He smiled lightly, "I am twenty-four Lady Artemis, my mother should be the only one to call me 'young one.' As for any grievances, it is just being away from home. These months away have truly made me question why I am here."
...
Artemis paused, considering his words. She hadn't expected him unveil any real dissent with the expedition, but here he was showing is own doubts towards its completion, "Very well, Perseus. If you are indeed having such doubts, why do you linger here?" Artemis asked curiously.
He shrugged, "I have told you of my loyalty to Alexander, and my wretched father who has cursed my name. I stay to uphold my vow to Alexander and my vow towards clearing my name. However, I left behind a beautiful wife, and a worrisome mother. Their absence in my life isn't as easy as I thought it would be." Perseus finished, looking up to her.
Artemis fought the urge to reflexively say, 'Wait you are married?' She wasn't used to this. Perseus to her had been a slightly annoying man who she could respect for his actions. But now she was shown a whole new layer towards his character. A loyal husband, and a man suffering from the absence of his family.
"I cannot go back however, I will see my friend Alexander through to the end of the world and beyond. I honor my promises." Perseus spoke up again, lifting his sword to his eye level. Artemis looked it over, judging the blades quality. It looked simple, and had no ornate designs. But it was clearly well used and looked effortless to wield in his hands. Perhaps she could find a sparring partner after all.
"I respect your show of longing Perseus, and I think that you would be best served in a little distraction." Artemis tightened her bow on her back, along with her quiver of silver arrows, ensuring that none would bounce around while moving.
"How so?" Perseus asked, standing from his seated position on the rock, while lazily stretching with his arms over his head. He was oblivious to her intentions, as she swirled her hands around in circles, ready to summon her hunting knives. She was close to him, only a half a dozen strides would put her right in front of him.
"Sparring practice." Artemis said simply. She watched his eyes widen, before he hurriedly got into a ready position. She flashed forward, swinging both her newly summoned hunting knives down on him. His xiphos parried the two blows, and Artemis two steps back, laughing lightly, balanced on the balls of her feet.
Perseus swore loudly taking two sidesteps away from the rock outcrop, taking a couple of warmup swings with his sword, "A little warning next time Lady Artemis!" she shouted, his eyes narrowed.
She laughed in response, "Come now, I have seen your speed in battle. You blocked my blow. However, I wish to find out how fast you think you are." She closed the distance between them, probing his defenses with a series on swipes to the legs, shoulders, and midsection. He blocked all her attempts, sending his own stabs and slashes back towards her, which she contemptuously brushed aside.
She dodged a swipe at her neck by back stepping. "Perseus, are you daring to hold back against me?" Artemis growled, her fury growing at the thought of him 'going easy' on her.
Perseus had the nerve to laugh, "I should say the same, Lady Artemis! But if you insist." Perseus bowed, lowering his sword in front of him. Before Artemis could respond he kicked his blade, sending it flying forward, a cloud of dirt flying in its wake. Artemis stumbled back, avoiding the attack, but then Perseus was on her, attacking in a furious succession of strokes, his sword catching the moon, in a brilliant display of reflected arcs of light. For a few seconds, Artemis fell back from the ferocity of the assault, struggling to find the rhythm to his strokes.
She parried and ducked, unable to get a counterstrike in for only a few seconds. She finally planted her feet and stood her ground. But when she did so, and Perseus saw her regain her initiative, he leapt away, spinning his blade.
Artemis growled, clenching her knives. Perseus looked back to her, breathing a little heavy, but smirking, "Lady Artemis, you are a tremendous fighter… it is a privilege to cross blades with a goddess."
"Shut up." She snapped, and leapt forward, unleashing a bit of her godly power, slashing, and stabbing at speeds that no mortal, even Perseus could rival. He fell back under her assault, desperately parrying, until his back hit the rock outcrop.
