★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖍𝖚𝖎𝖙:
A GIRLS TRIP

★ 。／｜＼。★

AS A WAY to cheer up Hazel, both Belle and Annabeth were telling her Percy's greatest Seaweed Brain moments (as Annabeth liked to call it.) Just as Annabeth was in the middle of sharing how in the Sea of Monsters Percy had thought hubris was hummus, loud footsteps were heard. Belle turned to see Frank stumble into Hazel's cabin. For some reason, his clothes were stiff and damp.

"Where's Leo?" Frank gasped. "Take off! Take off!"

Belle, Annabeth, and Hazel all shot to their feet.

"Hold on, where's Percy?" Belle demanded, reaching down and gripping Sunflower's keychain tightly. "And Coach Hedge?"

Frank reached down and placed his hands on his knees, trying to breathe. "On deck. They're fine. We're being followed!"

Belle pushed past him. She began to take the stairs faster than she had ever taken stairs in her life. Annabeth and Hazel were right behind her while Frank trailed behind, still gasping for air. They arrived on the deck to see Percy and Coach Hedge laying on the deck, looking utterly exhausted. Coach Hedge was missing his shoes, yet he grinned at the sky while muttering Awesome. Awesome. Percy was covered with nicks and scratches. Belle sunk to her knees next to him. He didn't say anything, but he held onto her hand weakly.

Leo, Piper, and Jason, who had been eating lunch in the mess hall, then came rushing up the stairs

"What? What?" Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich in his hand. "Can't a guy even take a lunch break? What's wrong?"

"Followed!" Frank exclaimed.

"Followed by what?" Jason asked.

"I don't know! Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!"

Belle looked up at him with a confused expression. "What?"

"That makes absolutely no sense," Annabeth replied. "Leo, you'd better get us out of here."

Leo put his sandwich between his teeth and ran for the helm. Soon enough, the Argo II rose into the sky. Annabeth manned the aft crossbow to make sure they weren't being followed.

"What happened?" Belle questioned to Percy, sitting next to him on the deck.

He waved her off. "We'll tell you when everyone's here."

The Argo II got farther and farther away from Atlanta. However, Percy, Frank, and Coach Hedge didn't start to relax until the Atlanta skyline was nothing but a hazy smudge in the distance.

"Charleston," Percy announced, still sounding pretty shaken up while hobbling around the deck. "Set course for Charleston."

"Charleston?" Jason repeated, saying the name like it brought back bad memories. "What exactly did you find in Atlanta?"

Frank unzipped his backpack and began to list off some souvenirs. "Some peach preserves. A couple of t-shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs."

"How about you start from the top — of the story, not the backpack," Annabeth suggested.

They all gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear the conversation as he navigated the ship. Percy and Frank each took turns relating what happened at the Georgia Aquarium, from meeting Phorcys and Keto to being trapped in a giant fish tank. Coach Hedge interjected from time to time by saying That was awesome! or Then I kicked her in the head!

At least Coach Hedge seemed to have forgotten about Belle and Percy falling asleep in the stable together the night before. However, as she listened to Percy's story, Belle knew she had bigger problems to worry about than being grounded.

Then Percy explained how sea creatures were being held captive in the aquarium. Belle suddenly understood why he seemed so upset. She took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"That's terrible," Annabeth responded. "We need to help them."

"We will," Percy promised, lacing his and Belle's fingers together. "In time. But I have to figure out how. I wish . . ." He shook his head. "Never mind. First we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

Coach Hedge had seemingly lost interest in the conversation (probably because he could no longer brag about how he beat people up). He wandered to the bow of the ship to practice his roundhouse kicks and compliment himself on his technique.

Belle gripped Sunflower's keychain nervously. "So . . . we have a bounty on our heads. Just our luck we have both monsters and Romans coming after us."

"Do we get WANTED posters?" Leo asked. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

"What are you talking about?" Hazel questioned.

"Just curious how much I'm going for these days. I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe . . . but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?"

"Hey!" Frank protested.

"Knock it off," Annabeth ordered, making them stop. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston, to find this map."

Piper leaned against the control panel. "A map. But a map to what?"

"I think I know," Belle admitted quietly. She looked to Annabeth cautiously. "The Mark of Athena. Whatever it is, it leads to something important in Rome that might heal the schism between the Greeks and Romans."

"The Giants' bane," Hazel added.

Percy nodded in agreement. "And in my dream, the twin Giants said something about a statue."

"Um . . ." Frank trailed off, rolling his Chinese handcuffs between his fingers. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. But what is it?"

