APOLLO

‘’Oh look child’’My tall mother called me as I was playing with my old lyre near our hidden cave. I turned back to see her great wolf form trying to sniff out something out of the mud.

Turning to a fox, I followed her and started to search the mud with her. Only to find a small rabbit lying on the ground breathing heavily and with red blood shedding his brown fur.

‘’Food?’’ I asked her with a smile but Mother shook her head. ‘’It is not dead you see, heal it up.’’

‘’No fair’’I turned to my previous form and pouted. ‘’You let Artemis hunt for dinner all day’’ I pressed my hand to the rabbit’s throat. ‘’It is just an animal ‘’

Mother kept staring at me until she gave up with a tired sigh. ‘’If it is just an animal does that mean you are just a child?’’

I raised my shoulders and shook my head.

‘’Life is precious Apollo’’Her head rubbed against my body and turned back to her dark green form with a white veil covering her golden eyes. But it seemed so silly to her as that white veil was trying to hide her long wolf ears.

‘’Even animals are important, their lives are to be cherished. ‘’ She took my hand and made me touch the rabbit’s wound. Slowly the blood was fading as for the entire cave it made it flow like the sun came for a simple visit.

The small rabbit started to breathe normally again and both me and mother walked out with it from the cave.

‘’But why do you let Artemis hunt?’’

‘’Artemis cannot be helped’’Mother narrowed disappointedly. ‘’No matter how much I am trying, you are not like your idiot sister’’She leaned down to me with a wide smile as I let the rabbit down and it started running away faster than light.

‘’No’’I smiled stupidly and she nuzzled my nose with hers.

‘’Come on’’She whispered.’’ Let’s go find your sister. She is near the shore I think’’

‘’Mom look, look’’Artemis rushed to our side with her hands now holding a giant fish. And yet she was smiling like an idiot. ‘’I caught it, I caught it, she sang and fell on a straight ground with the fish being sent to my face. The heavy smell almost made me gag and I pushed it far too fast. Now, I tried to shout to my mother but she did not seem someone that would respond. She was smiling, she was trying to take care of us, alone and trapped on the island. But she…Why was she sad? She had us. At the end she said. ‘’Now Artemis stop teasing your brother.’’

Artemis started crying and Mother stayed in her old cold seat near the beach just like she always did. Even with all the warnings now, she looked as if she was ignoring us.

I pouted and rushed to my sister. Her knee seemed to be scratched with gold liquid dripping from it. So, I could easily let my hand rest on her wound and then…Light flickered around it, the blood moving back, the flesh getting healed fast and Artemis was giggling.

‘’You should be more careful’’I scolded her and grabbed one of her antlers.

She shouted in pain but then, she grabbed mine too, making both of us start moving close to the sea.

‘’I just wanted to surprise you’’Artemis shouted, her hand pushed on my face with her thumb close to my mouth.

I replied by biting it harshly.’’Do not surprise us, we are supposed to be in secret.’’ And then blood dropped down to the water.

And after years we finally heard Mother speak, or rather scream. ‘’Get out of the water, now’’

We followed the orders and started escaping from each other’s grasp, water being pushed around us with the blood making the liquid golden, the ground shaking and the sea rising.

We were almost outside of it as I pushed Artemis to get out faster. One step now far from the water.

‘’Where do you think you are going?’’A brooding voice asked with a cold hand grasping around my shoulder.

‘’Let him go’’Mother had now walked near the shore, getting out her black veil, revealing her deep yellow eyes.

The man behind me did not respond and shoved his hands deeper into my skin. I could feel my blood freezing, my flesh being harsh against my eyes.

Mother frowned harshly and the entire island began to tremble with the roots of the nearest palm trees and now they were moving near mine and the man’s side.

‘’Are you testing me, Leto?’’Asked the man. ‘’For all those years I helped you, I kept you far from Hera, and all I asked was no blood of yours to fall in my domain.’’

She narrowed with her wolf ears flickering. She growled and kept moving closer with the roots and artemis following her with a wooden bow and arrow.

‘’I shall ask you the same thing, Poseidon’’Mother smirked.’’’Are you, testing …’’ A long pause as she kept looking at him. ‘’Me?’’

A few seconds passed with the man now pushing me away from his grasp and I fell in my mother’s arms.

‘’Soon you will have to choose.’’ Poseidon rasped and I tried to take a look at him but Mother covered my eyes fast.’’You can’t hide them forever.’’

‘’What did he want Mom?’’Artemis asked back in the cave as Mother was starting to cook the fish my sister caught.

‘’Who is he?’’ I asked, trying to climb on her shoulders.

‘’One of your uncles.’’She smiled. ‘’One of your father’s brothers.’’

