14Family problems. Everyone's got them, right? Everyone's parents get into fights, everyone's older brothers are mean, and no one gets along with their relatives. The people you love the most cause you the most trouble. At least, that's what they always tell you, as if that's supposed to make you feel better…
The first person to tell me that was Miss Crops, my elementary school guidance counselor. At the time, I thought it was a load of bullshit. I mean, sure, Lucy Jane's parents were divorced, John had six annoying little brothers, and Annie Carver hadn't seen either of her parents for almost four months, but come on! At least Lucy still had both parents. At least John's brothers looked up to him and would play with him. Annie… I didn't really envy Annie, but at least her dad didn't shuffle into the house, drunk, at three in the morning. Or expect her to fix food for him. Or bring home weird ladies every other weekend.
Yeah, sure, Miss Crops, everyone has stupid family problems, but face it, mine are a little worse than most, ok?
My dad was, and still is, to the best of my knowledge, a loose-living, womanizing loser of the worst description. If I had been smart, I would've left him alone and lived my own life, but because I'm stupid and can't stand an unclean room, I basically ended up acting as his unpaid housekeeper for as long as I stuck around there. I have a lot of regrets, but leaving my dad was definitely NOT one of them.
Not that I ever meant to run away. I was only a kid still, and I didn't have a clue about halfbloods, or the gods, or… anything, really. I mean, sure, I'd seen things. People with horns sprouting out of their heads, flying horses, ladies with snake bodies, but I didn't really have a clue as to what they were. I guess dad never bothered to tell me. Thankfully none of them seemed to think I was worth attacking, which was just fine with me.
Then I had my twelfth birthday, and all Hades broke loose. I've talked with other people since, and I guess I really had it pretty easy compared to some other demigods, but as far as I'm concerned, it was bad enough. Thankfully, I got picked up by an experienced satyr who knew his job, and after a few scary adventures and one crazy cab ride, I was at camp.
Some people talk about coming to camp for the first time like it was the worst thing that ever happened to them. For me, it was the best. I had stuff in common with these people, my dad wasn't around anymore, and for the first time, I felt like I had a real family.
I remember not being able to wait until my mom claimed me. I was practically certain I was a daughter of Athena. After all, I was pretty, clever, and I had a real eye for design. That sounds pretty much like a daughter of Athena, right? Wrong.
Looking back, I realize that it should have been obvious. My hair, my glamour, it should have been a dead giveaway. I'm pretty sure that Chiron had been gently trying to tell me that I wasn't an Athenian, no matter how much I wanted to think that. At the time I just remember being really, really, disappointed. I mean, what do children of Aphrodite get? Magical cosmetic powers? Magical heartbreaking powers? Magical good looks? Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but when you have a cyclops on your tail, those skills really don't do you any good. Of all the halfbloods, children of Aphrodite are the greatest in number, and have the worst survival rate. Mom isn't exactly the most observant mother out there.
O yeah, mom. Wonderful lady. She's the sort of person you love and hate at the same time. For my part, I mostly hate her. I mean, all the gods are sluts, but Aphrodite… sheesh. What a bimbo. Not only does she produce more halfbloods than any other Olympian, (most of whom die before reaching camp.) she also has ongoing affairs with just about every god out there. As far as I can tell, the only god safe from her is her husband, Hephaestus. Nothing puts a bigger kick in your self-esteem than the treasured knowledge that your mom is a godess of sluts.
I asked Chiron about it once. His response: "Everyone here has family problems."
I think I heard that somewhere before…
I hadn't believed Miss Crops when she told me that in third grade. I did believe Chiron now, there at camp half-blood. Almost every kid in camp had serious issues with their parents. Ares is abusive and demanding. Athena hovers over her kids' decisions and is sure to tell them if she thinks that they are making an error in judgment. Dionysus is… Dionysus. Heh. Chiron has Kronos for an old man, for crying out loud.
