Chapter 2

The small village of Erastus came alive during the Feast of Artemis.

People came from around the region to pay tribute to the goddess. How the village became the center of worship for the goddess dated back hundreds of years.

The daughter and wife of King Erastus, from whom the village was named, were on their way home from visting Athens when they were attacked on the road by thieves, who threatened their lives and tried to rape them.

The Goddess herself appeared and intervened.

The grateful king dedicated the village to the goddess and pledged to build the greatest temple to her the world had ever seen. Artemis accepted his gratefulness, and the king fulfilled his pledge, with the temple being completed in his old age.

How the curse was placed on the temple was just as legendary.

Erastus' grandson fell in love with a priestess at the temple. She rejected his advances. Enraged, the young king came to the temple with his soldiers. He raped the young priestess, and his soldiers did the same with other priestesses in the temple.

When they were done, they killed the priestesses.

An angry Artemis then placed the curse on the temple. Other kings who followed tried to atone for their ancestor's sin, but the curse was never lifted. No male would be allowed to enter the temple and live.

That was until Lysander accidently ran into the building chasing after his dog.

The priestesses and the women who were present for the event kept their promise. News of Lysander's survival never went beyond temple walls. But inside, it was the talk of the priestesses.

Why the curse did not apply to Lysander was a mystery. It fueled speculation that Lysander was the son of one of the gods, but every time a priestess inquired, the goddess' answer was always the same.

Lysander was not a child of a god.

When it came to the Festival of Artemis, Lysander did have a reputation that was growing. Because Artemis was known as an archer, the biggest competition was the archery competition.

And it drew the biggest champions of Greece: Scithian, the champion from Athens; Heradas, the chief archer of Sparta; and a new champion, a young well chisled athlete named Clias. They all wanted a chance to beat the boy archer.

"Rumor has it, Clias is the son of Apollo," Phillip said from the stands. "Like Lysander, he has never been beaten."

"That is no rumor," Arsana whispered to Arianna and Samarah. "He will be hard for the champions of Athens and Sparta to beat."

The tournament went as expected. Scithian, Heradas, Clias and Lysander were the top competitors.

But soon, it came down to Clias and Lysander.

"It's not fair!" Scithian protested to King Morgas. "It is impossible to defeat divine blood."

"That boy does not stand a chance," Heradas said after he had been eliminated.

If Clias thought he would have it easy against the "scrawny boy" he was competing against, he was mistaken.

Round after round, they cut targets dead center.

Finally, the king determined the two would use the same target.

"Perhaps we'll really know for sure," the king said.

They drew lots to see who would go first.

Clias drew, and like he had done all day, he cut target dead center.

"Boy, you might as well give up now," Clias said.

Lysander smiled, and drew his bow.

His arrow cut the one Clias shot in half. He split it right down the middle, breaking it in two.

Clias stormed off.

"I believe I competed against the goddess herself," he said as he left the competition ground.

Lysander was mobbed by villagers. He was hoisted above their shoulders as they marched through town.

The king placed a crown of flowers on Lysander's head, and praised him for defending the village's honor, and the goddess herself.

His victory spawned an evening of celebration.

Arianna watched her brother as he sat by a fountain near the center of the village. She wasn't really surprised.

Lysander really wasn't one for crowds.

"Everyone is going to wonder where their champion is," Arianna said to her brother. "But something seems to be bothering you."

"I had another dream last night," Lysander confessed. "Same woman. She was in the woods. Suddenly she was jumped, and bound by a gang of men. They stripped her, violated her, did awful things to her while another woman laughed. She was powerless. And before it was over, I was seeing things through her eyes."

Again, he told Arianna that the woman in his dreams bore a remarkable resemblence to the statue of Artemis.

"I wished I knew what it meant," Arianna said. "Maybe one day, I'll be able to interpret dreams as a priestess. But I can't now."

*****

"She should have been back by now," Helena told her husband.

"I'm sure she is OK," Phillip said. "She could be late for any number of reasons. Maybe the feast with the Amazons went longer than they planned. You know how Amazons are."

Lysander called for Argo, and told his parents he was going for a walk in the woods.

"I'll check the Pilgrim Road," he said.

The Pilgrim Road was the one used by pilgrims who came to worship the goddess. It was also the main road out of the village. It was the one his sister and other priestesses of Artemis would be using to come home from Amazonia. The road often drew robbers and thieves, but they were being escorted by Amazon warriors.

He drew comfort in the moon as he walked deeper in the woods with Argos. Others who traveled into the woods with him at times often got scared at nights as they walked deep into the forest. But not Lysander. It seemed more like home than the cottage he had grown up with.

The animals never bothered him, and in fact, at times, seemed to keep him company.

As he walked further down the Pilgrim Road, Argo began to growl.

"What is it?" he whispered to his dog.

He could hear voices in the distance. Heard a recognizable scream.

He pulled Argo off the road. They walked under the cover of the trees and the bushes toward the talking.

The moon lit up the scene, and to Lysander's horror, Amazon warriors were slain on the ground. His sisters and other priestesses were tied to a tree.

Five men encircled them. One held Samarah. As he stripped her, she fought back and slit her throat. She fell to the ground.

"That will happen to the rest of you..." the man said before an arrow pierced his throat.

Arianna knew it had to be Lysander. No one else could shoot like that, not in the darkness.

Lysander shot another arrow, killing another one of the attackers.

He wasn't paying attention. Another man in the group snuck up behind him and grabbed him and pulled him out on the road.

"Scrawny one, you are going to pay for what you have done," the man said as he pulled a knife to Lysander's throat.

"That's what you think," Lysander said as he grabbed the man's arm and flipped to the ground. He then slung the man into the tree, knocking the tree down and killing the man.

"That is no ordinary boy," another man said to his only remaining companion. "He has to be a son of the gods. Let's get out of here!"

They tried to flee. Lysander drew his bow. Two shots was all it took to bring both men down.

He cut Arianna and the other priestesses down.

They gathered around Samarah and wept.

Lysander wept with them, but then his sadness turned to anger.

He picked her up and started down the Pilgrim Road. His sisters and the other priestesses followed as he carried her into town.

It was dark. No one else saw as he carried her body up the steps and into the temple.

"You should not be in here!" High Priestess Phoebe shouted.

He ignored her. All of the priestesses followed and gathered around him as he laid Samarah's lifeless body at the statue's feet.

"How could you allow this to happen," he angrily cried out. "She was in your service!"

"How dare you question the goddess!" Phoebe shouted in anger.

Suddenly, laughter field the temple. It wasn't the laughter of happiness.

There were gasps among the priestesses.

Suddenly, walking out of the shadows was a woman who was the splitting image of the goddess. She appeared to have a glow about her.

Artemis had been known to appear from time to time in her temple, but had not since Arianna began her service. But she knew immediately who it was, as did the other priestesses, who began to bow. Arianna grabbed her brother by the cloak and pulled him down, too.

"Phoebe," the goddess said. "Of all the people on this earth, this child has the most right to question me."

Artemis walked up to Lysander and pulled him up by the hand.

Arianna noticed a remarkable resemblence. The green eyes, the dark hair. The features on the face.

Her brother bore a remarkable resemblence to the goddess.

"There are times when bad things happen, that I am restrained from helping," she told him.

She let go of Lysander's hand, and knelt down by Samarah and breathed into her face. Samarah began to breath again. Her color returned.

The goddess led her to a couple of priestesses and told them to take her to a place to lie down.

"She is still pretty weak," the goddess said.

She walked over to Lysander.

"You have been the talk of Olympus ever since you walked into my temple and lived," Artemis said.

The priestesses were shocked when the goddess began to shed tears as she hugged Lysander.

"When you were born, I didn't want to see your face," she said. "I couldn't look at you for fear of seeing the face of my attacker. So I picked a faithful priestess and sent you away. I am pleased she found you a good home."

She looked over at Arsana and winked.

Again, there were whispers among the priestesses.

"Most of you want to know why he was able to come into my temple and survive," Artemis said. "He carries my blood. He is my child."

The goddess wasn't supposed to have a child, at least that was what they were taught. She took a vow of virginity.

"Hera tricked me," Artemis said. "She put a spell over me, and rendered me powerless. She allowed a gang of her worshippers to attack me before releasing me from my bounds. She knew of my vows. Because my mother is the Goddess Leto, she resents me."

She looked at Lysander.

"I will not say what they did to me, but Zeus allowed me to conceive," Artemis said. "That is all for anyone to know. After you were born, I vowed not to know where you were, what you looked like or have anything to do with you."

She brushed his hair out of face.

"When you stumbled into my temple, your identity was revealed to me," the goddess said. "I realized you had my face. And that I have made a mistake pushing you away."

She looked down at Argo and laughed.

"You didn't stumble in here by mistake, Lysander," Artemis said. "That fox your dog was chasing was your persistent grandfather, Zeus himself."

Lysander fell to his knees. Like everyone else in the temple, he was in a state of shock.

"I assume you have many questions, my child," Artemis said. "I will answer them in due time."

She walked over to Arsana.

"You will see that Lysander be issued a priestess robe like his sister," Artemis said. "Even though he will continue to help his father on the farm, he will join his sister in priestess training. I will expect him to play an active role in the temple, although I'm sure Phoebe won't be thrilled."

