Ok here's the third and final part. I tired to add sort of a tragic and slightly gorish element all those myths inevitably seem to pick up on, but I'm not sure if it really turned out that great (that's what review are for!).
On a more random note, has anyone read "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" by Charles Dickens? Cause Jasper is my new god. I'm thinking of writing something for him and Rosa. Something dark (but not in a depressing way) and...twisted. Oh never mind, I don't know why I bother to type these things out. Onwards with the story, enjoy.
The next morning little Adonia ran eagerly into the forest, Goose fluttering excitedly behind her. True to her word Artemis was already waiting for her. "Throw your ball as high as you can child and then go and find it, I will help you"
Adonia did as Artemis instructed, she threw the golden ball high up into the air then jumped up into the tops of the trees to catch it before it hit the ground. Together Artemis and Adonia made a sport of this, they went faster and faster and faster until anyone watching would simply see a quick blur and a feel a small gust of wind.
Then, out of nowhere, Adonia heard someone shout something. Artemis stopped immediately "Someone is in my woods!" she exclaimed dangerously in a soft whisper. She placed an arrow in her bow. Adonia searched the ground, she did not see anyone. Then the voice called out again, this time both goddesses could hear it clearly "Mother!" said a small tiny voice, it was a little boy, and he sounded close to tears.
"Why it is only a child" said Artemis putting her bow away, "nothing we need to concern ourselves with."
However Adonia was not so convinced, she turned to the huntress, "I think we should help the boy find his mother"
Artemis was quiet for a moment, she evaluated Adonia carefully, her cool green eyes studying the little goddess's face. Finally she said, "Yes Adonia, you should help the little boy find his mother, however I cannot assist you, I am late for the hunt as it is." In a swirl of movement she was gone.
The little goddess jumped back down to the forest floor, the fallen leaves crunching gently under her. It was not fall yet so they had not turned brown and brittle. She heard the little boy's voice call out again "Mother!"
"Where are you?" Adonia shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.
"Over here!" said the voice.
Adonia turned to Goose, she told him to go up into the sky and find the boy, then come back down and lead her to him. Goose led her back and forth back and forth through the trees. Every time Adonia would call out to the boy his reply was louder. Finally her bright green eye's came to rest upon a small huddled figure under a tree. He was younger looking then the goddess by a few years. His clothes were ripped in some places and he had a few scratches but otherwise he looked unharmed.
"Hello" Adonia said approaching him slowly.
The boy looked up at her. He had a bushy cap of brown curls, pudgy cheeks, and one of his front teeth was missing. "My name is Gavin, I got lost" he said, "Who are you?"
"My name is Adonia" she replied.
"What is that!" he asked, his eyes turning into large orbs as he spotted the golden ball Adonia had tucked under her arm.
Adonia threw the ball toward Gavin "Catch it!" she said, "It was a present from Zeus"
His eye's got even wider as he starred in awe at the dazzling object in front of him "Zeus!" he shouted excitedly, "how did you meet Zeus!"
"Zeus is my mother's father," she said smiling openly, happy that she had managed to impress him.
"So are you a goddess then or something?" Gavin asked.
"I suppose" Adonia answered.
"Well why are you just a kid, I though all the deathless gods were grown up" he questioned innocently.
"I think I'm the only one"
"Who do you play with then? Who are your friends?"
Adonia hesitated for a second "I-I don't know…I guess I don't have any" she looked down at the ground, curling her bare toes up under the grass.
"You can be my friend!" said Gavin "You can go over to my house and we can play with your golden ball! That is," he suddenly looked distraught again "if I can find my way home, I live in a little town right by here. But I've been lost for hours"
"Don't worry," said Adonia "Goose will go find it then he will lead us there, that's how I found you"
The boy tilted his head to the side slightly "Goose?"
Adonia called Goose over to her "he was a gift from Aphrodite" Gavin told Goose what the town he lived in looked like and Goose went out to find it, he soon came back and began to lead the way back to Gavin's town.
"I bet it's really neat in Olympus" Gavin said "Do you think you could take me their sometime?"
"I don't see why not," she answered.
It was not long before they reached Gavin's town. A large group of people had gathered to start looking for the boy. When his mother saw him she ran forward and scooped him into her arms.
"This is Adonia," said Gavin pointing to the Little Goddess "she helped me find my way home, she's a goddess mother!"
Gavin's mother looked directly at Adonia and she laughed. "Why Gavin, there is nobody there! Have you made up an imaginary friend?"
Gavin looked at his mother, his nose wrinkled up in confusion, she was right there! However the more he tried to convince her the farther away she seemed from believing him. Eventually she became cross "Gavin there is nobody there! Now you stop making things up or the real gods are going to punish us all for your lies!"