I gasped. She never talked about our father, not even mentioning his name or family.

‘’And what did Uncle want?’’I asked and turned to Artemis. ‘’If he wants one of us he can have her,’’

‘’Hey’’She pouted and attacked me once again by dragging me away from my mother’s shoulders.

‘’No, your uncle doesn’t want you…’’She made a long pause and poured water from the nearest river to the pot with the fire now starting to boil it ‘’Your father’’She made a long pause and her smile faded. ‘’What would happen if you had a bigger family?’’

We both blink in sync. Mother put the chopped fish inside the pot and closed it and now she looked at both of us with her ears looking down. And her lips formed a smile. ‘’Forget it ‘’She laughed, handpicked both of us, and moved us close to her warm body. ‘’Just forget it’’She kissed Artemis on her forehead, making her dark skin flush but Mother just looked at me with a warm smile.

The stew was heavy and warm in my belly, making both me and my sister fall easily.

But then, there were sounds of multiple footsteps. Opening my eyes I found the campfire vanished with only smoke to be the sign of its previous existence. And that mother was gone. I jumped fast near Artemis' side as she had now curled up into the form of a baby deer.

‘’Sister’’I whispered, pushing her body left and right.’’ Sister.’’

‘’Five more minutes’’She yawned and I grabbed her ears, pulling them up.

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‘’Ah’’She shouted and her hooves kicked me to the stomach. I snarled with my form turning to a fox. And I barked at her fast. ‘’Mother Is gone.’’

Both of us panicked and on our fours, we tried to find her inside the forest of the island. Mother never left our side. She would never.

And then, near the shore, we found a white wolf standing in front of a woman dressed in black. We moved slowly as we hid behind some bushes.

‘’Calm yourself Leto’’The woman with the dark veil commanded. ‘’I am not here for a fight.’’

Mother snarled. ‘’Aren’t you? After years of trying to hunt us down, what?’’She laughed cruelly. ‘’You give up?’’

The woman scoffed. ‘’I am sure you are upset about your…late birth.’’

Mother barked at her, showing her long teeth.

‘’But I am here to talk to you. Mother to Mother.’’ Her fingers slipped the veil down her body, revealing her green skin and great silver horns. She was smaller in height than my mother and yet just looking at her made my body shake. Just watching her standing with a great posture made me feel that I have to plead to her, to apologize for my existence. Turning to my sister’s side I could see her almost crying.

Then, mother formed back to normal.’’What is it, Hera?’’ She sounded almost like giving up.

‘’Your children’’said Hera. ‘’Twins, twins are my husband’s children.’’

Mother raised her shoulders. ‘’Yes’’She sighed. ‘’The oldest, Artemis, is an excellent hunter and oh ‘’I could see a smile forming on her lips. ‘’My youngest has so many talents.’’

Hera smiled at those words but it soon faded, trying to restrain each joy she was feeling.

‘’But tell me Hera, why do you care about them…’’

‘’The only thing that I can say is that it's a proposition to ‘’She looked away and they both started walking near the shore. ‘’You can come back to Olympus with your children’’She looked up at Mother whose lips parted with a smile.

‘’Your children will be Olympians at the right time and I promise to the river Styx I will not harm them.’’

I turned to Artemis with a smile as she tried to restrain her laugh. Olympus? Like the place where the powerful gods live? Could we get out of here to see more?

Mother scoffed and then her smile disappeared. ‘’What is…’’

Hera’s smile disappeared too as she turned on the sea. ‘’One of your children must come tonight with me. The other one will come in five hundred years.’’

Another look of horror I shared with my sister.

‘’What is this Hera?’’Mother laughed cruelly. ‘’They are still children, you don’t believe that.’’

‘’It is not my order Leto’’She barked and made Mother walk fast away from her.

‘’He…’’ Her lips parted. ‘’He is-’’

Hera laughed.’’Cruel?’’She interrupted Mother.’’Unfair? Maybe but he makes you choose which child and not tell me to take whoever I want.’’

Now, both in our casual forms, me and Artemis held hands. However, I could see her eyes burning with fear. And I could not stop it.

‘’You know, I raised them like mortals’’Mother sat on a rock. ‘’I have seen what Gods like you are capable of after all’’She smiled looking at Hera and the horned goddess replied with a narrow.

‘’I wanted them to accept life, to see it …’’

‘’You raised them by living in a cave like animals’’She interrupted. ‘’Eating anything else except for Ambrosia and Nectar. Leto, you are trying to make them weak.’’

‘’And how will he make them?’’Her voice raised and Mother stood now tall and with anger finding her face. ‘’Like him? Like you?’’

And Hera replied by lifting her fingers slowly. And Mother gasped in pain holding her stomach tight.

‘’If you cannot choose a child then I will go take one. ‘’

Mother started screaming and she fell on her knees.

I gritted my teeth and jumped out of my hiding spot in the form of a fox. I could listen to Artemis shouting at me but I could only pay attention to my target who was standing unharmed. I jumped to Hera’s side and with my teeth, I bit her arm. But she did not react, even with gold dripping down.

‘’Let’’I snarled. ‘’My mother…’’

‘’Apollo stop it’’She cried and Hera grabbed me by the throat.

Looking at her now I could see how her mind was thinking of ways of punishing me. But then, I formed a snake and her eyes opened wide as I bit her with my fangs, making her set me free. I crawled to the ground before turning back to normal and rushed to my mother’s sound. ‘’Stop it, she did nothing wrong’’I demanded, with my mother crying from behind.

Hera smirked.’’Nothing wrong? Oh, I would not say.’’

‘’Enough Hera.’’Mother ordered with pain gasping out.

Hera snarled as a stick fell to her head. But she made an irritating expression. Facing back, I found Artemis shaking from fear as she was aiming at the woman with her handmade bow.

‘’Your children sure have their father’s blood inside’’Hera spat, fixing her silver hair and now her eyes faced me. With a nod, the woman snapped her fingers and Mother’s painful cries stopped.

‘’Come on now Leto,’’ Hera smiled. ‘’Have you forgotten what you are? Choose.’’

I moved backward closer to Mother as she was coughing.

‘’Fine’’Hera gave up and gray feathers formed around her until she was gone from our side. For a moment, I smiled in relief and embraced my mother but then, I heard a cry.

‘’Broth-’’

Looking back, I found Hera grabbing Artemis’ hand. ‘’Your daughter then,’’

‘’No’’Mother shouted. ‘’not her, anyone but her’’The words ran out so easily. Words that made everyone silent. Even Hera looked shocked.

‘’Then’’Hera gulped and turned to me.

Leto nodded fast.

The feathers moved closer to me, studying my face but I could not speak. It was not the fact that she did not want to give us up that was making her cry. It was the fact that she did not want to admit that she would give up easily on me.

‘’May I ask why?’’Hera asked the woman I called ‘Mother’.

‘’He looks so much like him’’Her voice broke.

Hera nodded, got on her knees, and offered the hand to me. ‘’You will see them soon’’She whispered calmly to me but she couldn't hide the anger and hatred well.

‘’Brother don’t’’Artemis cried but it was too late as I took Hera’s hand.

The room was filled with peacocks and long statues of women as one of them seemed to be almost destroyed by daggers that someone dodged on the head. There was a scent of pomegranate coming from all around but I could not speak to the woman who was carrying me calmly. I could just.

‘’Oh, no don’t you dare cry’’She kept carrying me but she now pulled me away from her.

‘’I want my mommy’’I cried, sniffing the tears from my nose. And Hera’s brow twitched.

‘’See, I knew that whor’’Her eyes zoomed in and cut those words as she tried to smile at me.

‘’Your mother raised you weak’’She scolded me as I kept tearing down.

‘’But do not worry, here you will be treated better…’’She looked away. ‘’Unfortunately, for me’’She started mumbling.

I kept staring at her and I turned to a roe deer, hoping that I could kick her and let me go.

But instead, she pouted in surprise. So I tried Snake again but she was holding me tight on one of her hands. Then to a swan. No reaction. Last I tried a mouse but fell on the palm of her hand ‘’Oh, I can see surely your father in you.’’ She laughed.

I let my tongue out transformed back to normal, and jumped to the green ground.

‘’Who are you ?’’I asked her finally and Hera laughed…terribly she had the worst laugh I had ever heard.

‘’It seems your mother did not speak about that part..I am your father’s wife’’She explained with a formal tone. And I kept looking at her confused. My father was married? And then she explained that she was also his sister. My mouth hit the floor but She let out a heavy breath.

‘’Alright, let’s take you to meet your father.’’This time she did not pick me up or hold my hand. She just expected me to follow. But of course, I just stood there.

Hera turned on me with a heavy frown. And something inside my chest began to shake.

So in the end, I followed her and raised my hand to try and reach her height. She stared at me confused.

‘’Up, up.’’

Hera blinked and parted her lips. ‘’You little bastard’’She whispered as she lifted me up.

‘’What does bastard mean?’’I asked her gently as we kept moving outside the door. As I was close to her chest I could hear drums coming from her chest and her cheeks turning darker.

‘’Uh…it is a word only important gods can say’’She stuttered and patted my head.