I 011. I

𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔

❝ limo ❞

SUNSET HAD FALLEN. They had been riding all day, which was about as much as everyone's back ends could take. Her back was killing her and her tailbone felt as if it had been dented by the long period of sitting.

She didn't know how many miles they'd covered, but the mountains had faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. Grass and shrub brush grew sparser until they were galloping ( if boars can gallop ) across the desert.

Night fell and the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking muddy water, ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and started chewing it, needles and all.

"This is as far as he'll go," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating."

Nobody needed to be convinced. They slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti.

After it's third saguaro and another long sip of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.

"It likes the mountains better," Percy guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."

Ahead of them was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door.

Beyond was a range of hill... but they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliance, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Whoa," Ariadne said.

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Grover. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?

Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves into a pattern that made no sense to Ariadne, but Grover looked concerned.

"That's us," he said. "This six buts there."

"Which one is me?" Percy asked.

"The little deformed one," Zoe suggested.

Ariadne snorted.

"Oh, shut up."

"That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."

"A monster?" Thalia asked.

Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge..."

He pointed straight towards the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.

They decided to camp out for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. No one wanted to go dumpster-diving in the dark.

Zoe and Bianca produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks. They were magic, allowing them to fit as much stuff as hey wanted in there without the weight. Ariadne has to explain quietly to Percy about how that worked and how their bows appeared and disappeared with their will, and she just told him it was because Artemis made them that way.

It grew chilly fast, so Grover and Percy collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Bianca was a bit hungry and Ariadne was given a wipe to scrub the blood off her hand before looking for a shrub with soil. Once she found one, she let a grape vines grow and picked a few before bringing it back to the group.

Pretty soon they were about as comfortable as one could be in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.

Ariadne and Percy day next to each other, obviously. He was shivering and she placed the lion-skin coat over his shoulders, the boy warming up quickly. To keep her warm, he threw his left arm over her shoulder and brought her close to him, a position that was a normal sight for people to see them in.

"The stars are out," Zoe said.

She was right. Millions of them coated the sky, no city lights go turn the sky orange.

"Amazing," Bianca said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."

"This is nothing," Zoe said. "In the old days, there were more. While constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

It was true. Aria had told her that her father had made a star for her called the Corona Borealis. It was symbolic of the crown the former princess of Crete wore. You used to be able to see every spring and summer, every night. But now, you could only see it a few times before it was drowned out by city lights.

"You talk like you're not human," Percy said.

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "I am a Hunter. I care what happened to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"

"For you," Thalia corrected. "Not thee."

"But you use you for the beginning of the sentence."

"And for the end," Thalia said. "No thou. No thee. Just you."

Zoe threw her hands up in exasperation. "I hate this language. It changes too often."

Keeping up with grammar must have been a pain for the girl, even after you live for centuries.

Grover sighed. He was looking up at the stars like he was thinking about the light pollution problem. "If only Pan were here, he would set things right."

Zoe nodded sadly.

"Maybe it was the coffee," Grover said. "I was drinking coffee, and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee..."

She doubted coffee was the answer to this problem, but she didn't have the heart to tell Grover, he had the biggest heart out of all of them.

"Grover, do you really think that was Pan? I mean, I know you want it to be," Percy said.

"He sent us help," Grover insisted. "I don't know how or why. But it was his presence. After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the best lead we've gotten in two thousand years. I was so close."

"What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the zombies. There are a lot more out there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."

Bianca shook her head. "I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames."

"Maybe there's something special about your knife," Percy digested.

"It is the same as mine," Zoe said. "Celestial bronze, yes. But mine did not affect the warriors that way."

"Maybe you have to hit the skeleton in a certain spot," Percy said.

Bianca grew uncomfortable with everyone staring at her.

"Never mind," Zoe told her. "We will find the answer. In the meantime, we should plan our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike ti the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."

"No!" Bianca said. "Not there!"

She looked freaked out. Ariadne felt her blood run cold and knew what was happening, the truth was finally coming out.

Zoe frowned. "Why?"

Bianca took a shaky breath. "I... I think I stayed there for a while. Nick and I. When we were traveling. And then I remember..."

Grover met Percy and Ariadne's e he s, and they all knew what the other was thinking.

"Bianca," Percy said. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

Her eyes widened. "How could you know that?"

"Oh, great," he said.

