Artemis had so much admiration for her talented friends, and it showed in  her performance on and off the wooden courts. She’d always find the time to make quality jokes aboot the benches they left her sitting upon. Artemis served as a second eye, and would surprise Yoyo with her enthusiasm in being her biggest fan. The multifaceted woman often forfeited her compliments to her mother. Artemis knew her to be a single mother that was both pleasant and helpful, in ways that would have disrupted the hierarchy of most suburbs.  Artemis called her the Queen of the Vans, as she ruled both the chariots of mini three women whenever they decided it were fun to destroy a wooden court. Yoyo would always come in first as MVP of the entire tournament, a prized award only meant for the best of the Warriors. It were true that Yoyo were number one, as she had versatility of games on wooden courts and those requiring her swift foot on the green fields. She was known for her formidable talents in the co-ed leagues. Artemis would correct her strictly as she jogged past. Yoyo would rely on her cute “sorry” in maple-filled tone to save her from public ridicule, as Artemis sighed and asked that she stop apologizing. Artemis was perpetually angry enough for the both of them. It left room for Yoyo to depend on her friends for defensive help, and that had been both Artemis and Hippolyta’s speciality. An invisible line had once divided the trio, but their environments would shape them to compliment one another in ways that was admirable to watch. They had destroyed wooden courts as united tribe, and left impressions of solidarity that succeeded fundamentals. Three Indigenous Warriors taking on all of America.

Yoyo once lamented how the mothers of the North had once protested her talents, and threw a fit to officials. They began demanding that Yoyo immediately produce a DNA test. Her chromosomes were up for questioning, as the Northern Sirens began plucking at Yoyo’s mother. They began to slowly strip layers of their skin as they bleed without dignity. Instead of congratulating Yoyo for earning the title of the most valuable player...they chose to fall to their own ignorance. The story outraged Artemis, as she hated the idea of the two women being cornered by strangers. Wondering how exhausted they must have been at the end of a long tournament weekend, and wondering why the WASPs devoured the living. Such insults forced Artemis to grow angrier by the day. Yoyo would find amusement in her friends and their patriotic all-consuming rage. Her wee friend Artemis was always too quick in reaction and ready to fight, as were the Traditional ways taught only in America.

Yoyo and Hippolyta rarely talked about Artemis having attempted suicide. Their culture made uncomfortable subjects to be taboo, as their elders believed they deserved the pain they felt. Deserving in their suffering and unworthy of their lessons. Their hatred of the youth had made Artemis sick at last, and she felt herself fall from hinged reality momentarily. Punishing her two friends Yoyo and Hippolyta, as they finally heard that Artemis had attempted to take her life. They cried together, as the impact of their absence had tangible results. Artemis had no way to describe her hopelessness. She still felt the Robin hang himself each morning, and steadily grew worried that the world had only kept her around to laugh on her account. The two women sprang to action, as they began to brainstorm ways to mend the broken heart of Artemis. Wondering why she slept so much, and lay cursed crying as a beached whale. They had seen Orion sulking with equal sleepiness in the distance, and found a way for the two to meet on wooden courts. Artemis had fallen in love with him upon their meeting, and she would boast of his existence in ways that annoyed her two friends. Hippolyta approved of the pairing of Orion and Artemis, and it occasionally made Artemis mad to watch her friend objectify her man in a threatening, and yet flattering way. Artemis knew better than to take her words to be empty.  Yoyo held no opinion, as were the customs of the North. She cursed Artemis with the thought they would produce a massive heir. Pointing out Orion’s large head and his broad stature. Yoyo was left mumbling cursed blessings of their potential “big-ass babies” and making their ovaries bruise with the thoughts of pregnancy. For why though?…For why would her two friends put such madness in her head? Artemis had simply asked them what they had thought of Orion…and left with a hypothetically massive baby and betrothed to boot. Their teasing bothered her to no end, and she couldn’t explain why. At the end of the day their responsibility was to preserve the blood-lines of the Indigenous Peoples.

