First Person: Zytaveon

I don't know what was going on anymore. I knew I was afraid. I knew I was in pain both physically and mentally. I couldn't remember how I got here. I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing, where I'm going, or how to make it stop.

I stood in my father's throne room. The king sat upon his chair above me, looking very displeased. I was in trouble, wasn't I? What was I in trouble for again? Whatever it was, father was not pleased. I'd never seen him so furious at me, as I had always been careful to mind my tongue and made sure not to embarrass him when he introduced me to the other gods and such. What had I done? I know I did something, but my mind was too clouded to remember exactly what.

"You are found guilty of their murder." Murder? Whose murder? First person that came to mind was…Nico? Why? I don't know. My mind was so foggy. This world seemed to be working with my mind to make my thoughts true. It was scrambling my brain, taking thoughts that were just guesses and turning them into reality. "You let him die. You took the information from his mind and continued on your quest without him."

"No…I…didn't want to…"

"But you did. You left him to die."

"No! I promised him I would come! Zy…she promised she do everythingin her power to save him."

"She is dead. You brought all your friends to their doom." Hades waved his hand and an image of Tartarus appeared before me. We were at the Doors of Death, the seven of the prophecy as well as Zy's team and Kaze. We were all there, except I wasn't in the picture. Then, there was a dark figure hovering in the air. It looked like a dark mass of black smoke in a humanoid shape, but there were faces appearing every now and then, and numerous screams. Those were lost souls, I realized. The figure began to become more clear, and I saw…me?

The next thing I knew, I was that person. I swung my hand and felt the life being sucked out of the demigods. The monsters surrounding them took that to their advantage. The demigods were all rounded up, surrounded by the monsters, and weakened, all breathing heavily, bleeding in many places. I'm not sure if I was controlling my body, but I knew that I flew down to the ground and the monsters parted for me.

"So here you are," I said, though my voice was overlapped with one much deeper. It seemed to boom with power, menacing power that sent a chill through anyone that heard it.

"Veon…" Emily began cautiously.

"So nice to see you all here. It was much easier than I expected to lure you all to your doom. Gaea's been trying ever so hard, but she lacks the full understanding of your souls. I, on the other hand…" I pointed to Jason and he suddenly began screaming, dropping his sword and holding his head.

"No…! Stop it…! NO!"

"I know exactly how to destroy your hearts and souls from the inside out."

"Jason!" Piper shouted. "What have you done?!"

"See for yourself." I pointed to her and she dropped her dagger to hold her head as she fell to her knees screaming. The others all let out grunts of anger and worry, trying to decide whether they should help their friends or try and attack me, but they knew both weren't an option. I sighed. "Well, I understand that dragging this out would be so much more fun, but if you monologue too long, you end up having those you leave alive retaliating. I'm smart enough to have figured thatout by now. So, let's just move on, shall we?" I snapped my fingers and the rest of the seven suffered the same fate as Jason and Piper, all breaking out into a chorus of screams as their minds were assaulted from the inside out with their worst fears. Their brains were literally melting at the seams.

"Veon, stop it!" Emily ordered. I turned to her, unimpressed.

"Oh, why would I do that? The boy you once you once knew is long gone. He's become a part of me like oh so many. His darkness is so delicious, and it was so easy to break him. Now you will all join me as well, and we can be one, big, happy, family." I walked forward and summoned a pure dark sword at least six feet long, sleek, lightweight, and powerful. It was serrated to make sure it would be extra painful if one wanted to remove it, and it had the ability to trap one's soul in eternal pain within it if they were killed by it. I walked up easily to the group, and my former team, who were the only ones able to still stand, wisely edged back. Smiling, I stabbed Annabeth first.