Artemis saw his eyes widen, and she pressed her attack. She whirled her knives forward in two horizontal strikes. Perseus blocked one with his sword on his right hand, and shot out his hand, grasping her wrist with the other. He quickly twisted his left hand, forcing her to drop the dagger, but she scowled, and kicked him savagely in the chest.
His back hit the back of the rock outcrop, and he let out a puff of air, releasing her wrist and crumpling to the ground, still clutching his sword. Artemis stepped back, snapping her right hand, which caused her fallen hunting knife to shimmer back into her hand.
Perseus lay there for many moments, but slowly let out sounds of life.
"Ugh, Gods above, Lady Artemis, did you have to…" He wheezed, "Kick me?" Perseus muttered this into the grassy floor next to the rock outcrop.
Artemis glared at his back, "Of course I did. You taunted me. I should have used you as target practice." She was minorly impressed, although she would have never revealed the fact to anyone, especially Perseus. He had extraordinary speed, something she prided herself on having. But he had taunted her. His back had the marks of hitting the rock outcrop, but looked like he would only suffer bruises.
Perseus slowly got to his feet, using his sword and the rock next to him as leverage. He seemed to wince as he tried to roll his shoulder, "I suppose you are right, taunting a goddess is not something I shall repeat again."
Artemis cocked her eyebrow, "You suppose?"
He gave her a lopsided grin, "I absolutely suppose."
She raised an eyebrow at him, "While you wait here, I might as well attempt to teach you how to properly fight. Now go, I will expect to see you here tomorrow, to learn real swordsmanship."
Artemis realized that she had been tracing a finger down his bronze blade, following the gracefully curved lines that it held along the curved flat metal.
She realized that some of her hunters were gaping at her.
"What is it?" she asked, slightly confused.
"HE WASMARRIED?!" The whole hunt was in an uproar, their culmination of shouting registering as that outburst in her ears. Artemis blinked rapidly seeing their outrage.
"Yes, he was married," Artemis scowled darkly, unable to throw of millennia old feelings of jealousy. "I was indifferent at the time, noting his loyalty to her. But yes…" Artemis paused, "I was jealous of her at the end. For what she had."
The girls quieted, thinking this over, but Artemis held herself back, letting them think she was so infatuated with Perseus. She was jealous that his wife could kiss him, and be the one to physically close to him, but the other reason was a closely guarded emotion, one she knew all Gods shared. The girls in her hunt had lived mortal lives, the only exception being Zoe. She searched for her lieutenant's eyes. Zoe was looking right at her, volcanic eyes holding a deep understanding tone in them. A yearning for a mortal life.
"My Lady, did Perseus really give you a challenge in the sparring session?" Zoe said, sitting perfectly straight on the ground, crossed legged. Artemis wished she could have hugged her at the moment.
Artemis scowled at her, secretly welcoming the question, "He caught me off guard, I will give him that. But he could not hope to defeat me then." She realized her slip too late, and her hunters were far too keen for their own good.
"Wait then? So, what about later into the expedition? Did you spar often with him?" Mara said, gesturing to his sword.
There was no point in lying to them.
"Yes, he did indeed improve. Immeasurably." Artemis said fondly, remembering their hundreds of sparring days. "After that day, we sparred constantly, as I was in a closer contact with the expedition, after the Winter Solstice meeting of 334 B.C."
There was a chorus of questions, but Artemis quieted her hunters, "Yes, I had to give my report on the Macedonian expedition, the same night that I had sparred with him. It… it did not go as I thought it would."
In hindsight, that report had been the reason for it all, and her decision had caused her heartbreak. But she couldn't have known, and would have done the same, even knowing the consequences.
Perseus had gone, and she had watched him limp slightly towards his nearby camp. He wasn't wounded badly, so she felt slightly justified in letting him get treatment at his campsite. It served him right for his overconfidence in their quick sparring session.
She looked to the night sky, judging the time. Zeus would be expecting her on Olympus within the hour, and there was no pointing in tarrying in Asia for any longer. While the ground felt more inviting, there was a feint hint of a resistance in the air, barely traceable. It was time to go.
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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
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