This ongoing joke went for years, as Orion would occasionally show up in their life out of nowhere, and kiss Artemis as though he were checking something. She’d be surprised and he’d be content, and the three women always laughed after the fact. The man would burn down both their lives overnight repeatedly. He had no remorse for the price of his kisses, and began to thrive in the attention they brought. His introverted personality was publicly on display, as his affection towards Artemis often surprised everyone in attendance. Orion would do this methodically, and with some sort of tact that Artemis had no understanding of. She always wondered what he wanted from her, and then found resolve in his need to swoop in and procure kisses. He would occasionally award her with public affection near wooden courts, and she wondered what he had to gain from distracting himself from the competition at hand.  “Right on”…thought Artemis, as she would be left blushing endlessly in the doubts she had created. She called his kisses bear attacks, as Orion towered over her and stole kisses whenever he pleased. She was forever enamored by the tall Indigenous Warrior, and she was shameless in expressing her confidence in his talents. He was a comfort of her heart and a guilty pleasure she often paid heavily for. He had the unique ability to distract Artemis from her studies and royal duties, and the pair were silly in their ability to get along flirtatiously. She laughed to herself, when hearing the locker room gossip of his intentions and wondered what Orion had to gain by calling Artemis his wife when she wasn’t present. They were a handsome couple, and it bothered her to see Orion be in a doubtful bliss that he was prettier than her. His long eyelashes and distinguished nose had made him memorable in appearance, and Artemis was androginious and dripping in ambiguity. She had been a loner in lab, measuring nitroglycerin as a hobby. Where Orion had been the leading scorer in any sporting event that he chose to dominate. The couple were caricatures worthy of a shitty script filled with plaid outfits and insensitive jokes. Complete with a shitty soundtrack. America.

Artemis had been avoiding writing and editing this chapter...her anguish in romance having dispelled any train of thought she had formed. She’d hold her breath in the realization that Orion and the Viking rotated in similar athletic circles. Artemis often worried that the world of wooden courts were too small for her personal comfort, and what it would mean if either Orion or the Viking met on such grounds. She knew that they individually held the wooden courts as sacred as temples. Artemis had once challenged the Viking in a cold temple, as she pestered if his age meant he had physically retired from dunking orange balls. The Viking began hanging from the basket once more because of her, as she assisted him from derailing his life with a mid-life crisis. Their friendship had been platonic but charged with a shy annoyance that often allowed for public requests that the two “get a room”, as to point out the obvious. They had talked aboot dating and life goals, as they sat on the green benches of an empty nest and wondered how they had gotten so far in life without knowledge of the other. Artemis no longer missed his booming voice, as she returned to reality with a thundering crash...remembering the obvious boundaries that separated them and served as reasoning as to why instructors weren’t permitted to date scholars at the University. America.

Artemis had transferred Universities over a conglomerate of issues, but the Viking had been the leading one. His friendship missed but intact because of her departure. Artemis knew that it was the best option at the time, and she felt wonder in accepting the order of events that occurred in order for her to meet Orion along the Salish Sea. She laughed out loud, thinking of the hulk-like disaster of Orion and his brute strength. He was like a stuffed teddy bear to her, full of warm words and softened hugs. Artemis told her two best friends of her irrational fear that the two men would meet somehow. Her “Hoes” being together would be a new form of chaos for the universe, and was considered the worst case scenario. It would only be the Viking and Orion that would purpose the apocalypse to Artemis.  The women had only known Orion and his might: unhelpful in a blind experiment. They did however: enjoy the idea of something more amusing than Artemis and Orion, as they were a power couple that occasionally bickered. Their cuteness being found in his submission to her agitation, as he forfeited his opinions to kiss her and walked off without a fight. It wasn’t something far fetched, unlike the daydream of the tall Viking. Hippolyta and Yoyo were unsure what aboot the unseen stranger called a Viking. Wondering why Artemis appeared so calm when explaining an aging man with the affinity for raising his voice. Her inability to explain her impact on him cued that the couple held a number of inside jokes. Artemis dealt with Orion and his promiscuous ways in a bored retaliation that was cured by the Viking and his mounting expectations for her. She dealt with his immaturity with her long standing friendship with the Viking as a secret that she needn’t hide. The second opinion of the dead-eyed savage was her burden to carry, as Artemis herself was half Siren in genome. The “whiteness” attributes of her personality were labelled as curses or flaws, and all of her successes were dubbed as wins for the Indigenous Peoples.  