"I always found that one annoying. Thinking she was sosmart. Dumb blond." I removed my sword and her body slumped to the ground, a black mist leaving her body from the wound and absorbing into the sword. "Speaking of annoying, next up is the imp." I stabbed Leo unceremoniously and the others watched helpless. It was so delicious. "Can't take anythingseriously. Never shuts his mouth, never does anything useful. And thisone." I slashed Jason across the torso like I was barely paying attention. "Such a hero, isn't he? Thinks he alwaysknows what's best, no matter what others think. Blond Superman over here thinks he's as high and mighty as his father. His father's not much different. I plan to make his death painful as well." I sliced Piper. "Beauty queen. Talks and talks, like everything she says is law. Such a nervous wreck. Worthless." Percy. "Waterboy. Such a hero, doing all of this and that for his friends. Bleh. He's not much of a hero. All he ever does is be at the right place at the wrong time and get lucky before taking all the credit." Hazel. "Death girl. Shouldn't be alive. Loyal to no one but herself, but she doesn't even have confidence in that." I walked over to Hazel and pulled something out of her pocket before revealing Frank's little nub of firewood. "Weakling." I blew on it and it set ablaze. I spread the ashes onto my sword, and then everyone's soul was collected.

"What do we do?" Audrey asked.

"You die." I charged and swung my sword. Emily tried to get in the way, but the moment my sword touched her, she disappeared, her entire soul and body itself absorbed. I swung at Audrey and she barely blocked with her sword. I struck again and she backed up from the force put on her. Kaze came in at speed with a punch, but I caught his wrist, forcing him to a brutal stop and crushing it. Kaze shouted many things in Japanese, but I slashed him down and tossed his body away, before swinging at Audrey again. She blocked, but I moved with more speed than ever and kicked her feet out from under her, and without hesitation, impaled her so that she was pinned to the ground. Once her soul was absorbed, I turned to the final person left standing.

"Zytaveon?" She asked, though there wasn't any fear in her voice.

"Something you wanna say to him? That you lovehim and want him to try and fightme?"

"No. I wanna say I'm sorry." Sorry. Always sorry. No matter what dream or nightmare, no matter where, no matter when, she was always sorry. She smiled to me sweetly, as though she wasn't walking to her doom and was just meeting me for a date. She spread her arms, maybe to invite attack, maybe to ask for a hug. Her face was so calm, even cheery, as though what was happening around us wasn't real.

"Why?" I asked, and it wasn't this being that was controlling my body. It was me. Asking why every time she was so sorry, why I saw her in every dream unafraid of her death.

"Because," She said, blinking tears away while still smiling. "Can't you see? I welcome death. I've had to suffer through so much in my life, and I keep going for reasons even I don't understand. And I have to keep going forward, loosing myself piece by piece. I've long since died, and anything you do will be a mercy. I wanted to…I want to just…live somewhere…with you. Just…at Camp Half-Blood maybe. Going out on a quest here and there, but without this weight on my shoulders. I've always taken pain if it meant someone else won't have to suffer, but…sometimes I get tired. Kill me if you will. It doesn't matter either way. If I win, I win. If I lose, you lose." She smiled in a knowing way, as though we shared a secret between us. She looked down, and her smile seemed to fall into a more reminiscent or sad mood. "Of course, Zytaveon shall suffer as well, and I can only pray he will be able to survive what I know is coming. He will be torn apart, but he must be strong. I know he's a good person, and I know he has a strong soul." She looked up and crossed her arms with a scolding look.

"And if you could do a dead girl a favor, I'd would like to say I love him, thank you very much! And he should fight you, whether its cheesy or hopeless and all that stuff!" She stomped her foot firmly. "I fell in love with him from the moment I met him in the back of that classroom and we sat for months not talking to each other! I like it when he broods because it's cute! I like it that he wears all dark colors and that he smells like darkness and death, and yes, that is extremely weird because to others he probably smells like a rotting corpse!"

"Ouch," I muttered.

