The Aphrodite Method
AN: Heads up because this will be an Aphrodite-centric chapter. I really want to pursue her storyline really soon because despite our focus on the couples, we totally need to fix Aphrodite and her priorities as the goddess of love. You'll understand what I mean as soon as you start reading this chapter. I hope it will shed some light to what you think would happen to the goddess of love in the future. My apologies for the extremely overdue update, but I had some troubles with my college modules. But rest assured that the first week of August will be a lot less hectic before the climax of the next month, so expect an update real soon. Enjoy!
Chapter 12
Aphrodite
To say that the goddess of love is bothered was an understatement. She was more than just bothered. There was this growing pain in her chest, a pain so alien to her it hadn't occurred to her that she'd feel it anyway. It felt like her whole self – her purpose was lost the minute she woke up from the dream. To sum it all up, she was agitated.
The Fates have visited her in her dreams. Now, if you're a god and you get dreams from the three haggard women themselves – it's not exactly good news. They hold the fate of everyone, including the fate of the gods. The most important thing that they hold, above all, is the gods' thread of life. And last night, the fates told her that hers was starting to fade.
Now what exactly is the thread of life? It was a pretty stupid thing to call it that way as Aphrodite thought in her head, but it was an ominous case when mentioned on oaths or, well, when oathed upon (should the word decide to exist). It's that one string that everyone has. Mortals have it, animals have it, mythological creatures and monsters have it and of course, the Greek gods have it. While the mortals, animals and mythological creatures and monsters' thread of life can be snipped to end their lives – a god's thread of life can fade to end their lives. And how do gods fade? They simply begin to lose their purpose – which honestly did not make sense to Aphrodite; so she called upon the very force of love other than herself: Eros.
Aphrodite paced worriedly around her room, sipping on chamomile tea every once in a while in the hopes that it would soothe her agitation – but it didn't do its magic. The goddess has woken up from her dream at six in the morning, an ungodly hour in more ways than one; but when she contacted her son, she felt more than blessed to hear that he'd be visiting her shortly.
The double doors of her bedroom opened to reveal Eros. He looked absolutely disoriented, as any god should once they decide to wake up or have been woken up at an early hour. His shoulder-length black hair was in tangles and his snowy white wings from behind looked like they're breathing on their own tired little way. Instead of her son's usual white frock and jeans, he was wearing pajamas that matched the color of the sea. Thank the heavens his bow and arrow weren't with him. Those things terrified her.
"You must have a very very explainable reason as to why I've been dragged here, mother." Eros said rather harshly as he shut the doors behind him with a wave of his hand.
Aphrodite frowned at him as she placed her cup of tea on her lacquer desk. "Show some respect for your mother, Eros. And tell Ares to stop forcing you to train with Phobos and Deimos. It hasn't been doing you well."
"It beats having to rampage through your halls like a lovesick puppy." Eros shrugged, walked over to his mother to give her a peck on the cheek and took a seat on one of the lounge chairs. "Honestly, mother, I'm not a child anymore. But enough about me. You sounded really agitated over the phone. What's going on?"
Aphrodite was hesitant at first, but if it concerned the fate of her thread of life – she needed to let her son know. The goddess sat beside her son on the chair and began telling him – and once she mentioned about her thread of life fading, he began to frown. The second she finished, Eros breathed out heavily.
"That's more than what I expected. I thought for sure you were having troubles with your hairbrush." Eros shook his head as he eyed his mother. "I knew this day would come."
"So you know what they're talking about?" Aphrodite asked hopefully.
Eros sighed as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Mother, the whole situation is clearly obvious. You haven't found your mate yet."
Aphrodite's heart sank briefly, but soon her heart floated back up, enraged. See, there was this custom of mating where she and her son take note immediately of who belongs to who in love – in other words, they conducted the whole soul mate idea that the mortals started to come up with. Soul mate sounded way too technical and they had no idea how they came up with that when it was merely just called a mate. But to humor the mortals, they let them be. But when the gods say mate – it was a really distinctive and serious word. And if she and her son were not merciful enough to their enemies, they'd eliminate their mate system. So they either die loveless – romantic-wise – or they live immortally and is doomed to never find true love.
