Annabeth and Piper questioned the slaves and gathered up bits of court gossip to try and piece together what had happened to Queen May.
The accepted story was that Queen May had died from an overdose of hellebore which her careless slaves gave her by accident.
"She only brought one slave with her to court," Annabeth informed Piper as she was seated at her loom, "A Phoenician girl named Dione, the only one who knew the proper amount of hellebore to give her. The rest of her attendants were slaves belonging to King Zeus and Queen Hera, who were assigned to wait up on her."

"I heard that Dione was absent when Queen May was given the hellebore," Piper added as she used Annabeth's silver tipped ivory spindle and distaff to spin wool into into thread for weaving, "She was missing for a of couple hours that evening and the rest of Queen May's attendants had to guess on how much medicine to give her."

The slaves who had waited upon Queen May were now in prison, awaiting their executions by hanging. A worse sentence had been given out to the negligent Dione: death by public stoning.
"It's being said: the reason why Dione was missing was she had been dallying with a lover and now, they've run off together."
Dione had not been seen at the palace since the morning that Queen May's dead body was found. Thessaloniki and the surrounding countryside were instructed to look out for a runaway slave girl of about nineteen or twenty: slight and small breasted with pale skin, dark hair, and grey-blue eyes.

Percy had invited Jason, Annabeth, and Piper to come with him to visit a cave near the Agia Triada beach. The cave was sacred to the God of the Seas, House Jackson's patron god, and Percy planned to make a sacrifice to thank the god for his safe return home. He poured a libation of wine and sang a hymn describing the god's magnificent palace made from coral and his gardens filled with shady bowers and caves to hide in.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Outside of the cave were tidal pools left behind when the hide had gone out. Climbing up and over the rocks, they explored each of the tidal pools, finding  fist sized snails and hermit crabs with purple or pink shells, red or orange star fish ranging from little squirming things no bigger than a drachma, to solid, bulky creatures roughly a foot in length, and bright green or blue urchins and anemones.
Annabeth and Percy mostly left Piper and Jason alone together during excursions like this. Piper imagined that Annabeth had made Percy an ally in her marriage plot. Did Jason know about it? If he did, what did he think of it?

The more Piper got to know Jason, the more she found herself falling more in love with him. She had admired his god-like beauty but she was pleased to find a mind and a heart behind it. She often saw him in the gardens with his nephew, Lukeides, teaching him to how to spar with a wooden sword, putting up a good fight but always letting the little boy win. When he was finished with Lukeides's sword fighting lesson, Jason would ask Piper to take a walk with him.
At first, they talked about the usual things people did when they were getting to know each other: their childhoods and the things they had in common. Both of their childhoods had been more or less happy. Piper's father, Lord Tristan McLean, came from minor Cypriot nobility and had a seaside estate outside of Ledra, Cyprus's capital. He was known as one of the handsomest men on the island. Queen Aphrodite had a summer home near the McLean family estate and she noticed Lord Tristan when as she riding by a beach near both of their properties. She spied him coming out of the water after his daily swim and decided that she must have him. An invitation to dinner brought him over to her summer home and the rest was history. Several months later, Queen Aphrodite retired from court, saying that she was "exhausted" and "needed solitude." She never publicly acknowledged her three illegitimate daughters (Piper and her half-sisters Silena and Drew) but gave each of their fathers a pension. Because Piper's father was a noble, they were welcome at court and her father brought her there several times a year so she could see her mother. Queen Aphrodite arranged for Piper to be a lady-in-waiting to Princess Annabeth of Athens and that was how Piper ended up at the Macedonian Court a year ago.
Jason had been born there in Thessaloniki. He and his older sister, Thalia, grew up along with the sons and daughters of the other royal houses such as Prince Percy, Princess Annabeth, and Prince Luke, who his parents had invited to share his tutor, Master Chiron. When he was not studying with Chiron, or playing with Annabeth, Percy, Thalia and Luke, he had to shadow his father and learn how to be a king: sitting in on meetings of the boulé, accompanying his father when he went to review the troops, and fighting by his side during the war with Persia.
Jason eventually confided in her that he was anxious to take the throne. King Zeus was still in his prime. It would likely be many years before he died. In the meantime, Jason felt as though he was just waiting around for his life to begin in earnest. He had things to do, such as commanding a division of the Macedonian army, but it still felt like his father was reluctant to give him a taste of real power, lest he should like it. His father sometimes eyed him with suspicion, as if he was wondering if he would try to overthrow him, like he had his own father. Sons overthrowing fathers was something of a family tradition. Zeus had slain his father Cronus, who had done the same thing to his own father, Uranus.
If it is difficult to be king, it is even more difficult to be a king-in-waiting: standing by in the wings to play a part you are unsure if you can play; both dreading and anticipating the moment when you must make your entrance, and scared that the performance will be a disaster; always having a prize dangled in front of you but it's forever out of your reach.

