The Hiker

The Meeting

Third Person POV:

The sky above the ancient land of Greece was covered in dark storm clouds, lightning cracked across the heavens, thunder over the mountains, and rain cascaded over the rocks and trees of the forests and hills. The gods were in a heated debate about one thing or another, but after several hours the thunder stopped, and the rain subsided. And atop a single tall mountain a flash of silver illuminated the ground around the peak. When the flash subsided, a young woman stood there wearing a Silver tunic that reached her knees and silver sandals. A bow was strapped to her back with a quiver of arrows next to her bow, a silver circlet with an upturned moon adorned her deep auburn hair.

As soon as she arrived, she sat down on a rock and lowered her head and wept. Her sobs and rough gasps of air were the only sounds penetrating the air around her. However, after several minutes of constant crying, a young wolf ran up to the woman and nuzzled her leg.

Confused the woman looked down and pet the wolf feeling its soft fur between her fingers. She smiled slightly as the wolf laid down next to her and let out a content sigh.

"Looks like he likes you" A voice said from behind her

The woman whipped around, drew her bow from her back and notched an arrow while aiming at a man who was wearing casual travel clothes with a walking stick. The man held up his hands to show he was not armed.

"Who are you! Why are you here?" The woman demanded while still keeping her arrow drawn back and pointed at the man who walked towards the edge and stared out over the landscape

"I am but a simple traveler, one who knows no home but the forest. As for why I'm here, I always climb to the top of mountains. The view is just absolutely breath taking" The man says calmly before looking at the woman with a smile "Don't you agree?"

The woman lowered her weapon and returned the arrow to her quiver. She looks at the man curiously as to why he would ask her such a question.

"Yeah, I guess, mostly a calming place for me though" She responded quietly before looking into the distance towards the heavens where Olympus lay above the clouds

"Now, what could upset someone as wonderful as you?" The man responded with slight mirth to his voice causing the woman to glare at him slightly, after a moment however she sighed and sat down on the rock once again

"My family, they are having me marry someone I have no interest in" She said her lip trembling "But the moment I agree, is the moment I lose my own freedoms" She finishes quietly, and the man stands next to her and leans on his walking stick

"Are you the only one against this decision?" He asks and the woman shakes her head

"No, my brother and my aunt are against this as it is against my wishes, but my father will not listen to them" At this point her eyes start watering again "I don't want to be a piece of meat for some male... I want to be my own person... but I don't know how without upsetting my father..." tears start flowing from the woman's face however the man holds out a cloth for her to use

"I will not pretend to know your family, but I do know that parents do what they do for several reasons" He says causing the woman to frown at his advice "However, that does not mean that what they do is right for everyone, you must learn what is right for you. What makes you happy is the most important thing in life" He continues as he faces the cliff edge again and smiles "If you don't wish to be betrothed then you may take on the oath of Hestia and become a maiden for eternity or until you feel the time is right to settle down with the person of your choosing. The word on the breeze says that if you swear your life to Hestia then should someone forcibly take your chastity, they will be punished by the hearth goddess herself despite her peaceful nature, forced to live as an outcast as none will accept you" He finishes, and the woman looks at the man with caution

"Is that what happened to you and why you live in the woods?" She said reaching for her hunting knife at her side but the man chuckles and looks at her his sea green eyes full of light and mirth

"No, that is not why I am out here. Like I said before I am out here because its peaceful and away from the drama my own family has caused me. They wanted me to join the military, but while I am naturally gifted in combat I do not wish to fight. So, I ran away and lived alone in the woodlands with the animals. Every few nights I climb a different mountain to get a glimpse of what it could be like to be a god, though I know I am only a man" He said as he looked at the sky and smiled "I must be off, new adventures await and new mountains to climb, remember my words for they might show you a new path" He says as he walks towards the opposite side of where he came up the cliff

The woman gains a confused look on her face before she decides to say something.

"Hey, the path is on the other side of the mountain..." the woman says causing the man to look behind him as the wolf runs up to his side, he smiles widely

"I know" is all he says before he keeps walking down the mountain

Just as she is about to stop him, thunder rumbles over head and the woman sighs before waiting until the man is gone then flashing to Olympus and onto her throne where the other gods were waiting.

"Welcome back Artemis, I hope you are feeling better" Zeus said, and the woman nodded "Very well, Artemis, who will you choose as your husband? Ares, or Hermes?" He asks

However, the man's words echo through Artemis' mind and a thought came to her mind.

"Father..." Artemis started off before taking a small breath to steady her nerves "I swear on the river Styx that I shall remain chaste until I deem a man worthy of my hand in marriage, then and only then will I marry" she said, and the sky rumbled as the oath was sealed

The entire council was shocked, Ares was furious, and Hermes was just surprised but didn't really care. Ares leapt up out of his throne and marched his way over to Artemis only to be blocked by Apollo.

"Out of my way little sunflower! She is mine by rights!" Ares yells in anger as he attempts to bat Apollo out of the way however as soon as he laid a hand on him a blast of golden energy blasted him back as he revealed his true form and wielded his symbol of power

"You shall not lay a damn hand on my sister Ares" Apollo growled in anger

However, before anyone to could do any more bodily harm, Zeus launched his masterbolt into the center of the throne room causing everyone to go stock still before returning to their seats.

"You will all respect my daughter's choice, I did not want to see her married in the first place, but I knew that it needed to be done. However, I am glad she has found her own way, Artemis, if there is anything you might need just let me know and I will do my best to help you" Zeus said causing Artemis to smile slightly before nodding

"Well, there is one thing..."

A/N: Yes, I know why tf did I make a second account for even more stories? Well the answer is simple, I wanted to keep pushing out ideas so I could stay active. This story came from my hike today, and I thought it was a very new and amazing idea. However, I am still active on my main account and will continue to be active as much as I can. I just did this so I can keep the ideas flowing and that way those of you who don't want to read the new stories and only want the older ones to be updated don't have to read. So until next time my fellow demigods and demigoddesses, Take Care.

~Major Nich