WENDY

Years. It has been 6 years since I last saw my sister.

It has been 6 years since I last saw her. 

I do sometimes think about her, even looking at the moon every night reminds me of her. 

I finished my studies 2 years ago, and majored in Biology, and was particularly immersed in Zoology and Ecology. 

Right now, I am actually working as a veterinarian, and I am a part of a non government organization that deals with the protection of endangered species. 

Seulgi and the rest of camp Jupiter supports me and our organization in a lot of ways, we won’t finish until tomorrow if I elaborate. They have been doing so, since the beginning anyways. 

But also, I am actually doing this in honor of that goddess. I never regretted my decision of not joining her Hunt, but I guess this is my way of helping them, since… you know. We don’t always need to rely on divine intervention to turn this world into a better place to live in. 

“Wendy-shi, I’m calling your next patient.” Says Yongsun, one of the secretaries, working in this clinic.

She proceeds to walk outside, and immediately calls the name of the next pet owner. Before the door fully closed, I heard the name. 

“Bae Joohyun shi? Bae Joohyun shi, you may come in.”

My eyes were fixed at the door, wondering if the Bae Joohyun coming in, is the same Bae Joohyun that had the fake student ID all those years ago, or if this a completely different Bae Joohyun. 

It was the former one. 

Artemis is here.

 Holding a very fluffy white bunny. 

After all these years…

ARTEMIS

“What’s with the bunny?”

Seriously. It’s your first time seeing me in years, and that is what you ask me?

“Nothing’s wrong with this bunny.”

“Then why are you-”

“Wendy, it would be weird if I come into a pet clinic and I don’t have a pet with me.”

“Oh. Right. So, uhm... What can I do for you?”

You should have just asked me What am I doing here, then maybe I could have been honest and just tell you the real reason why.

“Wendy… Why are you doing all these? You were a smart student. You’re the best in your year. You could have accepted any love calls from all those big shot companies wanting to hire you. But… Why here? Why become a part of an organization taking care of my domain?”

All that’s left is a burnt offering and I might actually think you’re a follower, and I’m your patron.

“Lady Artemis, did you know, when I was a child, my adoptive mother would read me and Yeri some stories related to greek myths. She had this big book full of stories about your kind. One of the stories she read that I can never forget was the story of how the great god  Pan died. No, not the story of a sailor shouting “The great god Pan is dead!” which a lot of people believed except the satyrs. No, I’m talking about how he died the way those modern demigods from the West with their friend satyr told in the story. How the wilderness was slowly dying, and how his mere presence stayed, because there are still a few who believe he’s still alive. And the moment they have accepted that Pan is really dead, was the moment he… faded away. Gone. Of course you already know all these, why am I even blabbering like this?”

This girl… did she perhaps… is she doing all these, for me?

“I know that you gods need us, humans, more than you would like to admit. The moment people stop believing in you, you would cease to exist. So, I guess you can think about all these things I am doing is to show that I… I would never stop believing in you.”

Wendy’s sudden revelation of the reason why she’s doing all these ignites my soul. Being around this girl makes me feel like I’m sitting in front of Hestia’s hearth. 

I just looked in her eyes, and smiled.

“Thank you, Wendy. I think my bunny’s feeling better.”

All I heard was her laugh, before I finally left the clinic.

WENDY

I’m currently on my way home, and I feel so tired. Glancing on my watch, it’s 10:40 pm already. I didn’t know it would take me this long, visiting Taeyeon’s grave and going grocery shopping. 

As soon as I turned the corner, I saw someone waiting for me at the front porch. 

Artemis. Again. 

When I finally reached my house, I was expecting she’d say something. Anything. But she didn’t. We were stuck in another staring contest, when after a few minutes, I decided to break the silence. 

“How’s my sister, by the way?”

“She’s a good hunter, always sticking around with my lieutenant, following everything she orders. Don’t worry, Yeri’s doing fine.”

“Oh… okay.”

“Listen, Wendy. I would only say this once, because this is really out of my character, but this needs to be said, so we both can move on.”

Why does she make it sound like we’ve been each other’s ex?

“I wish I had the choice to just drop all of the responsibilities that I have, and just live with you. Maybe have a dog. Or a cat. Or a hamster. A bunny. Whatever you like. I wish I could be beside you all the time, and be with you everytime you go somewhere looking for endangered species that must be saved.”

She steps a little closer to me, and holds my hands. 

“I wish I could grow old with you Wendy…”

"But you can't..."

I finally told her, since I know where this conversation would lead. 

And I won't even deny that I have been having the same thoughts ever since I admitted to myself that I... well....that I love her. 

Her eyes are like magnets, and my eyes are attracted. Seriously they can rival gravity itself. I can't take my eyes off hers.

I can see myself reflected in her silver eyes. 

“And I know you understand, we should not be seeing each other anymore. There’s no way we can be together, and I hope you know why.”

