The Return Of Xena

1

Percy and Annabeth were in the Temple of Aphrodite. Why? They didn't really know. All they knew was Clarisse had Iris messaged them telling to meet her there, and to get Aphrodite there.
"Aphrodite!" Percy shouted, "Get over here or Clarisse is going to skin me alive."
Only silence responded. Percy didn't know how else to get her attention so he threw himself on to one of her plush pink couches and sighed.
"Don't worry," Annabeth said,"I've got this."
She then preceeded to cup her hands around her mouth and shout, "I'M BREAKING UP WITH PERCY!"
The goddess appeared in a shower of pink sparkles and said, "There is no way in Tartarus I am letting you ruin my perfect couple!"
"We're not breaking up," Percy said looking at Annabeth, "We're not breaking up right?"
"How can you be so clueless Seaweed-Brain?" Annabeth said," Of course not I love you."
Percy breathed out a sigh of relief. The goddess spoke up, she was now sitting with a nail file on a bed of plush pink pillows, "So.... then like, why am I here?"
"Don't know," Percy said, "Clarisse wanted you here. Something about Ares."
"I'm here," Clarisse said walking in with a scroll in her hand,"Gods I can't believe I'm willingly setting foot in this place."
"How's my little darling niece?" Aphrodite says somewhat sarcastically.
"Who was Xena?" Clarisse blurts out, no filter as per usual.
"I don't know what your talking about," the goddess replies.
"Yes you do," the warrior demi-goddess says.
She hands the scroll to Aphrodite who reluctantly takes it. Her eyes flicker over the page and a single tear falls from her eye.
"Blondie," the goddess of love says referring to Annabeth, "You know about the practice of the gods having a 'Chosen', right?"
"Of course," the wise girl replied,"a god would pick a mortal to help carry out their work, and were bound to them for life, but the practice was eventually outlawed by Zeus."
"Why was it outlawed?" Percy asked.
" 'Cause things with Ares' only chosen got out of hand," the goddess of love said.
"This Xena was my father's 'chosen'?" Clarisse inquired.
Another tear slipped down Aphrodites' perfectly made up face as she nodded.
"Yeah, she was," the goddess said clearly holding back tears, "She was the only woman he ever loved."
"Ares?" Annabeth questioned, "He loved someone? Your joking, right?"
The goddess shook her head, the tears flowing freely now. She held her hands out motioning for them to take her hands. They did so and the goddess closed her eyes and all four of them disappeared in a shower of pink sparkles.