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Part one. Chapter nine.

Goddess of Love

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"Pretty, huh ?" Percy asked Aris the next morning. He came up behind where she stood and dropped his arm over her shoulders.

Aris leaned into him, her head nestled onto his shoulder as she kept her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yeah," she breathed.

Leo docked the ship at a pier in Charleston Harbor, right next to the seawall. Along the shore was a historical district with tall mansions, palm trees, and wrought-iron fences. Antique cannons pointed at the water.

"You haven't been sleeping."

"I'm fine."

"Mal."

"Jack."

Percy sent her a look. Aris sighed, rubbing at her face.

She couldn't really deny it because as the sleepless nights went on, the more you could see it. The circles under her eyes grew darker. Her pale grew paler. And she unfortunately didn't have the skin care and makeup products necessary to remedy that. And she knew that no one else on the ship had anything that could help. Hazel didn't wear makeup and had brought along just as much stuff as her. Annabeth had a little but it wasn't nearly enough. And Aris didn't like Piper enough to go ask her though, considering her entire 'I'm not like other girls', pick-me vibe, Aris doubted this girl would own makeup.

She looked up at Percy. "I have trouble sleeping alone in a room with no one around."

He was quiet for a minute.

"Why didn't you tell anyone ?"

"Who would I tell, Jack ?" Aris raised an eyebrow. "There isn't exactly a magician who can work some magic and make me sleep on this ship."

"You could've told me. You could sleep in my room or, I sleep in yours."

Aris sent him a wry smile. "Okay, Annabeth and I started becoming friends but I don't think she'd be cool with me using her boyfriend as a walking-talking dream catcher."

"Well, we have to find a solution. You can't keep going like this. You might collapse in the field."

"I'll be fine," Aris dismissed with a wave of her hand and an eye roll. That was immediately countered with a yawn escaping her. "Shut up," she warned, a hand in front of her mouth.

Percy did not shut up. "What about taking naps during the day ? It would be something."

"Percy."

"Someone could sit with you," he continued, ignoring her. "Like just be in the room and read or something, or—"

"Percy."

"Because you need your sleep, Mal. This isn't healthy—"

"Jackson !"

"What ?" He startled, blinking at the sudden loudness of her voice.

"Just...it's sweet of you but...let it go, okay ? I'm fine."

"But—"

"Good morning."

The pair looked away from the bay to find Jason standing there. He had just come up onto the deck. The sun hit his hair, turning it gold. His blue eyes were clear, eyeing the arm Percy had wrapped around Aris' frame. He indiscernibly clenched his jaw, or so Aris thought. His face was open and pleasant the next second, making her wonder if she had imagined it. She would have considered reading his emotions if she wasn't so damn tired.

"Hey man," Percy greeted. "You sleep okay ?"

"Yeah. You ?"

"It wasn't bad. Hey, did you know that Ma—OOF !" Aris elbowed him in the stomach, making him recoil.

"Sorry, my arm slipped." She sounded more bored than sorry. The glare she was side-eyeing the boy with told a different story though.

She wouldn't care if he mentioned her sleeping issues to anyone else. Frank and Hazel were both sweethearts and she loved them. Annabeth was his girlfriend so obviously she couldn't expect him to keep this from her. Hell, she would even be fine if stupid Leo and Piper, two people she did not like one bit, knew. But not Jason.

The problem with Jason Grace was he would make it his life's mission to find a solution so that she could sleep. It's just the kind of person he was. He was always trying to fix something. He couldn't see something broken and not be drawn to it. He couldn't just leave it. Jason had to find a way to return it to its former self.

Aris didn't want to be fixed by Jason Grace. She didn't want anything from Jason Grace. She just wanted him to leave her the fuck alone.

"Are your hits somehow getting harder ?" Percy rubbed at his abdomen.

"How did that hurt you ?" Aris demanded, unimpressed. "You have freaking rocks for a stomach."

Percy lifted up the hem of his shirt to examine his stomach and, yes, surely enough, there was a solid six pack. Though as Aris looked at it, it had nothing on Jason's abs. However, that made sense since he had been training much longer than Percy and probably harder too. The Roman Legion was no joke. Just carrying your equipment gave you a full body workout. So imagine actually moving and fighting in it. If you weren't fit and filled out with muscles, you were pretty much guaranteed to fail there.

