ARTEMIS

I was on my way to my ride, when I felt a tingling sensation. 

Someone’s here.

“Wazzup little sis.”

“Apollo. How many times do I have to tell you? I am not your little sis.”

“Eh? But you are. You’re my sis, and you’re little. Hence, little sis”

“We’re TWINS!”

“Duh. Shocker. Really? Wow.”

Annoying! A in Apollo stands for Annoying!

“Please, either tell me why you’re here, or get out and leave.”

“Fine. I just came here to ask, since I am worried for my little sister…”

“I told you I’m not-”

“Are you going to see her again?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

Right… I’m pretty sure Lord Zeus asked you to do this. Have they been keeping a close eye on me ever since that...thing? Does it mean they’ve been doing this for years?

“Hey. Just to be clear, I came here on my own. And don’t forget, Artemis. I am the god of prophecies. I know what’s happening. I have seen what would happen if you choose the least appropriate decisions.”

Apollo… 

“Listen, Artemis. I’ll deny ever saying this but you are the only family I have. You know how our dad is. And our mother, well… I do give her presents every mother’s day anyway. But you...you are the only one who came to my aid when I needed help the most.”

“Apollo. I am no fan of riddles. I have to go.”

“All I’m saying is, be careful. Okay? Every decision you make affects not just your fate but... just please to avoid making rash decisions.”

How long is he going to remind me of what I did? And those men deserved to die anyway.

“Apollo, part of my duties is to hunt monsters that have the capability to destroy the wild. You’ve been on earth, you’ve been a mortal. You’ve seen how most of them are. There are people more of a monster than any monster we have slain.” 

“But-”

I never got to hear what he was about to say. Right after I had my say, I just left him and went straight to my sleigh. I had enough of hearing him nag. Seriously, our mom wasn’t even like that. Maybe his time as a mortal changed him?

Anyway. I have to go. I don’t want to be late.

WENDY

I hate myself for not thinking of this idea earlier. First of all, the view is really amazing from here! The horizon… the sunset… I can see it more clearly from here than when I was down there sitting atop my mother’s grave. I hope I brought my book here with me, because even the night breeze feels so good against my cheeks I don’t ever want to get down.

Curious where I am? Well, your resident hamster here climbed up the nearest sycamore tree.

Why?

I am hiding.

Why?

Because every night for three years, I feel like someone’s watching me once the moon appears in the night sky. No exceptions. At times that there are heavy rains or something, of course I can’t go to the grave. When this happens, I simply go to the Emperor’s box at the colosseum (yes, there is a colosseum right in the middle of the forest.)  hoping against all odds that I can catch a glimpse of the moon. And even then, I feel like someone’s watching me. At first, I thought it was...okay more like I convinced myself it was just Taeyeon, looking after me. But now, I am 70% sure it was not. Why not a hundred percent? Because 30% of me thinks I am just being delusional or paranoid.

And thus, I thought of this brilliant plan (a few seconds ago). I’ll hide myself before the sun completely sets, and see if someone’s stalking me or something. And this is the perfect hiding spot okay. Broadleaf, thick branches (thick enough to hold my weight anyway) so yeah. I’m a genius, eh? 

No, this is dumb.

Shut up. This is cool. Now, we wait. 

(a few minutes later)

I was about to climb down and just go home since every minute that passes by, the more I think this is a stupid idea, when something...someone at the edge of woods caught my attention. I held my breath, willing my heart to calm down. 

Guess 70% of me was right?

That person came nearer to the graveyard, and now I can clearly see the person. From the edge of the woods came a young lady. And I have a feeling that I must know who she is, but I don’t remember. Have we seen each other before? Nah, I won’t forget a beautiful girl when I see one. 

This girl looks like she’s looking for something. She’s circling Taeyeon’s grave for quite a while now.

Holy macaroons, is she… is she looking for me?! Oh my, oh my, oh my. I felt my cheeks, their heating up. Oh my. Oh no, my palms are getting sweaty. Fck. There’s no way a girl this gorgeous would be looking for me. I can’t think of a reason why she would even be looking for me when  we have never even met each other!

Ohh my gosh now I’m even fidgeting. A thing I do when I’m getting nervous. Should I just go down and talk to her? Ask her what she’s looking for? Or should I just stay here and watch how everything goes? 

I tried to stand up, planning to go down a lower branch. Which I should have known is not a very good idea since I am still sweating, and I am very nervous my legs shake a little and…I slipped. And suddenly, all I remember was me falling down, hard. 

ARTEMIS

I’ve been waiting for her behind the trees, but I don’t see her anywhere. I know she’s here, but I don’t see her. Did something happen?

Against my better judgement, I approached the grave, just to find any clues if she had been there and just decided to go home earlier. Somewhere at the foot of Taeyeon’s grave, I saw her book. Wendy would never go anywhere without it. She’s here… But where is she?

“Lil sis, try not to make rash decisions”

Calm down, I’m not even doing anything. Yet. I was just thinking of calling out wild animals lurking in here just to find her for me, when suddenly, I heard a loud thud, followed by a series of falling leaves and--THERE. SHE. IS. 

I approached the girl, just to see if she’s alright. I can hear her making noises, gosh that hurt. I tried to lightly tap her cheeks, just to wake her up. “Hey Wendy, open your eyes.” Thankfully, she started to respond and, still lying down, she finally opened her eyes. 

“Are you okay?” this girl fell from a tree, but she looks like she’s drunk.

“Nooooo, I am not oooookaaaaaay. Whooo areEe youuUu?”

Okay, maybe she’s really drunk?

“YoU r so preTty, yOu mUsT be a gOdDesS.”

A goddess. Yup, must admit I almost panicked at that.

“Alright drunk Wendy. Stay still.”

I touched her cheeks again, closed my eyes, and was about to try and send a message to Seulgi at camp to come and fetch Wendy, when I felt a pair of warm hands touching my arms.

I opened my eyes, and a pair of brown eyes met mine. She’s staring at me with such intensity it almost feels like she can see who I really am. I was too focused with her eyes (because they are that irresistible) and my mind is flooded with thoughts of the possibility that maybe she remembers me, I didn’t even notice when she started to sit up. 

I think her face is coming closer.

And closer.

Too close I can now feel her breath and count her eyelashes. 

Slightly parted lips, half lidded eyes.

Oh...

 No… Something isn’t right. 

Gently, I pushed her shoulders away. Sure enough, she started blinking rapidly, like waking up from a trance. That’s when I saw her. 

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Just there, lurking beside the farthest tree. Clearly watching and enjoying this scene.

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The goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite.