Spoiler
Part 3. All thoughts and comments are welcome. Even if you haven't read the first two parts. 
“You had me worried there for a while, little sister.”
“I-I'm sorry. I don't mean to-” I stopped. Realising what I had just said. I had apologised. Apologised. I’d never done that before.
Alois eyes were looking at me curiously. His thoughts were undecipherable and in that moment, he noticed his hunting gears in my hand. He raised his eyebrows, questioning me.
“I-I-” I stopped. An overwhelming sense of panic threatened me. I didn't know how to explain what I just did or whether he’d believe me, if I did.
“Yes?” Alois face was serene, like he was genuinely curious about what I did.
“Nothing.” I sighed in defeat. There was no way that I could've told him what I was doing.
“You know I don't believe that.”
What I also know is that he won't give in until he's got the truth. I took a deep breath, mentally steeling myself for his reaction, “I was out hunting.” The words seem to come out too fast and too plainly. It sounded rather childish, now that it was said out loud.
“Hunting?”
“Yes.”
Just as I said it, I heard a scuffling sound behind Alois. Margaret was up. I saw her huge figure looming up behind Alois. She held a broom in her hand.
“Decided to throw her out, eh?” She remarked upon seeing me outside the door. Her eyes must've been bad, as I suspected, because she didn't see the bow in my hand. “Good choice.”
“Margaret, please continue on with your work. What happens between Night and me is none of your business.”
“I'm glad still. You made a good choice, master.” She attempted a bow before scuffling away again.
Frivolous housekeeper, I thought, but out loud I said nothing.
“So, let me get this right. You were out hunting this morning?”
I nodded.
“What were you hunting?”
“A deer.” I replied meekly.
“You hunted a deer.” He said it as a kind of question. I could see him thinking over the statement and testing the credibility of it and for the briefest of moments, he seemed a little angry. “Well, whatever for?”
Now that I was faced with the reality of it all, I realised just how silly it was to go and do crazy things, i.e. hunting. On the basis of one dream. How would I be able to tell Alois all this? This is all a crazy scheme, formed by my impulsive personality.
Alois was still waiting for an answer. I have no choice. “I had a dream.”
“You went hunting on the basis of a dream?” His voice sounded faintly incredulous.
I nodded.
The next ten minutes was surprisingly similar to that. I told him about my dream and the voice. He questioned my every word sometimes more than twice, until what I said started to sink in. I told him about Artemis and how I borrowed his hunting gear, which earned a wry, little smile out of him.
By the time I had told him everything, people had started staring at us. Wondering what we were doing standing outside. Sensing this, Alois ushered me inside.
“But that doesn't explain why you're so nice now.” His head was bent down, focused on the question. He paced around aimlessly, looking quite like a philosopher, I observed.
For my part, I kept quite. I had no answer for that question.
***
The next few years passed peacefully, like a soft breeze. I no longer cursed and bad mouthed everyone. The maids and the neighbourhood kids have started talking rather tentatively to me. Though each day, they seemed more confident and brought me into their own friend circle. For that, I was glad. In fact, my life seemed to have improved in all angles and sides. I was happier than before.
Alois though, still puzzled over the question. He relentlessly searching for an answer that was simply not there. He didn't give up easily. It was after some years that he declared there were no answer. It could've had something to do with the hunting, or it could be something to do with me turning sixteen. He had said that, “There were simply too many variables.” Not that I knew what that meant.
As for the Crying Statue of Athena, she stayed in our garden. We've seemed to grow fond of her, no matter how grey, desolate, stony and not-at-all-attractive. So she stayed there. It seems like it had became a part of our family. No one wanted to part with it. We were all happy where it was even though it looked ugly. But maybe, just maybe, the feeling of fondness wasn’t all based on the glamour and looks of a person. Or even a statue at that.
