「017. detours of a roman holiday 」

BARBIE WILL admit she looked like a bit of a maniac when she asked leo for normal scissors because she wanted to 'test a theory' with her dress. of course, if she were talking about any other dress she might have a heart attack. but the fabric the dress was made of was different. it had a weird shiny quality to it. and after months of seeing leo messing around with celestial bronze, hammering it and refining it until it looked as soft as fabric if woven together...well, barbie had her suspicions. it had been her last gift from her mother. months before they set up, she'd entered the arts and crafts cabin one day with a note from her mom, 'when in doubt, use what you're given'.

at the time, poor grieving barbie had no clue what she meant- and had simply just sewn a dress that looked pretty and had brought it with her to the argo ii.

she didn't get much sleep, and was basically taking short naps. annabeth had tried to force her into pyjamas, or perhaps take of her makeup- which barbie immediately refused. she'd done a good job with ironing her dress, with her makeup. she was not going to take it off. if anything, she'd hardly finished.

after her previous nightmare revolving around the twin giants, she'd decided against sleeping fully- ad would have jason periodically wake her up after an hour of sleep. she would fiddle with the fabric on her dress, which she know knew to have some sort of fiber of celestial bronze weaved into the fabric she'd sewn. she'd concluded it was like a last-minute protective wear. it took a few powerful stabs for any sort of rip in the fabric to form (don't worry, she tested it on the left-over fabric). she silently thanked her mom, asking leo to burn a chocolate bar for her in commemoration.

"get some sleep, cherry," barbie spoke, "you look ready to drop. i think your new powerup is draining you out."

"maybe you're right," yawned cherry, "i'll be up when we land... remind me..." cherry rubbed her eyes, almost accidently swatting goldie off from her shoulder, "night... i guess..."

barbie smiled, nodding as she watched her friend walk away. it was just leo, jason, coach hedge and her above deck now. coach hedge had taken to yelling, "die!" at any sort of cloud or bird that moved suspiciously and jason was looking a bit better. no more bruises (thankfully) and was flying around, checking their surroundings.

leo was still manning the helm,  and had taken to barbie as his entertainment. which was to say, barbie was crocheting small flowers whilst babbling about anything whilst leo snorted at how weird her thoughts are.

"look," she babbled, crocheting diligently on the floor, "hypothetically, if the gods were given like...steroids- would their powers get supercharged or would their body get supercharged? which then obviously begs the question about what if demigods were on steroids? would we have powers of the gods- oh my goodness did i skip a stitch-"

"perhaps because you were talking about gods on steroids," leo snorted, sighing as he said, "go take a nap or something, seriously. you're going crazy-"

"hey!"

"-crazier than usual, that is," leo corrected himself with a small grin, "if you don't want to down below deck, fine. but at least close your eyes and rest."

barbie woke up around ten minutes later when the clanging of the landing gear jolted her awake. she was were she had been moments ago, her crotchet still in her hand. she yawned slightly, moving the mist around to try form a mirror for her to look at her makeup. it was just a bitch smudged, which probably meant barbie would have to redo it. she stood up, flicking her hand as the mirror followed her. she walked to near the edge of the ship, so she could actually see the landscape and quickly but precisely did her eyeliner. it was still the same pink- and although the golden gems had fallen off, she'd replaced them with a more fitting pink.

just as she finished putting the last gem on, she ran a hand through her hair, looking at her reflection closely. nothing was out of place. good-

suddenly the mist holding the mirror glitched, causing the mirror to crash onto the floor of the deck. shards were sprayed everywhere until buford the table quickly raced to clean them up. barbie stared with wide eyes. why had her powers glitched? wait... oh. this is what jerald had meant. she'd said her powers would... glitch, was it?

she shook it off quickly. tartarus might be near, but that wasn't barbie's problem right now. she crouched down to buffords level, not sure if bufford could understand her as she said, "we're not gonna talk about the glitch, are we now, bufford? you are not to tell anyone."

buffard made a weird noise, so barbie guessed he got the message.

"uh... barbie, why are you talking to a table?" percy asked, just coming above deck with jason.