"Put those away," Aris chided.

"I'm checking for bruises."

The daughter of Venus simply rolled her eyes.

"What's going on up here ?" Everyone glanced to the new arrivals who were Frank and Leo. The latter had been the one to speak. He whistled. "Nice abs, dude."

"Thanks."

Jason's are better, Aris thought. Everyone looked at her with raised eyebrows and faces varying on confusion or amusement. Her eyes widened a bit. "Shit, did I say that out loud ?"

"Yep," Percy smirked, letting go of his shirt.

"Fuck."

"I thought you didn't like him," Frank said, looking like a confused puppy.

"I don't."

"Then why—how—I am so confused right now."

"You don't have to like a person to have sex with them," Jason explained, arms crossing over his chest.

"Yep. I don't like Jason yet I have licked those abs many times."

"And that is our cue to get going !" Jason clapped his hands with a falsely jovial tone. He shook his head at Aris. "Why ?"

Aris smirked. "Because I know you don't like it."

"You suck."

"You used to enjoy it."

"Oh my gods, Aris," Jason groaned. "I'm leaving. Come on guys."

"Any idea when you'll be back ?" Percy called as the trio walked away.

"Sunset !" Jason called back.

Aris noticed Piper walking onto the deck and smirked. She brought both hands to her mouth to amplify her voice and called, "Bye lover ! I'll be thinking of those rock solid abs."

Jason flipped her off behind him, not even bothering to turn. Aris cackled, still under Percy's arm. Percy only shook his head in amusement. "You're a little chaos demon, aren't you ?"

"Yep !"

"Atta girl !"

He held out a hand. Aris high fived it with a smirk.

🖤💔🖤

As much as Aris hated to admit it, Charleston was a pretty place.

The walk to the Battery was almost nice. Aris could have done without Piper's company but she didn't really get a say in the matter.

According to the signs, the seaside park was called White Point Gardens. The ocean breeze swept away the muggy heat of the summer afternoon, and it was pleasantly cool under the shade of the palmetto trees. Lining the road were old Civil War cannons and bronze statues of historical figures.

Charleston Harbor glittered in the sun. To the north and south, strips of land stretched out like arms enclosing the bay, and sitting in the mouth of the harbor, about a mile out, was an island with a stone fort. Aris knew that fort used to be important in the Civil War. You can't be Mars' favourite granddaughter and not know all about the American Civil War.

The park wasn't crowded. Most of the locals had gone on summer vacation, or were holed up at home taking a siesta. They strolled along South Battery Street, which was lined with four-story Colonial mansions. The brick walls were blanketed with ivy. The facades had soaring white columns like Roman temples. The front gardens were bursting with rosebushes, honeysuckle, and flowering bougainvillea. It looked like Ceres and Flora had set the timer on all the plants to grow several decades ago, then forgotten to come back and check on them.

"Kind of reminds me of New Rome," Hazel said.

Aris nodded in agreement. "All the big mansions and the gardens. The columns and arches."

Honestly it was a beautiful place. The houses and the gardens were very beautiful, very Roman. But Aris also knew that beautiful things sometimes had a terrible history. She was the perfect example after all.

She was beautiful. Yet her past....well it had shaped her into what she was. Cold. Bitter. Aggressive. Less beautiful things.

There wasn't much talking other than that.

Piper kept looking around like she expected an ambush. She had said she'd seen this park in the blade of her knife, but she wouldn't elaborate. Aris wasn't too sure she liked Piper's knife any more than she liked Piper. After all, the last time Piper had tried to interpret a vision from her knife, Percy, Jason and herself had almost killed each other in Kansas.

Hazel also seemed preoccupied. Maybe she was taking in their surroundings, or maybe she was worrying about her brother. In less than four days, unless they found him and freed him, Nico would be dead.

Aris could understand that. She missed Nico too. She really hoped he was okay. That he still would be by the time they got to him.

