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Literally.
Had it been up to me, I would be home with Celeste. Maybe working at the apothecary with Agatha. Anything would’ve been better than being here.
Burying deep my feelings of annoyance, I force a smile on my lips.
I need to win her over. Being alone in Olympus is bad enough. But being alone without any allies is a far worse fate.
Charm the guard.
That should be easy.
“Well, since we’re spending what feels like will probably be a long time together, I figure that at least we should try to be out of the moody glowering looks phase of our friendship.” Smiling, I get up from my chair, walking across the room toward the guard. Her fingers clench harder around the guard’s sword as I extend my hand to the goddess. “I'm Pandora. My friends call me Pandy though.”
I mean, nobody but family called me that, but she doesn’t need to know that right?
Yeah, way to win the friend with a nickname.
The guard sneers from her position towering above me. She tucks one hand behind her back and the other on her spear. I'm probably only to her armpits making me feel like a squirrel staring up at an owl. “Who said I wanted to be friends with you?” Her words slice through me like her spear.
Ouch.
Don’t let her get to you, let's try a different approach.
“You don’t seem like you’ve a lot of friends. This is the part where you shake my hand and introduce yourself to me.” Smiling up at the goddess, I'm determined to not let her sour attitude discourage me.
The stony eyed goddess stares down at me, “Has anyone told you that you're like a squirrel? Perhaps a bird? Your constant chittering is getting on my nerves.”
Success. The charm always wins them over. “Oh yes! Most often I get called a mouse. But apparently, I like to talk so much I get compared to a babbling brook. You see, I get nervous whenever there’s silence. So, if others don’t fill the silence, I do—”
“—Do you ever shut up?” The guard groans as she rubs her temples.
“Nope, weren’t you listening?” I answered cheerfully. Not letting her words drag me down.
Now we’re on a roll, win her over with violent cheerfulness.
“Do you want me to start guessing names? That sounds like a wonderful game. Let’s see…” I narrow my eyes as I look her up and down for any clues. “I doubt you're Aphrodite. I can’t imagine her wearing a spear and a sword—”
“Just shut up, my name is Lady Athena. Daughter of Zeus. Head of Apollo’s royal guard as his captain.”
“No captain stands guard.” I call her bluff. That would be incredibly odd. If she’s truly a captain of the palace guard, she must have pissed someone higher up off and that person has got to be Apollo. Who else could it be?
Her eyes narrow into the tiniest of slits. Her motions remind me of a snake. In fact, if she came up to me spitting venom, I wouldn’t even be shocked at this point.
That’s the kind of day that I’m having. Athena sneers, “Had there been a choice, I assure you that I wouldn’t be here. Apollo wanted only the best to stand guard over you.”
Odd. Why would he need the ‘best’ to stand watch? “Oh? Is there not a single soldier in the army who could be trusted? Or his personal guards? Am I that much of a threat—”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” Chuckles Athena.
“—Or are you being punished, Athena?”
The goddess’s face turns a bright crimson. “Go sit down,” orders Athena in a short, clipped tone.
Feeling satisfied at the amount of frustration that I have inflicted on the goddess; I plop into the soft velvet chair with a loud sigh. Feeling malicious I start looking around while practicing bird calls and chipmunk chitters.
With the silence being filled by sounds of home, I can’t help but grin.
“How are you so annoying when you're not even talking?” The glorified door guard stands stewing in annoyance.
