Whoop, hope you guys enjoy this chapter- Annabeth is not a happy bunny by the end of it lol.
Replies:
Weirdhead: Yeah that's appropriate.
Oujiswan: Heh, poor Percy is usually right.
Undeath9087: Yep, it was definitely needed- there is still some level of awkwardness between Annabeth, Rachel and Percy but the anger isn't really there anymore.
MKDemiGodzilla-Warrior: You shall have to wait and see. And I mean it doesn't magically make the situation easy bit it is less tense between them all now.
Drizzle: Ye, we all love Frank very much and we're glad he slipped up.
Guest: There's still going to be some tension- not anger as such but it's still painful and awkward for them under the circumstances.
Guest: Eh, there's the seven central heroes- and then their awesome backup.

It had been hard, accepting that Percy needed space- but while Annabeth wasn't sure that she fully understood it- she was willing to accept it now. After everything that Frank had told them- after seeing the way she'd shattered over- well Annabeth wasn't sure what it had been. But Luke had stayed with her so hopefully he'd have helped her get through it.

She did hate that she couldn't help- that Percy was shutting them out but- she was going to try and give her that space she so desperately seemed to need, and so was Rachel. Though- if either of them got the chance they'd quietly agreed that they'd make sure that Alabaster suffered for making Percy feel like she had to put that distance between them for their own safety- because that did seem to be a part of the issue.

Not that they wouldn't have made him suffer before- they'd have taken some pleasure in making him suffer if Annabeth was being honest.

In any case, she was honestly glad that they'd left the ship- it was good to get some air, and some space of their own away from Percy- it was hard being near her but not being with her in the way that they were used to. Besides, Piper and Hazel were nice- though Piper seemed somewhat distant compared to normal, unable to meet their eyes, and Hazel had been giving them dirty looks before they'd left- until Percy had come out to say goodbye and they'd said goodbye to her- which honestly, Rachel had leaned in and whispered to Annabeth that she was glad Percy's new friend was so protective because clearly she needed someone like that.

And it had been nice, walking along the Battery, hand in hand with Rachel- if Hazel and Piper hadn't been there it would have almost been like a date.
According to the signs, the seaside park was called White Point Gardens. The ocean breeze swept away the muggy heat of the summer afternoon, and it was pleasantly cool under the shade of the palmetto trees. Lining the road were old Civil War cannons and bronze statues of historical figures, which made Annabeth shudder. She thought about the statues in New York City during the Titan War, which had come to life thanks to Daedalus's command sequence twenty-three. She wondered how many other statues around the country were secretly automatons, waiting to be triggered. Sure they were useful but- well they were dangerous too- the prototype Talos tended to stick in her mind when she thought about them.

In any case, it was beautiful, the Charleston Harbor glittered in the sun. To the north and south, strips of land stretched out like arms enclosing the bay, and sitting in the mouth of the harbor, about a mile out, was an island with a stone fort. Annabeth had a vague memory of that fort being important in the Civil War, but she didn't spend much time thinking about it.

She breathed in a deep lungful of sea air- the familiar scent always comforted her. It was the reason why she and Rachel had spent so much time on the beach after Percy had died, it reminded them of her, let them feel closer to her when she was gone. Now she was back and not theirs anymore but- well, Frank had said that she still loved them so Annabeth had to have hope. And she knew Rachel did too- just from the way those beautiful forest green eyes stared out into the distance at the sea.

Eventually though they had to turn away from the seawall and explore the inland side of the gardens- Hazel and Piper had to remind the two older girls of that but once they did they were able to focus. The park wasn't crowded. Annabeth imagined that most of the locals had gone on summer vacation, or were holed up at home taking a siesta. They strolled along South Battery Street, which was lined with four-story Colonial mansions. The brick walls were blanketed with ivy. The facades had soaring white columns like Roman temples. The front gardens were bursting with rosebushes, honeysuckle, and flowering bougainvillea. It looked like Demeter had set the timer on all the plants to grow several decades ago, then forgotten to come back and check on them.

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

Annabeth nodded. She remembered reading how the American South had often compared itself to Rome back before the Civil War. In the old days their society had been all about impressive architecture, honor, and codes of chivalry. And on the evil side, it had also been about slavery. Rome had slaves, some Southerners had argued, so why shouldn't we?

Annabeth shivered. She loved the architecture here. The houses and the gardens were very beautiful, very Roman. But she wondered why beautiful things had to be wrapped up with evil history. Or was it the other way around? Maybe the evil history made it necessary to build beautiful things, to mask the darker aspects.

Annabeth felt Rachel squeezing her hand, drawing her out of her thoughts as they kept looking around, and Annabeth shot her girlfriend a soft smile, leaning in and pressing her lips to the other girls cheek.

The other girls were quiet, distracted.

Piper kept looking around like she expected an ambush. She had said she'd seen this park in the blade of her knife, but she wouldn't elaborate. Annabeth guessed she was afraid to. After all, the last time Piper had tried to interpret a vision from her knife, Percy and Jason had almost killed each other in Kansas- and Annabeth was half convinced that something more had happened- based on how Piper was avoiding talking to her or Rachel too much- but she wasn't going to say what.

And Hazel also seemed preoccupied. Maybe she was taking in their surroundings, or maybe she was worrying about Bianca. Annabeth didn't blame her for that. She wasn't close to the daughter of Hades but- well she certainly deserved better than what she was undoubtedly going through now. And unless they found Bianca and freed her she would die. Which would be bad. Nico would almost certainly lose his shit. Annabeth suspected that the only ones who might stand a chance at calming him down would be Percy or Will. And even then it would only be a maybe.