While everyone looked to Annabeth, Belle stared down at the floor in thought. Slowly, very slowly, she began to piece everything together. A statue. The Goddess Athena. Schism between the Greeks and Romans. Annabeth's argument with her mother. The answer was so big and important yet so incredibly dangerous and scary. If Annabeth had to recover that statue . . .

"I — I'm close to an answer," Annabeth replied, making Belle look back up from the floor. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston . . . have you been there before?"

Jason sent an uneasy glance to Piper, though Belle wasn't sure why. "Yeah. Reyna and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley."

"The what?" Piper inquired.

"Woah!" Leo exclaimed. "That's the first successful military submarine. From the Civil War. I always wanted to see that."

"It was designed by Roman Demigods," Jason explained. "It held a secret stash of Imperial Gold torpedoes — until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."

Hazel crossed her arms over her chest. "So the Romans fought on the Confederate side? As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just say . . . not cool?"

Jason raised his hands in surrender. "I personally was not alive then. And it wasn't all Greeks on one side and all Romans on the other. But, yes. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices." He looked at Hazel sheepishly. "Like sometimes we're too suspicious. And we speak without thinking."

Belle raised her eyebrows. At least now he was using his brain. Hazel stared at him, and it slowly seemed to dawn on her that he was apologizing. Jason elbowed Leo as well.

"Ow!" Leo yelped. "I mean, yeah . . . bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."

Hazel pursed her lips at them. "Fine. Back to Charleston. Are you saying we should check that submarine again?"

Jason shrugged. "Well . . . I can think of two places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the Hunley — that's one of them. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout. I could lead a team inside."

"I'll go," Leo offered. "That sounds cool."

Jason nodded and turned to Frank, who was attempting to pull his fingers out of the Chinese handcuffs. "You should come too, Frank. We might need you."

Frank looked surprised. "Why? Not like I was much good at that aquarium."

"You did fine," Percy reassured him. "It took all three of us to break that glass."

"Besides, you're a child of Mars," Jason continued. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has plenty of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line."

Frank gulped nervously. Belle resisted the urge to smile at remembering how Percy said Frank turned into a giant goldfish.

"Okay. Sure." Frank then looked down at the trap and frowned, trying to pull his fingers out. "Uh, how do you—?"

Leo laughed slightly. "Man, you've never seen those before? There's a simple trick to getting out."

Frank tugged at it again, but had no luck. Belle watched him with the smallest of smiles on her faces. Even Hazel was trying not to laugh. Frank grimaced with concentration. And then suddenly, he disappeared. Right where he had been standing, a green iguana was crouched next to an empty set of Chinese handcuffs.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo praised, doing a very good impression of Chiron the Centaur. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

Everyone began to laugh. Belle shook her head as she let some giggles slip past her lips. Frank then turned back into a human, picked up the Chinese handcuffs, and shoved them deep into his backpack. He managed to put an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Anyway," Frank voiced, clearly wanting to change the subject. "The museum is one place to search. But, uh, Jason, you said there were two?"

Jason's smile faded. "Yeah. The other place is called the Battery — it's a park right by the harbor. The last time I was there . . . with Reyna . . ." He glanced at Piper for a moment before rushing on. "We saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling — she said she should try it alone. Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

Everyone paused, waiting for him to go on.

"What did it say?" Annabeth asked.

"Reyna wouldn't tell me. But it must have been important. She seemed . . . shaken up. Maybe she got a Prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that."

Belle thought about it for a moment. She was kind of done with ghosts after experiencing Eidolons and didn't like the idea of approaching a new one, especially one that could change a person with a Prophecy or bad news. But she knew Annabeth. She wouldn't be able to turn down a possible source of information.

"A girls' adventure, then," Annabeth announced. "Belle, Piper, and Hazel can come with me."

The three of them nodded. Belle sent a reassuring smile to Annabeth, obviously saying she would be there for her through it all. Hazel looked nervous, probably since her time in the Underworld gave her enough ghost experience. Piper's eyes flashed defiantly, believing that she could do anything Reyna could.

A thought then dawned on Belle. If seven of them went on these two quests, that meant Percy would be left alone on the ship with Coach Hedge, which probably wasn't a situation a caring girlfriend would put her boyfriend in. Not to mention she wasn't exactly thrilled with leaving Percy again after being apart for so long. However, Percy looked incredibly troubled by seeing those imprisoned sea creatures. Maybe he could use some rest.

