Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Twenty-One

The Maddest of All Tea Parties

"Let's be traditional,

And non-commissional

Got my elbows down, pinkies up,

That's the way you sip my cup

Welcome to the Tea Party

Want to be my VIP?

You didn't RSVP, that's okay, okay."

"Tea Party" by Kerli

We arrived in Charleston the next morning, and Leo docked the ship at a pier in the Charleston harbor, right next to the seawall. By the time I leisurely made my way to the top deck, the boys had already set out for the museum. That was alright with me. The girls came up within a few minutes of me and with our bags at the ready and weapons securely hidden away, we headed out.

We didn't really know where we were supposed to go, so we just kind of wandered along the seawall. Breathing in the sea air made me feel a longing I hadn't felt in a long time – a longing to go home, to Vancouver. I felt like I hadn't been there in forever – when was the last time I had visited Vancouver? Walked or biked along our famous seawall there? It had been much too long. When all of those was over, I knew I had to go home – to my real home – and stay for a while. New York was great, but nothing could ever beat the city I was born in.

I turned to look at Annie for a minute, but she was busy admiring all of the old architecture lining the park. "I know," Annabeth whispered without looking at me, squeezing my hand. I linked my arm with hers and we continued walking in silence. Everyone seemed to be lost in their thoughts.

"There," Piper said, shaking me out of my reverie and making me jump a little. She pointed across the harbor to the shimmering figure of a lady on the water. The glimmering figure was making a beeline for us.

"Not a ghost," Hazel said and I nodded my agreement as Piper started walking towards it, taking no notice of the traffic around her. The three of us looked at each other warily before jogging to catch up with her.

Piper made a face before mumbling, "It's her."

I was about to ask who before I got a good look at the woman. She was dressed like a Southern belle in a beautiful pink gown complete with a hoop skirt and long white gloves. Her face, however, continuously changed, her hair going from red to blonde and her eyes going from blue to brown. I was overwhelmed with jealousy. If I was that beautiful, I could have any guy I wanted. I wouldn't have to worry about anything – life would be handed to me on a silver platter, just like it was for so many celebrities and heiresses. I deserved that, didn't I? I was the only daughter of Apollo and the granddaughter of Zeus. I was basically a legend among demigods, so why couldn't I have even half the beauty she had?

I realized that my feelings were being manipulated. "Aphrodite." Those weren't my real thoughts – they were thoughts created by the presence of Aphrodite. I was still left feeling inadequate, wanting to look up a plastic surgeon and see what could be done, but I shoved that thought to the back of my mind.

"Venus?" Hazel asked in amazement.

"That's my mom," Piper said in a less then enthused voice.

"Girls, I feel like I've been waiting for you for ages!" she said with her arms spread wide, like she was waiting for us all to come in for a group hug. That wasn't going to happen. "Come, let's have tea and gossip."

She brought us over to a beautiful white gazebo. A table sat inside, set up for a beautiful high tea with three-tiered serving plates and at least five different pots of tea with some of the most beautiful china I had ever laid eyes on. I guess when you're Aphrodite, only the most things will do.

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked, getting straight to business. I mean, sure, I was interested in all of this, but those scones were calling my name. "Aphrodite or Venus?"

"Annabeth Chase, look at you! You have grown into such a beautiful young lady! My word, whoever would have known? And Hazel! So gorgeous but we could probably do something about those clothes," Aphrodite said and Hazel looked down at what she was wearing self-consciously. "You know, if you two would let me give you a make-over –"

"I've been trying to get Annabeth to let me give her a makeover for years, so good luck with that one," I said off-handedly. "Then again, she doesn't actually need one because she's too beautiful as it is."

Aphrodite turned her attention to me, like she had forgotten I was there. I shouldn't have spoken. "Andromeda le Fay, you look just like your mother. Of course, you've got that mischievous sparkle in your eye just like your father, but you're mostly your mother. Avalon would have been so proud of you." I wanted to be mad that she called me by my heinous birth name that I didn't want these other girls to know about, but hearing her say I looked like my mother and that she would have been proud of me distracted me a little.

"Mother!" Piper snapped.

She gave her daughter a stern look. "I am both Aphrodite and Venus. See, my Roman counterpart and I are basically the same – love is love, after all. So when these civil wars happen, I'm one of the few who keep their head. Your father, Andromeda, is like that as well."

My heart swelled a bit. Even if grandfather was feeling the full effects of this mess, dad was okay. Maybe he was looking after grandpa or looking after us. Who knows, but he was okay and that had to be good for something.

"War just doesn't seem to change us select few," Aphrodite continued. "We're the ones too good to ever need to be changed."

"But we're not at war yet."

Aphrodite laughed a bit. "Of course not, dear, but it is coming, and there are such heartbreaking days ahead of you all."

"What do you mean, 'heartbreaking days'?" Piper asked her mother suspiciously.

