CHAPTER - 1

So lovely readers, I want to inform you that the first 15 to 20 chapters will be about Lord Apollo and Daphne.

DAPHNE'S POV :

The forest has been my home, my church, and my mother. Roaming around the forest feels like I am playing in the lap of my mother and sitting beside the forest river, it feels like I am under protection of my Father. Well, before Artemis found me, this was my life, and after that it is my life too. She has given me a name and a purpose, but the wild has already in my blood. I moved through the forest like a ghost, my bare feet silent on the carpet of moss and fallen leaves.

Then something reached to my ear through miles of distance before I saw it, The rustling of leaves. I pulled out my arrow and ran towards the direction. There, a fox. I shoot the arrow in its direction, and it hit its leg. It had some sedatives mixed with, so the fox lost its consciousness. Removing the arrow from its leg, I went towards the river to bring some medicinal water the river possess. I came back and sprinkled some water on it's wound, and it stood up and ran deep into the forest. Yes, I love to hunt. But I don't kill them.

Ahead, I could hear the sound of other nymphs at the pool. Our pool is a secret place, a hidden jewel. It is surrounded by thick ferns and weeping pillows whose branches touch the surface, creating a green private world. As I stepped through the last curtain of leaves, the noise grew louder. Laughter, splashing and the happy shrieks of my sisters.

Arethusa and Cyana were there, along with a dozen of others. Their naked bodies glistening with the patches of sunlight that broke through the canopy. They are like beautiful and wild animals ,unshamed and full of life. They saw me and waved.

"Daphne ! You will turn into a tree if you stand in the shadows too long !"Arethusa called out. She is a water nymph with her hair, the color of sea weeds and eyes as blue as the deepest part of the sea.

I smiled and set my bow and arrows on the dry rock. I slipped my chiton over my head and laid it beside them. The air was cool on my skin. I walked to the edge of the pool and dipped a toe in, the water is icy . I slid in, the cold water a Sharpe and harsh embrace that made me shiver a little. I swam out to the center, towards my sisters.

After out bath, we lay on the warm and flat rocks at the edge of the pool to let the sun dry us. Cyane ,whose skin is as pale as moonlight ,was planting wild flowers to Arethusa's hair.

"I saw a satyr in the western ridge yesterday."Cyane said, her voice so soft and magical." He had that look in his eyes."

Arethusa snorted, " They always have that look in their eye. All bristles and base desires .Artemis should turn them into frogs."

We all laughed. It was a common complaint. The satyrs, the minor Gods of the woods - they are a constant nuisance. They saw as the creatures of their amusement, but they were weak. Yes, beings who feed on others fear, are weeks.

A nymph named Rhodoph, who had been quiet, sighed dramatically. She is older than most of us and she has travelled cities on the slopes of the mountain. She thinks it made her wise. " You think satyr's are bad ?"She asked stretching languidly, "You have never known the attention of a true Olympian."

"What do you mean ?"I asked, my voice neutral.

Rhodoph rolled onto her side, popping her head up on her hand. A sly knowing smile played on her lips."Lord Apollo ".

I flinched at the sudden mention of his name.My heart beats grew faster.

"He visited Delphi last season, I was there with my father, a merchant. I saw him.

A hush fell over the group. Apollo . The sun God .The God of music and poetry . The most beautiful of all the Gods . They said.

"He is more that beautiful." Rhodoph breathed, her eyes getting a faraway look. "He is blinding, to took at him feels like looking at the sun itself.His hair is spun gold, his eyes...his eyes are that of the whole galaxy. They see right through you."

"Later the night, he sent for me."

My stomach tightened. I didn't like the story.I didn't like the look of Rhodoph's face. It was a mixture if desire and pride, which I am suppressing within myself for being devoted to Artemis.

"You went to him ?" Cyane asked, her voice a whisper.

"Who wouldn't? "Rhodoph said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world."He is a God. Getting in his embrace means, seeing the world.

His chambers were filled with the scent of Jasmin and honey. The air itself was warm. He was not wearing his golden armor, just a simple robe. He smiled, and the room grew brighter."

I felt a cold dread creep up my spine, a cold that had nothing to do with water. Jealousy, an insignificant thing crept into my bones. What if I were in her place ?

"It was....not like being with a satyr or a human man,"Rhodoph continued. Her eyes glazed with the memory ." It is like being consumed by fire. It hurts and at the same time it is glorious. He takes what he wants, and you are so overwhelmed of his light, his power that you give him you're everything gladly. You feel like you are melting and then being remade into something that belongs only to me. When he was finished, he just kissed my forehead and told me to leave.I stumbled out of the palace into the night and I felt branded......and blessed."

She looked around at our stunned faces," That is what it is to be touched by a God."

No one spoke, the story hung in the air. The sun on my head didn't feel warm anymore, it felt like a hot, burning eye. We, mere Maidens can only be the plaything of some Gods who think themselves as the Almighty and most powerful. There is no place of love in their world, only the sheer desire to make the weak dance by the strings attached to their fingers.

We dressed in silence after that. We ate our simple meal of dried figs, nuts and Sharpe cheese, sitting on the ground in a circle. The food tasted like ash in my mouth, all I could think was Rhodoph's story. The consuming fire. The feeling of no longer being your own.

It was as we were finishing our meal, the ground began to tremble. It was a faint vibration at first, but then it grew stronger. It was the sound of hooves. Not the running of a goat or a dear, but the heavy, powerful beat of Devine horses.

We all stood up, looking at the path that led up the mountain, towards the peak where Artemis had her shrine. The sound grew louder and louder accompanied by a glow that swallowed the whole dark forest. The birds stopped singing. The small creatures of the woods fled.

Then a figure came running towards us , a dryad, her face pale with excitement. She halted indent of us , panting .

"A message " She panted, her chest heaving " from Lady Artemis "

We stared at her, the rhythmic thunder of grooves frying even closer, shaking the very ground beneath our feet.

"She sends words ".The dryad gasped, "Her brother comes, her is on his way to spend his tome with his sister." Her gaze finding mine in the crowd of the nymphs. " Lord Phoebes is here."

So this was the 1st chapter lovlies. English is neither my first or second language. And this story is completely from my imagination.

So kind enough to forgive my mistakes.Take care 🤗

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***