[3rd Person's Pov]
Zoë took a deep breath from the cold woodland air. The freezing, unpolluted air filled her lungs and left her as a small white mist.
It had been barely two months since she and her squad departed from Camp Half-Blood.
Everyone was exceptionally glad they could leave the "Man-infested" area, even if it meant going on a parallel journey to hunt down one of the worst Gigantes ever to roam the earth.
Everyone except Zoë.
"Lieutenant."
Zoë whipped around on the spot, her hands flying to her belt where she kept her hunting knives, but it was only one of her fellow hunters.
"Phoebe," Zoë muttered, dropping her guard.
"Lunch is ready. Also, Lady Artemis has come to visit us. She said she wanted to have a word with you."
The Prime hunter smirked as Zoë barely stifled a groan.
They were yet to find any trace of the Giant Hunter, and although Zoë was one of the few remaining huntresses who knew first-hand the danger of Orion and his hunters, disappointing her patron goddess wasn't something to look forward to.
"Hey, don't worry too much," Phoebe gave her a reassuring pat over the shoulder, "Lady Artemis knows hunting that greasy slime ball takes time. Remember how long the last hunt went?"
"Don't remind me," Zoë grumbled, reluctantly shuffling her feet back to the campsite.
"What were you doing out in the woods, anyway?" Phoebe asked.
Zoë fell silent against the second question all the way back before answering, "Reminiscing."
Phoebe frowned, but Zoë didn't elaborate further—not because she couldn't be bothered to, but because she couldn't let any other know about what was on her mind.
'...David...'
Last night, she had a disturbing dream about him.
He was entangled with a massive lion over a cliff. They tore apart each other until a silver light came from above, struck them both, and hauled them into the abyss.
As dream tends to do, it had multiple explanations fitting for the imagery, and as demigods tend to do, none of them were positive.
"..."
The more she thought about it, the more her heart clenched uncomfortably. She wished she could talk to one of her sisters, Asterope; her skills with astrology was on par with an Oracle.
But then again, knowing what gruesome event awaited David might not be best for either of them.
She had seen too many examples of men desperately try to avoid their fate, only to dive right into it by their own hands.
But then again...
"It is called Living. You should all try it sometime."
To this day, Zoë was unsure whether if David had burnt his String of Destiny. If so, he would be one of the most courageous and reckless man she had ever met.
...perhaps she had a soft spot for those type of men.
Her train of thoughts came to an halt when they arrived at the campsite. A handful of newer recurits were talking excitedly around the campfire.
When they approached, one of the huntresses sprang forward with a cluster of flowers in her hand.
"Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Pardon?" Zoë asked, confused.
On the other hand, Phoebe frowned and pushed aside the flowers.
"We don't celebrate that here," She grunted.
"Oh," The huntress looked down, crestfallen, "Why not?"
Zoë glanced at Phoebe; it wasn't everyday she was rough against a
"What's a Valentine's Day?"
"It's a manufactured holiday made by mankind," Phoebe said, using the word mankind as if it was a terminal illness, "It's a day made to celebrate love."
"Ah," Zoë's head immediately jumped back to David, "Why do you know that, Phoebe?"
"One needs to acknowledge something first if you want to avoid it, a cruel irony." Phoebe scoffed.
The stoic huntress turned to her naive subordinate and added, "Just so make it clear, the Huntress of Artemis reject all kinds of love."
"I'm sorry," The young huntress muttered, her head drooping down to the ground.
Phoebe nodded stiffly, but Zoë felt bad for the huntress. She gently reached out and took the handful of flowers, to the astonishment from the unseasoned huntress.
"Lieutenant..." Phoebe said in a dangerously warning tone.
Zoë straighten up with a small smile and said, "I'm merely accepting a gift from one of my sisters. These weren't picked without permission, were they?"
The young huntress shook her head, too awestruken to properly speak. Zoë offered her another warm smile, pocketed the flowers and headed toward Artemis's tent.
Phoebe followed her closely with an audible scowl over her face.
"You of all hunters shouldn't encourage actions like this," She pointed out, "It might disrupt the atmosphere of the Hunt."
Zoë breathed in one of the cold flowers.
Camellia.
She realized the type of the blossom right away and handed it to her grumpy looking friend.
"Phoebe, sometimes I think, as time went on, we lost what the Hunt of Artemis was meant to be."
"What are you talking about?" Phoebe growled, glowering down at the flower as if it murdered her family.
"The hunt has always been a sanctuary, or a refuge for maidens who had lost their places in the world.
Some ran away from their homes, seeking for a new life. However, the majourity of us are abandoned. Like me...and you."
Phoebe's malice became slightly subtle, her expression becoming more melencholy than angry.
"...I still don't get what point you are trying to make, Nightshade," The brute huntress muttered, but she took the Camellia into her hands.
"My point is, The Hunt of Artemis is meant to be an empathizing, caring group to the lost maidens all over the world—and we can't achieve either while denying love as a whole."
