by Joan Holub
“Sure, anything you say, honeybun,” Zeus soothed. “Mmm. Honeybuns,” he murmured blissfully.
Echo stared at him, astonished. He’d just killed off two dozen cupcakes and was still drooling for snacks? Apparently the King of the Gods had a major sweet tooth!
Even Hera had to laugh at that, though she quickly grew serious again. “You promised to work on your diet,” she scolded. “And I promised to create the perfect wedding for Melissa’s daughter. I’m keeping my end of our bargain. You need to summon up the willpower to keep yours.”
Zeus straightened, looking slightly affronted. “I’m a god of my word. And a willpower king. Why, I could go years without sweets. Well, maybe months. Well, make that weeks.”
“Then prove it,” said Hera. “How about one week? No sugary sweets for one whole week.”
“But what about the wedding on Monday?” Zeus protested, gazing longingly toward the samples on the sweets-laden table behind her.
“Exactly. What better time to show all those who come to the wedding that you are a man of healthy eating habits and unshakable willpower? Everyone looks up to you. Set a good example for them.”
“Okay,” he mumbled, sounding down in the dumps.
At the sound of a doorbell tinkling, someone came into the store and Hera turned to go. Then she glanced back at Echo, adding, “Tell your friend who’s getting married to come by the shop. Anytime after Monday, when we won’t be so busy. I’ll be delighted to help her create the perfect wedding.”
Echo nodded. Hera was so nice that she felt kind of bad that she didn’t actually know any brides-to-be. She’d keep her eyes and ears open, though, and send any she heard about in future to this awesome shop.
After Hera left, Zeus seemed to forget all about Echo and headed off toward the delivery exit, where Pegasus awaited him.
She caught up to him just before he left the store. “Wait! You said you’re a god of your word. And you promised me anything I asked for if I helped stall Hera. And I did, so . . .”
Zeus nodded, looking thoughtful. “Yes, you did. Tell you what, I can’t mend your tree, but I have another idea that might help you.”
“No!” Echo exclaimed, before he had even told her his idea. “You messed things up, and now I want you to fix FirHeart!”
Zeus folded his arms and tapped his big gold-sandaled foot impatiently. “Sorry, but I didn’t have anything to do with that lightning bolt that struck your tree, no matter what you think. And bringing your tree back to life or giving you a new one would be against the rules. Rules I made. Still, since you helped me, I think I can bend—”
“Yes?” Echo interrupted eagerly, her eyes brightening with new hope.
“A different rule,” Zeus finished. “One that will allow you to move to another realm and become a different kind of nymph.”
“But FirHeart—” protested Echo.
“Not gonna happen,” he informed her, slicing a big meaty hand through the air. “That rule can’t be bent. Maybe the forest isn’t right for you. The job of protecting one specific tree is a lot of responsibility. On the other hand, nymphs in non-forest realms share responsibility. They band together as a team to protect an entire river, or a bunch of clouds.” His intense blue eyes looked into her brown ones. “My offer’s a good one,” he said in a firm but not unkind voice. “Take it. Choose another realm where you’ll be more of a team player. I’ll give you a week to decide where you want to relocate. Okay?”
Suddenly there was a rustling movement in one of the racks of clothes next to Zeus. To Echo’s surprise, Athena peeked out at her from between two chitons on hangers where Zeus couldn’t see her.
Say, yes! the goddessgirl mouthed silently. Then Aphrodite’s head popped out next to Athena’s and nodded emphatically. And two hands shot out a little farther down the rack, each giving Athena’s suggestion a thumbs-up.
“Yes, okay,” Echo told Zeus. But she wasn’t happy about it.
7
Choices
AFTER ZEUS EXITED THE WEDDING shop, Athena, Aphrodite, Persephone, and Artemis sprang out of the rack of chitons. Shushing Echo, they quickly and quietly ushered her out of the shop into the atrium, careful not to alert Hera or her employees to their presence.
“Sorry for all the sneaking around back there,” Aphrodite told Echo as the five of them strolled in the general direction of the IM exit.