Annabeth and Piper had packed a picnic lunch to bring with them to Agia Triada. The picnic lunch consisted of dried fruit and nuts, poppy seed bread, olives and feta cheese, and red wine.

"Jason," Annabeth asked her friend, "Doesn't Piper look especially lovely today?"
Piper wore a simple white chiton with her hair loose and uncovered. A wreath of spring flowers crowed her head.

"Lovely indeed," Jason replied. At first, he had looked at her the way most men did, as if the sun were dazzling his eyes: blinded and unable to look directly at her. Now he looked at her as if she were the moon: with awe and reverence. Men had always told her she was beautiful but Jason made her truly feel beautiful. Piper turned away from him, hesitant to meet his eyes. It would not do either of them any good to look at each other that way.
"Piper," Annabeth called to her, "There's a lovely batch of seashells over there. Why don't we leave the men to talk about fighting and hunting and other tedious things and go gather some?"
White, spindle shaped seashells were scattered on the sand a few feet away.
"Percy told me that Jason confided in him," Annabeth told Piper as she bent over to pick up a handful of shells, "He as good as said that he's in love with you."
When she back stood up, she adjusted the strap of her simple white chiton and the leather belt and strophion which cinched it at the waist and bust.

"What did he say?" Piper replied skeptically, fixing a bronze pin on her own chiton.
"Well, he told Percy that he's been spending time with you and that he likes your company. He also said that he finds you easy to talk to. When I asked Jason about you at Luke's funeral banquet, he said that you were the prettiest maiden he's ever seen."
"Anything else?"
"It's been noticed that the two of you are growing close and it is said in court that he's smitten with you. Don't worry, no one's accusing the two of you of anything more than an innocent flirtation. Your reputation is safe."
"I wish you would stop trying to manipulate my life!"
"Excuse me!"
"If you would pay attention to what's going on around you, instead of what you want to see, you know that King Zeus and Queen Hera are in talks with Queen Hylla of Latium to betroth Jason to her sister, Princess Reyna."
"O Piper, I'm so sorry."
"You're clever Annabeth, very clever, but you're not wise."

The Macedonian court welcomed an important guest: the sculptor and prophetess, Rachel of Delphi. She appeared in the megaron wearing a loose white ionic chiton and veil trimmed with blue horizontal stripes which marked her out as a virgin priestess. Her curly red hair was adorned with the cloth fillets and a wreath of myrtle blossoms and laurel leaves associated with worshipers of the God of the Sun.

Rachel of Delphi had a gaunt, somewhat haggard appearance: a thin, bony frame, and a long face with high, prominent cheekbones, a slightly crooked nose, and hollow sunken eyes. Her freckles were more noticeable against her milk-white skin. She had a mischievous smile and her green eyes were lively and sparkling. In about forty or fifty years, she would be the very image of the wise old crone.
Rachel was seated near Annabeth, Percy, and Piper at dinner.  As they ate together, she told them stories about life in the temple at Delphi, called the omphalos, the navel or center of universe, where the great and the good of the known world, from Egypt to Anatolia and beyond, came to consult the Pythia, an oracle who received knowledge of the future by breathing in vapors that rose from a chasm in the earth upon which the temple was built.

A/N this vapor is poisonous gas which would make you trippy from lack of oxygen. The oracles of Delphi also breathed in the smoke from burning henbane and chewed laurel leaves; both plants cause hallucinations.