Belle squeezed his hand. Their eyes locked, and she looked at him in question. Percy nodded and squeezed her hand back.

"All right, so it's settled then," Belle stated before turning to Leo, who was studying his console and listening to Festus over the intercom. "Leo, how much longer do we have until we get to Charleston?"

"Good question," Leo answered. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us — long-range radar, still not in sight."

Piper leaned over the console. "Are you sure they're Roman?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I suppose we could turn the ship around and fight—"

"Which would be a very bad idea and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome," Jason interrupted.

"Or I've got another idea. If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But the eagles would overtake us, and things would get complicated. Instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston, and get there tomorrow morning—" Hazel went to protest, but Leo raised his hand to stop her. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry."

"It's June twenty-seventh," Hazel reminded him. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

"I know! But this might throw the Romans off our trail. We still should have enough time to reach Rome."

"When you say should have enough . . ."

"How do you feel about barely enough?"

Hazel put her face in her hands for a couple of seconds. "Sounds about typical for us."

Belle let go of Percy's hand and crossed her arms, letting out a sigh as Percy put his arm around her shoulder so she could rest against his chest. "I would say so."

"Okay, Leo," Annabeth began. "What kind of decoy are we talking about?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Leo punched a few buttons on the console, rotated the turntable, and pressed the A button on his Wii controller repeatedly. He then began to call into the intercom. "Buford? Report for duty, please."

Frank stepped back. "There's somebody else on the ship? Who is Buford?"

A puff of steam shot from the stairwell, and then Leo's automatic table climbed on deck with them. Belle hadn't seen Buford much during this trip as much as she had when Leo was building the Argo II. He mostly stayed in the engine room (in which Leo insisted that Buford had a secret crush on the engine). Buford was a three-legged table with a mahogany top, a bronze base, several drawers, spinning gears, and a set of steam vents. The weird thing about him was he was now carrying a bag tied to one of his legs. He clattered over to the helm and made a sound like a train whistle.

"This is Buford," Leo introduced.

"You name your furniture?" Frank inquired.

"Man, you just wish you had furniture this cool. Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?"

Buford spewed steam. He stepped to the railing. His mahogany top split into four pie slices, which elongated into wooden blades. The blades spun, and Buford took off.

Buford spewed steam and stepped to the railing. His mahogany top split into four wooden blades. The blades began to spin and Buford took off into the air.

"A helicopter table," Percy muttered. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag?"

"Dirty Demigod laundry," Leo replied. "I hope you don't mind, Frank."

"What?" Frank spluttered out.

"It'll throw the eagles off our scent."

"Those were my only extra pants!"

"I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will." Leo rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Well! I call that a good day's work. I'm gonna calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner!"

⭒  ☆  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━  ☆  ⭒

BELLE WAS CONSTANTLY woken up that night by nightmares. Demigod dreams were never good, but Belle hadn't really gotten any dreams before she went on that quest in the Labyrinth. Deciding that it was no use to try and fall back asleep again, she lay awake, staring at her ceiling and growing the plants in her cabin a little. At one point she decided to read her book, The Maze Runner, until it was an hour before she had to leave.

She came up on deck after getting dressed. Leo had docked the ship at a pier in the Charleston Harbor right next to the seawall. Lining the shore was a historical district with tall mansions, palm trees, wrought-iron fences, and antique cannons pointing at the water. Jason, Frank, and Leo had already left for the museum with a promise to be back by sunset by the time she arrived. Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel were all ready to go, but Belle walked up to Percy who was leaning on the starboard rail and gazing at the bay.

Belle stood next to him so that their shoulders were touching. "What do you think you're going to do while we're gone?"

"Probably jump in the harbor," Percy responded casually. "I want to try and communicate with the local Nereids to see if they have any advice on how to free those captives in Atlanta. Besides, I some sea might be good for me. That aquarium made me feel . . . unclean."

She smiled softly and kissed him quickly. "Good luck. Come back to me, okay?"

"Always. The same to you, Beauty."

Belle turned back to Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel. She could see that Annabeth was uneasy about this entire situation and gave her a small nod.

"Okay, ladies," Annabeth voiced. "Let's find the ghost of the Battery."

However, as they began to walk around the Battery, Belle started to wish she had jumped in the harbor with Percy or go to a ghost-filled museum with Jason, Frank, and Leo.

