Hurricane ~ L. Valdez

2.13 - Girl Talk

       "Girls!" Aphrodite spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. We... did not oblige. No offense to Aphrodite or anything... she just scared me.

       Hazel backed into a palmetto tree.

    "I'm so glad you're here," Aphrodite said. "War is coming. Bloodshed is inevitable. So there's really only one thing to do." Well, that's lovely.

    "Uh...and that is?" Annabeth asked carefully. One thing we had learned about Aphrodite is that she had the tendency to blow things out of proportion.

      "Why, have tea and chat, obviously. Come with me!" Say what you will about Aphrodite, but she knew how to do tea. We followed the beauty, who's features still changed partially for me, but had for the most part settled on a sort of familiar look... like a female version of Leo. The goddess led us to the central pavilion in the gardens—a white-pillared gazebo, with a table set with silverware, china cups, and a steaming pot of tea, like something out of Alice in Wonderland or a period piece. There were plates filled with delectable treats, scones, cookies, and muffins, fresh butter and jam... it was refreshing to not see health food around the goddess of love. It caused me to wonder the goddess' thoughts on beauty and weight... as a girl who was by far no model it spiked my interest.

      Aphrodite sat on a wicker peacock chair, pouring us steaming cups of tea and serving cakes, all without making a mess, her posture always perfect, her smile dazzling. She made me more and more insecure the longer we were around her, but her presence was addicting. "Oh, my sweet girls," the goddess gushed. "I do love Charleston! The weddings I've attended in this gazebo—they bring tears to my eyes. And the elegant balls in the days of the Old South. Ah, they were lovely. Many of these mansions still have statues of me in their gardens, though they called me Venus."

      "Which are you?" Annabeth asked. "Venus or Aphrodite?" The goddess sipped her tea, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Annabeth Chase, you've grown into quite a beautiful young lady. You really should do something with your hair, though. And, Hazel Levesque, your clothes—"

      "My clothes?" Hazel looked down at her rumpled denim, not self-consciously, but baffled, as if she couldn't imagine what was wrong with them.

      "And Elara," Aphrodite she continued, as if not hearing Hazel, "effortlessly gorgeous as always... I can see why-"

      "Mother!" Piper said quickly, cutting her off. "You're embarrassing me."

      "Well, I don't see why," the goddess said. "Just because you don't appreciate my fashion tips, Piper, doesn't mean the others won't. I could do a quick makeover for Annabeth and Hazel, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine. I'm sure Elara would look lovely with a new haircut—"

      "Mother!"

      "Fine," Aphrodite sighed. "To answer your question, Annabeth, I am both Aphrodite and Venus. Unlike many of my fellow Olympians, I changed hardly at all from one age to the other. In fact, I like to think I haven't aged a bit!" Her fingers fluttered around her face appreciatively. "Love is love, after all, whether you're Greek or Roman. This civil war won't affect me as much as it will the others."

      Wow. So my father is a raging schizophrenic, and out of anyone who possibly could help us it's Aphrodite, Nemesis, and Dionysus. Love, revenge and wine. That's one way to deal with a problem.

     "We're not in a war yet, my lady." Hazel spoke up meekly, a blush on her face.

      "Oh, dear Hazel." Aphrodite folded her fan. "Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. Love and war always go together. They are the peaks of human emotion! Evil and good, beauty and ugliness."