APOLLO

I still dream of that day. The music was heavy on the air, echoing from the ground to Olympus and even to the Underworld itself. The chorus of the screams was the gentle touch of the song, bringing the world shaken on its knees.

And there was this puny woman on her knees at my statue.

‘’I am sorry’’ She wept. ‘’I am sorry.…just please, come back.’’

I never left the battlefield as much as I wanted to. But I could not save the outcome.

‘’Come with me’’I told her in a whisper. The redhead woman stood on her feet and followed my command as she walked towards the balcony. Fire and chaos had emerged even in the sky. Her voice was shaking like the music of the leaves of wind, as she could not even hold her fat tears. Why is she crying? It was her fault for disrespecting me. After everything I did for her.

‘’They will take you’’I explained to her with a grin on my face. ‘’They will take you and be forgotten. Or you can find other ways to repay your defiance.’’

The woman gulped and finally turned on my side with her eyes now pulled out from her face. As if someone did it with so much force with blood dripping from her face. She then touched with her hands the pillars.

I could listen to the steps of the soldiers approaching. Heavy with cheers of celebration.

‘’Final choice.’’I rasped to her with her face now supposed to be looking at me.

‘’I am mortal, I can escape my fate, one way’’She took a step back.’’Or another but you?’’

My shoulders rose. How dare she defy me again?

‘’God of the sun, killer of mortals and children of other gods, the one who betrayed the ones who gave everything to you. How will you escape your fate?’’

I gritted my teeth.’’Careful now.’’ I warned her.

There was a grin coming from her lips.’’You won’t escape what your future holds for you.’’

‘’Liar-’’I said biting my tongue.

And then, the woman started laughing. And laughing and laughing.

The shadows of the soldiers became heavier as I could hear them screaming.

‘’Get her’’Agamemnon laughed.

But it was too late as she took a final step as she fell.

She was nothing more than a pulp to the ground, making her blood feist the ground. She was pathetic like the one before. She would be now forgotten like any other in that place. A story of centuries. And I would be…

***

There was a sound of an arrow hitting close to my antlers.

Artemis.

I looked down from the summer tree that I was sleeping upon with my lyre only to see my sister and my so-called brother looking at me as if I was their next target.

‘’No,’’I said, turning my back on them.

‘’You do not know what we are going to say.’’Artemis probably pouted. I took a glimpse of both of them with their arrows. Artemis’s silver moonlight one and Ares's heavy bow as his arrows were made from dark steel.

‘’Go kill a bird or something.’’

Ares shared a glance with Artemis. Almost hundreds of years passed after the banishment started and now every day they both decided to spar in their own free time. And other times they wanted me as a target.

Someone moved on my side of the tree. Looking back I saw her silver antlers beaming in the sunlight with her moonlight skin almost shining like her arrow.

Her purple eyes were looking wry enough as she touched my sunfire-wavy hair.

‘’I know that you want to go back;’’She said, combing my hair.’’But it is other two hundred years’’

‘’We shouldn’t be here in the forest without anyone’’I spat at her, trying to get away from her.

There were four who chose to fight for the Trojans. And four that had to trap Eris in Tartarus

The gods that supported the fallen shall be banished from Olympus for three hundred years. Themis had stated. Three hundred years away from Olympus,three hundred years banished from divine intervention to mortals. Three hundred years without contact with the mortals.

‘’We are Gods, Olympians’’I said with anger.’’I have people to guide.’’

Artemis arched her brow and touched a few locks of her raven hair.

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‘’What?’’I asked as I heard a loud hissing from behind.

‘’He misses someone’s touch’’A giant dark snake hissed.

I stepped back.’’It is not that’’I lied as I tried to explain to Ares.

A dove flipped its wings to one of the branches with a golden necklace being wrapped around the pale white neck.

I pouted. How could I not miss someone for one hundred years?

Without any contact with mortals, other gods or nymphs.

‘’Do not tell me you all don’t miss it too’’ I turned on my twin sister.

She did not react.

‘’Fine, you do not miss it’’ I jumped down for all three of them looking at me.

‘’So what did you want me to do?’’I asked, crossing my hands behind my back.

Artemis jumped as Ares followed, taking his crimson form back. Most of the time in Olympus he had his helmet on, hiding his charming face. Well, charming if it was considered a long thick beard and also long dark hair to cover his blue eyes.

