"It's nice to have some time alone together," Hazel said as she rested her head on Frank's broad shoulder.
They sat on a cliff overlooking Ogygia Beach holding hands and watching the sunset. Frank craned his head to looked at something.
"I think you spoke too soon," he said.
Athenaíí was chasing Aphrodisia down the beach with green himation bunched up under her arm.
"Damn it," she said. "After all the effort I put into this."
"I don't know why you're so upset," Aphrodisia replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
Athenaíí unrolled the himation. It was a fine piece of textile work with an elaborately woven border. A princess or noblewoman would not distain to wear such a garment.

Despite it's high quality, the himation had been poorly taken care of. The cloth was rumpled and stained.
Athenaíí had spent months weaving it whenever she had free time and gave it as a gift to Aphrodisia on her last birthday. Aphrodisia thanked her by carelessly wiping her filthy hands all over it and tossing it on the floor whenever she wasn't wearing it.
Hazel had completely given up on Aphrodisia. The slave was about as useful as breasts on a man when it came to looking after the camp. She and Athenaíí usually ended up doing all of the work.
Frank shifted so that he could rest his head in Hazel's lap.
"I'm worried about Leo," he said. "He's done nothing but mope for days now."
"I bet it has something to do with Calypso," Hazel replied, running her hand through his hair.
Calypso had not been seen around the camp in a while. Hazel knew that they parted on bad terms the last time they met. Apparently, Calypso had confessed to being in love with Leo and he brushed her off.
"I don't see what his problem is. Calypso could hold her own among the beauties of Athens and a woman of greater skill, I have never met. She would be the perfect wife for Leo."
"We haven't even had our wedding yet and you're already matchmaking like an old matron."
She gave him a playful slap on the forehead.
Hazel caught sight of Princess Reyna and Princess Thalia dragging their fishing equipment and a large krater down the path which lead from the cliffs to the caves.
"I can't tell what your brother sees in that silly little creature," Princess Reyna said, panting and out of breath.
"If she's such a silly little creature," Princess Thalia replied. "Why are you so threatened by her?"
Princess Reyna put down her end of the krater.
"She doesn't threaten me."
"Nor should she...unless she gives Jason a son before you do. Who knows, maybe she's carrying a son as we speak."
"Go fuck yourself."
Princess Thalia dropped her side of the krater.
"What did you say?"
"I said: go fuck yourself."
Prince Jason gave Princess Reyna the respect and attention she warranted as his betrothed. Still, the fates always seemed to find a way to throw Prince Jason together with Lady Piper. A few brushes of the shoulder as they passed one another in a cramped space. A few sighs and panting breaths.  A few glances that lingered too long.
Hazel wasn't the only one who had noticed the spark between the dashing prince and the gorgeous lady-in-waiting. Princess Reyna could be demanding and difficult but she was neither blind nor stupid. She treated her prettier, more charming, rival with coldness and hostility.
Everyone was at each other's throats: Athenaíí was fed up with Aphrodisia's carelessness and laziness; Princess Thalia never missed an opportunity to rub her brother's preference for Lady Piper in Princess Reyna's face; Princess Reyna constantly gave Lady Piper the cold shoulder.
Hazel felt as though she was in the middle of a battlefield.

The krater Princess Reyna and Princess Thalia carried back to the camp contained live eels they had caught. Hazel cooked them over the fire in a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice.

She scraped some grease and skin off of the pan and into the fire to leave as a burnt offering to Hestia.
"In the dwellings of all," she said. "Both deathless gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honor. Glorious is your portion and your right, for without you, mortals hold no banquets- where one duly pours sweet wine in offering to Hestia, both first and last."

A/N Hestia is referred to as "first and last" because she was the first born child of Kronos and Rhea and therefor the last one Kronos vomited up after he ate them. She is not the most exciting of the Olympians and doesn't feature in a lot of myths (mostly because she was smart enough to stay out of all the Olympian drama) but she was among the most relevant to the everyday life of your average Greek.

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After the pan was scraped cleaned, Hazel handed it over to Athenaíí to be washed.
"Careful with the glaze," she said. "Esperanza will be furious with me if it get chipped."
Hazel had borrowed the pan from Leo's mother and brought it with her from Athens. It was painted in the red figure style and depicted a youth playing the lyre.

"I can tell something's the matter," Prince Jason said as he ducked to get through the cave door.
"Nothing's the matter," Princess Reyna replied.
"If we're going to be married, I want you to be honest with me."
She scoffed.
"You and I both know that neither of us wants this."
"Does this have something to do with Lady Piper?"
"Do what you like, Jason. I really don't give a shit... Hazel, what's for dinner?"
The eels were served with spelt bread Hazel had baked earlier that morning.

After the meal was finished, the fire began to die. Hazel went to gather more wood. She carried an oil lamp to help her see in the darkness.
The only other light was the moon. It was beginning to wane into its third quarter. The month was coming to an end.

A loud shriek disturbed the silence of the night, causing Hazel to drop her bundle of sticks.
A bird fell to the ground. It's body stretched and writhed like a madman having a fit. The wings became slim, graceful limbs. Feathers changed into long, fair hair and pale skin.
A young woman lay naked at Hazel's feet. Hazel stood there for a moment, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"I recognize you," the young woman said. "You're the pretty little thing who found my brooch."
Prince Perseus and Lady Piper spoke in whispers about a curse that had placed on Princess Annabeth. One which caused her to become an owl during the day. Hazel found this hard to believe until she saw it with her own eyes.
"My lady," she said, dropping into a slight bow. She removed her himation and handed it to the princess to cover herself with.
"Thank you," Princess Annabeth said. "What brought you to Ogygia, my dear?"
"Frank, my betrothed, and I came on Prince Perseus's ship from Thessaloniki. Our friend Leo was the one who found you here."
"Oh yes. I remember him. All three of you will be rewarded for your loyalty. I'll see to it that your Frank is promoted within the royal guards."
"You are most generous, my lady."
"And Circe and Hecate will be punished for what they did to me."
"I heard Prince Perseus say that Hecate is the reason you survived the shipwreck. She put that spell on you to protect you from Circe until you could be rescued."
"And I'm supposed to thank her for it? Thank her for fact that I'm on this accursed island. That I have to suffer the indignity of living as a wild animal. That my friends had go on a dangerous quest to try and rescue me. That my poor parents are probably out of their minds with worry."
"Would you rather be dead?"
"I would rather those damned witches not interfered with my life. If it weren't for them, I'd be safe in Crete and joined in marriage to my beloved Percy. Not stuck here as an owl, perhaps forever." She looked up at the third-quarter moon. "So forgive me if I'm a little ungrateful."
Hazel put her hand on the taller girl's shoulder.
"It's not all bad. You could always find some handsome he-owl and settle down to raise chicks."
Princess Annabeth laughed.
"This whole mess is like Pandora's jar- hope is sniveling somewhere at the bottom of it. Perhaps the gods put it there as a sick joke."
"Are you hungry, my lady? There's some bread, oil, and cheese left over from dinner."
"As an owl, I ate my fill of shrews and grubs. As a human, I'm starving."
Hazel led her back to the cave.