Rachel's most entertaining stories were about a man named Octavian, one of the priests who interpreted the frenzied babbling of the Pythia so it could be understand by her supplicants. She described him as a sniveling little weasel with pale yellow hair the color of snot when one has a cold, who always had a petulant, self-important look on his face. He constantly bragged to anyone who would listen that he had once advised the pharaoh of Egypt not to go to war with the Nubians and Libyans because the Pythia's prediction did not indicate a successful outcome.
"Can you help me with something?" Rachel asked Percy, as the banquet winded down.
"If it's in my power to do so," he answered, "I will."
"Have your mother come to the temple of the God of the Sun, after the rest of the palace has gone to sleep. She's a priestess of the Cretan snake goddess, and she's the only person at court who I know can help me."
Percy's mother, Sally, came from a long line of priestess queens who had served the snake goddess for centuries. She was a beloved and revered figure who the Cretans believed could make their fields and wombs fruitful, and was known for helping women and girls in need either by aiding them in their flights from cruel parents and husbands, giving herbs and prayers to help them conceive, or by simply advising them in whatever problems they might have.
"You can trust Queen Sally," Annabeth assured her, "She is the kindest of women."
"Lady Piper, Princess Annabeth," Rachel continued, "If you two can keep a secret, I could use your help as well."
"It would be an honor," Piper added.
"Tell Queen Sally to bring some rue, tansy, mint, wormwood, and pennyroyal. Be discreet when you come to the temple."

When the megaron had gone quiet, Annabeth and Piper met Percy and Queen Sally in the courtyard. They were shrouded in thick himations to conceal their identities. Queen Sally carried with a her a bundle of the herbs and amulets she had been instructed to bring. Percy, Annabeth, and Piper also carried bundles containing things they would need for their task. Piper held one filled with glykinai, traditional Cretan cookies flavored with white wine, olive oil, and raisins.

Rachel met them on the portico of the temple of the God of the Sun, which was part of the palace complex. She stood among the fluted Corinthian columns and signaled from them to come inside.
A large statue of the god stood in the center of the temple, surrounded by ceramic votives shaped like religious devotees punctured with little holes for incense. Next to the statue were the altars for sacrificing animals and pouring libations. Tiny flickering flames from oil lamps were the only light inside of the temple.
A girl sat on the floor by the God of the Sun's feet. At first, they thought she was a boy; she wore a short chiton which came up to her knees and her dark hair was roughly cut short. Her small, pointed breasts were bound with an apodesmos so that they appeared flat, and her slender limbs had spots of purple and yellow where bruises were healing.

Piper recognized her as Dione, Queen May's slave.
"She showed up here seeking sanctuary," Rachel explained, "I would have brought her to the temple of the Queen of Goddess but all of her priestesses are in Queen Hera's pocket."
Dione stood up and bowed, and mumbled "My Lord, My Ladies." Her eyes were wide with fright and began to overflow with tears.
"I didn't kill my mistress," she sobbed, "My mistress was always kind to me. I pitied her, poor lady, especially after Prince Luke died. When we brought her back to her room after Prince Luke's funeral, I laid out her medicine like I always do; the correct dosage and everything. My mistress then complained of being dreadfully thirsty, so I went to get her some wine and then..."
"And then what, my dear?" Queen Sally asked.
"Dione was raped by one of King Zeus's hetairoi," Rachel bluntly added, "I asked you here to purify her, Queen Sally."
"I figured as much, judging by what you asked me to bring. How long ago did this happen?"
"About two weeks ago," Dione answered.
"Then the seed hasn't taken root yet. The first part of purification will be to purge it from your womb. Percy," the prince's ears pricked up like those of a hound, "These rites are sacred to women: men are forbidden from seeing them."
Percy took this as his cue to leave.
"Goodnight, Wise Girl," he whispered to Annabeth as he softly kissed her eyelids.
"You better keep quiet about this, Seaweed Brain," she replied when he presented his cheek for her to kiss.
"I will."
Percy swiped a handful of glykinai and walked towards the door.
"Excuse me?" Queen Sally cut in, her eye brown raised.
"Goodnight, Mítir," he kissed his mother on her forehead.
He gave a polite bow to Piper and Rachel before walking out of the temple, stuffing his face with glykinai.

Queen Sally began to brew a tea from rue, tansy, wormwood, and pennyroyal which she flavored with peppermint oil and honey.

The herbs that Queen Sally uses in this tea have abortive qualities and have been used in primitive contraception. I based this tea recipe on Moon Tea from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire- Westeros's answer to the Plan B pill. Pennyroyal and wormwood are also common flavors for non medicinal teas. A disproven urban legend told that drinking pennyroyal tea (made famous by the song of the same name by Nirvana) would induce a miscarriage. Doing this does not work and is dangerous.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

She also brewed calming camomile tea for herself, Annabeth, Piper, and Rachel. Glykinai always tasted best when dipped in tea.

Rachel set up a small bed for Dione to lie upon during the purification ritual. Three statues of the Cretan snake goddess were placed at the foot of the bed. They were dressed in long layered, pleated, and ruffled skirts, tight bodices cut so their breasts were exposed, and decorative aprons. Their dark hair was worn in snakelike curls and coils. The statue in the center held two ceremonial axes; the one on her left held and the one on her right both held a snake in each hand.

