Chapter Nineteen

## Nineteen

There was a long pause as he stood in front of the fireplace of her rarely used lavish quarters. She would have been petrified with fear if she did not have her brother sitting beside her. Not one usually prone to fear or terror, Artemis was now finding it a disturbing trend as of late. A day ago, she was afraid she had lost her twin and the third lover to die at the head of one of her own arrows. Thankfully, that had not happened, but the residual fear still haunted her mind, and now she was faced with a wholly new panic as Zeus stood before her mantle. Though she was not on the best terms with her father and had not been for some time, she was not afraid of him. She never had been. No, the stack of peeled photographs in his hand caused her heart to beat quickly.

 Apollo propped his elbows on his knees, leaning forward on the small sofa he shared with his sister. "Father, perhaps I can explain."

 There was no objection from Artemis. Her brother was always the better one with words, having taken after their father in that regard. However, at that moment, Artemis wished he would just shut up and let their father speak. However, if she wished, she would have avoided this situation altogether.

 Zeus stared into the silver and blue fire burning in the mystical fireplace. His back was to his children, one hand gripping the mantle, and the at his side, loosely holding the photographs. Then, raising his limp arm, he glanced at the top photograph and dropped his arm with a dreary sigh. "No," said Zeus, shutting his son down. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at both children. His eyes were difficult to read, but they were always alight with a certain intensity. "I think there is little that needs explaining. These paint quite the picture."

 Artemis squirmed in her seat as her right hand stroked her left forearm. She averted her eyes, unable to meet her father's gaze and that moment. Then, fearing how it would look if she turned to her brother, Artemis looked at the floor.

 "Actually, there is no paint used in that contraption father. The aperture captures light using a light crystal and the lumino film then transfers that image to the paper..." Apollo said but trailed off.

 "If I need an explanation on such things, I'll ask your brother," Zeus said, though that left Artemis wondering if he meant Hephaestus or Hermes. Though most associated Hephaestus with technology, Hermes had reminded her recently he was a god of many little things, leaving her to remember he was also the God of Invention. Artemis had seen these apertures or cameras in the wilderness. Many naturalists had taken to shooting animals with cameras and film rather than bow and arrows or carbines and slugs.

 "Sorry, father," said Apollo, nodding and leaning back on the sofa. His sister could feel his unease and regret. It spilled over onto her and caused her to shift her position with visible discomfort.

 "Artemis."

 Why had he called on her? What cruel torment was this? Apollo is just as responsible for what happened between them as she. Perhaps more so. Artemis was not the twin with eloquence and social graces. She was blunt and uncivilized. She spoke her mind and did little to dress her speech up. Artemis let out a groan as she realized all of that was why she was being singled out. "Feck," she groaned aloud as her eyes turned to her father.

 "What do you want me to say?" he asked.

 The words called her back to a moment she had all but forgotten.

 It was a time before either she or her father were gods. A time before Zeus was married to Hera. The only children he had were Artemis and Apollo. Of course, in truth, Athena had already been born by that point, but she was in Tartarus. Zeus did not know her existence, and thus, Artemis was his only daughter as far as either knew.

 There was no secret that Zeus loved his daughter more than his son. While Apollo was adored by his father and mother, Zeus cherished young Artemis. Zeus and Artemis were rarely far apart when he was home with Leto and his twin children on their island home and not on his long travels recruiting allies for his prospective resistance.

 Zeus would entertain young Artemis with his stories and songs. She would laugh and giggle and call him for an encore. Zeus would transform into various animals to play with his daughter, always making time to let young Artemis ride on his back as a mighty golden stag as he pranced about the island wilderness.

 As Leto and Apollo were preparing dinner one night, Artemis climbed onto her father's lap and disrupted him as he napped on a bench. Then, Artemis settled in without apologizing, as if her father's legs were her throne. Artemis then said, in a tone most serious, "I have made a decision, father."