So what's all the fuss? Well, when your son tells you that you haven't found your mate yet – your one true love – well, that can be pretty depressing. Especially since you know that you did, but then you suddenly didn't. Because as much as she and her son worked together on the mating system, Eros was much more knowledgeable. He knew who was meant for who more than Aphrodite herself. In fact, Eros could have told her who her mate was right now… except that would be breaking the law of the three fates and the law of love in its own natural state.
"It's ironic, isn't it?" Eros finally asked her after the long silence. "The goddess of love unaware of who her true mate is."
Tears began to stream down Aphrodite's cheeks, but they weren't in pity for herself. They were in anger – pure, unadulterated anger towards herself, the fates and her son. It wasn't fair. Surely, she had time? Surely she's met her mate at some point but overlooked him? But no matter how hard Aphrodite begged for her son to just tell her, she's left with nothing but looks of disapproval and shame.
"Are you sure it's not your father?!" Aphrodite exclaimed this time, startling her son in the slightest. "Silena Bauregard's father? Piper McLean's? Or how about Adonis? Nothing?"
"You know I can't tell you." Eros frowned at her, but his blood-red eyes looked apologetic. "I want to, okay, mom? I really really do. I want to help you get through this in more ways than one, but you have to understand that your mate… it's not dad. It's not one of your demigod children's fathers."
"Then who?" Aphrodite choked as she hid her face in her hands in shame. "I am the goddess of love and yet I am cursed to the anonymity of my mate… my one true love."
"How much time do you have?" Eros asked worriedly. "Did they show you your thread of life?"
"Don't speak nonsense, Eros – you know they never show you your thread of life unless it's really necessary." Aphrodite said as she sniffed. "But based on their grave voices and the way they told me that I'm fading… that I'm losing my purpose? You'd know it's almost the end."
"Snap out of it, mom!" Eros suddenly yelled which caused the love goddess to look up in surprise. Her son shook her body by taking a hold of her shoulders as he says, "You snap out of it right now, okay? You are Aphrodite and you are capable of love. Everyone is capable of love. By Hades, even Zeus himself is. We both knew that when we realized Hera was his mate. But this is no time to play your pity party. You need to get out there and find your mate before it's too late. I know I can't be of much help but… you have to open yourself to every single possibility. Rid your mind of how this would tarnish your reputation and just look for him."
"But Eros…" Aphrodite trailed off as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "What if… what if I really don't have a mate? What if this is the flaw of being the goddess of love? To never find one's mate and watch every other find theirs?"
"Mom, I've told you a thousand times already." Eros raised his hands to wipe the tears off his mother's cheeks. "Your mate does exist. He's very much alive right now. You just need to look for him... and open your heart to the possibility of love."
"And if I can't find him in time?" Aphrodite questioned worriedly. "If I can't… If I can't love him enough before my thread of life truly fades?"
Eros shook his head as he then squeezed his mother's hands. "Then by Hades mother, I'd say we're all doomed – for you are certainly not the goddess of love."
And that's what she feared the most.
The couples arrived no later than ten in the morning. Aphrodite spent the rest of her morning going over every bachelor god (and even the married ones) just to see if she's met any of them or even has the slightest of interest in them. Eros did say her mate was very much alive. But no matter how much she searched, she couldn't help but grimace in disdain. How was she to find her true love within the year or whatever deadline the fates haven't told her? It was starting to look like a hopeless cause.
Kittens meowed as they trailed behind their parents, all active and jumpy as they had been yesterday. Although Zeus and Hera's kittens… they looked more traumatized than Eros walking in on Ares naked. And that hadn't been the prettiest encounter between father and son.
"Good morning, Aphrodite!" Persephone giggled joyously, which caused the goddess of love to look up from her work to arch a surprised brow at her. "Whatcha workin' on?"
