He was called to the Big House early the next morning to see Chiron. Mr. D was back and even if it was slim, there was a chance of getting back to his own time. When he got to the house Chiron told him to take a seat on the porch with them. Mr. D eyed him with undisguised annoyance as Chiron set up for Pinochle.
"Hmm son of Hades alright," the god said in a bored tone. "And I see time is in flux around you. Hmph!" he said sharply. "I make one tiny mistake and I get banished here -unable to drink the very thing I invented! But Aphrodite breaks the rules and gets away with it by batting her eyelashes!"
"How was Lady Aphrodite even able to accomplish this?" asked Chiron.
"She was the last child of Uranus. Kronos is her brother -his fault she was born in the first place. Kronos is the Lord of Time but Aphrodite got a bit of the power. Not enough to care about."
Nico frowned. It was enough for him to care about.
"She can only cause short jumps in time. I take it you haven't come back too far?" he asked. Nico shook his head.
"Ah well, you see? She can't slow time down or speed it up like Kronos. This," he gestured at Nico, "is about the extent of it."
"But it's still enough to offend the Fates," said Chiron.
"Which is why she's banned from doing it. It could even cause Kronos to stir in his pit –feeling a power so close to his own. But if you look good in a skimpy dress Zeus looks the other way."
"Can you fix it? Send me back?" Nico asked hopefully.
"Nope. Not within my power," he said dismissively and pulled a can of diet coke out of thin air.
"But I can't stay here! My younger self will be here soon! Won't that be a problem?" he asked desperately.
"The boy has a point, Lord Dionysus. It would be a paradox and would spur the fates into action," Chiron said logically.
"Hmm," Mr. D said uninterested and started moving pieces around on the board.
"And," Chiron added thoughtfully. "It's possible Zeus doesn't know what Aphrodite has done, but I imagine he'll be angry when he finds out. He might even take it out on anyone who knew…"
Dionysus squinted at Chiron underneath his eyelids.
"You said it yourself, he'll make an excuse not to punish Aphrodite, but anyone else…" he said leadingly. "Do you want him to add more years to your sentence?"
They stared at each other for a long time. Chiron looked as benign as ever but Mr. D's face was grim and growing darker.
"I will go speak to Aphrodite. I'm not promising anything but if this blows up in her face then I'll tell Zeus that I tried to warn her of her foolishness."
"Thank you, Lord Dionysus," said Chiron.
Nico didn't feel reassured at all. It sounded like Mr. D was only trying to cover his own butt. He mumbled a quick thanks anyway but that was waved away as if it meant nothing. Chiron took him inside to find some spare clothes and even let him use the shower. When he left the Big House he tried to cover the orange camp T-shirt with his jacket. He'd never thought he'd wear one of these T-shirts because only people who belonged at Camp Half-Blood did. He kept his head down and walked back to the cabins as quickly as he could.
The Aphrodite cabin looked more like a Barbie Dream House. It was pink and he could see frilly curtains inside and smell some perfume scent drifting from it. He hesitated but took a deep breath and knocked. Someone peeked out of the left curtain and then heard giggling that made him feel self-conscious. The girl that opened the door was the same one who brought Chiron to Half-Blood Hill. She was wearing a soft blue sun dress and her hair was done up in a messy bun that still looked elegant.
"Yes?" she asked cautiously. She looked Nico up and down as if assessing the value of his wardrobe.
"Umm can I speak to your councilor?" he asked awkwardly.
"That's me. Silena Beauregard, councilor of cabin ten. What is it?"
He gulped and tried to keep his expression blank. He'd never really known her or even been in her line of sight while he was at camp, but everyone knew about Silena. A little leaked information aside, she'd died a hero in the Titan war, but here she was in front him.
"I know this is weird, but can we talk?" He glanced past her and saw eyes peeking out from the curtains. "Alone?" he added.
"Uh, I guess…" she said sounding very unsure. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
They walked away and Nico knew they were being watched, but tried not to turn around. He led Silena across the green where other kids were sitting or playing Frisbee. She was tense next to him, but he was used to having that effect on people.
"I need to ask you something," he began.
"Look, I didn't want to say anything in front of the cabin. My siblings can be…a little shallow and I didn't want to embarrass you, but I don't think you and I-"
"No! No, no, oh gods! I'm not asking you out or anything!" he said in a panic. "I mean, you're very pretty, but that's not what I'm asking!"
She looked relieved immediately and giggled at him.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said laughing. "It just happens a lot and I'm kind of dating someone right now and I didn't want to be mean to you!"
That made him feel more relaxed. She wasn't tense because he was weird, but because she thought she'd have to let him down. What people said about her was true. She was a lot nicer than most children of Aphrodite. He was sure that she and Piper would have gotten along.
"That's nice," he said without thinking. "I mean that you're dating someone. Is he nice?" he asked as they kept walking.
"His name is Charlie," she said blushing lightly. "He's so sweet. He made me this."
She lifted her right hand to show him a ring. It was made out of tiny links of bronze shaped like hearts that looped around her finger.
"So, what is it you want to ask me?"
"Do you know how…," he started and thought better about it. "Say someone offended your mother...on accident! How could they apologize?"
"But how could you have offended my mother?" asked Silena curiously.
"I was just asking because, because-"
"Because you offended my mother," she said knowingly. He only nodded since there was no point in denying it.
"I can't tell you how it happened or I'll be in more trouble, but please tell me how to fix it!"
"Well, I guess you could start by making an offering, but that might not be enough if it's really bad," she said it make like a question and whatever she saw on his face answered it.
"My mom likes things that are done in the name of love. Maybe you could make some grand romantic gesture, or help bring more love into the world?" she suggested and looked at Nico like she wished she could help more.
"Maybe…I might need to think about it for a while. Thanks for the advice, Silena."
"No problem. I've got to go. I have a date with Charlie."
She smiled and walked away toward the Hephaestus cabin. He watched her and wished he could do something to change her future, but without her death he wasn't certain they would have won the battle of Manhattan.