She walked over to Arianna.

"Tell Samarah when she feels better, I don't hate men," Artemis said. "And look out for Lysander, he will need your counsel."

Artemis laughed as she said her goodbyes.

"My brother Apollo has always been jealous of my skills as an archer," she said. "It hurt his pride to see his son lose that tournament to my child. Lysander, you've inherited my skills. But be assured you will be honing them even further."

Chapter 3

Lysander's heart jumped when he heard the screams.

He took off running toward the screams, outrunning even Argo. Arianna also tried to keep up.

"My baby!" a woman screamed.

Lysander watched in horror as a crocodile had a small girl by her dress and was pulling her toward the creek. He grabbed his knife and took off, lunging on the crocodile's back.

He grabbed the creature by its neck, cut the girl loose and wrestled it into the water. All anyone could see was blood and water splashing.

Suddenly, Lysander emerged from the creek, bloody and muddy. The remains of the crocodile floated to the top of the water.

"How can I ever repay you?" the woman said. "My daughter was just playing when it came out of nowhere."

"It's OK," Lysander said. "I'm glad I could help."

"That's the first time I've ever seen crocodiles around here," Arianna told her brother as the woman and the girl went on their way.

"I've never seen one here, either," Lysander. "I couldn't believe it when I saw it. And it was huge."

"It wasn't here by accident," they heard a man say.

They turned around to see a large white-haired man. He looked strong enough to have taken down the crocodile himself.

"I'm sure my wife sent him to test your strength," the man said. "I'm sure it's only the first of creatures she'll send to test you."

"Your wife?" Lysander asked.

"You'll come to know her in time," the man said with a chuckle.

The man reached into a bag and pulled out a shiny sword. It was the finest sword Lysander and Arianna had ever seen. Even the king didn't have one as fine.

"I was expecting that she would do something like this, so I had this made for you," the man said as he gave the sword to Lysander.

"Why would you give this to me?" Lysander asked.

"Only the best for my grandchildren," the man said. "It was forged by Hepheastus, himself. You will tell no one outside of the temple and your family where you got the sword."

"I won't," Lysander said. "I swear it."

"We've got to go," Arianna said. "We're going to be late for temple duty. Phoebe will not be pleased."

Arianna and Lysander left the man and went on their way. They didn't notice a companion joining the man.

"That was a nice gift, Father," Artemis said as she pulled her arm around Zeus.

"He will need it for more than just his step-grandmother," Zeus told his daughter. "There are many challenges to come this way. And I would much rather him have this gift than the one you intend to give him at the temple."

"It will increase his strength and skill," Artemis said. "You know he'll need that when he faces Hera, or other members of our family who are less hospitable."

"I still don't like it," Zeus said.

"You mean you don't like it for what it'll do to him," Artemis said. "Father, you know it's only temporary."

Zeus chuckled.

"Temporary, yes," Zeus said. "But the Fates have told me that it will lead down a path where he'll have to make a choice. And you don't seem to bothered by him having that choice."

"If my son chooses to become female, it will be his choice," Artemis said.

"I believe you would be happy with that choice," Zeus said. "In fact, you almost seem to be steering him toward that choice."

Artemis laughed.

"I want my child to respect women," Artemis said. "I don't want him to be like his father. If my child chooses to become a man, and honors, respects and protects women, I will be the proudest mother this side of Olympus."

"That is an admirable wish for your child," Zeus said. "But never refer to Herod's dog that attacked you as your child's father. After I allowed you to conceive, I extracted every trace of that dung-pile from that child while the child was still in your womb. The only thing left from the seed is Lysander's mortality and his gender. The boy is you made over."

Artemis blushed. She acknowleged the boy had her looks, and her spirit.

"Don't forget the attitude," a voice said.

Artemis looked around and saw her mother, Leto.

"What brings you away from Olympus, mother?" Artemis said. "You never leave Olympus."

"I've come to see my grandchild," the goddess said.

"I've never known you to leave Olympus to see Apollo's children," Zeus said with a laugh.

"Our son has children with any female he becomes infatuated with, be it woman, nymph or goddess," Leto said. "He has so many children, I believe I've lost count."

"I believe he's lost count, too, Mother," Artemis said with a laugh.

"I love them all, I do," Leto said. "But this one is special. This child runs in the woods with a trusty hound, shooting bows and arrows, and loves spending time under the moon."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Zeus said. "Lysander is special because he will be the only child my daughter will ever have. Your body was restored to the vow after Lysander was born. And Hera has been restrained from breaking that vow again."

"If the time comes that my son chooses to become my daughter, Father, will she still be special to you?" Artemis asked.

Zeus chuckled.

"Be the child Lysander or Lydia, you know your child will always be loved by me," Zeus said.

"That's what scare me," Leto said. "Any child you throw favor to that isn't of Hera's offspring, upsets Hera. Sometimes I wonder if Perseus and Hercules would be better off it you didn't love them so much."

"Father, how did you know about the name Lydia?" Artemis said.

"You think the Fates keep anything from me?" Zeus said. "Besides, I knew that is what you called Lysander in your womb when you thought he was a girl. Cruel joke I played on you, not letting you know that child's gender until birth."

*****

"Look at you," Helena said when she saw Lysander emerge dressed in priestess wardrobe. Arianna braided Lysander's hair and applied makeup.

"Phillip chose wisely to spend his time in the fields," Helena said. "I don't think he'd take too kindly to seeing you dressed as a girl."

"Amazing how he looks," Arianna said. "Looks just like the painting in the temple of Artemis as a child hunting with Zeus."

Lysander gave Helena a hug.

"Mother, does it bother you," he asked. It was a bit strange for him that two now held that title in his life. "You will always be mother to me, for you raised me."

"I'm sure I'm a bit jealous of the place she now has in your life," Helena said. "But how many times have I had to fetch you from the woods, or try to get you away from your bow to study your lessons or help in the fields. You are the child of Artemis, there is no denying that. It's a part of you that I've come to embrace, even though I had no idea why you were the way you were."

Arianna and Lysander grabbed their baskets and filled them with their offerings.

"Hopefully, Phoebe will not to be to harsh on us," Arianna said as they left.

"I assume because you rescued a child from the jaws of a crocodile, you expect special treatment?" Phoebe said when they entered the temple.

"No, ma'am," Lysander said as he and Arianna took their offerings to the alter, said prayers and went to assist others in the gathering of offerings and prayers from the steps from villagers.

No one knew Lysander was a boy as he performed his priestess duties. Because of the curse, he knew he had to play the role of a girl to keep tragedy from happening, to keep other men from challenging the curse, although a few would try anyway.

Lysander found part of the training meant continuing studies. Arsana was assigned as his tutor. He would learn the many languages of the world. He would study literature, mathematics and the laws of the various kingdoms and empires ... in addition to normal duties of collecting offerings and offering them on the behalf of others.

He had to learn to dance ... for the priestesses had many they were expected to perform during ceremonies and festivals. He, Arianna and Samarah were assigned Ariope as a teacher. She was a priestess from an Amazon tribe.

She was quite amused having to teach Lysander to dance like "a proper woman."

The first week of training ended with a dinner. There were two surprise guests: Artemis and Leto.

Lysander was seated between them. It was the first time the goddess shared a meal with her priestesses since Phoebe first started her training.

After the dinner, Artemis requested a meeting with Lysander alone.

"I had this made for you when you were in my womb," Artemis said as she pulled out a necklace. It had the name of Lydia on it.

"Hepheastus made it," Artemis said. "It will magnify your strength four-fold. It will increase your skill as an archer to the level of my own."

"It's beautiful," Lysander said. "But why does it say 'Lydia' on it?"

"I thought you were going to be a girl," Artemis said. "That would have been your name. That would be your name when wearing it."

"Why would my name change?" Lysander said.

"Because it was made for a girl," Artemis said. "Your body will react to it. When you wear it, you will take the form of a female."

"I can't take it," Lysander said. "It's beautiful, and I appreciate that you want to give it to me. But I can't take it. I'm a boy."

Artemis decided not to press the issue.

"There will come a time when you will need it," the goddess said. "I will give it to Arianna, and ask her to keep it safe. When you want it, she will give it to you."

Artemis then told Lysander she had another gift she wanted to give him.

She pulled out an elaborate bow, with arrows to match it's splendor.

Lysander's eyes grew big.

"The bow and the arrows, Zeus had them made for me by Hepheastus," Artemis said. "He gave them to me on my 13th birthday. The bow is magical. We are the only two who can use it. You are 13. I think it's fitting that I should give them to you."

Lysander smiled. This was a gift he could not refuse.

Written on the bow were words inscribed by Zeus himself.

"This bow is alive. She knows her mistress and will serve her well."

*****

Pilgrim Road was one of Lysander's favorite places to be when he wanted to think, although it wasn't as special as the lake in the woods at night.

He sat in the tree and watched people come by. They came from everywhere because of the temple. Some were rich, some were poor. Beautiful, ugly, strong, helpless, kind, funny, cruel and mean.

He made it a habit of helping those in need on the road.

