Alexander had not come to terms with his mother being a siren and figured the best person to speak to would be his father. That is if Artemis ever allowed him to leave after her plans were finished. From what little he remembered of his mother, she seemed like a normal woman.
"You'd be dead without my protection."
Alexander played with grass as Artemis continued to argue with the sirens. Their relationship was apparently not good as the sirens hardly told Artemis anything. That was what he picked up when Artemis went between both languages. She was surely a strange woman and again, he would never expect her to be a goddess. "One look at you and no one would think you're sane."
"That's because I'm not. These sirens drive me crazy because they keep everything to themselves. You'd think with the amount of time we spent here they would talk to me more. I should drain the lake and see what will become of all of you," Artemis threatened the sirens making them return below the lake. "You're only here for a short amount of time and look how nice they are to you. Even if you have siren blood they are traitors."
"How did you come to live inside of this forest and why can't you leave?" Alexander was curious to know. What was powerful enough to keep her here and what had she done for someone to put her here?
"The supposed wise elder Gods were the ones who trapped me here a long time ago. I'm not certain what it is that binds me to the forest but I've been here reincarnating for thousands of years and that time is soon approaching. When it's time for me to die again, I'll set you free. But before all of that, I want to have some fun with the world and your king." She felt throughout her body that it was time for her to reincarnate and be reborn again. Artemis didn't like this even though she was tired of the world and wanted to get away from humans.
"Why do you have to reincarnate? Do all Gods have to do this?" Alexander never heard of a God doing such a thing. Was this what happened when some of them were killed by kings?
"It's a punishment to keep something inside of me suppressed. You think I dislike humans but there's a raging version of me who hates them even more. The first Goddess of the night contributed to the bad blood between humans and Gods becoming worse because she was angry at a human she trusted and now here I am with just this," Artemis pointed around at the forest. "The memories of humans coming to my temple to get their wishes blessed is blurry. The only memory I have is of this forest."
"It would've been good enough if you humans just left us alone but no, you have to try and kill the one set of beings who actually protected you. Does that make any sense at all? It's only thanks to a law implemented by the elders that Gods have never retaliated against humans but there are many of us who wish to kill you and if given the chance, I will kill a human. It'll increase my punishment but why should I care at this point," she said, kicking a stone into the lake.
"I see why you're so angry now. Aside from knowing you were angry at humans for wanting to kill you, your anger must be towards these elders who put you here. Why did they never allow the Gods to return to wherever they came from?" It seemed simple enough to Alexander that the Gods should've been able to return home when the humans claimed to have not needed them anymore and the Gods grew tired of humans. Why were the Gods made to stay here?
"I have no idea why the elders have not called any of us home and I won't know any time soon. I've said some words to them and they hate being disrespected. The elders need to open the gates for us to return but the three of them have been up there enjoying themselves. I've always known they wanted all the other Gods dead so that they can be the only ones the humans call for help. They sent those weapons down to help purge us and the humans took the bait." Artemis had this theory for a while which was why she didn't want to die in order to return home. There was no guarantee the elders welcomed the others home after death.
"So you are planning to fight two wars. One with us humans and one with your people. I know that you may be powerful but it sounds like a lot for one person to handle. Shouldn't you reach out to your peers for help?" He suggested.
"I was expecting you to try and persuade me against doing anything concerning humans. Are you faking your words?"
"No, how mighty do you think I am to persuade a Goddess? I only care if you plan to hurt innocent humans but you and I both know you don't have the heart to. You're going after the king and anyone who might be trouble. I agree that the kingdom could use a cleanse of people who cause nothing but trouble. I've grown tired of the obsession with those who are not human and how it affects the lives of normal people. You can't speak freely in this kingdom," Alexander recalled how scared the people were whenever the king visited the towns and villages.
"I don't have the heart to hurt humans?" She laughed at the absurd assumption.
"You don't because you must have some memory of good moments with humans. It might not be a lot like you said but they are there."