Gynophobia: Fear of Women
Aurelia hated detours.
The quickest path to your destination is a straight line, especially when you have a time limit to reach said destination.
So when her friends detoured their way to a candy store to get some salted caramel then to a cafe to get coffee and grilled salmon sandwiches, Aurelia was annoyed the entire time.
Not to say she didn't eat the salted caramel or have a regular grilled cheese as well, but she was still annoyed that that time was ticking away. It may have been a few hours they spent wandering the city. At some point, they even saw Ella zooming between high rise towers, a large book clutched between each foot.
Not to say Aurelia exactly knew what they were looking for. She has never actually visited Hylla or her headquarters in Seattle. But she knew that when she saw it, she would just know.
Finally they wandered south of downtown into a plaza surrounded by smaller glass and brick buildings. Aurelia paused, her eyes finding a simple office building to their left with a single word etched on the glass doors: AMAZON. "There."
Frank blinked. "That can't be it. They're a modern company right? They sell stuff on the Internet. They're not actually Amazons."
"This is it," Aurelia murmured heading towards the doors. She paused her doors on the handle. "Let me lead—and trust me, do not speak."
All three of her friends had uneasy feelings and expressions but they nodded, following her into the building. The lobby was like an empty fish tank—glass walls, a glossy black floor, a few token plants, and pretty much nothing else. Against the back wall, a black stone staircase led up and down. In the middle of the room stood a young woman in a black pantsuit, with long auburn hair and a security guard's earpiece. Her name tag said KINZIE. Her smile was friendly, but her eyes were skeptical, just like her emotions.
Kinzie nodded at Aurelia and Hazel, ignoring the boys. "May I help you?"
"Yes," Aurelia stepped in front of her friends. "We are looking for a group of people. The Amazons."
Kinzie glanced at Hazel's sword, then Frank's spear—neither should have been visible through the Mist. "This is the main campus for Amazon," she said, cautiously. "Did you have an appointment with someone, or—"
"This is a walk-in," Aurelia said. "We request an audience with Queen Hylla."
Kinzie's eyes flashed dangerously as she studied the latina. "Who are you?"
"We mean no harm," Aurelia assured her—her voice was calming and even and she was using her powers to slowly allow Kinzie to lower down her wall.
"El, we don't have time for this," Percy muttered to Aurelia. That small sentence sent Aurelia on the edge of her toes, the hairs on the back of her neck sitting straight up in anticipation.
Kinzie moved incredibly fast, but not impossibly fast that Aurelia wouldn't be able to react. The sword Kinzie pulled out of thin air was parried by Ferrum Temoris. The amazon attempted to kick Frank's chest but Aurelia pushed her away from the group of four, holding her sword in a defensive position as she stared at Kinzie.
Kinzie glared back as it got louder around them. A dozen more girls in black flooded up the staircase, swords in hand, and surrounded the small group.
"First rule: Males don't speak without permission," Kinzie snarled. "Second Rule, trespassing on our territory is punishable by death. You'll meet Queen Hylla, all right. She'll be the one deciding your fate."
Aurelia's eyes shifted to Percy. "Stupid, idiot." Her sword transformed back into her necklace and she held out the jewelry for Kinzie. "Let them take your weapons, guys."
Kinzie snatched the necklace and continued to study the daughter of Pavor. "Who are you?"
"Aurelia Juliana Ramirez-Arellano." Kinzie's narrowed eyes widened. "Lovely to meet you."
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After the confiscation of their weapons (or Aurelia basically handing her necklace to Kinzie) the Amazons marched them down so many flights of stairs, Aurelia gave up on counting. Throughout the entire duration, Kinzie kept looking at the daughter of Pavor, studying her face as if to try to find some similarities between Aurelia and Hylla.
She seemed to be finding a lot.
Finally they emerged in a cavern so big it could accommodate ten high schools, sports fields and all. Stark fluorescent lights glowed along the rock ceiling. Conveyor belts wound through the room like waterslides, carrying boxes in every direction. Aisles of metal shelves stretched out forever, stacked high with crates of merchandise. Cranes hummed and robotic arms whirred, folding cardboard boxes, packing shipments, and taking things on and off the belts. Some of the shelves were so tall they were only accessible by ladders and catwalks, which ran across the ceiling like theater scaffolding.
