Thanks, Aphrodite!

Maybe Poseidon isn't so bad?

Athena's PoV

I sat cross legged on my bed. I knew I had to do something fast. 

Just this morning at breakfast, Ares has already tried to flirt with me insistently, saying that the god and goddess of war "belong" together, blah blah blah. I beg to differ. Though I am the goddess of warfare, wisdom and battle strategies, meaning that I minimize bloodshed, unlike Ares (who obviously doesn't have a brain), who killed anything that could walk and talk.

Then Hermes tried to give me a box of chocolates, a bouquet of flowers, a pair of flying shoes, and so on. Of course, I didn't take it.

Even Apollo- who tried to serenade me with a number of haikus. I then sent him a glare, which scared him so much he scuttled off.

Only Zeus, Poseidon, and Hephaestus didn't - what do mortals call it nowadays? Ah, make a move on me. Zeus because, well, I am his favorite daughter (along with Artemis), and Hephaestus, who was so embarrassed by the scarf incident that he couldn't even look at me in the eye. But Poseidon? Now that he divorced his wife, he could, of course, court someone else, and even if he was still married, he would have. Just look at his past history. And was I- disappointed that he didn't? I found the notion so disturbing that I shook it off at once.

Screw this love thing! I decided to seek out someone that knew about love the best, even if I didn't really want to. But this love-inducing headache is really upsetting. I couldn't even think straight! Me, the goddess of Wisdom! Heaving a great sigh, I shuffled off my bed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." I thought, shaking my head. What has the world come to? Before I could chicken out, I knocked on the hot pink door that marked Aphrodite's lair.

"Come in!" Aphrodite's voice sounded. The pink door swung open.

Inside, Aphrodite's palace was surprisingly homey yet classy, despite being decorated in almost entirely pink. There was a large heart-shaped rug in the center. A large hearth burned in the corner, comfy armchairs surrounding a mahogany coffee table dyed a light pink. In another corner was a tall throne made of pink glass, decorated with hearts of different colors, some large, some small. In the center of the throne was two pairs of hearts. One pair was intertwined, blue with a sort of olive green mixed with gray. The other pair was more distant, one heart was sea green, while the other was a stormy gray. Next to the throne, there was a desk with all the information of Aphrodite's OTPs, while on the other side, there was a large cabinets filled with love and charmspeak potions, as well as some that were labeled "skin clearing", "acne treatment", etc.

"Glad to see you came." Aphrodite's voice came from the grand stairs. I looked up to see her slowly walk down the steps, like in the scene Hermione Granger does during in the Yule Ball. 'So melodramatic.' I thought. I looked closer, and noticed that Aphrodite was holding a vial in one hand and a bracelet in another.

She set both down on the coffee table, and took a seat, gesturing for me to do the same. The table shrank into a 2-person size, while the other chairs disappeared. I mentally scoffed. I had no use for grandeur, and I designed my house accordingly.

"I would like you to have this." She held out the bracelet. "Someone gave it to me to pass it on to you."

Hesitantly, I took it. 'Was it a trap?' A thought resounded. The bracelet itself was really pretty, strung with beautiful small seashells. A dainty silver charm shaped like an owl dangled from it. The string was transparent, suiting the bracelet well. A sense of calm washed over me, but there was no urging voice telling me to put it on, as it often did in traps. The scent of the ocean wafted from the bracelet, and I inhaled it sharply.

Finally finding my voice, I thanked Aphrodite.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Put it on!" Her face a mask of impatience. I slipped it on. It felt cool in a pleasant sort of way. Sea breeze gently lifted my hair from my face. I sighed, content. Noticing this, Aphrodite smirked in a self-satisfied way.

"Athena," She said sweetly, however, her voice didn't have the tell-tale trace of honeyed charmspeak. "You wouldn't want to get on my bad side, would you?"

Gears were turning in my head. I didn't know what Aphrodite wanted, and I knew that it wouldn't be good. For me, at least. However, Aphrodite was extremely good at pulling the strings, manipulating people, and now that my vow was revoked, she could make me fall in love with anything. The Minotaur was proof of that.

"What do you want?" My voice was calm, composed and cold.

"Why, nothing! I just want my immortal OTP to be together, and this is the perfect opportunity!" 

I didn't buy it, and Aphrodite could tell. She sighed.

"A deal. If I gave you this vial-" she gestured toward it, the silvery-pink liquid swirling and glittering in the sunlight "-which is the liquefied form of my blessing, the only one in existence, you owe me advice. Meaning that, because you're the goddess of Wisdom and can offer precious insight as an outsider or just someone in general, I can call you in to give me advice. Also, you need to give me your blessing in return. That's it."

I pondered it. Aphrodite was impatient, I doubted if she could wait any longer for me to make my decision. Each Olympian could give two liquefied blessings in their lifetimes. They are way more powerful than regular blessings, which are worded, and they cannot be taken away. It is draining physically and mentally for someone to make this type of blessing, and by doing this, it strips a small amount of power from the god or goddess. Aphrodite's wordless threat hung in the air. I knew that she could and would make my love life miserable in a blink of the eye if she didn't get what she wanted.

"I accept, on the condition that we both swear on River Styx that we will honor the terms of the agreement." Aphrodite nodded, as if anticipating that.

After swearing on River Styx, I took a deep breath. "Can I have a vial?"

I poured a part of my power into the vial. The silver liquid swirled in its container. I shakily handed it to Aphrodite, and she handed hers to me.

I downed the vial immediately, and felt more refreshed. Aphrodite did the same. We smiled at each other before I took my leave.

I was almost at the doors when I hesitated. Maybe Aphrodite wasn't so bad. I turned around and caught her eye. I could almost hear her say: A new start? I gave a nod, and left her palace.

Word count: 1154

A/N: I have no idea how blessings work, but when Mars gave Frank his blessing in HoO, he became physically stronger. I'm picturing these sort of "liquidefied blessings" to be a more intimate form of this. It's kind of raw power that from within the goddesses get trapped in the container, and when it is drunk by someone, it gives him/her a more thorough blessing than the worded type. I don't know how to explain this idea, and I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense.

FYR, this is what I imagined Aphrodite's floor plan would be like. (I made one and it got thrown away and I had to redo it.) Don't mind the lopsided armchairs please.

Also just pretend that the hearth is next to the grand staircase, I forgot to draw it.