Page 12 of Arrogance
“My daughter, Artemis! Welcome!” he howled. His voice carried throughout the entire room and it had the deepest of tones I had ever heard in my entire life. Even Apollo could not hit such a low note on his lyre or any of the new instruments he had invented in these recent years.
Zeus had perfect snow-white hair with a matching alabaster beard. His muscles practically roared with how huge and alive they seemed. There was a reason this man was named the King of Gods. And at this moment, having now met him for the first time, those reasons were becoming apparently obvious.
I bowed down before him. Something my mother taught me to do when she learned that he accepted my request to meet with him. She instructed me of all the formalities that needed to be upheld during my short stay on Mount Olympus. And I promised that I would do my best to abide by all of them, including showing respect to my father.
“You may rise, daughter.” I did as he instructed and watched him carefully, on edge, ready to listen to every syllable he would utter. “Now tell me, why have you sought such an urgent meeting with me? Is something the matter? Has someone acted out against you?”
I shook my head. “No. Nothing like that. I wanted to speak to you aboutme. Me as a goddess.”
He raised his brow, unsure of where I was going with this. So, I felt the need to continue, to provide him further clarification on my being here. “As a goddess, I assumed I would have many powers by now. Apollo is already coming into his own as a god and he even has a few nymphs at his beck and call to help him reach his full potential. But as for me, I don’t have anyone assisting me in reachingmyfull potential. The only skill I am quite good at is hunting. But I figured I would at least have more than…” I paused, seeing my father’s palm rise in the air, as if he were halting me.
“I’ve heard enough, Artemis. And I completely understand how frustrated you are. I do have eyes and ears on you. So, I am already aware of some of your expressed concerns with being on the island of Delos. And I promise you that the entire world will soon be your oyster to explore in the near future. But in the meantime, to make you satisfied, what I can do is give you a total of ten wishes. Any wishes you desire that will put your mind at ease with your temporary stay on Delos,” he stated.
“Ten wishes!? Can they be anything!?” I asked with astonishment.
My father nodded. “Yes. Just name them.”
And so, I did. I named practical things that meant of value to me. Being so sheltered on Delos, my wishes were likely not as extravagant as other goddesses may have requested. “…and I want to remain a virgin for eternity. Also, I would like to be seen as a separate, but equal power to my brother. I want to have other names beyond just the Goddess of the hunt. I want to be the Goddess of the moon, the mountains, the animals. Actually, all of the wilderness!” I exclaimed. “And chastity. I want to be the Goddess of chastity as well. I also want to have the ability to aide in every mother’s childbirth that I come across in my lifetime,” thinking about the joy I experienced when I first helped my mother give birth to Apollo. I continued to ramble on with a few more wishes soon after.
I then felt the need to stop my requests to acknowledge that my father was keeping up with all of this. He simply nodded. “All granted. Now go on, Artemis. I believe you have a few more wishes.”
“A new tunic. I cannot stand this long tunic. It impedes my hunting. I want a shorter tunic for myself. I will also need many nymphs and maidens. Some to watch my hunt dogs so I can get some rest. Some to attend to my daily chores so that I am able to hunt more…” I went on to explain all of the intended uses I had for my servants.
“Done. And you have one more wish to be granted,” Zeus informed me.
I thought for a moment and recalled my last encounter with my brother. I could not stand that he beat me in our game of archery. I was supposed to be the better hunter and shooter than him. I never wanted anyone to ever beat me in my own specialty ever again. It made me lose all credibility I’d worked so hard to acquire. “And lastly, I want the finest new bow and arrow. Better than any other in the entire world,” I stated.
“Well, that will have to be carefully handcrafted,” Zeus informed me. “When you depart, I will have my chariot take you to the isle of Lipara. That is where my son Hephaestus and the Cyclopes can craft you the most magnificent bow and sets of arrows that this world has ever seen.”
I couldn’t believe it. Everything I could ever ask for was about to come true. And all it took was a little bravery and confidence on my end to have to reach out and ask for it. It was then that I realized I should no longer be cautious or afraid to go after anything I desired. It would only serve me poorly if I ever held back with anything going forward. I was a powerful goddess, and I needed to now take that role seriously, and learn to take all the advantages that came with it.
Chapter 7
Apollo
How was it even fair that our father chose to give Artemis all of these titles? Goddess of the moon, Goddess of the hunt, Goddess of chastity, Goddess of wilderness, and the list goes on. Why should she even be able to claim all of those when I am the one with far greater powers than she? I could not stand to allow my sister to thrive above me in this manner. I needed to make my voice heard. I demanded my own titles as a god, and I needed to make my father hear about it.
“I need to speak to my father!” I commanded to my mother.
She shook her head. “This again? You and your sister are cut from the same cloth.”
“It’s a matter of urgency,” I declared.
Leto threw her hands in the air. “Fine. I’ll send him a message. It’s not as though I can summon him out of thin air, you know? It could be days, weeks, or even months before he accepts your audience.”
I shrugged, honestly not caring about the length of time it took. What were months and years to me when I could live for an eternity? “That’s fine. Thank you, mother.”
As I stepped out of her abode, the Thriae were waiting for me just outside.
“Well? When is it you will see your father?” Kleodora inquired.
“Hopefully soon,” I replied.
“You don’t know when?” Melaina asked.
“No. It could be a while before I hear from him,” I explained.
“How awful, to make a god wait such a great deal of time,” Corycia added.
