AN: I know I said that the lame puns would end, but I'm doing this for a friend.
WARNING: Some violence ahead.
"Mom?" I repeated, not sure if she had heard me. Why wasn't she responding?
Artemis looked at me for another second, and then she turned to Zeus.
"Is this the reason you called me? You already know my views on the matter. That is no daughter of mine. As far as I'm concerned, it is nothing more than a blight on our society." she said. I could actually feel my insides shriveling. 'That'? 'It'? 'Blight on society'? Why was she saying these terrible things? I haven't done anything to her!
"Perhaps you two need sometime alone." Zeus said, snapping his fingers. Immediately, the other ten gods and goddess disappeared.
"Now, daughter, you are welcomed back on Olympus, if, and only if you can integrate your daughter into society. I can't have her starting wars or anything. By the way, the trial will happen later this week." he said as he began to walk out the door.
"But Father, I-" Artemis argued, looking from me to him in frustration.
"That is my final decision." Thunder rumbled in the background as he spoke his final command. "Don't kill her."
He walked out and the door slammed, leaving Artemis and I in an awkward silence.
"So, how did you meet my-" I tried to start conversation, but her deathly glare silenced me.
"Stop. You do not talk to me. I order you and you follow my commands. If you don't, I'm sure I can find a way around my father's command. And by that, I mean I'll find a way to kill you," she said, iciness dripping from every syllable.
I stared at her, dumbfounded. How dare she come in here and try to treat me like that?
She started pacing back and forth, muttering to herself, in a language that certainly wasn't English.
Finally, I worked up the courage to confront her.
"What is your problem? I haven't done anything to you! It's not my fault the other gods and goddesses don't like you! But from what I've seen, I don't really blame them. If you treat them like garbage too then it's a wonder you ever found someone as nice as my dad!" I yelled, turning around and walking towards the door.
I almost got away with it too.
Artemis shouted something, and suddenly I couldn't move. This weird green light engulfed me, and I rose into the air. It felt like all the cells in my body were being torn apart. A red haze covered my mind, and I couldn't focus on anything but the pain. Finally, after what seemed like a century, the pain stopped. Something had changed. My breathing felt different somehow, like my heart was beating faster.
I opened my eyes and screamed. Everything was different. My eyesight spread in all four directions and the colors were different, with reds and blues more prominent. My new vantage point was on the ground, so I thought that I had fallen down. Imagine my surprise when I found that I was standing.
I turned to look at Artemis. This was her fault. She had done this to me. She had transformed me into a small woodland creature and she didn't seem to care about my terror. I could hear her breathing, and feel the vibrations of the ground as she walked.
Suddenly, extreme panic gripped me and wouldn't let me go. So, I did the natural thing. I fled like a coward. My running was all messed up, and it was more of a stumbling over my feet than a real run. I make a terrible rabbit.
Suddenly, I froze. Standing right in front of me with a sliver bow in her hands was Artemis. The bow was leveled straight at my head and I had no doubt that she could hit any target she wanted. Including me. My terrified little rabbit heart was beating extra fast and my blood was pounding in my ears.
"Maybe you aren't an idiot after all. Yes, this is a bow, and this is an arrow that will tear into your body and cut through all of your major organs." she said, smirking.
"You can't kill me," I squeaked out, surprised my voice worked at all. Or maybe she can speak bunny language.
Her grin quickly turned into a threatening leer. "That's true. He never said anything about maiming. And I believe I told you not to speak to me."
Faster than my eyes could follow, she drew the arrow back, and released it. My pain from the transformation was nothing compared to this. It felt like my leg was on fire! Somehow she had managed to hit my back leg, so I couldn't get it out, or even move at all. I was howling in pain and the empty rooms echoed my pain back to me.
For several minutes we sat there, me writhing in agony, and her watching cold-heartedly.
`Artemis muttered something under her breath and I felt the arrow being jerked out of my leg. She pulled another arrow from her quiver (which had mysteriously appeared) and aimed her bow at me once more. My leg was bleeding profusely and the throbbing pain almost made me cry. Not even a bullet couldn't hurt this bad, I thought as I tried to walk. Not only could I not extend it, but just trying made me fall over in a heap of terrified, bleeding rabbit.
"Have you learned your lesson, or do you need another demonstration?" she asked, mock politeness in her voice. I have to admit, I was quaking in fear. My leg felt like it was burning and I knew that she wouldn't hesitate to hurt me again.
When I didn't say anything sassy, she nodded and snapped her fingers.
Again, a weird light issued from her fingers and wrapped around me. Again, my terrified rabbit form rose into the air. Again, my cells felt like they were trying to kill themselves. Again, the agony overcame my mind, so that all I could think about is how I wanted to die. Anything to stop the burning.