Once weary travelers got their wagon stuck in the mud on the side of the road. They were Spartans. Four big, burly warriors tried to force the wagon out of the mud. It would slide a few feet, then slide back down.

Lysander and Samarah were laughing as they failed and slipped in the mud.

"I don't suppose you could do any better," a frustrated Spartan warrior said.

"Oh, I think that its a challenge you can't pass up," Samarah said with a laugh.

Lysander hopped out of the tree, and walked over to the wagon.

"Step back," he said with a grin.

The Spartans erupted in laughter.

"A scrawny little boy who has yet to become a man is going to move that wagon," a woman traveling with the warriors said with a laugh. "I have a better chance of moving that wagon than you."

On appearance, Lysander thought, she could be right. She looked the part of an Amazon warrior.

Lysander walked up to the wagon. He grabbed with one hand.

They were shocked as he pulled it one-handed onto the dry road. He pulled it as if it were a child's toy.

They didn't know what to say. They thought there must be some logical explanation, but Lysander offered to push it back and let them try again.

"Oh, no," said one of the warriors. "We are grateful for your help Little Hercules."

"I prefer little Artemis, but that's OK," Lysander said. "Although I've heard my uncle is quite a hero."

"Little Artemis?" one of the Spartans asked. "Are you kidding? And Hercules, your uncle?"

Lysander laughed. He didn't take the necklace. But he was proud of his mother.

"I don't know if they believed me," he said to Samarah when they left.

"Trust me, they're going to be talking about Little Artemis helping them out for a long time," Samarah said.

Another time, Lysander watched as a band of Amazon pilgrims pitched came besde the road.

A young boy from the village, Antiochus, snuck up to one of their wagons. The boy was poor. Lysander knew his family. The boy was about 10. He was hungry. He pulled a piece of bread from the wagon.

The boy thought he got away, but soon found him surrounded. The leader of the band, Aniape, caught him.

"The penalty for a thief is a hand," she said as she pulled a knife to cut off the boy's hand, or it seemed to Lysander that was what she intended to do.

"You can't do that," Lysander shouted.

"It is not your place, boy, to interrupt," Aniape said.

One of her warriors tried to grab him. He flipped her with ease. Two more came to subdue him. He threw them off as if they were rag dolls. Two more came, and he easily took care of them.

"Why is it none of my warriors can subdue one scrawny boy?" Aniape said.

About 10 more jumped him. After much struggle, one of the warriors pulled her sword, and others did the same. Lysander reached for his, and realized he left it next to the tree along with his bow.

He was still a handful for Aniape's warriors, but they were able to restrain him.

"By our Mother Artemis, you will be punished as soon as we are through dealing with this little thief," Aniape said.

"By HIS Mother Artemis, you will let him go!" A voice shouted.

"Who dare challenge my authority?" Aniape shouted back before realizing she recognized the voice.

Her warriors knew the voice before she did, and they bowed as soon as they heard the goddess speak.

Artemis emerged with her bows from the woods with two hunting dogs, and Argo, by her side.

"How can you take this arrogant boy's side instead of us?" Aniape asked. "I thought our tribe was favored by you."

"Aniape, you are one of my favorite warriors," Artemis said. "But you apparently do not listen."

She put her arm around Lysander.

"You are correct to call me mother, for I am your spiritual mother, Aniape," Artemis said. "But I am Lysander's real mother. Harm one hair on his head, and I will gladly introduce you to my uncle Hades."

Artemis then asked what led to the confrontation. Aniape shared her side of the story. Lysander told his mother that the boy was poor, and was harmlessly looking for something to eat.

"Aniape, really, were you really going to cut the boy's hand off?" Artemis said.

Aniape claimed she was just trying to scare the boy.

"Give the boy a little more to eat," Artemis said. "Lysander will be sure it is credited to you at the temple as part of your offering to me."

Artemis also made Aniape apologize to Lysander, and told her to make it known that Lysander was free to travel through Amazonia.

"Now Lysander, what am I to do with you?" Artemis said as she held him tight. "I'm glad you want to help people. But you must be careful. The strenghth you inherited from me will not get you out of trouble against a large number of warriors, demi-gods or gods. Maybe you should reconsider my gift. I won't always be around to help you out."

"I'll be more careful," Lysander said. "I promise."

Artemis smiled and reached into her bag and pulled out an apple.

"Here," she said. "I just realized I've never take my little boy hunting. I'll send Hermes to tell Helena not to expect you tonight. We're going to be out all night."

As they walked toward the woods, Artemis pulled a branch from a tree and gave Lysander a smack across the rear.

"Ouch, what'd you do that for?" Lysander asked.

"Don't ever leave your bow and sword by a tree again," Artemis said. "If I catch you doing it again, the next will be worse. Always keep them with you."

"I'm sorry," Lysander said. "Won't happen again."

"Consider yourself lucky," Artemis said. "Left my bows aside like that once when I was your age. A spanking from Zeus with lightning bolts is not fun. Now let's get hunting. Your Momma's feeling a little mischevious tonight."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgnHF2CwrPs

Author's note: Sorry I rushed this with a few editing errors. It's a little shorter than previous chapters, but with my college work, I wanted to keep the story going.

Chapter 4

"Look, Lysander, look," Artemis whispered as they sat on a rock overlooking the lake.

She pointed to a mother bear nudging her cub through the brush.

"I see them," Lysander whispered.

"Promise me you won't make the trials of life make your heart bitter," his mother whispered. "It robbed me of valuable time with my cub."

Lysander blushed. He did not know what to say.

He followed his mother off of the rock. It was weird. To others, she was a goddess to be feared.

She let him see another side: gentle, stern but loving.

And the goddess admitted to Lysander that he brought out a side she didn't know existed.

She sat down on a spot by the lake. Lysander started to sit down beside her, but she pulled him into her lap.

"I am so glad you are still not too big to sit in your mother's lap and be cradled by your mother," she whispered as she put her arms around him. "I know Helena has cradled you plenty. I am so jealous of her."

Lysander enjoyed her warmth.

"She says the same thing about you," Lysander said. "She says I look like you and act like you."

Artemis smiled. She compared their arms and hands, which were about the same size, although some day, she told him, his arms may dwarf hers in natural form.

"Of course, I can increase my size if I want to," she said with a laugh.

"Must be fun being an immortal," Lysander said.

"Not always," Artemis said

"This is kind of hard for me to understand," Lysander said. "I mean, you were the goddess of our village. You were always somewhere distant, someone to be feared, as are all of the gods. Now all of the sudden you are my mother?"

"I know it's almost hard for you to believe," Artemis said. "I've known you've existed all of your life. But I did my best to push you away because of what was done to me. I regret that. And I promise you I won't be distant anymore."

She went on to tell him what happened to her that night. As a goddess, she laughed as the Hera worshippers tried to attack her.

"Puny mortals, what could you actually do to me?" Artemis told Lysander. "That's what I told them."

There was a feast on Olympus the night before. Hera offered her a drink.

"She put something in it that restrained my powers temporarily," Artemis said angrily. "They stripped me, they robbed me of my dignity that mortals should never be allowed to do."

"She was there when they did it, and she laughed, didn't she?" Lysander asked.

"How do you ... you know that?" Artemis asked.

"I thought gods and goddesses can read our minds?" Lysander asked.

"Sometimes we can, but we are not all-powerful, sometimes our powers are restricted, unless you happen to be Zeus," Artemis said.

"So tell me how do you know?" Artemis said.

Lysander told her about the dreams in amazing detail, including seeing it all through her eyes.

"It was if you were there," Artemis said. "But, of course, by the end, you were there."

"Because of a spell Hera cast I cannot overturn, I cannot repay those men for what they did to me, especially THAT man, their leader," Artemis said.

"My father?" Lysander asked.

"He is not your father," Artemis said. "He planted the seed. But Zeus extracted all of him out of you, so all that remains is me. You know how I know?"

Lysander asked how.

She pointed to a birthmark on his left shoulder. She bared her left shoulder to show him the same mark.

"We both have Leto marks," Artemis said.

"Leto marks?" Lysander asked.

"You grandmother, the goddess herself, has the same one in the same place," Artemis said. "Your Uncle Apollo doesn't have one. Neither do any of his children. She passed it to me. I passed it to you. The only one who can rightfully call himself your father is a humble farmer named Phillip from the village of Erastus."

Just then a bolt of lighting appeared across the sky on what otherwise was a clear night.

"You're his grandfather, not his father," Artemis said with a laugh.

*****

"There you are, thought I'd find you practicing with your bow," that very farmer, Phillip, told his adopted son.

"It's beginning to feel more comfortable," Lysander said as he pulled an arrow back. He was using an old, dead tree for a tarket. "It was a little tough, but moth ... I mean Artemis ... I mean the goddess said the more I use it, the easier it will feel. The string was a little tough."

"You don't have to worry what to call her when you are around me, son," Phillip said. "Or your mother, Helena. She blessed us by giving us the chance to raise you."

Lysander could still sense the sadness in his father's voice.

"Something is wrong, though, Pa, isn't it?" Lysander asked.

"Well, we were already prepared to lose Arianna to her because of your mother's vow," Phillip said. "I always thought I'd pass the farm to you. It's been in my family for generations."