 "Have you?" asked Zeus, still reeling from his disrupted slumber. "And what decision is that?"

 "I will always be free," she said without wavering.

 "I should hope so," said Zeus, nodding. "No one shall ever put you in chains, daughter. For they would have to get past me, first," he said before casting his hair back and doing his back to look heroic and dashing despite his lower extremities being pinned to a bench.

 "Well," said young Artemis, nodding. "That is true. I don't wish to be chained or imprisoned," she confessed. "That does sound dreadful, but-"

 "But?" asked Zeus.

 "That is not what I meant," said Artemis. "She pointed to the doorway in their crude shelter. "I mean, I want to live under the stars forever and never in this... palace you described living in before you met Mother."

 Zeus nodded. "There is a lot to enjoy about life outside of such constraints," he said with a slow nod. "There is also quite a bit to be said about having luxury and servants," he added, with a loud laugh that did not provoke a reaction from his daughter. Composing himself and bringing himself to her somber tone, his eyes bid her continue even mockingly so.

 "I did not know you before my birth," she said flatly with the sort of sobriety only found in a child.

 "How could you?" Zeus asked with a chuckle.

 The little child was unfazed. "So I cannot say what your life was like before you and mother met, but when you talk about your life before us... you are sad."

 Zeus bit his lower lip, holding it in place.

 "With us, you are happy," young Artemis said, nodding at first but then caught by a sudden pause, "except for when Apollo plays with your kithara and breaks the strings."

 "That was an accident!" shouted Apollo from across the living space of their abode. "And I was only trying to play a song for you!"

 "Hush, son," said Leto, nudging young Apollo into silence. "What did we say about eavesdropping."

 "I didn't drop it," said Apollo. "The string broke because I-"

 Leto rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Eavesdropping is when you listen to conversations not meant for you. Remember?"

 Apollo's lips tightened. He blinked and then went back to preparing their meal.

 Zeus let out a chuckle, having watched all this with his daughter. Then, as the laughter subsided, the father brushed Artemis' wild mane of hair with his fingers. "I was happy before I met your mother."

 "You were?" asked Artemis. "But then why do you cry when you talk about your wife?"

 Zeus let out a long sigh. "Because I miss her."

 "But you have mother," Artemis said, furrowing her brow.

 "Artemis!" Leto snapped from across the makeshift residence.

 "Hey," said Apollo. "No eavesdropping, mother!"

 Leto glared at her young son before shooting a glance at her lover, but Zeus only had a chuckle to offer her. "It's fine, Leto," said Zeus, showing her his palm. Then, with a deep breath, he looked back at Artemis. "Your mother is special to me. As are you and your brother," Zeus admitted. "However, what I had with my wife," he said with some trepidation, "was very different. Remember when you asked me about marriage?"

 Artemis nodded. "Yes. That you were trapped with your wife."

 "No," said Zeus, shaking his head. "I said I was bound to her... It is like there was a rope that tethered our hearts together."

 Artemis glanced at her brother, looking at his back as he stirred a pot over a fire. She could sense his frustration with his mother's perceived double standards and knew that he was intently thinking about every word she and their father shared. He was invested in this discussion just as much as she was. She knew all this because the two were born with a strange, otherworldly connection. Artemis felt like half her heartbeat in her brother's chest, just as half of his beat in hers.

 "Do you understand what I mean by that?" Zeus asked.

 Artemis blinked and threw her gaze back to her father. "I think I do."

 "While I love you and your brother very much, I also have a profound adoration for your mother..." Zeus said, letting his hand gently drift from his daughter's hair, stroking her ear and cheek, and resting on her shoulder. "What I had with Metis is something I do not think I will ever have with anyone else."

 Little Artemis felt her eyes tearing up. "Not with anyone?"

 Zeus shook his head. "Not with anyone else," he said with a heavy sigh.

 Artemis blinked, sniffled, and nodded. "So you are free then."

