A/N-Hope you all are doing well, enjoy this chapter!

Artemis Pov-

"How old are you, Persia?" Phoebe asked while passing out the plates for dinner.

"Sixteen." The girl answered. "I was born the eighteenth of August."

"Do remind me to never let Apollo see you." I laughed, the rest of my hunters joining in.

"May I inquire why, Artemis?"

"My brother," I rubbed my temples, thinking of how I should phrase my next words without being inappropriate.

"Apollo is…" I tried to find the right words.

"Stupid?" Chloe offered.

"Obnoxious and self-centered?" Phoebe tried.

"Flirty?" Another huntress presented.

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, turning to the confused girl. "He's flirty and you would be…interesting to him, to say the least."

"Is there something wrong with me?" Persia's brows knit together as she grabbed a handful of her dress. I stifled back laughter at her question.

"Anything but, my dear child." I reassured her. "However, you're going to need a hunter's parka.

Persia let Phoebe take her hand and led her to a tent where she would find her hunter's uniform. I smiled—Persia was now part of my little family and I wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hey baby sis," A voice saluted from behind me.

"Hey Apollo…" I said, cursing. "If you could leave, yeah, that'd be great."

"Please sister," Apollo sat on the log Persia had sat on previously. "I just wanted to visit the ladies." He winked at my hunters.

"Stop it." I smacked his blond head.

"You know," He bend down to face Chloe. "Should you ever decide to get a reality check—you know where to find me."

"Men." The girl scoffed, turning away from him.

My brother smiled, looking around. "Say, I don't suppose you recruited a new huntress? Preferably an older one?"

Oh gods, Persia.

"Nope," I lied. "No, nothing new here. So sorry—goodbye, now!" I got up, attempting to drag Apollo away before Persia came out. I had almost gotten him to turn his back to the tent before Phoebe came out of the tent, smiling like crazy.

"She looks stunning. Truly, the fairest of them all." Phoebe announced, not noticing Apollo.

"The fairest of them all?" Apollo turned around, deep in thought.

Phoebe covered her mouth, shooting me an apologetic look. Just as the fates would have it, Persia of Athens came out.

Her parka, silver pants, and black combat boots didn't help the situation either. To make matters worse—her raven hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, highlighting her petite features. She appeared slimmer, seeing as she was no longer sporting that ridiculously large dress. Her silver eyes were bright, searching for approval in her new family.

I dared to look over my shoulder, where Apollo stood. He was as still as a statue, frozen. He face was absolutely blank and a few seconds later, a bright crimson filled his cheeks.

Oh, Tartarus. Here we go.

"Lord Apollo," Persia bowed respectively, her bell voice chiming.

Apollo blinked twice and narrowed her eyes, realizing the bell voice was emitted from Persia.

"Apollo," I took my brother's arm and led him deep into the forest—away from Persia.

"What the Tartarus was that?" I demanded, my temper flared. This was not good. Not good at all and I would be damned should Apollo pursue the fair maiden.

Apollo's eyes were fixated on me but it seemed as if he didn't see me at all. "Who was that?" His voice cracked like he was in awe.

"That would be my new huntress—Persia of Athens. I strictly forbid you to ever look, listen, or even be near her. She's new and I won't have her break her oath because a woman-obsessed god can't help himself."

He flinched at my comment and I expected a sarcastic retort to follow.

"I can't do that." Apollo's voice was barely a whisper.

I opened my mouth to comment but he held up a hand. His breathing was ragged, like he forgot how to be breathe. "Hear me out, Artemis."

He paused, taking a deep breath. "Earlier, before my morning shift, a woman visited me. Originally, she had only come to tell me that I would fall in love with a beautiful maiden but I could never have her."

Apollo then grimaced, continuing. "I just had to be classic me so I expressed my disbelief at her statement. I asked why I couldn't have this woman. She became enraged and cursed me—saying that this woman would be on my mind forever and that it'd kill me every time I'd remember that she could never be mine."

For a moment, I was utterly speechless. I shook my head, feeling bad for my sibling but I knew what was best for my huntress.

"I'm deeply sorry, Apollo. But I don't want you to treat Persia as you do other women."