"Who said I'm going anywhere?" Lysander said. "Maybe it's meant for me to stay around here."

"Oh you think that now," Phillip said. "But you are the son of the Goddess Artemis. You don't think she'll have you on one adventure or another? And you think with your strength and gift with a bow, others won't seek you out for your help? Or take advantage of you? Look at Hercules. Or maybe you'll decide to take advantage of your skills to serve your own ends like your own Olympus relatives?"

Lysander assured Phillip he would not take advantage of his fellow mortals.

"I intend to help people in need," Lysander said. "I've been helping people."

"So I've heard," Phillip said. "Your reputation is already growing son, and it's moving well beyond here."

"You two come and eat," Helena shouted from a window in the cottage.

Lysander took his usual place beside Arianna.

"Your hunting trip with Artemis is the talk of the temple," she whispered to him. "Everybody wants to hear all about it."

Lysander was afraid to talk about his hunting trip. He was afraid of hurting Helena's feelings.

"I have been blessed with two good mothers," he whispered to Arianna.

There were things, he knew, that were best kept between his not-so-earthly mother and himself.

*****

"One small happy family they seem to be," whispered one shadowy figure to another under the tree Lysander had used for target practice.

"I've already set things in motion to change that, Mother," whispered the other. "Persians, they're so easy to stir up. The war in the north will soon be coming here."

"I've arranged for a few of my worshippers to join them," Hera told her son Ares. "Had Zeus not gotten involved, it would soon be a family reunion with your young nephew."

"But how do we keep my dear sister from becoming involved?" Ares said. "Her newfound maternal instincts could foil our plans."

"Oh, leave that to me," Hera said. "You're not the only one who can start a war. I'm creating a little diversion among her favorites, the Amazons, to keep her busy until it's too late."

Ares was curious as to why his mother wanted to stir so much trouble.

"But you know, I'm always in when there is a good war to create," Ares laughed.

"I want to put Leto and Artemis in their places," Hera said. "And I love your father, but he is showing a little too much favor to his grandson."

"I thought you've already put Artemis in her place," Ares said. "Isn't that how Lysander got here in the first place?"

"As long as she pushed him away, that was fine with me," Hera said. "But now she's one happy mother, it makes it look like she's won. When this is over, she will be begging me for a truce."

"A truce?" Ares said. "On what terms?"

"I will grant her a truce on the terms that Lydia will become the bride on your son, Aron," Hera said.

Ares laughed.

His son with a woman from Macedonia had set himself up as a cruel king in a region north of Greece. He believed that all women should be subservient, and would promise to be a cruel husband.

"Just think of the grandchildren you'll share with Artemis," Hera said.

"How do you know Lysander will even become Lydia to begin with?" Ares said.

"With what's to come, he will have no choice," Hera said. "With some of the tests I have in store, he'd be no match remaining in the form of Lysander."

*****

Lysander had trouble sleeping.

He slipped out of the cottage, and grabbed his bow and arrows. Argo followed as they went into the woods.

He had a lot on his mind as he sat by his favorite stump next to the lake.

He jumped when he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," a young girl about his age said.

"What are you doing here?" Lysander asked. "Don't you know it's a dangerous place for girls to wander at night?"

"Well I'm not an ordinary girl," she said. "And my mother sent me here to warn you."

"Your mother?" Lysander said. "And who are you?"

"Mylethia," the girl said. "Let's just say that we're cousins. My mother is your Aunt Athena."

It still seemed really strange for anyone to refer to any of the Olympus gods as members of his family.

"And what is the warning?" Lysander asked.

"My grandmother is up to something," Mylethia said. "My mother overheard her talking to a few others on Mount Olympus about something involving you and your mother."

"Do you know exactly what?" Lysander asked.

"Nothing specific, but we thought you should know," Mylethia said. "Wished I could stay and talk, but my mortal parents don't know that I'm out. But I must say ... you really do look a lot like Aunt Artemis."

Chapter 5

Tired, weary, sore.

That's how Lysander felt as the ragtag army of Greek villagers retreated day-after-day after suffering losses from the invading army of Persians and kingdoms from the north.

Helena and Phillip fought the idea of a mere boy joining a company from Erastus joining the fight against the invaders, but he wasn't a mere boy, and they knew that.

Everyone in the village knew of his strength and his archery skills.

"We need everyone who can fight," Captain Gyrgas told Phillip when they came to recruit Lysander. "He can make a difference against the invaders."

Phillip gave him the best horse on the farm. Helena hugged him, and did not want to let go. He said his goodbyes to Arianna and the priestesses at the temple.

Even Phoebe had kind words for him.

"We will send prayers daily for you to be protected," Phoebe said. "You have learned much in your time here. And I believe your service at the temple is not yet ended. But you must protect this village."

He hugged Samarah and Arsana, and presented an offering at the foot of the statue of Artemis.

"I wished you were here, Mother," he cried in prayer. "But you gave me your strength, and your skill with the bow. I will try to use them in a way that honors you."

Because he had not yet grown into manhood, and was not ripped with muscles, his initial presence in the army was greeted with mocking.

"Are we this desperate that we need little boys to fight by our side?" asked a warrior from Athens.

"We are desperate," Gyrgas said. "But I believe what he can do will surprise you."

The captain proved correct in the very first battle. None of the trained Greek archers could shoot as accurate as Lysander. None of them could shoot as far.

The trained archers asked to try his elaborate bow, but found they did not have the strength to pull the string, and wondered how this scrawny farm boy could. They didn't know it only worked for Artemis and her child.

And then they saw something else remarkable. They saw Lysander grab a bull by its horns, and throw it into a horde of advancing Persians.

"Surely, he must be one of the sons of Zeus!" shouted a warrior from Mycinea.

"I am the son of Phillip and Helena, farmers from the village of Erastus," Lysander told one warrior.

He did not want to boast being the son of the Goddess Artemis. He didn't want to draw attention to himself.

But he defended his mother when warriors from his own village cursed her for not providing assistance in their time of need.

Lysander also realized another truth in battle: His strength and skill with the bow were not enough to hold off an advancing army of skilled warriors.

The words Artemis told him were ringing true. And in suffering small wounds, he also knew her words about him not being immortal were also true.

"It is normal for every warrior to fear for your life," Gyrgas told him. "You are brave to a fault. And you have strengths very few possess. But you are not a god."

Lysander came to realize they were quite a few demigods and goddesses short of being able to stop the Persians.

The Greek army was on the verge of collapse as it reached Erastus.

"I am all out of strategies to defeat them," General Kronos, named for the deposed king of the gods, confided in Gyrgas.

Gyrgas admitted knowledge of the terrain didn't seem to help.

Lysander looked back to see the village. He saw a reflection of the sun come off the statue of Artemis, and came up with a plan.

"We need to retreat to the temple," Lysander told Gyrgas.

"That's suicide," Gyrgas said. "Everyone in our army knows about the curse."

"The curse only applies if men enter the temple," Lysander said. "Once our army reaches the temple, have the soldiers climb the steps and then retreat to the back side of the temple. It will give the Persians the illusion that we're going into the temple."

"You know, it might work," Kronos said.

Officers in the Greek army told their warriors to retreat to the temple when they heard the sound of Kronos' horn.

They did as they were commanded.

The priestesses watched in horror as hundreds of men ran toward and around the temple.

"What do they think they're doing?" Samarah asked one of the other priestess. "Don't they know they will die?"

But then, just as they appeared to be ready to rush into the temple, they disappeared.
'
"Where is Lysander?" Gyrgas asked one of the soldiers from the village. "Why didn't he come with us."

The young son of the goddess stopped when he reached the steps of the temple.

The Persians thought it was foolish that one remaining Greek warrior seemed to be waiting on them before they reached the temple.

"Don't they know we don't worship their gods," said the Persian commander. "It doesn't bother me to desecrate a temple of one of the Olympus gods."

A split second after he said those words came a shout from Lysander from the steps of the temple.

"If you want us, come and get us!" Lysander shouted.

Because his voice hadn't changed, and that it was at such a high pitch, the Persians laughed at his words.

"Have they sent a girl to fight against us?" the commander laughed.

They weren't laughing at what came next.

Lysander shot an arrow. It split the throat of the Persian commander.

The Persians weren't laughing after that.

"I want the head of that boy!" shouted the next highest ranking Persian officer.

As they ran toward him, Lysander calmly walked inside the temple and bowed before his mother's statue.

"Thank you Mother for the curse you have placed on this temple, and how it protects those of us inside," Lysander said as the first Persians reached the temple ... and died.

Because of their momentum, because of their limited sight, by the time Persian warriors realized their camrades were dying inside the temple, it was too late. They fell dead as soon as their steps reached the inside of the temple.

Hundreds of bodies were strewn inside the temple.

"I am so sorry," Lysander told Phoebe. "I did not know what else to do."

"You did what you had to do." the high priestess told him.

The high priestess instructed him to tell the army commanders that the priestesses would drag the bodies out onto the steps.

"Tell them their warriors can decide how to dispose of them," Phoebe said.

Lysander hugged a crying Samarah and Arsana.

"Where is Arianna?" Lysander asked.

Samarah was afraid to tell him.

Arsana gave him the news.