All the work was being done by computers and robots. The only humans Aurelia could see were some black-suited security women patrolling the catwalks, and some men in orange jumpsuits, like prison uniforms, driving forklifts through the aisles, delivering more pallets of boxes. The men wore iron collars around their necks.
Hazel was outraged. "You keep slaves?"
"The men?" Kinzie snorted. "They're not slaves. They just know their place."
"As they should," Aurelia agreed, sending a glance at Percy. Like how you should have stayed silent like I told you, and I wouldn't have had to defend you and reveal Ferrum Temoris.
Kinzie gave a small hum of approval. "Now, move."
They continued to walk and Aurelia's feet were starting to ache. She thought they must be getting close to the end of the warehouse but Kinzie just opened another set of double doors leading into another cavern, just as big as the first.
"The Underworld isn't this big," Hazel complained. Aurelia gave her a blank stare and Hazel got embarrassed.
Kinzie smiled smugly. "You admire our base of operations? Yes, our distribution system is worldwide. It took many years and most of our fortune to build. Now, finally, we're turning a profit. The mortals don't realize they are funding the Amazon kingdom. Soon, we'll be richer than any mortal nation. Then—when the weak mortals depend on us for everything—the revolution will begin!"
"I like this place," Aurelia decided and Kinzie gave her a wicked smile.
"What are you going to do?" Frank grumbled. "Cancel free shipping?"
A guard slammed the hilt of her sword into his gut. Percy tried to help him, but two more guards pushed him back at sword point.
"You'll learn respect," Kinzie said. "It's males like you who have ruined the mortal world. The only harmonious society is one run by women. We are stronger, wiser—"
"More humble," Percy muttered.
The guards tried to hit him but Percy ducked.
"Enough," Aurelia said, her voice slightly raised. The guards, to the surprise of her friends, listened. "We are wasting our breath—we have a quest to complete," she gave Percy and Frank a hard look, "and we cannot continue without Hylla judging us. So please, let us stop wasting our time and take us to your Queen."
Kinzie nodded, a small feeling of respect towards Aurelia. "Perhaps you're right. We have more important problems. And time ... time is definitely an issue."
"What do you mean?" Hazel asked.
A guard grunted. "We could take them straight to Otrera. Might win her favor that way."
"No!" Kinzie snarled. "I'd sooner wear an iron collar and drive a forklift. Hylla is our queen."
"Until tonight," another guard muttered.
Kinzie gripped her sword and Aurelia surveyed the surrounding emotions. There was anger, and disloyalty. Disloyalty towards Kinzie's commands and disloyalty towards the Amazon Queen.
Aurelia's hand passed over Kinzie's arm, helping the girl to control her emotions. Kinzie met Aurelia's eyes, and she seemed to regain her composure. "Let's go."
They crossed a lane of forklift traffic, navigated a maze of conveyor belts, and ducked under a row of robotic arms that were packing up boxes.
Most of the merchandise looked ordinary: books, electronics, baby diapers. But against one wall sat a war chariot with a big bar code on the side. Hanging from the yoke was a sign that read: ONLY ONE LEFT IN STOCK. ORDER SOON (MORE ON THE WAY).
Finally they entered a smaller cavern that looked like a combination loading zone and throne room. The walls were lined with metal shelves six stories high, decorated with war banners, painted shields, and the stuffed heads of dragons, hydras, giant lions, and wild boars. Standing guard along either side were dozens of forklifts modified for war. A iron-collared male drove each machine, but an Amazon warrior stood on a platform in back, manning a giant crossbow. The prongs of each forklift had been sharpened into oversized sword blades.
The shelves in this room were stacked with cages containing live animals—black mastiffs, giant eagles, a lion-eagle hybrid that must've been a gryphon, and a red ant the size of a compact car.
Aurelia touched Hazel's arm when a large feeling of horror went through the daughter of Pluto as they watched a forklift zip into the room, pick up a cage with a beautiful white pegasus, and sped away while the horse whinnied in protest.
"What are you doing to that poor animal?" Hazel demanded.
Kinzie frowned. "The pegasus? It'll be fine. Someone must've ordered it. The shipping and handling charges are steep, but—"
"You can buy a pegasus online?" Percy asked.
Both Kinzie and Aurelia glared at him, the latter just annoyed that he still hasn't learned his lesson and shut up. If Percy hadn't said anything, this may have gone so much smoother. She was anxious enough about seeing her cousin, not that anyone could tell, and Percy's ignorance of how much the Amazons dislike people not following their rules was not helping her nerves.