It wasn't like she didn't want to hang out with Annabeth, Hazel, and Piper without any boys around. In fact, they had a nice time walking together at first. The signs indicated the seaside park they were at was called White Point Gardens. It was nice outside due to the shade of the palm trees and the ocean breeze sweeping away the heat of a South Carolina summer afternoon. Old Civil War cannons and bronze statues of historical figures lined the road. It made Belle remember that time during the Battle of Manhattan when Annabeth made all the statues come to life with Daedalus' Plan Twenty-Three. It didn't exactly bring back comforting memories.

Charleston Harbor was glittering prettily underneath of the sun. Strips of land stretched out from the north and south and enclosed the bay. An island with a stone fort was sitting at the mouth of the harbor about a mile out. Belle had vague recollection that the fort was important during the Civil War, but she quickly brushed it off.

As they normally did, her thoughts wandered back to Percy as she breathed in the ocean air. She remembered a thought she had back up on Mount Olympus during the Battle of Manhattan: They were soulmates. Belle was sure of it now. They couldn't be separated, not even if they tried. Well, they had been separated. For months. That wasn't necessarily their fault (thanks Hera), but Belle remembered how lost she had felt. Mostly, she would sit on the beach of the Long Island Sound of Camp Half-Blood by herself, staring out at the sea with a broken heart. Sometimes Annabeth, Connor, Travis, or Katie would join her, but Belle didn't say a word. She didn't even know what to say.

Before she knew it, they all turned away from the seawall and explored the gardens on the inland side. The park wasn't very crowded as they made their way around it. Belle guessed that most of the locals were on summer vacation or taking a nap inside. They moved down South Battery Street, which was lined with Colonial mansions four stories high. The brick walls were covered with ivy and the facades had tall white columns like Roman temples Belle had seen in some books. Rosebushes, honeysuckles, and flowering bougainvillea were bursting in the front gardens. Belle wondered if her mother, Demeter, had just let the plans grow without checking on them. Her mother was more interested in wheat, anyways (for reasons Belle never understood, she preferred flowers.)

"Kind of reminds me of New Rome," Hazel stated. "All the big mansions and the gardens. The columns and arches."

For as beautiful it was, it definitely covered up a dark and evil history. They were in South Carolina, a Confederate state that fought to keep slaves. The south had based itself off of Rome in architecture and slavery. One good, one evil.

None of them said much as they continued their walk.

Piper kept looking around the park like she expected somebody to ambush them. Katoptris had shown this park in its blade, yet Piper wouldn't elaborate on it. Belle suspected she was afraid, considering last time had tried to interpret a vision from her knife, Percy and Jason had almost killed each other back in Kansas.

Annabeth was silent as well. Knowing her, she was probably thinking about the Prophecy and what it would mean for her. Belle was worried about her friend. Annabeth had been through so much in her life. She didn't deserve to go through this, too.

Hazel also seemed preoccupied. Either she was taking in their surroundings or worrying about her brother. Unless the found and freed him, Nico would be dead in less than four days.

Belle couldn't let that happen. The deadline was weighing her down, too. Belle had been the first one, besides Percy, to really fight for Nico staying at Camp. She believed that was where he belonged. Her and Nico didn't really get along at first, but they soon became friends. Nico had no family. Belle was hoping she could become his.

Suddenly, Piper grabbed her arm, snapping Belle out of her thoughts. "There."

Belle stopped. She followed where Piper was pointing to see a shimmering white figure floating on the water about a hundred yards out across the harbor. As it moved closer to them, Belle could see it was the figure of a woman.

"The ghost," Annabeth said.

"That's not a ghost," Hazel replied. "No kind of spirit glows that brightly."

Belle decided to trust her word. Never in a million years could she imagine being Hazel. Hazel had died at such a young age and had come back from the Underworld knowing more about the dead than the living.

Suddenly, as if in a trance, Piper walked across the street towards the edge of the seawall, narrowly avoiding a horse-drawn carriage in the process.

Belle's eyes widened. "Piper, what are you doing?"

"We'd better follow her," Hazel commented.

By the time Belle, Annabeth, and Hazel had caught up to Piper, the shimmering figure was only a few yards away. Piper glared at it like it offended her.

"It is her," Piper grumbled.

Belle stared at the figure, but it was blazing too brightly to make out any details. It then floated up the seawall and stopped in front of them, the glow fading as well.

Just like Jason had described, the woman was dressed like a Southern belle. Her gown was made up of a low-cut bodice of pink silk and a three-tiered hoop skirt with white scalloped lace. Tall white silk gloves ran up her arms and she held a feathered pink and white fan to her chest elegantly.

