The Wilted Hyacinth || Luke Castellan

Chapter 1

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young goddess named Artemis, the daughter of Zeus and Leto. Artemis was a very feisty and strong woman who liked to spend her days between the trees of different forests while hunting different kinds of animals. That is why she was called the goddess of the hunt" The father said while looking at his daughter who was lying on her bed hugging her small deer teddy bear, ready to fall asleep

"Did Artemis ever find her prince charming dad?" The girl asked while looking at her father with sleepy eyes and her dad smiled while caressing his daughter's brown long hair

"Yeah, I am pretty sure that she did! As I was told, one day, when she came to Earth to hunt, she met a guy who was walking through the forest to find different kinds of leaves for his collection. Artemis hid when she spotted the man because she thought that she would scare him away, but when she decided to reveal herself, he disappeared. She started looking for the man for months until one day he came back to the same forest to find more leaves that he wanted to collect. Artemis couldn't stop herself from falling for him even harder every time she saw him, but she knew that wasn't right. Until one day she couldn't hold her feelings any longer, and she revealed herself to the young man who immediately fell in love with her" He said with a smile on his face and the little girl giggled 

"What happened to Artemis and the man, daddy?" The girl asked while yawning and her father smiled kindly at her because he knew the answer to that question better than all the others the brown hair girl asked him the entire night

" After months of being together, they welcomed to the world a little, tiny girl named Hyacinth-"

"Wait, that is my name!" The girl said with a smile and her blue eyes lightened up at the sound of her name while her father let out a small laugh looking at his daughter's excited face 

" Oh yes, you guys have the same name!" He said, making a small stop while looking at little Hyacinth and thinking how much she looked like her mother

" Well after little Hyacinth was born, Artemis was forced to leave her daughter because she didn't keep the promise she had given to her father Zeus, which was to never have children. The little girl grew up with her father by her side and became the most beautiful and talented young demigod" He said with a smile which fainted when a loud noise was heard from outside. He stood up and made his way towards the window to see who was outside their house when his eyes widened in fear looking at the person whom he had been warned from Artemis years before their daughter was born. He walked towards his daughter's bed and slowly picked her up in his arms, trying not to completely wake her up

"Daddy, what is going on?" Hyacinth asked while rubbing her sleepy eyes before her father hid her under the bed and gave her a smile that ensured her that everything was fine 

"Nothing you need to worry about! You stay here and promise daddy that you won't make any noise" He said, whispering when the doorbell suddenly rang. Hyacinth nodded while hugging the little dear teddy bear, knowing that something was indeed wrong. Her father put a blanket around her so she couldn't be seen and walked towards the living room. He hesitated for a moment before he opened the door to come across Medusa

"Hello Jonathan, it is a pleasure to see you again" Medusa said while looking at him through her sunglasses. Jonathan sighed before looking at the floor in case Medusa decided to remove them

"She is not here"He said, avoiding eye contact with her, but Medusa ignored him and entered the house, which made Jonathan remove a pen from his pocket and wait for the ideal time to press the top button of it. He closed the door behind him and carefully watched the woman who was walking in the living room

" Nah you are lying, I can smell a demigod from miles away" She said sniffing the surrounding air and Jonathan looked at her with a terrified look that he tried to hide 

"Are you sure that they are not the clothes on the floor that give you that smell because my daughter is not here" He said and Medusa turned to him with a smile before she started walking around the room. Jonathan sighed loudly while holding the pen in his hand, ready to attack Medusa if she gave him any reason to do it

" What do you even want from her?" He asked looking at Medusa who was looking at a picture of the little girl that was hanging on the wall. Little Hyacinth was in the middle of a forest and most specifically the one that her parents met six years ago. Hyacinth was standing by a lake with her feet in the water smiling at the camera in front of her but also holding a bow in her hands

" A demigod's blood would help me get rid of my curse, and your daughter's blood is the most powerful that I have ever smelled in my life" She said sniffing one more time the air before an evil smirk appeared on her face and Jonathan looked at her confused 

" What curse?" He asked looking at Medusa who before he knew it removed her sunglasses and looked him in the eye with her green evil eyes 

" This curse" She said and watched as Jonathan turned into stone in seconds and let out a small laugh. A tiny sob took her attention and saw a little girl who was previously hiding in the corner with the same bow from the picture in her hands, now running towards her father with tears in her eyes

" Daddy" Hyacinth said between her sobs hugging her stoned father and Medusa smiled evilly before she slowly walked towards the girl, but before she would even touch her, Hyacinth let out a scream which made Medusa go crashing to the wall. The little girl fell to her knees facing the floor and continued screaming like crazy, which made Medusa cover her ears and all the glasses in the room along with the windows to break into pieces. After she was done she fainted on the floor and Medusa found this as an opportunity to take the girl away from her home. But before she could even stand up, a woman appeared in front of her who looked like a little Hyacinth but much older than her. She had long brown hair and green eyes, but she was also holding the same bow as her daughter's. She picked up Medusa with her hand by holding her neck and looked at her right in the eye without becoming stone 

" Leave my daughter alone if you don't want to have a horrible fate Medusa" She said throwing Medusa against the wall with so much strength that broke the wall into pieces when Medusa's body even touched it. Artemis turned to her daughter who was trying so hard to stand up and kindly caressed her hair while making Hyacinth look at her. She smiled kindly at Hyacinth before she took her in her arms and put her finger on her mouth to keep the little girl quiet.

" Sleep, my little angel! I have to take you somewhere that you will be safe" She whispered to the little girl who was now asleep in her mother's arms and then travelled to the Half-blood camp where she let her outside sleeping on the ground with a note right next to her which said:

" Hyacinth Lockwood, the only daughter of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt"