Artemis's Capture Ch. 11

He offered the pipe to Remus again, and this time he took it, taking a long puff. "So, what's so different about Artemis?" he asked curiously, but in a tone that made it seem as though he couldn't care in the slightest.

Hermes sat up. "Well she's certainly not a lady. Not like Persephone or Aphrodite. She always going hunting and playing in the woods. And no one could sway her. She's stronger than most of us and she doesn't take shit from anyone." He hiccupped and corrected himself. "Except from you apparently. For what reason I don't know, but I like fun Artemis now, so good job on that. That whole high-and-mighty virgin shit was holding her back."

"Artemis used to be scary. Like really, you did not want to fuck with her. Some hunter, what was his name...Oh, Actaeon I think. Well anyway, he saw her naked once and she turned him into a stag. Not so bad, right?" Bacchus added, chuckling. "Until she set his own dogs on him and he was eaten alive. She used to be crazy! Like, scary crazy. And then you know what happened to Orion."

Remus looked up at him curiously, taking another long drag from the pipe. He was old enough to know all about the Olympians, but that did not mean he paid any attention to what they were doing after he left Tartarus.

"Well, he tried to take her clothes off and she killed him immediately. I mean, we're talking about the only woman I know who I've seen almost literally bathed in blood from her enemies from head to toe. So even though she loved him or whatever they had going on, I was not at all surprised that she killed him. In fact that's what perplexes me about this situation, is she doesn't love you, but didn't kill you right away. So what's the difference Remus? What have you done that no one else could?"

Remus stewed upon Hermes's words, still attempting to give off an aloof appearance. Maybe he had underestimated her a tiny bit. It was satisfying, hearing he was powerful enough to capture a woman as dangerous as they were claiming.

But now he was a bit perplexed. On some level did she unconsciously let this happen? No, that couldn't be it. Yet he could not answer what was different that she would change for just him within a matter of days. Remus scoffed at his own thoughts. Ridiculous. It didn't matter anyway. She was his now and that's what was important.

"Is your hand better?" Hermes asked, interrupting Remus's pondering.

Remus rubbed his hand but didn't answer. It was getting better, but he knew he should give it time before he tried to bring them back to his faraway kingdom. Though he really did want to be stuck here for another day.

"Ugh!" Hermes sighed loudly and stood up. He clumsily stumbled to Artemis who was relaxing in the cool stream, her head rolled to the side with her eyes half open.

Hermes reached into the water and grabbed her by her arms, pulling her out and onto the grass. "Hey, troublemaker. Go bring Remus home."

Artemis shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "We can't, we have to wait for his hand to get better."

Hermes bent down and put a hand on the top of her head. "Bring him home here in Arcadia. Your little woodland creatures haven't been cleaning it for no reason. Get back home."

Artemis huffed, but nodded her head. "Hey Remus!" Hermes called behind him.

Remus stood up and returned the pipe to Bacchus.

"See you soon friend," he said, taking the pipe back.

Remus replied with a nod, picked up Artemis's dirty dress and then turned to make his way to Hermes and Artemis. Hermes had picked her up by the arm, so she was standing again. Clumsy, but at least standing.

"Okay Artemis do your thing. Go home, we'll see you later."

Remus watched curiously as Artemis took a deep breath and traced a large, deep circle in the dirt with her fingers, mumbling quietly. Once the circle was complete the grass dissolved into a black hole. Artemis slipped in without a word, disappearing into the darkness. "In you go!" Hermes said and gave Remus a quick push into the hole.

Artemis came out on the other side of the black hole gracefully. Remus did not. He scrambled out clumsily, watching it vanish behind him. "If you can do that why can't you get us home?" he asked, now incredibly annoyed.

"I can't travel like this from planet to planet. One world at a time."

Remus huffed. They were in a small meadow tucked away in the middle of the forest. "Fine. So where are we going?" Artemis pointed directly behind him. He turned to see a small wooden door on a grassy hill. "Ah."

"Come on," she said reluctantly. She led him to the door and waved her hand over the lock. The door made a clicking noise and creaked open by itself. She walked in with ease, but the door was not meant for someone of Remus's size.

"Damnit," he grumbled, bending down and trying to make himself short enough to squeeze through. When he finally managed to get through the doorway without smacking his head on the frame, Artemis was already lighting candles. "Wow," he said as he scanned the home.

It was larger than he expected. There wasn't much furniture, but there were plants everywhere. Vines curled up the walls and a rainbow of flowers sprouted in large ceramic pots around every corner. While Artemis was in her modest kitchen, lighting all of the loose candles scattered throughout the home, she lost sight of Remus.

He had started to meander through the house, looking the place up and down. "Hey!" Artemis yelped. She scurried to Remus and tugged at his sleeve. "Don't just wander around!"

Remus smirked, inspecting everything as he walked through a hallway. "This place is pretty big. Especially for being underground."

Artemis kept tugging at his sleeve, trying to stop him, but he ignored her. "Wow, lots of plants." He poked at some little trinkets on a shelf against the wood wall. Paintings and pottery depicting scenes of noble adventurers and dramatic tales of their voyages were lined together on the floor. "Did Athena give you these?"

"No, Hephaestus did. Stop touching things please!"

Remus started to open doors, looking into the many rooms of the underground home. It was the complete opposite of his dark and dreary stone castle. This place was warm and comforting. He poked into the largest of rooms. "Oh your bedroom," he said with a devilish smile.