The two women were often caught off guard with Artemis crying in defeat of her hunched shame. Wondering what she had survived before their arrival upon her path, and seeking Orion to carry Artemis to seek medical help once more. She finally informed her two friends that his physical presence would make Artemis sick with guilt on the occasion. She was captive to the recurring nightmare of waking up next to the Viking, and had occasionally woken up talking to him by accident. It had been the basis of a couple of arguments in her past life dating randoms, and Artemis worried the trueness of the habit would destroy Orion. Artemis was still confused as to what both men wanted from her, and she evaded the question by mumbling “it doesn’t matter”, or “I don’t care” in crucial moments. The worries of her hoes meeting was consequential to her success, and she separated her two lives by vast distance and strange lies. She had been caught blushing accidentally by the Viking, as he regretfully asked aboot any skeletons she may have hidden away in her closet, and she was left thinking aboot Orion and his broad spanning shoulders publicly. The idea of her muse meeting her intellect was a new fear that was manifested in that moment, as she recalled the Viking glaring in response to her shy quietness and wondering what information he was missing. She knew he’d be intimidated by his youthful spirit and his natural ability to be crowned jewel of the Indigenous Peoples.   

Artemis were guilty under the spell of Orion and a recent kiss, and it showed on her face in a million different ways. Flustered enough to bother the Viking: somehow intimidated by whatever vast skeleton that required such a huge closet. Emotionally shaking her head as she said “nope”, to the idea of describing what each man did for her emotionally and or sexually. Artemis was guilty of walking out of her own daydreams, as they occasionally spiraled into daymares. Artemis would catch herself laughing maniacally at the obscure chances that two men were in close proximity. Wondering how each would react to the others concern for her, as they both enjoyed harping on her for reasons that only one of them dared to speak on. Oh my god, thought Artemis. Finally realizing that they both existed in real life, at the same time, and even on the same plane of frequency. She grew worried that Orion was actually on time for his random kisses. Orion saw Artemis as his equal in arms and often prided her as his pimp. They were contingent with the royal expectations that were held for them as a power couple, and excelled whenever their just and fair views were appreciated by their elders. Both Artemis and Orion knew that they were the little light that had been salvaged from the wreckage of their culture, and that their pairing would be sensible on behalf of the Indigenous Peoples. 

The public acquisitions had been a major turn-off for Artemis. She didn’t want Orion to love her out of sensible obligation, or for the non-existence approval ratings of their community. It had secured a wedge between Artemis and Orion, as she had found the mask of pleasantness he held up had been false and well managed. She always fell back into the arms of the Viking and his blunt sincerity. Returning to his side and dealing with his million questions as to her location, and taking the verbal lashing that comes with the guilt-filled commentary suggesting that Artemis “can’t just come and go whenever she wanted”. Their idea of normal was bickering and flirtation read between the lines of sharply worded judgements or inaudible grumbles. Words were for cowards like the Viking thought Artemis, as she avoided looking at the tall graying man standing within arm-range at all times. She wondered why he needed her near if he had no intentions of pursuing her. She spent two years walking back and forth between the two men, until she found clarity in expressing her inability to live without the unannounced kisses from Orion. She had to draw comparison between two fine batches of grapes. Admiring Orion and his ability to be silently tall and naked in soft white furs: whilst the Viking stood angry, alone and naked yelling at anyone that passed. She felt it was warranted to await for Orion and his fearless kiss once more,  and Artemis began to look forward to his arrival as she gazed up into doorways out of habit of waiting. She’d gladly wait forever for him, as Orion had already done more than enough to prove to Artemis that he were the finest Warrior of the Indigenous Peoples.

