Chapter 23: A painful payback

[Zoë's Pov]

"This way, please."

One of the ghosts of the Niobids skipped along at the front. I still wanted to firmly believe that these; all the atrocities currently present, were not something Lady Artemis would ever even consider doing.

2 days ago, I would've believed it without any question.

Just 2 days.

That's how long it took for my 3000 years of loyalty to start wavering. Just like everything I ended up believing in before it. Albeit it lasted longer.

Maybe I can talk to someone about it.

A sudden image of a certain half-blood leaning against a subway door came to mind.

He'd probably listen. He already suggested doing so with Polyphonte, didn't he?

No.

I will not let myself get lured into the same honey trap; the first time was…destructive enough. I'll even be more incapable to forgive myself if I ever repeat that same mistake, and that was saying something.

And besides, I can't afford to get distracted now. I was treading on enemy territory both figuratively and literally. No time to dwell on some boy.

Not that he would ever be a diversion in my head in the first place…

The first Niobid took her merry time on leading the way. It felt more like she was intent upon giving us an entire tour of the castle and the city of Thebe before taking us to the queen.

"Scram."

The sixth Niobid stuck her tongue out before stepping—or floating away from Luna. Luna looked up with a slight frown herself, which quickly dissipated when I gave her a stern look.

"Luna, thee had met ghosts before. Thou should know better than to give any attention about what they whisper into your ear."

"Yeah, I know. It's just—" Luna looked around the wrecked castle. And for a second, she looked just as transparent as the Niobids surrounding her.

"Luna."

Thank Artemis, my voice was much calmer than I felt. I reached out and grabbed her wrist. That jarred her to pull her out from her own head. The Niobids giggled amongst themselves as I shooed them away.

"What were they saying to you?"

"Nothing. Just about what they used to do around the castle before they, well, died."

That was a significant amount of spite. I wouldn't expect it from any of the hunters, much less Luna. I glanced upwards to where all seven Niobids had floated away to. They giggled and waved moderately as if watching an indulging thespian.

My hands itched to grab my bow and shoot them all down. But that would not only be very ironic, but it would also most definitely worsen Luna's…current state.

So instead I knelt to meet her at eye level and put my hands on her cheeks.

"Luna, we are the hunters. Even if the entire world says it's true, we shouldn't believe it."

"You don't sound too sure yourself."

That made me hesitate. Luna's grey eyes seemed to swirl in a circular motion like a storm brewing, ready to break and ruin everything in its path. Her eyebrows rose into an arch as I searched for an accurate response.

"Do not be absurd. Of course, I believe—"

"And we're here!"

The first Niobid cut in. With the utmost delight etched in her ghastly face, she pointed at the door. It was engraved with a pair of a woman and a man on the left/right side of the doorway. Both were holding a bow in their hand as they reached out to the sky in a solemn bow to a benevolent lady sitting on the cloud, who held a crescent moon and a miniature sun on her hands.

"Apollo and Artemis." Luna said.

"And Mother Leto." I added.

Luna gave me a sideways glance, more astounded than anything else. I couldn't blame her.

The six Niobids had their idiotic grin as I spun around to face them. It took every ounce of self-control I had to not run their head through with arrows.

"Why are all they ruined?"

If they had inaccurate depictions, I would've glossed over it; for the most part. But the decorations on the wall were scarred with various slashes and cracks that were more than obviously man-made.

The Niobids only giggled. One of them drifted forward and stared right into my eyes, and I can't help but feel an uneasy coldness trickle down my spine.

"Well, our mother has had some temper issues when she, ah, regained herself. But she did calm down eventually."

And with a mock bow, they all indicated for us to go inside.

I was taken aback to see a statue sitting on a throne.

Truthfully, it was not my brightest moment. Especially considering the boy had said that Niobe was turned into a statue that cried after the entire 'incident' was over in the myths.

On that note, there was no doubt that Queen Niobe was indeed sitting in her throne room. There was an empty throne next to where she sat, but it was dusty and cobwebbed; no one had used it in years.

The first Niobid swept forward.

"The hunter is here, mother. As you wanted."

"Ah, yes. Well done, daughters. You all may dispatch yourselves now."

Despite what Niobe had said, the Niobids didn't leave the room. Instead, they scattered to the edges of the room and watched us intently while grinning from ear to ear.

This did not bode well…

Sound of stones cracking brought my attention back to the petrified queen. Every time she took a step, small crusts of grey dust fell to the already dusty floor. Also, I couldn't help but notice the long javelin held in one of her hands.

As far as the myth went, she was no fighter. That didn't mean I'd ever catch myself under guard. Without a word, I brought out a set of hunting knives.

The queen and her daughters hissed in unison.

"There will be no hostility from you, huntress. You are in my kingdom. My castle."

