Two weeks prior…

Family summons never did suit Artemis well. She loved all of her family, albeit to varying degrees, but the Goddess of the Hunt would prefer to be doing just that; hunting with her sisters in arms. But when her father called an Olympian meeting, she neither wanted to disappoint him as a daughter, or disobey him as her lord. So she arrived on Olympus shortly after seeing off her hunters on a rather difficult (if not impossible) task. She hoped it would teach the older hunters about testing fates, and the younger ones could always use practice on their basic skills of tracking and such.

Artemis arrived early at her temple on Olympus, wanting time to collect her thoughts and prepare for whatever issue her family decided to call a crisis this time. She stared over the marble balcony that overhung one of the many public squares, allowing the scents of Cyprus and Cedar to flow up around her, relaxing her of her worries, if only momentarily. Artemis watched a cluster of minor gods and spirits in the square, laughing and joking with each other, enjoying the last of the day's light. She sighed and turned, walking through the arched hallways of her temple and entered out onto the main street. She could have just appeared at the council meeting, but Artemis valued the remaining quiet of the time she had left, and she had no desire for it to be interrupted-

"Little Sis!"

She turned and walked just a bit faster. So much for a last bit of peace and quiet. She heard her brother jog up beside her; of course he would have known when she arrived on Olympus, his temple was situated on the eastern side of the hill, and hers on the west. He would have easily seen her when she stepped out on her balcony. Foolish, overprotective little brother…

"What was that, little sis?" Apollo grinned and slung an arm over Artemis, which she promptly shrugged off and continued up the hill. Hades, she didn't think she'd spoken aloud. Ah well, the argument had been going on for millennia, who was she to stop it now?

"I said it's nice to see you, younger brother. I was wondering if you had any clue as to the reason we were summoned. I had a hunt to attend." Apollo shrugged and shook his head. "No idea. And it's not like you're the only one who was busy. I had this lady friend, and we were really starting to hit it off…" Artemis glared at her brother. He just chuckled; glad to get a rise out of her.

They managed to reach the summit without any true argument, although Apollo continued to take pleasure in regaling his sister with tales of his conquests until she finally grew annoyed enough that she would punch him into silence. The twins entered the grand temple and went to their respective thrones, both equal and opposite. Poseidon nodded in greeting but said nothing. He looked more annoyed with the meeting than anything else. The rest of the Olympians filed in, taking their seats. The last to arrive were Dionysus, who was slouched, looking pink cheeked and less than sober (although how he pulled that off under Zeus' nose, no one really knew), and Hestia, who took her place quietly at the hearth in the center of the room.

The room quieted down quickly, the absent chatter giving way to curious looks at the King of the gods. Zeus cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably; clearly, this meeting wasn't his idea either. Then, sitting primly in her seat, the Queen spoke.

"Family, welcome. It is so rare that we are able to come together like this, only twice a year, really. Isn't it nice?" No one really answered, and a few glares across the room reported that those with active feuds thought that no, this wasn't nice. Hera continued as though nothing happened. "I called this meeting to discuss a very important topic; family." The sound of a palm smacking a face echoed throughout the hall, but it was quick enough that no one could determine the culprit. Hera didn't even blink as she went on, "Or, what I mean to say is really the lack of family we have here. With so many goddesses who will remain maidens, and a quarter of the gods' unmarried, we Olympians hardly represent the joys of marriage."

Zeus flinched at this, and all of the aforementioned gods and goddesses looked uneasy. Ares was the first to speak up. "What do you mean to say, mother?"

Hera turned to her child, "I mean to say that there should be more romantic union among the gods. I decree that any Olympian not already committed in one way or another will be married." She turned to her husband, "This should stop much of the fighting about rights to lovers and such, don't you think?" Zeus wisely kept his mouth closed.

The hall quickly erupted into chaos. "Mother, you can't possibly-"

"Hera, please be reasonable-!"

"This can't possibly involve maidens, could it?"

