Artemis // Jasper Hale

the 528th birthday

2005

This was always her favourite part of making friends. Artemis relished in the moment where all worries disappeared and you felt like you could trust that person with your life. The moment had been there along time for Artemis and Jackson.  They had been the best of friends since the moment they met.

" Look at me, I'm free "

Artemis screamed though the window, her voice getting lost in the wind like many things. Her 528th birthday marked a special event, the first time she would be living with someone else. Jackson currently drove the car along the long road, nearing the sign that would welcome them to Forks, Washington. Jackson was shaking his head at her antics, trying to get her to stop screaming out the window.

Artemis was in love with bad weather.  She loved the rain, the clouds.  She loved the thunder that rumbled over the sky and the invincible soldiers that struck down, more commonly known as lightning. She imagined the weather as her army.  The rain drummed, her very own marching band, pelting the people below.  Most of all, she loved the darkness.  The shadows.  They made her powerful. Then again, so did a lot of things.

Artemis was technically a goddess, but she was released from her duties after she went insane and grew depressed. Artemis wasn't her godly name either, no she wasn't an Olympian. She wasn't the goddess of the moon and Stars. She was the goddess of Shadows and Monsters. Dark, right?  Honestly, she shouldn't go by the name Artemis. She should go by Lady Alpha, but she wasn't a goddesses anymore and she had never liked her name anyway.

Artemis sighed heavily as they passed the Forks sign, signally they were now in the town they would be living in. Jackson looked over at her smiling face and knew he had made the right decision. Artemis had a mate, somewhere in this world. She knew that because she had been forewarned. The shadows had seen what was coming, and in an attempt to cheer up their goddess they had told her. True, her condition had improved a lot since she had found out but it wasn't really due to her mate.  It was all Jackson.

However, she had decided not to look for her mate.  She had all of eternity, and so did he, being the creature he was.  She was here looking for Jacksons mate, though he didn't need to know that.  She would always want the best for her friend, and if his mate was here, then they would come here.

Jackson drove through town with out talking to Artemis. She was clearly thinking about something, and Jackson had half the mind to ask her about it.  He knew about her mate. She carried a watercolour painting of him everywhere she went, of course he knew about it. He also knew that she thought about him a lot more than she was willing to admit. After being alone for 527, she would want some love. A little, or a lot.

The old car pulled in to the driveway of their small home making Jackson smile. Artemis had picked out the house and had refused to show him what it looked like.  It was a small, one story cottage like house.  Vines and flowers covered the wooden walls, lampposts lined the driveway. The garden was filled with all kinds of flowering plants and big trees. The house also backed on to the Forrest. Jackson grinned at this, a lot easier to hunt with the house so close.

Artemis still hasn't moved from her spot.  Jackson leant next to her ear, a foolish grin covering his handsome face.

" MISSY "

He screamed her nickname at the top of his lungs.  Her face scrunched up in distaste and she leapt out of the car gracefully. Grinning back at her friend she entered the old house.  It's foundations creaked as she walked, it's floorboards groaning in pleasure.

This was home.

••••

Artemis drew her coat around her tighter as she wandered through the woods. They should be dangerous, but to her they weren't. A darkness poured down behind her and it didn't take long for a body to form.

" Lady Alpha! I only have one thing to tell you, and then I shall be off"

The small shadow seemed joyful, clearly happy that it could speak with the fallen goddess.

" Yes? "

The small shadow seemed to quiver with excitement to do a job for it's goddess. She set a gentle smile on her face.

" The boy, you're mate, I believe he lives in this area "

Artemis' eyes became alive with excitement. Could it be a mere coincidence? Who knew but she was excited about it. She beamed at the shadow, thanking it many times. As the trees grew thinner the shadow disappeared, taking with her sense of comfort. A large, modern house loomed at the edge of the trees. She knew she shouldn't be there.

A crunch of leaves to her right let Artemis know she wasn't alone. Spinning around with grace she faced a beautiful, very familiar, girl. She was pale, so pale she looked like the snow that fell in winter. Her beauty was incomparable, her skin unnaturally smooth and her teeth unbelievabley white. Her hair was short and cropped, adding to her mischievous kind of beauty that she radiated. Putting all this aside, Artemis knew her.

She knew her name, how she acted. She knew her nearly inside out. She knew what made her tick, what made her smile, what made her cry, what made her angry. She knew of her special gift to see the future, and she knew that somehow she was in hers. Artemis saw the familiarity in her eyes, she knew her too.

" I know you "

They spoke at the same time, a look of brief confusion passing over her features.

" I had a vision about you "

She begun to explain but a voice calling her name stopped her. Artemis' head snapped in the direction of the older, male voice. Darkness whirled around Artemis, making her seem like a threat. She saw Alice back up, a rare look of fear present in her eyes. Though she wouldn't of heard anything Artemis could hear the whispers. The ones that sent her slightly insane in the first place. I guess she wasn't really crazy though, she just had a different life to everyone else. The shadows whispered to her, telling her who was coming, what he could do. They moved fast, faster than the man coming, whose name was Carlisle. By the time he arrived they had taken Artemis back to the edge of the woods out of sight and she knew everything about him.

" Alice honey, are you ok? "

Alice nodded at him, glancing to where Artemis once stood. The look of fear she had carried only moments ago transformed in to one of wild excitement. However Artemis was involved in her future, she was excited about it and honestly?

So was she.