Belle heard Annabeth gasp, but she was too busy staring at the woman in fascination. Her features seemed to shift every time Belle blinked. One second, she was the splitting image of Katie Gardner with brown hair and brown eyes. The next she looked exactly like Annabeth with blonde curls and gray eyes. Another, with braided brown hair and multicolored eyes, she looked exactly like Piper. It shifted again, and this time, the woman had golden eyes, dark curls, and chocolate skin that was exactly like Hazel's. Finally, the shifting stopped onto one specific look: long black hair that was slightly messy and sea-green eyes that glinted in the sunlight.

However, Belle soon noticed that this woman was shifting to whatever she thought as beauty. All her friends — Katie (oh, how Belle missed her), Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel — were beautiful in their own ways. And that women had stopped on Belle's one true perception of beauty and the one who had captured her heart — Percy.

She'd only experienced this once before up on Mount Olympus. Even though her face changed every second, Belle knew who she was.

"Aphrodite," her and Annabeth chorused.

"Venus?" Hazel asked, obviously amazed.

"Mom," Piper added with no enthusiasm.

"Girls!" Aphrodite exclaimed, spreading her arms like she wanted a group hug. None of them obliged. Hazel pressed her back into a palm tree. "I'm so glad you're here. "War is coming. Bloodshed is inevitable. So there's really only one thing to do."

"Uh . . . and that is?" Annabeth questioned.

"Why, have tea and chat, obviously. Come with me!"

Aphrodite led them to the central pavilion in the garden. It was a white pillared gazebo with a table underneath it that was set with silverware, china cups, and a steaming pot of tear that changed fragrance easily. There were plated of scones, cookies, and muffins, not to mention fresh butter and jam. Belle figured all of them were very fattening, but she guessed it didn't matter to the immortal Goddess of love.

The Goddess herself sat — or held court — in a wicker peacock chair. She served them tea and cakes without getting anything on her clothes. Her posture was always perfect and her smile was always dazzling. Belle seemed to resent her more the longer she sat with Aphrodite.

"Oh, my sweet girls," Aphrodite began. "I do love Charleston! The weddings I've attended in this gazebo — they bring tears to my eyes. And the elegant balls in the days of the Old South. Ah, they were lovely. Many of these mansions still have statues of me in their gardens, though they called me Venus."

"So . . . which are you?" Belle inquired. "Aphrodite or Venus?"

Aphrodite sipped her tea, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "My, my, Belle Adair, you have grown into such a beautiful young lady. Although I would suggest I liked your longer hair much better than your short hair. Annabeth Chase, you've also grown into quite a beautiful young lady. You really should also do something with your hair, though. And, Hazel Levesque, your clothes—"

"My clothes?" Hazel repeated, looking down at her rumpled denim like she couldn't imagine what was wrong with them.

"Mother!" Piper complained. "You're embarrassing me."

"Well, I don't see why," Aphrodite responded. "Just because you don't appreciate my fashion tips, Piper, doesn't mean the others won't. I could do a quick makeover for Belle, Annabeth and Hazel, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine—"

"Mother!"

"Fine. To answer your question, Belle, I am both Aphrodite and Venus. Unlike many of my fellow Olympians, I changed hardly at all from one age to the other. In fact, I like to think I haven't aged a bit!" She fluttered her fingers around her face appreciatively. "Love is love, after all, whether you're Greek or Roman. This civil war won't affect me as much as it will the others."

Belle thought that over for a moment. All of the other Olympians were affected. Contact had been ceased. And Athena, usually the most levelheaded Olympian, was reduced to a vicious scatterbrain in a subway station of New York City. The only ones who didn't seem to be affected by the schism were Aphrodite, Nemesis, and Dionysus — love, revenge, and wine. How helpful.

Hazel bit into a sugar cookie. "We're not in a war yet, my Lady."

"Oh, dear Hazel," Aphrodite voiced, folding her fan. "Such optimism, yet you have heartrending days ahead of you. Of course war is coming. Love and war always go together. They are the peaks of human emotion! Evil and good, beauty and ugliness."

Hazel set down her sugar cookie, and Belle appreciated the fact that she didn't know or didn't care about the fact she had a few crumbs on her chin. "What do you mean heartrending days?"

Aphrodite laughed. "Well, Annabeth could give you some idea. I once promised to make her love life interesting. I also decided to make Belle's princess fairytale more interesting as well. And didn't I?"

