12 ROOM SERVICE
A BLACK CLOAK COVERED THE SKY ABOVE THEM,
only stars breaking the endless bliss of dark. It had been a week since Adonis and Artemis encountered the naiad. A week of healing, a week of silence, and a week of learning that both Adonis and Artemis were tolerant of each other's company. Artemis had a sense of regret rattling her all the way down to her cells. She kept rethinking this whole idea of reassurance. Would banning Adonis from Olympus solve anything? Who's to tell that someone new won't come and be as stealthy an archer as Artemis herself? Nothing seemed to be making sense anymore. After Adonis, nothing made sense.
Her eyes glazed over to the god whom is walking beside her. The soft moonlight made his face look like a silhouette. He's standing close to her, but still, she realized she couldn't quite make out his features in the dim light.
"We should take a break. I can't see a thing." Artemis said, sighing tentatively, and surprising herself at the urge to lose more time.
Adonis tried at a glimpse towards Artemis, a scrutinizing stare, creasing his eyebrows.
She sighs at the realization, feeling her cheeks flush up under his stare. She hates the feeling of attention, it makes her weak and inferior.
"Alright. But I will not sleep on the cold ground again. I know of a bed and breakfast." Adonis relented, slumping his shoulders at the memory of a warm bed.
"Bed and breakfast!? Do I have to remind you of our lack of any money?" She asked, huffing in annoyance.
Guilt swam under his eyelids.
"What? Do you have gems?!" She gasped. Hunger instantly shaking her insides, her stomach growled. They could be feasting on olives right now!
He lifted a shoulder, "Well, it is my money..a-and I don't even really fancy olives."
"Damn you, Adonis!" She rubbed a hand over her face.
He sighed, "I'm not going to apologize. It was my money. And my choice to what I do with it. I wasn't about to cough it up on your odd fondness of olives."
Embarrassment harassed Artemis. The way Adonis was describing her petty needs, made her flush with annoyance and shy away. She needed to shake off the superficial side of living and stand straight, command and let go of any lasting emotion. The seven deadly sins were all too real. And Artemis fell victim on occasion.
"How far is it?" She asked, after a beat of silence.
"About a mile up."
"A mile?" She groaned, stomping her foot on the ground like a child.
A spark of amusement tinted onto Adonis' features, "Come on, huntress. It'll be fine once we make the trek." He reassured, nodding his head in commitment.
It took Artemis a few seconds of silence to weigh out her options. But with Adonis breathing raggedly down her neck, and the cold air chilling her to the core, she also craved warm soft sheets and shielding walls.
So with that the two fell under a comfortable silence as they walked the distance.
A dozen thoughts curled into Artemis' head. She had many questions that threatened to push between her lips, but at the same time, a wave of exhaustion was clenching inside her entire body. her eyes were growing heavy too.
Once they finally arrived at the inn, Adonis led the way inside, gesturing for Artemis to follow close behind.
"We'd like two rooms for the night." Adonis asked the older lady who stood behind the desk.
The glasses hung low on the woman at the desk, a frown etched into her lips, she lifted her eyelids from the newspaper strung in her hands and glimpsed at the two new customers.
"Very well. I recognize you!" She squealed, taking pride in her accusation. "Artemis and Adonis. Lovely to see you two out of the higher end of Olympus. Visiting the rather unimportant civilians?" She grinned, pushing her palm into her frail hip.
"You could say that." Adonis chuckled kindly.
Artemis eyed him up and down. He was charming, she noted. Easy to seduce anyone with just a wink or an easy smile. After all, his place in Olympus, was merely an object, a playtime for activities of pleasure. God of beauty and desire. The role fit him well.
Heck, even Artemis felt a little uneasy around him sometimes..
The lady gawked at Adonis, almost ignoring Artemis' presence entirely. "Well aren't you even handsomer, up and in front of my eyes." She laughed harshly, and then coughed uneasily.
He smiled in return, "Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate your kind wits." He added, a smirk threatening his exhaustingly pink lips.
"The rooms." Artemis urged, jabbing a finger into Adonis' back.
The lady moved her eyes towards Artemis briefly before returning to adonis. She seemed to soften her gaze only on Adonis. Obviously the lady didn't sense the same charm on Artemis as Adonis. Tough luck. Artemis didn't care, she didn't come to a lifeless inn to impress anyone.
"Of course, my god." She bowed, surveying a chart on the counter for a moment, "Two rooms will be six gems."
Adonis gaped at her.
Artemis curled her fingernails into her palms.
"Six?!" he grimaced, "We only have two." he said, shrugging out two gems from his trouser pocket.
"Hmm." The lady hummed, skeptically watching the gems in his hand. "Okay, just for your kind face I will do you a deal. One room for two gems. But, it will only be one bed. My condolences." She seemed to hold in a smirk, pleasure falling from her face so obviously that Artemis really, really wanted to feel the life dial down from the lady's veins while she choked her.
"This place is dead, lady! Surely, you have plenty of enough rooms. More than two available, so just let us have our own rooms. Two gems for two rooms only for one night. We'll be out quick in the morning." Artemis growled, slamming her palm onto the counter.
The elderly lady winced at the pounding of her hand. She sighed, "Do you dare speak to me as if I'm not your wiser?"
Adonis wrapped his hand around Artemis' slender wrist and pulled it away from the counter, sending her a warning glare over his shoulder, silently telling her to let him handle it.
"I'm sorry for her behavior. She's been under a bit of stress with the struggles of her reign as leader of the hunt...we're on mission, ma'am. And we need to bed somewhere. Would you please do the honor of letting us stay in separate rooms?" He pleaded, sporting his most desperate smile.
"Yes, I will." She said.
