T-T
Artemis entered a sanctuary that only she knew about. When she was younger, Artemis came here quite often, but nowadays it was rare.
This place was never mentioned to her mother or her lieutenant.
She had even made extra precautions against her father. It was her little safe zone. No one knew about this spot.
The grass felt so familiar against her feet, causing her face to bloom a thousand flowers. She took in a breath of fresh air, hitting her with a wave of nostalgia. Artemis remembered all the days she spent here, hiding away from all the weird gazes.
It really had been a long time since she'd been here, some odd decades ago.
Everything looked the exact same as she remembered it. None of the sanctuary had overgrown or had any weeds due to the blessing she casted a millennia ago.
Even the moon lilies she'd planted when she was a century old were still here.
The goddess sat down on the grass in lotus position, her body relaxing to the still wind.
Recently, her mind felt troubled. It felt as if someone was trying to tamper with it ever since that male saved her. Ever since he came back from his punishment, the words that she was going to say never came out of her mouth, and she would lose her train of thought.
Words became harder to formulate in her head as if she had forgotten how to speak.
Artemis found herself staring at him multiple times for no apparent reason. But, it was strange. That time she should've been able to dodge, yet her feet were rooted in place. An attack like that her senses should've easily detected the spear.
Ares wasn't the most inconspicuous person in the world. His attacks were heavily telegraphed and exaggerated. It wasn't hard for her to tell when he would attack.
Even if her guardian was blocking line of sight, she still should've been able to tell when it was coming but she couldn't. That was the primary issue that confused her.
Her powers must've been tampered with or suppressed without her knowledge.
However, that didn't explain why her thoughts were occupied with a certain someone. Even now, she couldn't get him out of her mind.
She mainly found herself staring at his shrouded face and thinking about how she couldn't see through it. Each time, a subtle sadness found its way to secretly dampen her mood for the day.
Artemis tried to think about something else, but it proved fruitless. Her thoughts circled back anyways.
It didn't take long for her to lose patience and give up.
It was no use.
She went back listlessly, and she unconsciously rested her eyes on a certain someone.
Her silver gems watched as he tried to explain the drawing motion multiple times. She could hear them if she wanted to despite being far out of earshot.
Ultimately, she opted not to. There wasn't a need to.
But, she continued to observe him.
Godly heritage could be a blessing sometimes she thought.
T-T
"Alright! That's it for me today! It's getting late." Percy made his voice loud enough so that the entire range could hear.
A series of disappointed sounds could be heard throughout the range.
"Sorry girls, if you want more assistance. I'll be up tomorrow."
Percy felt exhausted. There seemed to be an endless amount of questions, so he tried his best to answer them all. Not only that but more of the hunters came to see what was happening.
Of course, not every hunter was happy to see him. That was understandable. It was ridiculous to think that the hatred would cease completely in a single day.
Many of the girls were just interested in improving their archery, which he admired. He felt that it was worthwhile teaching them. Even though he had told him that it was his first time ever shooting a bow, they wanted to learn nonetheless which he happily obliged. Although, he couldn't help but think that he should really teach him considering that archery was not his area of expertise. His relationship with the girls felt a bit closer than it was a few days ago. Things were rather vague with his mistress. He was sure that she didn't trust him with all of the "tests" and whatnots. A chill went up his spine just thinking about it.
Think good thoughts. Think good thoughts.
Majority of the time, he couldn't even tell what she was thinking. She was like an ice cube.
He turned towards his tent, but he came face to face with his mistress, causing him to flinch backwards.
"You, follow," Artemis said to him before turning to lead the way.
Percy didn't too much about it and silently followed.
To other people, it might seemed odd the way she talked. Artemis wasn't one to talk to males, much less look one in the eye. Unless, she was about to turn them into a jackalope. But to Percy, this was rather normal.
The only thing he thought was that his mistress's way of ordering people was unique.
If he had to describe it in a single word, it would be blunt.
Very.
Very blunt.
He accepted it quite easily. His mistress was certainly an odd one, but considering the other people he's come in contact with it was better than most.
That thought still held despite the mentorship that had occurred for hours.
It was interesting to see the hunt's demeanors completely flip when it came to archery. One moment, it looked like they wanted to rip him to pieces, but in the next they seemed like a bunch of eager children.
Percy followed her into the largest tent in the camp, which didn't say much considering that was only slightly larger than the rest.
Inside was a small entrance area. It seemed like a decent place to just pace back and forth.
Of course, that wasn't the entire tent. The rest of the tent was obscured by cloth that felt like it should've been transparent but wasn't.
He was confused to see that his mistress just walked through it. She made to no attempt to lift it up or push it away, instead walked through it like it was natural.
Percy wanted to say something about it, but the words got caught in his mouth.
He chalked it up to this being other worldly magic.
Gods and goddesses were real, he knew that. The gods and goddesses he knew could not directly affect the human world, but instead needed a medium, which are their disciples.
Whom they would bless with divine powers.
The goddess that he met before was tied to the lake, and therefore was able to affect the world since she had a restriction on her. At least, he assumed that this was the case.
This.
This was some sort of witchcraft that he'd never seen before. Judging by his mistress's reaction, this was normal, so he decided to not question it.
He intended to touch the cloth, but she stopped him in his tracks, sensing his intention to enter.
"I will teach you about this world, but you will remain there."
She didn't make any gestures to what she was talking about, and she didn't need to. He instinctually knew what she meant. It didn't come as a surprise to him.
He had a vague feeling that this would happen. He knew that they were not close enough for his mistress to allow him inside her personal space, but maybe he hoped that there was a small chance.
There wasn't anyone he knew or to look for when he needed help, so maybe his mistress would be that person. Considering how different her attitude was towards him compared to the other huntresses, he thought that there was a chance.
But, that thought vanished as soon as her voice entered his ears. It felt like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, reality settled into his mind.
He was dispirited, but that would not stop him from doing his duty.
The voice of his mistress reminded him of why he was at her tent to begin with.
"What do you know about the beginnings of the world?"
Percy did not have a solid answer because he actually never thought of it before. Majority of his time was spent training to become a guardian. Everything else was deemed irrelevant to becoming a guardian.
His silence told Artemis everything she needed to know.
"Let's start at the beginning," Artemis inwardly sighed, realizing that the night will be long.
Very.
Very long.
She also knew that she wasn't the best teacher by any means, nor was she omniscient, but this was a commitment that she signed herself up for. And Artemis wasn't the type of person to go back on her promises.
Her mouth opened to speak.
"In the beginning, there was nothing but void."
...