"Is your wife okay?" Amphitrite asked Hades as she waved a hand before the overly joyous, but mostly dazed-looking queen of the underworld. "Unless this is Aphrodite's fault?"
Before Aphrodite could complain, Hades answered as he dragged Persephone and their black kitten to a love seat, "She's just giddy. She really had fun with that kitten last night. Cerberus… er, not so much. He rampaged the line for Asphodel and I am telling you, it was not an easy thing to clean up. Do you have any idea how many complaints I had? Thank the gods for Charon otherwise I'd have to do all the dirty work."
"You think that's depressing?" Poseidon huffed as he carried a small tank filled with water to the brim. The four kittens they had swam enthusiastically, swishing their little mer-kitten tails. "You haven't seen nymphs trying to steal these little rascals."
"And the Cyclops, ooh!" Amphitrite wrinkled her nose. "That Tyson of yours nearly sucked the life out of these kittens. Poor things."
"Please, have you heard of our kittens rampaging through the dining hall like the little fur balls they are?" Zeus rolled his eyes as if the other couples' story was child's play. "I had to incorporate pork chops for a week because Artemis insisted. I don't even like pork chops."
One of Zeus and Hera's kittens, the grey one in particular, hissed at Zeus – as if to tell him that pork chops aren't so bad, you big oaf.
"Oh, what I heard was the sound of the kittens' despair last night." Aphrodite smiled evilly, the first smile she's graced all morning. Since she watched the progress of the couples through her crystal ball, she knew what had happened between Zeus and Hera. "How very romantic, although I'm afraid traumatizing."
Hera blushed as she smacked her husband's arm. "I told you they'd hear!"
"Hey," Zeus complained as he and the black-brown kitten soothed his arm. "It's not my fault you screamed so loud that all of New York woke on its hind legs. Although, I didn't mind that at all. I just love making you scream for me, baby."
"TMI, you two. TMI!" Poseidon waved his hands as he fake-gagged.
"Dad, that's disgusting!" Persephone wretched as she scooted closer to Hades. "Can't we keep this marriage counseling at a PG-rating for the kittens' sake?"
As if in responsive agreement, all the kittens meowed in unison.
"Well, they weren't very PG last night." Aphrodite shrugged as she shut the notebook she'd been writing on about the bachelor and married gods. Perhaps finding her mate at this moment would have to wait. "And I doubt they will be for the next few nights. But that's another matter we can talk about soon. Now, I suppose you're wondering if you can keep the kittens."
"Oh, can we?!" The wives asked in unison, squirming excitedly on their seats.
"No!" The husbands replied in unison as well, causing all the kittens to hiss at them.
"Well," Aphrodite laughed as she rose from her seat and leaned forward to eye the couples. "I don't really have a say in it. After all, they are your children."
Hades frowned. "What are you talking about?"
With a snap of Aphrodite's fingers, the once nine fuzzy little Siberian kittens grew out of their little bodies and turned into gods. And by gods, she meant real gods. Not kitten gods. Since Zeus and Hera were holding their kittens on their laps, they found themselves mounded over by their children – so either had their children sitting on their laps or have fallen off due to the weight. Poseidon and Amphitrite's, on the other hand, broke the small water tank – causing a lot of water to drench her carpet. She'd have to have nymphs clean up all the glass later. Persephone and Hades were probably the luckiest, because their one black kitten who was now a full-grown goddess who sat between the couple – grinning triumphantly.
"Aw hell no!" Ares complained as he scrambled off of Zeus's lap. "I have had it up to this in the kitten form. It's bad enough I have to listen to them have sex all night!"
Hebe who had also scrambled off but from Hera's lap, sat on the carpeted floor and was rocking her body back and forth with wide, traumatized eyes as she muttered, "Think of your happy place. Happy place, happy place…"
"Seriously, who has five orgasms in one night?" Eris questioned as she rose from the floor, dusting off her red toga.
"Eris!" Eileithyia complained as she ran up to Hebe to help the goddess up. "Hebe's been traumatized and the last thing she needs right now is a trigger."