"no reason," she spoke, dusting off the non-existent dust from her pretty pink dress, flicking her hair away, "just... nevermind. anyways. rome, huh?"

that might have been an understatement. the sky was brilliant blue, as if the stormy weather had never happened. the sun rose over the distant hills, so everything below them shone and sparkled like the entire city of rome had just come out of the car wash. barbie had seen big cities before. he was from new york, after all. but the sheer vastness of rome grabbed her by the throat and made it hard to breathe.

the city seemed to have no regard for the limits of geography. it spread through hills and valleys, jumped over the tiber with dozens of bridges, and just kept sprawling to the horizon. streets and alleys zigzagged with no rhyme or reason through quilts of neighborhoods. glass office buildings stood next to excavation sites. a cathedral stood next to a line of roman columns, which stood next to a modern soccer stadium. in some neighborhoods, old stucco villas with red-tiled roofs crowded the cobblestone streets, so that if she concentrated just on those areas, she could imagine she was back in ancient times.

everywhere she looked, there were wide piazzas and traffic-clogged streets. parks cut across the city with a crazy collection of palm trees, pines, junipers, and olive trees, as if rome couldn't decide what part of the world it belonged to—or maybe it just believed all the world still belonged to rome.

"we're setting down in that park," leo announced, pointing to a wide green space dotted with palm trees. "let's hope the mist makes us look like a large pigeon or something."

the mist seemed to work. she didn't notice any cars veering off the road or romans pointing to the sky and screaming, "aliens!"

the argo ii set down in the grassy field and the oars retracted. the noise of traffic was all around them, but the park itself was peaceful and deserted.

to their left, a green lawn sloped toward a line of woods. an old villa nestled in the shade of some weird-looking pine trees with thin curvy trunks that shot up thirty or forty feet, then sprouted into puffy canopies. to their right, snaking along the top of a hill, was a long brick wall with notches at the top for archers—maybe a medieval defensive line, maybe ancient roman. she wasn't too sure.

to the north, about a mile away through the folds of the city, the top of the colosseum rose above the rooftops, looking just like it did in travel photos. barbie forced herself not to cry. because the view was so breath taking, and the atmosphere was so... joyous, that it made her want to sob with joy.

jason pointed to the base of the archers' wall, where steps led down into some kind of tunnel. "i think i know where we are," he said. "that's the tomb of the scipios."

percy frowned. "scipio...reyna's pegasus?"

"no," annabeth put in. "they were a noble roman family, and...wow, this place is amazing."

jason nodded. "i've studied maps of rome before. i've always wanted to come here, but..."

"this place is amazing," cherry spoke, letting slip a small tear, "the trees are so... lush. it-" she didn't finish. and if anyboy had wanted to add anything on, they didn't. it seemed all of them were just in as much awe as the other.

they'd made it.

they'd landed in rome—the rome.

"plans?" hazel asked. "nico has until sunset—at best. and this entire city is supposedly getting destroyed today."

percy shook himself out of his daze. "you're right. annabeth...did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?"

her gray eyes turned extra thunderstorm dark, which barbie could interpret just fine: remember what i said, dumbasses. keep that dream to yourself.

"yes," she said carefully. "it's on the tiber river. i think i can find it, but i should—"

"take me along," percy finished.

"oh and me," nodded barbie, adding. "yeah, you're right."

annabeth glared daggers at her and percy, "that's not-"

"safe," finished barbie, "but technically, one demigod walking through romae alone isn't either."

"we'll go with you as far as the tiber," agreed percy, "we can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river god tiberinus. maybe he can give you some help or advice. then you can go alone from there."

"i think it's a perfect idea," smiled barbie, staring at annabeth contently. the two girls had a staring contest, but barbie didn't back down- and neither did annabeth. the two of them were far too stubborn.

"fine," muttered annabeth, "you two dumbasses can go with me. hazel, now that we're in rome... do you think you can pinpoint nico's location?"

hazel blinked, as if coming out of a trance watching the barbie vs annabeth staring contest, "um... hopefully. if i get close enough. i'll have to walk around the city. frank, would you come with me?"

frank beamed, "absolutely."

