Artemis and Caspian: The Spy

Chapter Thirty Eight

Artemis stood at the edge of a small pond, letting tears roll down her cheek. This small little out clove was the only place at the moment she didn't find suffocating to be in. Nestled in a corner of the castle gardens, it was the closest thing she had to the river in the forest. Peering up at the moon above, she took a small moment of solace in the goddess's company. A small breeze blew through her hair, tickling the nape of her neck. Through her tears, the witch laughed and opened her arms, enjoying the feel of the welcomed distraction as it weaved through her hair. It was like the moon was calling her home.

All around her the trees responded as well, singing at the call of their goddess with whistles and whirs when the air unfurled their long branches. For a while, Artemis watched as the wind danced back up to the sky filled with dead leaves and tiny seed pods, the promise of new life, even after death. The thought was enough to drag her back under.

Letting her eyes wander again to the pond she took a look at herself, letting the water gently lap against her feet. Her reflection shifted under the unsettled water, staring back at her with dark eyes rife with uncertainty and something else. Fear. She watched as her dark black hair swirled around the image of her face like thin claws waiting to steal away innocence. The court called her dangerous, they wanted her gone. Her hair swept across her face, covering half in darkness. They called the witch a monster, perhaps she'd been right all along. She lowered her head and stifled a sob. Then the reflection in the pond changed. Staring back at her was a girl with poison laced in her skin. Artemis covered her mouth with a hand, listening to whispers disappear into the empty air, surrounding her with their sharp tones that stung like a million needles piercing just below the skin. Enough to hit a vein and make it bleed.

"Hey."

Artemis flinched as she snapped out of the hallucination, brought back to earth by a concerned voice and a hand placed gently on her forearm. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face Caspian who had a sympathetic look painted across his face.

"How are you?" he whispered, giving her a small, sweet smile. Artemis gave him a wry laugh and wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"Not good."

"I can see that," he said sadly as he cupped her face, gently wiping away the last tear she had. A silence hung between them before he spoke again. "Don't listen to Deacon, you know how he lies."

"I know," Artemis said hastily, swallowing a wave of tears she felt swelling up. "But he's right."

"What?" Caspian blurted, stepping back and recoiling away from her. She saw hurt cross his face. "How could you even think that of yourself? "

"Because I ruin everything I touch!" Artemis snapped, pain riddled in her voice. "My whole life, I've done nothing but disappoint people and now that I have abilities..." she gulped, trying to compose herself.

"The ability to kill people..," she whispered. "I'm afraid I'll..."

"Stop, stop."

Caspian didn't let her get another word out as he pulled her into his arms, letting her weight pull them both down onto the soft green grass. Unable to hold back any more, he felt Artemis burst into tears, her soft cries muffled in the fabric of his shirt. The more she cried the more he felt like holding her. He wanted to kiss her senseless, remind her how beautiful she was, how important she was to the world, to the King, to him. Caspian felt his arms tighten around her body gently but firmly, afraid to break and loose her at the same time, and he could feel himself losing her. To steady himself, he fervently kissed the top of her head, letting a few stray tears of his own roll onto her black waves.

"Caspian, I'm scared."

Hearing those words felt like a knife twisting and lodging itself between his vertebrae. A new, unsettling feeling crept into the pit of his stomach. He was going to be sick.