Free Artemis the Brave by Suzanne Williams, Joan Holub

that guy?”
    “What do you see in that nymph, Daphne?” she shot back.
    “Huh? I thought you liked her. She’s nice, and . . .” Apollo had the good grace to blush as he realized she’d turned the tables on him. “Touché.”
    Softening a little, Artemis said, “For one thing, I think Orion’s performances are . . . magical. He’s really good.”
    “Good at acting ,” Apollo conceded. “Has it ever occurred to you that he might only be pretending he likes you to get you to do things for him?”
    Artemis took a half step back, as wounded as if he’d shot her with an arrow. He looked sorry for what he’d said, but she didn’t give him a chance to apologize or explain. She was too mad now. “Worry about yourself, not me,” she told him as she stomped off. “I’ll see you at the contest tomorrow morning.”



Shoot
    T HE NEXT MORNING ARTEMIS WAS RUNNING late. Frantically she searched her room yet again for the silver arrows her friends had given her for her birthday.
    “Opsis! Loxos! Hekaergos!” she called for what seemed like the millionth time. Why didn’t her arrows show themselves? Tossing things this way and that, she made one last try at finding them. A knock sounded on her door, and she called out, “Come in!”
    Aphrodite flung it open and leaned in. Still in her bright pink nightie with faux phoenix feathers around the hem, she yawned, looking beautiful even though she’d obviously just gotten out of bed. “What’s all the racket?”
    “I can’t find my silver arrows,” said Artemis.
    “You lost something in this mess? How could that happen?” Aphrodite teased. She seemed to have momentarily forgotten yesterday’s tiff. Or maybe she was just still half-asleep.
    “This is important!” insisted Artemis. “I’m supposed to meet Apollo on the Olympic field for the archery contest this morning.”
    Aphrodite straightened and came inside, suddenly all business. “When did you see them last?”
    Artemis thought for a second, recalling it had been when she’d taken Orion to the Forest of the Beasts. “A few weeks ago,” she admitted. As soon as she said it, she realized she hadn’t practiced archery since then. Every minute of her time outside of class had been devoted to Orion and what he wanted or needed. She’d neglected her friends, her brother, and her archery. She was even behind in her homework.
    “Okay, don’t panic. I’ll help.” Aphrodite dove into the piles of clothing, dog toys, old school projects, and athletic equipment scattered across the floor. “Oh, hi, Suez. Hi, Amby, Nectar,” Artemis heard her say as she discovered them snoozing under a mountain of laundry. Aphrodite dug deeper, tossing things out of her way: wrinkled chitons and bent scrolls with drawings of dogs that Artemis had made in elementary school. Barbells. A broken javelin. A head form with poorly applied makeup and a spiky wig that was so hideous that Aphrodite dropped it in fright.
    “Hey! My fourth-grade Beauty-ology project. I wondered where that went,” said Artemis, picking it up. Giving the wig a fond pat, she then tossed it over her shoulder and continued searching.
    Awake now, Artemis’s dogs joined in the search, snuffling through the piles. Though they couldn’t actually know what they were hunting for, they were always ready to dig.
    Eventually Aphrodite emerged from the mess, victorious. “Found them!”
    Seeing the shimmering shafts in Aphrodite’s raised hand, Artemis smiled in relief. “Oh, thank godness.”
    “Why didn’t you come when I called, arrows?” she asked as she took them from Aphrodite. They didn’t respond, but she didn’t have time to wonder why. Quickly she slipped them into her quiver.
    She started to dash out the door, but then turned back to look at Aphrodite. “Wish me luck?” she asked. It was the same request Aphrodite had made of her during auditions for the play. Artemis could see from Aphrodite’s smile that she remembered.
    “Knock ’em