Niobe waved her hand with an audible 'crack!'.

The knives dropped onto my feet.

"Xenia, huntress. Surely you should know better; even if you spent thousands of years out in the wilderness with your…goddess."

My face went hot. Did she just imply that the hunt was a bunch of uncivilized roamers?!

"How dare you—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Niobe stomped her foot. And right on cue, all six Niobids thrust their arms out. Each of them had thrown sets of chains surrounded with green aura as it clattered through the air.

Luckily, I was, for the most part, ready for something like this.

"Duck!"

I yelled right before ducking myself. The chains got tangled on each other as they missed their mark. But the Niobids showed no concern. Instead, they chanted a short syllable enchantment, and the chains unraveled themselves and shot in pursuit.

I've handled plenty of experiences handling serpents and snakes. And that douche would never shut up about how he strangled two in his crib as a baby. As fierce as the chains moved, they were not too hard to keep track of and dodge.

While I weaved around the green chains clanking around, I noticed that the Niobids were completely ignoring Luna in terms of target.

Their eyes were all fixated on me, and as I looked their figures started to morph as well; their skin started to shred away in tatters. Their flesh dissolved into nothingness, revealing the bone structures hidden under.

The one patch of tissues they had left had a silver arrow stuck in deeply. One had it right over her heart, the other on her forehead, the other lodged deep in her sides…

"Zoë, behind you!"

Luna's voice was a second too late.

I whipped around just in time to see a chain wrap itself around my neck, quickly tying itself into a tight knot. The first Niobid screamed out in joy as she tugged on the chain violently.

"Hck—"

I tried to grab on the chain, perhaps untie it or at least drag along with the one who held it; but before I could, 4 extra chains wrapped around my limbs, whilst the very last one wrapped around my neck from the other side.

They all tugged downwards, forcing me to fall flat on the floor.

I could barely breathe, let alone try to get up and fight. The Niobids cackled as they tugged on the chains tightly, preventing me from moving.

Niobe stepped right in front, looming over my face.

"And that's that."

[3rd Person Pov]

Niobe looked down on the captured lieutenant of the hunt, straining and thrashing the best she could; which wasn't much.

She put her foot on Zoë's throat and stepped down just enough for her to cough up the last remaining breath out of the huntress without breaking her neck.

"As tempting as it is to just crush you under my foot, I have a much better idea—"

The queen was cut short in the form of an arrow flying toward her face. The tip ricocheted against her stone cheek, but Niobe was still surprised enough to look away from Zoë.

"Let her go!"

Luna shouted, her bow aimed at Niobe's head.

Niobe shrugged and stepped off of Zoë, and made her way toward the young hunter with a smile that literally cracked across her face. Luna, notably alarmed stepped back several paces while firing arrows to no avail.

In the end, Niobe grasped Luna by her hand. Luna did her best to thrust her hand away, but Niobe held her hand firmly.

"My child, you don't have to look out for the hunters anymore."

"Yes, I do! They are my family! And I'm not your child!"

For a second, Niobe's eyes flashed in fury. However, it quickly subsided when Luna tried to tug her hand away again.

"Nonsense." Niobe chided in the softest voice imaginable. A small pebble of her face dropped down from her effort to keep the smile.

"You are one of my family, Melia. You are my youngest daughter."

"My name is Luna!"

"No, that's what Artemis has named you when she claimed you as her pet. Didn't you find it odd that there are only 6 of my daughters?"

Luna stopped in the middle of her struggle. She scanned the room, performing a quick count over the Niobids who all waved and beamed at her with a huge smile. Indeed, there were only six of them.

"You heard the boy telling my story. I had 7 daughters. The last is you, Melia."

Luna hesitated for a second, but her expression didn't slack up.

"But, but that's stupid. All of you died thousands of years ago. I'm only 13—that's why David asked my age in the first place!"

With the realization clicking in at the very last moment, Luna slightly puffed out her chest out, confident that there could be no counterargument to that defense.

Niobe nodded slowly.

"Very true. I made a grave mistake in angering what would be one of the cruelest goddesses on Olympus. However, the so-called goddess Artemis just couldn't be satisfied with merely killing off my children."

"W-what do you mean?"

Zoë felt the chains holding her go slack. She took some rough breaths and found the Niobids invested in the story as much as Luna was, or at least they were invested in how much Luna was.

Quietly, yet nimbly, Zoë wriggled her way out. She managed to get both her arms free and started to work on her legs when Niobe's voice caught her interest.

"If you don't believe me, let's ask what Artemis thinks about the matter, shall we?"

With that, she and the 6 Niobids chanted along with another enchantment.

This time, a deep purple fog arose from the ground beneath them to form a thick fog. It swirled along with itself for a few seconds before collecting into the focus of a certain image.