"Wait," Thalia said. "What is the Lotus Casino?"

"A couple years ago," Ariadne said, "Grover, Annabeth, Percy and I got trapped there. It's designed so you never want to leave. We stayed for about an hour. When we came out, five days had passed. It makes time slow down."

"No," Bianca said. "No, that's not possible."

Ariadne's eyes were sad for the girl. "Bianca," she said, "you met me when we were there. I played Mythomagic with Nico and we talked."

Bianca's eyes widened.

"You said somebody came and got you out," Percy remembered.

"Yes."

"What did he look like? What did he say?"

"I... I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this."

Zoe sat froward, her eyebrows knit with concern. "You said that Washington, D.C., had changed when you went back last summer. You didn't remember the subway being there."

"Yes, but—"

"Bianca," Zoe said, "can you tell me the name of the president of the United Stars right now?"

"Don't be silly," Bianca said. She told them the correct name of the president.

"And who was the president before that?" Ariadne urged.

Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt."

Zoe swallowed. "Theodore or Franklin'?"

"Franklin," Bianca said. "F.D.R."

"Like F.D.R. Drive?" asked Percy.

"Bianca," Zoe said. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago."

"That's impossible," Bianca said. "I...I'm not that old." She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.

Thalia's eyes turned sad. "It's okay, Bianca. The important this is you and Nico are safe. You made it out."

"But how?" Percy said. "We were only in there for an hour and we barely escaped. How could you have escaped after being there for so long?"

"I told you." Bianca sounded ready to cry. Tears coated her eyes and Ariadne's heart hurt for the girl. "A man came and said it was time to leave. And—"

"But who? Why did he do it?" he pressed.

Ariadne sighed heavily and grabbed Percy's hand, squeezing it to warn him to shut up before Bianca burst into tears.

Before she could answer, a blazing light hit them from down the road. Headlights of a car appearing out of no where.

Ariadne half hoped it was Apollo here to give them a ride but the engine was way too silent for the sun chariot, and it was nighttime. They quickly grabbed their sleeping bags and got it if they way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop before them.

The back door of the limo opened right next to Percy and Ariadne. Before either of them could step away, the point of a sword touched Percy's throat.

Ariadne already had Lunacy pointed at the culprit's chest, a few seconds before Bianca and Zoe had an arrow notched and aimed. The owner stepped out and Percy moved back very slowly, seeing as he was pushing the ping under his chin.

And just when she thought her life couldn't get any worse, she sees the one man she never wanted to see again:

Ares.

Same crew cut and black leather biker's jacket. Same black jeans, white muscle shirt, and combat boots. And his wraparound shades which hid his eyes, but she could still see through the lenses—hollow sockets filled with flames.

"Ares," Percy growler.

The war god glanced at the group. "At ease, people."

He snapped his fingers, and everyone's weapon a fell to the ground.

"This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his balde a little farther under Percy's chin. "Of course I'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."

"What lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back." He lowered his sword and pushed Percy away. "Thalia, daughter of Zeus," he mused. "You're not hanging out with very good company."

"What's your business, Ares?" she said. "Who's in the car?"

Ares smiled, enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He jutted his chin toward Zoe and Bianca. "Who don't you all go and get some tacos while you wait? Only take Percy and Ariadne a few minutes."

Aphrodite. She was here and Ariadne realizes tonight was all about the truth.

"We will not leave them alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoe's said.

"Besides," Grover managed, "the taco place is closed."

Ares snapped his finger again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, goat boy?"

"Go in," Percy said. "We can handle this."

Ariadne nodded at her friends.

"You heard the boy," Ares said. "He's big and strong. He's got things under control."

Their friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restraint. Ares regarded Percy with loathing, then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur. "Get inside, pink," he said. "And mind you're manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."

Ariadne realized that once Percy climbed in, she was left alone with Ares. The girl crossed her arms and shivered slightly in the chilly air, realizing Percy still had the lion-skin coat.

Ares sent the girl a smirk. "Ariadne Phoenix,been years, hasn't it?"

"A blessing on my part," she said flatly.

He chuckled. "Clarisse hasn't been asking me to kill you as much, guess that's a good sign." She rolled her eyes. "My also has been talking about you and that punk nonstop, and I'm tired of it. Do me a favor, ask her to not talk about it any more."

Ariadne glared at the god. "Hell-to-the-no."

