Annabeth stuffed the chocolate chip cookie into her mouth in a most unladylike manner, running to the door and waving goodbye to Mrs. Castellan. "See you soon!"

"It was lovely having you, dearie!" May responded. Annabeth grinned at her resident aunt figure and strolled out.

The French provincial town of Saint Lini-Manuela Mirandao, or Saint Lin for short, was in the beginning of autumn, which meant it was fall harvest season, which meant Luke, her best friend, was exactly where she needed him to be.

Katie, Miranda, and Leila were picking spinach leaves from their garden with their mother. All three girls waved, their matching green dresses blending in with the green exterior walls of their small home.

Annabeth waved back. "Bonjour, girls!"

Katie smiled. "Bonjour, Annabeth! How is your day so far?"

Miranda tossed her hair over one shoulder. "We've missed talking with you, cherie!"

Leila tossed Annabeth a flower-a white rose. "For your hair, darling. Stick it in that braid of yours."

"Thank you. I'll stop by later, perhaps?" Annabeth replied.

"Please do! Lord knows it gets boring here with only these three for company." Demeter laughed.

"Mother!" all three girls sighed in unison.

Demeter laughed. "I'm joking, girls. It's called a sense of humor, not that any of you have one. We'll see you around, sweetie."

Annabeth placed the rose into her braid and continued on.

Through the doors of the tavern, Reyna slammed another poor soul's hand down onto the table, grinning as a sickening crack sound emanated. She waved at Annabeth, too busy winning her arm-wrestling matches to say hello. It was strange, though-Clarisse was usually there, too. She was probably out in the fields or hunting in the woods with her father.

Annabeth glanced over at the fountain in the town square, where Drew and Piper could usually be found bickering, but there was no such luck. They were probably helping their mother and siblings with business, at Aphrodite's Couture.

She decided Luke could wait a few minutes and crossed the square to Aphrodite's shop.

Aphrodite was the richest woman in town, and imported lots of high-fashion silks, laces, and other accessories to sell in Saint Lin at reasonable prices. She often stated that she'd come out to the country from Paris to "heal the wounds of these poor countrymen, for they had not yet seen the extravagances and luxuries of life as I see it." That meant, as far as Annabeth and Luke could see, that the people of Saint Lin were uncultured before Aphrodite had taken the town by storm with her more...civilized practices.

Annabeth stepped cautiously through the doorway, and she was met with Aphrodite's children bustling around, laughing at each other and bickering at the same time.

Drew was setting up hats in the window, her glossy black hair in an elaborate updo, which went nicely with her pink silk dress, in the latest fashion. She gave Annabeth a curt nod, then returned to her work.

Silena was directing her fiance, the blacksmith's son Charles, to the storage room, while he carried three crates precariously balanced on top of each other.

Lacy and Mitchell were sorting dresses by size, and Piper was leaning on her elbow at the jewelry counter, looking terribly bored and uncomfortable in a lavender silk dress. She perked up as soon as she saw Annabeth, though, and she dashed over to Annabeth, keeping a hand on her locket so it wouldn't jangle around.

"Annabeth!" Piper tackled her in a hug.

"Piper!" Annabeth returned the hug gratefully.

Piper grabbed Annabeth's hand. "Come on! We got a new shipment yesterday and you simply HAVE to see it!"

The two girls wove through the shop to the storeroom, where Aphrodite was working on what seemed like a custom ball gown. She glanced up at Annabeth, and immediately started talking.

"Annabeth! Oh, Piper's been complaining all week about how much she misses you! Come, see our new shipments! I know you're not a girl who appreciates these things, but I do think you'll enjoy this one."

Aphrodite dragged her over to a box in the corner and pulled out a light blue tulle, then tossed it aside, rummaging deeper inside of it. "AHA! Here, isn't it lovely? Your mother would have adored it." she chirped, thrusting a bolt of satin into Annabeth's arms.

The fabric was a white satin, but the print was a bit unusual. Looking closer, Annabeth saw that it was words from her favorite poem, the Raven. Apparently, the Raven was also a favored one of her mother's, too.