 Zeus raised an eyebrow. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I am not. I am bound by obligations and expectations. I have work to do to make sure that you are safe. As are your brother and mother."

 Placing her fist on her chest, feeling her heart beat slowly, Artemis looked at her father. "But you are not bound to your wife."

 Zeus shook his head. "I do not know if she lives or has died," he confessed, quivering slightly as he did. "Until I know for certain then I cannot say if I am bound or burdened with grief."

 Her heartbeat reminded her of Apollo. Glancing at her brother briefly and then back to her father, Artemis put her hand on her father's heart. "If you do not feel her in here, then you are free," she said, trying to comfort her father without fully realizing his perspective.

 Zeus smiled with saddened eyes. "I will always feel her in there, whether she is alive or gone. She will be there forever."

 Artemis lowered her hand. "This does not change my mind. I want to be free. I want to travel the road like you do. I want to have adventures in the forest. I want to live as the nymphs do."

 "As the nymphs do?" Zeus asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you know of the way nymphs live?"

 "The dryads that we trade with told me many things," she explained.

 Zeus looked over to Leto at that moment. "You take the children to trade with the nymphs?"

 Leto let out a long sigh. "No," she said, turning away and shaking her head. "Artemis and Apollo run all over this island when you are away from us. They want to be like their father."

 Zeus lowered his eyes and nodded. Then, with a heavy sigh, he looked at Artemis. "You can be whatever you want to be when you are older, Artemis," he said, tapping her nose. "Until then, however... But, first, I need you to do three things."

 "What are those, father?" Artemis asked, prepared to do whatever her father might ask of her.

 "Be a good and dutiful daughter that listens to her mother," he began, holding one finger. "Be a devoted and loving sister that protects her brother and lets him protect her," he said with two fingers raised. "And, finally, always be yourself. Whether that means you are 'free' or you find comfort binding yourself to another, you do that which rings true to yourself. Never compromise on any of those and you will live a better life than I have."

 Internalizing all that, Artemis was quiet and still. She blinked, but most of her body remained motionless.

 "Well?" asked Zeus. "Do you have anything to say?"

 Artemis was suddenly with words. "What do you want me to say?"

 Zeus chuckled. "I want you to say you can do that, Artemis."

 Artemis nodded. "I can do that, father," she said with a big grin. "I will not fail you."

 Zeus shook his head. "You could never do anything to disappoint me," he said as he kissed her forehead.

 Suddenly, in the present, Artemis felt that is exactly what she had done. Failed him. Though there had always been a taboo with giving herself to her brother, there was no honest regret. External shame, at times, but she never felt she was in the wrong when she and Apollo were together. When she was with Apollo, there was only a sense of completeness, whether they were sharing a meal, resting in the shade of a tree, or when they made love. Artemis felt she could never do any wrong when she was with her brother.

 Or, at least, she told herself that. But, as she sat there with Zeus' gaze bearing down on her at that moment, Artemis felt she had made a grievous error. She had no answer for his earlier inquiry, though he asked it again. "What do you want me to say?"

 Artemis let out a long sigh. "Whatever it is that you must," she said, leaning back and folding her arms. "Let's be done with this."

 "Is that how you feel?" asked Zeus, fanning out the photographs as he stepped toward his daughter.

 Artemis glanced at Apollo. His entire focus was on her. She could sense he would support anything she said. Then, with an extended release of breath, Artemis shrugged. "I cannot expect you to understand what you see in those photographs."

 "Are you certain?" asked Zeus with a scoff. "Not to startle you, daughter, but I am well-versed in the art of fecking."

 There was a brief flash of imagination at the front of her mind's eye. Artemis pictured her former lover Callisto crying out in ecstasy as a drunk Zeus pricked her passionately. The thought usually brought anger and rage to Artemis' mind, but at that moment, she felt like she deserved to suffer. Still, she kept her guard up. Left her expression neutral and her eyes evasive.