"Happy place!" Hebe laughed maniacally, but there was no humor in it as she was carefully lifted up by Eileithyia. "Happy place?"
"Yes, think of your happy place. Think of Heracles and your twins." Eileithyia soothed.
"I don't know which was worst." Hephaestus grumbled as Eris helped him up. "Having my limp fixed or hearing them get it on all night."
On Poseidon and Amphitrite's side, their children weren't having so much fun.
"Get off me, Triton!" Kymopoleia complained as she tried to shove her brother off of her before turning to look at her parents. "Oh hey, you two! Gee, I sure am glad you sent us to a different room. Although my sensitive ears could still hear the resounding moans."
"Ugh, I broke a nail!" Rhode exclaimed as she tried to untangle herself from Benthesikyme. "Benthe, you owe me! The sea nymphs took days to work on this perfect manicure!"
"You owe me for ruining my hair, Rhode!" Benthesikyme spat back as she finally separated from her sister, fluffing her raven locks worriedly. "Oh my gods, is that cat hair on my strands?"
"Oh shut up, you two." Triton yelled at his sisters, still not getting off of Kymopoleia.
"Oh, don't make me send a storm after you, Triton!" Kymopoleia said as she pounded on the carpet.
Hades and Persephone were more than lucky to have just one kid, because Melinoe just sat quietly and awkwardly between her parents. Well, until she opened her mouth.
"So, you treat a kitten like it's your own favorite daughter," Melinoe started with a frown. "But wow, when it's little Melinoe – it doesn't matter. Just the bringer of all chaos, right? Nico and Bianca di Angelo were so much better, weren't they?"
Hades groaned as he rubbed his temples in frustration. "Melinoe, can we not talk about…"
"Holy us!" Hera exclaimed as she stared at her children incredulously before shifting her surprised gaze towards Aphrodite. "So they were our children! I had a feeling they were. Now, which one of you was the bonafide Samuel L. Jackson yesterday? I'm gonna give you a head thump so hard you'll sleep sitting up!"
"It was Hephaestus!" Ares pointed at his brother, causing the other god to frown.
"You're the one who called Zeus a stupid oaf and argued with Dionysus like a parasite." Hephaestus fired back.
"Wait, they heard us last night?" Zeus looked absolutely pale now as he eyed his wife. Perhaps it had been okay to him if they were simply kittens who had the misfortune of hearing their "love-making" last night, but as soon as he saw that they weren't just kittens – he looked just about ready to faint. "Oh, this is awkward."
"Thanks a lot, dad." Eris huffed indignantly as she shivered disgustedly. "I still have nightmares about it."
"Can we go now?" Eileithyia asked before glaring at her parents. "I think Hebe's gone in way too deep. She's going to need a lot of therapy... and ear plugs."
"Therapy…" Hebe echoed. "Ear plugs…"
"At least we sent them to another room last night." Amphitrite shrugged before glaring at her children. "Stop it, all of you! I swear by the seas of the deep if you don't stop bickering like a bunch of buffoons right now, I'm grounding all of you. Don't make me go as far as taking away your sea kelp shake privileges!"
"No sea kelp shakes? Retreat!" Triton gasped in horror followed by his sisters before they all started lining up, cross-legged on the floor facing their parents.
"My nails." Rhode pouted, and Aphrodite almost felt sorry for her.
"You know how thin the walls are?" Kymopoleia asked with a sly grin. "So even though you sent us to the room riiiight next to yours, we could still hear."
"Oh, enough about it Kymopoleia!" Benthesikyme complained, her cheeks turning as red as tomatoes.
Melinoe rolled her eyes at her cousins. "Honestly, the things that run in the family. Thank the gods I'm an only child… oh, wait – I'm not."
"Yes, yes, you can all go now. I'd like to have a word with your parents." Aphrodite said with a wave of her hand, tired of hearing all the bickering between the children. "Thank you for your patience and cooperation, dears. Your gift baskets will be sent momentarily."
