'What was she doing? Perseus was a tolerable man, but she had no reason to tell him so!' In fact, Perseus did have flaws. He was headstrong, loyal to a fault, and far too polite for his own good…
Perseus seemed equally stumped.
...
"My Lady, in the time I have known you, you have never been so…" Perseus faltered in his words, which Artemis took special notice to, seeing straight through is roundabout statement.
"Kind?" Artemis dryly remarked, the unexpected heat quelled from her ears and neck. She wouldn't be so careless again. She only had to maintain a constant barrier against Anahita, or any other immortal who sought to invade her mind… and one for Perseus, who had already shown that his passive pervasive qualities, if she left them unchecked, were… disorienting.
"For lack of a better word… yes. I understand that I am a male, and as a Goddess of the Hunt and Chasity, you have a natural disposition against me. But now…"
She had dug herself into this hole, and for once, Artemis found that she could live with the consequences an uncommon warmth resonating within her core.
"I don't meet many men who last a period to truly get to know them. Mostly because I don't want to. It is hard to hide one's true nature from the very start, and as a Goddess, I am adept at reading mortals. Sometimes though, I find a rarity which I don't want to admit to." Artemis admitted, a mixture of wariness and shame leaking into her thoughts. But when had she ever been shameful? A Goddess was never ashamed of anything she did!
'A Goddess… maybe not, but a mortal…' The chilling thought killed the violent mental retort in her mind.
"A rarity… like… me?" Perseus said slowly, looking at her with calculating green eyes, a concentrated frown working it's way across his bearded face.
Artemis shook her head, running a hand over her auburn curls while looking sidelong at Perseus, "You are far too perceptive for your age, Perseus." It was a final statement, and Artemis hoped that he got the message that she really didn't want to continue this line of thought. She had no need to recall why he was a rarity in her mind, there was no helpful reason to do so.
"I had to be. There was no use being young and stupid after my father was executed. I have a purpose now, and I'll see it through. I'm much more confident now that this expedition will succeed with one of the Strongest Olympians by our sides as well.
"I was much more confident in my chariot," Artemis muttered before continued at a normal voice level. Although it looked as if Perseus had heard her, and he grinned, looking towards a Macedonian infantry squad at her glare. "In regard to being the strongest Olympian, I am surprised Zeus didn't smite you down where you stand."
The memory of being blasted from Olympus slammed into Artemis's mind, and she snarled, and she vowed again that her anger for Zeus would not be forgotten.
"True, but I doubt that most immortals could stand up to you if they too were mortals. To my knowledge most immortals do not constantly hunt in the mortal world, against monsters of all kinds."
She hadn't thought of that.
"That is... actually true." Artemis admitted, "There are a few exceptions of course. Ares, Apollo, Poseidon, and Bellona are all capable fighters in their own rights. But Zeus without powers…" Artemis ached for that opportunity. Just revenge for a lighting bolt to the chest.
"Let's finish the expedition and get you back to Olympus then. That's the first step isn't it." Perseus asked lightly, as the two shouldered their way up to Alexander's tent, which was guarded by six bodyguards. 'It must be a full tent then.' Artemis thought grimly.
"You ready for your report?" Perseus hissed out of the corner of his mouth, nodding to a guard, who slipped inside the tent.
"As I'll ever be. Your King better not keep me long. I want to sleep." Artemis muttered in reply. Perseus gave no returning answer as the Guard who had entered the tent reemerged and gave the two of them a nod, taking their weapons, and stepping aside for the two of them.
Artemis strode forwards without waiting for Perseus, but she heard his footsteps echoing her own as she parted the heavy oil lined flap of the tent and stepped through the doorway.
The dim interior of the tent, compared to the bright exterior with the shining sun, housed Alexander and at least one dozen of his companions. Artemis recognized a couple of them, including Hephestion, Kleitos, and the grizzled Parmenion. One of the unknown companions had been speaking, though he did not wear armor like Alexander and the others:
"Alexander, estimates report that at least seven thousand of our men are dead. The phalanxes took the brunt of the losses, but our Greek allies were thinned as well!"