"Come on, Phoenix, what have I done to you."

She clenched her fists. "You sent me and my friends off on a side project you knew would try to kill us while we were on an important quest. Oh, don't forget that you were the reason that Hades didn't trust our word."

Ares growled, "Watch your mouth, kid."

"You asked me a question, remember?"

"It was rhetorical."

She scoffed. "Surprised you even know that word," she muttered.

Just as Ares was about to round on her, the limo door swung open to reveal a dazed and confused Percy who would blush anytime he even glanced her way. He looked like a tomato.

Ares shoved her forward. "Your turn, kid."

Ariadne climbed in and slammed the car door behind her.

***

PERCY COULDN'T SPEAK. The goddess of love had enamored him to the point where he forgot his own name for a few seconds. At a first glance, he thought it was Ariadne, but with further inspection, it turned into the TV actress he had a crush on from when he was five and so on. Her eyes became the bright amethyst color that he was obsessed with.

Aphrodite sent him a brilliant white smile. "Ah, there you are, Percy. I am Aphrodite."

He slipped into his seat. "Um, uh, gah."

"Aren't you sweet."

Aphrodite looked at the young boy with the brilliant sea-green eyes and realized why Ariadne loved them so much, they were a beautiful color. He gulped as her eyes ran over his face and clothes, feeling somewhat embarrassed that he wasn't dressed properly for this type of company. But frankly, no one could dress up properly for Aphrodite unless she was meeting herself.

He couldn't speak as she smiled once more. "Do you know why you're here?" she asked him.

"I... I don't know," he managed.

The goddess twirled a piece of her hair, watching the boy with a teasing smirk. "There has been something I've been needing to tell you." She leaned towards him, and he smelt a thousand different flowers that seemed to make the most intoxicating scent he had ever smelled in his life. "You, Percy Jackson, are destined for more than just being a hero."

Percy blinked. He had no clue what she meant. "Huh?"

"Oh, dear," she chuckled, "you know what I'm saying. You won't just be a hero, Percy."

"What... what else will I be," he stuttered.

She sighed with a dreamy expression. "I will tell you. But first, I need you to answer this: why are you on this quest?"

"Artemis had been captured!" he said.

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh, Artemis. Please. Talk about a hopeless case. I mean, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should be breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? I pity the poor dears who have to imprison Artemis. Bo-ring!"

"But she was chasing a monster," he protested. "A really bad monster. We have to find it!"

She leaned her head against her hand. "Always some monster. But my dear Percy, that is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in you and Ariadne."

His heart pounded. He didn't want to answer, but her eyes drew an answer right out of his mouth. "I need to watch out for Ariadne."

Aphrodite beamed. "Exactly!"

"I have to watch out for her," he said. "I'm worried she'll get hurt."

"Ah, you even worry about her! That's so cute!"

"No! I mean... that's not what I meant."

She made a tsk-tsk sound. "Percy, I'm on your side. I'm the reason you're here, after all."

He stared at her. "What?"

"The poisoned t-shirt the Still brothers gave Phoebe," she said. "Did you think that was an accident? Sending Blackjack to find you? Helping you sneak out of the camp?"

"You did that?"

"Of course! Because really, how boring these Hunters are! A quest for some monster, blah, blah, blah. Saving Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love—"

"Wait a second, I never said—"

"Oh, my dear. You don't need to say it. You do know Zoe is still trying to get Ariadne to join the Hunters, don't you?"

Percy froze. "What?"

"Yes," the goddess sighed. "I'll have a chat with her about it. But back to the topic at hand." She gave him a grin. "You, my dear, will also be a leading character in a great love story."

"Huh?" He blinked. "Now, wait just a minute—"

Aphrodite shushed him. "Listen." She cleared her throat, and oddly, the lights in the limo seemed too dim as she spoke:

"Daughter of the Vines rises tall above the rest,

Proving herself to be one of the best,

Son of the sea creates harmony for all,

Labyrinth stories retelling a great love's fall,

Two shall stand hand-in-hand,

As the strongest love of them all"

Percy's eyes were wide as the light lit up once more. Aphrodite waited for his reaction before she rolled her eyes. "Tell me you got that."

He nodded numbly, trying to understand what it meant. "What...?"

"A hundred years ago the Oracle told me this prophecy. It was declared to be a Great Prophecy. It is about you and Ariadne."