 Zeus shook his head and looked at Apollo. "Son?"

 It took Apollo a moment to disengage from Artemis' vulgar imagination. Then, shaking the thought out of his head, with a lingering glance toward his sister, Apollo stammered to reply. "Y-yes, father?"

 "Your sister won't talk to me," Zeus said, disappointed. "So, I have questions for you."

 Apollo nodded. "Ask and I will answer."

 "How long has this been going on?" Zeus asked.

 Apollo opened his mouth but did not speak. Instead, he chuckled awkwardly. "That..." he said, holding up one finger. "That is not an easy answer to give you."

 "Why?" asked Zeus.

 "Because it's been going on for our entire life," said Artemis.

 Apollo slapped his face and groaned.

 "Excuse me?" asked Zeus.

 "When we were children," Artemis confessed. "We must not have been ten or twelve when we first imitated what we saw you and mother did at night when you thought we were asleep."

 Zeus rolled his eyes. "I don't care about such childish curiosities," Zeus said with a loud groan. "Apollo's balls had not yet dropped. I doubt his prick could have even pierced you."

 Artemis nodded. "No. You're right. It was clumsy and dumb and we were left confused why you and mother seemed to enjoy it so much."

 "And then we got older..." confessed Apollo. "We shared a nymph while bathing in the cave near the beach."

 "How old were the two of you then?" asked Zeus.

 "Do you really want to know how we lost our virginity, father?" asked Artemis. "Perhaps we should ask you how old you were when your prick first felt the cunny's kiss."

 Zeus threw his head back and let out a groan.

 "We were old enough," said Apollo, trying to play peacemaker between father and daughter. "Older than I care to admit, but this was before we broke into Tartarus."

 "That long ago?" asked Zeus.

 Artemis bit her lip and nodded. "But that was the only time Apollo pricked me... for a long time."

 "What made you stop? And for how long?" asked Zeus.

 "I don't recall," admitted Artemis. "I think we simply got busy with everything and somewhere heard it was not favored for a brother and sister to do what we did."

 Zeus folded his arms, tapping the photographs against his sleeve. "Back then? It was not uncommon. It was relatively common among mortal and immortal alike. Considering the two of you have the connection you have, and you lived in such a remote location through most of your youth, I could see how it could happen," he sighed and glanced at the silver flicking fire. "Honestly, I'm more surprised I never knew... How long did you stop?"

 Apollo dropped his shoulders and sighed. "We started again after the Exodus... When Artemis returned from Tartarus."

 Zeus raised his eyebrow as he looked at his son. "All that time? That was thousands of years."

 Apollo nodded. "I had many other lovers to fill my time."

 "Not so many for me," Artemis said. "And most of mine died."

 A flash of regret washed over Zeus. He took a deep breath and nodded. "I cannot suppose I have any right to tell either of you who you can and cannot feck," he said with a long sigh. "I have been irresponsible. I have used sex as a way to bury my pain. How could I fault the two of you if you use sex to feel complete."

 The way he said that raised Artemis' attention. She felt a moment of connection and empathy with her father that she had not felt in a long time. He understood her. She felt recognized for an instant. A fleeting, brief instant that was drowned with painful memories.

 Zeus turned to face the fire. He looked at the back of the photographs, visually measuring them without being reminded of their content. Then, without warning, his wrist flicked them into the fire. The chemicals soaked into the paper and the residual embedded essence turned the images into a mix of black smoke and ash with golden motes of light essence.

 Artemis blinked in confusion as his father knelt down to pinch one from the floor. It had gone wayward from the others and survived the flames. Zeus held it up, the graphic imagery of Artemis mounting her brother turned toward the twins as his own eyes only saw the blank treated paper. The purpose for doing so was not apparent. Had he wanted to offer them a chance to save one image of their carnal moments? It mattered little as a second later, Zeus cast the last image into the fireplace just as he had the others.