"Obviously you can't, male," Kinzie snarled. "But Amazons can. We have followers all over the world. They need supplies. This way."
At the end of the warehouse was a dais constructed from pallets of books: stacks of vampire novels, wall of James Patterson thrillers, and a throne made from about a thousand copies of something called The Five Habits of Highly Aggressive Women. It was a good book, Aurelia recalled.
At the base of the steps, several Amazons in camouflage were having a heated argument while the Amazon Queen watched and listened from her throne.
Hylla was exactly as Aurelia remembered—now in her twenties, lithe and lean as a tiger, with the same long dark hair (a trait she shared with Reyna), dark eyes and hard expressions (traits all three of them shared). She wore a black leather jumpsuit and black boots. She had no crown but around her waist was a strange belt made of interlocking gold links, like the pattern of a labyrinth. The belt of Hippolyta.
Kinzie took one look at the argument and grunted with distaste. "Otrera's agents, spreading their lies."
"What?" Frank asked, confused.
Aurelia had been trying to read the emotions of the argument, she hadn't noticed Hazel's abrupt stop. Several guards stumbled and Aurelia found where Hazel's gaze had settled.
A few feet away from the Queen's throne, two Amazons guarded a cage. Inside was a beautiful horse—not a winged kind, but a majestic and powerful stallion with a honey colored coat and a black mane. He felt impatient—Aurelia never realized she could be so in tune with the emotions of animals as well as humans.
"It's him," Hazel murmured, a sense of familiarity and awe passing through her—like the horse was a treasure she stumbled upon a lifetime ago, one that she thought she imagined.
"Him, who?" Percy asked.
Kinzie scowled in annoyance at Percy's voice, but when she saw where Hazel was looking, her expression softened. "Ah, yes. Beautiful, isn't he?"
Hazel blinked. "Is he ..." She was having trouble controlling her voice. "Is he for sale?"
The guards all laughed.
"That's Arion," Kinzie said, patiently, as if she understood Hazel's fascination. "He's a royal treasure of the Amazons—to be claimed only by our most courageous warrior, if you believe the prophecy."
"Prophecy?" Hazel repeated.
Kinzie's expression became pained, and her emotions embarrassed. "Never mind. But no, he's not for sale."
"They why is he in a cage?"
Kinzie grimaced. "Because ... he is difficult."
Right on cue, the horse slammed his head against the cage door. The metal bars shuddered, and the guards retreated nervously.
Hazel felt distressed, but she concealed her emotions from her voice. "Just asking. Let's see the queen." Aurelia gave her a pointed look, trying to gauge if she was going to do something. Hazel just shook her head, brushing off the daughter of Pavor.
The argument at the front of the room grew louder. The queen noticed the approaching group and shouted, "Enough!"
The arguing Amazons shut up immediately. Hylla waved them aside and beckoned Kinzie to speak. Kinzie pushed Aurelia's group forward but before she could even say a word, Aurelia once again raised her voice. "Agradecí la cálida bienvenida. Debería visitar más a menudo."
It was silent as Aurelia approached the throne, Hylla watched her with slight surprise and amusement, not even sparing anyone else a glance—not Kinzie, not Percy, Hazel or Frank.
"¿Se supone que debo inclinarme? Eres la reina, después de todo."
Hylla gave a wicked smile at the taunt but she stayed seated as Aurelia came closer to her throne, stopping a mere feet away from the dais. Hylla's emotions were nostalgic, and joyous.
They didn't hug, which Aurelia expected. Neither could risk revealing too close of a relationship with each other, but Hylla was happy to see Aurelia. "Hola, primita. ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?" Happy, but cautious.
"Hay problemas en nuestro campamento. Y Reyna estaba preocupada." Aurelia glanced at her friends. "No reaccionar de forma exagerada."
Hylla raised a brow but Aurelia took a step back, besides her friends. Hylla studied her cousin, but she waved at Kinzie to speak.
Kinzie, who had been watching the interaction like it was a car crashing, stepped forward now and gestured to all the demigods. "My Queen, these demigods—"
Hylla finally took notice of the other three demigods, her eyes finally settling on the son of Neptune. Aurelia's warning was thrown out of her mind as she shot to her feet. "You!" She glared at Percy with murderous rage.
"Dios mío," Aurelia mumbled.
Percy muttered something in Ancient Greek. "Clipboard. Spa. Pirates." He looked at Aurelia, his eyes wide—as if he was truly seeing her for the first time.
