𝐢𝐢𝐢. a love goddess asks for a favour
STRENGTH ✷ act three, chapter three,
━━━━━ a love goddess asks for a favour.
PUBLISHED . . . August 19th, 2024
EDITED . . . To Be Determined
𝕴N COMPLETE AND TOTAL HONESTY, Nabi wasn't very fond of the Goddess of Love. From technically being the reason she'd been cursed ( since the woman couldn't keep her mouth shut about her parents' relationship ... ) to jumbling up her feelings for a certain Ares girl, Aphrodite wasn't the highest god on Nabi's 'Olympian Tier List'.
However, she had food ... and Nabi was starving.
"I'm so glad to finally speak to you, Nabi," Aphrodite said, "Silena tells me all about you whenever she prays at dinner. I have to thank you for giving my daughter such love. Not to mention, Hebe and I spoke of you at our last tea party."
The Goddess of Love seemed so languid, relaxed as she spoke. It made Nabi feel a little cautious. Aphrodite had closed the big fancy doors of the room that she had entered from, claiming they needed privacy, as the two of them sat inside of the marble gazebo. From the intricately designed plates, to the stunning background of azaleas and other pretty flowers; everything about the place was beautiful.
Nabi wasted no time in twirling the spaghetti on her fork and taking a bite—she finally got her pasta. Thank the gods! Or, well particularly, thank Aphrodite. Nabi considered forgiving her for all the chaos that she had been through right then and there.
"What are you doing in the Labyrinth, my lady?" Nabi asked, politely. Grudge or not, she was still a goddess, and she'd rather not get turned into a dove or something.
"Why of course, giving people love advice, dear," Aphrodite hummed, and with a swipe of her hand, a glass of water appeared in front of them, "You aren't the only one stuck in the Labyrinth who needs help. People fall in all the time."
"Mhm ..." Nabi narrowed her eyes, warily taking the glass and sipping it, slowly.
She stared at the goddess for a little while longer, and her appearance would shift, every few blinks—sometimes she looked like Clarisse, and then Silena, and then a girl version of the Stoll brothers, weirdly enough, and then her mother. Nabi blinked that one away. It stung a little too much. But she always took the form of someone she cared about.
As if Aphrodite could read her thoughts, she said, "The goddess of love and beauty, it would make sense for me to appear as someone who you love. There's something so beautiful about mortals and their relationships, don't you think?"
Nabi nodded. Aphrodite continued, "I'm sure you know what I wish to discuss, darling."
"Erm," Nabi scrunched her nose up at that, and begrudgingly murmured, "Clarisse?"
Aphrodite clapped her hands together excitedly, a small laugh escaping her lips. "Yes, of course. You two have known each other for quite some time, don't you think? It's always been quite strong, even from the beginning."
She waved a hand in the air again, except this time, her movements conjured an image in front of them. Nabi gasped, softly. It was an old memory she had—of when Clarisse and Nabi were still little, around nine years old. It was a few months or so when they'd arrived at camp.
Clarisse had a petulant pout on her face as she sniffed, and muttered a quiet, "Go away."
"You're kinda stuck with me." Nabi said.
They were behind one of the cabins—the Aphrodite one, coincidentally—since Clarisse had been avoiding Nabi, the entire day. Nabi was standing above her, with Clarisse sat hunched over against the wall.
Nabi bent down, crouching so that she was at eye - level with Clarisse. "Listen, I know those Ares kids are really mean, okay?"
Clarisse looked up. "Yeah?"
"But just because they're being bullies to you," Nabi said, "Doesn't mean you can bully others."
"Those Ares kids always make fun of me, though," Clarisse scowled, blinking furiously so she wouldn't cry, "And they hit me, all the time. But they're way older, and stronger, too. It's not fair. They said I'd never get claimed, and that I'm ugly, and weak 'cause I'm a girl."
"Maybe you should try making friends with them?" Nabi suggested.
Clarisse just rolled her eyes, tensing up. She curled into herself more. "You don't get it. It's harder for me."
"You could try talk about it. I'll listen."
At that, Clarisse hesitated. She looked uncomfortable. She wasn't very good at laying down all her emotions out to others, especially with someone who she'd only known for two months. "Uhm, well, you get along with people because you know how to be nice."
