The Seventh Child of Kronos

Reading the 1st Encounter

Previously...

"...SILENCE" roared Zeus, his temper increasing by the moment, as was the golden hue of his face."

and now...

Location: Mount Olympus ( currently residing on the 600th floor of the Empire State building)

Time: Present

The silence was deafening, for not even the wind dared to disrupt it. This was the day and history was in the making. The remarkably quiet halls were filled to the brim with gods, Minor and  Olympian, all of whom were trying too hard to maintain the silence. They were too distracted to notice the presence of their children, who had successfully managed to hide themselves from the prying eyes of nymphs and satyrs, who were also present.

The lord of the gods had called a meeting, the issue of which was, unsurprisingly, kept secret until brought to notice during the early hours of the system.

"Silence" roared Zeus even though no one was talking, guess he just liked using that word.

The rest of the council looked at him, imploringly. 

"Today, we are gathered here, in the great halls of -" he began, but someone sneezed loudly, interrupting the often heard speech, once again.

There was a long-running joke between Hermes and Apollo, every time Zeus would start with his 'Today' speech, they had made a pact to interrupt it in any way possible. During this joke, many Olympians had been roped in for the honors, even Hestia had taken part. The truth was, everyone was bored with these repetitive, monotonous words and of course, making Zeus angry had its fun.

"Fine" he yelled,

"if you don't want to hear it then don't, but stop with these interruptions." it was more of a threat than request, with his eye twitching, Zeus looked ready to blast anyone with a comment. 

"Just read— " he gestured towards Athena, who had begun to read on her own.

"the rest of you will understand in due time" he sighed, clearly tired of waiting.

............................................

Athena discreetly cleared her throat and started in a flawlessly enunciated voice⁠ —

"The First Encounter: In the Moonlight " with a fleeting glance towards Artemis, she continued.

"The sun had just begun to lower itself to sleep when the woods seemed to sing to the approach of night."  Athena, already impressed simply raised an eyebrow as Apollo started uncertainly.

"Wow! he certainly is poetic," he remarked with a smile of excitement.                                                       

There were several mummers of approval.

"- But what intrigues me most is who he would be meeting in the moonlight" he grinned while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively towards his twin, who flushed and glared in reply.

Athena just gave a disapproving sigh and resumed, trying to overlook the childishness of two fully grown Olympians.

"The chirping of crickets and the jarring laughter of a faraway monkey gave the forest an unnatural feel. This time between the arrival of the moon and the disappearance of the fiery sun, the woodland was at its most mysterious." Everyone was already on the edges of their seats and nobody dared to interrupt.

"But, just then the moon descended, gracing the night sky with her light, making the sun seem duller in comparison." 

There was a collective intake of breath and everyone started to talk at once, except Artemis, who looked a little...- or rather a lot surprised. She hadn't remembered meeting him before he had  dropped the bombshell on the council. And she didn't relish the idea of being the first one to be exposed before the council. Artemis threw Athena a helpless look, but Athena only smiled knowingly. 

Apollo looked across to Artemis and gave her a devilish smile, but Artemis simply ignored him. Distracted, her eyes glazed over as she went through her memories.

"'She must be in a good spirit' I thought to myself as I silently approached my unsuspecting prey, though I knew this could easily be a trap. The two of them were fighting quite loudly, seemingly unaware of their surroundings." 

Realization seemed to strike Artemis as she covered her mouth to mask her surprise.

A/N: Quick question: Should I make a different story of the Encounters?

Peace Out!