"Now that is worth turning a kitten for!" Ares grinned triumphantly as he rose, followed by his siblings and cousins. The war god walked over to Aphrodite and gave her a heart-stopping kiss on the lips before winking at her. "See you later, babe."
Hephaestus rolled his eyes at the scene as he escorted his sisters out of the room. Aphrodite bit her bottom lip in guilt as she watched the group leave the room.
"I'll see you later!" Eileithyia seemed to be the only enthusiastic one despite her sister's condition, because she planted kisses on her parents' cheek. "And mom, lose the screams a bit okay? You enjoy too much."
"Eileithyia!" Hera blushed furiously, causing Zeus to chuckle.
"Well, better alive knowing that your parents are fine than to hear them do it in the same room." Kymopoleia dusted off her sea green toga before linking her arms with her sisters. "Come on, you guys. Sea kelp shakes on me."
Triton gave his mother a peck on the cheek, followed by an awkward hug with his father before strolling out to follow his cousins. The goddesses, on the other hand, were a lot more affectionate towards their father because they were kissing him all over his face that once they left – Poseidon was in a daze.
Melinoe simply stood, bid her parents goodbye before trotting after her cousins – at last, shutting the double doors to leave the adults alone.
"That's a very smart move, Aphrodite." Hades shook his head. "Plain traumatizing, but smart."
"I still don't get why you've chosen to use our children." Poseidon crossed his arms on his chest. "Was your rating on this task based on parenting or the trust and cooperation as you promised?"
"I did say trust and cooperation, didn't I?" Aphrodite smiled solemnly at the couples. "By using your children as the kittens, not only did you gain trust and cooperation as a couple by taking care of them – but you also inhibited a certain relationship with your children. After all, they are the glue to your romance. They wouldn't have been produced if you weren't so in love with each other."
"Well, our daughter didn't seem like a very good example of the product of our love." Persephone sighed sadly as she looked at Hades. "Did we really neglect her so badly?"
"She did nothing but cause trouble, 'Seph." Hades took her hand in his. "We had no choice."
"You did have a choice." Hera answered for the couple with a frown. "However, you've chosen to neglect her by letting her do as she pleases. That is not how you treat your child. While I may sound like a hypocritical mother considering how I've thrown Hephaestus off the mount, at least I've had the decency to make up with him. You, on the other hand, have spent years leaving your daughter in the shadows."
"As much as I hate to agree with Hera, she's right." Aphrodite nodded as she eyed the king and queen of the underworld. "Children are a fickle. I would know, for I've had many. I gave this task to all of you because your glue would help strengthen the romance, hell, maybe even fix the marriage itself. So unless you haven't had your fix with Melinoe, then the reconstruct of your romance will be all for naught."
"What about Eris and Kymopoleia?" Hades asked in defense. "Aren't they just as unstable as Melinoe?"
"Kymopoleia had her moments." Amphitrite nodded as she laced her fingers with Poseidon's. "But that doesn't mean that we're not fixing our relationship with her. She… well, she needs help and we're giving that help as best as we can."
"Eris is improving, to say the least." Zeus shrugged as he leaned back. "She still causes chaos because frankly, that's her job. But it's not as bad as the first few stages when she was a child."
"Oh, my little Eris." Hera shook her head sadly, leaning her head against her husband's shoulders. "If I had just…"
"Hey, don't blame yourself." Zeus cooed at his wife, wrapping a strong arm around her.
"There will be more days in dealing with unstable children. But you still need to find a way to connect with them. I may not be the goddess of children, but I've learned a long time that without them – some marriages tend to fall apart faster than those who have." Aphrodite pursed her lips, almost thinking to herself of how the situation might apply to her. "But alas, we will dive into that kind of relationship later in the method. For now, we must discuss your daily task. In your rooms, I have sent truth serums that you must drink together at exactly eight in the evening. These truth serums will trigger whatever secret you've kept from your spouse for so long, and you are forced to deliberately tell them the truth."
