Lord of the Eclipse

13 | Annabeth Hates Girl Talk

She knew that Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty, but since she's never met her up-close until that very moment, Annabeth honestly didnt know what to expect. Well, probably she had this small idea that the Olympian looked like the typical Barbie doll (yeah, yeah. Dont judge; She's pretty sure that other people have imagined it too, right? Like, she cant be the only one who has ever thought of this) but it turns out that she was a mixture of all ethnicities—not literally though. Every time Annabeth blinked, the appearance of the immortal changed, from American to Indian to Chinese to Korean to Australian to German to African; it was impossible to keep up.

"Annabeth, dear, are you quite alright?"

Oh, and her voice was as smooth as silk. Did she mention that? The daughter of Athena had read tons of books about charmspeak, and encountered someone who inherited it from Aphrodite, but the words seem to force her to calm down in a soothing way. Her tensed shoulders relaxed as the goddess weaved Annabeth's blonde hair professionally, before pinning it atop her head. One glance at the mirror told her that she absolutely hated makeovers. Her face was caked with too much make-up, so she seemed to be staring at someone else.

"You know, you're a gorgeous girl. For a daughter of Athena, that is."

Annabeth wrinkled her nose and resisted the urge to lash out at the goddess. She took steady breaths as she plastered a fake smile that made her cringe slightly at herself.

"Thank you," she tried not to sound bitter, and it worked. Sort of.

"Oh, dont be so upset about it!" Aphrodite laughed. "And, yep, we are done! Oh, but dear, this isnt the reason why I came to see you."

Internally groaning, the demigod forced herself to meet the ever-so-changing eyes of the mother of Drew Tanaka, the ultimate package of terror in pink. "No?" she asked, her fingers fiddling with the ripped part of her camp shirt.

"You know Perseus, I believe?"

Annabeth's heart stopped beating for a split second. Then she forced the words out of her mouth.

"I've met him, but we havent really had time to talk considering that we left him to face the Nemian Lion alone."

Aphrodite looked puzzled for a split second, then she let out a small laugh. "Once an idiot, always an idiot."

"What do you mean?" the question barely came out as a whisper, but she knew that the goddess had heard her.

"I dont know that myself, but fragments of the memories of him are returning. I just wanted to tell you," Aphrodite pursed her lips. "Dont let your ego get in the way of you and him, alright?"

Aphrodite actually giving advice instead of tips on how to break hearts? That's new, considering that her children were the total opposite.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "What—?"

Then the immortal sat up straighter, just as the door of the black limousine opened.

"Time to get out, kid."

She hastily clambered out, but before the door slammed shut, she thought she heard the goddess murmur something that seemed too un-Aphrodite-ish of her.

"I just want him to be happy,"

———————

Annabeth smelled the food before she even arrived at the campsite. Two tents were set up, one for the girls and the other for Grover, and the interior was amazing. But she couldn't push aside the conversation she and Aphrodite had had just a few minutes ago.

Then she heard laughter from inside one of them, and she froze. It wasn't the normal bleating laughter of Grover, and the voice was much too deep to be a female's, so she cautiously crept closer with her dagger in her hand.

"Thou can not be serious," Zoë snorts from inside. "Thou art no match for the lion, Perseus, regardless thy abilities as...one of them."

Another chuckle. "Don't flatter yourself, huntress. Think about it; only its skin has the ability to harden, but there are other parts unprotected by it. The eyes, the ears, and the mouth." Annabeth froze. She had to admit that it was a smart move, to kill the Nemian Lion that way. Why had it never occurred to her? She barely heard what he said before she felt herself being flung onto the ground, a hundred yards or so away from where she originally was.

"I think we have a visitor,"

Perseus' weapons, whatever the hell they were, rested on her neck; one on the front, the other on her nape. His expression softened when he saw it was her, and quickly sheathed his warglaives.

"You're alive," the daughter of Athena said flatly, her brows furrowed together in confusion. His shirt was stained with gold that looked suspiciously close to ichor. Maybe it was, for all she knew.

"Last I checked, I was about to be overrun by a couple skeletons but thank you for your concern."

The blonde let out an irritated huff, crossing her arms over her chest.

"If you were, just in case, wondering what happened to those bony little cannibals; I set them off our track for a couple of hours. We better be headed for wherever we should go before sunrise tomorrow."

"Since when were you voted as the leader of this quest?" Annabeth snorts indignantly, standing up a bit taller. The atmosphere suddenly turned hostile, and the hunters backed away slightly.

"Me? Since when?" Perseus let out a curel howling laughter that chilled her bones. "Let's get one thing straight here, Athena spawn."

Annabeth fumed at the nickname, clenching and unclenching her fists. She watched him take long strides towards her, his gaze pointed and harsh.

"I was born to do things like this. Just because you're the daughter of..." he hesitated for a split second, "Athena, doesnt always mean that you get to take the lead."

The female demigod narrowed her eyes. He almost let something slip, and they both knew that.

"Then who are you, exactly, Perseus? Who are you to say that you're worthy to lead this quest?"

She regretted the words instantly as they left her mouth. He let out another gut-wrenching maniacal bark.

"You listen here, half-blood. My sister is out there on the verge of dying, and you decide to have some petty argument about who's leading the quest?"

"Your sister? Thalia?

He snorts, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Really, Annabeth? And I thought you were supposed to be wise,"

~
Update yay wahaha idk what to feel about this but I guess it's a quite decent chapter? Hopefully?

Do you guys have any suggestions or opinions on how I could improve because that'd be amazing. ALSO THANK YOU GUYS FOR GETTING THIS TO 90.9K READS OMF

See you guys soon xx

-A/L