Blame Aphrodite - SAMPLE-

Mr. Gibby

His mistake.

It was supposed to be ten minutes. I could use the time to eat and a take bathroom break but I had other ideas. As soon as I made it back to my tent, I quickly gathered up all the things that I would need for the day and ventured off to the latrines.

I found Peter in one of the stalls, on his knees, scrubbing the toilet. Sweat dripped off his face and onto to ground as he scrubbed. It wasn't until I cleared my throat that he realized someone was behind him.

He jumped forward, barely missing his cheek from kissing the toilet. Lucky him.

"You gave me quite a fright, Everett. Move, move," He commanded as he wobbled to his feet. "I've never felt more reduced as a man than I do today."

"I'm sorry, Peter. How about you take a break with me."

He gave me a once-over and raised his eyebrows. "Going on an adventure? I thought you were training."

"Gibson made the mistake of letting me take my break on my own. I'm going to see Valencia. Do you want to come with me?"

He pondered over his answer before shaking his head and nodding to the toilets. "I really shouldn't. They said they'd send me back home if I didn't clean these, no matter if I'm your assistant or not."

"Damn," I cursed.

"Don't worry, somehow, I'd much rather clean these than hike all the way to see that feral woman."

"Then so be it. Don't tell anyone where I'm going. And cover for me if they ask," I waved my finger at him as I started towards the tree line.

"I'll tell them you're off training and if you're not back by tomorrow morning, I'll send them out to find your corpse." He joked, waving me off.

I had made sure to pack another piece of the honey cake knowing she would love it. I negated the other things since she didn't seem to care for them. I did, however, bring my poetry book. Perhaps we could make more progress with communication using the book.

Getting to Valencia's cottage was very easy now. I knew exactly where to go, which steps to avoid, and which turns to take. Peter even created a sort of pathway with his heavy steps that made it much easier to navigate.

When I made it to her cottage, I saw her scattering seeds near the house. Today, instead of her hair hanging long in ringlet curls, she pulled it back and tied it with a pink ribbon.

The pink ribbon she had cut from her dress yesterday.

My presence startled her when she turned around. She jumped, eyes filled with panic until she realized it was only me. Then, her eyes softened and she took gentle steps toward me. I noticed she didn't have any shoes but the various rocks scattered among the lush grass didn't seem to bother her.

"Good afternoon, Valencia," I greeted, bowing at the waist. Unlike yesterday, she smiled when I straightened up and grabbed my hand, leading me inside the cottage. When I sat my backpack down on the table, she immediately started to rummage through it. "If you're looking for the taffy, Peter already made sure he took the rest of it back."

She looked up at me with a slight pout but continued to look through the bag, finally finding the present I brought her. She lifted it out and opened it, revealing the honey cake. Valencia wasted no time in rushing it over to her little stove and heating it up.

I found it very endearing the way she waited so patiently for the cake to heat but at the same time, I could tell she was so excited on the inside. Valencia might not be able to communicate with words but her eyes told me everything.