Artemis POV
Even before Perseus, I was in a mood. Her punishment had been far too harsh in comparison to Aphrodite's. If anything, Aphrodite should've been more severely punished. Then again, Aphrodite hadn't exactly tried to kill someone. She had, and she truly regretted it. Now, everyone hated her., especially the males. Well, I guess they just wanted some sort of revenge. I don't blame them.
I hated myself. Every bit of myself. I just wanted to throw myself off of Olympus and die. I had no right to live anymore, after what I had done. Still, suicidal thoughts would help no one. Instead, I would need to find Persues… myself.
Right, I forgot to mention my punishment. Well, actually, it is quite harsh, like I said.
Aphrodite is forbidden from talking to any male, with the exception of the council when in an emergency. I find that as more of a blessing then punishment, unless it was Perseus. I, on the other hand, was banned from the hunt permanently, or at least until stated otherwise, unless stated otherwise, which was very unlikely. There had been a debate on whether or not I should be stripped of my godhood until I learned to like men. Others had thought it would've been funny to send me to a horehouse, whatever that was. Some had even suggested that I should be imprisoned. Eventually, Aphrodite spoke, and finalized my punishment.
"Artemis has spent so much time in the company of females, that she has forgotten how kind males can be. When she met Perseus, she thought he was as horrible as all the other males." Here, a lot of other gods in the god court had grumbled. They all liked Perseus, especially after he had done for them.
"Ban the hunt!" she yelled. "They are troublesome. Perhaps after she had learned some manners, we might be able to sort her out. If not, then she can become goddess of loneliness."
Zeus had stood at the head of the court, stroking his stubble. "All in favour?" he eventually asked. Every single hand had gone up. Even Apollo's! Tears were leaking out of my eyes as my own father said, "The council has spoken, Artemis. The hunt is now banned."
"But father-" I had cried. He raised a hand to stop me.
"There are much worse punishments for you," he spoke in a deathly quiet tone.
Sighing, I had trudged out of the court to talk to my hunt for, what would probably be the last time.
Now when I think about it, Aphrodite has done me a solid. She hadn't told anyone who I like yet. She had even given me an easyish punishment. After all, there had been much worse ideas from the other gods who hated me.
Out of nowhere, a bright orange light came. When it faded, Apollo was there, glaring at me.
"Father told me to tell you that Perseus is in Manhattan. Father wants you to come to OLYMPUS, not MANHATTAN." Apollo had spoken the words Olympus and Manhattan as if I were a baby. Out of everyone, Apollo was high on the new 'hate artemis list'. I know that while Perseus had been healing, Apollo had grown close to him, in some ways. Now, Perseus had left, and Apollo hated Artemis for it.
"Is everyone else there?" I asked.
Apollo ignored me, and flashed away.
When I got there, the mood immediately changed. Everyone turned to stare at me, most with angry faces.
"GET HER OUT!" Poseidon roared. His trident was raised, as if he was threatening to hit me, which I figured out was no threat. Zeus gently lowered Poseidon's trident. Hades and Hestia, on the other hand, weren't buying it.
"You do anything to him, and I will show you exactly what he saw and what he felt as he had walked along the lonely road of Tartarus," Hades had threatened. Hestia had glared. I knew that she hated violence, but I wasn't ready to test whether she hated me or violence more. Somehow, I could tell which one it was.
"She's here to persuade Perseus to come," Zeus gently said. "Percy might come if he knows that he can get revenge on him." Poseidon glumly nodded.
"Why are we getting Perseus again?" I asked.
"Because he is vulnerable without his weapon that Ares couldn't even recover," Zeus snapped. He didn't usually snap at me. Besides, I thought Ares had found the sword?
Iris was providing a one-way rainbow that allowed them to see where Pereus was. I could see Perseus walking along the streets. My gods! He looked horrible: torn clothes and ratty hair. He looked worse than I did! Suddenly, Perseus seemed to have been pushed 10 feet back. At the same time, waves as high as Olympus, metaphorically speaking, raised from the sea. Perseus looked around idly, until he seemed to click onto what was happening. They had found him, and he was coming back to Olympus, unfortunately. He looked sad about it. I don't think he wants to see me again.
"Let's go," Zeus muttered, and together, with the help of fathers control over the air, we all descended down to where Perseus was. It was a long descent, but seemed to go past fast for me.
He looked worse in person. I stifled a sob as I saw his bloody body.
"Come with us Perseus," Zeus said to him. It's not like he had much choice. It looked like he had no power left in him. In fact, it had taken the work of almost 17 gods to find him in the first place. A rogue god was dangerous, especially a powerful one. That was when I saw him.
A black boy stood near Perseus. He looked tired, and had a black mask. He reminded me of some real life version of lego ninjago. Don't ask why.
From then on, it was hell. Others had seen the boy, and were screaming.
"SEIZE HIM!" Father yelled. Confused, I had attempted to grab him by lunging. My hands only grabbed thin air. It seemed like Perseus had disappeared, despite the whole Olympian council being there.
Slowly, the gods that had been there wandered away, each one angry that their mission had failed. I just sat down and cried. I cried my eyes out. Perseus hated me. He hated me! And it all trails back to Atlanta and Phoebe. I swear I will kill them the second I can regroup with my hunt, if they aren't dead by then.
My apologies if this sounds rushed. I swear next weeks one will be way better.
"Kill me," I whispered into the dark night of America, wishing someone would hear me.