"I like it when he worries over my opinion of him, and no, that is notegotistical, it just means he looks cute when he does so! I like it when he wraps his arms around me and puts his head in the crook of my neck! I like it when he's shy around me because I know he cares enough to be afraid of screwing up with me! I like kissing him because he has really soft and veryaddictive lips! Not to mention he is somehow a verygood kisser! And YES! I am willing to admit that while we are currently in a dream and this is all a figment of your imagination that I think you look really hot without a shirt on during training! Now for fuck's sake, wake up!" She slapped me and I suddenly jolted awake in my bedroom on the Argo II.

That was certainly on my list of the scariest and weirdest nightmares in existence. I dragged myself out of bed, trying really hard not to think of the dream, from the scary parts to the embarrassing parts. Nico was still alive; we'd get to him in time. And that scene at the Doors of Death…that wasn't what I thought of the team. They were really nice and really strong in their own ways, and though they had their flaws, they were good people trying to do the right thing. It was odd how I had nothing to say about my team, my closest friends. These nightmares were confusing to say the least, but they were, for sure, nightmares and they were hurting my head. I'd have to ask Zy about it, and take up that offer for sleeping drought.

I quickly got ready for the day. Curiosity got the best of me and I headed to Zy's room where I found her brushing her teeth while simultaneously trying to drag Kaze out of bed. Her words were a bit distorted thanks to the toothbrush in her mouth, but she one-handedly pulled the covers off of Kaze and he fell on the floor with a grunt, complaining about the hour.

"I know," She said. "But it's time to get up. Get dressed and brush your teeth." Kaze grumbled, but tiredly made his way to the bathroom.

"Have a nice night?" I asked her.

"Fine," She said, switching her toothbrush to her other hand. "Kaze is a bed-hog though. I woke up half-way through the night and he'd taken all the covers. Apparently my bedroom is too cold for his liking. Excuse me if I have a higher average body temperature than normal people. Give me a moment." She walked into the bathroom and I heard her spitting and rinsing her mouth. She scolded Kaze on not brushing his teeth, and when I heard him grumbling and doing so, she came back out. "So, what's up?"

"I had a nightmare last night, and you were talking to me about stuff. I was wondering if you remembered anything you said."

"No, I slept dreamless last night. Must've been you. Was it a nightmare? Did I say bad things to you?"

"You said I smell like a rotting corpse."

"Ouch."

"That's what I said."

"Well don't listen to dreams like that. Remember what I said before. Don't let those things get to you. Your enemies are trying to break you by using fear and doubt to invade your soul and shatter it. And for your information, you smell very nice. Kaze, don't drink that!" She rushed into the bathroom and grabbed the mouthwash from him, explaining that you swish it in your mouth and spit it out. "I swear, it's like I'm dealing with a toddler. Anyway, what were we talking about?"

"Oh, nothing. See you later."


First Person: Emily

Leo docked the ship at a pier in Charleston Harbor, right next to the seawall. Along the shore was a historical district with tall mansions, palm trees, and wrought-iron fences, along with some antique cannons pointed at the water. Jason, Frank, Leo and Veon had shadow travelled to the museum already, and according to Hedge, they'd promised to be back by sunset. Piper and Hazel were ready to go, but Annabeth went to Percy who was leaning on the starboard rail, gazing over the bay.

"What are you gonna do while we're gone?" Annabeth asked.

"Jump into the harbor," He said casually, like another kid might say, "I'm going to get a snack."

"We're going to try and communicate with the local Nereids," Audrey said, walking up. "Maybe they can give us some advice about how to free those captives in Atlanta."

"Besides, it might be good for us," Percy said. "Being in that aquarium made me feel…unclean." Audrey nodded grimly in agreement. Annabeth kissed him.

"Good luck, Seaweed Brain. Just come back to me, okay?"

"I will," He promised. "You do the same."

"So what are you guys gonna do?" I asked Zy and Kaze.

"I think I'm gonna spar with my little bro; see if he's still in top form."

"Can you keep up with his speed?"