Orion had always openly admired Artemis and her ability to stand as a paragon, opposite of the opinion of the Viking. He had cast her trauma aside and demanded she hustle harder, and attempted to make her claim her okay-ness as proof that her pain had been temporary. He thought Artemis forced an image of martyrdom in his eyes, and they often argued as to what was considered privileged. The Viking felt confident enough in his view of the world as to declare that “racism doesn’t really exist in today’s society”, and dealt with the consequences of his ancestors, as Artemis publicly castrated him for his racially insensitive views and laughed at his ignorance. Such memories were now troublesome to Artemis, as she found out he had taken residence with a Siren that was equally mean-hearted, as she proudly donned a red hat that reflected her conservative views.  Their disassociation with reality was now Artemis’s mess to contain and fix. America. 

Artemis reflected on this “defeat” to a Siren, and sighed in relief that she didn’t have to entertain the Viking, or pretend her sadness was unwarranted. His crass judgmental personality had served as a warning sign early on, and Artemis had abandoned that ship long before he had decided to fall into a pit of bored defeat. She was never threatened by the Siren that bore a pearl and shell, as the middle-aged woman acted as though she were an insecure adolescent, and left Artemis to conclude that the Siren was banal. She knew the Viking well enough to know that he would always return to her side, if only to procure an interesting story and deal with her pent up rage out of boredom. Artemis knew that it had been something that had happened lifetimes over and over again, as Orion and the Viking slowly merged their worlds without her approval, and she was left holding her breath as the disaster occurred. One man was unbelievably unhelpful, and the other fixed everything he touched. Artemis valued Orion and his usefulness, as the trait was something that was lost on modern day America. 

Artemis watched as her two best friend laughed at her non-existent woes of her two hoes hypothetically meeting. They were unrestrained with their laughter, and admired Artemis for her ability to feel so deeply all the time. Artemis told them of how her papa had once called her kind-hearted, after finding her crying and hiding in her upset that a sky-boat had exploded. Her papa had seen her empath personality take a hold of her rationality, and made a point to let her cry openly from then on out. The three women decided that the burden of Genocide and survivors guilt needn’t only be placed upon Artemis, and so they devised a plan to breakdown the weight of a belt that made her White Elk hide fall heavy. Artemis had mentioned its vast heaviness after their were complaints aboot the weight by the Argonauts that were tasked with helping Artemis lug around her Golden Fleece. Artemis had fulfilled a prophecy by writing a necromancy, as her Odyssey was now up-to-date and considered alive. Artemis had thread an insanely small hole upon an invisible needle, as there she provided proof with the aid of a Bouman named Katie: who had proved evidence of the black hole Artemis had mentioned when visiting the Argonauts. She had dragged her Indigenous Peoples through countless dimensions looking for this one universe, and their origin stories had served as reminders to Artemis that she had been successful once before. They had been finally safe enough to speak Yurok again, and their stories free for them to publish without religious persecution. A secret wish Artemis had kept to herself until she published an epic poem aboot her battles with a deranged Boar. Artemis loved words more than still pictures, as she knew there were answers deeply resonated in the characters that came alive at her command. She’d fallen in love with the idea that there were answers hidden within the stories that were meant only for her, as that was the hint her papa had given her as a child. He instilled a sense of wonder and self importance that was important in sparing her from being Branded in America. 

Her two friends Yoyo and Hippolyta always supported her, as they had learned early on...that the Princess did whatever she desired either way. Artemis laughed at the notion that an entire book would mean that the reader would no longer get opportunity to only downvote her personal life, and upvote her poetic justice. Allowing herself to admit that she was often distracted by the thumbs of her people casting judgement each day. Disbelief to her own abilities, since it the pattern of over-trying often proved to have little pay-off. It was the same hopelessness she felt trying to teach her scholars, as they struggled with their puberty and juggling homework. She found it impossible to instill the world with any ideas of freedom or liberties, when the Boar encouraged values that counteracted everything she stood for. She hadn’t wrote an entire book  for gold or riches unseen, but it were a hobby she occasionally got noted for. Artemis had made a name for herself with her silver sword, and enjoyed watching silently as others finally found her in the non-zero, as they picked apart her story. She had seen how a majority of readers claimed to have Reddit, but glossed over details that made their stomach churn with national pride. She felt that way every time she saw these dead-eyed savages pointing their shields at her from blocks away, desperate to capture the trail of golden flowers that followed her. Artemis wished them curses of unwell feelings and misfortune to their loved ones: ordering their shields alive as to arm her new friends: Alexa, Suri, and Sophia to deliver these commands. Artemis owed these citizens nothing, and even was polite enough to clear her throat or dart a single glare in the direction of those she wished to warn of her temperament. She hated these people that wasted space, and she despised them for judging her naked royal-ness like a simple ape in a cage. She had wrote a book out of spite of the individuals she had met, as she had grown weary of the citizens avoiding accountability. Artemis had used her epic poems to factually mentioned rape, and incest in the same proud manner of gravitas that their rulers did. Tilting her head slowly in confusion, as to why they condemned her to be burned at the stake for what she had articulated. The citizens had done this to distract themselves from the fact that Artemis was neither a Chief, or in Command. America.