"cherry? what about you?" hazel spoke, "with your new... add-on i think it would help if you came. if gaea somehow left even just a tiny little fraction of her power on you- it might help us to have you there."

"sounds good to me," nodded cherry, "am i third-wheeling... or?"

"uh, no," hazel spoke, "not exactly- um, leo? it might be a good idea if you came along too. the fish-centaurs said we'd need your help with something mechanical."

"yeah," leo said, "no problem."

piper drew her knife and set it on the rail. "jason and i can watch the ship for now. i'll see what katoptris can show me. but, hazel, if you guys get a fix on nico's location, don't go in there by yourselves. come back and get us. it'll take all of us to fight the giants."

she didn't say the obvious: even all of them together wouldn't be enough, unless they had a god on their side. barbie decided not to bring that up.

"good idea," percy said. "how about we plan to meet back here at...what?"

"three this afternoon?" jason suggested. "that's probably the latest we could rendezvous and still hope to fight the giants and save nico. if something happens to change the plan, try to send an iris-message."

they all nodded in agreement, but barbie couldn't help but notice them all staring at annabeth. another thing absolutely nobody wanted to say: annabeth would be on a different schedule. she might be back at three, or much later... or never. either way, she'd be on her own- searching for the athena parthenos.

coach hedge grunted. "that'll give me time to eat the coconuts—i mean dig the coconuts out of our hull. annabeth... make sure the two of them don't try anymore funny business or i will ground you both until the styx freezes over."

the idea of getting grounded when they were about to risk their lives was so ridiculous that barbie couldn't help but smile.

"we'll be back soon," percy promised. he looked around at their friends, trying not to feel like this was the last time they'd ever be together.

"good luck, everyone." leo lowered the gangplank, and percy, barbie and annabeth were first off the ship.

walking through rome, under different circumstances, might have been amazing. it was like old-times, the three of them linked in arms as they navigated the streets, dodging cars and crazy vespa drivers, squeezing through mobs of tourists, and wading through oceans of pigeons. the day warmed up quickly. once they got away from the car exhaust on the main roads, the air smelled of baking bread and freshly cut flowers.

they aimed for the colosseum because that was an easy landmark, but getting there proved harder than she had anticipated. as big and confusing as the city had looked from above, it was even more so on the ground. several times they got lost on dead-end streets. they found beautiful fountains and huge monuments by accident.

annabeth commented on the architecture, but barbie was far too distracted. she kept her eyes open for other things. once she spotted a glowing purple ghost—a lar—glaring at them from the window of an apartment building. another time he saw a white-robed woman—maybe a nymph or a goddess—holding a wicked looking knife, slipping between ruined columns in a public park.

nothing attacked them, but barbie felt like they were being watched, and the watchers were not friendly. finally they reached the colosseum, where a dozen guys in cheap gladiator costumes were scuffling with the police— plastic swords versus batons. barbie wasn't sure what that was about, but they decided to keep walking. sometimes mortals were even stranger than monsters.

they made their way west, stopping every once in a while to ask directions to the river. the only thing barbie forget to realise was that italians used euros. and sadly, they didn't have any. which made barbie think the tourist shop that sold sodas would be a long and slightly embarrassing trip.

but in barbie's defence, it was almost noon and it was getting really hot.

however, ananbeth seemed to have a solution. she dug around in her backpack and brought out daedalus' laptop, and typed in a few commands. a plastic card ejected from a slot in the side. annabeth waved it triumphantly.

"international credit card. for emergencies."

"how does that even-?" barbie began.

"however it works," percy added, "it was amazing."

the sodas helped, but they were still hot and tired by the time they arrived at the tiber river. the shore was edged with a stone embankment. a chaotic assortment of warehouses, apartments, stores, and cafés crowded the riverfront. the tiber itself was wide, lazy, and caramel-colored. a few tall cypress trees hung over the banks. the nearest bridge looked fairly new, made from iron girders, but right next to it stood a crumbling line of stone arches that stopped halfway across the river—ruins that might've been left over from the days of the caesars.

