Kronos (Book One)

Artemis & Orion

"The days after we met were filled with different challenges. Orion did his best, but he wasn't a sore loser when it came down to it. He really wanted to prove something to me", Artemis continues to tell her story.....

They met up at the same spot the next day. Orion leaned against a tree, waiting for her.

"Did you wait long for me?", she spoke gently to not frighten him.

He followed the voice to find her hanging from a tree branch using her feet as hands. She dropped down to the ground on her feet.

"Not long. How are you?"

"I didn't know rivals cared about how the other is doing", she teased.

"Well, it wouldn't feel right if I beat you if you got sick or something", he bluffed.

"In your dreams. Good thing is that gods like me don't get sick."

"Lucky you."

"In that case, how are you?"

"Slept and ate well before I came here. I couldn't find Narcissus yesterday. Seems like he disappeared."

"If I do see him, I will punch him for you."

"Thanks. What will we hunt today?"

"How about bears? They are out around this time and there's too many of them."

"Sounds fun."

Her ears perked up to alert her to something. She sniffed the air. "I will be right back." She ran off at a speed that amazed the hunter.

Narcissus watched them from a distance with a telescope and the goddess ran past him--

Thwack!

He fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He rubbed his right cheek from the mysterious pain inflicted on him.

He couldn't finish his proclamation of pain as the goddess stands behind him with a hunting knife to his throat.

"If you ever do anything else to hurt Orion, I will not hesitate to slit your throat and feed you to my dogs. They will enjoy ripping you limb from limb, you pathetic excuse of a man. When I let go, you must leave and hunt elsewhere. Take pride that I allowed you to keep living. Nod if you agree", she threatened in a hushed tone.

Narcissus nods. As soon as she removed the blade, he ran away without looking back. She calmed herself down to avoid Orion's suspicion and returned with some edible berries.

"Sorry about that. Just wanted a snack for later."

"No problem. You eat a lot for someone your size."

"And what do you mean by that?", she asked with a tilted head.

"Don't be offended. For someone as petite as you are. I find that to be quite...admirable in a woman."

Artemis' green eyes sparkled while her face turned scarlet. "You must eat a lot to maintain those muscles."

"I do eat a lot. My friends say that I have the stomach of a small army. Maybe next time, we will have an eating contest."

Artemis nodded to prevent herself from saying another flirtatious statement. He changed the topic, and they negotiated that the first one to ten kills would win. Each kill would be signaled with a whistle to keep count.

They split off in different directions to start. With her hawk-like eyes, she found a bear marking on a tree. She jumped into the treetops. The brown beast's jaws were pulling away at the deer it killed. She readied an arrow and hung from the branch using her legs.

The arrow connected the bear to the grass for an eternal slumber. She whistled to signify her skill. A whistle replied back to her delight.....

It got to a point where they were tied for the last bear. A beaming smile was glued to her face. She looked forward to more challenges with him.