"She left as soon as she was told your family's farm was under attack," Arsana said.

Lysander looked out of the temple toward the direction of the farm. He saw smoke.

He asked Gyrgas if he could take leave.

"You know you can," the captain said. "Take some of our warriors with you."

A group of warriors rode with Lysander.

As they reached the farm, a small row of archers sent arrows flying.

One arrow grazed Lysander, who fell off his horse and darted into the bushes. The other warriors were killed.

Lysander reached a position on a hill where the archers were exposed. He picked them off one-by-one.

Just as he shot his last arrow, he heard screaming. He looked toward the house and spotted Arianna in a tree. Three lions were circling the tree.

He also heard screaming and fighting in the house.

He knew he had to save Arianna first. He shot an arrow, but the arrow didn't bring down the lion he hit like he had hoped.

He went running and leaped on the lion. He drew out his knife and stabbed the lion. The lion tried to bite him, so he grabbed the lion by the neck, and broke the lion's neck.

Almost has soon as he killed the first lion, a second jumped on him. Lysander flipped the lion, pulled him by his mane and slit the lion's throat.

He then jumped on the lion's back that was trying to knock over the tree. He killed the lion in much of the same manner as he did the second one.

He pulled a weeping Ariana from the tree. Just as he put her on the ground. They looked around and saw the house fully engulfed in flames.

They saw four men getting on horses and laughing.

"Hera will reward us for this, I'm sure," said the leader, whom Lysander recognized from his dreams.

It was the one who violated Artemis. The other men were with him when he did it.

*****

Lysander and Arianna locked arms as they watched their home smolder.

They found the charred remains of their parents and buried them as best they could.

"I should have taken the necklace," Lysander told Arianna. "They would still be alive if I had. I took too long fighting the lions.

"I don't know if you could have saved them," Arianna said. "You shouldn't blame yourself."

"No you shouldn't," a voice said.

Emerging in the darkness was a hooded figure.

Lysander knew who it was.

"Wished you were here, Mother," Lysander said as the goddess pulled down her hood.

"I wished I had made it sooner," Artemis said. "Ares was with the Persians who attacked the Amazons. I could not get away from him. I didn't know what was going on until it was too late."

"Where are we going to go?" Arianna said with tears in her eyes. "This was our home."

"You were going to be moving to the temple in a few months," Artemis said. "There will be room for you in the barracks with the other priestesses. Lysander, the temple is now your home, too. You'll stay in my private chamber. It's not been used as much as I'm sure my priestesses would have liked."

Arianna still broke down in tears.

"They're gone," Arianna said. "I have no one left except Lysander."

"Your parents raised my child, so now it's time for me to return the favor," Artemis said. "From this day forward, you will be known as my honored daughter. And Lysander, with them gone, I will take a more active role in your parenting and training."

The goddess told them to gather what belongings they had before they headed to the temple.

"I want the necklace," Lysander whispered to to Arianna.

"It's yours, anway," Arianna said, removing a pouch from the bag that contained the necklace.

Lysander removed the necklace from the pouch, and decided to put it on.

He blacked out.

*****

"Hey wait, what happened?" Lysander said groggily, only the voice coming from his mouth sounded a little more like Arianna's.

"You passed out for a minute," Artemis said. "Your body was just getting used to the changes, Lydia."

"Lydia?" the once boy asked.

"Well, she can't really call you Lysander looking like that," Arianna laughed.

Lysander, now Lydia, didn't feel too different, other than the weird sounding voice.

Her clothes felt a little tighter in some places. Her chest felt a little more weighty.

"Oh my!" she said when she noticed one of her breasts hanging out. Her breasts, a weired thought.

She adjusted the tunic.

Both Artemis and Arianna laughed.

"We'll have to get you some clothes for when you're Lydia," Arianna said. "Don't know if your 'Lysander' clothes will do."

"What 'Lysander' clothes," Lydia replied. "All I have is what's in my bag that I took to wore. Everything else was lost in the fire."

"So were mine," Arianna.

"I'll get Arsana to buy clothes for you, both," Artemis said.

Arianna showed Lydia what she looked like in a mirror.

She didn't see a well-chisled demi-goddess. Just a young girl who looked a lot like Lysander ... and even more like a goddess that was her mother. The girl in the mirror was also extremely beautiful.

"What's wrong?" Artemis said.

"Other than looking like a girl, I don't look too different .... I mean," Lydia said.

"Increased powers doesn't mean you look like a muscle-bound Amazon," Artemis said. "See that oak tree over there?, go knock it down. But don't pull it up by its roots as you would have done as Lysander."

Lydia walked over, rolling her eyes. She hit the tree. It fell over ... like it was made of straw.

"With added power comes more responsibility," Artemis said. "Do not be reckless. Do not let your anger get the best of you. You are still mortal. You can still get hurt. You can die. And you will still be facing challenges that are challenges even for your strength, especially now that ...."

"Now what?" Lydia asked.

"That Hera appears to have taken more than a passing interest in you," Artemis said. "You must be careful."

As they were walking, Lydia noticed something else. She stopped and looked inside her tunic, and had a shocked look.

She no longer felt a bulge between her legs.

"It's gone, it's been replaced ..." Lydia said.

"When you're Lydia, you have a vagina," Artemis said. "It's just as much 'your part' as your penis was. And don't worry, When you're Lysander, the penis will be back."

"Just wait until you have to pee," Arianna laughed. "Welcome to my world."

Chapter 6

The village leader's son and daughter were chained to a pillar outside of the temple of Apollo.

The magician and four of his henchmen laughed when there appeared no champion to answer their challenge.

If someone could defeat the Titan they had chained and controlled, they would set the village leader's son and daughter free.

They would also depart from the village, and never return.

If not, they children would be sacrificed to the non-Olympian god they served. The villagers would become their slaves.

"Are there no warriors here who will accept the challenge?" the magician known as Baderess shouted.

There would be no reply for more than 40 days. The village leader, the Chieftain known as Oros, stayed in his tent, most of the
time he was drunk from the wine he drank to drown out his sorrows.

They sent for help, but received no reply from the great General Pericles in Athens. A few curious warriors from Sparta answered
the call, but once they arrived and saw the Titan, even they backed down.

The villagers prayed that maybe Zeus would send his sons Herakles or Perseus. But know their prayers seemed to go unanswered.

A small band of Amazons guarding a procession of priestesses of Artemis happened on the village as they were passing through

Macedonia on the way back from a festival. Queen Melanippe made a vow to the goddess that she would send a company of warriors to protect her priestesses after recent attacks.

"Why are we stopped, my lady?" a young priestess named Lydia asked the queen.

"It seems these villagers have a predicament on their hands," Melanippe replied. "But don't you worry. We'll be on our way soon.

I'm just trying to see if we can offer some kind of assistance. But I'm afraid there is little we can do. Go back and join the other
girls."

Lydia bowed to the queen. She smiled. She loved the fact that the queen had no idea who she was.

Lydia was ordered by High Priestess Phoebe to go to the feast in Galatia.

"You need to learn what we do at festivals," Phoebe said. "I think it's best that you try to keep a low profile."

It was hard for Lydia to do. She had to pass up an archery contest she knew she could easily win as Lysander, much less Lydia.

A priestess from Ephesus made the remark that Lydia bore a remarkable resemblence to the goddess' statue in their temple.

"Me, look like the goddess, why no, you must be mistaken," Lydia replied.

She stayed close to Arianna the whole time. Her sister spent much of the trip giving Lydia tips on how to behave like a girl, a proper priestess in training.

She admitted to Lydia that Lydia was a good learner. The Amazon warriors thought she was nothing more than a proper teenage priestess to be. And a bit dainty.

"What's going on?" Arianna asked when Lydia rejoined the priestesses.

"Not quite sure," Lydia replied. "What do you say we go up and take a look?"

"You think that's wise?" Arianna asked. "Melanippe wants us to stay safely out of trouble."

"I don't want to cause trouble," Lydia said. "I just want to take a look."

"I guess there is no harm in taking a look," Arianna said.

The walked up closer to where the village's warriors stood.

"Where do you think you two are going?" Melanippe asked in a stern voice.

"We're here to offer prayers to the goddess on their behalf," Arianna replied.

The queen relented, but told the two to stay close to her warriors.

"Nice thinking," Lydia said to her sister.

"What do you mean 'nice thinking?' " Arianna replied. "We really are going to offer prayers."

Lydia and Arianna were setting up their alter when the magician shouted from across the valley, issuing another challenge. They looked up and saw the Titan.

"So that's one of great-grandpa Kronus' Titans?" Lydia said to Arianna. "Not much to look at."

"I don't think this is the right time to joke about this," Arianna replied.

"Who's joking? He really is ugly," Lydia said.

Lydia looked around to see the responses to the challenge. The warriors, even the Amazons, looked in some sort of daze.

"It's sad no one will take up the challenge," Lydia said to Arianna.

"Just who do you think can defeat a Titan?" a stern Melanippe said, overhearing the conversation.

Lydia had a lump in her throat.

"Maybe Herakles," Lydia said of the uncle she never met.

"He is not here, and it's best you keep your mouth shut," Melanippe snapped.