Queen Sally kneeled on the ground, adjusted the layers and fringe of her blue, white, and red printed skirt, and raised her palms in prayer, urging Dione, Annabeth, Piper, and Rachel to do the same.

"Holy Mother Goddess," she intoned, "Take this woman, Dione, who has been violated against her will, under your protective mantle and watch over her."
Dione drank of the special tea, which Queen Sally explained would bring on her menses and purge her womb of her rapist's seed. Rachel placed burning sticks of jasmine incense in the votive figurines and poured a libation before praying to God of the Sun for Dione's full recovery.
"Tell me about what happened," Queen Sally held Dione's hand, "I know it'll be painful for you to recall such a terrible experience but it's best to bring the Minotaur out of the shadows of the labyrinth and slay it, even if it's easier to let it continue terrorizing you," she placed a snake goddess amulet around the girl's neck, "Don't be afraid, the Mother Goddess is your protectress."

"I left my mistress's chambers to get her some wine," Dione began, "And I walked across the courtyard to the kitchens and then he..."
"Who was he?" Annabeth pried.
"It doesn't matter, Princess. There won't be any justice for me. I'm a slave and he's a highborn lord. No one'll care about what he did to me."
Piper knew that this was all too true. If Dione tried to denounce her rapist, it would just be her word against his. Even if he did not deny raping her, she was just a slave girl. A slave girl's purpose was to satisfy the natural urges of her master's household. King Zeus gave his hetairoi full sexual access to his slaves.
"And then what happened?" She asked.
"He appeared from behind an olive tree and kept trying to block my way. Looking at the bulge underneath the skirt of his chiton, I could tell what he wanted. I tried to get away from him but he ripped off my chiton and trapped me between the olive tree and the kitchen wall. His arousal pressing against me felt like I being held at knifepoint. The more I tried to push him away, the more aroused he became. He is a big, brute of a man, much stronger than I am and it wasn't long before he'd worn me down..."
Annabeth did her best to calm the crying girl by resting her head on her shoulder and stroking her hair.
"...my mistress did her best to protect me from cruel men like that. I had never so much as kissed man before then. Now all that's left of my precious chastity is red smear on the kitchen wall. When he was done, he wiped my hymen blood off of his penis with my torn chiton and tossed me three silver obols before leaving me there, naked, shivering, and sobbing."
Three silver obols, the usual fee for the lowest of pornei.
The effects of the tea began to kick in a couple of hours after she drank it. Queen Sally had told Dione that it would bring on her menses but the cramps and bleeding were the worst that Piper had ever seen. Dione clutched that amulet around her neck and prayed to the snake goddess for relief, tears streaming down her cheeks and her body contorting in agony. All they could do for her was to bring her hot bricks and cramp-bark tea to help try to ease the pain.
Annabeth and Piper took the first shift looking after Dione while Queen Sally and Rachel slept. Rachel's duties as a priestess began at sunrise, so she took over for them when the first rays of sunlight peaked in through the columns of the portico. Dione was calm and stable by then; the worst was over. Piper fell asleep as Rachel sang a ballad about the Virgin Goddess of the Moon, who got revenge on a hunter called Actaeon after he accidentally saw her naked in the bath by transforming him into a stag and letting him be mauled to death by his own dogs.
When the morning came, Queen Sally rinsed out Dione's womb with a mixture of water and vinegar before bringing her into the adyton, a room for ritual bathing. A large marble basin took up the center of the room, enclosed by walls decorated with mosaics depicting scenes of nymphs bathing in picturesque forest fountains. Dione was striped of her bloody clothes and stepped into the cool water of the pool. Queen Sally, Annabeth, and Piper poured fragrant water over her.
"Mother Goddess," Queen Sally chanted, "Guardian of Women, please take this woman, Dione, into your sacred embrace. She has been taken against her will, outside of the sacred bonds of marriage. O Mother Goddess, drive away the evil that has been inflicted on her. Let her body and soul be made pure again. Sing Dione, sing your prayers to the goddess."
Dione raised her palms in prayer.
"O Mother Goddess," she sang, "Drive away the evil. Let me be made pure and whole again."
"Let her be made pure and whole again," Annabeth and Piper joined in.
After she emerged from the sacred bath, Dione was dried off with warm linen towels and rubbed with perfumed oil made from crocuses and lotuses (both symbols of purity and renewal).
Rachel gave her a white robe with orange trim and yellow fillets for her hair: the clothes worn by devotees of the God of the Sun. She had arranged for Dione to be given sanctuary by the temple and allowed to serve the God as a laywoman, since only those of noble blood could be priests or priestesses and priestesses had to be virgins.
"It's against sacred law to harm a supplicant of a temple," Rachel explained, "She'll be safe here."
"I'll serve the God and maybe I'll be forgiven for letting my mistress die," Dione added.
"Queen May's death was a tragic accident," Queen Sally assured her, "It was not your fault."
"Perhaps that's true, but if I had been there, she never would have died."