Belle frowned. Her love life . . . well, the only love she ever had was Percy. They had fallen in the Labyrinth together with no clue how much their lives would be affected. However, just as it seemed to be going up for them, Percy looked like he was falling another girl named Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Ultimately, Belle and Percy got together, only for their relationship to almost fall apart because of Percy lying. Finally, the two had confessed their love to each other, only for Percy to disappear for six months and lose his memory.

"Interesting is a mild way of putting it," Annabeth argued.

"Well, I can't take credit for all your troubles," Aphrodite replied. "But I do love twists and turns in a love story. Oh, all of you are such excellent stories — I mean, girls. You do me proud!"

"Mother, is there a reason you're here?" Piper asked.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean besides the tea? I often come here. I love the view, the food, the atmosphere — you can just smell the romance and heartbreak in the air, can't you? Centuries of it." She pointed to a nearby mansion. "Do you see that rooftop balcony? We had a party there the night the American Civil War began. The shelling of Fort Sumter."

"That's it," Annabeth announced. "The island in the harbor. That's where the first fighting of the Civil War happened. The Confederates shelled the Union troops and took the fort."

"Oh, such a party! A string quartet, and all the men in their elegant new officers' uniforms. The women's dresses — you should've seen them! I danced with Ares — or was he Mars? I'm afraid I was a little giddy. And the beautiful bursts of light across the harbor, the roar of the cannons giving the men an excuse to put their arms around their frightened sweethearts!"

Belle blinked in shock. "But . . . you're talking so enthusiastically about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S. history. More than six hundred thousand Americans died, which was more than World War One and Two combined."

"And the refreshments!" Aphrodite continued, seemingly ignoring Belle's comment. "Ah, they were divine. General Beauregard himself made an appearance. He was such a scoundrel. He was on his second wife, then, but you should have seen the way he looked at Lisbeth Cooper—"

"Mother!" Piper interrupted, tossing her scone to the pigeons.

"Yes, sorry. To make the story short, I'm here to help you, girls. I doubt you'll be seeing Hera much. Your little quest has hardly made her welcome in the throne room. And the other Gods are rather indisposed, as you know, torn between their Roman and Greek sides. Some more than others." Aphrodite focused on Annabeth. "I suppose you've told your friends about your falling out with your mother?"

Belle suddenly focused on the table. She began to feel guilty about not telling anyone about it even though she was there. However, it wasn't her story to tell.

"Falling out?" Hazel questioned.

"An argument," Annabeth answered. "It's nothing."

"Nothing!" Aphrodite exclaimed. "Well, I don't know about that. Athena was the most Greek of all Goddesses. The patron of Athens, after all. When the Romans took over . . . oh, they adopted Athena after a fashion. She became Minerva, the Goddess of crafts and cleverness. But the Romans had other war Gods who were more to their taste, more reliably Roman — like Bellona—"

"Reyna's mom," Piper muttered.

"Yes, indeed. I had a lovely talk with Reyna a while back, right here in the park. And the Romans had Mars, of course. And later, there was Mithras — not even properly Greek or Roman, but the Legionnaires were crazy about his cult. I always found him crass and terribly nouveau dieu, personally. At any rate, the Romans quite sidelined poor Athena. They took away most of her military importance. The Greeks never forgave the Romans for that insult. Neither did Athena."

Belle's eyes widened, and she glanced to Annabeth, who looked very scared. "You mean the Mark of Athena. It . . . it leads to that statue?"

Aphrodite smiled. "You are clever, like your mother, Belle Adair. Annabeth, understand, though, your siblings, the children of Athena, have been searching for centuries. None has succeeded in recovering the statue. In the meantime, they've been keeping alive the Greek feud with the Romans. Every civil war . . . so much bloodshed and heartbreak . . . has been orchestrated largely by Athena's children."

"That's . . ." Annabeth trailed off.

"Romantic? Yes, I supposed it is."

"But . . . The Mark of Athena, how does it work? Is it a series of clues, or a trail set by Athena—"

"Hmm," Aphrodite hummed, looking politely bored. "I couldn't say. I don't believe Athena created the Mark consciously. If she knew where her statue was, she'd simply tell you where to find it. No . . . I'd guess the Mark is more like a spiritual trail of bread crumbs. It's a connection between the statue and the children of the goddess. The statue wants to be found, you see, but it can only be freed by the most worthy."

"And for thousands of years, no one has managed," Annabeth commented.

"Hold on," Piper cut in. "What statue are we talking about?"