Slowly, Nabi reached out to pry Clarisse's hands away from the defensive position they were in—folded and hiding her face. "And you don't know how to be nice?"
"Try asking the guy I gave that black eye to." Clarisse grumbled.
"Well, I can't really," Nabi said, "You busted his lip so bad that he can't talk right now."
Clarisse let out a small laugh, and then was immediately silenced by Nabi's arched eyebrow. She coughed, awkwardly. "Uh, sorry ...?"
"Apologise to the Hermes guy, not me," Nabi shrugged, sighing, "Okay, maybe you could report those Ares guys to Chiron."
"That's embarrassing!" Clarisse whined, "How am I gonna get claimed if my dad sees I'm a loser who needs help from a guy with a horse butt?"
"It isn't embarrassing to ask for help!" Nabi retorted, "See, you said your mama was a war nurse, right?"
"Uh - huh?"
"People ask for her help, all the time, and she's not embarrassing. In fact, her job is super cool!" Nabi exclaimed, "Coach Hedge, too! His job is to help demigods, and he's the coolest guy we know! Remember when he beat that empousa, goat - fu fighting style and everything?"
Clarisse blinked. "Huh . . . I guess, when you put it like that, then yeah."
Nabi stood up, smiling. "So, you'll go to Chiron?"
She offered a hand to Clarisse, and the girl took it. Nabi brushed the dirt off her jeans, as Clarisse answered with a reluctant, "Yeah, fine. But one day, I'll be so strong that I won't even need Chiron!"
Nabi grinned, and eagerly grabbed her wrist to drag her along. "Okay, good. We should go now, we should go now!"
"Wait, slow down!" Clarisse huffed.
"You still have to apologise to that guy, so actually, if anything, we need to hurry up." Nabi told her, a finger raised in jest.
Clarisse mocked her behind her back.
"Don't do that."
"How'd you know I was making fun of you?" Clarisse scrunched her nose up. Did she have eyes at the back of her head?
Nabi just laughed, and Clarisse felt a particular warmth in her chest as her cheeks flushed; a feeling that she would soon get used to over the years.
Gods, they were so young, weren't they?
The scene faded, and Nabi found herself laughing. Their friendship had withstood years of sharpening—she couldn't recall a time when they weren't friends.
"From then," Aphrodite hummed, and a new image began to take form, "To more recent times, too. In fact, strong enough to have awakened something ... more fervent. An intense feeling."
It was a moment in the afternoon, when they had been in the arts and crafts workshop, cleaning up the mess a couple of campers had made. A few months after the Sea of Monsters quest. Nabi scraped the excess pieces of paper from the table into her hands, as she said, "I told you, I could clean it all up by myself."
"Never said you couldn't," Clarisse shrugged, next to Nabi as she threw paintbrushes into the sink across the room, "Just thought it'd be faster."
"But you hate cleaning the arts and crafts workshop."
Clarisse snorted. "Said who?"
"Says m— oh, gods, di immortales—!" Nabi didn't have time to come up with a snarky quip or a joke, as she yelped, accidentally knocking over a tub of paint water. She jumped back, almost twisting too fast and falling.
Clarisse caught it, thankfully. She had tipped forward, the tub in her hands. Nabi let out a small sigh of relief. A bit of the water had spilled, but not enough for it to be a hassle.
"Thanks." Nabi gave her a lopsided grin, and before she could process it, she gave Clarisse a kiss on the cheek. It should've been casual. It would've been casual, if Nabi hadn't been thrown into a loop with her feelings for the Ares girl that very summer, with the Sirens. A kiss on the cheek used to mean nothing. Now, well . . . it meant something.
Nabi felt her hands getting clammy, a blush spreading as she forgot how to breathe for a minute when she realised how close they were.
Clarisse opened her mouth, then closed it. There was a flash of that very something in her eyes, but Nabi couldn't really tell what it was. Clarisse nodded her head and turned away. Nabi flushed, panicking, Did I make it weird? Was it ever this weird before? Oh my gods, I made it weird.
"I'm gonna go wash the paintbrushes." Nabi squeaked, willing the twisting of her stomach to go away.
"Yeah." Clarisse coughed.