"Arianna, go get my bow," Lydia said to her sister, pretending not to hear the irritated Amazon queen.

"You're not!" Arianna asked.

"Herakles isn't here, neither is Perseus," Lydia replied. "None of my other relatives seemed to be interested in coming, not even my mother's favorite brother is here, and these evil people have defiled his temple."

Arianna couldn't argue with logic. She knew her once-brother-now sister had increased strength in female form. But it was untested.

Lydia marched into Oros' tent and announced her intentions. It was greeted by laughter and cursing.

Melanippe marched into the tent and angrily tried to pull Lydia out. Much to everyone's surprise, Lydia lifted the village's army commander up with one hand.

Arianna entered the tent with Lydia's bow.

"My grandfather had this made for my mother," Lydia said. "It was made by Hephestus. Perhaps you know him?"

They were all shocked. They didn't know what to answer.

Lydia emerged from the tent.

Once again, Baderess issued the challenge.

Lydia walked up to the front lines and grabbed a spear from one of the warriors.

"Sorry, I might need this," she said as the warrior gave her a disgusted look.

Baderess and his henchmen were surprised as they saw a lone figure walk out into the valley ... a young girl.

Badaress went to meet Lydia.

"Have you a message from the village, little girl," Baderess asked. "Have they named a champion who has accepted my challenge?"

"I am the one who accepts your challenge," Lydia replied.

The magician laughed, as did his henchmen when he shouted that "a little girl has accepted the challenge to take on the Titan."

"You don't think I'm serious, do you?" Lydia asked.

She took an arrow and placed it in her bow. She shot the arrow, which traveled roughly a half-mile before striking one of the henchmen right in the throat.

"Well, well, I may have underestimated you, little girl," Baderess said.

"I will make one change to your conditions," Lydia said.

"And what is that, little girl?" Badaress replied.

"You and your henchmen won't be making it out alive," Lydia said.

"That's a pretty good boast from a scrawny little girl," Baderess said. "You have proven yourself to be a good archer. But you are about to be ground into bits and eaten by a Titan."

Arianna, Melanippe, Oros and the rest of the camp watched as Baderess and Lydia spoke to one another and wondered what was being said.

Everyone understood what Badaress said next.

"Release the Titan!" he shouted.

The monster emerged from his chains, and stumbled down into the valley. Badaress walked away.

Lydia felt alone as the monster approached her.

"Please mother, help me," she whispered as she watched the Titan pick up a boulder. He hurled it right at her.

Lydia blocked the boulder with her hands. And to much of the surprise of people watching on both sides, the boulder shattered
into several pieces.

It seemed to anger the monster as it ran toward Lydia.

Lydia shot several arrows into the beast, but it kept coming and finally grabbed her.

The Titan threw Lydia about 20 yards. Everyone again was surprised when Lydia picked herself up off the ground.

It hurt. She was sore and bleeding.

She was out of breath. She wondered what she should do. The Titan had a lot more strength than she imagined.

Then she spotted the spear laying on the ground that she grabbed from the warrior.

She raced toward it as the Titan raced toward her.

She reached the spear in time.

The Titan was about 10 yards away when Lydia heaved it right in the monster's direction.

The spear hit the Titan right in the heart. It stopped him in its tracks.

He dropped to the ground. Lydia ran up to the monster and tried to feel for a pulse.

To her relief there was none. The Titan was dead.

Oros and his henchmen were stunned. The villagers on the other side of the valley were equally stunned, but cheered what had happened.

Lydia kept her word. She picked up her arrows and picked off Oros and his henchmen as they tried to flee.

She ran up the steps of the temple, and yanked off the chains from the pillars with her bare hands, freeing the girl, who was about 10, and the boy, who was the same age as Lydia.

"You know, in stories, it's the boy who frees the girl," said the boy, whose name was Calios.

Lyda wrapped her arms around Calios as she pulled off his chains.

"In this story, it's the brave girl who rescues the beautiful boy," Lydia said with a laugh. It was the first time she or he as Lysander, had ever noticed a boy's beauty.

Lydia kissed Calios as his chains fell.

"I guess now I must get you back to your father," Lydia said.

There was a celebratory feast in the village the evening after Lydia's victory over the Titan. She enjoyed the attention, but was ready to go back home to Erastus.

She was also return to return to being Lysander, but her thoughts and emotions were confusing, especially about the boy Calios, with whom she sat next to at the feast. He begged her to come back. Lydia smiled an put a crown of flowers on his head.

She gave him a goodbye kiss before walking away in the procession of priestesses and the Amazons.

"You must visit us again, daughter of Artemis, said a graying woman who served as high priestess in the temple of Apollo," the woman said. "You are always welcome in your uncle's house."

She was the first person to openly realize who Lydia was.

*****

Lysander was glad to be back at the temple. He took his faithful dog to the woods after taking the necklace off.

He enjoyed his time alone. He missed it.

He was surprised Phoebe permitted it as long as he performed his priestess duties. Lysander surprised her by being a model citizen.

He also surprised her, Arianna and the rest of the priestesses by putting the necklace on and being Lydia for no particular reason.

As Lydia, she had free reign in the village and enjoyed the company of women and girls in the marketplace.

"I think I prefer the company of women," Lysander admitted to Arianna, who was amazed that Lysander stayed as Lydia almost as much as he was Lysander.

He also enjoyed one priviledge of being a child of the patron goddess. The pillows in her private chambers were of the utmost comfort and it made it hard sometimes to crawl out from sleep to begin his morning duties.

One particular morning, he felt a warm body lying next to him as he tried to roll out from sleep. As he tried to pull up, a pair of arms wrapped around him and pulled him back down.

He looked back to smiling Artemis.

"I was watching my baby sleep from Olympus," she whispered. "You are so beautiful when you sleep."

"Hello mother," a startled Lysander said. "But in case you haven't noticed, I'm not a baby."

"Nonsence," Artemis said. "You are my baby. And you're going to have to indulge me because I didn't get to snuggle with you when you were little."

Lysander admitted he did enjoy the attention.

"Phoebe will be surprised to see me," Artemis said. "We've got to get up and get baths before breakfast."

Lysander was a bit surprised when she did not leave the chamber when he prepared to crawl into the bath that was constructed just for the goddess.

"What's wrong?" Artemis asked when she noticed Lysander's embarrassment. "You think I haven't seen you naked before."

He was even more surprised when she disrobed and joined him in the bath.

"You've been Lydia, what you see is what you've had, and will have again," Artemis laughed.

She moved over to her son and begin washing his hair.

"I was proud of you, you know?" Artemis asked. "Hera set the whole thing up and you ruined her plans. But we've got plenty of
work to do. You were a bit reckless. You need more training."

Lysander admitted the obvious. His body may have returned to its male form, but it still had bruises and scratches from the
battle.

Lysander did not argue when he and his mother crawled out of the bath even when she picked two regal matching dresses to wear to breakfast.

She braided his hair and did hers. She pulled a shield off the wall.

Lysander was stunned. Even as Lysander, he bore a startling resemblence to his mother.

"I must get Phoebe to contact Phidius," Artemis said. "I need a statue or portrait with my children, Arianna included."

As Artemis said, the priestesses were amazed to find the goddess joining them for breakfast.

"I want to spend time with my children," Artemis said in announcing she had also adopted Arianna as her daughter.

"It does not come with any powers," she said when she presented Arianna with a necklace.

"She will one day be the highest of all my high priestesses," Artemis confided with Phoebe. "Lysander will need her counsel."

Phoebe agreed.

"But what do the Fates say about Lysander" Phoebe asked.

"There are three or four different outcomes," Artemis said. "Most have Lysander choosing to become Lydia, and conceiving. I must guard her from one of those outcomes."

Artemis took Lysander on one final hunting trip before departing for Olympus.

"Your grandfather is still furious at me for having you transform into Lydia," she told Lysander. "But if you weren't Lydia, you
couldn't have defeated the Titan."

"I know," Lysander said.

Artemis sensed there was more on Lysander's mind.

He confessed he enjoyed being Lydia. He also confided about his feelings toward Calios as Lydia.

"Those are only natural feelings," Artemis said. "And Calios is a fine boy. He is destined to become a great king. He is going to be
one who might want to make Lydia his queen."

Lysander blushed at the notion.

"Does it bother you that I talk about you as Lydia?" she asked.

He shook his head no.

"As Lydia, you will have pursuers among kings, and not all will have pure motives," Artemis said. "You will also have choices as Lysander. You must choose wisely. I must teach you to choose wisely."

Chapter 7

"How did I get myself into this mess?," Lydia thought as she struggled to get loose from the chains that bound her to a pillar.

Meanwhile, she was being circled by a hulking figure claiming to be a king named Aron. He laughed and told the young girl she would someday be his bride.

"Tall and creepy is not my type," Lydia replied, not showing the her enemy her fear.

He slapped her. It hurt.

It hit home the words her mother told her. There would be times when Lydia would find an opponent who would be her equal in strength.

And this one trapped by kidnapping her sister Arianna and the Amazon queen Melanippe.

As she stormed the castle, she found this king was no mere mortal.

He jumped her. He chained her with chains made my Hephestus himself.

