Inferno (Leo Valdez x OC) (2)

All's fair in love and tea, oh look, I'm flying

Aphrodite knew how to do tea.

She led us to the central pavilion in the garden – 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, biscuits and muffins, fresh butter and jam – all of which, I 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.

I didn't know whether to feel respect for the goddess or be afraid that someone could possibly sit up that straight for that long.

"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 sparkling mischievously. "Annabeth Chase, you've grown into quite the 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 said. "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-"

"Mother!"

"Fine." Aphrodite sighed. "I'm sure Anwen would look lovely, unfortunately Demeter does not wish for me to give you a dress as it... what did she say? Restricts your ability to weed properly."

I sighed in relief and Annabeth raised an eyebrow at me.

"She's uh, she's right. Couldn't possibly get one of those dresses dirty." I mumbled, licking the jam off my scone.

"Yes, quite." Aphrodite said, looking me up and down as if to mentally take my measurements. "Well, 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 another. In fact, I like to think I haven't aged a bit!" Her fingers fluttered over her face appreciatively. "Love is love, after all, whether you're Greek or Roman. This civil war won't affect me as much it will the others."

Hazel nibbled a sugar-coated biscuit. "We're not in 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."

Hazel set down her biscuit. She had a few crumbs on her chin and I liked the fact that Hazel 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?"

I saw Annabeth's fingers turn white around her teacup handle. "Interesting." Annabeth said darkly. "Is a mild way of putting it."

"Well I can't take credit for all of your troubles." The goddess said. "But I adore twists and turns in a love story. Oh, all of you are such excellent stories – I mean, girls. You do me proud!"