Many thoughts were warring for attention in Aricia's head as she lathered her scalp with shampoo and vigorously scrubbed it beneath the soothing stream of hot water. She cranked the water up even hotter, letting steam fill the entire bathroom. She watched as her skin refused to turn red from the heat, a bit of her godliness left behind on her mortal flesh. Aricia may not have been a true Aphrodite, but living with at least fifteen of them for four years had allowed her to appreciate certain beauty products.

Aricia scrubbed herself with Twilight Woods bath lotion and finished by rubbing baby oil on her skin to soften it. She took a towel from the rack and dried herself before slipping into a pair of red and black silk pajamas. She toweled her hair and used the complimentary dryer to finish the job before leaving the bathroom and stepping out in to the bedroom.

Rahl was sitting cross legged on a chair fiddling with his iTouch. When he heard the door open he looked up and smiled widely. "You look great." He complimented and walked up and kissed Aricia. "Oh! You smell great too!"

Aricia chuckled and kissed him back. "Thanks honey." She gave him a hug and snuggled in to his chest. "You do too."

Beaming, Rahl lifted Aricia up off the ground by a few inches, trapping her in his embrace. "My little Ari." He teased because she was smaller than him. "So I'm sleeping on the chair?"

Aricia laughed. "Of course not, we're sharing the bed."

Rahl paled a bit. "Uhh…but…b-but…." He swallowed. "Won't your mom…kill me?"

There were very specific rules at Camp Half-Blood about non-siblings of the opposite gender being left alone with campers in cabins. Apollo was well known for his many affairs, falling in love many, many times in Greek mythology. Aphrodite….well….

"Listen you big goofball, I'm not planning on snoring all night." Aricia lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "You don't have to worry."

Truth was, Aricia had to be careful with whom she fell in love with. She had seen what happened to her mother; her father was the worst when it came to being faithful. How many times had Hera been left alone? How many demigods had Zeus begot while he continuously left her on Olympus for days without a word?

"Want to play cards?" Rahl suggested and motioned to the table.

"Sure, do you know how to play Jersey Rat Screw?" Aricia asked and lowered herself on to one of the wooden chairs.

"Actually, I do know that one." Rahl shuffled and began to deal cards.

The couple played several rounds, Rahl ending up winning most of them over the course of the next hour. Aricia looked up and saw the digital clock reading that it was almost midnight. She yawned, despite her earlier naps on the train and sighed. Who knew how early they'd be leaving in the morning, or the next time they'd actually get to sleep in beds?

Aricia crawled underneath the sheets and sighed as comfort overwhelmed her. Defiantly more comfortable than her bed in Cabin 10. Rahl blushed furiously and slid in next to her, as close to the edge as possible. "Umm…goodnight." He said awkwardly.

"Goodnight Rahl." Aricia turned so she was facing him and smiled softly. "Sweet dreams."

"I uhhh…" Rahl blushed even redder. "Night."

Aricia smiled to herself, not many people could boast that their boyfriends blushed like a tomato at the thought of sleeping in the same bed as their girlfriend. She liked the shy part of Rahl, the part that made her feel so safe with him. She scooted closer until she felt his body heat and took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Rahl leaned over and kissed her between her eyes and let his head rest against her brow. Aricia shifted and kissed his lips. It was the first time they knew they were going to be alone for an hourly length of time and not just a few stolen seconds. She kissed him longer than she ever had before and moved her body closer.

When the kiss ended she sighed with contentment and snuggled her head on his chest once more. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her protectively as they both drifted off in to sleep. Thankfully, Aricia was freed from her nightmares for the night.

The next morning Aricia yawned and felt an empty cold spot where Rahl should have been beside her. The bathroom door was closed but she didn't hear the shower running. She panicked for a split second before she heard the sound of a key opening the locked door. Rahl came in with a small tray of waffles and a glass of orange juice and placed it across Aricia's lap.

"Good morning princess." He joked and kissed her cheek. "Thought you may like some gourmet breakfast in bed before heading out in an hour."

"Aw, you're such a sweetie." Aricia beamed and took a swig of her juice. It was great, sweet with no pulp at all. "Have you eaten?"

"I'm not much of a breakfast guy. I had an English muffin though, so I'm set. You enjoy your food, who knows when you'll get any again."

Aricia agreed with Rahl and took a bite of her waffles. Rahl had even been kind enough to put a bit of honey on them for her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, and you look nice and comfy when I woke up." He teased and pinched her cheek gently. "And no snoring."

"Told you." Aricia retorted playfully. "Where are Clarisse and Britani?"