Despite having to keep herself low, Zoë couldn't help but gasp out in shock.

Because the image indeed showed Artemis—trapped under the sky.

As both hunters stood horrified, Niobe let out a bark of laughter. Her face crumbled, considerable chunks of pebbles falling apart.

"…"

Artemis barely managed to make a grunt of disapproval. Sweat poured down from her, running down the celestial bronze chains around her wrists and ankles to make a drenched circle around her foothold.

Even though it was speculated before, Zoë was shocked nonetheless. In her thousands of years of servitude, she had never seen a goddess in this much pain before.

Luna was fixated upon the image as well. Her grey eyes open wide with concern…and doubt.

"Where were we; oh yes!" Niobe put her hand on both of the young apprentice's shoulders and whispered by her ear.

"Now dear, I'm sure you have a question to your Lady, hmm? Why don't you go ask it?"

"I-I-"

Involuntarily, Luna tried to step back. But Niobe kept a firm grip on her shoulder and gave her a small push forward.

"Go on, don't be shy."

Zoë managed to free herself from the chains. The Niobids were still very much occupied by the event to notice. Zoë quietly crept along-keeping a low profile as best as she could while trying to think of a situation out of this mess.

Then Luna opened her mouth.

"Lady Artemis…it's not true, right? You didn't do this—"

She waved her hand to the side, to Niobe, and Niobids. The Niobids hissed in a collective jeer, tugging on the silver arrow lodged in their respective wounds.

"You didn't do this!" Luna insisted amongst the jeers. "You're supposed to protect maidens; like you did to me or any other hunters. This, this is just a misunderstanding or—or…"

Her voice diminished away into nothingness.

Not because of the jeers of the Niobids, but because of Artemis…who looked down at her follower with guilt etched on her burdened face.

"I, was young." The goddess strained to even speak. "I have been impatient."

Luna recoiled back, clutching her heart as if she was shot by an arrow as well. Before she could speak, Niobe pushed her aside to speak to the goddess herself.

"Impatient!" She screamed.

The entire palace trembled in an ominous matter and Luna nearly tripped over one of the chains. Zoë lunged forward and caught her in her arms and quickly retreated.

"Are thee alright?"

Luna didn't respond. She was still staring at Artemis in a state of shock and horror, which, ironically, was the one thing that put aside Zoë from being equally horrified.

By now the Niobids had realized that Zoë had freed herself from their chains, but they didn't give too much of a fuss about it. The damage was already done.

Meanwhile, Niobe was screaming at Artemis in a near state of insanity.

"Yes, impatience. That excuses everything doesn't it?!"

"I—"

"My children shot dead one by one! My people turned to statues, dead! And I was foolish enough to think that my petrification was a last act of mercy, but no; you just had to keep my consciousness. Had to keep me trapped inside a prison—leave me to wallow in my own mistakes and pain for centuries, trapped in the very moment of my kingdom!"

She whipped around to face the hunters. Zoë couldn't help but flinch at the sight of the queen.

More than half of her face had crumbled away right up to her nose. The only part left on her face was her eyes: scrunched in endless pain and sorrow, and as Zoë watched in horror, deep red liquid poured from beneath it like tears.

"I tried to save her, you know?" She croaked. Her trembling finger was pointing at Luna.

"I tried my best. Not that I could do much." Zoë wasn't sure if she was addressing them, or if the queen was just lost in her own very painful memories.

Niobe shuffled her feet slowly, swaying from side to side as she came closer. And even though every instinct told her to turn back and run, Zoë just couldn't move her leg.

"All my other children were already dead. My husband, that idiot—" Niobe gasped for air as if someone just punched her in the gut. "—He, he tried to get at Apollo, for shooting down our son…that went horribly of course."

The Niobids circled their mother, now back to their first appearances; as long lost princesses of a fallen kingdom. With a twist of her heart, Zoë realized that their appearance changed on how she viewed them:

A bunch of sprits who were a nascence,
Or a victim of a terrifying event.

"When 13 of my 14 children were murdered, I fled into my castle. Melia, you were barely 6 years old when it happened."

Niobe had walked right up to the hunters. Luna slipped out of Zoë's arms and stood in front of the crying queen. She reached out and rubbed under her eyes, trying to stop the tears of blood from flowing.

The queen didn't have a mouth to show, but Zoë was certain that she made a small smile at the gesture.

"You were always too kind. Too innocent. That…that was why you came out of your room then."

"I remember." Luna muttered.

The Niobids started to chant again. This time, it wasn't an enchantment for a spell. Just a piece of old music that Zoë vaguely recalled as a lullaby for children from way back when.

Luna started to sob without making any noise. Niobe gently stroked her cheek, wiping away the small droplets away into her fingertips.

