In which Annabeth wants to murder a goddess and Rachel is all of her self control.
Replies:
Weirdhead: Yeah, she's definitely powerful- love is Percy's main motivator, both platonic and romantic, and she's the reason Kronos lost so yeah, love is powerful.
Undeath9087: Honestly, Percy would be more annoyed that Aphrodite hurt Annabeth and Rachel with it- she knows what happened and it's not nice being reminded but like- she can't avoid it.
Guest: At this stage they have each other and they're literally right there with one another. They both saw Aphrodite as Percy because currently she's the piece they're missing if that makes sense.
Guest: Yeah, he does seem to have something against being girly- believe me I have much respect for all things girly.
Annabeth was not proud of how she reacted to Aphrodite's words, though in her defence, what did the goddess expect? For Annabeth to take that spiteful reminder of what had happened- of what had happened without Annabeth even knowing.
If it wasn't for Rachel she'd have probably been smited. Thankfully Rachel knew her very well- and so when Annabeth pulled her dagger and lunged Rachel was already moving, grabbing Annabeth's wrist and sliding so that she was almost sat on Annabeth's lap- which meant that the pissed off Demigod couldn't
try to stab Aphrodite.
The snarl died in Annabeth's throat as Rachel pressed their foreheads together, whispering soft soothing words, "Hey- hey genius it's gonna be okay. You can't attack her okay, look at me. Look at me breath. I get that you're angry at her I am too but attacking her won't help us."
"It would make me feel better." Annabeth grumbled the words, reaching up to tangle her fingers into her girlfriends fiery curls.
"I have other ways to make you feel better. We just can't do any of them here or now."
"I mean-" Annabeth let out a very slightly shaky laugh, "We could."
"Annabeth!" Rachel let out a shocked laugh- and Annabeth felt a rush of warmth- she truly did love Rachel, somehow she'd managed to calm her without even having to try.
And Piper spoke up then, clearly sensing that they needed to try and steer the conversation away from that topic to avoid any explosions."Mother. Is there a reason you're here?"
"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." And Annabeth shifted, as did Rachel, so that both of them could join in the conversation, though Rachel didn't move off of Annabeth's lap- a fact that Annabeth was very happy about. And her brows furrowed as she focused again.
"That's it. 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!" Aphrodite said. "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!"
Annabeth's tea was cold. She hadn't eaten anything, but she felt like she wanted to throw up. "You're talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S.
history. Over six hundred thousand people died—more Americans than in World War One and World War Two combined."
"And the refreshments!" Aphrodite continued. "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 tossed her scone to the pigeons.
"Yes, sorry," the goddess said. "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 fixed her gaze on Annabeth. "I suppose you've told your friends about your falling-out with your mother?"
Heat rose to Annabeth's cheeks. Hazel and Piper looked at her curiously and Rachel glared at Aphrodite. "Annabeth's issues with her mother are none of your business."
"Falling-out?" Hazel's voice was almost hesitant.
"An argument," Annabeth said. "It's nothing. We haven't been getting on well since- since Percy died."
"Nothing!" the goddess said. "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," the goddess agreed. "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."
Annabeth's ears buzzed, the only thing keeping her calm was Rachel's lips brushing against her ear, whispering softly, calming her temper.
"The Mark of Athena," she said. "It leads to a statue, doesn't it? It leads to…to the statue."
Aphrodite smiled. "You are clever, like your mother. 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 wanted to say impossible, but she remembered Athena's bitter words in Grand Central Station, the burning hatred in her eyes.
"Romantic?" Aphrodite offered. "Yes, I supposed it is."
"But…" Annabeth tried to clear the fog from her brain. "The Mark of Athena, how does it work? Is it a series of clues, or a trail set by Athena—"
"Hmm." Aphrodite looked 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," Annabeth said, "no one has managed."
"Hold on," Piper said. "What statue are we talking about?"
The goddess laughed. "Oh, I'm sure Annabeth 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?"