"this is it." annabeth pointed at the old stone bridge. "i recognize that from the map. but what do we do now?"

even though barbie knew they should probably go- perhaps get some food judging by the hungry grumbles escaping percy's stomach- she couldn't help but walk in a different direction. she didn't know where she was going- and she could hear percy and annabeth calling for her from behind her, but before she even knew it- she was in front of an old antique shop that read: vecchio amore. amore looked like it meant 'love', but that was just barbie's guess. instinctively, she opened the door, and she stepped in.

her friends were definitely going to kill her. not only had she just walked away- for no reason at all that even she couldn't justify, she'd also not waited up for them. and she didn't even know where she was. she looked around cluelessly, her eyes searching the walls of the old antique shop. vintage china cups with ornate golden handles were decorated around the walls and the whole place smelt like a mix of rose and lavender. she hardly heard the bell ring as she'd opened the door, but she shut it quickly, still in awe of the place.

somehow it felt so familiar yet so foreign to her. the cream walls and the little ornaments dotted round. some looked to be old whilst some were somewhat recent. old cameras and film where staked and a large record player was beside the counter, playing peaceful music that made her stomach do a back flip. it was so serene and quiet, that barbie almost forgot she wasn't here to just look around a pretty antique shop.

"oh we have a customer!" a woman spoke with a heavy italian accent, smiling at her brightly, walking towards her and shaking her hand, "you have lovely hair, piccola."

"um... thank you?" she spoke, staring at the old woman.

she was, as said, old. but she radiating an aura of youthfulness somehow. her wrinkles made her look sweet and inviting and her floral pink top suited her small and quite skinny build. she had the standard pearls around her neck and smiled at barbie with a fondness she sort of recognised.

"you come to buy, hm?" the old woman spoke, "sono claudia."

barbie guessed that was her name. she smiled politely, "it's nice to meet you, ma'am. but i... i have to go back to my friends."

"mm," hummed the woman, taking barbie's palm and leading her to the counter, stepping over to her side as she said, "come. i'll show you something."

she didn't know what she needed to be shown, but she stood waiting as claudia brought out an old book, the front cover painted a land that looked like it was a fairytale. ethereal fairies flew around the front cover, dressed in flower petals with hats of flowers too and wings that looked like butterflies. they were peering down at a scene, smiling and laughing.

"passed down by mia bis-bis-nonna," nodded the woman, sighing wistfully, "ah- here." she pressed the book on the counter to a certain page, and somehow strangely found she could read the words. her mind didn't even register that something strange might be going on- but instead read the words on the page.

it was a fairytale or a children's fable. the book seemed to be handwritten and stained at the corners. it spoke of a princess falling in love with a pauper. the princess was charmed by the pauper's humour and sheer beauty, finding herself walking past the same stall at the market every month. eventually, the pauper and the princess expressed their love to each other. but the princesses father, the king, would not allow her to marry such a poor man. the king gave his daughter a choice: she could either break the man's heart or she could be banished from the kingdom.

the princess didn't know what to do. she loved her kingdom and the people within it. she adored seeing them all and hoped to one day rule with justice and hope to become a good queen and hopefully lift the curse placed on her kingdom. she was stuck, unsure what to do. her kingdom needed her, but she loved the pauper ever so dearly. with much thought, she finally chose the pauper- for true love always won. her father, bitter and angry, cast her out of the kingdom without a second glance, stripping her of all her wealth and power- leaving her in peasants clothing as she met with her love.

but the pauper wasn't any normal pauper- as it seemed. he was a prince of a lost kingdom, and when the two of them first began to travel- he was noticed as such and brought back to his kingdom. it was damaged, and the poor pauper had no clue how to begin to repair it. but with the help of the former princess- the two brought both kingdoms together. the curse, lifted and  it's empire lasting for centuries.

"it's a lovely story," nodded barbie, smiling politely, "but... i don't have much interest in buying. i have no money on me either... and i really need to get back to my friends."

claudia shook her head, as if that wasn't what she wanted to show barbie, "not buy." the old woman spoke, "learn."

"learn what?" barbie spoke, "i'm not sure i understand..."

"nothing in life comes with no sacrifice, hm?" claudia spoke, "every curse can be broken, piccola. only if you know what to do."