"You were scared, confused at the time. Who wouldn't have been? Both the sun and the moon were hanging on the sky, everything was drying up—I don't think it ever rained here since then."

Niobe looked up at the sky, reminiscing the day of catastrophe.

"You ran up, snuck into my arms like you used to do whenever you had a nightmare. I pleaded at Artemis for a last bit of mercy. That she'd already taken enough. But it was too late. The arrow struck you right at the back of your neck."

Luna winced when Niobe gently brushed over the back of her neck, presumably where the arrow had struck Melia.

Then she frowned to herself and looked up at Niobe.

"But then…how am I here? How am I your daughter?"

Niobe turned to Artemis still straining under the weight of the sky. She seemed desperate to say something, but the voice couldn't seem to make it out of her.

"Me and your sisters…our souls were bound to this spot. Well, I was; your sisters stayed on their own will."

"It was much easier than you'd imagine. The gods were desperate to cover up what happened here. They made a new Thebe, and quickly forgot about this place."

The first Niobid added.

Niobe nodded slowly before continuing her story.

"But as I said prior, my punishment wasn't over. Artemis had taken your soul. I have no idea what she did after that, and I was distraught for so long.

I couldn't tell where you were until a few years from now. I think…8 years from now when you were 5. Your parents—"

Niobe paused for second, obvious disapproval etched on her smashed face. Luna picked up the sentence.

"When my parents ran away by themselves, yes."

"I couldn't do much from such far away. It was only with the help of the great mother that I managed to find you in the first place. But thankfully, the great mother was generous to my plea. She guided you to the nearest foster home where a demigod who might be able to help you were present."

Luna let out a small gasp. She brought out the small metallic horse, which now had a whole new meaning for her.

"But he—"

"Also ran away soon after, yes. And then you became a hunter, of all things…"

Niobe sighed, knelt to meet Luna at eye level, and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"But you've still managed to find your way back to the family. I am so grateful for you, Melia."

Luna glanced over her mother's shoulder at Artemis. She acknowledged that the goddess was trying to say something, much more urgently than before—but she couldn't care less at the moment.

After all those times, she had finally found her real mother.

Luna opened her arms and embraced her tightly.

Sqwelp!

"—?!"

Luna's mouth gaped open.

A hot sensation burned her back and front as something very cold trickled down from both sides. The entire world spun around and every sound got mushed together into a pulp, the loudest being a horrific scream from Zoë.

Something wasn't right. Something was terribly wrong.

She managed to look down where the hotness was rapidly turning into pain and saw a black javelin poking out of her front chest.

With Niobe holding the handle from the back.

"…Mom?" Luna barely managed to gasp out before being gently set down on the floor.

The last thing she felt before everything went black, was the most uncomfortable sensation of some object getting slowly extracted out of her body.

Zoë lunged at the queen. She didn't have enough breath to scream a battle cry as she plunged in the two hunting knives at both her neck and heart, the two most vital areas of a human being.

Unfortunately, Queen Niobe was unfazed by the attack. She swung her stone arm, slamming down on the lieutenant's chest, and knocked all remaining breath out of it.

Zoë was flung across the room and crashed against a pillar and slumped down onto the floor. She struggled to her feet, but Niobe stomped down on her back before she could manage it.

"Why…?"

"I will not have my daughter be tainted by being a hunter or being born by someone else: she is my daughter. And mine alone!"

A drop of blood fell from the edge of the javelin onto Zoë's neck. Niobe was breaking apart. Her petrified skin was breaking apart like an old skin of a reptile, and from inside Zoë saw the true form of Niobe, the former queen of Thebe.

A shriveled dried-up mummy with whitened eyes full of rage and nothing else.

"When the gods fall, I will be reborn—reunite with my husband, and then I'll meet my children again the way it should!"

With a screech of triumph, Niobe held up the javelin high over her shoulder.

"And now, after all this time, your beloved goddess will pay for her actions!
By watching her lieutenant die—"

At that exact moment, the door of the throne room burst open with an ear-splitting bang!

Light blared into the throne room, making the Niobids who circled Luna's body hiss and quail away into the shadows. Even Niobe winced and backed away, waving her javelin in all directions.

But Zoë, Zoë saw the one person who stood in the doorway.

A hero.

That idiotic, naïve, green child of a hero.

And Zoë was never happier to see him than right now.

"What in the…"

David muttered at the utter chaotic state of the room.

Well, that was a mouthful of a chapter.

I was planning to upload this yesterday, but I somehow fell asleep while writing on it, and I had to finish it on my bus ride to school. Sorry for that. I know most of the viewers are from the USA, where a very different time zone is at work. Damn you Kronos!

Either way, hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, Feel free to leave a review, follow, or favorite.

Preferably a review would be nice but do as you see fit.

I'll return again...hopefully much faster. Bye-bye!