I turned away quickly, only catching a glimpse of his bewildered face. I didn't get very far before Apollo stopped me.

"That's the thing, Artemis." My twin said and his blue shone as if he were a blind man, seeing the sun for the first time. "I don't want to do that to her—I want to protect her. If she'll have me, I will do this the right way."

Don't get me wrong—I wanted redemption for Apollo just as much as the next woman who had ever crossed paths with my brother but not this. I didn't want him to fall in love with my huntress.

"Oh really?" I asked him, the blood in veins began to surge. "Apollo, I've known you for eons. You won't change for any woman. You'll get what you want from her then you'll leave her and she'll feel worthless and pathetic."

"You misunderstand me," Apollo shook his head. "Before I saw Persia, I thought I didn't need love. I now know that I was incredibly wrong. Everything makes sense now—when I saw her, it was like…"

When he finally right words to describe his revelation, he gripped my shoulders. Hard. His hands warm, feverish. "I-It was like seeing the sun for the first time."

"That's my point, Apollo." I said, stepping away from his vice grip. I crossed my arms over my chest, shaking my head. "You're already infatuated with her after one look. You can't be with her, she's taken the oath—she's a huntress."

Immediately, I regretted the words that had emerged from my mouth for my brother sunk onto the forest floor, closing his eyes.

"Brother, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to harm you." I felt terrible-sick to the core, in fact.

"You have no idea how I feel right now." Apollo struggled to breathe. "It feels like I've been doused into Styx several times. I feel a burning sensation within me."

"Apollo," I helped my lovesick twin up, leading him to his chariot. "Try to avoid Persia for the time being,"

He began to protest but I beat him to it, saying, "It's for her sake and your own good."

Apollo gave a deep sigh and mounted his chariot. "You know, Persia looks exactly like you."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was your twin." Apollo gave a halfhearted smile.

It was discouraging, seeing him like this. "It's never going to be the same is it?"

"What isn't going to be the same?"

"Since you've seen Persia—you won't ever be the same again."

Apollo hopped off, wrapping his arms around me. "I can't promise I won't ever stop thinking about her but know this: I will fight for her with my last breath."

I released him, saying, "Why are you so stubborn?"

"Because I've finally found someone worth fighting for."

Apollo Pov-

The raven-haired girl always appeared in my vision. Constantly I'd think I hear her name, but when I turned around there was no one there. Her silver eyes, framed by dark lashes, followed me around.

I hadn't realized it but I headed to Olympus. I was in dire need of a distraction now. I was on edge, tormented by the thoughts of anything happening to her.

I couldn't concentrate on anything but her.

The way her ponytail framed her delicate face, from her slim figure, to the way she bit her bottom lip.

I landed on the throne room of Olympus, parking my chariot off to the side. All the gods except Artemis were present, just talking casually. For a second, each of their faces blurred and they all resembled Persia.

"Are you okay, son?" One the Persia's sounded strangely like my father, Zeus.

"Persia?" I asked, confused. Where was her bell-like voice?

"I beg your pardon? To whom are you referring to?" Persia/Zeus guided me to my throne.

"That's you." I swept my gaze across the room. The Persia's looked at me, concerned. "Actually, it's all of you."

"I believe he's hallucinating." Persia/Athena snapped her fingers and manifested a lime green vial. She handed it to me and downed it, the liquid leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. My body shivered in response to its magic and gradually, everyone turned back to normal.

"Oh thank the gods." I groaned then leaned back into my seat.

"Who's Persia?" Zeus asked.

I sighed and retold the story of the lady and her curse.

"Circe." Athena concluded.

"No, her name is Persia." I corrected.

"No!" Athena snapped. "The stranger who bestowed a curse upon you. She's notorious for such deeds and so far, no one has ever escaped from her witchcraft. Perhaps, seeing as you are immortal, you may be able to have the curse lifted."

"So there's a possible chance I could remove this curse?" I asked, excited.

"Still a chance." The goddess reassured me.

"That's all I need to know.

A/N- Artemis and Apollo are like opposites but they work really well together. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and see ya next chapter!