Echo hardly noticed the shops they passed. Filled with hopelessness, it didn’t even occur to her to ask what the girls had been doing, hiding out at Hera’s. All she could think about was one horrible fact: It looked like FirHeart was really and truly gone forever.
“We didn’t want Zeus to know we skipped class to come here,” Persephone explained, though Echo hadn’t asked. “We had to come because we were concerned about your safety!”
“Yeah,” said Artemis. “I saw your wild takeoff in those winged sandals through a school window. So I grabbed these three guys from class to help me track you down and make sure you were okay.”
“How long were you in the shop?” Echo asked. Just how much had they seen and heard of her conversations with Zeus and Hera?
“A few minutes,” Athena said. “It took us a while to find you. We sneaked in behind that customer Hera was with just now.”
“We heard what Zeus told you, though,” Persephone said in a gentle voice. “I’m so sorry about your tree. I get upset when even one of my flowers dies, so I can imagine how truly awful you must feel.” Her friends nodded, their expressions sympathetic.
“Yeah,” Echo said sadly.
“We’re all sorry,” Athena assured her. “But if my dad had been responsible for what happened to your tree, I know he wouldn’t lie about it.”
Echo thought back to the FirHeart disaster. It was true that she hadn’t actually heard thunder that day, and Zeus’s lightning and thunder usually went together. The ka-boom had been the sound of her tree splitting. However, if Zeus hadn’t caused her tree to split, then who had?
“So are you going to give Principal Zeus’s idea a chance and switch to a different realm?” Aphrodite asked.
Echo shrugged and let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I guess.” What choice did she have? A panicked feeling filled her at the thought of having to reset the course of her life. “I don’t know what realm to choose, though.”
Just then they passed a store called the Oracle-O Bakery and Scrollbooks. “You know what we need to jump-start this decision of yours? Snacks,” said Artemis, glancing pointedly toward the shop.
“Good idea. Seeing all that yummy wedding food in Hera’s shop made me hungry. Plus we’re missing lunch. Let’s grab some snacks to go,” suggested Athena.
Did this girl share the same sweet tooth as her dad? Echo wondered. But then she got a whiff of the heavenly smell of cookies herself and caved instantly. “Mmm. I guess one won’t hurt.” She reached for the door.
Inside the shop they found Artemis’s brother, Apollo, chatting with a girl with fire-gold hair who was wearing sun-and-moon earrings. “Hey, skipping class?” Apollo teased, raising his brows at the girls.
“I might ask you the same,” said Artemis. As Athena, Aphrodite, and Persephone began browsing the store, the girl Apollo had been chatting with moved to help them.
“I have an excuse. An official one,” Apollo told Artemis, waving a small MOA scrollpass under her nose. “My band is playing in the parade tomorrow. So I left Narcissus with some of the guys, and I’m here getting everything set up.”
“We have an excuse too. We’re seeing to the safety of a visitor from another realm, who had a meeting with Zeus,” Artemis replied, fudging the truth a little. “Echo, you already met my brother, Apollo. And that’s Cassandra.” She motioned to the girl he’d been talking to.
The fire-gold-hair girl smiled and waved from across the store, where she was now recommending various cookies to the other goddessgirls. “Nice to meet you!”
As Apollo munched a cookie he’d already half-finished, Echo
and Artemis wandered over to make their selections. “There are so many choices,” Persephone was saying, pondering the snacks.
Tell me about it, thought Echo. If they thought it was hard choosing cookies, they should imagine how hard choosing a whole new path for your life would be.
“I’m going for a Mount Olympus Mint Crunch. What are you guys going to get?” asked Aphrodite.
“Ooh! That sounds good. I’ll have one of those too,” said Echo. But every time someone else made a choice of cookie, it sounded so good that she changed her order to the new flavor. She just couldn’t help copying!
After a while Athena sent her a perplexed glance and suggested, “Let’s just get an assortment to share.”
As they checked out, Echo found herself standing next to Apollo. The front of his tunic had a logo for a band called Heavens Above. Oh yeah! That was the group Pan was longing to play with.