She kind of felt responsible for him. He was the only who seemed to give the smallest shit about her for the longest time. And she gave a shit about him. He was so young. And had already been through so much. He didn't deserve that.

Aris knew exactly what it was like to go through so much pain at such a young age.

Suddenly, Piper grabbed Annabeth's arm.

"There." She pointed across the harbor. A hundred yards out, a shimmering white figure floated on the water. At first, Aris thought it might be a buoy or a small boat reflecting the sunlight, but it was definitely glowing, and it was moving more smoothly than a boat, making a straight line toward them. As it got closer, the girl could tell it was the figure of a woman. The same woman she had seen with Jason and Reyna a few years back, before everything went wrong.

"That's her," Aris confirmed.

"The ghost," Annabeth said.

"That's not a ghost," Hazel said. "No kind of spirit glows that brightly."

"Oh." Hazel would know best after all. She couldn't imagine what it was like for her young friend, dying at such a young age and coming back from the Underworld, knowing more about the dead than the living.

As if in a trance, Piper walked across the street toward the edge of the seawall, narrowly avoiding a horse-drawn carriage.

"Piper !" Annabeth called.

"For fuck's sake," Aris rolled her eyes.

"We'd better follow her," Hazel said.

By the time Aris, Annabeth and Hazel caught up to her, the ghostly apparition was only a few yards away.

Piper glared at it like the sight offended her.

"It is her," she grumbled.

"Who ?" Aris demanded.

She squinted at the ghost, but it blazed too brightly to make out details. Then the apparition floated up the seawall and stopped in front of them. The glow faded.

Aris' face fell as she blinked in shock.

The woman was breathtakingly beautiful and strangely familiar. Her face was hard to describe. Her features seemed to shift from those of one glamorous movie star to another. Her eyes sparkled playfully—sometimes green or blue or amber. Her hair changed from long, straight blond to dark chocolatey curls.

She was dressed like a Southern belle, just as she had been the last time. Her gown had a low-cut bodice of pink silk and a three-tiered hoop skirt with white scalloped lace. She wore tall white silk gloves, and held a feathered pink-and-white fan to her chest.

Everything about her seemed calculated to make a person feel inadequate : the easy grace with which she wore her dress, the perfect yet understated makeup, the way she radiated feminine charm that no man could possibly resist.

It was normal though. The woman made you feel that way. It was just the nature of who she was.

"Aphrodite," Annabeth said.

"Venus ?" Hazel asked in amazement.

"Mom," Piper said, with no enthusiasm.

"Girls !" The goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug.

The four demigods did not oblige. 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."

"Uh...and that is?" Annabeth ventured.

"Why, have tea and chat, obviously. Come with me !"

Aris finally found her voice again. She let out a dark chuckle, looking the goddess straight in the eyes with a glare. "Fuck you."

And she stormed off in the opposite direction.

🖤💔🖤

Aphrodite knew how to do tea.

She led them to the central pavilion in the gardens—a white-pillared gazebo, where a table was set with silverware, china cups, and of course a steaming pot of tea, the fragrance shifting as easily as Aphrodite's appearance—sometimes cinnamon, or jasmine, or mint. There were plates of scones, cookies, and muffins, fresh butter and jam—all of which, Piper figured, were incredibly fattening; unless, of course, you were the immortal goddess of love.

Aphrodite sat—or held court, rather—in a wicker peacock chair. She poured tea and served cakes without getting a speck on her clothes, her posture always perfect, her smile dazzling.

Piper hated her more and more the longer they sat. She had half a mind to follow Aris' example and storm off but she wasn't about to behave like her pissy older half-sister.

"Oh, my sweet girls," the goddess said. "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 sparkled 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.

"Mother !" Piper chided, her cheeks flushing. "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 mean, Arsistea and I have our issues but at least she seems to care about how she looks and understands that appearances are important. I could do a quick makeover for Annabeth and Hazel, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine—"

"Mother !"

Piper didn't appreciate being compared to Aris. Aris literally told their mother to go fuck herself and stormed off. Yet Aphrodite/Venus was still complimenting her while silently judging Piper for not listening to her. As if not listening to her was a crime.

"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."

