Unclaimed~A Percy Jackson/Leo Valdez Fanfiction

Chapter 24: We Think Out Loud

I looked at myself in the mirror. I was pleasantly surprised by Aphrodite's choice. I honestly had thought that she would dress me up in some frilly pink princess gown. Fortunately she was right when she said she knew what she was doing. Gods I should have trusted her from the start. She's the goddess of beauty, right?

The dress reflected my favorite animal, the peacock. Though it wasn't tacky. It was turquoise with layers of yellow and green tule beneath it. The skirt fell just above my knees and had spaghetti straps with a sweetheart neckline. Though my favorite part were the feathers, well they weren't actual feathers. From the left side of the bodice were four peacock feathers stitched to the dress. They were embroidered with jewels and sequins in the prettiest of patterns. The dress was beautiful and so intricately designed, it must have cost a fortune.

She decided to pair them with a pair of turquoise heels that looked taller than the statue of liberty. Seeing my horrified expression she sighed and gave me a pair of flats instead. I shooed her off after that. Though I loved the dress, I was still hesitant to let her do anything else. To finish off my ensemble, as Aphrodite would say, I fishtailed my hair over my shoulder and stuck in a pair of tiny gold hoops. I smiled at myself. Though I looked ten times more girly than usual, I still looked like Rowan. That was what was important to me.

Suddenly my door burst open and in came Kylie. She was wearing a white dress, the top was a sequined cap sleeve and the bottom was a white tule that feel above her knee like my own. Apparently she had gotten pretty mad at Aphrodite as well as she was wearing flats and her hair was in a messy ponytail that was just messy enough to make it look good with the rest of her outfit. She looked pretty all together but her face was beat red with anger.

"My GOD!" she exclaimed stepping into my room, "Why won't Aphrodite just listen sometimes!?"

I laughed, "You looked great Kylie."

"But I look like one of her fancy little brats!" she screeched pacing around the room.

I grabbed her by her shoulders, "Kylie. Stop."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Sorry."

"You know we have to look like this if we wanna get in to this party. I had to dress up too y'know."

She looked down at my dress and back up to my face, "Oh yeah, ha, you look good kid."

I laughed, "C'mon."

I dragged her out of her room and out to the top deck where Leo, Percy and Aphrodite were waiting. The two boys were both wearing suits with ties that I soon realized were matching our dresses. Aphrodite was messing with their outfits muttering something about them slouching too much. Kylie cleared her throat trying to catch her attention.

Aphrodite turned around, "Oh girls! Come here! I have some things I need to go over."

"Like?" Leo asked.

"You should be able to get in. I have a limo arranged to take you there waiting outside of the docks. Remind you, she's my daughter and she will not accept bad etiquette so please act polite. Also you need dates so I figured you'd just go with each other. Leo with Rowan and Percy with Kylie," she winked at me and I felt my cheeks get hot.

"But Im like a foot shorter than him!" Kylie complained.

" So what?" Percy sounded offended.

"Anyways," Aphrodite continued, "In order to find the next object you will need to find her fathers 'antique' room we'll call it. He keeps all sorts of junk in there. And in order to get into there you must find my daughter. Her name is Jade. She has blonde hair and bright green eyes. About Leo's height. She'll most likely be around greeting guests so she'll get around to you eventually. When she greets you you must ask about the room. She shouldn't be surprised since her father is a known collector. She'll let you in. It's under lock and key and is off limits to anyone but her and her father but she likes to be a bit rebellious. It should be easy. Once you find it, take it and go, whatever 'it' is."