THE HEALER| Heroes of Olympus

5.

"It's lovely!" Aphrodite exclaimed when we returned. 

Then she eyed my appearance. "You not so much."

Isn't it just wonderful when the goddess of beauty tells you, you aren't lovely? I was starting to have serious beef with Piper's mom. 

"Oh, sweetheart." She cautiously grabbed my finger to pull me along into a bedroom. "You are in dire need of a make over." 

"Agreed." I said. "Please fix me." 

Aphrodite got to work immediately. With a snap of her fingers multiple clothing options had appeared and she was already picking some out. She poured rose water on me and somehow all the gunk and sweat washed off me. I had never felt more clean in my life. 

In one quick motion she had stripped me of my clothes and replaced them with a long white dress with a low cut. My hair was curled and she placed a gold necklace around my neck. 

The dress was simple but yet flashy. It showed a lot of skin and barely covered my chest. 

"You're boyfriend would absolutely die if he was here!" She said walking me over to a mirror. I gawked at myself in the mirror. Flawless skin, perfect hair and makeup, the white dress was flawless and hugged my curves just right...I'd never looked more beautiful in my life. It even showed off my sun tattoo because it was sleeveless. I got matching sun tattoos with Will last year. His was on his left pectoral while mine was a little bigger and spanned from my heart to shoulder. 

But it made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't like how much I was showing. 

"I don't think this is appropriate for fighting monsters." 

"No," the goddess agreed. "But the boys would kill to get with you! I mean you're stunning!" 

I pulled my dress up to try and cover my chest more. 

"I don't mean to sound disrespectful but I think you may need to try again with the wardrobe change." 

Aphrodite ran her fingers along my cheek. Suddenly her appearance began to flicker. Every flaw I had seen in myself in the mirror disappeared from her. 

"Sweetheart, there is a reason I dressed you like this." she said. "I know it's not ideal for a quest but I wanted you to realize something before you leave." 

"And what's that?" 

"That beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect you have to feel perfect about yourself, and avoid trying to be someone you're not." She said gently. "Beauty is the way you hold yourself. It's how you treat people, how you love, how you accept and value yourself. Beauty is your soul." 

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked softly.

"Because I've lived for thousands of years and I see plenty of beautiful girls like you who do nothing but pick apart their flaws. I can see your insecurities and I can feel how my appearance changes when you notice them. As a goddess our appearance can change so easily. I've always envied that about mortals." She ran her fingers through my hair. "The point I'm trying to make is that you're beautiful even if you don't think so. And beauty is power, use it wisely." 

"I don't feel beautiful." I admitted. "I'm not like you, or your children." I felt my face heat up as I admitted this. "I'm not effortlessly pretty like Piper. I can't just wake up with flawless skin and perfect hair! And I don't have Annabeth's pretty curls or bright blue eyes like my sister..."

"Another woman's beauty is not an absence of your own beauty." 

Before I could think of another response there was a loud knock on the door.