Wonderful, Piper thought. Naturally her mother would be totally fine while useful gods like Athena, Poseidon, Ares and others were reduced to raving, vicious scatterbrains.

Of all the gods who might help them, the only ones not affected by the Greek–Roman schism seemed to be Aphrodite, Nemesis, and Dionysus. Love, revenge, wine. Very helpful.

Hazel nibbled a sugar cookie. "We're not in a war yet, my lady."

"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."

She smiled at Annabeth in a way Piper wasn't too sure how she felt about. It wasn't that she was jealous. Piper didn't really care about her mom. But it was a bit hurtful that Aphrodite seemed more focused on other girls than her own daughter.

Hazel set down her sugar cookie. She had a few crumbs on her chin, and Piper liked the fact that Hazel either didn't know or didn't care.

"What do you mean," Hazel asked, "heartrending days ?"

The goddess laughed as if Hazel were a cute puppy. "Well, Annabeth could give you some idea. I once promised to make her love life interesting. And didn't I ?"

"Interesting," Annabeth said, "is a mild way of putting it."

"Well, I can't take credit for all your troubles," the goddess said. "But I do love twists and turns in a love story." She coolly looked at her daughter. "Your refusal to listen to me when we spoke some months ago was also a rather interesting twist, I must say. Tell me, Piper. How are things with Jason ?"

Piper flushed again. "He's fine. We're fine."

The goddess hummed. Annabeth and Hazel curiously look at her and Piper hated it. She knew the jealousy she felt towards Aris was irrational. Even if Jason did have feelings for her, Piper knew he wasn't the type to cheat. She knew he would stay loyal to her. She trusted Jason. It was Aris she didn't trust with her lewd and teasing comments about her past with Jason.

They seemed to know everything about each other. They knew each other's pasts. They knew how to read each other. They even knew each other's bodies.

Piper saw the involuntary glances they exchanged. She saw their mouthed conversations and shared secrets. She saw how riled up Jason got whenever it came to Aris. He never got so riled up with her.

How was Piper supposed to compete with any of that ? It was hard not to feel insecure and small next to that.

"Mother," Piper said through gritted teeth, "is there a reason you're here ?"

"Hmm ? Oh, you mean besides the tea ? I often come here. I love the view, the food, the atmosphere—you can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can't you ? Centuries of it."

She pointed to a nearby mansion. "Do you see that rooftop balcony ? We had a party there the night the American Civil War began. The shelling of Fort Sumter."

"That's it," Annabeth remembered. "The island in the harbor. That's where the first fighting of the Civil War happened. The Confederates shelled the Union troops and took the fort."

"Oh, such a party !" Aphrodite said. "A string quartet, and all the men in their elegant new officers' uniforms. The women's dresses—you should've seen them ! I danced with Ares—or was he Mars ? I'm afraid I was a little giddy. And the beautiful bursts of light across the harbor, the roar of the cannons giving the men an excuse to put their arms around their frightened sweethearts !"

Piper's tea was cold. She hadn't eaten anything, but she felt like she wanted to throw up. Annabeth looked at the goddess in disbelief. "You're talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S. history. Over six hundred thousand people died—more Americans than in World War One and World War Two combined."

"And the refreshments !" Aphrodite continued. "Ah, they were divine. General Beauregard himself made an appearance. He was such a scoundrel. He was on his second wife, then, but you should have seen the way he looked at Lisbeth Cooper—"

"Mother !" Piper tossed her scone to the pigeons. How could her mother talk about parties right now ? This is what made Piper want nothing to do with this goddess. There was a literal war going on and she was busy talking about pretty dresses and nice refreshments and centuries old gossip.

"Yes, sorry," the goddess said. "To make the story short, I'm here to help you, girls. I doubt you'll be seeing Hera much. Your little quest has hardly made her welcome in the throne room. And the other gods are rather indisposed, as you know, torn between their Roman and Greek sides. Some more than others." Aphrodite fixed her gaze on Annabeth. "I suppose you've told your friends about your falling-out with your mother ?"

Hazel and Piper looked at her curiously.

"Falling-out ?" Hazel asked.