"Thank you, Callisthenes, what of the Persian loss… Ah! Cleoxene, I was wondering when you were going to report in. Perseus, I see you found our resident Amazonian." Alexander shifted his gaze over from the man Artemis now knew was Callisthenes.
Artemis shook her head at Alexander, and glanced back at Perseus, who had entered the tent, closing the flap behind him.
"I wasn't aware that a report was needed from my end Alexander." Artemis replied, her familiar itch to twirl a hunting knife sending an involuntary impulsive twitch through her fingers. Finding nothing, Artemis hid a frown, and instead cast her eyes around the room, challenging any who wished to sneer at her.
"She wasn't hard to find my King," Perseus said dryly, stepping up besides her, shooting her an expectant glance, "The men practically revere her for saving the Center during the battle."
Kleitos, although he gave her a grudging nod, glared across the table at her. Artemis answered him by scrunching her nose at him, her eyebrows furrowed at him, daring to give her respect after what she'd seen him do.
"I have heard the rumors already," Alexander replied, standing to look over at her and Perseus off to her left, "Let's hear the full report, to sift between fact and fiction."
"Very well, Alexander. I was observing the battle from a rock outcrop in the rear of the field during the opening clashes of the lines. I did notice on the left flank that Parmenion's troops would have born the brunt of the Persian and Bactrian Cavalry charges better had the allied Greek cavalry countercharged before the infantry withstood the worst of the assault. Yet, the flank held admirably all the same. Additionally, I was satisfied in the performance of the missile units that predominantly exchanged fire with the Persians in the Center. Both the Pellians and the Cretans preformed adequately."
"Very well," Alexander spoke, raising a calming hand to Parmenion, who muttered darkly, glaring at Artemis, "How about the Bird-dog hybrids?"
Artemis ignored the receiving looks she was getting and marshalled her thoughts. She couldn't just up and tell the Council here that Athena had dropped by and helped her learn about the Simurgh. She would have to lie.
"At first, I did not recognize the beasts. However, when they made their attack on the river crossing, and I jumped forward to engage them, I got a closer look. They are called Simurgh. Half-wolf. Half-Bird. Before today, I had never actually fought one, as their origins lie far to the East, up in the Iranian plateau. They are not to be trifled with. And we can expect that more will come if this expedition heads further East."
There was a chorus of murmurs from the table around her, and Artemis looked over to Perseus. His eyebrows cocked up once, before turning to Alexander. She could afford to lie to Alexander's companions about this. They had no need to worry about a vengeful Goddess out to destroy the Macedonian expedition, and her own self.
"It is just as well then, that we are not heading East, Lady Cleoxene." Alexander seethed, his expression darkening as he looked over the map of the battlefield. "Darius has fled back into the mountains. And I cannot follow him, even with his shattered forces, he still outnumbers our men." Artemis watched the young King curiously. This was one of the first times that she had seen Alexander as furious had he was, even in victory. Yet, Perseus had told her throughout the months she had been with the expedition that Alexander wanted Darius to face him in the field, King to King.
"I have his wives and mother…" Alexander continued, almost to himself, before he looked over to his right, where Parmenion sat, "Parmenion, spread the word. We march south. The Persian navy has been a nuisance for too long. We must move to separate Egypt and the coastal stronghold of Tyre from the Persian Empire. Let Darius worry in his mountains of Persian Gold." Alexander stood quickly, looking over the anteroom of his tent, "Everyone out, make the preparations. We march in two days' time, after the funeral rites of the fallen are completed."
Perseus nodded to Alexander, and Artemis followed his example, about to stride straight to her tent for needed rest, when she met Alexander's eyes. They flicked over to the middle of the table, where the Companions were all quickly dispersing from. Perseus too, in the process of leaving, turned to join her opposite of Alexander and Hephestion.
Of the Companions, only Parmenion and Kleitos noticed their stay, and Artemis could only guess what thoughts ran through their minds. When the flap finally closed, Artemis turned back to face Alexander.
"Now that the official business is out of the way, I must thank you sincerely Lady Artemis. Your help today was instrumental in our victory." Alexander said, dropping her fabricated identity.
...
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