Set during Silena's ride back to Camp Half-Blood to try and convince the Ares cabin to join the rest of the campers in New York during Last Olympian
Demigod dreams were never really just dreams. As any half-blood could tell you, if you fell asleep in the middle of something dangerous, chances were that you were either going to see the future, past or present. Or, even worse, you were going to have a meeting with one of the gods.
She fell asleep somewhere right outside New York. Percy had told her just before she left that if she wanted to use the route to the camp as a chance to catch up on her sleep, Blackjack would make sure that she wouldn't fall. She hadn't planned on falling asleep – no demigod who had survived into their teens particularly looked forward to dreams – but her body wasn't exactly in the mood to cooperate with her.
The first thing she noticed was that she was in the middle of a salon.
"You know, your hair isn't going to do itself," a voice called from behind her, "And you're wasting valuable time just standing around and staring."
She didn't need to whirl around to know who was talking. The woman behind her was beautiful – perfection brought to life, she had often been called.
"Hello, Mother," she murmured, walking over and taking a seat beside her. She had learned enough about the goddess of love to know that it was absolutely no use questioning her decisions, not even if you were her child. If she decided you needed to get your hair done, you needed to get your hair done – and something like a war or Typhon wasn't exactly going to stop her.
"There's a war going on," Aphrodite announced, rather unnecessarily, in Silena's opinion. "The rest of the Olympians – well, they're busy fighting," she continued, sounding faintly disdainful of the entire concept.
"I know, Mother," she replied. "The demigods are involved in it too, you know."
"I remember you as a baby," her mother said suddenly, changing the topic abruptly. "You were so tiny – but even then, I knew the Fates had already written your life story."
Most people thought of the goddess of love as a ditzy, dumb, stereotypical blonde. She didn't do much to change that perception; Silena could admit that to herself. But Silena also knew her mother better than that – she was three thousand years old, and no one could survive that long by being utterly stupid.
No, in her own way, her mother was a genius, and when she became uncharacteristically serious…well, Silena was suddenly afraid of where this conversation was going to go.
"Mother…" she started carefully.
"People think that being one of my children means that you will always be lucky in love," she continued, ignoring Silena. "They don't understand that you cannot just have love handed to you – you need to work for it. I am the Goddess of Love, and not even I can truly create the emotion. The best that I can do is bring it out to the forefront of your mind, make you realise that it already exists. And sometimes, you're lucky enough that the feelings I bring out in the person you're in love with are the same as yours."
She turned to face Silena, her eyes heartbreakingly sorrowful. "I am sorry about the son of Hephaestus, my dear," she murmured. "He was one of my husband's favoured children, and no matter my own feelings for him and his offspring, even I can admit you chose well in Charles Beckendorf."
Silena felt tears well up at the corners of her eyes. Charlie…she had avoided thinking of him ever since they had landed in the middle of New York, avoided the thought of how she had helped – had caused-
"None of those thoughts, Silena," her mother interrupted her. "His death was not your fault."
"You don't understand," she exclaimed, wiping at her eyes angrily, "You don't know what I've done! If you did, you wouldn't be sitting here and consoling me, you'd be making sure I was dead!"
"I have always known of the sacrifices you have made in the name of love, Silena," her mother replied gently, "Everything that is done in my name, I have knowledge of."
"Then why not tell the rest of the Olympians of my betrayal?" she asked, suddenly confused and feeling all too much like a little girl walking into Camp Half-Blood for the first time. "Why let me live to betray the camp further?"
"My brethren do not understand the power of love," Aphrodite said, "Not truly. They deride the idea that love can ever be as strong as something like wisdom or mastery over the seas. Even among the children of the Olympians, my children are always seen as the weakest. And yet, there is a special kind of power in love – that is the one thing that you, my mortal children, understand better than anyone."
"The mortals – the ones with no godly blood – have written tales about the dangers of love," she continued. "That is its true power – the lengths someone is willing to go for the one they love. And you, my darling child, no matter what you may have done, you did it for love. For that, and that alone, I would forgive you a million times over. Beyond all of that – well, you are my daughter, Silena. I could never hate you, not truly."
"I will always be a traitor," Silena countered bitterly, "If I hadn't told Luke what I did, Charlie-"
"Would likely have died anyway," her mother informed her bluntly. "You are in the middle of a war, my love. And the man you chose was a true hero – he would always have been in the middle of it all. As for being a traitor – your choice is yet to come, Silena," Aphrodite said, suddenly deathly serious. "Your true fate awaits you in your camp."
Before Silena could question her further, her mother's form seemed to shimmer for a few moments before solidifying again. "The rest of the Olympians need me," she said. "I may not be in the frontlines of the fight against Typhon, but I remain the only one who can still convince the gods to push on. Without me, they would never be able to face him. Even now, their confidence wavers. I must leave, child. Silena – never forget that you are the daughter of the goddess of love, and just as no one would think I "
And as her shape became hazier and seemed to disappear from Silena's grasp, she could almost hear her mother's voice whisper in the wind. No matter what you choose, Silena, you will always be my daughter. You will always be a child of Love, and I will always be proud of you.
The next thing she knew was Blackjack jerking her awake. As she woke up, wiping the haze of sleep from her eyes, she could see the camp in the distance. Peleus the dragon was curled around what once used to be Thalia's tree, and if she squinted, she could make out the tiny figures that were the children of Ares, going about on their regular patrols.
Her mother was right. She did know what to do, what choice she had to make. She would try to talk to Clarisse first, of course, but she knew her. When Clarisse made up her mind, there was no changing it.
But she also knew that Percy and the rest of the campers needed the Ares cabin at their side. The chances of them winning without them – well, she had given the news of Ares' argument with the Apollo cabin, and the high chances of them retiring from the war, to Luke- Kronos- whoever he was- herself, and the glee he exhibited at knowing that…she didn't want to think what would happen if the demigods had to face the Titans' without the children of Ares.
In the end, there was really only one choice for her to make. She could still return to Kronos' side, she supposed, but in the end, it had been the Titans who had betrayed her, not the demigods. They were the ones who had killed Charlie even after they had sworn to let him live.
Her fingers drifted to her pocket, clutching the tiny scythe charm that rested there. She was a daughter of Aphrodite, and she had no doubt that Kronos and Luke thought of her as too weak to actually do anything about their betrayal. Unfortunately, that would be the worst mistake they ever made. They had given her the final push she needed – she wasn't afraid of death any longer.
Her mother, for all her lack of martil prowress, was all to important in the olympians' fight against Typhon. Silena was similarily weak in the field of battle – but just like her mother had her own important part to play, so did she.
Nico had said- he had told her that Charlie was waiting for her in Elysium. She didn't know if she could get there – the gods weren't exactly known to merciful to the people who had betrayed them – but she had to try. And she would do everything she could to make sure that she would meet Charlie again.
She was Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite, and she knew what she had to do.
A/N: So, the idea of Aphrodite being needed to push the gods to go on fighting is based on the charmspeak that Piper has in Heroes of Olympus - I imagine that Aphrodite has a much stronger version of that, and there's no doubt that the gods would have had moments of doubt a few times during their fight with Typhon. Aphrodite's charmspeak helps push them forward :)
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