Amore {Druig}

Chapter 15

Amazon river
1st person pov

Somebody that I used to know - Gotye, Kimbra

We somehow managed to squeeze into a tiny boat to reach Druig's village. My leg continued to bounce up and down, slowly rocking the boat. My fingernails were down to the tips of my fingers. I could feel everyone's eyes on me. Kingo and Thena with worry, Sersi and Sprite with pity, Gilgamesh with comfort, and Ikaris with annoyance. I fixed my eyes on the peaceful surroundings of the rainforest. Over the 7000 years, I've been alive, I've seen humanity evolve and grow, but also the horrors it went through to achieve that.

I'd lost friends and family to the evolution of the earth. I've been hurt, attacked and betrayed, which physically hurt me for years, but nothing will hurt as much as when Druig left. Our relationship isn't perfect. We fought and left each other quite a few times, but we'd always find our way back to each other like it was written in the stars.

But not this time.

Druig and I constantly disagreed on many things, but our values were the same. Humanity is worth saving no matter what any celestial says. I think about that day in 1521 every day, but I've recently come to terms with his choice. He's the only one who could save them. He chose humanity over our love. Even after the blip, I wondered how he was doing, how his village was doing.

Out of every place I'd lived in, none felt like home. except for his village. When I'm with Druig, I'm home.

"Trouble? Are you OK? " Kingo's voice came softly from behind me.

As I turned round to face him, a single tear dropped down my cheek. I nodded, "I'm fine." I pulled the sleeves of my green jumper down, wiping the tear away. On the plane, I changed into brown shorts, an oversized white top, and a green jumper.

"We are here, sir," Karun announced.

Karun jumped out of the boat, pulling it to shore. Everyone made their way off of the boat onto the sandy beach. We made our way through the rainforest to his village. Ikaris insisted I lead the way because, apparently, no one knew where the town was. Which was bullshit because I know that Icky kept tabs on everyone's whereabouts over the years.

After an hour of trekking through the forest, we made it to a clearing. Smoke could be seen just above the tree line. We were close. Really close.

The Eternals slowly pass through the small village. Villagers here are carrying woven baskets, cutting wood, or welding metal. I saw Sprite speak to a local in Spanish as a small patch of flowers caught my eye. I bent down to see rows of dandelions. A small sign stood in front of it reading, "Wishing on everyone that I'll see you again. I closed my eyes and dipped my head until I heard two heavy doors swing open. I joined the rest of my family in front of the barn in the village's centre. Heavy footsteps made their way out of the building and onto the entrance. "I've missed all of you." That thick Irish accent made my head snap up. Our eyes met for the first time since 1850. A small smirk made its way onto his face. "Please make yourselves at home."

One by one, we filed into the barn. I sat on the bench furthest away from the front. I was hoping to distance myself from him. I'm only here to save the planet. Druig slowly walked past me after closing the barn doors. I felt his eyes burning into the side of my head. I didn't have to be a mind reader to feel the desperate urge he had to speak to me. He took his place at the front of the barn, waiting for someone to talk about our arrival. Everyone's heads turned to me, but I kept my eyes on the floor, begging for this to be over. Sersi eventually began to explain everything. From the earthquake to the deviant attack and the emergence. Oh, and how we're all not real and everything we've ever worked for is a fucking lie.

"You've given me a lot of bad news in one go, milady," he addressed Sersi. I quietly scoffed. which earned a glare from Ikaris and Druig.

"Will you help us?" Sersi asked naively.

"Of course, he won't, he doesn't care about us," I mumbled under my breath. I quickly caught Druig's tough demeanour faltering, but it was immediately replaced by his usual harsh facade

"I am glad..." he started, but Sersi's phone began to ring. Juice by Lizzo began to blast out. Everyone's heads turned towards her with an unimpressed look. Except for Kingo, who leaned over, "Hey, what's your service? I'm not getting any bars. "

"Do you all remember this forest? " He addressed everyone, but his eyes ultimately landed on me. "It's the last place we all lived together." I immediately looked away from him. A million memories ran through my mind as I thought about our life before we all broke off. Midnight dances, stealing with Kari, inventing with Phas, bickering with Icky, and stealing kisses in the moonlight with Druig.

The sound of something smashing brought my attention back to the conversation. Karun's camera was smashed all over the floor. That was the last straw. Nobody hurts Karun. I stood up, making the bench scrap across the wooden flooring. "OK, no breaking Karun's camera," I said, standing in front of Druig, speaking to him for the first time in over 170 years.

"What's this little human to you?" "I thought you despised the human race, Angel," he smirked. I wanted to punch that smirk right off his bloody face.

"You've lost every right to call me that," I said, with venom lacing my words. "And for the record, Karun is one of the sweetest humans I have ever met, so don't you dare assume anything about me after not giving two shits about me all this time."

He just stared at me with an eyebrow raised, "Where is your sense of humour, Ang... Artemis?"

My blood began to boil as my eyes lit up a fiery green. He matched my energy as his eyes lit up with the familiar golden hue.

"I'm sorry, Lady Artemis," Karun apologised sincerely.

"Don't you dare apologise, it's not your fault," I said calmly.
"You are not a god." I hope you know that, "I whispered." "

"Oh how ironic, Artemis, the Goddess of Hunting, saviour of the human race with her golden bow and arrows. "

"That's not who I am anymore."

"Oh, yea?"

"Let's go, he's wasting our time," Ikaris said, interrupting our argument. Druig took one more glance at me before moving on to patronise Ikaris. I took a deep breath before sitting next to Kingo. "Thank you for defending my honour, Lady Artemis."

A wide grin broke out on my face. "Don't worry about it, you don't deserve that shit from him." Also, I'll buy you a new camera once we save the world." The sound of a door slamming made me look at the empty space where Druig stood. "Well done Ikaris, you just lost our best defence against saving the world."

"You did a perfect job of that yourself, Artemis," he responded.

"Real mature Ikaris," I spat before storming out of the barn.

3rd Person Pov

Artemis walked through the forest aimlessly. She and Druig's argument replayed in her mind constantly. Suddenly, goosebumps erupted all over her body as her "Nature tingles," as Kingo called it. She focused her energy on the surroundings, slowly grabbing her dagger from its holder on her belt. She spun around, pinning someone onto a nearby tree. The dagger rested on their neck.

"Deja vu, huh," Druig quipped.

Artemis huffed, "How'd you find me?"

Your thoughts are extremely loud, as I've said for the past 7000 years. You've improved your natural tingles."

"Do not call them my nature tingles." She smiled slightly.

The lost lovers fell into silence. They just stared into each other's eyes, making up for the lost time.

"Artemis..." Druig began, but a loud roar broke them apart. She lowered her knife from his neck and closed her eyes, focusing on the nature around them. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Shut up," she mumbled. Artemis stayed still for a couple more moments before opening her eyes with a gasp and grabbing onto Druig's robe.

"Artemis, what happened?" he panicked.

"Deviants," she breathed. "The deviants are attacking the camp."