The boy blinked a few times. "Ariadne?" The name sounded foreign coming out of his mouth, he was used to calling her Aidan. "Like, my best friend Ariadne?"

She nodded with a giddy expression. "You see, after I failed with Theseus and Ariadne, I needed a way to redeem that failure. And now, here you are."

"So... what you're saying, is that I'm meant to fall in love with my best friend when I don't even have a crush on her?"

A lie that anyone could see through. Aphrodite gave him a deadpanned look, understanding why Ariadne sometimes calls him dumbo in her head a few times. "Don't do that, Percy."

"Do... do what?" he gulped.

She narrowed her eyes. "Don't play me for a fool. I know my craft, and I know you do in fact like her. You realized it, too."

He nodded. She sighed. "Oh, you kids! It's so cute I'm going to cry!"

"No, no," he said. "Don't do that."

"And don't worry," she said "I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait."

"That's really okay," Percy told her. "Don't go to any trouble."

"You are so cute. I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you." Aphrodite's eyes teared up. "Now, you'd better go, I need to have a discussion with the soulmate of yours." He blushed at her words. "And do be careful in my husband's territory, Percy. Don't take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash."

"What?" he asked. "You mean Hephaestus?"

She winked at him. "I'll be watching, make me proud, Percy. Oh, I can't wait until you two kiss..."

He was dragged to of the car by Ares before he could hear anymore.

Percy Jackson had finally been told the truth. The truth that he was meant to fall in love with Ariadne Phoenix and rival every other great love story with their own.

***

APHRODITE SEEMED TO HAVE GOTTEN PRETTIER. It had only been a few months since the goddess appeared in her dreams, detailing the prophecy where she was meant to fall in love with Percy, her best friend.

Ariadne gulped at the sight of the women who was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was still the most beautiful she had ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that could've lit up the dark side of the moon.

Her face was changing rapidly. Eye color, hair color, face shape, how many freckles there were sitting her nose, it was never ending.

She shifted from the TV actress that Ariadne used to think was pretty when she first moved in with Aria. Then, she shifted towards the Parisian waitress from the one restaurant that sold the amazing chocolate crepés. Her face changed to her mom's, a sight which made her face droop and eyes flash with pain before the goddess's switched.

It ended when Aphrodite's face became tanner and her perfectly curled hair melted from a shining blonde to a deep black. Dimples appeared on the side of her smile, which seemed to brighten the car. Her eyes knocked the breath out of Ariadne, they were a shining sea-green—Percy's eyes.

Aphrodite grinned brightly. "Ariadne," she purred, "it's good to see you again."

The girl nodded numbly, her hands shaking. She avoided the goddess's eyes. "Hi," she spoke shyly.

"Aren't you adorable." The girl blushed at her comment. "Hold this, please."

She handed the girl a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had her hold it up for her. She leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, though Ariadne couldn't see anything wrong with it.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" the goddess said.

The brunette realized she hadn't said anything. "Yeah," she nodded rapidly. "Yeah, it's been a while..."

"Mmh," she hummed. "You know, Ariadne, I've been having a little trouble."

Ariadne narrowed her eyes. Ares sent them on a side quest a few years back and it didn't end well, she was not about to let that happen again.

Aphrodite nodded. "Yes, trouble. You see, you seem to be denying the fact that you like him."

"Because I don't!" she said loudly. Her eyes went wide when the goddess glanced up from the mirror, sea-green eyes seeing right through her amethyst ones. For a split second, with the sea-green eyes and black hair, Aphrodite looked like Percy in girl form.

The goddess made a tsk-tsk sound. "Don't lie. I know you do. And the good thing is that he feels the same."

"Aphrodite—" she stopped when she recurved the warning look from the women. "'Dite. I-I don't like Percy. We're best friends. Maybe... maybe if we are meant to be together it's not now, maybe it's in the future, when we're older."

Aphrodite seemed to be in thought before she smirked. "No, I don't believe so."

It was quiet for a few moments. Aphrodite has the girl hold the mirror up a little higher. It seemed she had found a microscopic problem at the corner of her eye and dabbed at her mascara. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Artemis was captured," the girl said. "And there's a monster she was seeking."

The goddess rolled her eyes. "You and Percy are the same. Forget Artemis. Why are you here?"

Sea-green eyes seemed to be her weakness.