"I'll manage. Besides, a challenge keeps you in shape. He's dying for a fight, so I might as well try and please him. Plus, we'll be ready for an attack. We'll hold down the fort."

"Onesan~!" Kaze begged, tugging on her arm impatiently.

"Gotta go. See you all later."

We had a pretty nice time walking along the Battery. 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 pleasingly cool under the shade of the palmetto trees. Lining the road were old Civil War cannons and bronze statues of historical figures, which reminded me of that story Annabeth told me about the Titan War where the statues in New York had come to life thanks to Daedalus's command sequence 23. 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. I think it was important in the Civil War, but I didn't think too much about it.

We turned away from the seawall and explored the inland side of the gardens. The park wasn't crowded, and I imagined that most of the locals had gone on summer vacation, or were holed up at home taking a siesta. We 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, and the front gardens were bursting with rosebushes, honeysuckle, and flowering bougainvillea. It look like Demeter had set the timer on all the plants to grow several decades ago, then forgotten to come back and check on them.

"Kinda reminds me of New Rome," Hazel said. "All the big mansions and the gardens. The columns and arches." I remembered reading something about 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. "Why shouldn't we?" The houses and gardens were beautiful, very Roman, but I 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.

Piper kept looking around, as though she expected an ambush. She had said she'd seen this park in the blade of her knife, along with a woman in an old-fashion Southern belle dress. It seemed harmless enough, but things she saw in that knife rarely ever led to good things. Just last time, it led to Percy and Jason almost killing each other in Kansas. Hazel also seemed preoccupied. She may have been taking in her surroundings, but I could sense her worry over Nico as well. Both Veon and Hazel were worrying their heads off for Nico, but it wasn't just them. Veon and Annabeth had told me some things about Nico. Nico had gone through a lot in his past, from when he'd been rescued with his sister Bianca from that military academy in Maine, to loosing Bianca, his only family at the time, and becoming a homeless orphan, drifting through the world alone. Even though I barely knew him, I felt like he was my brother, not Veon's, and I would do anything to help him.

"There," Piper said, pointing across the harbor. A hundred yards out, a shimmering white figure floated on the water. It was definitely glowing, and it was moving more smoothly than a boat, making a straight line toward us. As it got closer, I could tell it was the figure of a woman.

"The ghost?" Annabeth asked.

"That's not a ghost," Hazel said. "No kind of spirit glows that brightly." As if in a trance, Piper walked across the street toward the edge of the seawall, narrowly avoiding a horse-drawn carriage.

"Piper!" Annabeth called.

"We'd better follow her," I said. By the time we'd caught up with her, the ghostly apparition was only a few yards away and I could see her clearer. "Hey, is that-?" Piper glared at her like the sight offended her.

"It is her," She grumbled. The apparition floated up the seawall and stopped in front of us. The glow faded, and Annabeth gasped. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful, and strangely familiar. Her features seemed to shift from those of one glamorous movie star to another. Her eyes sparkled playfully - sometimes green or blue or amber. Her hair changed from long, straight, blond to dark chocolaty curls. The woman was dressed like a Southern belle, as Jason and Piper had described. Her gown had a low-cut bodice of pink silk and a three-tiered hoop skirt with white scalloped lace. She wore tall white silk gloves, and held a feathered pink-and-white fan to her chest. Everything about her seemed to make the rest of us feel inadequate: the easy grace with white she wore her dress, the perfect yet understated makeup, the way she radiated feminine charm that no man could possibly resist. Of course I felt fine compared to her, more like a you do you kinda thing, and I was fine the way I was, but I could sense she was built to make others jealous, her face seeming to become more and more beautiful and constantly shifting by the second.

"Aphrodite," Annabeth realized.

"Venus?" Hazel asked in amazement.

"Mom," Piper and I said, Piper without enthusiasm and me with much enthusiasm.