Artemis scowled, still trying to pull him back by his sleeve, but he just waltzed right in. "Hm. Fireplace in front of your bed? I approve. Are you sure you were a virgin? This is a rather large bed for one person." He walked to the table on the far side of the room. "Seriously?"

The table was littered with hunting supplies. Knives, rope, modest bows and half-finished arrows. Remus inspected it all curiously, amused that these were the things she would keep in her bedroom.

"What kind of things do you do in here?"

Artemis crossed her arms angrily. "Sleep," she answered.

Remus sighed and plopped himself on her bed on a pile of thick blankets. He was sobering up slowly, but exhaustion was taking over. "Come here," he said, motioning her to him.

Artemis stepped towards him nervously, sensing devious acts may come to follow. Remus took her wrist in his hand and pulled her on the bed in front of him. He reached his other hand to her and she backed up instinctively.

Remus huffed, "Can you just come here?"

Artemis scooted closer to him but was very suspicious. He grabbed her by her waist and drew her close, wrapping his long arms around her. His grip was almost too tight as he held her against his chest, resting his chin on her soft shoulder.

"You're mine, right?"

Artemis was confused. He had always commanded her to say it, but he had never actually asked her. When she didn't answer he held on to her tighter.

"Stop getting away from me. I can't stand it. You're mine forever, so please just stay."

Artemis had never heard his voice with this tone. He always had a demanding, angry demeanor without any hint of mercy or care to anyone other than himself. But right now his tone almost sounded sorrowful, an emotion she wasn't sure he had.

"Where would I go?" she replied, resting her head on his chest. When Remus replied she could hear a faint crackle in his voice.

"With me. I'm never letting you go. So stop fucking trying to get away. I don't care where you go, I don't care what tries to pull us away from each other, you're mine until the end of the cosmos and chaos sucks us all back up. Or I'll take you to another universe again until this one is reborn. I don't care, I'll take you anywhere and everywhere."

Artemis felt a single drop of a warm tear hit her shoulder blade. "I don't want to be alone again," he said in such a quiet whisper she could barely even hear him say it.

"Why me?" she asked quietly.

She was just a prize to him. Defiling a goddess with a vow of perpetual virginity was just another accomplishment. With all of the sadistic things he had done to her, how he practically enslaved her, he made her feel like she was nothing but a toy.

Remus grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away, so she was face to face with him, foreheads almost touching. "You have everything I don't."

"I don't understand."

Remus reached out and ran his fingers through her thick brown hair. He knew he was going to regret telling her this, showing her any other side than his aggressive, powerful exterior. She would think less of him or think she could take advantage of him after exposing any emotion of this kind.

He had never had a moment like this with anyone. During his entire existence the only ones to see him cry were Cosmas and Thaddeus, and that was in Tartarus when he was still just a boy.

"You're more beautiful than Aphrodite could dream. You're so kind and protective. You actually care about, well, things. You just, you know, fit in here. You have friends. But you're also just like me."

Artemis tilted her head to the side. She didn't know whether to be offended or not. All of this from him was so foreign to her. It was like she was talking to a completely different person. He could just have been more intoxicated than she had thought.

"I know you're powerful and strong. I know you can be just as blood thirsty as I am. You crave freedom, just like me. So just let me give it to you. As long as you're mine, I'll give you everything you could ever want. And If I don't have it, I'll find it," he said, his voice sounding starting to sound more serious.

Artemis was at a loss for words. She didn't trust him, but he sure was being persuasive. It was as if he was reaching into her heart and pulling out her inner most desires. Her world was being flipped upside down so fast she didn't know how to keep up.

Remus let go of her shoulders and squeezed her hands in his, holding them tightly. "I will take you on the most epic adventure anyone could dream of. I promise. Odysseus's ten-year voyage will seem like nothing compared to one day with me. Just stay."

Artemis thought back on her life before him. She thought she had lived a full life, but Remus made her realize she needed more. She always assumed she would get away from him, or he would lose interest and then she could try and find out what to do next.

But the promise of adventure and freedom, never being lonely. It had to be a trap. Whether he was being manipulative or genuine she did not know, but he had sucked her in.

"I'll stay," she said softly.

Not even a second after the words left her mouth, Remus pressed his lips against hers, kissing her hungrily and leaning over her. At first, he was aggressive. But when she parted her lips, passionately returning the long kiss, Remus loosened up.

In fact, he collapsed on top of her. "Ah!" she squeaked as his heavy body fell limp on her lap. "Remus?" She poked his shoulder, but he didn't move. He was out cold, dead to the world. Artemis struggled out from under him, leaving him face down on the bed. She heard a faint snoring coming from him.

He had fallen asleep. Artemis sighed and got up from the bed, fetching any firewood in her living room that could still be used for a fire. The house had been unused for years, the only reason it was still in such good condition was because her little woodland friends would come to clean it.

She made herself a cup of tea, which surprisingly after all this time was rather nice. She brought it to her room and started a fire in the fireplace before her bed.

As Remus snored and mumbled in his deep sleep, Artemis curled up in a thick blanket and drank her tea, warmed comfortably by the crackling flames. She stewed all night on his words before passing out, confused, but becoming more confident with her answer to stay.

After her tea she flipped Remus over, so he wasn't face down on the bed, but it took a lot of effort just to move him. She threw a blanket over him and laid down next to his warm body, slowly drifting off to sleep.