"Strange," Annabeth mused as she and Piper walked back to the temple, "Queen May died from an overdose of hellebore but Dione says she laid out the correct amount before she went out to get the wine. The medicine must have been tampered with." 
"I saw one of Queen Hera's maids gathering hellebore that evening," Piper recalled, "I didn't think anything of it because Queen May took hellebore and Queen Hera assigned some of her slaves to look after her but now it does seem strange."

It was still early enough when they arrived back at the palace for them to sneak back into bed and appear as though they had been there all night. Instead of Annabeth's slave, Juniper, coming to wake them up, Queen Athena stood at their bedside.
"Good morning, Mítir," Annabeth yawned, pretending to be sleepy.
"I have something special to tell you," Queen Athena informed her.
"What?"
"Queen Sally and I have set a date for your wedding to Prince Percy."
"When will it be?"
"Your father and I decided that you will accompany us back to Athens for the city Dionysia, so you can see your home one last time before you are married. The wedding will take place in Athens following the Dionysia." 
Annabeth squealed with delight and threw her arms around her mother's neck.
"I'm glad you're pleased. Percy is a good boy but he'll need a strong woman by his side. By the way, you girls need to come to the megaron after you've dressed and had breakfast, King Zeus and Queen Hera have an announcement to make."
Queen Athena kissed her daughter on the forehead and left the room.
"I wonder what the big announcement will be?" Annabeth asked Piper as they ate their breakfast porridge.
"Perhaps it's Jason's engagement to Princess Reyna," Piper replied, "They say she's a great beauty."
"She's a princess, they'd say that even if she were ugly as Medusa. Come, let's go hear the news for ourselves."

Queen Hera stood in the megaron, resplendent in a black, one-shouldered chiton , a glistening white himation, and a magnificent opal necklace.

Flecks of rainbow shimmered inside of the milky white stones. King Zeus put an arm around her; she convincingly hid her disgust at this gesture.
"Queen Hera and I have received an offer from Queen Hylla of Latium," King Zeus announced, "Her sister, Princess Reyna is to marry our son, Prince Jason."
The members of the court roared their approval. It was a fine match for their prince. Latium was a wealthy kingdom in Central Italy, rich from both its farmland and the deposits of iron in its hills. It was close to the Greek colonies on the Italian peninsula and the union between Greece and Latium would help protect both of their interests in the region. Greece would have a wealthy trading partner; Latium would have a powerful ally against enemy tribes such as the Sabines and Volsci. 
Piper had expected to hear this news for weeks. The anticipation made the blow even worse. She turned her head away and walked out of the megaron, hoping no one would notice her leave.
Annabeth followed after her.
"I'm so sorry, Piper," she cried when she caught up with her.
Is that all you can say? Piper wanted to snap back, You should be sorry.
"I was never foolish enough to hope I could marry him," was what she ended up saying.
Annabeth walked up to Piper and wrapped her up in an embrace. Piper rested her head on the taller girl's shoulder and let herself cry.

The two girls were asked to visit Queen Hera in her private sitting room following after they had eaten their dinner. She said that she wanted to spend one last evening weaving with Annabeth before Annabeth went away to be married, for old time's sake.
Queen Hera's sitting room was hung with red embroidered hangings. The space was taken up by inlaid tables and Egyptian couches with a leopard's head on either side.