Adonis let out a sigh of relief, slumping his shoulders forward. "Thank you so much. We won't be any trouble, I swea-"
"For six gems." She finished, now she made no effort in hiding the pleased grin. She seemingly relished in the taste of her superior experiencing hardship.
"Ugh! This is redundant! She won't change her ways, let's just go." Artemis said, ready to yank the woman by her hair and threaten her with a cold blade to her throbbing throat, but she knew Adonis would not allow that so stayed back.
"Fine. Two gems for a single room." Adonis relented, ignoring Artemis and rolling the two gems onto the counter.
"Adonis!" She gritted her teeth at his decision. Artemis figured this boy was beginning to make it his goal to defy her in any way possible. She would only let him test her limits for so long, though.
He sent her a glare over his shoulder, "Sakes, Artemis! How can you be so unwilling of every single decision I make?" He shook his head with a sigh.
She snorted in response before shoving past Adonis and taking a step toward the counter. "We didn't come here to cause trouble but I do assure you that I am very capable of using physical enforces to get what I ask for. Is that understood?"
The lady at the desk flushed with a crimson tint to her face, her features dipping down into a fearful frown. Just as she opened her lips to reply, Adonis gripped onto Artemis' shoulder tightly, not so gently and pulling her away from the lady.
"Are you absolutely insane?" He sneered, twisting his lips coldly.
She rolled her eyes, making sure he saw her actions, "Why am I the insane one when you're just about letting all our money go to waste on this stupid resort?"
He groaned, tilting his head back and blazing his eyes back, "I cannot win with you!"
She plopped her hands on her hips and watched him with irritation. Knowing that he would give in and they would leave with their two freaking gems.
However when he finally straightened his neck, and daringly set his eyes up to Artemis', defiance was the only emotion she could find.
"Were staying here and that's final!" He yelled, strutting back to the counter to gather the keys.
**
The room wasn't home but it was manageable. Cotton carpeting cushioned their feet. An en suite bathroom was included, a shower too. Matching nightstands on either side of the single bed. It was king sized, which, at least there would be room separating the two olympians as they slept.
Artemis slowly walked into the room while Adonis bustled past her and to the bathroom. He slammed the door on his way in. She heard the familiar click when he locked it and rolled her eyes absently.
The overwhelming need to fall asleep enveloped her suddenly, making her plop not so gracefully onto the spacious bed. She swished around, nuzzling under the sheets, until she found comfort. The faucet ran in the background when she shut her eyes. Adonis was taking a bath.
"Are you kidding me!?" She shouted, strutting towards the bathroom door and pounding on the painted wood. "Adonis! How am I supposed to-"
Before she was able to finish her sentence, Adonis opened the door and when he did, Artemis was greeted with a naked god.
Holy underworld, he really was the definition of desire. Abdomen that sparked, carved by only the best fiddlers, tanned yet still shockingly pale, tainted with light bruises on his lower chest. And that's when Artemis realized she was staring.
Adonis was smirking.
"Stop that!" She demanded, annoyed at the deep dimples that caved in his skin.
"Stop what?" He teased, the smirk only growing.
She grunted, rolling her eyes and recirculating back to the silky bed sheets. "You are insufferable."
"Feelings mutual, huntress." He sang. "Now, do tell, what did you need when you knocked?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe, body still exposed and...out.
A sigh fell through the tiny line that separated Artemis' lips, "I just...can't sleep with the water running. Ever since I was a child. Apollo and I used to share a room, and he would always bathe after me. So when it was time for me to rest in my chambers, I would hear the incessant flow of water dripping. I think it started because I wasn't able to sleep until I knew Apollo was asleep." She shrugged, like brushing off the thought. "I don't know..it's all nonsense. Apollo was always nonsense, though." She chuckled melancholy and then sighed when the laughter flew away.
Adonis cleared his throat, pushing his dusty hair off his forehead, "You love him?"
Artemis narrowed her gaze at Adonis, solely looking only at his eyes. "What do you mean, do I love him? Of course I love him." She shouted angrily.
Adonis put up his hands in defense, "My apologizes for saying..but I-I just wondered if the rumors were true." He explained, the bulge in his throat bobbing.
"Rumors? What rumors!?" She squealed, standing from the bed.
"That you...that you don't feel love For anyone." He said carefully. He only noticed then that his bare legs were shaking. He was nervous, acutely aware of Artemis' stormy gaze, and cold. So fucking cold.
The fists that hid underneath Artemis' cuffs clenched, pinching the skin that pierced her palms. Love? Of all things, love? How can someone not feel love? For their mother. Their father. Their true love.
The thought was absurd. Of course Artemis felt love. She had and she will. Love for her mother and Apollo. Orion. The forest. That had to of all been love. Right!?
Artemis became doubtful that anything she ever felt was even love.
But love is just a word.
It's not a feeling.
It's just a name for something that someone made up and labeled that feeling with.
The crunching of your heart. The enhanced senses of a specific person. The relentless need to know anything and everything about that person. That's that feeling.
Artemis felt that...she felt that. But is she capable of feeling it. Now?
"Those are not true." She cursed at herself silently for letting her voice fall and crack.
"Of course not. Sorry." He shook his head, a flush flickering his cheeks.
With a wave of her hand she replied, "Just take your bath. Bid me some peace for a bit." She begged lightly, dryly. Her legs wobbled their way back to the bed and plopped down. The balls in her wrists rubbed harshly into her eye sockets.
And before too many seconds passed, a door clicked and one less body filled the room.
Artemis unlaced her boots, tucked her bow underneath the bed, and slumped down under the covers. Nestling deep to find comfort. When she finally approved, her eyes found black, and the peace she hoped for loomed around her. Until the peace blurred into something reminiscent.