artemis

“Nice to meet you, I’m Cressida.” She smiled, then gave a laugh as a realization came to her. “And hey, look at that, we’re both Greeks. But I have to say your namesake is a whole lot better than mine.” She often wondered exactly what her mother was thinking when she chose the name, or if she even knew that it was associated with cheating wives and the Shakespeare play that every critic and fan agreed was the worst. Well, at least Cressida sounded pretty. “And sharing your name with a goddess? That’s pretty badass.”

“Same to you,” Artemis replied with a smile. “Cressida is a really pretty name though, and most people don’t know their Greek myths well enough to know her story.” Artemis really did like her own name, but sometimes people expected too much of her because of it. “A goddess, yes, but a virgin goddess. It’s a lot to live up to.” It wasn’t really, not for her. Sex just wasn’t something she was interested in, and it never had been. She actually found the name quite fitting because of that.

5: Talk about the best birthday you’ve had.

On my 11th birthday, my dad took my twin brother and I to Arizona for a week and it was so cool!! We got to see Thunderbirds and Mimbulus Mimbletonia in the wild and it was pretty much the exact opposite of Washington which was awesome.

16: Talk about the best party you’ve ever been to.

Can a music festival count? Because, if so, I went to Coachella last year and it was wicked.

36: Talk about your guilty pleasures.

This might sound weird, but being alone is my guilty pleasure. Having a twin means you’re almost always grouped together with someone, like a matching set or something. And then, at school I shared a dorm with people so it was hard to be alone then too. And at work now I’m around people all day, whether they be other baristas or customers, and there’s always this pressure to make conversation. So I absolutely LOVE living alone like I do now, the quiet is so nice and it makes it really easy to practice yoga.

23: Talk about a time someone turned you down.

Back in sixth year, I asked a boy in my transfiguration class to go on a date with me and he said no because he thought I was stronger than him. Which, in retrospect, was probably true.

24: Talk about something someone told you that meant a lot.

The first thing that came to mind was when my last boyfriend told me he loved me, but I guess that doesn’t really mean a lot to me anymore.

“It’s draining, I get it,” they say with a nod and a smile, “Vanilla sounds fine, I mean, I’m not a totally vanilla girl, but, sometimes the absence of spice is it’s own spice, right?” they laugh and shrug a shoulder. “I know, come September, I get so sick of making school robes. I don’t even get as much as some people, but, god, it gets so boring. Also, the color scheme of Ilvermony robes is so ugly. It annoyed me so much,” they groan, “I guess the Hogwarts ones are just black, which is a bit drab, but, like, far better aesthetically.”

Artemis nodded, “I think I know what you mean, yeah.” She listened to the customer talk about their life and, for once, didn’t zone out. She always tried to pay attention, but some people were just so boring. Not the one in front of her now, though. “I’m glad we didn’t have just black like Hogwarts, but I think it’s cool that they have their house colours on their robes.”

“I was actually hoping you could put this up on your bulletin board for me,” Yael replied, holding up a ‘missing’ flyer with the photo of a corgi named Chester on it– he belonged to one of her regular customers and she promised to help find him. Then Yael looked at the girl and started to feel bad– she couldn’t ask her to do something and then not order a drink. “And I’ll have a…” she quickly scanned the menu behind her, “a pumpkin spice latte, please.”

Artemis held out her hand for the flyer, to say she had a soft spot for animals was an understatement. “Yeah, of course, no problem,” she said and reached under the counter for the stash of push pins. After hanging the flyer, she returned to her post behind the counter and looked at the woman somewhat expectantly. “Sure,” she replied as she rang in the drink. “That’ll be 6 sprinks, please.”

“To be fair, I’d take any excuse to get dressed up,” Cressida laughed. She peeked at the other Janet Weiss out of curiosity, wanting to see who had the better costume. She didn’t really have the time or money to go all out, but she was pretty sure that she could come up with something decent in a pinch. Satisfied, Cressida turned her attention back to Artemis. “Are you here with anyone? I’m not. And if you wanted, maybe we could sit together? Movies are so much better when you watch them with someone else, in my opinion.”