She was so deep in thought, she might have kept walking around the park forever, but Piper grabbed her arm.

"There." She pointed across the harbor. A hundred yards out, a shimmering white figure floated on the water. At first, Annabeth thought it might be a buoy or a small boat reflecting the sunlight, but it was definitely glowing, and it was moving more smoothly than a boat, making a straight line toward them. As it got closer, Annabeth could tell it was the figure of a woman.

"That would be the ghost then." Rachel spoke up, squeezing Annabeth's hand "Should be fun."

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

Annabeth decided to take her word for it. She couldn't imagine being Hazel, dying at such a young age and coming back from the Underworld, knowing more about the dead than the living. And- well, Percy cared about her, trusted her. And no matter how things were between Annabeth, Rachel and Percy, Annabeth would trust Percy's judgement on people.

And then Piper moved- it was almost as if she was in a trance as she walked across the street towards the edge of the seawall, narrowly avoiding a horse-
drawn carriage.

"Piper!" Annabeth called as Rachel let go of her hand and sprinted after the other girl.

"We'd better follow her, before she gets hit by something." Hazel said quickly.

And by the time Annabeth and Hazel had caught up to her Rachel had grabbed Piper's arm, and Piper was glaring at the ghostly apparition- which was only a few yards away, as if it had mortally offended her somehow.

"It is her," she grumbled.

Annabeth squinted at the ghost, but it blazed too brightly to make out details. Then the apparition floated up the seawall and stopped in front of them. The glow faded.

Annabeth gasped. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful and strangely familiar. Her face was hard to describe. Her features seemed to shift from those of one glamorous movie star to another. Before they flickered to very familiar features, sparkling sea green eyes- that bright smile that had always made Annabeth's heart race, the short dark curls that Annabeth had loved combing her fingers through.

Annabeth's head turned quickly- and Rachel was gaping at the woman too, "Are you-"

"She looks like her." Rachel said with a short nod, a curl slipping from her loose pony tail and falling into her eyes.

And okay, with that information it was easy enough to figure out who the woman was.

"Lady Aphrodite." Annabeth's voice was not pleased.

"Venus?" Hazel asked in amazement.

"Mom," Piper said, with no enthusiasm.

"Girls!" The goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug.

None of them moved forward to oblige- Hazel even moved back until she bumped into a palmetto tree.

"I'm so glad you're here," Aphrodite said. "War is coming. Bloodshed is inevitable. So there's really only one thing to do."

"Uh…and that is?" Annabeth ventured.

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

Aphrodite knew how to do tea.

She led them to the central pavilion in the gardens—a white-pillared gazebo, where a table was set with silverware, china cups, and of course a steaming pot of tea, the fragrance shifting as easily as Aphrodite's appearance—sometimes cinnamon, or jasmine, or mint. There were plates of scones, cookies, and muffins, fresh butter and jam—all of which, Annabeth figured, were incredibly fattening; unless, of course, you were the immortal goddess of love.

Aphrodite sat—or held court, rather—in a wicker peacock chair. She poured tea and served cakes without getting a speck on her clothes, her posture always perfect, her smile dazzling.

Annabeth hated her more and more the longer they sat, the more she thought about it.

"Oh, my sweet girls," the goddess said. "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."

"Which are you?" Annabeth asked. "Venus or Aphrodite?"

The goddess sipped her tea. Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "Annabeth Chase, you've grown into quite a beautiful young lady. You really should do something with your hair, though. You too Rachel- you always seem to be covered with paint don't you? And, Hazel Levesque, your clothes—"

"My clothes?" Hazel looked down at her rumpled denim, not self-consciously, but baffled, as if she couldn't imagine what was wrong with them.

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

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

"Mother!"

"Fine," Aphrodite sighed. "To answer your question, Annabeth, 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!" Her fingers fluttered 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."

Wonderful, Annabeth thought. Her own mother, the most level headed Olympian, was reduced to a raving, vicious scatterbrain in a subway station. And of all the gods who might help them, the only ones not affected by the Greek–Roman schism seemed to be Aphrodite, Nemesis, and Dionysus. Love, revenge, wine. Very helpful. Especially when Annabeth's own love life was so complicated- and when she was angry at the goddess- because surely Aphrodite had some of the blame for Alabaster.

Hazel nibbled a sugar cookie. "We're not in a war yet, my lady."

"Oh, dear Hazel." Aphrodite folded 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."

She smiled at Annabeth as if she knew what Annabeth had been thinking earlier about the Old South.

Hazel set down her sugar cookie. She had a few crumbs on her chin, and Annabeth liked the fact that Hazel either didn't know or didn't care.

"What do you mean," Hazel asked, "heartrending days?"

The goddess laughed as if Hazel were a cute puppy. "Well, Annabeth could give you some idea-"

"Don't-" Annabeth gritted her teeth, "Don't you dare." and Rachel looked as angry as Annabeth felt.

"You- Percy deserved better than that psychopath-"

"Oh come now. You can't blame all of your woes on me-" Aphrodite waved a hand dismissively, "I didn't make the boy fall for her. Honestly I barely even had to meddle- I must say you three made a truly beautiful story. Destined to be as tragic as they come-" Aphrodite met Annabeth's gaze, "With your love wedded to Kronos himself."