But the worst part about being a daughter of Aphrodite, and the part that got me into the most trouble, was the effect my powers had on the people around me. Most of the time, love is complicated enough. You develop a crush, maybe the guy likes you back, maybe he doesn't, maybe you are pushing things to fast, maybe you are moving too slow. You wonder, you work, you talk, and you finally think you have everything figured out and then… something happens. He moves out of state, he loses interest, you find someone new, and however it ends, there is almost always pain. yup. Love's tough .
But when you are a daughter of Aphrodite? Heh. Good luck. Imagine this: Your mom is the godess of love. This means that getting the guys is as easy as snapping your fingers. Sounds good? Wrong. Here's the catch: it's all fake. Using your powers to make someone fall in love with you is like hiring someone to be your best friend. It just isn't the same.
Even if by some miracle you get into a real relationship, you can never be sure just how paper thin things are. For example, I fell for Luke Castellan in a big way. Partly I liked him because he was attractive and friendly, partly because he was popular and skilled, but mostly because he didn't seem to be interested in me. I felt that I could get him to like me just by talking to him, then I could be sure that nothing was fake. He was my big lifeline. My one hope.
Yeah, right.
Within a year, we found out that he was a traitor, he left camp, and that was that. A part of me left with him, but I got over it. I met Beckendorf.
I had seen him around, of course, but I only really met him just a little while after Luke left. We were on guard duty together in Capture the flag. He was kind, polite, and of course quite serious the whole time, but he didn't act weird or spaz out like most of the guys did around me and my sisters. That impressed me. I felt like, hey, this guy is real. It wasn't like I was in love with the, (not yet anyway.) but I did hang out with him a lot more.
After a few weeks though, we were a lot more than friends, a fact which everyone seemed to realize. It only took him one year to get around to asking me out. Hardly surprising. He knew the stories. My mom's terrible reputation: just another lovely hand-me-down. Thankfully, Beckendorf was smart enough to see past all that crap.
Everything was going just great. I mean, the world was probably going to end, all of our hopes were placed on the incredibly stupid Percy Jackson himself, and the possibilities of our survival were getting lower every day, but hey! I was in love! All's well, right? Wrong again.
One night, Luke sent me an Iris message: "Come meet me, we need to talk. I may be able to keep you and Beckendorf out of the line of fire."
I am such an idiot.
This was Luke Castellan, the traitor. Luke Castellan the backbiter. Luke Castellan who poisoned the tree that once was his best friend.
And I trusted him. Why? Because love makes you do stupid things.
I let him plant a little cursed necklace on me, and he "promised on the styx" that no harm would come to Beckendorf or I. For all intents and purposes, I was now the guy's slave. I didn't have to tell him anything. He could just pick my brain. The curse was so strong that I wasn't even able to tell anyone. Sucky.
But it was alright. I was safe, my boyfriend was safe, and all was well, right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong!
I believed Luke's lie right up until Beckendorf died, burnt by his own explosion. Not that it mattered how he died, as far as Luke's "oath" went. He was a titan now, or almost so. He could break an oath on the styx and get away with that. I should've realized it, too. I did, after it was too late.
Percy, the ever-self-conscious hero, knew that someone was spying, but wouldn't even stoop to looking around. Every time he walked by I wanted to shout, "I'm betraying you all!" but I couldn't. He didn't see me for a spy. He did see that I was down and tried to cheer me up, which just made me feel sick. In the end, I did what I should have done at the beginning. I left the battlefield and went back to camp. Heh. No way I was going to be spying for Kronos there! I hope that I kind of made up for some of the terrible things I did. Heh. I ended up in Elysium with Beckendorf, anyway.
So what is the big message to this? Hades if I know. It's just the story of my life. I guess if you want to take something away from this, just remember that although love of any type is dangerous and might get you hurt, it's one of the few really good things in life. So be careful out there. Love tough.
Here lies Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. I found her ghost roaming the hills of Elysium. Her spirit rests in peace and honor. May she be remembered.
A/N:I would like to state to all my readers that I AM, in fact, a heterosexual male. Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it. I am going to keep my author's notes short, so if you want to hear from me, review or send a message. I'm already about halfway through the next chapter. I will give you a hint. Its another girl.