Chapter 12

The next day Artemis planned to forget about the trip through the street market. She didn't want to focus on the Wolf Kingdom, she wanted to focus on herself instead. She let Grandma Shuu wake her up and get her dressed as usual except today Apollo was the one who picked out her clothes and jewelry, and Kasper cooked breakfast and refused to practice at all. He told her it was because he felt she didn't need anymore practice but it was still disappointing to Artemis because she liked to practice anyways. She couldn't do much pottery because they already had a lot of stuff she'd previously made already and she didn't really feel like sewing anything. Artemis was almost out of ideas to distract herself with when Jenny showed up to the little cottage with Wende and another group of females. Apollo went outside and warned Jenny and Wende not to upset Artemis today and they swore they had no such intentions. When Apollo came back inside and told Artemis who was outside she stood up and cautiously walked to the doorway.

Artemis stood in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. "Jennifer. Tell me that you had no intentions in joining in the attack yesterday and that you did not know that those wolf females were going to throw stones at me in a public market" Artemis demanded. Jenny, who was already shaking, started crying so hard she could not respond. "Your silence makes you guilty," Apollo said to Jenny. "You were supposed to be her only friend in this whole Kingdom and you betray my sister" Apollo said sounding disappointed in her "Princess we knew Jenny had been trying to get close to you and that's how we approached you although she refused to tell us anything we did it anyways. She did not betray you nor was she aware that you would be assaulted" Wende said. Jenny kept crying but finally looked up at Artemis "don't listen to her Princess. I stood by, scared once again and did nothing to protect you. I'm ashamed of myself. I wish you had me whipped or executed for being so useless" Jenny cried. Artemis of course was moved but she was still angry because getting stoned in the forehead actually hurt real bad for a moment yesterday. Artemis realised how these females can really be cruel to each other. "Jenny, you don't have to protect me. I was supposedly outnumbered anyways. Actually you did protect me by keeping quiet and not telling them anything about me. Who knows if they would have been so brave to approach me if they had known that I could shift into a huge wolf at will and these females can barely turn more than twice a month. They thought they could intimidate me and they were wrong!'' Artemis said to Jenny.

Wende got down on her knees at the bottom of the steps leading into the little cottage. "I wanted to apologize too. I let my jealousy nearly cause a catastrophe and I immediately suffered the karma right then and there. When you shifted I knew I was so wrong for judging you. I was definitely picking on someone bigger and more powerful than me and led others to do the same" Wende said "Little Wen, Artemis is naturally a caring person. Jealousy has never been a part of her personality. All she wants is a little respect and to live a peaceful life and now she feels like a cruel Princess" Kasper said to Wende. "She even gave you a name that has stuck with us, Little Wen. Artemis is your senior and from here on out she deserves your support and respect" Apollo said shaking his head. Little Wen looked between Artemis and Kasper and smiled. "My parents scolded me when I got home. They told me that if I didn't kneel down and apologize I had to kneel here forever and never come back home. They did not raise me completely wrong. I thought all night of a way to sincerely apologize and this is what I came up with" Little Wen said. She motioned two of the girls behind her to come forward. One was holding one basket and the other was holding another basket.

"What is this Little Wen? Do you know what foods I like already?" Artemis asked her skeptically. "Not exactly My Princess. My family is the third Most powerful family in the Wolf Kingdom because of the big successful farm we run." Little Wen said. One of the girls pulled back a cover in the basket and revealed baby animals sleeping together inside the basket. "We raise Foxes as pets. These foxes are known to be wild and considered as food too but when cultivated and taught well they learn a lot and protect their masters. They are intelligent and impressive hunters for them to be small enough to fit in your lap. After thinking all night I hoped that this was the right decision. Giving you a companion as an apology gift" Little Wen said to her. "Baby Foxes?" Artemis said looking inside of the basket. There were four baby Foxes inside and they were the most adorable things Artemis had ever seen. "Wow. So this is your sincere apology for yesterday?" Artemis asked Little Wen who nodded. Artemis looked at the baby foxes one more time then rolled her eyes. "Fine. I forgive you. Yesterday you did not throw a stone and the ones who did were punished publicly. There's no reason to be upset anymore and besides. The foxes are too adorable" Artemis said. Little Wen jumped up and down happy that she actually got Princess Artemis to forgive her. The two females who were holding the baskets set them down on the last step and then backed away. "The other basket has some fur blankets and a few days worth of dry food. I will come back to bring some more by time it runs out" Little Wen said to Artemis. Jenny pulled Little Wen back and hugged her "You did it. Now don't screw it up!" Jenny said to her.

