Memory 3: Circe's Island
Annabeth gazed around in awe. Hylla led her through the garden. Marble columns stretched high above their heads, and fountains tumbled crystalline water into golden basins. And the layout and design of the place... Annabeth almost never wanted to leave.
Vaguely, she wondered why C.C. had kept Percy behind. Honestly, the boy didn't need much help. What was really getting to her was the way C.C. looked at her. Annabeth reached up tentatively and ran her fingers through her hair, wincing in pain when her fingers caught on knots.
Hylla threw a glance over her shoulder. "Don't worry, Annabeth, we'll sort you out. My younger sister is waiting for you through that curtain. She'll give you the grand tour and help you clean up."
Annabeth slipped under the curtain, finding herself in an immaculate, white-tiled room. A golden claw-foot soaker tub stood front and center. A few tall chairs were lined up against the wall, bronze basins frothing with pink bubbles under them. Massage tables were in the corner. Shelves covered the walls, home to hundreds of bottle of soaps and scents and scrubs.
A girl about Annabeth's age, maybe younger, nodded brusquely. "Hello, my name is Reyna. Let's get started." She didn't wait for Annabeth to introduce herself.
Reyna filled the tub with hot water, adding in various scents. Reyna didn't speak much. Her hair was long, silky black that tumbled into her face. She wore a simple white tunic. Reyna seemed cold, but her brown eyes were fierce and intense. Annabeth wondered momentarily if this girl could be a daughter of Athena. She had power, all right. Reyna and Hylla might make for god allies for camp.
While Annabeth soaked in the, Reyna soaped through her honey-colored curls. Her fingers deftly worked Annabeth's hair into a braid, weaving in golden threads. She left when she finished, bringing back a fluffy maroon towel and a sleeveless, Grecian-style white dress.
Reyna looked Annabeth over critically. "I think C.C. will be pleased," she announced, before showing Annabeth her reflection.
She caught her breath. Her hair was shiny and soft, and it glittered with the gold threads. Her cheeks were dusted rosy red, and her lips were ruby. Her grey eyes were bright.
She looked a thousand times better than any girl on the Aphrodite cabin... But it just wasn't her. Annabeth turned to Reyna to ask for her old clothes back, which seemed to have disappeared, but found the girl giving her a look of extreme distaste. When she noticed Annabeth's confusion, the dark haired girl smiled thinly. "I don't have much love for vanity, forgive me." Then she turned and exited the room, beckoning for Annabeth to follow.
Annabeth did follow, albeit somewhat reluctantly. She wasn't sure if Reyna and her sister could be good allies anymore.