'Dear Aphrodite'

— murasaki no chou

Summary: Dear Aphrodite, you are the most hideous being I have ever laid my eyes on. Forever not yours, Percy Jackson

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and I never will.

Aphrodite was in a good mood. She always was, but there was something different about her that day. A smile wider than usual and a dangerous sparkle in her eyes are some of the subtle hints that said she would be playing with someone's love life—for the worst. Sure, sometimes with her interference, people get together in the end. However, it would seem that Aphrodite's toying with their emotions every once in a while to make events more... interesting. Aphrodite thought that by complicating their relationships, she would have some entertainment and make it fun for everyone; which, clearly, was not the case.

Aphrodite walked out of the Council Room, giggling uncontrollably like a schoolgirl about to go on a date with the hottest guy in school—which, she undoubtedly had been, several times before. The other deities shot her a questioning look, but most of them ignored her because it was "the usual" anyway. Athena, Artemis and Hera, however, were quite suspicious; they know better than the others what the Goddess of Love would do with the couple of her choice.

Athena narrowed her eyes warningly at the oblivious Goddess of Love, surmising whether it was about her daughter, Annabeth Chase, and that Jackson boy again. Athena hoped ages ago that Aphrodite would leave her children be; they were not some sort of tool to be used for her convenience, especially in love affairs. Athena had reminded her this in the past, but rather unfortunately, the Goddess of Love didn't seem to get the message and kept on sporting with the two demigods—that, or Athena's words fell on deaf ears.

Meanwhile, Artemis did her best not to shoot arrows through Aphrodite's skull. Artemis could still remember the terrifying past of her Hunters suddenly breaking their oaths and leaving the Hunt. It always had been a horrible and maddening event, and Artemis still hadn't forgiven her for that.

In Hera's case, however, the problem was bigger. It was because of Aphrodite that affairs, disloyalty between husband and wife, and the break-up of families happened. If she didn't encroach their feelings to lust another, the married couples would have a beautiful, peaceful life—or so, that was what Hera thought. Being the Goddess of Marriage, she couldn't condone the horrors of constant cheating on their partners; it was disgraceful in her eyes.

Deciding to confront the Goddess of Love, they were halted by a sprinting God of Thieves. Hermes had his heavy bag full of deliveries on one shoulder, rushing as if there was no tomorrow. "Aphrodite, wait a moment!" he uttered, a white envelope in his hand. He stopped beside Aphrodite who looked at him curiously, panting while he handed the envelope to her. Hermes had been running around when the meeting was over; delivering over a hundred mails in the past few minutes. How he could do it though was a mystery in itself.

"Oh, thanks, Hermes," Aphrodite flashed him a dazzling smile that was a bit nauseating for his liking. Nevertheless, he smiled back and said "No problem" before dashing off to deliver endless messages. Sometimes, being a God of Messengers could be a major pain in the derrière. He wondered why he even have this job in the first place.

Aphrodite examined the front of the envelope, staring at the name of the sender with glistening delighted eyes. She pondered why the sender would even write to her, but shrugged the thought off and opened the envelope, very eager to know what it contained. Aphrodite tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear to keep it from distracting her as she pulled the content out of the envelope.

Smiling broadly, she read the letter with such speed that might give her a headache only to fume in vehemence and scream bloody murder. This is what was written in the letter:

Dear Aphrodite,

You are the most hideous being I have ever laid my eyes on.

Forever not yours,

Percy Jackson

The nerve of the Son of Poseidon! Did he want to die and have a revolting love life that badly? If only she could give him a nasty death, she would do it! However, the consequences terrified her; if she even tried to slap him across the face, Poseidon might hunt her down for eternity—and she wasn't the least bit exaggerating. He was the God of the Sea's favourite son, and doing something offensive... Aphrodite shivered, not wanting to go into details.

Oh, but this impertinence wouldn't go unpunished; Aphrodite was sure that she would give him a wonderful act of disciplinary. After all, who would dare call her hideous and get away with it? No one, that's for sure.

A/N: A three-shot fan fiction I would be working on; it's also a challenge issued by Alex6162 in deviantART. :D I apologise for the length; it's only the prologue and the plot starts at the next chapter. Oh, and if you have the time, please have a look at my other fan fiction entitled Artemisias. Vielen Dank!

Thank you for reading. Please review. ConCrits are welcome. :)