Wonder Woman - The envoy of Artemis

2 : καταιγίδα

"Hestia's Lasso!"

A young dark-haired woman whom I had not noticed approached me. And it was my turn to be surprised: our resemblance was striking. I understood that she was the person the queen had mentioned earlier. Indeed we looked alike, except that we were several years apart; I was only a child of about ten years old, she was already a young woman. If she was looking for an answer to this question, she would not find it because I did not know it myself.

The young woman studied me carefully from head to toe, seeming to wonder how and why I looked so much like her. I couldn't help but lower my head under the weight of her searching gaze.

She put the lasso around my chest. The rope suddenly seemed to come to life as it wrapped around me and began to glow.

"Hestia's lasso will force you to tell us the truth..."

I looked at her, panicked "I...I told you everything I knew!" »

-You have nothing to fear...unless you decide to lie to us.

She wanted to be reassuring; but I could barely breathe just thinking about the damage that glowing lasso could do to me if my answers didn't suit them.

The queen returned to her throne and again began to question me. Everyone in the room was watching me intently including my twin of several years.

-Who are you ?

I began to search my memory again to try to find a more satisfactory answer, but I had none. The glowing lasso tightened around me, emitting a weird heat. I finally spit out the answer I was trying to remember: " I don't know ! I don't know ! »

-Where do you come from ?

This time I didn't wait for the lasso to get angry and heated up against my desire not to answer. "I don't know !"

I replied in a small voice. The tears I had been trying to hold back all along began to flow, and as I looked down I saw a glint of sadness and sympathy in my twin's eyes.

This time; she was the one who interrogated me.

-Do you remember something? somebody ?

-I do not know.

The lasso began to warm up around me. "There was a light, a woman, a warrior much like you, except she wasn't really real..."

-How come she wasn't really real?

-I mean, she didn't seem like a living being like you and me. She was much taller than you; she carried a quiver on her back; and her arm was the color of molten copper. She had a bow with arrows that looked like lightning. And she... she was in the sky

- Did she look like this?

She turned to show me a huge painting that hung at the back of the room: a painting of a woman in warrior costume wielding a bow with arrows of light.

- Yes... she looked like that.

- So you spoke to the goddess Artemis?

-I do not know. I didn't know her name until you revealed it to me.

The queen spoke again.

-Why did the goddess Artemis send you to us? What is your mission ?

I thought again before answering, trying to find somewhere in my memories why I had been sent to these people I did not know.

The lasso warmed up again, forcing me to verbalize what came to mind: "I just remember a violent storm, lightning. I was falling and in my fall I heard the voice of Artemis as you called her who said these words to me: 'I send you to help and protect the princess; so that she does not get lost and does not lose the most important thing. Never separate yourself from the bracelets you are wearing, they will be useful to you during your mission'. I don't know who this princess is. All I remember after that is that I fell into the cold water where I nearly drowned, and I woke up this morning. I do not know more. I swear to you !"