Piper sat down among the tasseled scarlet and crimson cushions, woven with gold while Annabeth walked over to the loom and inspected the work that Queen Hera was doing. She was weaving a tapestry which depicted a scene from the fall of Troy: Cassandra, a princess and priestess of Troy flees into the Temple of the Goddess of War and Wisdom to seek sanctuary but is assaulted and abducted by Ajax the Lesser, a Greek soldier. The goddess later punished Ajax for his crime by convincing the God of the Seas to make his ship sink.
"You'll like it in Athens," she told Piper, "Especially during the Dionysia. There's plays and banquets and all the men dress up as women and all the women dress up as men."
"Sounds like fun," Piper replied.
"I think you'd make a pretty boy," Piper stuck her tongue out at her friend, "And perhaps, It'll be good for you to get out of Thessaloniki for awhile after...everything."
Piper picked up a spindle, distaff and some wool and began to spin the wool into thread. She was an indifferent weaver but was a competent spinner, so she might as well make herself useful.
"Annabeth, are you anxious about getting married?" 
"A little. It's a big change with a lot to get used to and some new experiences."
Piper blushed, catching her friend's innuendo.
"Do you think Percy is experienced?"
"I should hope so. It'll be better with someone who knows what they're doing."
Their conversation was interrupted when Queen Hera entered the room. She held a skyphos (wine cup) in one hand and had a glassy look in her eyes.
"What were you girls talking about?" She asked, her words slurred and her breath smelt of wine.
"Princess Annabeth was telling me how much she is looking forward to her wedding," Piper explained.
Queen Hera picked up a painted wine wine vessel and refilled her skyphos. Next to the wine vessel was a small basket filled with dried blue lotuses. She plucked a blue lotus from the basket and dropped it into her wine, letting it steep.
"I'm looking forward to your wedding too," she slurred, "I've come to see you as a daughter, Annabeth, and I hope it'll be a grand occasion. Thalia's wedding was such a modest affair and it was a bit of a let down."
"My Lady Mother and Queen Sally have been planning the wedding for years," Annabeth assured her, "I'm sure it will be quite a spectacle."
"What a sweet couple you and Percy are. So young, so filled with life. It makes the heart glad to watch the two of you, especially after the death of poor Queen May."
"Oh yes, what a tragic accident."
Queen Hera took another sip of her wine. She presented Annabeth with the skyphos, inviting her to also take a sip.
"Thank you," Annabeth said, after drinking from the lotus wine.
"The tragedy must have touched you deeply, I hear you've been asking around for details as to what exactly happened to her."
"Master Chiron always taught us to always seek the truth. I learned this lesson well."
"Since I've always thought of you as a daughter, I will give you some motherly advice... marry your Prince Perseus, give him an heir, and stay out of what doesn't concern you."
Queen Hera went and sat down beside Piper.
"Sweet Lady Piper," she purred, "I've heard that you and my son, Jason, have become close."
"We've been thrown together a lot recently," Piper murmured, "Because of Prince Percy and Princess Annabeth."
"Have you ever heard the story of how his father and I met?"
"He sacked the city of Olympia during the war with Kronos. He would have burnt the city to the ground and enslave all of its people until he beheld your beauty, then he decided to spare Olympia and make you wife."
Queen Hera let out a musical laugh and took another sip of her wine.
"My father and brothers fought on the side of Kronos during the war. They were killed when Zeus and his men sacked Olympia. I was dragged out of the palace into the city square where my father and brothers had been slaughters. Zeus ripped the white virgin's chiton from my body, threw me down among the blood, and raped me in front of everyone. Two of his men held me down while he violated me. If that's how the men of House Grace treat their wives, you can only imagine who they treat their pornei."
Jason would never, Piper wanted to shout at her, "He is nothing like his cruel, lecherous father."
"The two of you look tired, my dears, why don't make it an early night."

On the day that House Chase departed Thessaloniki for Athens, Percy presented his bride to with a splendid gold necklace. A golden bee pendent hung from the chain.

"I have something for you as well," Annabeth told him, "It isn't much but I hope you'll like it."
She tied a woven band around his wrist. The wristband was dotted with the tiny, white, cone-shaped seashells that she and Piper had gathered on the beach.
Percy embraced and kissed her.
"Have a safe journey, Wise Girl."
Annabeth stroked his cheek and kissed him back.
"We'll be together soon, Seaweed Brain."
She followed her parents up the gangplank to the royal trireme. Piper walked alongside her, until she felt a hand brush her own.
"Lady Piper," she turned around to see Jason standing by her side.
"My Lord," she gave the Prince a slight bow.
"I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to visit Dion."
"What a pity, I was looking forward to it but I imagine you are anxiously awaiting Princess Reyna's arrival."
"I intend to be a good husband to her."
"I'm sure you will be, goodbye My Lord."
"Have a safe trip, My Lady." 
Piper lifted the hem of her chiton and ran up the gangplank.