Chapter 27


                “I didn’t know that you could marry a horse.” Hunter said, slightly traumatized, as he walked out of the ‘Drive-Thru Marriage Church of Saint Blackjack.’ Hunter mounted Ulysses again and turned him around toward the road.
                “Why was he willing to marry 3 17 year old kids?” Marina asked with a sigh, a similar look on her face.
                “2 guys, a girl, and a wedding package.” Kyle said, briefly hugging his Pegasus. “That can’t be legal…” That was their 8th chapel and no Aphrodite, yet.
                “Let’s keep going. Maybe, if we only go to chapels where there are weddings going on. Let’s look for a busy one.” Hunter said with a sigh. He didn’t think that the scariest thing he would see on this quest would be wedding pictures. He shuddered slightly at the memory and kicked Ulysses into a trot.
                “That one looks busy.” Kyle said, pointing to the ‘Little White Chapel and ATM.’ Hunter glanced over to find that he was right. There were a lot of cars there.
                “Let’s check it out.” Hunter said as he galloped across the street and slid off. He stood outside of the door and took a deep breath. “Are you praying to your parents, guys? I didn’t think that this would be the hard part of the quest.” He said with a chuckle.
                “I’ve been praying since ‘The Quick Hitch Synagogue.’” Marina said with a sigh. Hunter smiled softly and stepped inside. It smelled like candles and alcohol. He took a few steps inside and the smell changed. It went from alcohol to cinnamon, chocolate, and roses. Hunter stepped into the actual chapel and glanced around. Up front was an Elvis impersonator, a woman who looked about 20, and a man well into his 50s.
                “Do you, Chandelier, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The Elvis said. She slurred something that Hunter assumed was ‘I do.’ “And do you, Jacob, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
                “I love everyone, here!” Jacob slurred as he almost fell down, but was caught by the Elvis.
                “I know pronounce you Husband and wife. Ah’thank you very much.” The Elvis said before stepping back as Jacob  and Chandelier made out right next to the altar. Hunter shuddered and glanced around. There were a fair amount of people there. All of them were asleep, drunk, or watching plainly. Only one of them was crying and she was beautiful. Hunter looked and as he stepped forward he thought that it was Kate. He shook the thought away and thought he saw Arabella and another time thought he saw Philippa.
                “It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” Aphrodite  said wiping a tear away. Hunter raised an eyebrow.
                “I’m not sure beautiful would describe this. What are you doing here?” Hunter said bluntly. “I thought Hera was the goddess of marriage.” Aphrodite chuckled.
                “Marriage….Hera doesn’t want anything to do with these. This is all about LUST.” She said with a smile. “A guy and a girl get drunk. He can make her laugh. She gets prettier with each drink. 5 shots and 7 awful jokes later…” She said before whistling ‘Here Comes the Bride.’ She finally took a deep breath and looked at Hunter with a smile. Hunter looked at Kyle and Marina who were looking in surprise.
                “You’re…Aphrodite?” Kyle said questioningly. He glanced at Marina and then at Aphrodite and then back at Marina. “Huh.” Hunter rolled his eyes and turned to Aphrodite.
                “So, you know why we’re here, yes?” He said, trying to get to the point. Aphrodite nodded excitedly which made Hunter a little nervous.
                “You need my help.” She said with a nod. “I believe you need my blessing. That and some magic arrows, but we’ll talk about those later. Right now, we should talk about what you need to do for me.”
                “Me? Uh…No! No, no. This is Kyle’s quest. I…You can’t uh…Use him.” He said desperately. Aphrodite shook her head.
                “I can’t use him. I would never hear the end of it from his mom. You, Hunter, are absolutely perfect.” She said with a grin. Hunter swallowed and blushed slightly.
                “What do I need to do?” He said, hoping it wasn’t what he would expect from the goddess of love, beauty, and lust. “I can’t…Umm…” Aphrodite giggled.
                “No, no, no. I wouldn’t have you do that. I’ll leave that for my daughter.” She said with a wink. Hunter blushed hard. “I just need you to compete in the Olympics.” Hunter froze.
                “What?”