Aphrodite the Beauty (Goddess Girls) Read Online Free Page A

blew open and a strange, glittery breeze whooshed in, bringing with it a rolled-up piece of papyrus. "Art thou Aphrodite, goddessgirl of love?" the wind howled.
    Too stunned to reply, Aphrodite merely nodded. Abruptly, the breeze stilled. "The mortal Hippomenes petitions thee for help," it said. Then it dropped the papyrus and whooshed back out the window as fast as it
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    had entered.
    Aphrodite caught the scroll as it floated toward the floor. Unrolling it quickly, she began to read:
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    Aphrodite sighed. How romantic. Ares could certainly learn a few lessons from this mortal! Suddenly it struck her that this Atalanta was likely the maiden of the rumors--the one who ran as swift as the wind. Interesting! Grabbing her bag, she fished around in it for her red feather pen. Then she dashed off a reply on a sheet of pink papyrus:
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    After rereading her note, she worried that her tone was too informal and not commanding enough. Mortals always seemed to expect gods and goddesses to issue orders. Well, she could fix that. She added a postscript:
    That should do it , she thought. She rolled up the sheet of papyrus, tied it with a red ribbon, and then stepped to 48 the open window with it. Holding it loosely, she chanted the Send spell: "Blow wind, blow. Off you go. Deliver this message, and don't be slow."
    Immediately a breeze whisked the papyrus scroll from her outstretched hand and carried it away.
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    4 Hippomenes
    APHRODITE WOKE EARLY THE NEXT MORNING. Remembering her promise to meet Hippomenes, she climbed out of bed and dressed quickly with barely a glance at the mirror above her makeup table. Artemis's dogs were whining next door. Usually Artemis was up at the crack of dawn to take them for their morning walk, but she'd probably come home late from the party and
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    was still asleep. Maybe she could quiet them before they woke anyone else, thought Aphrodite.
    Going next door, she knocked lightly and then opened Artemis's door a crack. Before she could stop them, the boisterous dogs pushed it wider and rushed into the hall, yapping and bouncing around in high spirits. Lying tangled in her bedcovers, Artemis just snuffled and rolled over in her sleep.
    "Shh!" Aphrodite tried to corral the three hounds, but it was impossible to catch them. Seeming to think it was all a game, they tore off through the hall and down four flights of stairs. "Stop!" she called, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the entire dorm as she chased after them.
    The dogs completely ignored her. When she finally caught up to them by the main hall entrance, she couldn't
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    get them to go back upstairs, no matter how much she tugged at their collars. And from the way they were scratching at the door and whining, it was obvious they had to go to the bathroom.
    "Okay, okay," she said. "But just for a minute. Then you have to come right back in. Promise?" If they were quick about their business, she'd still have plenty of time to meet Hippomenes at eight.
    The hounds wagged their tails as if in agreement. However, the second she opened the academy's bronze doors, all three of them dashed outside in different directions.
    "Come back! Bad dogs!" Tails between their legs, the greyhound and the beagle paused at the bottom of the granite steps to wait for her, but Suez, the bloodhound, was in particularly high spirits and took off
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    across the courtyard. Aphrodite had no choice but to chase after him. The other two dogs followed, stopping here and there to sniff things along the way.
    A trail lined with trees and bushes started at the far side of the courtyard and wound down Mount Olympus. Aphrodite glimpsed Suez's backside as he vanished down the trail. The rascal's tail was wagging--probably proud of himself for making such a grand escape!
    "If I'm late meeting Hippomenes it will be all your fault!" she called after him. But her words had no effect. Eventually, she caught up to him when he stopped by a bush to lift his leg. Folding her arms, she