Finally, I was thrown back to the ground. I had been hoping that my leg would be healed, but no such luck. Right below my knee was a bloody splotch that showed through my jeans. There was no way that Zeus or one of the other Olympians wouldn't notice that I was hurt. Then Artemis would be kicked out of Olympus and I would feel free to return to camp. Of course that would mean that I would have to think about Ward-the-murdering-scumbag and Adonis-the-prat. Anything would be better than sitting here with Mrs. Psychopath. I slowly got to my feet, barely able to keep any pressure on it.
"When you get to camp it will be pretty late. You will go straight to the cabin dedicated to me. You will only go outside at nighttime and you will not speak to other demigods. At all. You will be isolated. However, that's your problem, not mine. And if I find you disobeying me, you'll wish you were dead." Artemis said, walking up to me and grabbing my arm. I could feel my arm bruising under her punishing grip.
"Okay, mom" I said, placing extra emphasis on the mom part.
Her eyes flashed dangerously and she started to blur around the edges. Seriously. It was like someone was zooming out but no one was moving.
Suddenly, the doors burst open and Hermes ran into the room, standing between Artemis and I.
"No no no! Zeus said no killing! Do you want to be sent down to Earth as a human again?" he said urgently. I realized that he was protecting me from something weird. Maybe something terrible happened when she blurred. I shall now refer to it as "The Blurring of Doom".
She managed to calm down, and glared at me. Then, she suddenly disappeared.
Hermes let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew. That was close. So, how bad are you hurt? Any broken bones?" he asked, looking concerned. I just shrugged, not sure what to say. Now that there was actually a possibility of her getting in trouble, my loyalty kicked in. Unfortunately, Hermes noticed my knee.
"Apollo! Get in here!" he yelled.
The teenager from the golden throne walked in, his earphones around his neck.
"What's up, Herms?" he asked, using a lame nickname. Hermes gestured to my knee but Apollo didn't look surprised. "Did my sis shoot you? She has this nasty habit of doing that to people. Well, let me see your leg," he said. I noticed that he got very professional all of a sudden. His headphones even turned into a stethoscope.
Realizing that no one really cared if you hurt demigods, I reluctantly pushed out my leg. He crouched down and rolled up my pants leg. I winced. The wound was open and still bleeding. I could actually see part of the bone. The thought of that almost made me throw up. Apollo muttered something and waved his hand slowly over my leg. Immediately, the hole closed up and the pain stopped.
"Feel better?" he asked, leaning back on his heels.
"Yeah! I feel way better! Thank you… ummm… Lord Apollo and Lord Hermes." I said awkwardly, still not sure how I should address them.
"You can call me Apollo," the doctor interjected.
"And you can call me Hermes," said the jogger.
"Okay, Apollo, Hermes, I have a couple questions. First of all, why does Artemis hate me so much?" I asked, looking at their faces. Both of them winced and look away. We sat in silence for several minutes before Apollo sigh and spoke up.
"Well, it's a long story. I'll start at the beginning. When Artemis and I were born (we're twins you see), Zeus granted us powers. Artemis became the Goddess of the Hunt, and I got all the cool titles. Anyway, when she was still really little, my dad granted her a couple wishes. One of them was that she could remain single and childless her entire life. Zeus granted her that wish, but he also said that she could retract it anytime she wanted. For thousands of years, she kept to it. She even inspired Athena and Hestia to follow it too. Together, they were the three maiden goddesses. Now, since she had you, they have turned against her. They even convinced Zeus to kick her off Olympus. She is having a big trial in a couple days to decide what her final punishment will be. So, you pretty much ruined her life. Her followers aren't too happy either. And I heard her command about not talking to demigods. I think you know someone who isn't a demiGOD. Just saying. In any case, you should be getting back. And I heard she placed some wards on your cabin. I'm really sorry but there's nothing I can do. Hermes, if you could.." he stood up and Hermes grabbed my arm, not nearly as hard as Artemis had.
"Bye. Actually, you are my first niece. It was fun meeting you." Apollo said, chuckling.
Hermes snapped and I had the sensation of going through a vacuum again (this was becoming a nasty habit of mine).
"Well, here you are. Try not to get into trouble." he said as he disappeared on his own.
I was stuck in camp alone, with an express command not to talk to anyone. Yay me.
AN2: Well, this is going to be my last update for a couple days, so I tried to make it a little longer than normal. Thanks to all the reviewers and please feel free to send me your input. I'm in a bet with a friend over reviews, so any help is much appreciated. Thanks, and God bless!