"what to do?" she spoke warily, "um...?"

the woman sighed, "cara, think. sacrifice? love?" she took barbies hand and squeezed, "young ones... never know until too late. you must know. every curse can be broken. sacrifice comes with life. remember this, hm?"

"i'm not sure..."

oh.

maybe the old woman claudia was just really into her bis-bis-nonna's book (she guessed that meant great-great-grandmother?). or maybe the old woman was inadvertently telling her something. the story... there was something oddly weird about it. and the words the woman said, they stuck in her mind that was moving far too fast for barbie to register. the cogs were turning, but barbie couldn't keep up.

claudia smiled, as if she understood barbie would come to the realisation soon. she patted her hand as barbie slowly walked away, the book still in her hands. she heard the woman laugh as she turned her back, a warm glow around the room as barbie heard, "arrivederci, friglia!"

she stepped out of the building, finally noticing the book was still in her hands. but when she turned, the shop was gone. perhaps she'd walked a bit further than expected, or perhaps... the shop had never been there at all.

either way, a timid thought dawned in her mind. sacrifice, she thought, i'm going to have to sacrifice something.... but what?

barbie heard the calls of her best friends. they walked over to her quickly and annabeth hugged her tightly before punching her arm, "what were you thinking?"

"i-"

"and what's that book?" annabeth spoke, grabbing the book and flicking through the pages, "barbie why do you have a french book? you do realise we're in italy, not france- right?"

"it's french?" barbie spoke, looking at it again. "huh... it is. i..." i think i was just visited by a goddess. although, she didn't say that bit. she brought herself back from her thoughts, snapping her fingers as she sent the book into her little safe inside the mist. "whatever... sorry for leaving you guys."

"you worried us," frowned percy, "you just walked off."

"promise it won't happen again," barbie said, "i promise."

percy looked at her for a second too long before nodded, starring down at the ground for a moment before smiling up at the two of them, " well...it's about lunchtime. how about we try the credit card again?"

even though it was noon, the place was empty. they picked a table outside by the river, and a waiter hurried over. he looked a bit surprised to see them—especially when they said they wanted lunch. "american?" he asked, with a pained smile.

"yes," annabeth said.

"and i'd love a pizza," percy said.

the waiter looked like he was trying to swallow a euro coin. "of course you would, signor. and let me guess: a coca-cola? with ice?"

"awesome," percy said.

annabeth ordered a panini and some fizzy water and barbie just asked for coffee and a slice of cake- not exactly hungry and full of nerves that would keep her going.

after the waiter left, annabeth said, "i think italians eat a lot later in the day. they don't put ice in their drinks. and they only do pizza for tourists."

"oh." percy shrugged. "the best italian food, and they don't even eat it?"

"i wouldn't say that in front of the waiter."

lunch arrived without much of a wait. the waiter looked much calmer. having accepted the fact that they were clueless americans, he had apparently decided to forgive them and treat them politely.

"it is a beautiful view," he said, nodding toward the river. "enjoy, please."

once he left, they ate in silence. the cake was a little stale, but barbie didn't mind. she sipped on the coffee silently, her nerves taking over. sacrifice. she couldn't help but remember that. what would she have to sacrifice? herself? her life? all her ideas became more morbid as she continued to think. what if it all went wrong? did the old lady mean to say curse or was barbie just overthinking this?

"you'll have to trust me," annabeth said. "you've both got to believe i'll come back."

"we both believe in you," barbie spoke, "but... back from where?"

sound of a vespa interrupted them. barbie looked along the riverfront and did a double take. the motor scooter was an old-fashioned model: big and baby blue.

the driver was a guy in a silky gray suit. behind him sat a younger woman with a headscarf, her hands around the man's waist. they weaved between café tables and puttered to a stop next to percy and annabeth.

"why, hello," the man said. his voice was deep, almost croaky, like a movie actor's. his hair was short and greased back from his craggy face. he was handsome in a 1950s dadon-television way. even his clothes seemed old-fashioned. when he stepped off his bike, the waistline of his slacks was way higher than normal, but somehow he still managed to look manly and stylish and not like a total idiot. barbie had trouble guessing his age—maybe thirty-something, though the man's fashion and manner seemed grandfathered.

the woman slid off the bike.