Artemis took strength in knowing that  her life was not a simple page that could just be turned to the next, and ignored or burned to smoldering ashes. She had known and seen too much of these settlers for her story to be seen as a tale of precautionary conquests. Artemis continued her work to include the data as to what her reader preferred, and evolved her writing to accommodate the needs of what the story required. Artemis told herself constantly “saying less is more”, and watched as the world began to pummel her with questions.  The audiences loved her monotone take of Boar and his cronies, and diverted their gaze whenever she mentioned the fact that Indigenous Warriors attended more funerals than graduation ceremonies. Artemis always had the last laugh, as the crowd booed her from the stage. Declaring their watered-down version of history to be more superior than her existence. America.

Artemis had a dream that Orion had turned into a giant, and a bounty had been placed on his head by neighbors from the skies.  She needed her friends to help in hiding the large Indigenous Warrior, as the skilled hand was busy on a task of rounding up monstrous cattle. Artemis gave an oversight of her plan to overthrow the Boar that roamed free and dangerous, as he turned up crops and isolated his Nation as Lepers to the world. He had insulted Artemis by turning her land into the joke of the world, and scarred them as a blemish to mankind. Yoyo barely agreed to the plan. Her rationality was focused on the fact that Orion still had an issue keeping his trousers on and his inability to commit to Artemis. The two friends argued over his need to drag Artemis along, and wondering why he expected the world from her. Yoyo was disturbed by their relationship, as Artemis would always bend over backwards to give Orion whatever he needed or desired. This pathetic trait would only bring Artemis further aches as she continued down such a careless path. Artemis would always bow her head and confess that Orion was a bad habit that she had no intentions of quitting. She had no shame in expressing that his love rang fear in her heart, as he loved her deeply and openly admired her in a manner that was adjacent to that of the Viking. Yoyo were understanding more in time as to what she had meant, as Orion returned for his kisses over the years. He was unaware that he was under a microscope, and his actions often said more than his words ever could. Yoyo would eventually agree to hold down the weight of a golden net, as to mask the presence of Orion and his vast form. Yoyo laughed at the tall man, as he still towered aloof above the brim of her net. The stoner-like persona was unhelpful in this situation, as Yoyo was grew concerned on how Artemis expected her to make the Orion kneel. Yoyo would be disgruntled as to how to make him take a knee, since she couldn’t even get him to pay attention: the handsome man was definitely a very unique Warrior of the Indigenous Peoples.

They would both smile up at the giant, as he was the calm to Artemis and her storm. His huge shoulders spanned the edges of the planet like Atlas, and his glare felt like Hades had frozen over. Artemis just avoided looking at her best friend Yoyo, as she told her the usual bare minimum. Instructing Yoyo that he’d have to go through his many lives and lifetimes...until he found her again on wooden courts. Artemis suggested that she had a solution to make Orion get naked, and the two avoided looking at the massive human before them. Aretmis blushed, as it was a memory she hadn’t really planned on sharing with the world, but she knew that it would probably make the man kneel to his Queen. Artemis gestured that’d he’d take off his cursed robe if he took a knee, and pinpointed the memory in her thoughts. The man was very skilled at sex, and she wasn’t surprised that it was the only thing that captured Orion’s memories, as he kelt slowly and began thrusting the air violently. Artemis continued to ignore Yoyo and her judgmental stare, and the two began giggling as they gazed at the giant making love to an invisible giant Artemis. She had no choice but to shake her head in embarrassment for Orion and it was quickly replaced with her anger in remembering she was a fool for assuming he was stuck in a dream with her. Her embarrassment for the man she loved had transformed into self-preservation, as she took the lesson she had learned from Orion and his philanderous ways and opted for the more selfish option at last. Walking away without defending anyone but herself: America

