The Daughter of Artemis

Chapter 1

🌛🌚🌜
     All the mortals want to be a mother, that life just never appeased me. Slow down me and my hunters, constantly wailing, and of course the goddess of chastity has to remain a maiden. So, obviously, the life as a mother wasn't fit for me. Until I got to thinking.
     I do most of my thinking late at night after an uneventful day. I lay in my tent and let my thoughts consume me. This night specifically, I was thinking about my wonderful bow and it's incredibly designed arrows, made by Hephaestus. Then I thought He doesn't has a dad weird. That's when one of my hunters came in to update me on the hunt. Brina, one of my most trusted hunters, entered. She twisted the end of her auburn hair. If I didn't know any better, I would say she was blushing.
     "Lady Artemis, your brother is here," she informed. Ugh, Apollo. Usually when my brother pays me a visit he takes a few of my girls with him. "Let him enter," I grumbled taking a sitting position.
     Apollo waltzed into my tent with a wild smile spread across his face. "Hello Sister."
     "Always a pleasure, Apollo. Any of my hunters look appealing to you," I asked sarcastically.
     "That one that woke you-"
     "Why are you here," I whined.
     "Just wanted to tell you, I'm a dad!"
     "Apollo, you've been a father for a few centuries."
     "I know just wanted to let you know, your still an aunt!" I rolled my eyes " Apollo, I will still be an aunt when Tartarus comes out of his pit. "
     "He's never going to do that!"
     "Exactly!" As annoyed at my brothers stupidity as I seemed, my heart broke every time he came to me he had another child. You are the goddess of chastity, you can't have any children! I scolded myself. "Congratulations, brother." His smiled widened.
     "Is Lydia here?" Lydia is one of his daughters. Never in my life did I think one of Apollo's daughters would seek me out, but all of the sudden I heard Lydia's prayer. "No, she isn't. I sent her and on a hunter yesterday." Apollo simply nodded. I knew he desperately wanted to see his child. "She should have her quarry in by tomorrow night," I reassured. He nodded again and left my tent.
     For what I know Apollo to be, it's soothing to see him care for his kids. I got one couldn't have children, I'm the goddess of chastity and of the hunt. That means hunting single, no children. What you I need a child for, I have all the sisters I need. Yet not a daughter, or a son. Of course having a son would be outrageous, he would still be mine.
     How did Hera do it? How could she just will herself to become pregnant? Could it be done again? Questions such as these were raging around inside my skull. It was like having extreme baby fever. Maybe even baby cancer, it started off little bit is growing into a huge mass in my heart.
     Mostly though, I was worried about my position as a huntress. Would they find a new leader. Gods would it be funny to see Hestia lead them. One thing is for certain, I needed to speak to Hera.
     "Brina," I called.
     "Yes, mistress?"
     "I need to speak with Hera, have the girls pray for her presents."
     "Yes ma'am what ever for?" She needn't know.
     "Personal reasons." She bowed her head as she left. Within minutes Hera paraded into my tent.
     "Artemis, dear, what an I doing here so late," she bubbled.
     "I want a child," I blurted. I felt my face flush, I should have been more formal she is the queen. Hera laughed. "Well you need a man for that hon."
     "What about Hephaestus?" Hera froze, the sighed.
     "Yes he would be the exception, but look at him all crippled and deformed, ugly at birth to I might add." She struck a point, but I wasn't going to give up yet. "He is still immortal, and has incredible abilities, please just let me try!" Hera crewed her bottom lip in deep concentration. After a while she nodded.
     "I will tell how I did it, but I don't want you getting your hopes up." Made sense,  it still I was eager to try.
     Hera was gone in a swirl of white smoke telling me to meet her tomorrow in the South wing of the Olympus castle. Would I be judged?
🌛🌚🌜
     I left early in the morning. Brina was in charge and was old that I was going to visit Apollo's new baby. No suspicion was raised. Hera was waiting for me in what looked like the living quarters of the palace.
     "Welcome Artemis, now let's talk," she began. She told !e how difficult of a process of was and that it was a short pregnancy. Hera said that Hephaestus was born out of revenge, and that I should have a main motive too. That was easy: loneliness. She informed that the whole thing should be over in less than an hour. She didn't explain how everything worked, I am also the goddess of childbirth.
     "Now concentrate hard on what you are doing. Think about the child and your desperate need for it. Think about life with the child and knowing that they are yours." Shouldn't be hard I thought about these things all the time. But still, I imagined hunting with a daughter named Gwyneth, meaning luck. She and I would hunt and project a range of species and lead my hunters together. Mostly I thought of caring for her, healing her, and loving her. I also thought of her love for me and of nature.
     Without warning my stomach started cramping. I fell over in pain, through my tears I saw Hera smile.
     "You did it Artemis, now breathe." I blinked away my tears, I saw that I was in deed very pregnant. I had done it, and now I would suffer the pain for a little while.
     Nymphs surrounded my propping me up on a pillow and checking my vitals. Some gave me medicine to drown the pain and others spoke silently to Hera. Hera nodded at something the nymph had said before turning to me. "Artemis it's time to push"
🌛🌚🌜
     I immediately regretted this. It was insanely painful. Then I considered what everyone else would say. All the gods, my hunters, and myself. I am a hunter, a leader, and definitely not cut out for motherhood. Bad idea, Artemis. Hera was supportive, I figured that much, goddess of family and marriage, duh. It was over before I knew it. Hera smiled at me, pleased. Gods this was an awful decision.
     "Artemis, it's a girl." My heart jumped. This I could come up with an excuse. Then Hera frowned.
     "She's - she's mortal," she stammered. What! Mortal?
     "How?"
     "Hephaestus was deformed, this is her defect. Beautiful, but mortal." Mortal, mortal- MORTAL!!!!! No, no, no, no! Hera sensed my distress, obviously. "Come on, Artemis! She's incredible! Hephaestus was- is, hideous! For Zeus's sake, I threw him off a mountain! Don't screw up like I did. Be her mother, tell the hunters you found her in on of your temples alone, or whatever. Just please, don't leave her!" I was crying, then I nodded. Found her, ok I can work with that.
     "Ok, I- I understand." She nodded, clearly satisfied.
🌛🌚🌜
     The girls loved her. They bought the story pretty well too.
     "So she was just laying in your temple, alone," Lydia asked. I nodded. "Why," Brina asked. I didn't think about that.
     "Some girl came in apologizing for loving a man. She tried to follow our ways, but couldn't resist. So she offered the child as some sort of an offering." Nice save, I thought.
     "Well I think it's awful to use a child as a sacrifice, but what are you gonna name her," another hunter ,called Nora, asked.
     "Probably Gwyneth, Gwyn for short." All the girls awed at my child, of course no one knew that she is mine. They couldn't possibly.
     "So you're a mom now," Nora asked. Smiling, I nodded.