“Do you ever add new band members?” she blurted out. “I have this friend named Pan. He’s an amazing musician.”
“Well, sometimes we need a sub on an instrument, but to join the band on a regular basis we’d require a true talent with a rare sound,” said Apollo. “Tell you what, though. Your friend can come by our bandstand outside the IM’s main entrance tomorrow after the parade if he wants to meet me and the guys.”
Pan would be disappointed to hear there were no openings in the band, but he’d be thrilled at Apollo’s invitation to meet the band’s members. Echo wasn’t sure he was up to the level of those performers. Still, she hoped he was good enough to be given an opportunity to at least jam with them if he showed up with an instrument. He’d be heartbroken if they refused him.
“Thanks,” she told Apollo. “Though I’m not sure how I’ll get word to him, since I . . . uh . . . might not be returning to the forest for a while.” Or ever, she thought, remembering the choice she was going to have to make.
“No problem,” said Athena, overhearing. “We can buy a blank wingscroll in the scrollbooks side of this shop. You can write him a message and fly it to him.”
After a brief hesitation Echo nodded. “Good plan, thanks.” After all, in addition to sending Apollo’s invitation, she should let Pan and Daphne know what was going on with her. They’d worry if they didn’t hear.
Athena quickly got her a scroll, and Echo wrote a note. Minutes later the small determined scroll winged away, carrying her message to Pan, who would share Echo’s news with Daphne.
Soon afterward Echo and the four goddessgirls left the shop together. As they munched their cookies and window-shopped, they also chatted about the various store displays.
Echo reached into the bag without looking and let fate decide her choice. She pulled out a Vanilla Thrilla cookie and took a bite.
“You will seek advice when it’s needed,” said a small voice.
Echo looked around, her eyes wide. “Who said that?”
“It’s your cookie. Each Oracle-O speaks a fortune when you take a bite,” said Persephone, giggling. She bit into hers.
“You will ride the waves,” it told her.
“True!” Persephone said. “I’ll be on Poseidon’s float tomorrow in the parade. It’s got a sea theme. Naturally.”
The other three goddessgirls grinned at that, but Echo turned serious. “Mine’s right too. I could really use some advice. Can you guys help me? I mean, there are so many kinds of nymphs. What kind do you think I should be?” She looked at the four goddessgirls. They sent each other uncertain glances, seeming reluctant to make suggestions.
“I don’t think we can really weigh in until we know more about you,” Athena remarked at last.
Echo shrugged. “What do you want to know?”
“Well, how about if we start with your style?” prompted Aphrodite. She gestured toward the window of a shop they were passing called the Green Scene, where all the clothes on display were in shades of green. “When I have to make a decision, sometimes I think of it in terms of fashion. Do I want frilly, elegant, simple, athletic, outdoorsy?”
“I never knew that about you,” said Persephone, teasing her in a friendly way.
“You let clothes decide things for you?” Artemis asked at the same time. She sounded aghast. “What happens if your cloak and your chiton don’t agree?”
Everyone laughed.
Afterward, Artemis’s expression turned thoughtful. “It so happens that I know most of the nymphs in Greece. So why don’t we all go visit various realms to check them out?”
“Good plan!” said Athena.
“Yeah. It’ll be like trying the realms on to see if they suit you,” Aphrodite told Echo with a teasing glance toward Artemis. “Sort of like trying on a new chiton to see if it fits and looks good.”
Artemis rolled her eyes at the clothing comparison, but Persephone high-fived Aphrodite and shouted, “Yes!”
These goddessgirls seem a lot more excited about this whole idea than I am, thought Echo. Maybe that was a good thing. Someone had to make her do this. And these nice, fun girls were on a mission to help her. So she’d let them!
The minute all five girls burst out of the IM, they released the wings on their sandals. The goddessgirls lifted off and began moving ten times the speed of walking as they rose ever higher. When Athena noticed that Echo was struggling to keep up, she darted back down and offered a hand. “Grab on.”
Echo did, and found herself pulled upward to heights only immortals could achieve. “But where should we go first?” she asked as they flew off in a group.