 "If you two have this relationship, do you wish to be wed?" Zeus asked.

 "No," said Apollo.

 Artemis raised an eyebrow as she looked at her brother. She had expected to be the one to give that answer. She knew how her brother felt about their relationship and how far he would desire it to reach. However, that answer was not his own. Instead, he was speaking for her and respecting her beliefs.

 "Artemis?" asked Zeus, noticing some confusion on Artemis' face.

 "No," she said before biting her lower lip. She glanced at Apollo, wondering if he had anything else to add.

 Sensing this, the twin brother nodded. "We understand that the Faith does not permit such marital bonds."

 Zeus scoffed. "The Faith governs mortals. You are god and goddess. You do not abide by the Faith. You are the Faith."

 Apollo nodded. "But it would be difficult to explain why we are allowed to be brother-husband and sister-wife."

 "Plus," Artemis thought to add, "I told you, father. I wish to remain free and wild. Marriage does not permit that. It comes with expectations."

 Zeus nodded as his lips tightened. "Very well, but... should you change your mind, please feel like you can tell me. I am the King of Olympus. I can issue a decree to allow you two to be wed. It may mitigate some of the negative reception when this gets out."

 Artemis glared at her father. There was no quickly explained reason for this other than her lasting anger. This conversation may have given her grounds to take one or two steps toward a future reconciliation, but there was still a great valley to cross.

 Apollo broke the silence, nodding and getting to his feet. "We will, father. Thank you... but I think we prefer to be discreet."

 Zeus nodded and sighed. "I understand that. Even if there are many of the old gods on this world and the last that freely engaged in this sort of relationship, even having children from such unions, it would cause quite the stir if it was discovered Olympian brother and sister were... uh..."

 "Fecking," said Artemis with a sigh. "You can say it, father."

 Zeus glared at his daughter but then looked at his son. "I cannot say I understand this. I cannot say this brings me joy, but if this is what makes you both happy, then I can say I support it."

 "Thank you, father," Apollo said with a soft smile, placing a hand on their father's shoulder. "I appreciate it."

 "Have you told your mother?" Zeus thought to ask.

 Artemis closed her eyes and tried to ignore the inquiry, but her brother would not do the same. "Uh, no..." he confessed. "I have thought to do so but the logistics of arranging such a conversation escaped me."

 Zeus nodded. "If you need me to help-"

 "We'll manage," said Artemis.

 Again, Zeus nodded. "Be careful, you two."

 Raising an eyebrow, Apollo chuckled. "We are gods, father. We have complete control of our fertility. We have no need for prophylactics if that is your concern."

 Zeus scoffed. "That was not my concern. I know how this works, son. I know I am not the only one to have sired a small army," he said with a chuckle. "But the vast numbers of my offspring do not equate to the countless throngs of mortal, nymph, and god I have pricked."

 Apollo nodded with a smirk. "Of course, father."

 "I only meant that... whoever took these photographs-" he paused to turn his eyes to his daughter. "I suppose it was Epimetheus?"

 Artemis nodded. "He had a note on him that mentioned using a camera to capture us together."

 Zeus sighed. "Well, then... Be careful. There was a reason that he was ordered to do so. If you have need, perhaps I can arrange-"

 Artemis retched as she got to her feet. "Please, father. Please tell me you suggesting we have Nike and Cratus stand guard for Apollo mend I when we have an itch to scratch."

 Throwing up his hands, Zeus scoffed and walked out. "I am just trying to help," he said, marching for the door. "At least, maybe wait until this whole heretic matter is sorted out? If you need to, maybe do so in the Haven where you are not likely to be caught. We do provide you with these nice quarters."

 Apollo nodded as he put his arm around Artemis, his touch keeping her calm and less likely to provoke their father out of spite. "We will consider that, father," he said.