"ENOUGH!" Zeus thundered, quieting the angry and concerned chatter. "I stand by Hera's decision. Less fighting over trivial romances would be a welcome relief." Aphrodite looked annoyed that any romance would be called trivial, but no one commented that it was Zeus that caused the majority of the problems.

Hera, with a smug look on her face, turned to Aphrodite. "I assume that you've made all of the necessary preparations?" The love goddess smiled. "Of course. I have spoken with both Eros and Hymenaios. Any and all services you require, should there be any reluctance in the union, will be taken care of." Hera nodded, looking satisfied. She once again turned her attention the room as a whole. "Now the only thing left to take care of today is to decide who will be wed."

At this, Artemis could not keep quiet any longer. "My lady, please understand. Some of us are truly not suited to the wedded life. To attempt such a thing would not only cause strife for both parties, but for those of us with eternal maidenhood vows, we would be punished for breaking our vows..."

Hera interrupted before Artemis could continue. "I am aware. As I said, those with previous commitments would be omitted. You are not involved." With the discussion with one of her least favorite illegitimate children of her husband ended, Hera had an idea. "I have decided that in order to demonstrate what marriage and commitment truly means, one of the Olympian gods shall find their spouse first. When they are wed, and everyone sees how happy they are, I won't have to hear any more complaining from the rest of you."

The three Olympian bachelors shared a nervous glance. Hermes looked worried, Ares, finally having caught up that he might finally get tethered down, looked downright angry, and Apollo was fidgeting nervously in his chair.

Hermes spoke up nervously, "How will you decide which one of us is to be wed?" Hera contemplated that for a moment, and then answered, "Whoever has the most demigod children at Camp Half-Blood will be the first to wed. Dionysus, which of the cabins has the most demigods of these three?"

Dionysus startled awake, having had drifted off once he realized he wouldn't have to worry. "Gah! Uh, well, Hermes has the most kids in his cabin," Hermes visibly paled, "But most of 'em aren't his. If we're going by how many kids belong to each god, Apollo has seven in his cabin. Ares and Hermes only have five each. Apollo's got the most."

Hermes sat back in relief, although he shot a pitying glance at his friend. He knew of the three of them, being tied down would impact the philandering sun god the most.

Apollo, the embodiment of the sun and its light, was looking anything but. His face was clouded, and his eyes were downcast. Artemis looked sadly at her twin. She knew that he was even further on Hera's bad side, so he wouldn't try to argue his case, lest he incur her wrath. Neither could Artemis herself try to plead for her brother's case, as she had already pushed as far as she could with her step-mother.

Zeus quietly dismissed the council, and the room quickly cleared, with Ares and Hermes being the very first to leave, lest Hera change her mind. Others left soon after, most grumbling about how ridiculous the whole ordeal was, and how their busy daily schedules had been interrupted for such nonsense. Only Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Artemis remained.

Artemis lingered, worried about leaving her brother while he was so out of sorts. It was Aphrodite though, who finally addressed her. "He will be alright, Artemis." Aphrodite looked at her softly, a look that rarely passed between the two. "I can't understand you not wanting love in your life, but I can understand you love your brother. Hera and I will just be discussing the details of the arrangement. We won't be picking out any girls just yet. Besides," Aphrodite winked at Artemis as she spun around to face the other two she was about to hold a private meeting with, "I'll let you help him find a girl." Artemis blushed angrily and stormed out. Though, once she was a fair distance away, she turned and looked back towards the towering structure on the crest of Olympus, and hoped that her brother would come to accept this with as much grace as possible, lest he ruin not only his life, but some poor maiden's as well.

Well, what do I have to say except I am truly sorry for the delay. I had some personal stuff that I really needed to work through (and I am not yet a good enough writer to channel those feelings into my work), so I was out for a bit. But now it's Thanksgiving break, and I'm back. I plan to write at least one more chapter before Friday, which I will release early next week, unless there is a huge demand for it to come earlier.