Artemis hated the end of summer. It meant she and Papa had to return her big brother to the elves. Artemis didn’t understand why Kniles couldn’t live among their hunter community the whole year long. She didn’t understand what the elves could possibly offer her brother that their family couldn’t do better. Papa had told her they could offer him an education in the elven academy that they could never hope to match in the wildwoods with the hunters. Artemis had scoffed at this. What better education could there be than out in the wildwoods? At least the hunters accepted Kniles for who he was instead of what he was. She had seen the sneers of disdain that many of the elves viewed upon her brother. It made Artemis want to smash their pretty faces in. She was only ten, but already she was of a height with many of the more petite adult elves. Her brother, at thirteen, was close to outweighing every elf in the city. By the time he was fifteen, she wagered, he would tower over all of them like their papa did. Well, she looked up at her 6’5” father leading them through the wildwoods, maybe not exactly like Papa.
As the trio approached the border of the elf territory, Artemis could feel her dread intensifying. Her brother helped keep the darkness away. Kniles was one of the few people who could draw her away from the evil inside. When she and Kniles were on a hunt together, Artemis almost felt normal. She could be herself around him. They could talk about anything. Her brother was understanding and didn’t belittle her over the gloom inside her like the other humans did. Together they were the most normal pair of siblings in the realm. She, with her dark braided hair and suntanned skin, and he, with his flawless elf skin, pointed elf ears and golden blond locks. The only thing marking them as siblings were their dark eyes. Often Artemis wondered if Kniles shared the darkness in his soul mirrored by their eyes, or if that was a trait that came from her mother.
“Will you meet my friend this time?” Kniles asked, drawing Artemis out of her musings. Papa had fallen behind them to check some tracks. Looking at Kniles, Artemis noted his expression held a certain mindfulness Artemis couldn’t quite place. Ah, he was placating her. She saw that now. He didn’t want another fight.
“This Zi girl,” she asked, carefully trying to sound light even with the harsh thoughts rolling around her head. “It’s strange that you spend so much time with a child, Kniles.” Kniles grinned at this statement, and Artemis smiled back despite herself. Damnit.
“She’s almost your age,” he explained. “But she seems older because of all the work she has to do. Besides, her position makes her a bit of an outcast like me.” Artemis scowled, and Kniles realized what he had said. “I didn’t mean that--” he started before Artemis cut him off.
“Oh, I know exactly what you meant,” she snapped. “The elves don’t appreciate you. They don’t like you. They tolerate you because your Mum is so important.”
“Artemis,” came the warning tone from their father behind them. This was an old argument. She turned on him, and stopped dead in the path to glare him down. Or, rather, up, as the case may be.
“You know I’m right,” Artemis declared. She whirled on Kniles. “You both know I’m right.”
“That may be,” Papa said, in his calmly disarming bass. “But this was the agreement I made with Elowen when she told me she was with child.” Papa placed a gentle hand on Artemis’ shoulder. “A hunter keeps his word,” he told her, repeating the old mantra.
“But--” she started before her father stopped her with a wave of his hand.
“Would you want your Papa to be known as a liar?”
“No sir,” Artemis said speaking to the pair of feet in her well-worn leather boots.
Papa took a knee and pulled Artemis into a hug. “You know I would never allow any harm to come to your brother with the elves,” he murmured into her ear. She nodded into his shoulder.
“It’s just not fair,” she whispered back, fully aware of the twin streaks of tears streaming down her cheeks. Damnit.
“Kniles is part elf, sweeting,” Papa explained in that soft tone, patting her back soothingly. “Would you decide he could never see his mother or his little friend Zi again?”
“If I could keep them from hurting him,” she sobbed, “Keep him with us.”
“Ah,” said Papa, knowingly. “But that wouldn’t be fair to Kniles, would it?” Aside from the occasional sniffle, Artemis was completely silent. “He loves some of those elves, Artemis--his mother, his little girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Kniles inserted into the conversation. He had been giving them some space, but apparently he had to comment on this. Artemis rolled her eyes. She was about to argue that Kniles had talked of little else all summer, but stopped herself. Damnit. Papa was right. It wouldn’t be fair to Kniles after all. She was being selfish. She pushed herself out of the hug.
Papa chuckled. “Maybe,” he agreed if only to pacify his son. “But, maybe not.”
“Papa!” Kniles groaned, “Zi’s a little kid.”
Artemis decided to laugh with her father. “Weren’t you just saying how grown up she is?”
“Yeah, but I meant it as a friend.” Kniles was growing bright red. “She’s smart and I like to talk to her.”
“I think he likes her, Papa.”
“You might be right, little hawk,” Papa said, ruffling her hair..
Kniles became even more red faced. “Please don’t tell Mother,” he begged them. “I think I’ve been hiding it from her pretty well.”
At this, Papa burst out in a bark of laughter. “Son,” he said, straightening up after a moment. “Trust me. It is impossible to hide anything from that woman. She probably knows how your entire life will unfold. She knows about this little crush.”
“It’s not a crush,” Kniles adamantly told them. This was met with more laughter from his sister and father.
This one is so cute. I never knew how much I needed little kid Artemis in my life, ha ha.
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