"An argument," Annabeth said. "It's nothing."

"Nothing !" the goddess said. "Well, I don't know about that. Athena was the most Greek of all goddesses. The patron of Athens, after all. When the Romans took over...oh, they adopted Athena after a fashion. She became Minerva, the goddess of crafts and cleverness. But the Romans had other war gods who were more to their taste, more reliably Roman—like Bellona—"

"Reyna's mom," Piper remembered.

"Yes, indeed," the goddess agreed. "I had a lovely talk with Reyna a while back, right here in the park. Unlike some, she heeded my words." Piper knew that was a jeer at her. She scowled looking down at her hands. What was the big deal ? Shouldn't the goddess of love be proud that Piper was fighting for her love instead of just rolling over and letting someone else swoop in and take him ? Apparently, that was too much to ask.

The goddess continued her speech though, pretending she didn't just make a dig at her daughter. "And the Romans had Mars, of course. And later, there was Mithras—not even properly Greek or Roman, but the legionnaires were crazy about his cult. I always found him crass and terribly nouveau dieu, personally. At any rate, the Romans quite sidelined poor Athena. They took away most of her military importance. The Greeks never forgave the Romans for that insult. Neither did Athena."

"The Mark of Athena," Annabeth said. "It leads to a statue, doesn't it ? It leads to...to the statue."

Aphrodite smiled. "You are clever, like your mother. Talk to my daughter about it." Annabeth looked at Piper who furrowed her eyebrows. "Not Piper. Aristea. She's fond of history and myths. She might be able to help."

Piper resisted the urge to scowl even more. Of course it was Aris. It only seemed to be about Aris these days. Everything revolves around Aris.

"Understand, though, your siblings, the children of Athena, have been searching for centuries. None has succeeded in recovering the statue. In the meantime, they've been keeping alive the Greek feud with the Romans. Every civil war...so much bloodshed and heartbreak...has been orchestrated largely by Athena's children."

"That's..." Annabeth trailed off.

"Romantic ?" Aphrodite offered. "Yes, I supposed it is."

"But...The Mark of Athena, how does it work ? Is it a series of clues, or a trail set by Athena—"

"Hmm." Aphrodite looked politely bored. "I couldn't say. I don't believe Athena created the Mark consciously. If she knew where her statue was, she'd simply tell you where to find it. No...I'd guess the Mark is more like a spiritual trail of bread crumbs. It's a connection between the statue and the children of the goddess. The statue wants to be found, you see, but it can only be freed by the most worthy."

"And for thousands of years," Annabeth said, "no one has managed."

"Hold on," Piper said. "What statue are we talking about ?"

The goddess laughed. "Oh, I'm sure Annabeth can fill you in. At any rate, the clue you need is close by : a map of sorts, left by the children of Athena in 1861—a remembrance that will start you on your path, once you reach Rome. But as you said, Annabeth Chase, no one has ever succeeded in following the Mark of Athena to its end. There you will face your worst fear—the fear of every child of Athena. And even if you survive, how will you use your reward ? For war or for peace ?"

"This map," Annabeth said, "where is it ?"

"Guys !" Hazel pointed to the sky.

Circling above the palmetto trees were two large eagles. Higher up, descending rapidly, was a flying chariot pulled by pegasi. Apparently Leo's diversion with Buford the end table hadn't worked—at least not for long.

Aphrodite spread butter on a muffin as if she had all the time in the world. "Oh, the map is at Fort Sumter, of course." She pointed her butter knife toward the island across the harbor. "It looks like the Romans have arrived to cut you off. I'd get back to your ship in a hurry if I were you. Would you care for some tea cakes to go ?"

Pari Speaks !

This might sound so mean, but I love writing Piper as an insecure and jealous bitch. I think Uncle Rick liked her and disliked Jason so that's why Piper has like a complete 360 in the OG books where she goes from complete pick-me and internalised misogynist to a badass with like no grace period and Jason is just written as bland and boring.

I however love Jason and don't really love Piper. So her inner issues and insecurities will be around longer. All in all, I am kind of happy with this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it too.

Hopefully, see you soon for the next one ! Bye guys !

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