"Just my luck to run into a spawn of Ares," Lydia thought as she calculated a way of mistake.

She was across from the cell that held Arianna, Melanippe and two other Amazon warriors.

"Marry me, and I will release them," the King whispered into her ear.

All the while, she looked up at the ceiling. He didn't notice as she wiggled the pillar with her strength.

"Just a little more," she thought, and hoped neither Aron or his henchmen spotted the dust that would full as she inched closer and closer to her goal.

Aron did not have a clue when Lydia forced the pillar free. The block it was once attached to fell off the roof and crashed on top of the demigod's head, splitting in two.

Lyida reached down to check to see if her foe was dead. He was not.

But he was knocked cold.

One of Aron's henchmen rushed to try to restrain her. She grabbed a spear and drove it straight into his heart. The other two guards fled for their lives.

Lydia rushed over to the cell.

"No key," she said after looking around.

Arianna and Melanippe were relieved when Lydia ripped the cell door right off.

"There is not much time," Melanippe said. "We must hurry."

Lydia grabbed her bow and arrows as left the room and darted down the stairs.

Their horses were fenced in, and guarded by a few more of Aron's soldiers. They were no match for the demigoddess and friends.

They mounted their horses, and fled as fast as they could. They knew it would only be a matter of time before they were pursued.

And they were correct. They saw a cloud of dust down the road behind them.

They reached a bridge that seperated Aron's kingdom from Macedonia.

A man who looked somewhat familiar greeted them at the bridge.

"I will take care of them, Lydia," he said. "You just lead them across. Aron will not come into Macedonia after you."

"Thank you kind sir," Lydia said.

"Anything for my niece," the man said.

*****

"Hold still," Phobe said as she tended to Lydia's wounds.

Cuts, bruises were all over her body. Her contained a red mark and a fat lip where Aron struck her in the face.

"How could I have ..." Lydia said.

"You had no way of knowing," Phoebe said. "Had I known, I would not have sent them to Aron's kingdom."

She knew not who Aron's father was. She had heard of his reputation of being cruel to women, but was tricked into thinking he had changed. He had convinced her that he was dedicating a temple to Artemis.

"You had no way of knowing, either, Phoebe," a voiced said.

It was a familiar one.

"Hello mother," Lydia replied.

"Aren't you a sight," Artemis replied. "And a brave, smart one at that."

Artemis explained she knew there had to be a reason her brother Ares wanted to pick a fight, which delayed her coming.

"I should thank my brother Hercules for destroying that bridge into Macedonia," Artemis told Phoebe.

Suddenly, Lydia started screaming,

Blood was flowing from between her legs.

"I don't remember getting hurt down there," she cried.

"I will leave this explanation to you, my goddess," Phoebe said.

"Not before you help me get her into the bath," she said as the goddess and the priestess led the battered Lydia toward the temple bath.

Just as they reached the pool, Artemis pulled the necklace from Lydia's body.

"That should stop the bleeding," Artemis.

*****

"You're kidding," Lysander said to his mother as she brushed his hair in their private chamber.

"I am not," Artemis said. "Your body is fully functional as a for a girl when you are Lydia, just as it is for a boy when you are Lysander. Understand my son?"

He nodded his head yes.

"As Lysander, you are very capable of fathering a child," Artemis said. "As Lydia, you are very capable of bearing children."

That thought made Lysander blush. His stomach felt a little queasy.

"Quite unsettling, isn't it?" Artemis asked.

He nodded his head yes.

"There are a couple of things you should know," Artemis advised her son.

"They are?" he asked.

"Putting on the necklace will turn you into Lydia as you know," Artemis said. "You are Lydia as long as it is on. You change back to Lysander if you take it off. But there are two exceptions."

"Which are?" Lysander asked, once again feeling a little bit nervous.

"Once you conceive a child, there is no going back," Artemis said. "Necklace on, necklace off, you will live the remainder of your life as Lydia. Get caught in the heat of passion with handsome prince like Calias, you better make sure that is your choice. And always be on guard with demigods like Aron, or else you may not have a choice."

She also told him of a lake in Amazon country where she said she and Lydia may someday bathe in.

"Going in there without the necklace as Lysander, and you will come out for good as Lydia," Artemis laughed.

Lysander admitted it was a lot to think about.

"Would you choose to become Lydia and live as a woman?" Arianna asked her brother as they sat by the pool.

"I don't know," Lysander said. "There was a time I would have said no. Now. I'm not so sure. There are times when I really like being Lydia ... except for the bleeding part."

"The Oracle at Delphi says Lydia will bless the goddess with grand-daughters and give birth in this very temple," the priestess Arsana told Phoebe after Artemis returned to Olympus.

"Those words must never be spoken in Lysander's presence, understood," Phoebe said.

The goddess told Phoebe before she left that the Fates had told her that Lysander had multiple paths, but none had him staying as Lysander.

"For that, Zeus is very grieved," Artemis said.

"And you?" Phoebe asked.

"Only if it is a path that is not of his choosing," Artemis said.

Chapter 8

Just a few more yards until the finish line.

That's what Lysander thought as he tried to catch the young Spartan boy who managed to stay just a few feet ahead of him.

They were the two youngest in the race. They easily outpaced the others.

Try as he did to overtake the boy, he could not.

The crowd cheered as they both collapsed shortly after they crossed the finish line.

"Nice race," the Spartan said as he reached for Lysander's hand and pulled him up. "They named is Greicos."

"Lysander," Lysander said as he was being helped up, out of breath.

The crowd roared in appreciation as the wreath of triump was placed on Greicos' head, and he was given a branch and flowers.

Lysander marvelled at the spectacle of being crowned an Olympic champion.

"It seems like I get second in everything," Lysander told his victorious competitor.

"Oh no, you are amazing," Greicos said. "My father says we are the youngest athletes in the games. You've finished second in the javelin and the discus against much larger, older men.

He didn't fare too badly in wrestling, either. But he was bested by his cousin, Clias, much to the delight of Clias' father, Apollo, who made light of it to Artemis as they looked down from Olympus. But even Clias was no match for their uncle, Hercules, who won the competition.

"It really isn't fair, you know," Greicos told him. "Having the blood of a god really gives Clias and Hercules an advantage."

"Should we tell him that's how you are able to compete against much older, larger athletes, my nephew?" Hercules whispered.

Hercules was the absolute star of the games, but Lysander had created quite a following with his exploits at the Games.

Even Zeus bragged about his grandson on Olympus, although he managed to keep quiet about Lysander's exploits.

The next event was boxing. And Lysander was once again paired with Greicos.

Lysander was impressed with Greicos' skill. But Greicos was really no match for the young demigod. Lysander could have easily knocked out Greicos, but chose to beat him on points.

"You're really good," Greicos said as the two exited the ring. Lysander gave credit to his trainer, an Amazon teacher named Zaniape, who would train him at the temple from time-to-time shortly after the trap set by Aron.

Artemis sent her, and told Lysander that she wanted Lysander to eventually go to Amazon country for full training as Lydia.

Lysander's heart skipped when his next competitor climbed into the ring. It was King Aron himself.

"I can't place you, but you look awfully familiar," the son of Ares said.

Lysander was relieved. Although he favored Lydia ... as well as their mother ... those who didn't know about the transformation had no idea they were the same person.

Aron promised to pound Lysander to a pulp. Aron had amazing strength, that Lysander found out in the form of Lydia.

But just as Lydia was able to get the best of Aron with her wits, Lysander kept the match close with his, much to the frustration of Aron, and the delight of the crowd.

But in the end, brute force won out over brains. Aron was the Olympic champion.

"There is no shame in losing to the son of Ares the way you did," his uncle Hercules assured him after the match was over.

Lysander was a little sore as he prepared for his final event of the games. It was the very reason he made the journey to the valley of Olympia.

The village of Erastus had never had an Olympic champion. The chieftain, and other village elders, convinced High Priestess Phoebe to allow Lysander to compete. They did not know Lysander was the son of the goddess, but they knew Phoebe served as his guardian.

Lysander was reluctant.

"It would bring honor to the village that has served your mother so well," Phoebe said.

Phoebe, Ariana and Arsana traveled with Lysander to the games. They represented the temple of Artemis, and were a bit taken aback by the priestesses of Demeter who practically through themselves at the athletes.

"Have they no shame?" Arsana asked Phoebe.

"Of course now, it's what they do," Phoebe said.

They were among those in attendance at the stadium for the archery contest.

"That is an impressive bow," Greicos said as he and Lysander walked out to join the rest of the competitors.

"It was a gift to my mother from her father," Lysander said. "She gave it to me."

The competition was a long one. Greece had several great archers.

But once again, it came down to the son of Apollo against the son of Artemis.

This time, Lysander went first and hit the target dead center as he did all day. Clias' arrow graced Lysander's, but landed just to the right.

Once again, Lysander was the victor.

As was custom, he was acknowleged as the son of Phillip, the farmer, when the wreath was placed upon his head, and it was announced Lysander of Erastus was the Olympic champion.

He shared a tent during the competition with Greicos and two other boys about their age.

"Greicos, have you seen my tunic?" the young champion asked when the competition was over. "I'd like to finally get clothes on. We may have to compete in the nude, but I am not going to the champions' feast without clothes.