"Andromeda should know exactly what I'm talking about. I always said her love life would be interesting and look at it now! It's basically my favorite soap opera – well, other than the Young and the Restless. That show always seems to get me!"

"It's Andee, you know that, but I have no idea what you're talking about. My love life is non-existent."

Aphrodite looked confused for a second before looking deep into my eyes and saying, "Oh. Now this is a new development." She paused for a moment, the most lady-like smirk I had ever seen playing across her perfectly pink lips. "Oh, now this is really something."

I looked to Annabeth for help because I still had no idea what she was talking about, but Annabeth just grimaced. This definitely had something to do with that potion.

"My dear, no magic in this world – no matter how strong – can make you forget love. Love is eternal and stays with you far longer than life. Very clever attempt to avoid your Prophecy, though. Very clever indeed," Aphrodite said. "Maybe I should have Eros pay you another visit just to jumpstart things again – oh wait, he's not quite himself right now. Darn. Well, things will just have to play out by themselves, I guess."

"Can we stop talking about this?" I asked, my head starting to hurt. I really didn't know what she was talking about, but I could feel the empty parts of my memory. A small part of me really wanted to know what I was forgetting, yearned for that missing part, but I had to remind myself that I made the memory potion for a reason. I had to believe that I had done what was for the best.

Aphrodite grinned. "An amnesia plot – this just gets better and better!"

"Lady, please, we're here for your help," Annabeth said, trying to get the conversation back to the quest.

"Oh, alright," Aphrodite said, and I let out an inaudible sigh of relief. Pick on Andee time was over. For now. "Do you see that rooftop balcony? Oh, so many good memories! We had a party here the night that the American Civil War began."

"That's right," Annabeth said. "Fort Sumter was where the first fighting of the war happened. The Union troops were overpowered and the Confederates took the fort."

"Such an incredible party!" Aphrodite continued as if Annabeth hadn't even spoken. "There was a magnificent string quartet, and all the young men were in their new, shiny officer's unfirms and oh! Ares and I danced all night – oh wait, was it Mars? – never mind, I remember feeling just so giddy, like fireworks were going off! And then they were!"

"Seriously?" Annabeth asked, looking like she was going to be sick. "That was the worst war in American history – more people died than in World War I and II combined."

"And the food –"

"Mother!" Piper snapped again. "The quest!"

"Oh yes, sorry," Aphrodite said in a voice that made it clear that she wasn't all that sorry. "I'm here to help you girls, seeing as everyone else is feeling a little torn apart right now." She grinned like that was a funny joke. "Annabeth, have you told the others about your meeting with your mother?"

I looked at Annabeth and squeezed her hand under the table. I was one of the only people who knew about it, maybe the only one.

"Your mother was the Greekiest of all the goddesses, and it's such a shame that when the Romans took over, they reduced her to the goddess of crafts and cleverness. Of course, she's always been clever, but in a more strategic way. The Romans just seemed to have other gods to do the part. Mars, of course, and Bellona –"

"Reyna's mom?" Hazel asked. Aphrodite nodded.

"The Romans took away the military importance of Athena and the Greeks never forgave the Romans for it, and neither did Athena."

Annabeth looked at me and my mind was filled with all the thoughts racing through her head. I could catch a glimpse or two of some of them and was able to tell exactly what they were all leading to.

"The Mark of Athena leads to the statue, doesn't it?" Annabeth asked.

"See? Athena really is clever, especially her children," Aphrodite said. "You need to understand that many of your siblings have undergone this quest for centuries, and so far none of them have succeeded in returning the statue, which has kept the feud between the Greeks and the Romans alive and kicking."

"So is it a series of clues or a trail that's been set?" I asked as soon as the thought came across Annabeth's mind.

"I don't think Athena even realized what she was doing when she made it, so I guess it would be considered more of a spiritual trail. The statue wants to be found, but only by the most worthy, and so far, no one has met that criteria," Aphrodite said.

The little wheels in Annabeth's mind kept turning, filled with anxiety and worry and self-doubt, and with a little niggling of determination over top. That's my girl.

"There's a map…well, it's kind of a map. It was left by some children of Athena in the late 1800's, a moment in time that will start your journey. But like I said, no one has ever succeeded in following the Mark of Athena, and at the end you will face your worst fear."

"Where is this map?" Annabeth asked, her hands shaking a little.

"Uh, guys? We need to move," Piper said, pointing above us. I looked up and there were two large eagles circling high above us. Even higher than them was a chariot being pulled by pegasi, flying right towards us.

"Oh crap," I said, jumping to my feet. "The map, Aphrodite."

"Oh yes, it's at Fort Sumer, but you should probably hurry back to your ship – the Roman's don't look like they want to have tea with you," Aphrodite said. "Scones for the road, anyone?"

As the others started sprinting back to the boat, I'm a little ashamed to say that I stayed back for a few seconds to dump some scones in my bag before joining them.