"The martyr cannot be dishonored. Every lash inflicted is a tongue of fame; every prison a more illustrious abode." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Frank laid a hand on Hazel's shoulder as she cried. Her sobs caused her shoulders to bounce up and down beneath Frank's hands and the sound of them muffled the rest of the cafeteria into nothingness. Hazel sniffed loudly and laid her head on Frank's shoulder. Her face felt warm against his shoulder and her curly hair tickled his chin.

       Frank patted her back and let her sob into his shirt. His prison uniform was growing damp and the salty scent of tears tickled his nose. Hazel wrapped her arms around Frank's back. Frank hesitated for a few seconds before hugging her back. Hazel was the first to break away.

     "I'm sorry," she said, sniffing.

      "You have nothing to apologize for," Frank said. "I would be upset if I were you."

    Whenever Frank thought of how Hazel had been sentenced to twenty years in prison for stealing some chocolate, he felt like marching up to Dike and challenging her to a jousting match. It was weird how Hazel made Frank want to feel like a knight in shining armor when she was more capable than he was. She just had that effect on him.

Besides, Hazel wasn't just dealing with the struggles of imprisonment. Yesterday, her brother had been in court again. Dike had presided over the trial again —only this time, he was facing the death penalty.

For someone facing the death penalty, Nico seemed fairly nonchalant. He was arguing with Will over whether Achilles liked Patroclus or Briseis more. Frank suspected that Nico was not as unconcerned as he appeared; he was just the type of person who tried to shoulder everything alone.

"Nico won't even talk about it," Hazel said, echoing Frank's thoughts. "I'm scared. I'm afraid of losing him."

Frank wasn't sure what to say. Nico's lawyer sounded competent enough. Everyone had heard of Hermes Silvertongue. He had defended a man in the prison named Chris Rodriguez after he had tried to assassinate the governor. Hermes has been able to convince the jury that Chris was mentally unstable, savings the man from a lethal injection.

"Nico told me that there is going to be a new prosecutor," Hazel said. "He told me the one at the trial, Geryon, was bloodthirsty and kept suggesting weird ways to execute him."

Frank imagined a man telling Dike to throw Nico into a bottomless abyss. Geryon man sounded less rational than many people here. It was strange that Geryon asking the government to do to Nico what he had done to Kronos — and for the same alleged crime. Sometimes Frank thought lawyers were even better at lying than criminals, but Geryon sounded like the type of man who could never keep his mouth shut.

     "Maybe the new prosecutor won't pursue the death penalty," Frank said.

    Hazel looked up. Her golden eyes looked like large, round drachmas and she smelled like the sea. Frank's heart was beating widely in his throat and when Hazel squeezed his hand his hand, he felt like she had kissed him.

    "I hope you're right," Hazel whispered.

     "If I'm going to be frank with you," Frank said, "there is always hope."

     "You're right," Hazel said, her voice quavering. "There are many possible futures and some of them are bearable."

     "And some of them are even amazing," Frank said.

      Hazel smiled slowly. Then she did something that surprised Frank. She kissed him on the cheek. When she withdrew, the two of them shared a glance and a million futures seemed to pass between them.