"I didn't want Percy to be alone and unsafe," she blurted out. Her hand slapped over her mouth, trying to figure out how that happened.

Aphrodite smiled smugly. "Now you've got it! Now, if you didn't already know, I told Percy the prophecy. I hope you don't mind."

The girl looked at her ring. "No. Don't mind at all," she mumbled.

Aphrodite watched as the girl stared at her ring, green trident pulsing in the middle. Her eyes seemed to soften once she noticed the girl's look of sadness. The goddess used her hand to take the mirror from the girl who barely seemed to notice it was gone.

"Ariadne," the women said quietly, "do not fear. You and Percy will be my greatest achievement. Both of you will have stories told about you."

She sighed softly. "That's not what I'm worried about." Her teeth but down on her lip. "How do we know we're not rushing this? I know you're the goddess of love and all, but what if we're meant to be together later in life."

Aphrodite let her hand touch the girl's cheek. "You just need to trust me and Percy. Besides, we can get rid of one thing."

"What?"

"This blessing I gave you during your last quest. You don't need it any longer."

Ariadne's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

A smile crossed the women's face. "Percy already sees you as if you were me. He thought I was you for a few seconds, and that's a compliment."

The goddess's hand still rested on the girl's cheek. A bright white and pink glow filled the limo, it felt as if something was being pulled from the girl's chest, more specifically, her heart.

A glowing ball rested in Aphrodite's hand. She brought it to her chest and placed it there, the women seeming to glow brighter.

"Will he... will he still like me?" the girl asked.

Aphrodite nodded. "Yes, he always will."

A blush coated Ariadne's cheeks.

The girl had another question on the tip of her tongue. "What happens if one of us dies before the prophecy is fulfilled?"

Aphrodite's eyes clenched shut. The lights seemed to dim in the car. She felt smaller and like a rat in a garbage can. The goddess opened her eyes and showed they flashed with sorrow.

"Whatever you do, Ariadne Phoenix," she spoke in a grim voice, "do not ever doubt Percy Jackson's feelings for you. If you do... there may be catastrophe that is released onto the world."

Ariadne was about to ask more, but the limo door sung open and a hand grabbed her wrist. Ares flung the girl out of the car and slammed the door shut.

She landed in Percy's arms, the boy helping her stand. Both of them ignored the tingling in their hands and the enormous amount of butterflies in their stomachs.

"You're lucky, punks." Area pushes them away from the limo. "Be grateful."

"For what?" Percy asked

"That were being so mice. If it was up to me—"

"So why haven't you killed us?" Ariadne asked, fists clenched at her side. It was a stupid going to ask the god of war, but she couldn't resist.

Ares nodded, as if they had finally said something intelligent.

"I'd love to kill you, seriously," he said. "But see, I got a situation. Word on Olympus is that you might start the biggest war in history." He glanced over at Ariadne. "And you may help him. Besides, Aphrodite thinks both of you are some kind of soap-opera star or something. I haven't forgotten my promise. Some say, kid—real soon—you're going to raise your sword to fight, and you're going to remember the wrath of Ares."

Percy baller his fists. "Why wait? I beat you once. How's the ankle healing up?"

The girl smirked.

He grinned crookedly. "Not bad, punk. But you got nothing on the master of taunts. I'll start the fight when I'm good and ready. Until then... get lost."

He snapped his fingers and the world did a three-sixty spin. Red dust spun in a cloud as Percy and Ariadne fell to the ground.

When they stood up again, the limo was gone. The road, the taco restaurant, the whole town of Gila Claw was gone. Their group was standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.

Ariadne glanced over at Percy. "She told you?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Why didn't you tell me?"

"She asked me not to. And I like her a lot more than Ares."

Percy hesitated. He decided to grab her hand and interlock their fingers, jolts of tingles filling their veins and making them both giddy little kids. Their faces blushed heavily, hearts racing as butterflies filled their stomachs.

"Did you know you have dimples?" Ariadne asked.

His eyebrows raised. "Seriously?" She nodded. "Cool. Do they make me, like, cute or something?"

A smile crossed her face. She turned her head, hiding her blush. "Yeah. Yeah, they do."

He sent her a crooked smile.

Ariadne couldn't let her mind deny it anymore. She couldn't doubt the feelings she had been feeling for months, or his feelings, nevertheless.

Ariadne Phoenix liked Percy Jackson