A Whole Lot of Pink

Attendants from the sides of the room rushed up and quickly ushered out the harem members before Hector got the chance to approach them. He wanted to talk to these eight people he cares about, to tell them he was not responsible and wanted to help them, but he would have to find another opportunity. He followed Amelia out the same doors a minute later and motioned to catch up to his harem (that was difficult to comprehend), but she gently placed a hand in front of him.

"Give them some space in their rooms. They need even more time to adjust to this than you do." It sounded like Amelia showed some empathy for once. Defeated, Hector backed down. The two of them walked a short distance before turning left, where a huge, ornate door stood. It was bright pink with a white frame, but there were no windows, doorbell, knocker, or knob. As Hector saw the women enter their rooms down the same hallway, the door in front of him swung open of its own accord.

The smell hit him before anything else. The most potent mix of roses and lavender shot straight into his nostrils. It made Bath & Body Works seem tame. Hector shook his head, immediately understanding he would have to smell that for the coming weeks. A spacious entryway greeted him, and more servants of Aphrodite like Amelia walked to and fro, making sure the place was spotless. They didn't look as confident as Amelia, but they all wore the same refined carnation pink dress, even the few who looked like men. The host led him right to the bedroom while telling him more about the temple.

"Down the right side you will find a luxurious bath with any kind of shampoo scent you would like. Along the left is a den recently upgraded with some modern amenities more familiar to you, and next to the den is a personal shrine to my Lady. This is a temple after all, not merely a place of residence."

As the two of them entered his new living area, Hector noticed right away that all the decorations were hot pink, the shade standing out much more than Amelia's dress. The walls were all that one color, and the bed was mostly bright pink, but there were some purple and red accents. The pillows, for example were scarlet and looked quite fluffy. Amelia showed him that that the large armoire opposite the bed had all of his own clothes, and the walk-in closet could magically summon whatever article of clothing he wanted. Other than the smell, he didn't have anything in his room to complain about, but he did have a question.

"Will Lady Aphrodite also be here?"

Amelia smiled knowingly, anticipating this query. "My Lady has chosen to stay elsewhere during the course of the season, and I would not anticipate her showing up. She chooses to make an appearance at more eventful moments in life."

That confused Hector. "Isn't this the most eventful moment in my life?"

"Yes of course, but she has observed far more eventful ones. You will have to accomplish something truly special in order to meet her."

****

Michelle and Sophie walked into their room, the first one down the hallway after Aphrodite's temple. The attendants silently guided them and then left them at the door with no instructions whatsoever. For the first time that day, Michelle actually wished Amelia was there talking. At least her upbeat nature was more pleasant than these other strangers.

After opening the small white doorknob, the new roommates walked in to see a clean room with plenty of space to walk around. There was one queen-sized bed, two dressers, two bedside tables with drawers, a connecting bathroom, and a glass door leading to a balcony. Sophie expected a more ostentatious design, but perhaps Aphrodite or the architects or whoever did not put as much effort into the guest rooms. Michelle and Sophie didn't know it, but their room was identical to the three others the rest of the harem members were staying in.

Michelle was about to sit on the bed before remembering she had a garden to check out. Sophie wanted to start a conversation but thought better of it when seeing her roommate had something else on her mind. She checked her dresser while waiting for the professor.

Michelle opened the glass door to see four different plants growing in a line along one flowerbed next to the railing. Each of them had a little card perched below the bed. There was a vine of glowing purple roses, and Michelle didn't need the card to guess what that one would do. To its right was a pointy, silver plant that did not seem very healthy in the light of the sunset. Then there was a beautiful layered bloom with magenta leaves and cobalt tips. And the last one was a single, tall, yellow growth that looked like a sunflower, but the middle was solid gold rather than brown.

With her knowledge of Greek mythology, Michelle could figure out the middle two plants, but the one on the right did not seem familiar. From left to right, their placards read:

LOVE POTION

MOONLACE

LOTUS FLOWER

COMMUNAL BUD

A lotus flower could make someone forgetful, but the abilities of the others were somewhat mysterious. How strong was the love potion? What does moonlace do? What even is a communal bud? Unprepared to answer those questions, Michelle left her garden alone and walked back inside.

Sophie was waiting patiently after seeing her dresser contained all of her own clothes plus one item that looked like a copy of the dress Amelia was wearing. Dresses weren't really her thing, but she wasn't going to complain about a free one.

"So...it's nice to meet you? That doesn't feel right to say, but, it's not like this is any of your fault."

Michelle smiled gently at the awkward greeting. "You as well. We certainly didn't ask to be here but at least we get to see Mount Olympus and maybe even meet some gods."

Sophie rose a skeptical eyebrow. "You really believe this is a place of legend?"

"Why yes, you must have noticed all the changes. I can feel that my skin is smoother, and I just saw four plants that sure look magical. All the rooms we have seen look similar to how I pictured Mount Olympus looking."

Sophie still wasn't convinced. "Even if magic is somehow real, that doesn't mean Greek mythology is. This could all be just an elaborate design or alternate dimension."

Michelle considered that for a second. "True, but perhaps Mount Olympus exists in a different dimension. If we can accept one of those seeming impossibilities occurring, then there is no reason not to accept that the other could, as well."

Sophie nodded, bouncing around that point in her head. "That actually makes a lot of sense. You're Hector's professor, right? I can picture that now."

The professor smiled lightly. "It is my job as an academic to consider different viewpoints. What we are experiencing now just happens to be one I can more readily accept. And I am glad my new roommate doesn't just accept everything immediately. I can see why they paired us together."

"Wooow, the two smart people. How did they come up with that idea?" Sophie asked sarcastically. "But in all seriousness, the changes do seem to be immediate. You look really beautiful. You're eyes are even glowing a bit."

"Aw, thank you. Wait, they are?" Michelle rushed into the bathroom to look at the mirror. She saw that Sophie was telling the truth, adding to her own belief about the power of magic. Michelle walked back into the bedroom, but a silence fell over the two of them. She couldn't return the compliment as she had not witnessed Sophie's transformation yet and wasn't really keen to experience it. Before Michelle could think of another subject, Sophie turned to her bedside table and picked up the list of items.

"Here, we should both take a look at this." Neither had much interest in pursuing Hector, but both understood they needed to play the game. Sophie was already brainstorming strategies on the short walk over, and Michelle had clear knowledge of what her elimination would look like. The document went on for pages, and it was sorted into magical items, competitive advantages, tasks, and transformations. The losing ones from the previous hour were all at the end of the list. Everything on the sheet had a number in the hundreds or thousands next to it, and there were two columns with two different numbers. The number in the column marked "Self" was higher than the number in the "Someone Else" column. Sophie grabbed a quill and ink from her desk and made a dash next to some listings that seemed useful or interesting to her. Michelle noticed but did not write on her own paper.

"You wouldn't buy a transformation for someone else, right?"

Sophie looked up. "I don't want to, but...we're here to win, aren't we?"