Artemis smiled as she watched them run away to play together. "I think I might become a matchmaker like you and Apollo, uncle Kasper" Artemis said to him laughing. "Very funny" he replied smiling. "We're just waiting on Danny and Bowen to arrive then we have something we never got a chance to show you yesterday "Kasper said to her. "Really, another date" She said, rolling her eyes. "Yes" Kasper said bluntly to show his seriousness. "Fine, fine. I'll behave towards them today" Artemis said, referring to Danny and Bowen. Although she did say that she would ease up, sometimes she couldn't help but to have her guard up. Artemis stepped down to the last step to look inside of the basket with the baby foxes again. She gently picked one up and cradled it between her hands. "I have never seen a baby fox before. I've only seen the grown ones dashing by very quickly and that's all. Now I get to raise one" Artemis said, holding the baby fox close. "I'm glad this makes you happy then" Apollo said to her. "If you want to carry that one with you you should get a blanket for it. The winds are a little cold for a little one" Kasper told Artemis. She nodded and fished in the other basket for a blanket. When she found one she gently wrapped the sleeping baby fox in the blanket and set the bundle onto her lap. "There. Uncle Kapser can you please take these two baskets inside please?" she asked him. He nodded and then disappeared into the little cottage with both baskets in hand.

Bowen finally arrived flying down in his Eagle form, ready to keep watch in the skies as they traveled around for the day. Not too long after Bowen had come Danny finally showed up operating the carriage from yesterday. "I had completely forgotten about that thing. Wasn't it filled with things I brought from the market yesterday?" Artemis said, looking inside and finding it empty like it was when she first got in it the day before. "Did I get robbed?" she asked, confused. "No. We'll go and find your stuff right now. Hop in" Kasper said to Artemis trying not to laugh. Artemis obliged and got comfortable in her seat. Before they pulled off Danny reached back and handed Artemis a fur cloak. "It is going to be a little too windy today Princess. I made this for you this morning" Danny said to her. "Thank you Daniel. That was very sweet of you" Artemis said, unexpectedly surprising even herself but the cloak did look warm and comfortable she was already excited to wear it. Apollo grinned and grabbed the cloak from Danny so that he could put it on her.

No one said anything else for the entire ride to their destination. When they arrived they helped Artemis out of the carriage and walked her up the smooth pathway that Danny had made one night, he clawed it in his Wolf form and smoothed it back down to create a smoother path to walk on. In no time they made it to the cave entrance. "Where are we?" Artemis asked, a little confused. "A while ago you told me about a dream you had of living on your own. I knew that if we ever wanted that to happen we had to help you make it happen. Right after you told me that I found this mountain then Bowen turned into a cave for you" Kasper said to Artemis as he led her up into the cave entrance. Artemis looked around and looked inside the cave. "You made me a home?" Artemis turned and asked Bowen. Bowen hid behind the carriage so that he could shapeshift into human form and talk to Artemis. "I wanted to be useful to you Princess. Thankfully Prince Kasper didn't mind me taking over his project" Bowen said, scratching his head nervously. "I know. You and Daniel have been so patient and have learned a lot just to impress me. Do you ever regret leaving your Eagle Kingdom?" Artemis said to Bowen. "No!" Bowen said. "Why? Because of me?" Artemis asked. "Before I could grow up to shapeshift my mother abandoned me. Then my father took me in but was never around leaving me to suffer cruelty from my uncle… the Eagle King. I did not know the meaning of life until I met you, Princess, I could never go back!" Bowen told Artemis. She nodded and then looked to Danny for an explanation "My mother and sister are too overbearing. It's time for me to become a man and move out and discover the meaning of life as well" Danny told Artemis. "Very well then. Kasper when you and Apollo get mates I want you to live right across the road there" she said pointing to the side opposite of the little mountain "of course sister I'll never go too far from your side" Apollo assured her "you must be the first to get mated then Apollo" Kasper snickered.

Artemis liked the idea of making this home and having her brother and uncle live right across the road. She wouldn't be alone and she could sleep all of the time without being too disturbed by them all pampering her. Artemis walked further into the cave to get a more detailed look inside. Danny joined her to light torches all around the place so that she could really see inside. "Wow it almost feels like home" Artemis exclaimed. "Last night I brought all of the stuff here that you purchased at the market. I want to dig you a food storage as big as this cave so that you'd never run out" Danny told her "I think I'd love that. I also want a barn outside and another one for storage like the farmers used to have in the Human world. A nice home for me. A home for the farm animals and food storage. The only thing missing from that picture is an outhouse" Artemis said, looking all around. "We can make all of that happen!" Danny said proudly. "I just need to smooth all of the walls down and dig out some windows and more rooms and you can be ready to move in Princess" Bowen said to her "And this is how you found me all of that gold?" Artemis asked Bowen. He tugged on the familiar sachet hanging from his waist "yes" he said to her. "Well since you plan to do more digging you can split some of that gold with Danny…as an allowance for being in my service" Artemis said, hoping he would listen and not insist that she keep it all. Bowen of course hesitated but then he walked over to Danny who had to cup his hands to let Bowen pour some of the gold into them. "Besides. You two are living on your own anyways. It's only right that I take care of you for taking care of me" Artemis said, shrugging. "Let's go back. It is getting windy and it's making me sleepy" Artemis suggested. "You go home and we will stay behind to do some more work" Danny said to Artemis. "Then you can come back for dinner tonight okay" Artemis said to Danny and Bowen who looked at eachother then looked at Kasper and Apollo. "That's not a bad idea!" Kasper said, smiling from ear to ear. Artemis left Danny and Bowen to do their work. They happily did it knowing that they get to go have dinner with Artemis later on tonight. Danny and Bowen had a silent acknowledgement that both of them wanted to be with Artemis but neither of them would fight the other because she seems to give them equal chances despite all of the pressure.

