Free Web NovelChapter 55: Artemis (2)
"She’s moody these days but don’t take offense to it. I’ll give you some time to talk with her," Vincent said, leaving to give the women some space to talk. He wanted to take this opportunity to go back and tell the others who came with him to go back home.
Aurora gulped taking steps towards the woman who had either not known they were here or she was just ignoring them. Her curiosity grew about the type of person this woman was. "Good night. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Aurora..." Aurora trailed off almost saying her last name. What was her last name now?
"You don’t have a last name unless you agreed to marry Vincent this time?" The sound of Artemis speaking had spooked Aurora because she thought the woman was going to ignore her.
"Why are you acting so jumpy? It’s thanks to me you were able to escape the trap that old woman set for you and it’s thanks to me you are here. You should be on your knees thanking me," Artemis stated, still looking out at the tree which was lighting up more than usual now that Aurora was here. "Why are you just standing there? Come take a seat but don’t place your feet in the water or the sirens will drag you down below."
Aurora placed her bag on the side and took a seat as Artemis told her to. "That light I saw back there was you? How did you know I needed to be saved?"
"You made the wish and I heard it. To be more specific, that tree over there made sure I heard it. I normally ignore what the humans ask for but you aren’t human therefore you are special. Welcome home Aurora." Artemis wasn’t really the type of person to give hugs and welcome anyone but she was happy to see the girl was safe. Vincent’s determination had paid off.
"Home," Aurora repeated looking around the lake, seeing that there was no house nor no one else here. Was it just the two of them all alone in the past? "Does anyone else live here?"
"No, the forest was made to keep me inside though I can leave from time to time. No one comes into the forest because they would either die and I don’t like guests. It’s just me, that dam tree, the sirens, my other pets, and sometimes the wolves visit me. That was how you met Vincent. The two of you got on my nerves when you used to bicker with each other."
’This confirms he hasn’t been lying to me,’ Aurora thought.
"You are the Goddess the witches told me about. Why did you create me? Was it because you were lonely?" Aurora questioned hoping the last one didn’t overstep any boundaries.
"Maybe. When I first created you, I honestly did not think you would exist this way. I created six pets meant to be my eyes and ears outside of this forest. Two of you started to change over time and have your own identities. You stayed here with me and I gave you the name Aurora. Good to see that they didn’t change that."
The way she came to be wasn’t what Aurora had been expecting but things couldn’t get any weirder after the fact that she could make plants grow. "Where is the other one who is like me?" she asked. What did this other person look like and what could they do?"
Artemis threw a pebble out to the lake watching it skip through the water then said, "Somewhere causing chaos amongst humans. How does it feel to get away from the Hamiltons? Do you plan to stay here or are you going with Vincent? Don’t think that you have to stay here with me. You’re free to do whatever you want."
"Is it strange to say I don’t exactly know how I feel yet? That house was all I ever knew but it was a lie. It doesn’t help that they were going to send me off somewhere tonight. I’m going to go with Vincent." Aurora couldn’t imagine staying in this quiet forest as Artemis did. Didn’t the Goddess ever feel lonely? And why was the forest made to keep her in? What was so bad about the woman?
"I know a lot about families thanks to the wishes that come to the tree and a lot of these people do strange things to satisfy their greed. I have a love and hate relationship with humans but I don’t think in the past you would have regretted going to that house to try and save your friend. The girl you were friends with grew sick and you went there to grant her the wish of good health but instead, she wished her family would come out of the debt they found themselves in."
"That was Minnie’s mother," Aurora muttered but still did not understand how she met her in the first place. "Did I leave the forest and meet her?"
"You used to enjoy listening to the wishes humans made and her wishes stuck out to you. You left behind my back and went to meet her. The two of you became friends after that."
"What was the wish about?" Aurora questioned, curious to know. What pushed her to leave here and visit a girl she didn’t even know? ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
"She was terrified of being married to her future husband and wanted to kill herself. It’s pretty normal amongst the girls in this kingdom. An arrangement is made for financial gain to the family and they pretty much do not care about their daughter. In the end, a different man was picked to marry her after you visited. Only your memories you have sealed off can tell you what really happened," Artemis said standing up from the ground. "Any more questions?"
"This entire time, could you have saved me?"
"Probably," Artemis honestly replied. "However, you were the one who made it a big deal about how you can do things on your own and to leave you alone, so I did. Be sure to find the reason why you suddenly snapped on everyone who was trying to help you. Be a bit more kind to Vincent too. This might come as a surprise to you but you weren’t as innocent back then as you are now. You were created by me and some of my bad sides rubbed off on you. Learn to control yourself in the future when those memories come back. Goodbye," Artemis said walking back into the forest.
"Can’t you just give me back my memories now?" Aurora questioned thinking that would make all of this much easier.
"Where is the fun in that?" Artemis replied disappearing in the darkness.
