Author's Note: I know I promised I'd update sooner, but life has my brain scattered. I'd considered deleting this, but I am determined to finish it, even though it won't be as long as I wanted it to be. Thus, the chapters will be a bit longer than what I usually write. But hopefully when I have more time, I will start another story, but I am working on two as well as this right now, so I'd rather finish them all before moving on. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Right now, Rick Riordan is most likely preparing for the publication of The Serpent's Shadow, and I am sitting at my desktop writing a fanfiction on his work. We are clearly not the same person, so he owns what he owns and I do not.

Piper

I was hoping that Rachel could really handle this. After what I had seen only about an hour ago, I had doubts.

I thought I had it bad aboard the Argo II, but clearly Hera's little game has taken quite a toll on her. Ever since we set sail, she has become more tired, irritable, and frail. The tan seemed to fade from her skin, her blond curls eventually went frizzy and unruly, and her stormy grey eyes were as blank as a slate. About three days ago, she had stopped eating her meals. She would just push her plate away from her for each and every time we sat down to eat; the next day, she had stopped coming to dine with Thalia, Rachel, and me altogether. I was starting to think that she had an eating disorder, but I overheard Will and Pollux saying that she was sneaking food out of the kitchen to eat in her cabin alone.

The truth was that I was really worried about her. Jason had said that the Romans believed in strength and proving your worth; what would they do if they saw Annabeth, our leader, like this? Worse, what would Percy do?

That's why I went to go see her earlier. Even though what Hera did to Jason and Percy was completely out of line, she needed to get a grip before we met the Romans. We couldn't afford to look weak; we needed to show them that we are worthy of helping them fight Gaea and her giants.

"Annabeth?" I asked softly, peering inside her cabin. She was sitting on her bed, staring at the wall. I could see from her bloodshot eyes and the several maps and books that surrounded her that she had been doing some studying of some sort. "Can I come in?" I asked hesitantly.

She didn't answer at first; her eyes focused harshly on the wooden floor, and she was as still as a statue. I took that as a yes and walked in with caution. I looked at her books again, and they seemed to be about Ancient Rome and prophecies.

I looked at her face, which was worn out from months and months of stress. "You're worried about Camp Jupiter and Rachel's prophecy," I stated. The day after we set sail, Rachel said a prophecy for us: Wisdom's daughter walks alone, the Mark of Athena burns through Rome. I knew she was paranoid about it, but I guess she was more scared of it than she was letting on.

All of a sudden, her face twisted in pain, and she shouted, "What else does it look like, you ανόητο ηλίθιος*? The Mark will plague the city… through me…" She crumbled to the floor, sobbing as if the world was coming to an end.

I had no clue what she was talking about, but I walked up to her shaking figure, attempting to comfort her. Before I could kneel down and give her a hug, though, she snapped up and yelled, "Φύγε από κοντά μου! Φύγε και δεν έρχονται ποτέ πίσω**!"

I knew right then and there that she wanted nothing to do with me, and my pep talk would have to wait. I cowered out of the eerie cabin and tried to calm my racing heart.

As I reached the deck, the coast came into view. Several Roman-style structures stood among hundreds of acres of open space, masked by a layer of sea spray. I glanced at Jason and Leo, who were manning the wheel, and I could tell from their worried expressions that we were in for an even rougher ride once we set foot in New Rome.

*stupid idiot

**Get away from me! Go away and never come back!