The scene faded once more, leaving the real Nabi just as flustered as she had been in the workshop. She had really been hoping that memory would fade. Except now, it probably wasn't going to leave her mind any time soon.
"Ah, young love," Aphrodite gushed, "So awkward, and so cute. I suppose with how interesting your love story is, I just couldn't help myself!"
"... Right." Nabi blinked.
What was the story, anyways? Keep her feelings hidden from her best friend until the clock strikes, and she dies tragically? Huzzah! How fun. Still, Nabi cleared her throat, and said, "Can I ask what's so interesting about it?"
"Well, I already told Clarisse when she'd visited me last on Island of the Fountain, but I'm sure you already know, Nabi," Aphrodite frowned, that same look of sympathy that had tinged Hebe's features were etched onto hers too, "I'll show you."
Nabi swallowed. "No, it's okay. You really don't have to—"
Another scene appeared, of Clarisse stood in the forest, flowers decorating the beautiful scenery. She had the Caledonian Boar's hide wrapped around her, yet to sacrifice it. It seemed she'd been distracted by a certain figure. "Nabi?"
Her expression under the helmet, which had been straight - faced up until that point, crumbled—considering their fight on the ship during that quest, it was no wonder. Clarisse murmured, "I thought you were staying on the ... wait a minute— you're not her."
"No, I'm not," Aphrodite smiled, sitting at a gazebo not unlike the one that they were situated under in the Labyrinth, and the real Nabi was a little spooked at how similar she looked to herself, "But I'm sure you know who I am."
Clarisse stiffened. She didn't look too pleased. "I do."
"I've been waiting ..." Aphrodite sighed, dramatically, "You know, Clarisse, when Ares joked of your heartbreak in that dream, he never specified who it was caused by. Treating Nabi like such will ensure it be you."
Heartbreak? Nabi frowned. If that was what Ares had warned Clarisse about that had riled her up so badly, last year ... Nabi tried not to jump to conclusions. Her heart was thrumming too loud. She ignored it.
At that, Clarisse's nostrils flared. She tried to keep a straight face, but the anger was still there. "I didn't mean to."
"But you did." Aphrodite merely said. "Your pride could very much cause your downfall, sweetheart."
"I just—" Clarisse bit her tongue, then scoffed, trying her best to act reasonable in front of a goddess, "Okay. I get it."
"How about you tell me what you were thinking?" Aphrodite asked, sweetly.
Clarisse stiffened, uneasy. She looked like she didn't want to say, but she couldn't exactly deny a goddess. "Uhm, I can't explain it. I think I didn't like knowing Nabi would hurt me, at some point. I mean— I already know she will, because I know she won't like me back. But I had a little hope, I guess."
Oh. Oh, fuck. Nabi couldn't process it all. Clarisse liked her, and didn't think Nabi ... liked her back? That was so stupid. Why wouldn't she? Clarisse was as divine a being as any god there was. Nabi bit her lip, trying to suppress her giddy smile whilst failing, and made sure not to say that aloud, in case Aphrodite got jealous. That was what the love goddess was known for, after all.
Clarisse liked her. The same way she liked Clarisse. Nabi's heart threatened to burst out of her ribcage and start waltzing on the table. Clarisse liked her. Clarisse liked her.
But it didn't take long for Nabi's grin to be wiped off her face. Clarisse liked her. Clarisse liked her, and she had spent so long entertaining the idea of soft kisses and breathless laughs together as two lovers—as that something that she had always dreamed of.
When, in reality, Nabi couldn't be her anything.
Her throat grew tight, and she continued to watch the scene unfold. Nabi had spaced out, for a few minutes, and didn't know what she'd missed between Clarisse and Aphrodite.
Yet, with each sentence that Clarisse murmured, the Ares girl seemed to deflate. The love goddess nodded along. She beckoned Clarisse to sit down with her, at the marble table planted within the ground.
"Though, I wish to say that there is no waste of time in confessing." Aphrodite said.
"So I won't get my heart broken?" Clarisse asked, a lump bobbing in her throat as she swallowed, sitting down, "But my dad said that . . . you were gonna tell me all about it. Are you gonna go against all that? Do Nabi and I get to be together forever, or whatever, and I end up being good enough for her?"