I can’t explain it, but deep down, I understand. She’s right. 

Her pale and cold hands traced my eyes, my nose, my cheeks, my lips. As if engraving in her memories how I looked like. 

And then, she slowly steps back, turns around, and was about to leave, when I finally had the courage to call her name. 

“Artemis.”

She stops, then looks back at me with her eyebrows raised. I looked up at the sky. It’s just amazing how bright the moon is shining, how there are a lot more stars visible this time.

I stared right to her eyes, and said:

“The moon looks beautiful tonight, doesn’t it?”

At first, she was confused, but then, she realized what I was trying to say. She understood. 

“If I die, I can die happy..”

And with that, for what would probably be the last time, she left. 

She left without knowing she took a piece of my heart with her.

APHRODITE

“Dearest, it seems like your plan to make them fall in love didn’t work?”

“Ares, I am literally the goddess of love. How can you say I failed?” 

“Well, they did not end up together did they?”

I know that goddess would never give up her responsibilities for love. She swore off men, right? But she almost failed to uphold her personal vow once. When she met that hunter, Orion. In case you're not familiar with the story, then let me tell you a briefly.

You see, Orion was a son of Poseidon and Euryale, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. Oh before I forget, Orion is actually a giant hunter. Like… literally. A giant and a hunter. He became friends with Artemis in the past, and they actually became good friends. They hunt together, back in the day. Unfortunately, (for me) they didn’t end up with each other. Well, you may have heard of a different version of how Orion died, but I’m going to tell you the one I believe happened (because it was the most tragic and dramatic of all the stories you may have heard; and I personally like this one). Artemis realized she was actually falling in love with Orion, to the point that she considered breaking her vows and marrying him. Her twin brother though, didn’t like that idea, so he cleverly devised a plan. One day, as Orion was taking a bath, submerging himself underwater, Apollo came. He challenged Artemis to show her archery skills by hitting something black, bobbing amongst the waves. Artemis, being not one to back down in a challenge of skills, took her bow and arrow, hitting the thing at point blank. Not realizing it was actually Orion. She was devastated by the fact that she accidentally killed him, and turned him to a constellation. 

There. From that moment, I realized that a maiden goddess like Artemis was actually not that immune to my domain, so I carefully devised this plan.

“Aphrodite, how can you say you succeeded then? And what makes you think a puny mortal like her can actually have a chance with Artemis?”

“My dear, you never bothered finding out why I asked you to use a demigod and find her for me, did you?”

“What for? I don’t bother researching these types of little things. I just do what needs to be done.”

“That girl. I chose her for a reason.”

“What do you mean? Don’t you just randomly pick anyone who you think would entertain you with tragic or any other form of romantic?”

“No, silly. That girl is not an ordinary girl. You remember Orion?”

“Of course I do, I never met another giant as skillful as he is with a bow and arrow. Why?”

“Do you remember what he did to Merope, King Oenopion’s daughter?”

“What? Stop asking questions, and just say it.”

“He tried to woo her, but he failed. One night, he got drunk and ravished her. Nobody knows much about it since it was actually buried in history, but they had an offspring. A girl.”

“Don’t tell me that mortal is….”

“Oh, no, don’t worry, she’s not. Orion’s daughter lived a long life, and was married to a mortal man. Once she gave birth, I seized that opportunity and stole their child. I left her at that place with the Lotus tree.”

“That mortal… stayed in there for… centuries? After it was then moved to somewhere in the US and became a hotel?”

“Yeah, it was perfect isn’t it? Time in the Lotus Hotel and Casino runs differently, so since she stayed there for such a very long time, she did age, but not that fast. The point is, she didn’t remain a baby didn’t she?”

“You mean to tell me that that girl, Wendy, is actually a granddaughter of the giant Orion? And is actually related to Poseidon? You have her secretly imprisoned, let her eat those lotus leaves so she would never want to leave that place, then when you got your chance, you probably erased her memories, and shipped her to another shelter for abandoned kids? What?”

“It was a lot of work you know. I had to disguise myself as someone who works in that shelter just to make sure everything goes according to plan. She came into that shelter when she was around 2 or 3 years of age, mortally speaking.”

“You and I have very different views in getting revenge, I still don’t understand what you wanted to achieve.”

“It’s quite simple, actually. I just need her to make Artemis fall for her, make Artemis feel in love once again, then break her heart. No, that may be impossible. Maybe just make her feel… rejected. That’s all.”

I knew why Artemis asked her to join her hunt. I understand what her selfish motive was. And you may not know this, Ares. But that was actually the first time I saw Artemis feel unwanted, rejected, and unimportant. Now she got a taste of her own medicine. Now she knows what all those people felt when she rejected them. What all those people her followers turned down felt, just because of their silly vows.

My reasons may seem petty or childish to you, but see, I don’t care.

What Aphrodite wants, Aphrodite gets. 

a/n:

this fic is coming to an end... sorry for the angst tho :(