‘’We thought about an archery competition’’ Artemis explained clipping her hooves.’’The one that loses will have to do what the other wants for the next fifty years.’’

Well, that would be interesting. I took another look at both of them. After the war, Artemis seemed to be more close to her deer form than her previous form. That could make her fast but also louder form before. Her white deer feet seemed wilder with her ears flipping over and over with the wind.

Then Ares’ athletic form has been lowered than before. He even became thinner almost the last few years. His crimson skin even had now tints of blue.

Everyone had an aftermath from the banishment. Even Aphrodite that now could not transform back as she stayed to her dove form.

And I…I cannot play music like I did before. I looked at my slight yellow fingers who were holding the lyre.

When was the last time I played an actual music tone?

‘’Fine’’I sighed giving up. If we couldn’t be Olympians for more than two hundred years then I should at least make them feel better on their behalf.

Both of them set their positions. Artemis drew her bow with silver moonlight thread forming around it like an arrow. Ares drew his black arrow brutally.

Maybe I was a goner.

I took a step back and felt my body shifting to a roe deer and started running back to the forest, far from them.

It had been a while since the last time I transformed. I could sense the wind differently as two arrows were after me. I could feel everything different. I could listen to Ares mocking Artemis, telling her that he would make her rub his feet when he won.

I rolled my eyes as I found an open sight to take another form. Now with fingers moving on my side I flipped up looking higher and higher at the sky. The sun was burning on my wings like even if my own light wanted me to fall to the ground, die like a mortal. Maybe I could play music like I once could.

The sound of a harsh arrow was approaching near me and I moved all so slightly to the opposite side of Ares’ arrow so he wouldn't hit me. Instead there was a gentle attack near my left wing. A peaceful, silent arrow for me to make me fall to the ground.

And I closed my eyes as I was falling all so slowly while I could listen to Artemis laughing in celebration. Ares replied with a heavy grunt.

I finally hit the heavy grass and I let myself rest until one of them could find me.

But instead of my sister’s familiar hooves, there was a sound of harsh human feet.

‘’Don’t go any further’’A rough voice echoed to the one who was approaching.

‘’It will be a moment’’

Her voice.

There was a plucking sound like someone took a plant out of the entire root. Then more steps.

I shifted now to a snake as she kept approaching. I looked up as I felt her chirping shadow covering me.

I shut my eyes as I imagined she could even step on me or be frightened of my eyes.

‘’Oh’’She sighed all so gently as I could hear her getting on her knees.

‘’Hello little one,’’She gestured.

Her voice.

‘’You seem to be asleep’’She sighed and stood up.

Her voice. Oh her voice.

I could feel her studying my golden skin and coils which were shimmering with the sun. I could listen to Artemis approaching fast. I wanted to move but I couldn’t. Not with her gaze spying on me. But then I could feel the clouds becoming darker, covering the sun. And thunder breaking from the sky.

But the woman did not seem to care.

‘’Wait, you are hurt’’ She said after and moved her hands close to my tail, trying to pluck Artemis' arrow out.

‘’Ah’’She shouted.’’What is…’’

I decided that it was now my time to move and I swarmed back to the trees.

I waited for a few minutes until I could feel she was gone. I opened my eyes vividly and saw Artemis in front of me with a grin.

‘’Thank you for the easy win’’She said, pulling her arrow out of my tail. As soon as it stayed in her hands, the arrow with the golden blood vanished in the sunlight.

My body shifted back to normal and my gaze turned on my arm which was almost healed.

‘’That’s why I am here for’’I scoffed but my smile banished when I looked down to the forest.

I got down to my feet and started to remember that woman’s voice. Walking around trying to describe the melody of her shout, the echo of her harsh whisper. But her voice, oh her voice was something indescribable.

‘’What happened?’’Artemis asked me while still sitting on the tree.

I let my yellow hand touch my face as I felt the only thing I could do was laugh.

After a hundred years of listening to the same voices, now I could not describe someone else’s sound.

‘’I think I am going insane.’’

Kept looking around I saw that near a rotten tree, there was a hemlock growing heavily. And some of it had been pulled out.

Which foolish mortal could possibly pick up a hemlock?