Constellation

Chapter 3

Orion burst out laughing before he could stop himself. He screamed, “My favors? However, Artemis is a virgin goddess. She has never met me or any other guy. We are friends, but not of any bed or bower, but of the hunt and the forest. Furthermore, I am a man's lover.”

Apollo recognized the reality in Orion's words. He was enraged at the realization of his error, and he screamed at Orion. Apollo stood up, his face a blaze of rage. “You insult me—mortal,” he said. “I am not,” Apollo yelled into Orion's face as he picked up his head by his hair.

He spit out the last word in disgust, "I am not a lover of men—like you." He laughed sarcastically, “As nature intended, I choose women as my lovers. To play sports with, you're nothing more than a kid.”

"My lord, I didn't mean to offend you—how could I after the joy we've shared this day?" Apollo, on the other hand, did not react, turned, and strode away without looking back.

Artemis encountered Orion in the dark, crying softly, hours after Apollo had left him. She consoled him and, after hearing his story, drove him to his home, where he was left alone, as he had requested. She went back to her cabin in the woods.

Orion was dreaming one night when he had a dream of a giant scorpion emerging from the forest floor to challenge him. Orion drew his sword and lunged at the beast, but he was unable to pierce its armor. He battled the beast all night. The scorpion's poisonous sting narrowly avoided penetrating his heart right before he awoke.

Orion was drenched in sweat as he stood up. “Ah,” he sighed, “It was just a dream,” he said as he stepped outside. But, to his horror, there stood the gigantic scorpion from his nightmare.

He didn't waste time, he became more clever. Just like in his dream, he his sword and lunged at the beast. He slammed his sword into the scorpion's eyes and firmly cut its tail with poison.

“I survived, my moon...” He suddenly uttered. Surprised by his own words, he realized that it's the Goddess of Moon he loves.

In the meantime, Apollo visited his sister. He told her that an evil man called Candaeon had assaulted one of the forest priestesses and that Candaeon was attempting to escape Artemis' wrath by swimming across the shore.

The goddess exploded in fury. Is it true that one of her own had been attacked? She couldn't bear the thought, so she dashed to the shore, Apollo following closely behind.

Apollo's eyes widened when he didn't saw Orion's dead body. “W-Where is he...”

Artemis' eyes furrowed and glared at him, “What did you do?!”

“A-Artemis...”

She furiously pointed his twin brother's face, “Y-You... sent the giant scorpion to kill my beloved Orion, don't you? Don't you?!”

“But, he's a mortal, Artemis! He doesn't deserve you! You are a damn Goddess of Chastity!”

“I don't care about what I am capable of, Apollo! It's Orion who completes me...”

The Moon Goddess took Orion's sword in her silver moon chariot and raised it in the sky as a tribute to their friendship, tenderly and with great sorrow.

“Farewell, my hunter...”

“My moon...”

This couldn't be... He died, right? Why did she hear Orion's loving voice? She laughed sarcastically. She really do love his hunter so much, she can even hear his voice—

“My moon, it's me. I am alive. And, I am here to get my Luna, my Goddess.”

The End.