Artemis |Lesbian Version|

Chapter 4: The Gifts

Zeus was true to his words. Artemis later learned she would have to earn the gifts she asked for. He only promised she would receive them but he did not say he would outright give to her without effort.

Yet it suited Artemis's heart most of all. She smiled and appreciated her father's wisdom. He had given her a new gift, one she did not even have to ask: the thrill of a new adventure and a massive hunt for the greatest treasures.

A few days after her visit to Zeus' kingdom, Artemis went down to the isle of Delos, where her mother still resided. Leto now stayed in a temple just East of the cave where she gave birth to Artemis and her brother, Apollo.

"Mother," she said to Leto. "I will hunt down the enemy that had taunted you, and you shall be worshiped along with your children for I shall bring fame in my name, but now I must go and find my gifts granted by Father Zeus."

"O my brave daughter, you and your brother are my greatest joy," her mother said and stroked her cheeks, "but you are also a god in your own right. If you so wish to seek your own path, I will not stop you from your adventures."

Artemis smiled and kissed her mother before bidding goodbye. The young maiden set out to find her first gift.

She came to the rugged countryside of Arcadia on a sunny day. It happened to be where Pan, the god of shepherds and hunters, and of the meadows and forests of the mountain wilds lived. Artemis found a man with the horns, legs and tail of a goat, a thick beard, snub nose and pointed ears, and knew that it was her cousin, Pan. In his hand held a reed pipe, which he enjoyed playing during his idle hours.

It was there that Artemis descended to retrieve her first gift.

"O Pan, is that you?" Artemis asked.

The god was feeding his hounds. He turned and smiled.

"Yes that is me, cousin," he said. As soon as his voice pierced the air, Artemis' hands shot up to cover her ears. Pan was not only hideously ugly but his voice was cursed to be so sharp that anyone, mortal or god, would feel melancholy and pain upon hearing it.

"Oh, little king of the wood and mountains, my favorite cousin, please give me some of your dogs - the best ones, please."

Pan looked genuinely surprised. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. It had been a long while since she first saw him in the house of the deathless god. Artemis was just a little toddler. Now she had grown fast and swift, and would soon be a full-fledged goddess herself.

Pan bounced with his goat legs towards Artemis. He lifted her onto a small boulder nearby to sit.

"Why would a lovely lass such as yourself want this pack of massive beasts?"

"Because I want to be the mightiest hunter," she said. "I requested for six wishes from Father Zeus and one of which was of your hounds, Lord Pan. You are the watcher of nature, over all that is natural and good. I dream of becoming a huntress and wish to call the wild my home. Will you give me your blessing and your hounds?"

For a long while, Pan simply stood there, pondering. His face twisted in deep thought. He would raise his hand every now and then to rub his chin and brush the beard on his chin. Artemis waited.

The god looked at her and waved his finger at her face, "Your father warned me you might come knocking this way. I have high admiration for your mother and a strong respect for your father. For these reasons, I grant you my blessing as the lady of the mountains and forest. If you truly think you can be the greatest hunter of all, then I shall give you my hounds as well."

Artemis' face glowed with a smile, "Oh thank you, Pan!"

"Never mind, cousin, now choose which dogs you fancy," said Pan and called out to his beasts. Three of them were huge black and white hounds able to catch a live lion and drag it back to the hunter. The others were lean white deerhounds, any one of them could outrun a stag.