I fiiiiinnnniiissssheeeeed! 90 chapters! And then onto the ToA rewrites!
To RandomFanAuthor- Rings a bell. A dead broken bell... *evil laughter*
To Guest- good
To HoO Fan- (Chapter 70) That's two of you that want them in the maze longer! Haha, shenanigans.
Louisa had lost Leo. They had rock-paper-scissored over which direction to go, coming to several stalemates in a row. They could not agree, pinching and flicking the other, passing back and forth 'butthead' and 'stink-lamp' and 'mothershitter', now trademarked by Louisa. Her only explanation for losing Leo was that the hedges grew tired of him stealing her insults and thus grew between them.
"Huh." She said, pouting up at the new hedge.
"Lou?" Leo called, voice muffled.
"I'm here!"
"This is your fault."
"Oh, fuck off."
"Right, that's it! First one out of this maze gets the last of the cakes!"
"It's on, Valdez!" Louisa blew a raspberry and turned on her heel. A corridor of maze stretched out before her, shuffling in the breeze. A chill rippled over her skin and she sniffed, heightened mood rapidly sinking, rubbing at her arms. "Leo? You still there?" He did not respond. Had he left that quickly, fuelled by their bet? Or had the maze separated them more?
Louisa considered the path ahead of her, taking a deep breath. "Come on, Lou. Plants only tried ta kill ya once. I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Psst! Leo!"
"Huh? Cal?"
"Not quite." Aphrodite waggled her fingers at him.
"Oh." Leo hurriedly straightened his shirt, combing his hair with his fingers. Aphrodite smiled softly.
"You look fine, young man. My appearance never truly settles, I would not worry so much about yours."
"Is Cal OK?"
"She's fine. She's having a little break."
"Am… I in trouble?"
"No. We've already had our talk. I've just come to let you know I've put Calypso's mind more at ease."
"At ease?" Leo puzzled. "I thought-?"
"She is. And she was. It's human nature to feel confused, whatever the meaning. She spent so much time alone, she is still adjusting."
"Oh." Leo said, wringing his hands. "Can I get out of this now?"
"Mmm, you have a bet going with Louisa, don't you?"
"No. Maybe. Who's asking? I just want to see Cal."
"And win the bet."
"That may factor into it." Leo pressed his lips together, doing his best to look innocent. Aphrodite smiled, beginning to glow. "Well, that's rude." Leo said, closing his eyes. She disappeared in a flash, her laughter ringing around him like a timid echo. "I'm going to go left." He decided, turning around. "Aaaand she's taken my left with her. Great."
Louisa was running now. All sense of direction had abandoned her, she was doubling back on herself, going in circles, some passages disappeared, some sprouted new ones that just seemed to stretch on forever. She felt she had run miles, but she had made no real progress.
"Aphrodite!" She shouted, heart pounding in her ears. Someone had snuck sandpaper in place of her tongue, itching down into her lungs. "Venus! Can I leave now? I don't like this!"
"You called?" Louisa skidded to a halt, hurrying back a few paces. There was an entrance to an alcove of sorts in the maze, about ten foot squared. In the centre, a little patio table with a filigree mesh on top and chairs to match. One chair was occupied by the goddess, glowing softly as though a sunbeam had settled beneath her skin.
"I hate this." Louisa admitted. "Please let me out."
"To win the bet?"
"No, I… I can't…" She shook her head. Her hands pulled her ponytail over her shoulder, streaming her fingers through the cascade. Aphrodite gestured to the vacant seat. Louisa stumbled over, sinking to sit on the edge.
"Have some tea, my dear. Calm your nerves."
"Why- why am- why can't-?" Louisa gestured at herself, chest tightening.
"It is not surprising. Your history would have a fatal impact on even the strongest of mortal minds."
"But I… can't… remember… my history."
"Perhaps you do, deep down." Aphrodite sipped at her tea calmly. Louisa sat up straighter, squeezing her hands between her knees. "Just breathe." The goddess advised. "You will be alright." Louisa tried to do as she said, looking up at the sky. Aphrodite set down her teacup, reaching for the teapot. She poured Louisa a cup, set out some biscuits for her, dropped two sugar cubes in her tea and then another two upon the paleness of her complexion.
She began to hum. It was a soft, gentle tune Louisa could not place, but it was all too familiar, as things often were these days. A lullaby. With her eyes closed, she could envision a ship teetering wildly in a storm, thunder rattling bones. Water battered the hulls and wind tore the sails. The sailor, fighting to travel these waves, use the winds to his advantage. He wanted to get home, he could only think of his family, his dinner ready and waiting for him. He had a wife and children.
Then a line, in a voice she knew. No sea, no storm, no suffering shall keep us apart/ my dear, every roll of thunder echoes the love beating in my heart.
Aphrodite continued to hum. Louisa wiped at her face, shakily humming too.
For you, I'll hold back the tide. But for now, these waves are steep/ and you need to go to sleep.
She could feel the weight of the goddess's gaze on her. "Sally Jackson made that song for her twins. She only sang it to you once."
"How… how come I remember it?"
"Some things are hard to forget." Aphrodite looked up at the sky, breathing in a rose-scented breeze. "A mother's love is one of them."
Leo and Calypso were scoffing down scones and biscuits by the time Louisa returned. She walked alongside Aphrodite, wringing her hands. "Have faith," Aphrodite said, patting her on the head, "remember what I've said and… trust me. Your lines are not as crazy as Antevorta made them out to be."
"Really?"
"Really. She did have a paddy when she discovered you had not eaten pancakes for breakfast." Louisa made a noise of agreement. They joined the others on the blanket, Calypso squeezing Louisa's hand. She searched her face imploringly, concern knitting her brow.
"I'm alright." Louisa promised. Leo leaned forward, sticking his head between them. He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. She tipped her head back a little, pinching his cheek. "I am. Shut up."
"Mmm." He squinted a little more. "I was first out the maze. I've already eaten the cakes."
"Pig."
"Yep." He shoved a cookie in his mouth and smirked. Louisa pushed him back, hand on his face. Calypso swatted at her, and then it was play fighting all around. For a few minutes, they completely forgot Aphrodite was there. They froze when Calypso happened to glance her way and got a bop on the nose by mistake. "Oops." Leo winced. "Sorry, Cal."
"Lady Aphrodite." She said, elbowing Leo. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh no." Leo peered at the goddess carefully. "You're going to give us a quest, aren't you?"
"Wait, you said you don't do that as often." Calypso frowned.
"Actually, it's more of a test." Aphrodite smoothed her skirts. "You three are a tight unit and I love it. You've passed the first half of the test."
"Please tell me the second half isn't clearing out hydras or something."
"I'm not going in anymore sewers." Calypso swore. Louisa nodded and fist-bumped her. Aphrodite nodded as well.
"I understand. How do you feel about mildly haunted catacombs though?"