 Pausing with his hand on the door's latch, Zeus turned to his son and daughter. The expression he wore indicated he had an epiphany. "Back on Earth, mortals had the belief that I was the literal son of Kronos and Rhea. As was Hera."

 Artemis knew where this was going and slid herself from Apollo's arm. Then, patting her brother on the back, she walked around the sofa and snatched a fresh pear some servant had kept stocked in a bowl on a table behind the couch. Chewing, Artemis grinned ear-to-ear.

 Zeus stepped away from the door, his hands clasped behind him. "You spread many of our tales, son... With your songs and poetry."

 Apollo nodded with a skittish grin.

 Artemis chewed, suppressing her giggle as Apollo's mix of emotions tickled her mind.

 Taking a deep breath, Zeus glanced at Artemis but then shifted his eyes toward his son. "Was this an invention of your doing, son? Or was this primitive mortals misunderstanding the distinction of spirit-sibling?"

 Apollo raised a finger. "It may have started as the latter of those, and I may have leaned into it for selfish purposes," he said, grinning nervously.

 Glancing at Artemis, Zeus raised an eyebrow. "And the doctrine that your sister had sworn to be a virgin?" he asked, throwing his focus back to Apollo.

 As Artemis paused mid-chew, she looked at Apollo as he tried to bury their mental connection with a wall of random idle thoughts and esoteric principles that confused Artemis' inquisition. Then, slowly, Artemis swallowed the pulp and walked around the sofa. "Brother?"

 "Again... It started as one thing, a simple tale of Artemis' childish vow," said Apollo with a lopsided grin. "Some creative exercises were undertaken to help explain why she ran in the forest with a pack of wild nymphs and warrior women. I don't think I said that she was a virgin but... I was fine with mortals spreading that as gospel."

 Artemis scoffed. She rolled her eyes and was about to bite into her fruit when she uncovered a glimpse of something behind the mental wall her brother had tried to erect. "Wait, on Earth... Mortals also thought Athena and Hestia were virgins."

 Apollo shrugged. "Hestia was not my doing. I recall a very vivid song I composed and performed on Lesbos, trying to straighten the record. However, most Greeks seemed to prefer it as straight as possible when it came to the ladies bumping cunnies. Though, I do recall Sappho enjoying my song."

 Artemis giggled. "And Athena?"

 Both Zeus and Artemis were eager to hear Apollo's reply. Finally, he relented. "That was not my idea. Aphrodite told me to spread it around. I think about the time of the whole deal with the Golden Apple."

 Zeus let out a long groan. "That damned beauty contest. That alone may have been what ruined our pantheon," he said, shaking his head. "We turned our base of worship into a war that left an entire kingdom in ruins."

 "We've heard this before," Artemis said, resting her hand on her father's shoulder. Zeus noticed this and raised his own hand to clutch hers, but the daughter pulled her hand back faster than he could ensnare it.

 Apollo continued, scratching the back of his head as he chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, well, Aphrodite and I were trying to protect our interests in Troy. Of course, we were on the same side, so... yeah... I may have spread around some songs about Athena being such a bitch for not getting licked or pricked."

 Shaking his head, Zeus walked toward the door.

 "I didn't think she'd lean into it so hard for the next few thousand years," Apollo said, trying to explain himself.

 Rolling her eyes, Artemis bit into her fruit as she parked her bum against the arm of the sofa. "Oh, she was getting pricked," she said with a naughty smirk and a full mouth. "She just kept it a secret."

 "Those are only rumors," said Apollo, casting a cautionary gaze on his sister. "We do not need to concern father with such things."

 Scoffing, Zeus shook his head. "I know about the rumors," Zeus said as he opened the door and saw himself out. "Goodbye, children," he said as he closed the door.

 "That went... oddly well," said Apollo, still staring at the door.

 Artemis scoffed and took another bite.