Hylla nodded. She stepped down from her dais of best seller and drew a dagger from her belt. "You were foolish to come here. You destroyed my home. You made my sister, my cousin and me exiles and prisoners." Hylla sent an accusatory glance. "How could you be with him, primita!"
"Percy, Aurelia," Frank said uneasily. "What's the scary woman with the dagger talking about?"
"Circe's Island," Percy said. "I just remembered. The gorgon's blood—maybe it's starting to heal my mind. The Sea of Monsters. Hylla ... She welcomed us at the docks, took us to see her boss. Aurelia was at Circe's side when I entered. They worked for the sorceress."
Hylla bared her white teeth. "Are you telling me you've had amnesia? You know, I might actually believe you. Why else would you be stupid enough to come here?" Hylla looked at Aurelia. "And what is your excuse? How could you forgive this?" Aurelia didn't react to Hylla's yelling, keeping her expression blank and holding her cousin's gaze.
"We've come in peace," Hazel insisted. "What did Percy do?"
"Peace?" The queen raised her eyebrows at Hazel. "What did he do? Has Aurelia never told you this story? This male destroyed Circe's school of magic!"
"Circe turned me into a guinea pig!" Percy protested.
"No excuses!" Hylla said. "Circe was a wise and generous employer. My family was finally safe. I had room and board, a good health plan, dental, pet leopards, free potions—everything! And this demigod with his stupid, foolish friend, the blonde—"
"Annabeth," Percy added, his gaze darkening at Hylla's dig towards his girlfriend. "I was there with Annabeth."
"You released our captives—Blackbeard and his pirates." She turned to Hazel. "Being kidnapped by pirates wasn't fun. They burned our spa to the ground. The three of us were prisoners for months. Fortunately for Reyna and I—we were daughters of Bellona. But Aurelia ..." Her emotions were sad, despite the anger in her eyes. "They tied her up like an animal, and cut her up like she was too. My primita had scars littering her body, and no matter how quickly we earned the pirates respect, we were unable to stop them from defiling her." Hylla's hand touched one of the bands on Aurelia's wrist. "Eleven. You were only eleven."
Aurelia nodded, looking at her friends. "Afterwards, we made our way to California. We parted ways. Reyna and I went to Lupa, then to Camp Jupiter. Hylla came here."
Hylla stepped towards Percy until they were nose-to-nose. She ran her dagger under his chin. "Of course, I survived and prospered. I have risen to be the queen of the Amazons. So perhaps I should thank you."
"You're welcome," Percy said.
Hylla dug her knife a little deeper. "Never mind. I think I'll kill you."
Hazel and Frank were both about to start protesting but Aurelia spoke before they could. "Do not do that, Hylla. We come here as a favor to Reyna. At least listen to us first."
"I'll listen to you, primita, as a favor to Reyna, but I must do this for me."
"Ari," Hazel whispered urgently.
"Reyna was prepared for this," Aurelia said. "She has pardoned him for his crimes against us, and given her his blessing for this quest. You will not kill my friend without hearing our story. Check his necklace. You will listen to our story as a favor to Reyna, yes. But you will spare him as a favor to me. Not as Reyna's Truthsayer. As your cousin."
"Cousin!" Frank, Hazel, and Percy repeated—Percy with some difficulty due to the knife at the base of his throat.
Hylla frowned at Aurelia. She lowered her knife to Percy's necklace until the point rested on the silver ring. The color drained from her face.
"Primita ..."
Aurelia looked at Hazel, her fellow female quester. "Please, explain our predicament."
Hazel hesitated but Aurelia gestured for her to step forward. Hazel recognized what Aurelia was doing. She has seen her do it with Reyna when they examined her, and when they examined Percy: Aurelia spoke whenever Reyna needed a moment with her thoughts, but majority of the time, if she could, Aurelia would stay silent so she could focus on surrounding emotions.
Hazel took a small step forward, Aurelia giving her a small surge of confidence and she spoke with as much composure as she could manage. She described Camp Jupiter. She told the Amazons about Reyna being their praetor, and the army of monsters that was marching south. She told them about their quest to free Thanatos in Alaska.
As Hazel talked, another group of Amazons entered the room. One was taller and older than the rest, with plaited silver hair and fine silk robes like a Roman matron. The other Amazons made way for her, treating her with such respect that it made Aurelia uneasy.