It was the one part of the Olympics he hated.

"Oh, I don't know, you do have a cute butt," a woman's voice said as she entered the tent.

Both Greicos and Lysander did their best to try to cover up.

"Relax boys, I see men naked all of the time," the woman said.

It did not make the two boys feel any better.

"Greicos, can you leave us for a while?" the woman asked. "There are other tents you can dress in. I am Lysander's aunt, and I've come to dress him for the feast."

"Your aunt?" Greicos asked.

Lysander shrugged his shoulders. Somehow, he knew this had to be another relative from Olympus.

"He has a nice ass to, don't you think?" the woman said, taking in the view as Greicos left the tent.

Lysander blushed, but agreed.

"I took your tunic," the woman said. "No daughter of Olympia is going to be dressed in rags when she is being honored for an Olympic triumph."

The use of the term daughter didn't really seem to bother Lysander. He heard it quite often when he was Lydia.

"Let me look at you, my neice," she said as she circled, looking at his body.

"Even in this body, you are too pretty to be a boy," she said. "Told Artemis myself you should never be allowed to wear boys' clothes again."

Lysander felt a little uncomfortable at the talk as the woman reached into a trunk and pulled out a beautiful girl's chiton, the most beautiful he'd ever seen. It was even more beautiful than some of the things he'd worn at the temple, or that he'd even seen Artemis in on feast days.

She made Lysander put on the undergarments she provided. He then put on the toga. She then worked on his hair, applied ribbons, makeup and sprinkled perfume on Lysander.

Lysander looked shocked as he looked in the mirror.

"One does not have to put on a necklace to be Lydia, my dear niece," the woman proclaimed. "Aphrodite, you've clearly outdone yourself. Even the great Phidius couldn't do better with marble.

Greicos reentered the tent about that time as Aphrodite admired her work.

"I can't possibly go like this ...." Lysander stammered.

"Oh yes, you can, you must," Greicos stammered.

"Yes, you must," Aphrodite said. "My work this night is done. But I am not through with you by any means."

Greicos escorted Lysander to the feast honoring the Olympic champions.

"You are prettier than any priestess of Demeter," Greicos said as they walked into the large tent.

Suddenly, Lysander was the center of attention.

Greicos introduced Lysander to his father King Leonidas.

"This is the young boxer who put the scare into mighty King Aron?" Leonidas replied. "Please, don't be upset. You really are a thing of beauty."

"I see Aphrodite has struck?" his uncle Hercules said.

Lysander enjoyed the feasting, but crowds always made him a little stuffy.

He looked at the moon, and for a moment wished he was out on a hunt with his faithful dog Argo.

He was joined by Greicos, who said things were getting too festive for him.

"You should not be uncomfortable being dressed as a girl," Greicos said. "You look really beautiful."

He then presented Lysander with a flower and stole a kiss.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that," he stammered.

"That's OK," Lysander said. "You look really beautiful, too."

Chapter 9

The moon lit up the boar tracks pretty well on the trail through the woods.

"This wild boar is a pretty big fellow, maybe the biggest I've ever tracked," Artemis whispered.

"How do you know?" Lysander asked.

Artemis knelt to the ground and pointed.

"Look how large they are, and how deep, my little one," the goddess replied.

Lysander asked why she called him little one, when in mortal size, she wasn't that much taller.

"You will always be my little one even when you are grown," she laughed as they continued their tracking.

They found a resting spot.

"He can't be very far," she said as they rested on a log.

She reached into her bag and pulled out an apple. She handed it to Lysander and took a bite out of one of her own.

"I guess you are missing out on the singing, the petitions and the offerings tonight," Artemis said.

"Well it is the night of the full moon, and we are supposed to be worshipping you," Lysander laughed.

Artemis gave him a hug, brushed hair out of his face and traced his nose and around his eyes.

"They are such beautiful eyes ... and a beautiful nose," Artemis said.

"They say I get my features from my mother," Lysander said.

"So I've heard, my favorite hunting companion," she said as they got back up to track the boar.

Artemis surprised Phoebe when she appeared at the temple a couple of the weeks after the Olympics.

She used the excuse that Lysander's birthday was approaching. She wanted to hunt down a boar to eat at the celebration.

"It's not every day we get to celebrate the birth of an Olympic champion," Artemis told her high priestess.

"I sense that is not the only reason, my goddess," Phoebe said.

It was not. She was concerned about Lysander's feelings about being Lydia, the feelings about the prince and about Greicos.

"And for one who is only about to be 14 winters old, that is a lot to carry," Artemis said.

"You amaze me, my goddess," Phoebe replied. "I have to admit, at first I resented Lysander's place in the temple. And I even was jealous of his relationship with you. But Lysander has brought out a side of you that we've all come to appreciate. And he has become a beloved member of our priesthood. And he so needs his mother right now."

*****

"He appears to have escaped us for the night," Artemis said as she rolled a blanket on the ground. "This is a good spot."

Artemis walked next to a plant and picked a picked a flower. She placed it in Lysander's hair.

"Aphrodite is right, you are pretty my dear one," Artemis said. "And I have to ask this question. You are still wearing your hair as a girl? And you are wearing clothes more fitting of a huntress than a hunter."

"Hope you are not mad," Lysander replied. "I was wondering when you were going to say something."

"I am not mad," Artemis said. "But I don't want you to think you have to dress as a girl, or even become Lydia to make me happy. Zeus and I had an argument about that after the stunt your Aunt Aphrodite pulled. I am not, nor will I ever, force you to be Lydia or become a woman. You have that option in case there is a need."

"But what if I like dressing as a girl?" Lysander cried. "What if I do want to become a woman?"

Artemis did her best to wipe away the tears.

"I love you as you," Artemis said. "My son. my daughter, you are cherished. You are the best thing ever to happen to me."

"You are to me, too," Lysander said. "I love having you as my Mom."

Just then they heard a branch snap.

"Is it OK to crash this slumber party?" Aphrodite asked.

"I never figured you for the hunting party type," Artemis said with a laugh.

"The Goddess of Love wearing huntress clothes," Lysander laughed.

"I have never hunted pig before," Aphrodite replied. "Why should I let my sisters Artemis and Athena have all of the fun?"

"We were just about to have story time," Artemis told her sister.

"I got here just in time, then," Aphrodite said as she sat down and kissed Lysander on the cheek.

"Before your mother bores us with tales of hunting boars, my dear niece, I'd like to tell you a few tales about love and romance," Aphrodite said.

"Do tell, sister," Artemis said.

"Well, my dear Lydia, there once was a girl almost as pretty as you named Helen," Aphrodite said. "Her eyes were beautiful like yours. And just as you will some day, they were beautiful enough to break a few men's hearts. Your mothers would, too, if she'd come out of the woods some time."

"Aphrodite, please ..." Artemis laughed.

"Please my dear aunt, keep going, I want to hear the tale," Lysander begged.

"My dear Lydia, I will continue," Aphrodite laughed. "There is also a little adventure in this tale, with fighting. And beautiful men named Achilles and Hector.

"Her tales usually come down to beautiful men," Artemis laughed.

"Do you want to hear this story or not?" Aphrodite asked.

"Yes, I do," Lysander said. "Please continue."

Just as Aphrodite was about to delve deep into the story of Helen of Troy, Lysander reached into his pouch and pulled out the necklace that would transform him into Lydia.

"Let me put that on you," Aphrodite said as Artemis' eyes got bigger.

"Oh wow," Aphrodite said. "You are your mother made over. And beware. I am so going to pamper you for the rest of your life."

"I want to be able to identify with Helen," Lydia replied. "Please continue with the story."

"You are really becoming my favorite niece," Aphrodite said.

*****

The people of Erastus were surprised to see two hooded women and a hooded girl carry a large boar into the temple of Artemis.

"Phoebe, I don't believe you've met my sister, Aphrodite," Artemis said.

"This is really a nice temple you have here, sister," Aphrodite replied.

"We have had Zeus, Apollo, Leto and Athena here," Phoebe replied. "We are honored to have Aphrodite as our guest."

"She will be staying in my chambers with Lydia and me through the Feast of Lysander," Artemis said.

"Feast of Lysander?" Lydia asked.

"The celebration of your birth will become an annual feast," Artemis said.

"Well, we should have plenty to eat with the boar you killed," the priestess Arsana said.

"Who killed the boar, you or Mother?" Ariana asked.

"Neither," Artemis replied.

All eyes turned to Aphrodite.

"Turns out my niece is helping me with my archery skills in exchange for beauty advice," Aphrodite said. "Turns out the poor girl has a mother who is more the woodsy type."

"I want to be the woodsy type like my mother," Lydia whispered to Artemis. "But every once in a while, it is nice to look like a princess."

Just then, a bolt of lightning moved across the sky.

"I will smooth things over with Father and will try to help you with that Hera problem," Aphrodite whispered to Artemis.

"You are certain the Fates are correct?" Artemis asked.

"Lydia will be the greatest Heroine among all of the demi-goddesses," Aphrodite whispered. "She may have a boy's body when the necklace comes off. But her heart will not change. It is a girl's heart, and one that longs to be like her mother. For that, I am extremely jealous."