"we've had the most lovely morning," she said breathlessly.

she looked about twenty-one, also dressed in an old fashioned style. her ankle-length marigold skirt and white blouse were pinched together with a large leather belt, giving her the narrowest waist percy had ever seen. when she removed her scarf, her short wavy black hair bounced into perfect shape. she had dark playful eyes and a brilliant smile. barbie had seen naiads that looked less pixieish than this lady.

annabeth's sandwich fell out of her hands and barbie let out a gasp.

"oh, gods. how— how... ?"

"you guys do look familiar," he decided. "are you that guy on mad men?"

"percy!" annabeth looked horrified.

"what?" he protested. "i don't watch a lot of tv."

"that's gregory peck!" annabeth's eyes were wide, and her mouth kept falling open.

"and that's audrey hepburn," barbie breathed, completely mesmerized as she blurted out, "i'm pretty sure i had a crush on you as a kid."

"i know this movie. roman holiday. but that was from the 1950s. how—?"

"oh, my dear!" the woman twirled like an air spirit and sat down at their table. "i'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else! my name is rhea silvia. i was the mother to romulus and remus, thousands of years ago. but you're so kind to think i look as young as the 1950s. and this is my husband..."

"tiberinus," said gregory peck, thrusting out his hand to percy in a manly way that sort of made barbie want to vomit. "god of the river tiber."

percy shook his hand."uh, hi," percy said. "do you two always look like american movie stars?"

"do we?" tiberinus frowned and studied his clothes. "i'm not sure, actually. the migration of western civilization goes both ways, you know. rome affected the world, but the world also affects rome. there does seem to be a lot of american influence lately. i've rather lost track over the centuries."

"okay," percy said. "but...you're here to help?"

"my naiads told me you two were here." tiberinus cast his dark eyes toward annabeth. "you have the map, my dear? and your letter of introduction?"

"uh..." annabeth handed him the letter and the disk of bronze. "s-so..." she stammered, "you've helped other children of athena with this quest?"

"oh, my dear!" the pretty lady, rhea silvia, put her hand on annabeth's shoulder. "tiberinus is ever so helpful. he saved my children romulus and remus, you know, and brought them to the wolf goddess lupa. later, when that old king numen tried to kill me, tiberinus took pity on me and made me his wife. i've been ruling the river kingdom at his side ever since. he's just dreamy!"

"thank you, my dear," tiberinus said with a wry smile.

"and, yes, annabeth chase, i've helped many of your siblings...to at least begin their journey safely. a shame all of them died painfully later on. well, your documents seem in order. we should get going. the mark of athena awaits!"

"let us go with her," barbie insisted, still stunned by rhea silvia's striking resemblance to her childhood crush, "please."

rhea silvia laughed sweetly. "but you can't, silly child! you and your friend must return to your ship and gather your other friends. confront the giants! the way will appear in your friend piper's knife. annabeth has a different path. she must walk alone."

"indeed," tiberinus said. "annabeth must face the guardian of the shrine by herself. it is the only way. barbie allen and percy jackson, you have less time than you realized to rescue your friend in the jar. you must hurry."

"but—"

"it's all right, guys." annabeth squeezing both their hands. "i need to do this."

"you're right," he said, forcing out the words. "be safe."

"please," added barbie, the two of them hugging annabeth tightly.

rhea silvia giggled like it was a ridiculous comment. "safe? not at all! but necessary. come, annabeth, my dear. we will show you where your path starts. after that, you're on your own."

she hugged the both of them one last time, before whispering to barbie, "if i... just tell val i love him." then she shouldered her backpack and climbed on the back of the scooter.

barbie wanted to run to annabeth, perhaps pull her back or go with her. but she forced herself to stay in her chair and watch as annabeth motored off through the streets of rome with gregory peck and audrey hepburn.

rosie speaks!

i am not the only one who
used to have a crush on audrey
hepburn ok. ok. okay?

nyways hello again, heh so we
back and lol i like this
chapter a lot it's cute and
shit. so yeah. um. idk
what else to say. have a
good day ig. ly.

thoughts ??

word count: 5,170 words