Artemis followed the other’s gaze to the girl in question. She wasn’t sure who had the better costume, never having seen the movie, but she was positive the girl in front of her looked better. “No, I’m not. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was coming here until about twenty minutes ago,” she said with a laugh, it really had been a spur of the moment decision. “I agree, let’s totally sit together! Now I’ll have someone to turn to if I get confused about anything. I’m Artemis, by the way.”

“Ooh, like a bitchy white girl fantasy? I feel that,” they say with a bright laugh, “I can go for that, though, I’m not that picky. I’d probably just chug it if it was awful. Still, like, very that,” they say with a soft laugh as they pull out their wallet, “Do you get sick of making those this time of year?”

“Yeah,” Artemis replied awkwardly, unsure whether that was an insult or a compliment. “We also have a punch of other flavours, I’m sure we can find something you’ll definitely like. What about vanilla? Or hazelnut?” Normally, she’d just ring in the pumpkin spice latte and move onto the next customer, but it was slow today and the customer in front of her was the only other person in the store. “I kinda do, actually, yeah. When they first come out it’s exciting, but by this late in the season...” she trailed off, her meaning clear.

“Oh, it’s fantastic. Really big among the no-maj’s, they always come knowing the dance moves and dressing up as the characters… Like this!” Cressida gave a little twirl to show off her pink dress and sweater. “I think a lot of people are just here out of curiosity, though. It’s not often that they show no-maj movies, and then there was all this buzz about it being cancelled.” She gave a small shrug, “either way, it’s going to be a fun time.”

Artemis looked over the outfit the other girl was wearing and realized that someone a few people ahead of them was wearing a very similar thing. “And I thought it was just a coincidence that you and the girl up there are dressed alike, but knowing you guys are dressed up is way cooler. What a way to get into the halloween spirit!”

Linden considers the menu for a moment before they meet her gaze and offer a smile, “God, I haven’t slept in, like,” they scoff, “So long. Can I just have, um, all of the caffeine? I just want to be less of a zombie and I’m not, like, a big coffee drinker usually. I’m so sorry.”

"Hey, there’s no reason to be sorry,” Artemis replied with a smile. “I totally know the feeling. If you’re not used to drinking coffee, I’d suggest a flavoured latte to kinda mask the espresso taste. We have pumpkin spice right now, if you’d like to try that?” she suggested.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show was one of Cressida’s all-time favorite movies, and she came to the showing prepared– she was fully costumed (Janet Weiss, not her favorite character, but the easiest to dress up as), brought along the proper audience participation items, and had the Time Warp perfected. How could she not? She’d been practicing since she was nine and saw the movie for the first time. Yes, she was way too young for it, but it’s not like she had parents who cared. The witch stood in line to get tickets, excitedly showing off some of her dance moves just for something to do. “I hope I’m the not only person who’s hyped for this,” she said to the person next to her. “RHPS is an experience that should cross over into both the no-maj and wizarding world.”

Artemis hadn’t really planned on going to see the movie, mainly because she tended to leave Mountlake Terrace as soon as her shift ended, but here she was anyway. She’d been doing some shopping in the no-maj area of town and came back in to floo home when she thought “what the hell?” Because, really, what else was she going to do tonight? She was in line to buy a ticket when the person ahead of her started talking. “I’ve actually never seen it before,” Artemis admitted somewhat sheepishly. “But it must be good, based on the number of people here to see it.”

Artemis Windsor moodboard: the basics [1/?]

Namesake: Artemis, Greek goddess of hunting and wildlife

Occupation: barista at The Witches Brew

Family: Zacharias “Zeus” Windsor (father) and Apollo Windsor (twin brother)

Hobbies: archery, yoga, drawing, running