Lieutenant

Chapter 11

Athena wasn't hard to find. She was in the large archive room on Olympus. Stacks of papers and books rested all around her in glorious mountains of knowledge. Her long dark brown hair was messily pulled back and her grey eyes flicked eagerly across diagrams and pages.

"It seems you haven't left here in days," Artemis mused, glancing around at the otherwise empty place. She guessed Athena had chased them out to have everything all to herself.

"Artemis?" The other young goddess glanced up from her work and smiled brightly. "It's been ages. How have you been? How is everything? Tell me all about the places you've been, I simply have to know! How are the mortals? Are they really as intelligent as the scrolls say?"

"Athena!" Artemis laughed as her sister practically tripped in her hurry to embrace her youngest sibling. "One question at a time, please."

"Right. My apologies." The other girl smiled, pushing loose hair out of her face. "Come, sit. Does Apollo know you are here?"

"No. I wanted to talk to you specifically." Artemis watched as Athena struggled to clear a place for her to sit. Once a good portion of the mountain of paper had been moved, Artemis perched on the edge of the finely crafted table.

"I feel honored. But you must start from the beginning. Tell me everything." Athena was eager to write down whatever Artemis said. Notes were important, documentation was important.

"Athena. Please, no research, no documentation." Artemis glanced nervously at the pen and quill readily poised. "Just us talking."

Athena frowned, Artemis typically didn't mind, this must have been more serious than she thought. Athena settled the paper and quill back in the table and her expression shifted to a softer look. "Right. Sorry, I should have asked. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Zoë," Artemis replied, folding her hands in her lap.

"The Titan's daughter?" The sparkle in Athena's eyes meant that her curiosity had once again been sparked.

"Athena, no I don't want-"

"What is she like?"

"Well, she's strong but-"

"Is she like her father? Does she get along well with others?"

"Yes, of course. Zoë is one of the nicest people I've ever met. She's better than her father, caring, brilliant." Artemis frowned. "Ath-

"What made you make her your second in command? Surely you know father doesn't agree, I mean she is the spawn of the enemy. You certainly have an interesting dynamic going," Athena mused, smiling to herself.

"She's my friend," Artemis answered quickly, trying to keep up with the questions. "Of course I'd make her my second in command, she despises men, betrayed by Hercules, she nearly beheaded Orion a time or two. But I don't care what father thinks, it was my decision, he had no power over my realm, it was part of the agreement. She's not just the spawn of an evil man. She's an intelligent girl who I would trust with my life. Now please stop asking quest-"

"What does she look like?" Athena asked.

"Gorgeous, bronze skin and night sky colored hair. Eyes like the earth with freshly turned soil with flecks of gold." Artemis didn't hesitate to answer the question.

"Do you think I could meet her? She sounds lovely. Does she have an opinion on any of Aristotle's theories?"

"Athena!" Artemis cried, interrupting her sister. Her pulse was rushing and she felt on the brink of tears. "Listen. Stop talking."