But Gavin would not stop, he brought others over to see Adonia but every time it was the same, the adults thought he was making it up, and even though the children said they could all see her the adults thought they were just going along with Gavin's game. Finally Adonia told Gavin that she did not think any of the adults would ever be able to see her, that she would always just be an imaginary friend. "I'll come back tomorrow though," she promised and we can play with my ball then"
In the meantime while all of this was happening Artemis had secretly been watching Adonia. She had seen her not only take the lost child home but befriend him as well. She went up to Mount Olympus to see Zeus.
"I have been watching the Little Goddess" she told her father "and I have changed my mind. I no longer think she is useless or unworthy of any of your gifts. In fact it is my wish that you make her the guardian of all children and welcome her into the Olympian family."
Zeus considered, she was only a child after all, although it did seem to fit that the goddess of children would be a child. He decided to ask her mother Persephone for her opinion.
Persephone was all too happy to have her daughter be a part of the Olympian family. She was secretly relieved that Aphrodite had not been right. Her decision to give Adonia immortal childhood had not been a mistake; it had secured her daughter a place in Olympus! However Zeus was still unsure, he suspected Persephone's motives for agreeing all to quickly and wanted to hear from Adonia herself what she wanted.
Adonia eagerly came to visit Zeus that night after shinning Helios had ridden his chariot back down across the sky. When Lord Zeus told her about all the new responsibilities she would have she understood perfectly. Finally Zeus agreed, on the condition that, in the beginning, Artemis would help and guide her. Adonia was delighted at the opportunity. And she had a request of her own to make as well. She wanted to know if she could bring her mortal friend Gavin to Mount Olympus.
Zeus looked at his grandchild sadly, he knew he going to have to say no, as only immortals can step foot on Mount Olympus. When he explained this to her she was devastated. Not just for Gavin, but also for all the children she knew she was going to long to bring to this magnificent place. What was the point in being the Guardian of Children if she could never bring them into her world? Adonia ran down from Olympus, back to Demeter's house in the grove and began to cry.
The sky saw her from above and felt such pity for the beautiful little goddess that it began to weep as well. Never before had it seen such an innocent broken little creature. It howled and shook and flashed and roared! Soon the lands of the earth began to flood. The earth had never known such a flood since the Great Flood that had wiped out all of mankind. The people cried out to Zeus, begging him to make the sky stop its tantrum. They asked themselves what had they done to bring about the Mighty Zeus's wrath!
Gavin's mother went to him shouting "Look what you have done you rotten child! Look what you have brought upon us with your talk of imaginary gods! You should have been worshiping the real deathless gods, look at what you have caused!" She grabbed the child by the neck and threw him out the window into raging waters. He flailed about helplessly as he did not know how to swim. Thirteen people passed him by in their own makeshift boats. Each time he screamed and cried out for help, but each person was too busy with their own affairs to worry about a drowning little boy.
Zeus appealed to the sky to stop, he begged it, he commanded it, he did everything he could think of. He even gathered up all of his thunderbolts and hurled them at the sky, but this only made it cry harder. Nothing could appease it such was it's pity for Adonia. Finally Zeus went to Persephone and said to her "You must go to comfort your daughter, she is going to destroy the earth!" Until this time Persephone had refused to go to her daughter, being only slightly more then a child herself, she was thinking only of how embarrassed she was by her daughter's actions. However Zeus's words awoke the motherly inkling inside of her, and she could not disobey a direct command from the Mighty Zeus, so she went down to earth.
Demeter had been trying to soothe her grandchild but to no avail. When Adonia saw her mother however she rushed into her arms. "My darling Adonia you must stop these tears!" her mother insisted, "you are going to wash away the very earth!"
Adonia looked around her and saw the damage she had inadvertently done. She tried as hard as she could to stop crying and eventually succeeded. She looked up at the sky and coaxed it into calming itself once again. She insisted that it needn't cry for her just because she was upset, though to this day whenever Adonia is weeping you can be sure the sky will weep as well.
After the water had gone down Adonia went to Gavin's town. She still needed to tell him that she was very sorry but she could not take him to Olympus with her. When she reached the town and discovered what had befallen him she was again consumed with sadness. However remembering what had happened last time she gave way to tears she turned her sadness for Gavin into anger toward his mother and the others who had failed to help him. She sought out Artemis to help her win revenge.
Artemis taught the little goddess how to use a bow. Adonia practiced all day and all night. Early the next morning, with Goose on her tail, she walked quietly into the town. One by one she picked off those to selfish to help her first friend until she reached his mother. For Gavin's mother she had a special loathing and so had saved a special revenge. While his mother was still asleep she shot her arms and her legs to the bed so she could not move. Then she began to cry, gushing out all the tears she had so bravely kept inside. However before she did so she asked the sky if he would please only cry in this one house? The sky agreed. There, Adonia not only drowned Gavin's mother but her sorrow for her friend as well. The Little Goddess's revenge was complete. And from that day forward all children knew that whenever they were in trouble they could call on Adonia to help them.
Yeah, I know, the ending was sort of abrupt. Sigh, oh well. Press that blessed little button down in the corner there and tell me what you think!