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more favour'd once; but favour lasts not long

She points the bow to the ground, aiming at nothing. Her thoughts are at rest. In her mind the well-known sound of sandal-clad feet against the crunching leaves of the forest begins. Step, step, step. They gallop, like horses. Like gazelles. Long hair billows in the wind. Kallisto focuses her gaze on it, on the way it seems to fly with its owner. Float in the air. An echo of Artemis’ laughter join the choir. Step, step, step. Faster, faster, faster, the goddess spurs her on.

She nocks the arrow, slipping it into place against the string easily. How often hasn’t she done this already? Raising her bow, aiming it at its target. Her target. A deer. A doe. Always a doe. Artemis’ animal of choice and therefore Kallisto’s prey of preference.

She was a huntress once. A long time ago, before she lost everything. And why did she lose? She lost because she was weak – she didn’t fight hard enough, long enough or vehemently enough. She let herself become prey. His prey. Zeus made her the deer, when she should have been the bear – relentless, fearless, strong. Kallisto narrows her eyes, trains her gaze at the target, its yellow centre mocking her. I’ll win you over, it seems to whisper. I’ll win you over and you’ll like it. Every moment of it.

A deep breath. Kallisto’s fingers slip on the string, but she grasps for it and regains control. In this room, with the whishing sound of arrows flying through the air and penetrating the paper, she is the favoured one once more. At least on the surface. In her mind, she hears herself screaming and pleading, his victorious moaning in her ear. She’s swallowed up. She’s losing herself. She’s losing Artemis.

“I’m sorry,” Allison had told Eve. “I’m sorry I lost your doll; I know it was your favourite. I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new one, I promise. Scout’s honour.”

Kallisto can feel the thumping of her heart. It’s beating in her chest. She’s alive. She’s been through all this and she’s come so far. She can walk the last mile, she can purify herself again. For Artemis. With every inch of her being, she’ll become the woman whom the goddess relied on and will rely on again. If only Artemis will let her… will let her close…

”It’s okay,” Eve had answered. “You didn’t do it on purpose. I forgive you.”

He had looked so much like her. Zeus. Artemis had taken one step at a time, met her eyes with a look Kallisto had never seen on her face before. Why hadn’t she questioned it? Why hadn’t she noticed? Had her own senseless longings really made her that blind?

The virgin goddess… wanting her… She’d been foolish. What had happened had been her own fault and her fault alone.

“Still friends?” Allison had been worried. Kallisto had seen it in her eyes. She’d feared that Eve would give her back the best friend bracelet she’d bought her on their trip to Washington. Kallisto had held her breath in those seconds ticking by before Eve had replied:

“Sure. Still friends.”

The arrow is trembling in her grasp. It wants to be free. It wants to roam the forests and find the innocent heart of a doe in the wilderness. In her mind there’s a confusing echo of sensations. Zeus’ thrusts mixing with Artemis’ soft, soft, soft lips against her own. Voices resound in her ears. Eve is smiling, “Sure. Still friends.” Artemis is yelling, her voice cold, colder than cold. “Begone. I never want to see you before my eyes again.”

They are running in the forest. They’re laughing together. Kallisto thinks her goddess looks happy. She mirrors her. It’s not difficult. It’s easy. So easy.

Whush. The release is short and accurate. The arrow flies through the air and hits its target, right in the middle. Kallisto’s aim has never been off. Her focus has never wavered. He took her. Dirtied her. Threw her off-course, but she still knows where she wants to be. Must be.

Always aim for the heart. It is where everything begins.

how went the morning chase?

-.favoured maiden.-.roaming.-.wildly.-.across the plains.-