I feel as though I owe you guys a new chapter for getting everyone's hopes up over a new chapter when in actuality I was just re-uploading chapters. Here's a new one... finally :)

Penny received a few days of rest as Annabeth nursed her back to health. The trip to Rome hadn't been pleasurable in any respect, especially after getting herself locked in a hold too small to even sit down in for the majority of the voyage back to Italy. In retrospect, it was a better fate than being left with the Roman crew as many captive women were, but after a week of being tossed around in the hold with hardly any room to move, she had found herself too weak to walk after they had made it to land. That and her struggle with dehydration did no good for either herself or her captors.

Penny marveled at the poise that Annabeth composed herself with, even as a captive. She even greeted the guards that came with food and drink as though they were welcome guests. Penny hoped that she acted half as graceful as Annabeth when she was under duress. That wasn't likely though; Penelope was known for her quick temper and sharp tongue at home for a reason.

Finally, Penny took her first steps in days, and Annabeth exclaimed as a mother would after watching her child walk for the first time and enveloped her in a hug. Barely a second passed before six guards, heavily armed and faces covered, entered the room and grabbed Penny and Annabeth.

"No!" Penny cried as she was dragged out of the room struggling by four of the men. She watched as Annabeth was kept from going to her, subdued by the other two guards.

"Keep your head, Penny!" Annabeth called out. "And don't forget –" The door slammed shut, cutting Annabeth's words off.

Penny attempted to wrest herself from the grips of the men, but was rewarded with a knock to the head and a sack pulled over her head. Her head swam, but she attempted to keep her senses, remembering the turns that they took as they lead her away from Annabeth's room.

She realized that they had entered into the royal palace, marked by the mutterings of men and women as they scuttled out of the way of Penny and her guards. Too few to be in a marketplace, and too cool to be outside. A few more twists and turns, and they stopped once again. Penny heard the click as a door was opened, and felt herself being pushed inside another room. Thankfully, she managed to keep her balance. Her hands were free, so she ripped the sackcloth off of her head and whirled around, but the door was already shut behind her. She grasped at the handle, but she was locked in. Again.

"Oh dearie, why would you want to go out there?" a man's voice said from behind her. Penny swung around again, reaching instinctively for a weapon as she had been taught. Unfortunately, she had been unarmed for the past couple of weeks, and the emptiness at her side had still not kicked in.

She couldn't see who was talking; the man was standing in the shadows, a cowl covering his face. He chuckled, a menacing sound that rebounded over and over again in confines of the room. "An admirable idea, dear, but quite pointless. Now, Princess, we have some business to attend to."

Penny was taken aback. "How do you know me? And who are you?"

"I have my ways, Penelope." The voice said, ignoring her second question. "Now, this may be a far-fetched deduction, but I'm guessing that you don't want to stay captive in this sad little empire forever, now do you?"

"It's not even a secret. But why would you care?"

The shadowed man chuckled again. "Oh dear, I'm your savior! I can help you save your country before the war even begins."

The offer was too good to be true. "How?"

"By letting you know the deepest secrets of the Roman Empire. And how to destroy them."

Penny shook her head, still disbelieving. "And what would be in it for you?"

Another laugh. "Dearie, my greatest enemies would finally be rid of. Everything would be in it for me! But my interests are yours, Princess."

"Why should I trust you? You just had me dragged away from my only friend here and into this godsforsaken room for who knows what. And you want me to help you."

The voice sighed, apparently disappointed in her. "You were already ordered away from the Queen, dearie. This is just a detour. Fine, I'll let you in on a little secret. The instructions pertaining to you were to wash you down, fix your hair, make you pretty, and train you for concubinage. Won't that be fun, dear? A princess of Greece bedding whoever pays the highest price for her." Penny tried to hide the fear and disgust that threatened to show on her face. The voice continued. "The emperor must really care about your prospects. And in less than… what's the time frame for now, four months? In four months, when your dear brother realizes that you haven't returned with his queen, he will prepare his troops, his ships and his weapons and set sail for Rome. The greatest powers of our times at war. And you know what will happen to them, don't you Penelope? It will be a bloodbath. The Romans can't stand the might of the Greek Navy, but once the Greeks make land and go rushing off to save their queen and princess, the Romans will have the upper hand. Each side will slaughter the other, and all over such petty offenses. But I can help you. Together, we can stop this from happening."

"I still don't know who you are," Penny said, although weakly. She knew that if she had the chance to stop the Romans, she would do so in a heartbeat. "How can I trust you?"

The man still didn't reveal himself, but Penny could have sworn that she saw the flash of teeth, as if he was grinning. "I told you Penelope, I'm your savior. Have fun with those Roman boys, dear. And remember my offer."

The door unlocked from behind her, and the cloth covered Penny's face once again as she was dragged off, but this time she didn't bother to memorize any floor patterns. She was too busy thinking.

How could she possibly say no to an offer like that? A chance to free herself and Annabeth and destroy the Romans before they could hurt her people. Maybe this was what Percy had told her about before, about making a sacrifice for the good of her people. Maybe this time, she could finally be the hero.

How was that chapter? Who is the man? Any predictions? :P Please review, love y'all!