Hylla was staring at the woman with pure, unadulterated rage. There was a small divide in the emotions of the Amazons. Those who were showing preference and loyalty towards Hylla, and those who showed it towards the woman.
"So we need your help," Hazel finished her story. "Reyna needs your help."
Hylla gripped Percy's leather cord and yanked it off his neck—beads, ring, probatio tablet and all. "Reyna ... that foolish girl—"
"Not foolish," Aurelia murmured. "Desperate, yes. But never foolish. Just please consider—"
"Well!" The older woman interrupted. "Romans need our help?" She laughed, and the Amazons around her joined in. "How many times did we battle Romans in my day? How many times have they killed our sisters in battle? When I was queen—"
"Otrera," Hylla said, her voice barely not snarling, "you are here as a guest. You are not queen anymore."
The older woman spread her hands and made a mocking bow. "As you say—at least, until tonight. But I speak the truth, Queen Hylla." She said the word like a taunt and it made Aurelia fold her hands together to keep herself from going up to the former queen and smacking her across the face. "I've been brought back by the Mother Earth herself! I bring tidings of a new war. Why should Amazons follow Jupiter, that foolish king of Olympus, when we can follow a queen? When I take command—"
"If you take command," Hylla said. "But for now, I am queen. My word is law."
"I see." Otrera looked at the assembled Amazons, who were standing very still, as if they'd found themselves in a pit with two wild tigers. "Have we become so weak that we listen to male demigods? Will you spare the life of this son of Neptune, even though he destroyed your home? Perhaps you'll let him destroy your new home too!"
"Do not worry, Otrera," Aurelia's voice was patient and even, despite the fact that her nails were digging into the skin of her hands. "We try to keep this male on a tight leash. Besides, the Amazons would not even have to deal with Percy if he were to foolishly decide to attack your home. I would deal with him personally, slowly, and painfully." She could sense Percy's fear at her words, and her friends' silence as she spoke. Her words were powerful, and very promising.
Otrera smiled at Aurelia, but Aurelia could sense the venom and hatred churning beneath her composed stature. "How truly gratifying of you to say it. Although, I guess, your group shall automatically be pardoned due to your relationship with our Queen."
Aurelia merely raised an eyebrow. Despite the harm she was causing to her hands, and the anger that swirled within her, her expression was merely bemused, and her posture relaxed. "Hylla would not hesitate to slain me if I posed a threat to her people. We may care for each other and share blood, but I am not her people. The Amazons are. Besides, it is her duty to hear out the female warriors before sentencing them or their allies to death. Is it not?"
Hylla hid pursed her lips, her expression hard as she stared at Otrera. "I will pass judgment," she decided in an icy tone, directed at the older woman, "once I have all the facts. That is how I rule—by reason, not fear. And yes, Aurelia, you are correct. That is the Amazon way. Have your years in the Underworld muddled your memory so much, Otrera, that even an outsider understands our customs better than you do?"
The older woman sneered, but didn't try to argue.
Hylla turned to Kinzie. "Take these males to the holding cells. The rest of you, leave us."
Otrera raised her hand to the crowd. "As our queen commands. But any of you who would like to hear more about Gaea, and our glorious future with her, come with me!"
About half the Amazons followed her out of the room. Kinzie snorted with disgust, then she and her guards hauled Percy and Frank away.
Aurelia's mask fell slightly. "I did not mean it," she whispered to Percy. "Please, do not anger them more. You need to stay alive until we figure this out. Understand?"
Percy understood—just as he did in the Senate meeting. Aurelia crafted her words, so very carefully to enforce people's trust in her and trust in her defendant (this time Hylla, instead of Reyna). Everything from her calling Hylla the Queen, instead of using her name, to her calm posture, to her belittling words in an innocent tone.
Percy and Frank were taken away. Soon Hylla, Hazel and Aurelia were alone except for the queen's personal guards. At Hylla's signal even they moved out of earshot.
Aurelia felt Hylla's desperation before she even turned to them. "We must talk, primita. We don't have much time. By midnight, I will most likely be dead."
A/N: Has anyone ever heard that one TikTok edit sound where it goes like "What the fuck?!" and everyone just looks shocked or weirded out.
That's how I imagine Percy, Hazel &Frank's reaction when Aurelia drops the cousin-bomb.
Kinda funny.
And thank you to everyone who is reading and voting for this story. I appreciate all of you! <<33