The Luna's Gift

Calliope

    “So many have come before you, but this is different. You’re different. None of them had Fated Mates. I thought they were all Chosen Ones, but they weren’t.” Calliope is flipping pancakes in the kitchen while Artemis stands eating them as fast as she can cook them, “prophecies are always so vague, even if you’re the one who writes it. But I’m absolutely sure this time..it’s you. You’re the Chosen One.”

“It’s just so...weird. Like this isn’t a movie you know? What am I supposed to do? Where do I go from here?” 

“Sorry babe, there’s no instruction manual for saving the world. Well, more like freeing the world. I can only tell you as much as I know, and hope the way becomes clearer as you go.” Another pancake flops onto Artemis’ plate, “but I can tell you one thing, you can’t do this without her, you won’t be strong enough.”

“What do you mean?” Artemis asks.

“You’re the first to have a Fated Mate, in a thousand years none of the other women I thought were the Chosen One were Mated. This is different. Mates make you stronger, you can draw on each other’s strength. Think of that one video game, you’re Mario jumping around, and being Alpha is like the mushroom making you bigger...and then having a Fated Mate is like Mario getting the flower and having fire power.”

“So what happens if she doesn’t...want to be mates?” Artemis asks cautiously. 

“What? Why wouldn’t she want to be mates? What happened?” Artemis relays the previous day’s events, concluding with Helena running away and hiding in the cottage.

“Poor girl,” Calliope shakes her head, “I feel like her reaction is normal, although I’m way out of touch with what’s normal. A few millennium old and your days really do run together. Give her some time, woo her. Put on your charm. This is a gift, and on a practical level, you can’t do this without her. You need to mark each other by the next full moon.”

“Or what?”

“Then…” Calliope frowns, “honestly I can’t remember. It’s been so long…and I’m not a wolf. It varies by species, but for Fae...for fairies...if we rejected our Mates, our Innamorare as we called them...we lost our ability to love. Mates are gifts, and if it’s rejected, the Gods take more than just the connection to them away, They took our connection to...everyone.”

“Damn,” Artemis says softly to herself, “no matter what? Like what if both of you don’t want this, it’s just an all or nothing ‘be Mates or be numb for the rest of your life’?”

“When have you known the Gods to accept being told ‘no’?” Calliope gives Artemis a side eye, “I wish I was more help, but I mostly just know about the Fae, it could be completely different for wolves. But we don’t have Innamorare anymore, not since The Fall. Now there aren't even enough of us left to have Innamorare, I haven't come across another fairy in...700 years? Give or take a few centuries. Now we all just...date and marry like everyone else. We’re shadows of our former selves, part of our power was drawn from the land, from one another, from our Fae Rings. At least I didn't lose my magic completely unlike the Children of Luna, but we’re all basically just humans now,” she continues with a shrug, moving the pancakes and syrup to the table, “you’re just a human who can also be a dog,” and gives Artemis a joking wink.

"Fae are the Children of Time, right?" Artemis asks, thinking about her visit as a child to the Daae with her family, and taking a tour of the empty Temple of Time. 

Calliope nods, "good old Father Time," she smiles, moving towards the kitchen table with plates.

Sitting down at the table, Calliope yells out to the rest of the house, “breakfast is ready!” and piles some pancakes onto her own plate, and continues to Artemis, “I can only think of one situation where Innamorare both didn’t want to be paired, it was a delicate situation...the man had been involved in a childhood prank that killed the woman’s brother, it was an accident...but she couldn’t forgive him, even after they were Fated. The Gods took pity on them, and created a ritual to break the tether, because both wanted to be freed.”

“Was it you?” Artemis asks, looking at Calliope.

“No. My sister. They were untethered, and she went on to settle down with a vampire, actually. They both died many centuries ago. I don’t know what happened to the man. He never forgave himself for what happened to my brother. Not that it matters anymore, we’re all but extinct. Only a handful of us left. In the old country, wolves were different, I didn’t have any connection to most of the other species, we were all at war for so long. And it’s possible that at one time I did know, but I’m two thousand years old, and at this point I don't know what's my memory and what's a TV show. I wish I had more information to give you, I’m sorry. I doubt you’ll be able to find any other fairies, we’re all in hiding, so I’d start with finding some very old vampires who might know a few things,” says Calliope.

“What’s for breakfast?” A sleepy and shirtless man walks into the kitchen, giving a startled look to Artemis sitting there, “oh...hey, we have a guest…”

“Hey, Julian, sorry for interrupting your breakfast. It was an emergency.” 

“You’re welcome anytime, A! Just wish I had put on a shirt. Everything ok?” Julian takes a seat, helping himself to pancakes and yawning.

“That’s still to be determined.” Artemis answers.

“She’s the Chosen One,” Calliope says emphatically, smiling at Artemis, “and she’s got a Fated Mate.”

“No s**t! Wow! And to think, I was gonna skip breakfast and sleep in. Tell me everything! Wait! Let me go get Veil, they have to hear this too! VEIL!” Julian screams down the hallway, “GET IN THE KITCHEN NOW!”