Perseus: God of tides and childhood

Olympian meeting

As soon as Artemis released the arrow to the ceiling, the ten remaining Olympians arrived at their thrones. Many of them had anger flowing around them due to being summoned without prior consulting. Some, like Hermes, were very busy with their work and duties and didn't have time for useless meetings. Others were simply angry because they were enjoying their godly life and were interrupted abruptly. Nevertheless, all of the gods were sitting in their thrones now, all staring at the King of Gods.

"Why was this meeting called? I have to deliver a lot of mail" asked Hermes, breaking the unnecessary silence. However, Artemis noticed that the language the god of messengers had just spoken was not Greek or Latin, rather it was some kind of weird Latin mixed with many other things. Still, Artemis was able to understand it completely due to her being part of Olympus.

"It wasn't me who called it," Zeus said, freeing himself of all judgment. "Who called this meeting?"

"I did, father" Artemis spoke up as all the gods (minus Hera and Apollo) looked at her in surprise. From what Artemis could gather, the gods had not changed a lot, yet they still seemed different. Rougher and meaner it seemed. She could also sense that many of them were rather ambitious, but it didn't seem to be because of their choice. For example, Hermes was looking at various maps of new lands that had been discovered at the other side of the ocean. Poseidon looked very powerful and in control of his emotions, the first time she had seen him like that since ancient times.

"Artemis, how long has it been? Are you doing fine daughter?" Zeus asked his favorite daughter with worry in his words. Artemis smiled slightly.

"From what Apollo tells me, it has already been two hundred years. I'm doing well father, no need to worry."

Zeus let out a sigh he had been holding. "That's nice to hear. However, there must be a reason why you have called this meeting, is there not?"

Artemis nodded "Yes there is. Due to circumstances out of my control, my presence has been absent for the last two centuries. During this time, certain important events seem to have taken place in the world which has made us move from our previous location to the Iberian peninsula. I wish to know these events and the effect they have had"

"You called a meeting just for that?" Dionysus scoffed.

Artemis turned to glare at him, "Well maybe you don't care because everyone continues to drink and get drunk, but unlike you, my domains are in literal danger and they are the only ones who will continue to be threatened. War will always happen so Athena and Ares will always be in no danger of disappearing. The same goes for medicine, messages, agriculture, family...Hades, even beauty will always be important. This doesn't apply to my domains, hunting has been made illegal for the common people and nature is being threatened at incredible rates. I could fade soon if something isn't done about it."

The Olympians stared at the goddess of the hunt with pity. Silence conveyed it's the highest form in the throne room, as every god thought about the consequences of the fading of Artemis could have upon their own domains. Even Aphrodite, who is the complete opposite of the Letoid, relied on her for her own domains. Without Artemis, the whole Olympian balance would be put in jeopardy, and with it, the whole world.

"It all started with a son of Hermes named Cristoforo Colombo, or Cristobal Colón as is said here in Spanish" Athena started to explain. "He said that he could find a route to India just navigating west from Portugal. Everybody thought he was crazy because the Earth is so much bigger than what he assumed. After trying to persuade multiple people, he finally got the approval of Queen Elizabeth the Catholic, or Isabel de Castilla. Thanks to her, he navigated the sea and found land, except that it wasn't India. Instead, he found a whole new continent which we now call America. Long story short, thanks to that discovery, Spain is now the biggest empire of the world and due to this, the flame of the west has moved and now we're here."

The explanation continued until Artemis had no more questions that needed to be answered. She finally understood the reason as to why she had been feeling so weak lately, and how her absence had made it easier for the crowns to meddle with her domains.

After a little while, Zeus decreed the meeting over and the Olympians left the Throne Room, with the exception of Zeus and Artemis.

"Are you going to tell me where you have been all these years?" Zeus asked his daughter

"I was in an island hunting. I met someone there and got distracted with the time" Artemis replied blushing at the last part.

"Was this someone perhaps a boy?" Zeus asked mischievously

"Yeah, he's really nice" Zeus laughed and Artemis glared. "What?"

"Nothing Artemis, I'm just happy to see you like this. I trust your judgment when it comes to that type of thing, and I wish nothing more than your happiness."

Artemis got up her throne, walked towards her father and engulfed him in a tight hug. When she let go, she pecked him in the cheek and smiled.

"I love you, dad. Thank you for always being there for me"

"Anything for you Artemis. You're the light of my life, remember that. No matter what, I will die before I let anything bad happen to you." He hugged her one last time "I missed you, my daughter"

"I missed you too, dad"

After her emotional time with her father, Artemis returned to her hunters in her palace. She gathered each and every one of them and began to hunt like she had done days before on her end, but centuries for her hunters. They viciously attacked any monsters they saw and rarely missed an opportunity to be on the move. Their limited area of available forest hunting ground made it difficult for them to practice their stamina, but they made up for it by rarely staying put in one encampment for more than a day.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, until suddenly it had been years since Artemis had gone missing. She was enjoying her life with her hunters, but there was a little part of her who wanted to go back to the uncozy island she had found some years past. More importantly, she wished to see the boy who lived on the island one last time. Every time she thought of him, the necklace he had given her got a little warmer as if saying that he was still waiting for her return.

After twenty years of the same routine, Artemis decided to go back to the island in which she had gone missing for several centuries. It took a lot of courage from Artemis part to finally decide that she wanted to return to the island. First of all, she had to gather her hunters and explain where she was going. After pondering about it for days, the chaste goddess finally decided to tell the hunters that she was going on a solo hunt on an island that was very dangerous due to its deceiving aspects. 'Half-truth, just like Apollo said' Artemis reminded herself. The hunters didn't ask her any further questions, and so Artemis was free to enjoy her "hunt".

The second problem was that the goddess had no recollection of how she had arrived at the nameless island. She couldn't ask anybody or consult her memory, she just had to trust her gut feeling. And so Artemis began to concentrate on the memory of the island. She felt herself moving to another place, only to appear the same when she opened her eyes.

"Just how the Hades am I supposed to do this?" she muttered to herself.

After thinking about it for a while, the necklace hanging from her neck began to glow lightly. The silver eyes of the goddess widened in recognition.

"Artemis, you are so stupid sometimes!" She yelled out loud. The goddess focused all her energy into the necklace and then to her memory, somehow merging the abstract concept into the physical object she had in possession.

She felt herself being lifted. No, not herself, rather her spirit leaving her body and both being transported somewhere else separately, but somehow merging when they arrived at the destination.

Her eyes opened and a bright smile appeared on her face, the brightest smile from the last ten years. Everything was the same. The same emptiness the ugly island contained stayed preserved. It looked uninviting, but there was something that brought her back, something in her unconscious mind wanted to return to the island.

"Artemis?" She turned to the voice who called her name from behind.

"Percy" Artemis smiled a white smile, expressing her happiness without the need for words.