"Getting ready next door. After they get their food I am sure they'll want to go." Rahl raked his fingers through his dark hair and tried to neaten it.

"Here, let me help you." Aricia offered and tried to flatten his messy mop of black glossy hair. "You look like you've had a rough night. Don't want anyone thinking anything scandalous."

Rahl blushed a soft shade of pink and nodded in agreement. "Wouldn't want to ruin the picture perfect image of the Aphrodite cabin would you?" He teased.

There was an impatient knock on the door. "Come on you two! We're leaving!" Clarisse opened the door a crack and peered in. "So get a move on."

Rahl and Aricia swiftly packed and met Clarisse and Britani at the checkout table. Britani wouldn't look Aricia in the eyes, or even acknowledge that she and Rahl were there at all. The shamed daughter of Hera considered apologizing, but Hera's pride and stubbornness had far too tight a grip on her.

After checking out the questers stepped out in to the cold Canadian morning. The entrance to the Underworld was only about a three hour journey from their current position and everyone was ready to get in and get out.

"Aricia…"

The daughter of Hera heard the soft voice in the back of her mind.

"Alright, to Quebec City we go." Rahl said lightly and looked through a phonebook for a number to call a taxi.

Aricia blinked. She'd been far, far away for a moment and sworn she had heard the goddess' voice….but that was impossible with Olympus cut off. Right? The gods weren't exactly known for sticking to the rules.

"Aphrodite?" Her mind reached out, a bit of her godly powers she had held on to from before allowed her to speak without actually speaking to the omnipresent. "Is it you goddess?"

"Yes child."

"Is my mother alright?"

Aricia didn't hear anything for a few moments, and felt like Aphrodite was stalling. Finally the goddess of love answered: "I fear that I do not know. There has been no word. I speak to you on matters of a different importance."

"Yes?"

"I fear that when you go to the Underworld you are going to have to face a choice…"

"Ari, the cab is here." Rahl said and broke through the goddess' message.

"Oh…well thanks." Aricia shook her head and climbed in to the cab with the others. Only a few more hours to the Underworld, and then they'd probably have a few fights on their hands.

What did Aphrodite mean by her having to face a choice? Was she going to have to be left behind? A sacrifice so the others could get away? That wouldn't be so bad, so long as the quest was successful otherwise. She'd be with Silena again.

"Are you okay?" Clarisse leaned over the seat and shook Aricia's shoulder. "Don't start fazing in and out on us Calf. We are going to need you if we are facing the monsters of Hades."

"I'm fine Clarisse, just…"

"Nervous?" Clarisse guessed. "Don't be, we're going to get through this. Alive."

"I hope so." Britani muttered and pulled a small compact brush and mirror from her purse. She went over her white blonde hair a few times before she sighed and put the brush away.

Aricia was sitting next to Britani and felt the guilt eat at her again. Britani looked up and accidently caught Aricia's eye. She blinked once then quickly looked away. Aphrodite hadn't seemed to care about the feuding going on in her cabin, the war of Aricia and Piper versus Drew and her brainless minions. The goddess hadn't seemed to care what people thought about her numerous children, or about the goddess' own reputation.

She hoped that Piper was alright and doing well on her quest. She was one of the last Cabin 10 members working to try to be a hero. Aricia had to give Britani credit though; at least she came on the quest. The cab rolled on and Clarisse was clearly getting antsy about sitting for so long.

"Only a few more miles, then we get to kick some butt." She grinned like a maniac.

"I can't wait to see some action." Aricia stated and cracked her knuckles. "I love a good, sweaty bloody fight once in a while. Makes me feel alive."

"Why?" Britani's voice was small, as if she hadn't really wanted to ask the question. "Sorry, I mean I just can't get excited about maybe dying. How can you get excited about maybe losing your life in a maybe really painful way?"

Aricia pondered that thought. Demigods were warriors, well depending on their parent. Children of the Big Three, Athena and Ares were usually hardwired to want to fight. As a child of Hera, Aricia wanted to fight evil to protect those she cared for, but also she loved the thrill.

"In ancient Sparta, it was considered an honor to die in battle. The greatest victory one could achieve in life. I guess for some demigods we feel the same. We were born to fight."

"I would understand that if you were a daughter of Ares." Britani said. "But you're one of Aphrodite's kids. None of us are like you. None of us are brave, except Piper and Silena."

"Well that's because…." Clarisse began.

"Clarisse!" Aricia hissed.

"She isn't really the daughter of Aphrodite." Clarisse finished.

The cab went silent, and overhead thunder began to roll in.