"Girls!" The goddess spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. Apparently I was the only one who obliged, as Hazel backed 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!" She led us 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 must've been 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 seemed to hate her more and more the longer we sat. They do say that hatred and jealously are born from beauty and love. I kept a cheery mood and encouraged the others to lighten up as well. We should be ready for an attack and such, but hey, if Aphrodite was able to be here without her schizophrenic state, then she must be here to give us some advice and such, right? Might as well enjoy the peace while it lasted.

"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 call me Venus."

"Which are you?" Annabeth asked. "Venus or Aphrodite?" The goddess sipped her tea, and her eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Annabeth Chase, you've grown into quite a beautiful young lady. You really should do something with your clothes, though. 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. "Your 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 and Hazel, perhaps silk ball gowns like mine-"

"Mother, I think we're good," I said.

"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." So far the gods unaffected by the Greek-Roman schism seemed to be Aphrodite, Nemesis, and Dionysus. Love, revenge, wine. Well okay then. Hazel nibbled on a sugar cookie.

"We're not at 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." Hazel set down her sugar cookie. She had a few crumbs on her chin, though she didn't seem to know or 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. I once promised to make her love life interesting. And didn't I?" Annabeth looked ready to snap the handle off her teacup. For years, her heart had been torn. First there was Luke Castellan, her first crush, who had seen her only as a little sister; then he'd turned evil and decided he liked her - right before he died. Next came Percy, who was infuriating but sweet, yet he had seemed to be falling for another girl named Rachel, and then he almost died, several times. Finally Annabeth had gotten Percy to herself, only to have him vanish for six months and lose his memory. You had to admit that her love life had been complicated, though I had seen worse before.

"Interesting is a mild way of putting it," Annabeth said, reining in her anger.

"Well, I can't take credit for all your troubles," The goddess said. "But I do love twists and turns in a love story. Oh, all of you are such excellent stories - I mean, girls. A shame Lucy couldn't be here with us. I think she's one of my favorite in eons. You all do me proud!"

"Mother," Piper said. "Is there a reason you're here?"

"Hm? 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."

"That's it," Annabeth muttered. "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! Except for Order, of course. I think she was a he back then, Angel, but he and his husband loved ruining things. They always seem to show up at big moments in history, and that night they bantered about how cannons shouldn't scare females and they were being overdramatic, totally ruining the scene. Of course they were such lovesick fools themselves, it was adorable. Oh, but such turmoil while they're apart. They're the most beautiful ongoing story of them all. Either way, they both ruined and lightened up the party that night, making it all the more exciting! They provided wonderful entertainment."

"You're talking about the beginning of the bloodiest war in U.S. history," Annabeth said. "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 protested and tossed her scone to the pigeons.

"Yes, sorry. 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?" Hazel and Piper looked at her curiously.

"Falling-out?" Hazel asked.

"An argument," Annabeth said. "It's nothing."

"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," I muttered.

"Yes, indeed. 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."

"The Mark of Athena," Annabeth 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 wa…so much bloodshed and heartbreak…has been orchestrated largely by Athena's children."

"That's…!" Annabeth began. She most likely wanted to say "impossible," but from what she told me of the encounter with her mother, Athena's bitter words and burning hatred in her eyes backed up the story. She hated what the Romans did to her, choosing other gods over her because they were more Roman. She didn't want to be changed to a Roman, but the Romans did it to her anyway, but then cast her aside in favor of other gods.

"Romantic?" Aphrodite offered. "Yes, I suppose it is."

"But…" Annabeth began. "The Mark of Athena, how does it work? Is it a series of clues, or a trail set by Athena…?"

"Hm." 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, no one has managed."

"Hold on," Piper said. "What statue are we talking about?" The goddess laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure Annabeth and Emily 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 od every child of Athena. And even if you survive, how will you use your reward? For war or for peace?"

"This map," I said. "Where is it?"

"Guys!" Hazel warned, pointing 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 the ship in a hurry if I were you. Would you care for some tea cakes to go?"