“I think there’s a meadow up ahead,” said Artemis. “Those are usually full of Leimonide nymphs, so what do you say?”
Echo took a fortifying breath. “Okay, let’s do it.”
“Great! Let’s go!” Artemis cheered. Moving slightly ahead, she guided them all to a meadow covered with lavender, yellow, pink, and white wildflowers.
“Where is everybody?” asked Aphrodite, glancing around after they touched down in the peaceful meadow. It was heart-shaped and was bordered by large, lush green hills.
“You’ll see,” said Artemis. She let out a series of gentle whistles.
Suddenly nymphs that had been unnoticeable before sprang up from the tall grass. Since their skin was the same green color as the meadow, and their chitons and hair were dotted with wildflowers, they’d blended in.
The Leimonide nymphs flitted forward and looped daisy chain necklaces around the five girls’ necks. Slender hands reached out to them.
“Come join our dance!” coaxed one of the nymphs, swooping and twirling around the girls.
“Yes, do!” trilled another. She whirled in a circle, while others did cartwheels and beckoned their guests deeper into the meadow.
“I’m coming!” shouted Artemis, running after the nymphs. Aphrodite, Athena, and Persephone laughed, allowing themselves to be whisked away to frolic across the meadow too.
After a brief hesitation, Echo joined in, shouting, “Wait for me!” Her last word bounced back to her ears from the surrounding hills. Me-ee-ee!
“Faster! Faster! Dance!” the nymphs urged, pulling the girls along. And dance the five visitors did, unable to stop, no matter how weary they became. Somewhere in the grass a musical stream bubbled, playing music to which they all pirouetted, romped, and skipped.
“I’m so tired!” Aphrodite called at last to Echo and the others. “But I can’t seem to stop!”
“Me either!” Athena replied breathlessly.
“It’s impossible!” Echo agreed, twirling in circles like a mini tornado.
“I wonder if it’s these daisy necklaces that make us keep dancing,” said Persephone.
“Take them off!” said Artemis, flinging hers away immediately.
The other four girls yanked off their necklaces too. And at last they were able to stop dancing. Still the meadow nymphs pulled on their hands, reluctant to lose their new playmates. But when the exhausted girls refused to budge, the nymphs left them behind and merrily continued on their way acr
oss the meadow.
After the nymphs were gone, Echo and the four goddessgirls plopped down onto the grass and stared at each other, their chests heaving.
“Well, that was fun. Sort of. But I don’t think it’s for me,” Echo said, finally.
“No?” said Athena, laughing. “I can’t imagine why.” She stretched out on her back among the flowers, and the others did the same, relaxing and trying to catch their breath.
“What now?” asked Persephone after they’d rested a few minutes.
Aphrodite gazed upward, as if deep in thought. “Hey! I know,” she said suddenly. “See those clouds? You could become a Nephelai!” Those were nymphs that dwelled within rain clouds.
“Hmm,” Echo said uncertainly.
“C’mon, just give it a try. You never know, right?” Athena grabbed one of Echo’s hands, and Artemis took the other. Together they whisked her high into the clouds that ringed Mount Olympus, while Aphrodite and Persephone followed.
Eventually they came upon a dozen nymphs with pearly white skin and long locks of hair that resembled newly picked cotton. Some were doing flips and somersaults in the clouds. Others were playing easy games like hide-and-seek or ring-around-the-rosy. All seemed to be giggling nonstop.
“Elcome-wizzle!” a nymph greeted them in the language of the Nephelai. Her breath came out in frosty white puffs.
“Ank-thizzle ou-yizzle!” Artemis replied. Then to Echo and the others, she confided, “When they aren’t telling jokes, they speak Drizzle Latin. It’s like pig latin, only you add “izzle” and “yizzle” instead of “ay” and “yay.”
“Oh-yizzle, I-yizzle et-gizzle it-yizzle,” said Athena. Which of course meant “Oh, I get it.”
Hearing Athena speak their language, the nymphs giggled so hard that some of them got the hiccups.
“Do they always giggle this much?” Echo whispered doubtfully.