Athena Chase had died from scarlet fever five years after Annabeth was born. She was a well-respected businesswoman, and when she died, her father had no idea how to run the business. So he sold the business and their Paris home, and they moved to Saint Lin, thinking the country air would keep them healthy and safe from the fever. Frederick, her father, had met a woman named Helen, and the two had married, giving Annabeth her two half-brothers. There, she'd met Luke, Piper, Katie, Leo (who was Charles' half brother) and Reyna, and they all became friends.

Annabeth inspected the satin for a while longer, but time was ticking past until the end of her workday, and she needed to check the library for new books, anyway. "Pipes, do you want to come to the library and then the fields with me? I could use some company."

Piper smiled, but shook her head. "I'd love to, Annie, I really would, but I'm still on my shift. We've all got to pitch in around here."

"And the fields are so... Grimy. It wouldn't do to mess up your new dress, Piper, would it?" Aphrodite chimed, shooing Annabeth out. "Do visit again soon!"

Annabeth made her way back to the main shop, where Silena hugged her goodbye, kissing her cheek and telling her to say hello to Luke.

Drew simply ignored her, and Lacy and Mitchell were now carrying huge hat boxes, so all they could do was call out quick goodbyes.

Annabeth pushed her way out into the street, wincing as the sunlight hit her face in an annoyingly blinding way. As quickly as she could, she crossed the street and ducked into Chiron's Books.

Chiron was a mentor to her in a lot of ways, the most significant being that he was the main reason her father had decided to move to Saint Lin. Her parents had known Chiron as children-he'd mentored Athena in the art of entrepreneurship, and she'd become the fifth most popular book producer in Paris. He had also been close friends with Athena's father, Zeus, and although she'd never met the man, Chiron's stories were mainly about him being cold and impulsive with a temper like a wildfire. Her step-grandmother, Hera, was also cold, but went more towards jealousy than anger. Annabeth was seriously thankful they hadn't tried to take her in when her mother died-they sounded like the type to marry a girl off at sixteen.

Annabeth was seventeen, and her father and Helen were both extremely overprotective of her, so any boy that they didn't know who came near would find that he was missing kneecaps. Or elbows.

Or his head.

Annabeth was sure that Helen could do all three and get away with it if she wanted.

She didn't want to be a well-dressed lapdog in the ritzier areas of Paris, trained to follow orders and hold her tongue. Annabeth wanted freedom, to only follow her own orders. (And maybe to boss other people around occasionally.) She wanted to run free all over the world, to explore and adventure wherever she wanted. No one would be able to stop her.

She could see it-she'd have a home base in Saint Lin, where she'd pursue various independent creative projects. About once a month, she'd go out into the world and explore it. Perhaps Asia, or Greece! Yes, that would be nice.

To do all this, money was required, and architecture was her passion. She could design buildings for a living, sell her designs and live off it.

Maybe-maybe-there would be love in the mix, someone to share it all with, to comfort her when she was mourning her mother, to offer feedback on her designs, but they would have to be as smart as herself, strong both emotionally and physically, and good-looking.

So, impossible.

Which was fine, but she would have a much harder time as an unmarried woman.

And perhaps there was a small part of her that wanted someone to share it with.

There wasn't room for fantasies now, though-she needed to work hard if she wanted a future.

Besides, most of the men her age in Saint Lin were boorish hogs.

The only exceptions were Luke, Leo and Charles, but it wasn't like she could marry any of them-all three were like brothers to her, even though she wasn't necessarily close to Charlie, she knew he had her back.

"Annabeth? Is that you?"

Chiron rolled out of the back room in his wheelchair, which Annabeth and her father had helped design.

He was like a second father to her, since her own father, Frederick, didn't have much time for her.

He'd made it clear to all the children that his bookshop was a sanctuary for whoever needed it, and it had proven useful whenever Luke had gotten them in trouble and everyone needed to hide from Clarisse.

When her father had come home in a rage, he let her hide behind the counter until Helen had found her.

"Yeah, Chiron, it's me."

"I'm afraid I don't have any new shipments in yet."

"Actually, I was wondering if you knew where Travis is?"

"Travis Stoll? He's with his brother, helping at the locksmith's."

"Thank you!" Annabeth darted out, grinning to herself.

She knew where Katie was.

She knew where Travis was.

She knew where her co-conspirators were-Luke, Piper, Reyna and Silena.

Plan Tratie was in motion.