Aphrodite laughed. "Oh, I'm sure Annabeth or Belle can fill you in. At any rate, the clue you need is close by: a map of sorts, left by the children of Athena in 1861 — a remembrance that will start you on your path, once you reach Rome. But as you said, Annabeth Chase, no one has ever succeeded in following the Mark of Athena to its end. There you will face your worst fear — the fear of every child of Athena. And even if you survive, how will you use your reward? For war or for peace?"

Belle took Annabeth's hand under the table, noticing her trembling state. "Where is this map?"

"Guys!" Hazel interrupted, pointing to the sky.

Belle looked up. Two large eagles were circling above the palm trees. Higher up, though descending rapidly, was a flying chariot pulled by Pegasi. Apparently Leo's diversion with Buford the table hadn't worked — at least not for long.

Aphrodite spread butter on a muffin like she had all the time in the world. "Oh, the map is at Fort Sumter, of course." She pointed her butter knife at the island. "It looks like the Romans have arrived to cut you off. I'd get back to your ship in a hurry if I were you. Would you care for some tea cakes to go?"

They, in fact, did not take any tea cakes to go. Belle, Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel all ran back in the direction of the Argo II. However, as they were halfway across the deck, three giant eagles descended in front of them. Each one deposited a Roman commando in purple and denim that had glittering gold armor, sword, and shield. The three eagles flew away, and the Roman in the middle who was much scrawnier than the others raised his visor to reveal himself as Octavian.

"Surrender to Rome!" Octavian ordered.

Hazel drew her cavalry sword. "Fat chance, Octavian."

Belle's eyes narrowed. She knew that she could definitely take on Octavian by herself by literally pushing him into the harbor, but the other two guys looked like actual warriors. And for a girl who was only five four, she really didn't want to take them on. Annabeth and Piper were only armed with daggers, and Hazel was the only one with her sword out.

Piper raised her hands in pleading. "Octavian, what happened at Camp was a setup. We can explain."

"Can't hear you!" Octavian yelled. "Wax in our ears — standard procedure when battling evil sirens. Now, throw down your weapons and turn around slowly so I can bind your hands."

"Let me skewer him," Hazel muttered. "Please."

Belle glanced around. The ship was fifty feet away. There was no sign of Coach Hedge and Jason's group wasn't going to be back until sunset. Percy was still underwater, unaware of the invasion. There was no way one of them could get around the three Romans to get on board the Argo II and use the ballistae. They were running out of time. If only they could send a distress signal . . .

Something sparked in her mind. Hazel was the only one with her sword out. Percy was still underwater.

"Well?" Octavian demanded.

Belle looked down and immediately unclipped Sunflower's keychain from her belt loops. She held it up by the chain for the Romans to see before clutching the entire keychain in her fist and throwing it as far as she could into the harbor.

Octavian made a squeaking sound. "What was that for? I didn't say toss it! That could've been evidence. Or spoils of war!"

Belle shrugged her shoulders with an innocent smile. Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel didn't look fooled by it. However, Octavian seemed to buy it as he huffed in exasperation.

"You other three . . . " He pointed his blade at the rest of the group. "Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus—"

Octavian was cut off by the Charleston Harbor erupting all around the Romans. When the wall of seawater went back down, Octavian and his two Roman friends were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay above water in their armor. Percy was standing on the dock, holding out Sunflower's keychain in the palm of his hand.

"I think you dropped this," Percy voiced.

Belle ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck, Percy responding by putting an arm around her waist and lifting her off the ground. "I love you so much!"

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I love you too."

"Guys," Hazel interjected, a small smile on her face as Percy set Belle back on her feet, Belle taking her keychain back and clipping it to her belt loops again. "We need to hurry."

"Get me out of here!" Octavian shouted from the water, holding onto one of his guards who was having trouble keeping them both above the water. "I'll kill you!"

"Tempting," Percy called down.

"What?"

"Nothing! Let's go, guys."

Hazel frowned at him. "We can't let them drown, can we?"

"They won't," Percy promised. "I've got the water circulating around their feet. As soon as we're out of range, I'll spit them ashore."

Piper grinned at that. "Nice."

The group ran off. As soon as they climbed aboard the Argo II, Belle's mind went into overdrive and she began to rattle off commands (which usually was Annabeth's job, but Annabeth seemed willing to let Belle take over for a second.)

"Okay, Piper, go to the sink in gallery and send an Iris-message to Jason," Belle ordered. "Warn him and Frank and Leo to get back here."

Piper nodded and raced off to the gallery.

"Hazel, go find Coach Hedge and tell him to get on deck."

"Right!" Hazel agreed before rushing off.

