Page 2 of Arrogance
However, that would not be the case this time. I was soon jolted. Ares was convulsing, as if he were having a seizure. My moment of bliss quickly subsided as I too shook, attempting to roll off of the bed and get up. I raised my hands in the air, only to realize they were being restricted. Some sort of invisible net or harness was around us. I could feel the tightness of the force constrict around Ares and me more and more, preventing us from moving any further. We could not escape it. Even Ares’ own strength was no match to get us out of this trap that we were snared in.
Only a few moments later did we see my husband and Helios, that old decrepit God of the sun, barge into my bedchamber. Hephaestus simply shook his head in disappointment while Helios pointed and laughed at us. “See! I told you! They’ve been going at it for a while now. If only you believed me sooner, Hephaestus.”
Now, I was beyond enraged. “Get me out of here! How dare you treat me like this! You will be sorry!”
Helios chuckled, much to my annoyance. “We’ll release you two, but not until everyone on Mount Olympus gets to see you both in this…position.”
My eyes widened at his threat. There was no way my husband would be capable of allowing the other gods and goddesses to witness me in such a vulnerable andbarestate. “Hephaestus! I demand you let us go this instant!”
I watched the frown on my husband’s face still linger. He then shook his head. “Let this be a lesson to the both of you!” he shouted.
How dare he! Just who the fuck did he think he was?
It’s about time my husband grew a pair of balls and acted like a real man. But it was just a little too late.
Just as Helios had proclaimed, it was only a matter of time before the other Olympic gods and goddesses came into our palace at the expense of mine and Ares’ embarrassment.
They had the audacity to enter my bedchamber to view Ares naked and on top of my fully exposed body. Most of them whispered to one another, but eventually could not help but cackle while pointing and laughing at us. Some had the nerve to even mock us, among them being Athena, Poseidon, and even Hera and Zeus.
The women soon shook their heads with disgusted looks expressed across their faces. The men tried to do the same, except the difference with the male gods was that I saw their eyes hold contact with me much longer than the goddesses. The goddesses could never imagine being in my place at this very moment. It would be a complete and utter disgrace. A shame on them and what they stand for. It would tarnish their very names and titles. But as for the gods, well, I was certain that every single one of them wished they could trade places right now with Ares.
Chapter 2
Artemis
My birth was a shame to many of the goddesses on Mount Olympus. Specifically, Hera was the most furious over it. But how could I blame her? I completely understood why she was angry over the entire scandal. Her feelings were completely justified.
Zeus was disloyal to her once again. Only this time, he wound up impregnating Leto, who was my mother. Hera, therefore, banished Leto, preventing her from ever setting foot on Mount Olympus while she was pregnant. To further make the pregnancy impossible, she put a curse on my mother, and forbade her from ever giving birth on any island, or any land in the world, for that matter. If it sat on the sea,terra firma, then Leto could not conceive there.
My mother needed guidance and help. So, she sought out Poseidon. Lucky for Leto, Poseidon was not a fan of his sister-in-law, Hera.An enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine.
Therefore, Poseidon, meddlesome as ever, decided to help my mother, with the hopes of aggravating Hera to no end.
Poseidon rose an entire island from under the ocean and chained it high above the land. It was known as the island of Delos. My mother clung to an olive tree on that very island for nearly four days straight, eventually giving birth to me.
I don’t remember much of my childhood. After all, just several minutes after I was born, I quickly grew into a young adult. Such is the occult power of having the blood of a Titaness and the King of Gods course through your veins.
My very first memory I have is of my mother holding onto that olive tree for dear life. Every muscle in her body was permanently contracted. Sweat profusely dripped down her arms, face, and then the rest of her body. Not one surface area of her skin was dry. She was fully drenched, hair damp, clinging to the back of her sticky neck as she called out to me. “My daughter… I need… your help,” she managed to blurt out in between the heavy heaves of breath she was giving.
“How can I help, mother?” I asked curiously, sitting on a nearby branch, closer to the trunk of the tree for support. My legs and feet dangled in the air as I swayed back and forth on it.
“Come closer to me, daughter. Help me get a better grip on this,” she coolly requested.
I scooted closer to her and studied her expression carefully. It was then that I became aware of the protruding bulge from her stomach, increasing in size at an extravagant rate. She began to scream in pain, now contradicting her earlier command. “Nevermind that, Artemis! Come beneath me. I need you to deliver this child. I’m about to push it out!” she cried loudly. I did as she instructed, swiftly gliding from my branch to the limb just below her with ease. A sense of intensity rushed over me. Innately, I reached for her legs and held them wide and far apart before reaching my hands to hold and grasp the round, bald head now emerging itself from her. “I have it, mother! It’s coming out!” I yelled up to her.
After a few more minutes of my mother screaming in agonizing pain, the tiny creature fell right out from her and into my hands. I clutched my arms around its little body and held onto it as it cooed.
I glanced my head upward to watch my mother, who now had her eyes fully closed. My acute reflexes kicked in, and it was as if I was aware of my entire surroundings. Everything was moving in such slow motion. The detail of every dove’s winged feathers in the trees was apparent to me as they flapped to take flight. The fine bristles on the small fruits in the trees were now noticeable to me. The chirping of the insects that navigated through the crevices of the bark of the olive tree also became evident. But most importantly, I had clarity in catching the fingers of my mother giving way. Her clutch on the limb was loosening into a full release.
Instinctively, I held the baby in one arm, giving freedom to my other. I leaped to the higher branch my mother was on and bent it fully downward so that her feet could now touch the dangling branch beneath her for support. However, I should have realized her balance was completely off, as her weak and limber body wobbled over.
Reacting in milliseconds, I nestled the baby in one arm and stretched the other to reach my mother to hold on to her. I must not have been fully aware of my own goddess-like strength, for I was able to firmly keep my mother in place and guide her safely down from the tree and onto the forest clearing beneath us. I eased my mother onto the ground, resting her head on what seemed to be the softest part of the forest floor. I hastily gathered a few leaves and other debris with my one free hand to create a head rest for her.
I let her lay there for several minutes while I held her child, my brother, in my arms, rocking back and forth with him, swaying with the direction of the brisk wind. A permanent smile was stamped across my face as I gleamed and glared into those bright, iridescent eyes of his that were sparkling and glancing up at mine. There was something so magical about this moment. It gave me joy. It gave me purpose. Bearing witness to a new life emerging into this world was positively overwhelming. My blood was warming and flowing through my body at a cataclysmic rate. The fact that I was able to help my mother in giving birth was emotionally rewarding. I wanted to have this opportunity again and I couldn’t wait for it.
As I was distracted with my baby brother, I failed to realize that my mother was coming to. “Artemis, I can’t thank you enough,” she whispered.
I motioned to kneel and sit beside her, with my baby brother in my arms. I held him out to her. “Here. Would you like to hold him?”