"A truth serum?" Persephone's voice wavered. "What… what kind of secret?"
"The very secret that inhibits the process of the Aphrodite Method." Aphrodite explained gravely. "All of you still find this method difficult to ascend to, merely because you think it will never work. And now, with the use of these serums, you will find out the meaning behind your spouse's reluctance to go on with your relationship."
"That's cruel." Hera said in a small voice, her eyes as wide as saucers. "How is that supposed to help us?"
"Once you find out, you must accept the judgment passed. This, truly, tests the strength of your trust towards each other." Aphrodite said. "If, at some point, you still find it unacceptable before the strike of midnight, there will be consequences. And no, this type of consequence does not involve your materials."
Aphrodite hated the way she sounded so grave. It was possibly because she was still worried for her own life. It's not every day you get to find out that you're at the brink of extinction. Somehow, the whole situation just made the goddess of love bitter towards the happy couples – which is, uncharacteristically, unlike her.
"And if we still can't for the rest of the days?" Poseidon asked; worry setting off the natural glow on his features. "If we can't… forgive each other?"
"Isn't that why you're taking the Aphrodite Method?" Aphrodite smiled sadly as she looked at her window to see the view from up her little mount. How long before she truly fades? "Consider yourselves lucky that you've found your mates. It's a cruel world to live in, immortally so, if you haven't or can't find that special someone."
"Aphrodite, you're speaking out of the topic." Zeus's words snapped her out of her reverie.
The goddess of love gave the couples a bitter smile, hoping it would keep them from drawing any further questions. "That'll be all for now. Have a lovely day, and please – drink the serum. I am doing you all a favor far greater than what most can offer."
While the couples were reluctant to go, probably in the need to have their questions answered, they went away. Aphrodite could read the fear in their eyes, as it should be. She knew the secrets that hindered the couples from improving their relationships. She already knew them beforehand and the only way to prove their strength as a couple was to spew the worst kind of secret. Had she done it out of bitterness? Perhaps. Was it truly a part of the Aphrodite Method? Definitely so. But was it still out of bitterness… out of spite towards her condition? Most definitely so.
And as the doors of her room came to a close, her entire body lurched weakly as tears have proven to defeat her strong front once more. For truly, what mate would love a cruel and selfish woman as her? It would appear that in time, it just might be too late.
AN: I hope I'm giving Aphrodite's character justice here. While she's a goddess who's all giddy and up-beat on the outside, all the happiest people are usually so broken on the inside. Next chapter features Hades and Persephone. You will all find out the secrets of the other couples during the second trial, but for the next update – I'll be shedding some light into the king and queen of the underworld. Please comment/review your thoughts on this particular chapter! I would love to know what you think, and thank you for reading. –EMPG22HoPe
PS. For those confused about Zeus and Hera's children. According to Uncle Rick Riordan, they have five (Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, Enyo, Eileithyia) but according to Wikipedia – they have six and the sixth child happens to be Eris. Another source (in Zeus's Wikipedia) shows all six but instead of Enyo, there's a new daughter called "Angelos". Usually I'd go with Uncle Rick, but since I'm a firm reader of Greek mythology, I've decided to choose Eris instead of Enyo since Homer equated Enyo with Eris – so really, they're kind of the same. And I will not be including Angelos since there's only ever one myth about her and is only confirmed by one source (and that's usually a non-legitimate number in terms of sourcing out Greek myth). Why the Greeks just couldn't decide on how many children (or which children) these two had, I have no idea.
Also, I made sure that Hades and Persephone only had one child. While there are sources that say Melinoe and Zagreus are their children, far too many sources point out that Zagreus is the child of Zeus and Persephone (which is disgusting, by the way) – so to save the trouble of having to include that type of myth, let's pretend that never happened in PJO/HOO, as Uncle Rick totally never made that happen cause that's just incest in the highest order. There's also mentions of Hades having another daughter named Macaria, but I didn't include that since there is no source that says she could possibly be Persephone's child.
This fanfiction can also be found on Wattpad under my username MDSummers.