"Percy and Annabeth, you two need to get the ship to Fort Sumter. Annabeth, you're at the helm because you're the only one besides Leo who kind of know what they mean. Percy, your son of Poseidon powers allow you to move ships. Do whatever you need to get us there."

"What are you going to do?" Percy questioned.

Belle raised her hands helplessly. "There's only so much a daughter of Demeter can do in a situation like this. I don't think plants can sail a ship. So go!"

Annabeth ran to the helm and her hands began to fly across the controls. Percy's powers made the ropes release the dock ties and the sails unfurl so they caught the wind. Annabeth turned on the engine. The oars extended, and the Argo II turned from the dock, heading towards the island in the distance.

Belle looked up. Three eagles were still circling overhead. However, they made no attempt to land on the ship, probably because Festus blew fire at them whenever they got close. At least a dozen more eagles were flying in formation towards Fort Sumter. If each of them carried a Roman Demigod, they would have a lot of enemies to fight.

Coach Hedge then came running up the stairs with Hazel right behind him. "Where are they? Who do I kill?"

"No killing!" Annabeth yelled from the helm. "Just defend the ship!"

"But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!"

Piper came up from below. "Got a message through to Jason. Kind of fuzzy, but he's already on his way. He should be — oh! There!"

Belle focused her gaze to where Piper was pointing. Heading in their direction was a giant bald eagle soaring over the city.

"Frank!" Hazel exclaimed.

Leo was holding onto Frank's feet. Even from the ship, they could all hear him screaming and cursing. Flying behind them was Jason, riding the wind with his son of Jupiter powers.

"Never seen Jason fly before," Percy grumbled. "He looks like a blonde Superman."

"Percy, now isn't really the best time to talk about Jason's Superman abilities," Belle scolded.

"Look, they're in trouble!" Piper announced.

Sure enough, the Roman flying chariot descended from the clouds and dove straight towards the three boys. Both Jason and Frank veered out of the way and pulled up to avoid being trampled by Pegasi. The charioteers let their arrows fly from their bows. Arrows passed under Leo's feet, which led to him screaming and cursing more than he already was. Jason and Frank were forced to overshoot the Argo II and fly towards Fort Sumter.

"I'll get 'em!" Coach Hedge screamed.

He spun the port ballista. Belle's eyes widened and she went to yell at him, but Coach Hedge fired. A flaming spear flew towards the chariot. It exploded over the heads of the Pegasi and threw them into a state of panic. Unfortunately, it also managed to singe Frank's wings and sent him spiraling out of control. Leo also slipped from his grasp. The chariot shot towards Fort Sumter and slammed into Jason.

Belle gasped and her hand flew to her mouth in shock. She watched in horror as Jason — completely dazed and in pain — lunged for Leo. Jason caught him but struggled to gain altitude again. He only managed to slow their fall. The two of them disappeared behind the ramparts of the fort, Frank tumbling after them. Then the chariot dropped somewhere inside and landed with a loud CRACK! One of its broken wheels spun into the air.

"Coach!" Piper protested.

"What?" Coach Hedge inquired, obviously thinking he didn't do anything wrong. "That was just a warning shot!"

Annabeth gunned the engines. The hull of the ship shuddered as they picked up speed quickly. They were only a hundred yards away now from the docks of the island, but a dozen more eagles were flying overhead, each with a Roman Demigod in its claws. The crew of the Argo II would be hopelessly outnumbered.

"I — I don't know what to do," Belle stammered. "Annabeth?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Percy, we're going to come in hard. I need you to control the water so we don't smash into the docks. Once we're there, you're going to have to hold off the attackers. The rest of you help him guard the ship."

"But — Jason!" Piper reminded.

"Frank and Leo!" Hazel added.

"I'll find them," Annabeth reassured them. "I've got to figure out where the map is. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who can do that."

"Annabeth, are you sure?" Belle asked uneasily.

The blonde looked slightly scared, but she nodded nonetheless.

"The fort is crawling with Romans," Percy warned. "You'll have to fight your way through, find our friends — assuming they're okay — find this map, and get everybody back alive. All on your own?"

"Just an average day." Annabeth reached forwards and squeezed Percy and Belle's shoulders. "Whatever you do, don't let them take this ship!"

Annabeth ran out. Belle sighed and turned to the rest of the crew.

"All right, you heard her," Belle stated firmly. "Let's defend this ship."

— [ ♡ ] —

I want to make a harry potter story called cinderella bc apparently I can't stop making disney inspired fics. somebody yell at me

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !