"Well done, Pol... Now every lady and her mother are vying for our attention." Ares grumbled over morning tea.
To Artemis, the English tea tasted watered down and yet somehow still too potent leaving an ashy taste on her tongue.
"How was I to know! Our standing would have been revealed eventually anyway. And besides, brother dearest, what qualms do you have with women throwing themselves at us?" Apollo teased in his endlessly arrogant way of speaking that always had a way of making people feel looked down upon.
"No brother, you misunderstand. They do not want your attention, they want your hands in marriage." Artemis answered without looking up from the armory updates in her hand.
A revolted look overtook Apollo's face at the idea of marriage. Apollo had always been one to fall in and out of love like the ever-changing tides. He was a man of extreme passion, but the idea of loving one person forever was impossible to him.
The longest lover Apollo ever had was a man by the name of Markus. He was utterly infatuated with the curly-haired soldier, writing songs for him, carving their names into the bark of a tree in the sacred grove, endless rants of Markus' perfection that Artemis had to endure. His one true love lasted a total of six weeks before another had caught his affections.
Anyone with the ability to tame Apollo's fickle heart would be a god indeed.
The posh silk gloves felt strange against Artemis' calloused hands as she flipped through the pages of reports that were sent over from Illyria.
She tried to tune out the bickering of her siblings enough to focus but found the task more difficult than anticipated.
"I think I should like to see that one girl again. What was her name?" Apollo asked trying to get his twin's attention.
"Daphne Bridgerton and I can assure you brother, Lord Bridgerton would kill you if you tried."
"Ahhh, Daphne! Perfect. The Daphne to my Apollo, the lost greek lovers reunited once again! It is fate, Artemis! Our love shall be pure as it was a thousand years ago. Two lovers torn, unable to be together because of her menacing villain of a brother." Apollo began to rave dramatically.
"Didn't the Nymph Daphne despise Apollo?" Aphrodite asked.
"Yes, she turned into a Laurel tree to escape his advances," Ares smirked.
"History repeats itself, indeed. Do you think Miss Bridgerton shall turn into a tree to escape your horrid personality brother?" Artemis teased looking up from the papers, a wide, mocking smirk pulled at her lips.
Artemis stood handing the stack of papers to Greta before looking back to her siblings, "Though I wouldn't mind going to see the Bridgeton girl. Her brother was rather attractive if you ignore the squirrels growing on the sides of his face."
Without waiting for a response Artemis took her leave, heading straight out the front door of the chateau Queen Charlotte gifted them.
The house was in central ton, surrounded by the members of English nobility. It was beautiful, with white brick that had ivy crawling up the sides and bright yellow flowers growing in the window sills.
The cool summer breeze swept across her face as Artemis made her way down the streets alone. She had no problem finding the Bridgerton house, having asked a paper boy where it was. The main problem Artemis had was dodging the snarling suitors that continued to approach her.
It only took a few minutes to walk to the Bridgerton house, ignoring the stares glued to her as she walked.
A butler answered the door, the polite air of the elder man giving a warm atmosphere to the home already, "Greetings my Lady, how might we help you."
"I am here to see Daphne Bridgerton. I assume she is in if she is not too busy fighting a storm of suitors." Artemis jested, noticing the awkward smile of the butler.
"Follow me, Miss Daphne Bridgerton should be in the drawing-room as of yet. Might I inquire your name, so as to announce you properly?"
"Artemis Black."
She spotted no recognition in the butler's eyes as he lead her through the beautiful home towards the drawing-room. "A Lady Artemis Black calls on Miss Daphne Bridgerton." The men announced, allowing Artemis to step into the room.
"Y-your Majesty!" Daphne chirped, standing quickly to curtsy.
The other women in the room grew a wide-eyed look before following suit and standing to give a polite curtsy.
"Oh no need for all that, I told you it's just Artemis remember?" Artemis spoke in a casual friendliness that set the other women at ease.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty. I am Viscountess Violet Bridgerton, Daphne's mother, and these are some of my other daughters, Eloise and Hyacinth. To what do we owe the honor of your visit?" Daphne's mother asked kindly.
She reminded Artemis of her own mother. Though she was very used to long periods of time away from her family the reminder sent a feeling of nostalgic longing through her heart.
"In all honesty, I could not stand the company of my siblings for another moment or I would go mad. So I thought to visit my new friend and see how her romantic endeavors are fairing." Artemis chuckled at her own words, the clear fondness for her siblings was clear in her eyes causing the others to smile as well.
"Well, that I completely understand. I have many siblings of my own and I can hardly stay sane. Here please sit... How many siblings do your have Princess-"
"It's just Artemis, Daphne."
"Artemis."
"I have four brothers and two sisters. Hephaestus, Ares, Athena, my twin brother Apollo, Hermes, and Aphrodite." Artemis answered, not realizing the soft look that she had at the thought of her siblings.
"You are all named after the Greek gods? That's beautiful. I have four brothers myself and three sisters. Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. I have never met someone from a family as large as my own." Daphne laughed, her face just as bright talking to her new friend.
"It seems our parents both adopted themes when naming children, alphabetical is it? Though I must write to mother immediately, I need one more sister if I am to keep up with you, dearest Daphne!" Artemis joked causing the women to laugh.
"Princess Artemis, where are you princess to?" The elder of the girls, Eloise asked.
Artemis smirked at the curious and hungry look in the young girl's eyes. She reminded her of the women soldiers she had trained, with vicious independence about her. She had not seen the look of a warrior in an English woman since arriving and was pleased to find at least one wolf among the docile sheep.
"I am General of the Southern Legions and the second Princess of Illyria."
The girl nearly burst with shock nearly jumping from her chair, "YOU ARE A GENERAL AS WELL?! Y-your a woman! Have you seen combat? If you are a general you must have! Oh, you must tell me everything!"
"ELOISE BRIDGERTON! Calm yourself, dearest, we don't want to overwhelm the Princess." Violet lightly scolded her daughter, but her own clear curiosity was apparent.
"Yes... I have been a soldier for a lot longer than I have been a Princess, so no need to worry about overwhelming me, Lady Bridgerton. My hands are stained with far too much blood for me to convey my own stories to you properly, Eloise. During the revolution, I lead the Southern Legion with my twin brother Apollo. I am afraid your curiosity is not worth the pain of remembering such dark times, but I shall tell you... War is not like you have read, death is not as beautiful as the ballads paint it to be."
"So you weren't always a princess then?" Hyacinth innocently asked.
"No dear one, my father was a soldier in his youth, given land from his conquests he became a farmer. He taught us to fight and fight we did."
"Then how did you become a princess?" Hyacinth asked.
"You see our King was a cruel and greedy man, who sacrificed the good of the people for himself. Negotiations about better justice began but... We Blacks don't negotiate for what we can take. So we raised an army, surrounded Illyria, and then marched inwards conquering our way to the capital, where we killed the kind and my father was crowned by right of conquest. Thus making my siblings and I royalty by right of conquest as well."
"I'm so sorry for all you have endured, your majesty." Violet looked on the verge of tears as Artemis' bright smile was subdued by the demons of her mind.
"It's Artemis, remember. It has been two years and I am still not accustomed to the title." Artemis gave a sad chuckle, looking at the girl's faces.
"Let us change topics from such a depressing subject. Daphne, how has it been fighting off ravenous suitors." Artemis shifted her gaze to Daphne, watching as a sour look came onto her face.
"Anthony has chased away every suitor, besides Lord Berbrooke. The one you rescued me from remember?" Daphne sighed.
"The man who looks like a disfigured mole rat? No, he is no good, he has the eyes of a man with no honor." Artemis said seriously as she leaned back casually into the cushions.
"What do you mean?" Eloise asked.
"There is a type of man, far more dangerous than that of a killer. It is that of a man who does not know own himself. One who believes they can do no wrong and all must accommodate. They lack humility and self-control. They are monsters who devour and then claim it is the prey's fault. There is no more dangerous monster than a man like that." She answered solemnly.
She had seen the worst of people, war did that. When one is willing to kill and die, it is imperative to be able to read a man's intentions.
"Anthony believed him harmless," Violet responded.
"It is those you must watch out for the most, at least some monsters have the dignity to commit their atrocities when the sun watches rather than hide in the shadows. Actions and words do not always reveal intentions, one must look underneath the underneath to see the purity of a man's soul."
She smiled slightly as she noticed Eloise writing down her every word in a notebook on her lap.
"Do not fret, Daphne, as far as I have seen you are the most stunning of the women in London. Denial only makes male hearts grow fonder, men have always craved the taste of forbidden fruit above all else. Isn't that what your Gods teach?" Artemis smirked.
"You refer to Adam and Eve, yes. But here is only one true God, Princess." Daphne answered.
"Oh, really which one?"
"God."
"Yes, which?"
"No his name is Almighty God."
"Your God's name is God?"
"W-well yes."
"That is absurd."
Violet decided to cut in before an argument about religion could begin, "Might I ask what you are doing in England, Princess?"
"Oh! In order to establish an alliance with England and thus peace with the whole of Europe, your Parliament and the English Royals have requested that one of us marry into the English aristocracy to establish a connection. So I am here to find a husband."
The reactions to her reasoning differed drastically.
Eloise looked like she had been slapped. The woman she had quickly decided was her idol was forcibly going to be subdued by a man.
Daphne and Hyacinth looked somewhat excited to see the warrior princess navigate the social season.
Violet's eye twinkled with a brewing scheme. Not only was the princess strong, beautiful, humble, and of wonderful standing... But she needed a noble husband as well. A few candidates came to mind, most specifically... a certain rakish Viscount she called a son.
"Princess Artemis, would you care to stay for dinner?" Violet smiled brightly as Artemis graciously accepted the invitation.
Her daughters spotted the conniving look on their mother's face and knew exactly why the princess was to dine with them.
Though having Artemis as a sister-in-law was not such an atrocious idea.
Princess Artemis Bridgerton had a lovely ring to it after all.