Phoebe didn't say a word until they arrived at the entrance of Artemis's tent. There, Phoebe slipped the single flower into her pouch and glanced at Zoë.
"You sure gave this matter a deep thought, haven't you, Lieutenant?" She asked, being half-heartedly sarcastic as she reminded Zoë of her role in the hunt.
Perhaps a few months ago, before her meeting and entanglement with David, Zoë would've looked down in shame or even say such outlandish things about the hunt in the first place.
However, now Zoë just smiled.
"I certainly did," She replied.
Phoebe grunted again, although the corner of her lips twitched slightly as if they wanted to grin as well.
The veteran huntress turned her back and walked away, holding a hand over her shoulder as an encouragement.
After a small deep breath, Zoë slipped into the silver tent of her patron goddess. It was the first time they were meeting eye-to-eye after the Winter Solstice.
She hadn't felt nervous entering this tent for a millennia or two. The only emotions she had carried was awe and admiration for their goddess.
However, Zoë had changed after her last visit to Camp Half-Blood. She was positive that Artemis had experienced a similar shift in her world...but Zoë was yet unsure how her goddess felt about said change.
"Your Lieutenant is here, my lady."
Zoë said calmly as she could muster and slipped into the tent. When she looked up, however, there was an unexpected surprise waiting.
"Ah, Zoë." Artemis said, sitting in her usual silver throne flanked by a handful of wildlife creatures, "It is good to see you again. Take your seat."
Zoë reached for the silver chair, all the while staring slightly right from Artemis where a girl wirh glossy, long black hair and black eyes was sitting comfortably as if she was in her living room.
"Hylla Ramírez-Arellano, The Prime Warrior of the Amazon." The huntress muttered, keeping her surprise under control, "This place is a sanctuary of Artemis."
Hylla smiled, the faint scar across her forehead wrinkling
"There is no need to be too on edge, Zoë Nightshade. By all means, I wouldn't have become an Amazon Queen without your guidance."
Zoë sighed, "So you did start an uprising. I thought it was a joke."
Hylla, the new queen of Amazons shrugged, "It was more of an honorable duel. I can gaurantee on my honor that there wasn't a single death during the usurpation.
I simply thought the current state of the Amazonians had become too stale. Corroded, even. It was time someone brought a new wind under the sail."
"Hmm," Zoë grunted.
Like it or not, she noted that Hylla and she shared a similar viewpoint on their respective communities; only difference was, she wasn't in complete charge of the Hunters.
Artemis cleared her throat softly. The animals gathered around the goddess immediately stopped what they were doing and looked up.
Naturally, Hylla and Zoë's attention turned to the goddess again.
Zoë noticed that the moon goddess's form was several years older than usual; around 18, which was odd.
"It seems I can skip the introductions," The goddess said, "I have called both of you in person to make a suggestion."
"A suggestion?" Zoë asked.
Artemis nodded as an answer, which made the lieutenant frown a little.
If she wanted something to be done, she could always ask the Hunt. Why would she ever reach out to the Amazons?
But the grim expression dawning over the goddess quickly alerted her that whatever suggestion she wanted to make was something more treacherous than a regular hunt.
"Zoë, the time has come to prepare for another hunt for my nemesis."
"Orion," Zoë muttered. Her fingers curled up into fists with rage.
Throughout histroy, the Gigas Orion has risen more times than one. And every single times, he took down countless hunters before they managed to slay him—just for the cycle to continue some other day.
Artemis nodded as well, however her expression was still dark as she continued.
"This time, there is a concering suspicion floating around. If the rumor is true, there will be great casualties if we prepare as before."
"What rumor?" Zoë asked.
Unexpectedly, Hylla was the one who answered, "Orion is gathering forces. A Hunt of his own—called 【Ageli Lykon】."
"I've met one of them," Zoë recalled, "It was a female wolf named Hecuba. She attacked us with some of..."
The loeutenant glanced at Artemis for a moment before continuing, "...some of the Hunters that left."
Artemis tapped the armrest of her throne. The animals around her shuddered and shifted nervously.
Zoë wondered if Artemis was mad or dissapointed or what; after 2000 years of service, it was rare when she couldn't read through her goddess's thoughts.
Hylla was the only one not concered(or blissful ignorant, Zoë thought) by the apparent discomfort from Artemis.
"Some other monsters and men have attacked several of Amazon bases as well. We have a considerable amount of loss from them."
The Amazon queen tapped her sword belt out of frustration, "We lost too many good warriors already."
"Were they all slaughtered?" Zoë asked, doubtful that the Amazonians fell so quickly. Hecuba wasn't too much of a threat afterall.
However, the answer that came back was much more grim.
"No, a hefty amount of people converted over," Hylla said through grit teeth, "It's a disgrace Amazonian has never faced before. We have been outnumbered or overpowered, but this is a step too far."
"From combining what Hylla has told me, and informations I have gathered on my own, I believe Orion is taking in several female members as much as men.
I do not want to imagine how are they treated inside of the group, but Orion always had a knack on how to wriggle into one's emotions."
Artemis sighed once more. The animals snuggled around her legs and shoulder as if performing a comforting group hug.
The goddess gently shooed the animals away and turned to Zoë, "That is why I am giving you this special assignment, my lieutenant.
You are one of my most trusted Hunters, and you have recently proven yourself once again by rescuing me."
With a snap of her fingers, a silver bow appeared out of thin air.
At first glance, it looked like a regular hunter's bow provided to every hunter, but as Zoë took it in her hands, she felt the power of Artemis flowing through the bow.
"That bow is welded by my mother's hand, Leto. It was the first bow I held in my hands—therefore, it holds a part of my essence inside it.
Zoë Nightshade, my most prided Lieutenant.
I hereby give you the task to take down the Giant Orion once and forall, with the aid of the current Queen of the Amazon."
Zoë stared at the sacred bow in her hands in disbelief.
Countless hunters would no doubt lay down their lives for the honor of holding such an artifact, much less be entrusted with to kill their most wretched enemy.
"...I'll take it with the highest honor, my lady," Zoë said solemnly, bowing ber head to her patron.
Artemis nodded with a faint smile and the bow dissovle into the air in an array of silver light, which gathered at the back of her right hand until forming a small sigil of a bow held across the full moon.
"Be warned; the bow can survive only one shot, so you must make it count."
"That's all the shot I need," Zoë answered confidently.
Artemis nodded again before turning to Hylla.
"I would like to have a personal word with my lieutenant."
Hylla glanced between the goddess and Zoë, shrugged, and left the tent.
As soon as the entrance flap closed, Artemis let out a huge sigh and slipped down a few inches from her silver throne.
"What's wrong, My Lady?" Zoë asked, slightly alarmed.
Artemis hardly showed even a slight sense of weakness in front of her hunters; even to those closest around her.
The moon goddess grunted with one hand massaging over her forehead, her skin flickering silver from time to time before she calmed down enough to rest.
"...I have never spread myself this thin across the world," The goddess admitted, "It is taking a toll of my very existence."
Then, Artemis chuckled slightly.
"It is such an irony; after all these years, I have never been next to all of my hunters until now."
"That's not true," Zoë argued, "My Lady, with all due and respect, you are always with us in our minds, in our spirits!"
"In the mind, and the spirit..." Artemis repeated, her voice sounding hollow like an echo inside of an abandoned tunnel.
"Zoë, how is your friend back at Camp Half-Blood doing? Do you think of him often?"
Zoë flinched as if an Anaconda bit her in the calf.
"...My lady, I don't have any friends at the Camp. I hate it there."
"You used to," Artemis agreed. She winced again, her form flickering once more.
For a brief moment, the goddess seemed to be returning to her usual, younger form, but then it stopped.
"...Zoë, do you know why I look older than usual?"
"Isn't that by your choice?" Zoë asked tentatively, "You are a goddess, my lady. You can take a form of your choosing."
Artemis chuckled weakly and shook her head.
"Regularly, yes. But I am currently stuck in this form. This only happens when..."
Artemis grunted again. This time, the silver flash wasn't a mere light but a bolt of solver lightning crackling across the air.
The animals scattered away in panic as Artemis collapsed from her throne, silver energy crackling around her skin.
"My lady!" Zoë immediately sprang up and knelt next to the goddess.
She tried to help her up, but the crackling energy made her recoil. Artemis, panting beaded with sweat, waved off the helping hand of her friend and heavily raised herself from the ground.
"...I have only ever been stuck in this form once before. Then, I nearly cast away everything—The Olympian Throne, my status as a goddess, even my hunters..."
"When? When was it? And how do we fix it?!" Zoë asked urgently.
With another grunt, Artemis got up and sat on her throne.
"...When I met Orion for the first time," The goddess whispered, "And I had to shoot him myself to fix it."
Zoë froze in her place. The memory of her drean returned to her as Artemis continued.
"...Zoë. I ask this, not because you are my lieutenant, but I consider you as my friend.
During the travel, visit Camp Half-Blood.
And...and, with the bow I gave you...kill the boy."
"...!"
Zoë stepped back from Artemis. The goddess's voice rang inside her head, and each time it echoed, she wondered if she heard it correctly.
"...You may leave, now," Artemis said between panting breathes.
Zoë ran out of the tent, hoping this was all one big nightmare.
But it wasn't.
A/N:
This chapter is way too short compared to my usual standard, but I think this is all I could muster at the moment.
Preparing for the millitary is not very exciting process, much less my own mood keeps swinging around all over the place between certain dread and groundless confidence.
For all I know, the next chance I might have to upload any story might be in June 2025...Let's hope that's not the case.
I'll try to cook up some more chapters before next Monday, which is when I officially join the Millitary.
I have other "Valentine's Day" themed short stories in mind: none of them as dramatic as this one, which was why this came first.
Hopefully, I'll see you all on the next chapter.
Have a good day, and I hope everyone stays healthy.
Ta ta~