down freely. "I did too, Zoe. I loved you, too" Artemis gave a teary chuckle. Zoe smiled.
She saw the son of Poseidon and Thalia come closer, evading projectiles from the monster army. His eyes seemed to take a pained look as he looked at the fallen huntress.
"The wound is poisoned." She told the demigods.
"Atlas poisoned her?" Percy shot back as his eyebrows shot up to the sky in surprise. Artemis shook her head.
"No, not Atlas." The goddess replied. She moved to show the demigods the wound caused by the hundred headed dragon.
"The stars, I cannot see them." Zoe said, softly. Tears pooled in the goddess's eyes.
"Nectar and Ambrosia. Come on! We have to get her some." Percy tried desperately. No one moved. This wound was fatal. No amount of the magical substance could heal her.
Artemis was brought out of her grief when she looked at the sky and saw a helicopter swoop down. She was about to turn into another flock of birds when a loud voice broke through the peaceful night.
"Get away from my daughter!" A man yelled. The guns on the copter shot bullets of celestial bronze on the monster army, making them scatter.
"Dad?" The daughter of Athena questioned as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Run!" The man yelled again. Artemis was stunned.
"A brave man. Come. We must get Zoe away from here." The goddess said. The goddess of the moon blew her hunting horn as a silver chariot descended from the sky.
"Get in." Artemis barked an order at the assembled demigods. She saw Percy come over to help her with Zoe. She took control of the reins as the chariot took to the sky.
"Like Santa Claus' sleigh" Percy murmured. Artemis smiled. She turned to look back as the demigod.
"Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?" Artemis replied to the dazed demigod.
As the chariot landed, Percy and Annabeth rushed to talk to Annabeth's father as Thalia stayed by Artemis' side. Zoe's condition was worse. Her lips were pale and shivering.
"Annabeth, Percy!" Thalia called the two other half-bloods. They came running and knelt beside the fallen huntress.
"Can't you heal her with magic? I mean… you're a goddess" Percy asked the moon goddess who only shook her head.
"Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try. " She placed her hand on the bite wound but Zoe gripped her wrist tightly.
"Have I... served you well?" Zoe rasped, her voice fading.
"With great honor, the finest of my attendants." Artemis replied, tears threatening to fall down at any moment. "My love" Artemis whispered, inaudible to the demigods.
She looked at Zoe, trying to memorize all the details of her face. The way she smiled, the way she expressed her anger, her surprise, contempt, disgust.
Her lips moved and then Artemis realized she was talking to her.
"Stars," She said, "I can see the stars again, my lady"
Artemis' gaze turned upward. A tear trickled down her cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."
"Stars," Zoe whispered. And then her breath stopped. A dam of tears was ready to burst. But Artemis held them back. This was no place to grieve. She held her hand above her best friend's lips as a silver light slowly rose. Zoe's body disappeared in a bright silver light. Artemis sent the essence towards the sky birthing the huntress constellation. Zoe now ran across the skies, bow in hand, ready to end anyone who threatened her mistress, her love.
"Let the world honor you, my huntress." Artemis told, as if speaking to the constellation. "Live forever in the stars." She lowered her voice and added, "my love."
That night, the moon cast a feeble glow over the world below. The brightest object in the night sky wasn't happy. Artemis wasn't happy. The moon grieved the loss of its patron's only love- now a constellation in the sky placed there by the Moon goddess herself, signifying her eternal love to a huntress named Zoe Nightshade. Till the time the moon does not fade, the huntress will remain, protecting her love till the end of time as the world below cherishes the story of the love of the moon and the stars.
Done! All the characters belong to Uncle Rick. Credit must be given where it is due. So here it is. Certain lines in the last chapter, chapter 9: Tears of goddess of the moon, were taken from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse. I also thank Uncle Rick for giving the world the beautiful universe of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
I thank all the readers who stuck until the very end and read my work. I wanted the story to be as close to canon as possible. So, if there are any mistakes, please forgive me. If you wish to notify me of any errors in the fic, please DM me. I'm always open to constructive criticism.
I thank my best friend from the bottom of my heart for correcting every teeny tiny grammatical mistake in my work. If there ever was a person who motivated me to finish the story more than the deadline set by the server, it was her. She read and re-read the story until late at night to find any errors in my fic to make it as perfect to the readers as possible. I owe you way more than what I can return.
I sincerely thank the 'Pertemis community' server in discord for giving me an opportunity and a motivating factor to complete the story, no matter the setbacks. I will forever be indebted to you for making this story a reality.
Until next time, my friend!
