Page 18 of Charmed By Apollo

Indeed, it was a beautiful day, and the gardens were marvelous, a veritable spring paradise. In his palace on Mount Olympus, after all, he could have the weather as he wished. Why, with a snap of his fingers, he could turn this all into a barren winter wasteland, which frankly would match his mood right now.

But that would only prove Artemis right, and why would he want that?

“Yes, my staff does great work.”

“Unlike their master? Lazing about, doing nothing?”

Anyone else who heard them bickering like this would have thought them to be bitter enemies, but that was far from the truth. He loved his sister, and this was their love language. “Are you trying to steal my people again? Do you need one of them to take that stick out of your ass? Besides, I’m not being lazy.”

“So, if you’re not being lazy, and you’re not moping, why are you sitting out here on this beautiful day, doing nothing but staring out at the sea?”

Apollo bit his lip. “You’re right. I am being lazy.” Hopefully, that would deter her from trying to find out the truth. “Now, go away.”

She clucked her tongue. “You should be more responsible, Apollo. Attend to your duties and your work.”

“And what are my duties, exactly? Unlike the old days, humans hardly need us, not with their modern science and tech.”

Back when the world was still young, Apollo, like many gods and goddesses, had responsibilities. One of his duties, for example, was protecting crops and herds. He was also a patron god of the arts—music, dance, poetry and the like were under his guidance. Humans would pray to him to ask for help or inspiration.

But those were the good old days. Some say humans as a species matured, and like a child who grew up, they no longer needed their parents. Others argued that it was the gods and goddesses, tired of the never-ending cycle of life and death, who withdrew from the humans. It was much too long ago, and neither side could remember which was the truth. Or perhaps, at least in Apollo’s own belief, it was a bit of both. Whatever the true explanation, most of the gods no longer meddled in human affairs.

Perhaps if Apollo had stayed away from the earthly realm, he wouldn’t be in this mess.

“You missed the council meeting this morning,” Artemis pointed out. “For the second time. Why didn’t you show up? Don’t you know how important it is? We’re deciding the fate of our kind. I would think you would take more interest in that.”

Oh, he bet Artemis had to be loving this whole council business. She wasn’t happy unless she was busy with a task at hand. Being idle drove her crazy, and she loved nothing more than to “help” people—though some may see it more as meddling. While she didn’t say it outright, Apollo guessed the humans pulling away from gods had affected her more than most. So, it was no wonder she jumped on the chance at reporting for any kind of “official” duty.

“Pfft. It’s not like we’ve achieved anything so far, sitting in those boring meetings.”

“It’s still important. We need to figure out who’s going to rule Olympus and what to do with Zeus.”

“He can rot, for all I care,” he spat.

After all, the former king of the gods had done a great injustice to Apollo’s best friend, Hades. Back in the day, after they had defeated the Titans, the three eldest gods, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon had drawn lots to divide the world. It turned out, Zeus had cheated his brothers in order to obtain Olympus for himself. When the truth had come out a few weeks ago, Zeus was stripped of his titles and roles and locked away as the other gods debated what to do with him and the now-empty throne. With eleven gods on the council, needless to say, it was difficult to get a consensus.

“I agree, which is why you can’t miss any more meetings. And don’t think I don’t notice you looking disinterested the whole time when you’re there.” She let out an exaggerated breath. “You should participate more in the discussions and stop staring into space like you’d rather be elsewhere.”

Despite his affection for his sister, her whole go-getter, type-A personality really got on his nerves sometimes, and it was especially grating today. “And you need to get laid,” he shot back without a thought.

“Is that your answer to—oh, for crying out loud, are you moping over some human again?” Artemis slapped her hand on her forehead with an audible smack. “Have you learned nothing from the last time? After what happened with her?”

“Don’t,” he snapped.

Had anyone else brought her up, Apollo would have brought down the wrath of heaven on them. But this was his beloved sister, who had witnessed the disaster firsthand and the aftermath.

“Apollo—”

“This isn’t about a human.” Technically true. He hated lying to his sister, but if she found out the truth—and why he was distracted—he would never hear the end of it. She was like a dog with a bone sometimes.

“But it is about you being hung up on a female.” She snorted. “I swear, Apollo, if it is, I won’t be around to pick up the pieces this time.”

He smirked at her. “Yes, you will. Because you love me, and I’m your favorite brother.”

“My only brother. Argh!” Artemis shot to her feet, hands fisted at her sides. “I’ll leave you to your brooding or whatever the heck it is you’re doing. But promise me, you’ll be at the next council meeting, and you’ll have your head screwed on straight.”

“Right. I promise.”

She sighed and then placed a hand on his shoulder. “I shall see you soon, brother.” And with that, she disappeared.

---