 Turning around, Apollo faced his sister. His eyes were inquisitive. He was standing in the precise center of an archway that divided the space between Artemis' apartment foyer and living room. The long and tall arch had constantly reminded her of a rising moon, but with Apollo standing in its midst, she found herself recasting it in her imagination as a rising sun. An omen of the dawn of something new?

 After watching her chew for some time, Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Are you undressing me with your eyes, brother?" she asked, swallowing. "Because if you are, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not in the mood. I was just poisoned. My stamina is null and any motion rocking my nethers might cause an unflattering mess."

 Apollo winced and shook his head. "No," he said, shaking that mental imagery from his head. He bit his head and groaned. "I was just shot. My wound has not fully mended. I don't want-"

 "Liar," she said, smirking as she took another bite. "You could have an arrow still in you and would be smiling ear-to-ear if I offered to stroke your shaft."

 Apollo chuckled. "Maybe, but that would be a moment where I was facing death and not on the mend," he explained. "Two very different circumstances."

 Artemis chewed slowly as she made suggestive glances at her brother, taking a bite of her pear. It did not take long for the thought to pop into his head, giving her a reason to smile. "I knew it."

 "Thinking is not the same as acting," he reminded her with a glare. "Now, before you seduce me, sister... I did have something I wanted to discuss with you."

 "What's that?" she asked.

 "You mentioned a letter."

 Artemis paused. "Yes... What of it?" she asked before sinking her teeth into her pear.

 "What you said to father was the first I heard of it," he said.

 "It was discussed in the meeting," she said, slowly chewing.

 Apollo shook his head. "I do not think it was."

 "Oh," she said with a shrug and a swallow. "Well, it's gone now."

 "What do you mean, it's gone?" asked Apollo, raising an eyebrow.

 "Destroyed by water," she said. "It's possible it was designed that way... Hermes told me that thieves in Rhodes will write their messages on thin paper so it can be dissolved in a puddle or in their mouth with the slightest moisture."

 Apollo nodded. "That is likely," he nodded. "Some inquisitors do the same on Delphi," he explained. "I think it may be where the trick originated, considering Rhodes was originally settled by the Delphians."

 Artemis shrugged. "Fascinating," she said sarcastically as she took the last bite of her pear and moved to toss its core into her fire.

 As she stepped back from watching the silver flames consume her discarded remnant of fruit, Apollo was beside her, leaning against the mantle. "What did the letter say?"

 Artemis let out a sigh. "I don't know, brother. There were a lot of smears. The ink was losing its hold as the paper dissolved. I only caught a sample of the contents. I already told you about the camera."

 As she walked away, she took a moment to recall where her bedroom was to the fireplace. Once she caught her bearings, she proceeded in that direction. Apollo followed her.

 Artemis opened her wardrobe and found some clothing she had not worn in ages. Yet, it had been maintained and cared for despite the neglect on her part. Shrugging, she cast off her clothes and changed. She could feel her brother's eyes on her as he leaned in the doorway, looking toward her but not particularly soaking in her naked form. Nudity was not as titillating for gods as it often was for mortals.

 As she slid into her leather breeches from a time when Elysians wore loud metal armor and built stone fortifications, Artemis briefly tried to recall anything else from the note. The pants must have been six hundred years old. Not only was this a testament to the Corinthian leather but also the preserving qualities of an ethereal wash. But, as she slid a tunic over her, she finally did recall one other detail.

 "There was something about Nyx," she added.

 "Nyx?" asked Apollo, raising an eyebrow. "Are you certain?"

 "Fairly," she said as she dropped herself onto her bed and slid into some boots. "It's a false name, though. Nyx does not exist. She is a relic of an ancient religion or some arcane folklore."

 Apollo folded his arms and sucked on his lower lip. "I'm not so sure about that," he said. "I know of one person who does use such a name."

 "Who?" asked Artemis, lifting herself from the bed, dressed in outdated linens from a bygone era.

## Characters

### Gods

* Zeus
* Artemis
* Apollo