Annabeth was glad for the tablecloth, because under the table, her legs were trembling. "I don't know what you mean by my worst fear- my worst fear has
nothing to do with my siblings and I've already lived through it." she shook her head before giving Rachel a worried frown- she would die if she lost Rachel too. "This map," she said, trying to force her thoughts not to dwell on that possibility, "where is it?"
"Guys!" Hazel pointed to the sky.
Circling above the palmetto trees were two large eagles. Higher up, descending rapidly, was a flying chariot pulled by pegasi. Apparently Leo's diversion with Buford the end table hadn't worked—at least not for long.
Aphrodite spread butter on a muffin as if she had all the time in the world. "Oh, the map is at Fort Sumter, of course." She pointed her butter knife toward the island across the harbor. "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?"
"Of course not!" Annabeth was lurching to her feet with Rachel-and Hazel and Piper were close behind.
Maybe if they moved fast they'd make it? They had to have a chance right?
But even as they got closer Annabeth could see Rachel's expression going distant- it happened sometimes, not too often, usually her dreams were mildly prophetic- but sometimes it would happen when she was awake, she'd zone out and somehow have a gut feeling about something when she finally focused again. Which was usually helpful, but right now Annabeth really wished it wasn't happening because they needed to be able to focus.
Unfortunately they didn't make it to the ship.
Halfway across the dock, three giant eagles descended in front of them. Each deposited a Roman commando in purple and denim with glittering gold armor, sword, and shield. The eagles flew away, and the Roman in the middle, who was scrawnier than the others, raised his visor.
"Surrender to Rome!" Octavian shrieked.
Hazel drew her cavalry sword and grumbled, "Fat chance, Octavian."
Annabeth cursed under her breath. By himself, the skinny augur wouldn't have bothered her or Rachel but the two other guys looked like seasoned warriors—a lot bigger and stronger than Annabeth wanted to deal with, especially since Piper, Rachel and herself were armed only with daggers.
Piper raised her hands in a placating gesture. "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."
The ship was only fifty feet away, but Annabeth saw no sign of Coach Hedge on deck. He was probably below, watching his stupid martial arts programs. Jason's group wasn't due back until sunset. And the others- Nico would be helping Will make up some potions for them- which would be less dangerous than nectar and ambrosia, Ethan and Thalia had been talking about doing some training and Percy was probably somewhere with Luke and Grover. None of them would know what was going on.
If Annabeth could get onto the ship she could use the ballistae but there was no way around the three Romans, not one that wouldn't be incredibly risky.
She needed some way to signal to the others that they were in trouble- but that was easier said than done-
She was yanked unceremoniously out of her thoughts by Rachel snatching her dagger out of the sheath and throwing it into the water.
"What the- RACHEL!" Annabeth yelled the words- and Rachel was pulling out her knifes too, tossing them into the water like a mad woman.
"You heard him!" Rachel's voice was frantic, "We've got to get rid of our weapons right?!"
"HEY!" Octavian screeched the word, "I didn't say toss them! I-"
"You said throw them down!"
"I meant set them on the dock! Those could be evidence, or spoils of war!"
"Oh bitch please." Rachel shot him a look of withering scorn "Those knives are my babies I would rather let them rust in the sea than let some scrawny little fraud like you get them-"
"Why you-" Octavian looked like he wanted to burst- and Annabeth grabbed Rachel's elbow, pulling her back slightly, protectively. "I will make you pay for that-" He stepped forward, raising his sword- and Rachel smirked slightly, raising her free hand and wriggling her fingers.
"Buh bye." And a second later three hands of water burst out of the dock, grabbing the three Romans- two of them grabbed their victims by the waist and lifted them into the air, but the third one grabbed Octavian by the back of his pants-and he shrieked loudly, kicking and flailing as he tried to get free- it was definitely a comical sight- but all Annabeth could focus on was the figure rising up on a little platform of water, Annabeth's dagger in one hand and Rachel's knives at her feet resting on the platform.
"Honestly you guys, just the dagger would have done. You nearly hit me with that last knife Daredevil."