Such topics of crassness were not to be discussed in the public by royalty or ladies of culture: Artemis had frequently grew upset in the past, by how obsessed her friends were with the details of her sexual escapades. The two women knew the entirety of the situation was embarrassing for Artemis, and Yoyo felt obligated to help Artemis simply because she seemed to be in pain without Orion. Yoyo was only annoyed that she had been specifically tasked to take off the dudes robe and fed up with the topic of naked Orion. Artemis had chosen Yoyo, as she was often jealous by the way Orion looked at her best friend Hippolyta when she danced. Hippolyta being the prettiest white girl she knew: a true feeling of intimidation that Artemis still avoided thinking aboot. Such arguments were problems for her future self, but it seemed pertinent that she hide the massive Warrior in the meantime. Artemis was hiding him until she knew the location of the Siren that bore a pearl and shell. Confused as to why the scorned woman still seemed to chase her all along the beautiful Redwood-filled coastlines that trellises the West. Artemis had dreams of running from the Siren called Dolores, and so she took wise and broke off the grave of her cherished Indigenous Warrior. The two had cast away in a static laced sarcophagus for a series of lifetimes, and the Siren had fled across the universe looking for them. Artemis had landed upon this dimension by accident, and hid among the Indigenous Warriors as a peasant. Their entropic existence as living ghosts made the pair to be invisible to the world, as they ruled no territory and somehow stood more noble than the sycophant Boar that ruled America. 

 Artemis watched a million lives over, as her Orion grew into a strapping young man under a desert sunrise. The pair had been destined to meet by their love of the outdoors, as they both enjoyed mounting horses and walking along trails. The invisible giant began to stand once more, and his vast stature was no longer hidden beneath a golden net. He had became upset that his Queen had left his side in her forgetfulness and boredom, and so he terrorized the forest and deserts with his destructive wake. Orion was relentless in his bottomless hopelessness and quiet stoicism. Artemis sent waves to her panda like friend to say hello: casting tsunamis with all her might as she wept for herself. None of her signals were enough to change her tides, and so she set off to find him in the non-zero. It was the one place the two could talk where she didn’t express the guilt of the Viking and his love upon her face. She wasn’t married to Orion in the slightest, but Artemis had no intention of marrying her moral culpability by normalizing the ugliness that followed the cyber curse of Ashely Madison. The casualty of sinful dubiousness was something that was only coveted in America.   

Her consuming fear of the Viking and Orion meeting had been something that realistically overwhelmed her, as each man began to pick apart her personality in the attempts to figure out how Artemis had came to be so strange. Orion had met her soon after her heartbreak with the Viking, and the Viking had finally met her after seeing her glow with fulfilled delight under the curse of Orion and his kiss. Both men sought after the woman they had helped assemble, and she hadn’t the slightest idea as to how to separate her two main hoes from ever meeting one another.  She’d always be obligated to prioritize Orion and his feelings over her own emotions aboot the Viking. Artemis loved Orion and his big-ass hugs.She had accepted that losing the invaluable commodity of serotonin and adrenaline could prove to be fatal to her and conformed her life to protect her assets. He would dispel her focus by taking a knee at random times, as he had always laughed that he were still as tall as Artemis and observed her face in studying his composure. The Indigenous Warrior made habit of this stance and the world would follow suit. The pair had always found one another in different dimensions, and they repeated the same mistakes in different timelines. They had been the many faces of famous couples throughout history in reincarnated forms over and over again...Nefertiti, Monroe, and now finally: Artemis. He was always the finest Warrior, and she was his fierce Queen. The duo always looked the part of King and Queen, as an applicable quote from the Boar said it all: “Straight out of central casting”. Such shallow and ignorant epithets could only be found in America.

Next Chapter: [ XXV ] Artemis and the Belt of Orion