Danny and Bowen made sure to bathe and change fur skirts before heading back to the little cottage. When they got there they were greeted by a happy and smiling Artemis. She looked so beautiful and happy they both thought they were dreaming. "Princess seems to be in a great mood," Bowen said, walking up to her. "Princess got some sleep, that's all" Apollo said to Bowen. "Don't be too much Apollo," Grandma Shuu said, sitting down at the head of the huge table Apollo had made while Artemis was napping. "Thank you for inviting us for dinner Princess" Danny said to Artemis as he sat down across from her. "Fate has kept us friends for a while now. It's only natural that you have dinner with us instead of sending you off to fend for yourself" Artemis said to Danny. "Princess Artemis has always been generous and sincere. In the human world, whenever we had a lot of food left over she would take it down to the market and pass it out for free. They would tip her anyway for her kindness" Grandma Shuu told everyone. Artemis was flustered being praised like that and she couldn't help but smile more. "Most families couldn't afford to eat or didn't even know how to cook" Artemis said, shrugging her shoulders.

As they ate they talked and told entertaining stories while sitting at the table. Grandma Shuu looked around the table while everyone had their conversations and she felt a moment of peace and clarity looking at this younger generation. "Someone's coming," Artemis said, interrupting all thoughts and conversations. "What do you mean?" Apollo asked before smelling the same thing in the air that Artemis smelt. "Oh, I see. I don't think I know who that is" Apollo said, shaking his head. "Don't be alarmed Grandma Shuu, it's just me!!" An old voice said and then finally came up to the front gate. "Yozar you devil come on in!" Grandma Shuu yelled, waving him into the yard. Yozar let himself in and then came over to the table pulling a small wagon. "I'm sorry I'm so late like always but I was traveling," Yozar said to Grandma Shuu sitting next to ner. "We've been here for five months, Yozar. Five!. There were countless times I've needed your help" Grandma Shuu said to Yozar, recounting the times that Artemis was almost abducted. Yozar frowned at Grandma Shuu but then smiled at everyone else in the next second. "Well I'm here now okay! Plus I've brought gifts from my travels in both worlds. I even traveled through time a little bit too" Yozar said to Grandma Shuu "Time travel?" Apollo asked "Oh yes son, there are a lot of things you have yet to learn. And I am here to teach you!" Yozar said excitedly "Look here. I bought back some wine, lots of it! I even copied down the recipe" Yozar said, presenting them with huge gourds filled with wine. "Here, let's drink some now. It's been aged too" he said, passing a gourd to Kasper to distribute. "Are you sure I can have some? Nana never liked for me to drink in the human world" Artemis said looking worried. "It's ok. You've gotten a bit older and you're with family and friends now" Grandma Shuu encouraged. "Yes. It's time to have some adult fun Princess. Look, I also bought back some tobacco and herbs for smoking in a pipe" Yozar said, showing Kasper. "And do you want to know something troublesome. I passed though the Ape Kingdom and found that they had schools teaching their Cubs" Yozar gossiped to them. "That shouldn't be possible. Since when do beastmen learn?" Grandma Shuu said, "Exactly. Their intelligence is growing as well as their population" Yozar said "what is a school?" Bowen asked "School is a learning environment that provides education" Yozar said matter-of-factly. " Whatever sorcerer is under their control is helping them advance years ahead of any other Animal Kingdom in Beastworld" Yozar added.

"Hopefully the Ape Kingdom is righteous and doesn't use their knowledge to harm others" Artemis said, sounding innocent and hopeful. "Speaking of righteous Princess," Yozar said, turning the spotlight onto Artemis. "I don't like where this can go" Artemis said, shaking her head and taking a sip of her wine. "I'm not going to get too far into it but you know what you have to do. And I know what I have to do too but just so you know I have complete faith in you. Before I met you I knew you would do great things for the Wolf Kingdom and you will always have my support" Yozar said to Artemis. Artemis nodded her head and took another sip of her wine. She was just doing what everyone else was doing. She had never drank wine or even ale ever before and wasn't sure if she was feeling the effects or not. "I won't crash your dinner for much longer. I just wanted to see you first after just getting back home. Now I'm going to see if I still have a room in the palace" Yozar said standing up. "Of course. Well if you ever need me, old friend, you know where I am" Grandma Shuu said, waving him off. "You will definitely see more of me" Yozar said, pulling his wagon with him and leaving the yard. "What a pleasant surprise!" Grandma Shuu said after he had left.