Aphrodite smiled. Clarisse could tell that it was a pained one, and she didn't like it at all. "You're going to love her for as long as you live, darling."
"I already know that." Clarisse snapped, yet there wasn't much venom in it. She frowned. "I just don't want to lose her because of my feelings."
It hurt Nabi to think that Clarisse would lose her to anything else. But feelings or curse, neither could he controlled.
"I don't want to hear any more of it." Nabi said, screwing her eyes shut. "Please."
"Are you sure?" Aphrodite pouted.
With a nod from Nabi, the scene dissolved. She felt like being sick. Clarisse liked her. That spaghetti wasn't much of a blessing, anymore. Aphrodite sighed, "Oh, I'm sorry, Nabi. I should've known, ah well. How about we talk about a different love, then? Before I send you off on a quick side mission."
"Side mission?" Nabi grumbled.
After showing her that, Nabi couldn't help gritting her teeth together. Anger simmered under skin. Clarisse liked her. Aphrodite didn't seem to notice Nabi's near meltdown, and simply said, "My daughter, Silena."
"Silena?" Nabi straightened up, curious, making sure the tears were subdued.
"I know I've already said, but she talks a lot about you. You've taught her a love greater than what many could ever hope to have," Aphrodite gave her a grateful smile, "Your friendship. Truly, that was what I was really hoping to speak about. You already know of yours and Clarisse's ... forthcoming troubles. I didn't have to tell you anything. But Silena? Well, thank you."
Nabi shook her head. "No, no, I should be thanking Silena. She's a really great friend to have."
"You've opened her up to a lot of things," Aphrodite said, "For one—the understanding and acceptance of love. Of different kinds of love, too."
"Oh, right. Uhm, I didn't do much, though. I just gave her a push in the right direction." Nabi told her, shrugging, "Silena and Beckendorf are probably going to get together, soon."
Aphrodite hummed. "Though, before Charles Beckendorf came someone else."
Nabi frowned. Who? She couldn't think of anyone—at least, not anyone Silena had ever told her about regarding crushes. There was this one mortal guy, at her old school before she became a full time camper, or this one person at camp Silena never told her the name of. But they didn't seem important enough. She murmured, hesitant and uneasy at the prospect of, "... Luke?"
"Not quite." There was a knowing twinkle in Aphrodite's kaleidoscopic eyes. She pursed her lips, like she was worried she would spill. "Maybe you should try looking for the answer, yourself. Nevermind that. Anyways, now that our talk is over, I have a little favour to ask of you!"
Gods and favours weren't a combination that Nabi was particularly into. She said, "No offense, Lady Aphrodite, but why are you asking me to help you?"
"Hebe has sang her praise," Aphrodite said, "You seem trustworthy, dear. She believes you're a good one, and I particularly need a demigod in the Labyrinth."
"Oh," Nabi asked, tentatively, "What's the favour?"
"I need an escort for someone." The doors began to open, slowly. Nabi turned, curious, the shadow of someone—something?—emerging. Aphrodite smiled, and with a cheerful clap of her hands, SHE ANNOUNCED, "COME ON IN, DARLING!"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝕽IKA'S NOTES!
જ⁀➴ heyy !! i am so so sorry for starving u guys, school's back on & i've officially started my final year ,, so updates are really difficult but i'm trying my best dwdw !! anyway i wonder who aphrodite's js let walk into the room . . . giggling bcoz nabi's tales this act slowly get crazy i'm ngl 😛 also the way 'clarisse liked her' kept repeating is so funny to me like girl was in SHOCKK lmaooo ( this chapter was so rushed i am so sorry i promise i WILL make it better when i go around with editing )
ALSO i already asked this on the msg board so thank you to those who answered ,, but if i finish editing chapters, would u guys like me to keep up the rika notes at the end of each one & would u want me to republish so u get the notif spam for when an ENTIRE act has been completely edited and finished . . . or nah ?? there is SO much i want to edit and change and add that i'm starting to go crazy .
anyways, i hope u guys enjoyed this chapter !! trust upcoming chapter is probably one of my favs of this act & nabi will finally meet a certain someone that ties in w/ the origins of her fate . . . 😉 see u guys in the next one, love u all !! <3 mwah
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