Thunderbolt

"How dare they cast me out of my mistress' temple," Miku muttered as she pulled her hood over her head. Shadows hid her pretty face, shielding her clear blue eyes away from the bright sun. Standing outside the inner walls of a kingdom she never had been to, the brave huntress found herself impatiently waiting for the sturdy gates to open. Heck, she had been waiting for an entire week just to see the gates open. However it wouldn't be so surprising if this kingdom was warned about the Thunderbolt. Hence the door was kept shut.

The whole continent governed by seven different kingdoms must have heard of the great thief, Thunderbolt, who was tasked by the priestess from Delphi to search for a lost witchcraft Artemis once owned. Such item was so sacred to the said goddess, she assigned the task of retrieving it to one of her favorites. Whoever that favorite is, nobody actually knows. The great rulers of the kingdoms believed that the lost item was very important to the goddess to such extent that she asked her brother, Apollo, to send an oracle telling the need to bring her thing back. Artemis rarely talked to the sun-god for his wit was something the maiden-goddess couldn't bear. She even accused the sun-god to harbour feelings for the late Hyacinth, had he not been struck severely on his head that day on a meadow.

So how Miku came to bear the name Thunderbolt? It began like this:

When such oracle was released, Miku was the unluckiest person. She was playing in the wild that morning with her bow and arrow when she heard a faint voice of a woman to beckon her. Miku was guided by a stag until she came face to face with a priestess from Delphi, telling her that Artemis had asked her to run an errand. Hence, Miku had been searching for her mistress' lost silver arrow to hand it back.

Miku willingly took the job, turning around to begin the task. But as she walked away from the priestess, she couldn't help but wonder how Artemis lost a silver arrow. A goddess of hunt would never ever shoot randomly, would she? And how could she miss a target, anyway? Neverthelss, the big question was: why was the goddess eager to have it back?

Amid her musing popped a very beautiful stag which transformed itself to a human form. Miku, surprised to see who was standing in front her, gaped. Artemis showed up before the young huntress, her short bob hair fluttered away from her face. The short hunting robe was perfectly draped on her lean body, and her scowl, eternal.

"I wouldn't blame you for having a bunch of questions," the goddess said, tucking a wisp of her brown hair behind an ear. "Indeed, it was impossible for the goddess of hunt to lose an arrow. A magical, powerful one at that. I could only scold Eros for stealing one of it. Had I known Love such way before, stubborn and mischievous, I wouldn't let him step inside my quarters. Young maiden, he thought it could make people fall in love."

The fair, young huntress forgot how to talk as her mistress stood under the foliage filtering the sunlight. Miku bowed her head, eyes blinking to beg the goddess to continue. "Eros, the stupid god he was, took it away from me and shot it to a beast. Aphrodite was jealous with some nymph that day, so she asked her son to shoot an arrow to the nymph and make her love some random boar. But the young god took my arrow that morning and shot it to a hog, only to miss."

"Pray tell me, goddess. Why the urgency to have your silver arrow back?" asked the huntress. Miku automatically received a glare from the defiant goddess.

"It has powers, what else? Though nobody could ever know how to unleash that from my arrow, it's better to be safe than sorry. After all, humans are too ambitious. So go forth, my hundress. Bring it back, and you shall be rewarded." Artemis disappeared in a blink of an eye.

So here she was now, out travelling from kingdom to kingdom in search of the silver arrow. Thunderbolt, she was called because of her swiftness and prowess. Multiple times she was almost taken down by the warriors of the land, but she would always find a way to escape. Miku destroyed countless throne rooms to find the arrow, after another oracle told her that it was in a king's care. Whoever the king was, she had no clue. With that she set forth, troubling the kingdoms next on her list to get back what was rightfully her mistress' property.

Among all her sojourn, she hated the sixth kingdom the most. Not only did they threw her out of the temple, but also deprived her of kindness to feed her starving stomach. This unpleasant experience was repeated when she reached the last kingdom. She had been in the outer wall, where temples were. And once again, she was casted away from it. Annoyed, she decided to get in her job right away. However, today marked the seventh day of waiting. This kingdom had the silver arrow for sure.

Miku walked near the gates; the merchants loud barters resonated as she passed by. There was a rumour that they would open the gates later, for aristocrats living in the inner wall had a shortage in their food supply. Entertaining, thought Miku, for separating rich people from commoners. The huntress continued to survey the gate, less suspicious from the eyes of the guards. Not that they paid her so much attention. There was a crowd waiting for the gates to open, wanting to get inside and do their business. Their complaints were nothing but air for the guards of the gates.

Walking to a corner where an old man had his items laid on a earth-colored cloth, Miku pretended that she was interested to buy something. The things placed before her feet were surely stolen by thieves; the golden bracelet adorned with moon and stars included. Picking up the said item, she purchased it. Such thing reminded her so much of her mistress, or maybe in fact, it was made in honour of the maiden goddess. Miku put it on her hand whilst examining the jewelry. Artemis' love of freedom and wild and hunt were drawn on the thin metal.

Miku was distracted from her using when she heard someone announcing that a wagon was coming. The huntress knew it wasn't just a wagon; it was a carriage led by a mighty warrior mounted on a horse.

"Clear the road!" yelled the soldiers from the gate, pushing the merchants and their wagons aqay from the pavement. "The knight has come how! Worry not for Thunderbolt!"

Miku scowled as the said mighty knight hopped down from his horse. Wasn't his face too beautiful to be a knight? It would be a shame if she would finish him off should he hinder her work. But the call of duty first before aesthetics. Really.

request: knight/thief au.