The banquet came to an end after the announcement that Princess Annabeth was missing. No one felt like celebrating. Even the slaves seemed dismayed by the news. They went about with shocked and gloomy faces.
Princess Annabeth had grown up in the Macedonian Court and many of them must have known her since she was a child.
Prince Jason made several awkward attempts to comfort an inconsolable Lady Piper before settling on offering her a broad shoulder to cry on. Queen Hera lead a weeping Queen Athena away to her chambers. King Frederick, Queen Athena's husband, spoke with a dark-haired young man dressed in blue robes.
"She's alive," the young man said. "I can feel it."
King Frederick put on hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Percy," he said. "You're a fine young man and I would have been proud to call you my son but please don't torment me with false hopes."
Reyna knew that Princess Annabeth had been promised in marriage to Prince Perseus. His face looked like how Orpheus's must have when Eurydice was snatched away from him: grief and despair driving him on to a hopeless and a foolhardy action.
"If there's a chance she survived, I won't forgive myself if don't try to find her."
"We can send ships to go and look for her, but you must brace yourself for the worst, my boy."
"I'll search the entire damned Aegean if i need to. She's out there."
Prince Perseus stormed out of the megaron.
"The boy is right," King Frederick said to one of his hetairoi. "Send out this message to all of Greece: King Frederick of Athens offers a hundred silver drachmas to anyone who can bring news of his daughter's whereabouts." 
Prince Jason helped Lady Piper off of her couch.
"Let me walk you to your room," he said.
"Thank you," she replied, taking his arm and leaving the megaron with him.

Reyna returned to the koraiceum to find her maids drawing a bath. Some of them carried bronze hydrai filled with warm water from the kitchens and poured their contents into a cistern which emptied into a bronze bathing pool. Others sprinkled in flower petals and fragrant herbs.
The rough, drab-colored tunics worn by Reyna's own Latin maids stood out among the finer blue, purple, and green chitons of the bondswomen belonging to the Macedonian court.

Macedonia was indeed a rich country if even slaves dressed like princesses.
"Did you see him leave with Lady Piper?" Reyna said to Hylla as she settled into the bathing pool.
"I wouldn't worry about Lady Piper," Hylla replied. She lounged on a couch by side of the pool, munching almonds, which she'd had a craving for throughout her pregnancy.
"And why shouldn't I?
A maid came over and combed rose oil through Reyna's long, dark hair.
"She's the daughter of Queen Aphrodite of Cyprus and by queen, they mean its greatest harlot. Her father is not her mother's husband, King Ares of Sparta, but rather some petty Cypriot noble of no consequence. Queen Aphrodite sent her bastard daughter here to court, hoping to tempt some cunt-struck lord into marrying her. Lady Piper struck up a flirtation with Prince Jason..."
"I thought you said I shouldn't worry about her."
Reyna splashed her sister.
"She's nothing but a court hetaira."
"But Prince Jason seems to be in love with her."
Hylla poured herself a goblet of wine.
"Reyna, he's a prince and a future king. Taking lovers on the side is what they do and once you've given him some heirs, you can take a few of your own. I thought you were worldly enough to know this."
"I am, I just hoped we'd start things off better and if he takes a concubine, that'll mean trouble for me in the future. What if I don't give him any children or only give him girls and she whelps out a boy? That boy'll take the throne and where will I be? Flat on my ass, that's where. Or she gives him a son before I do and that son tries to challenge mine for the throne? I have to find a way to beat her at her own game."
"You're no Lady Piper. You'll never win him over by trying to be like her. Show him the qualities you have that she doesn't. Show him what you can do that she can't. You're strong, fierce, and loyal- he could do with someone like you. If you can't be his hetaira, you can be his hetairos."

A/N the Ancient Greek word "hetairos" translates to "companion" and denotes a reciprocal relationship. If someone is your hetairos, then you offer them hospitality in your home and fight a long side them when they go to war with the understanding that they will do the same for you. The feminine version of hetairos, "hetaira," specifically refers to a courtesan or mistress.

In the morning, Reyna found Jason in the garden, sparring with a small boy. The child swung a wooden sword at Jason, who blocked his attacks.
"My brave Lukeides," Princess Thalia shouted from where she was leaning against a column. "Protect your Mitír from your wicked uncle."
Lukeides was a strapping lad of about four with short, blond hair and large, blue eyes. Reyna imagined that Jason must have looked like him as a little boy.
Jason ruffled Lukeides's hair and told him that they would take a break for a couple of minutes. He noticed Reyna walking into the courtyard. She could tell from the way he looked at her that he found her comely. Her figure had the advantage of height. Slim and long-legged with lean, strong muscles, she was built like an amazon and moved with a somewhat masculine swagger. She was dressed in a simple white tunic with a shorter, strapless red peplos worn over it. Her long, thick, straight dark hair had been brushed until it was smooth and glossy then pulled back with a simple fillet.

Her eyes had been lined with kohl to bring out their smoky ember quality. A triangular, bronze sword in its embossed, leather scabbard hung from her girdle.

"Good morning, Princess," Jason said, bowing to her.
Reyna bowed down and laid her sword at his feet.
"Jason of House Grace," she said. "Prince of Macedonia. I pledge my sword to your service. I will share in the food of your table and in your struggles in the field of battle. In return, I only ask that you call me by the name of hetairos."
Jason took her hands and helped her up.
"Arise, My Lady." He drew his sword. "If you are to pledge your sword to my service, first let me see how well you wield it."
Reyna picked her blade up off of the ground and swung it in Jason's direction. He held her back by pointing the tip of his sword at the center of her breast. With a quick swipe, she pushed it away from her and slashed at him again. Their blades clashed until Reyna had a clear open thrust towards Jason's throat.
"Well done, My Lady," he said, the tip of her sword resting near his Adam's apple. "I would be proud to have such fierce warrior on my side."
Princess Thalia had been watching the sword fight from the column she was leaning against with a sort of detached curiosity. She wore a dark blue chiton embroidered in silver with a pattern which resembled stars. The starry chiton and the constellations of freckles on her pale skin made her look like a celestial being.

Lukeides's large, blue eyes were wide with amazement and his handsome, rosebud mouth hung open in surprise.
"Are you the lady who's going to marry Uncle Jason?" he said.
"Yes," Reyna sheathed her sword.
"You're ever better with a sword than he is."
"Thank you."
She ruffled the little boy's hair.
"My father was the greatest swordsman in all of Greece."
"Who was your father?"
"Prince Luke of Arcadia. He died fighting the Persians."
"Run along, Lukeides," Princess Thalia cut in. "Master Chiron is waiting for you."
As Lukeides ran off to find his tutor, Reyna noticed that her arm was bleeding. Jason's sword had grazed her bicep.
"I'm sorry about that," he blushed. "I know someone who can clean and bandage your wound."
He sent a slave to fetch someone named Prince Will. The slave brought back a tall young man will curly blond hair, who carried a jar of ointment, a needle and thread, and some rags for bandages. Another slave carried a pitcher and basin of water and a small flask of wine.
"Please sit down, Princess," Prince Will said.
Reyna sat down on a stool that a slave brought for her.
"This will sting a little."
Will poured some wine from the flask over the cut on Reyna's arm. He was right: it did sting. Next, he washed the wound and toweled it dry. Reyna was encouraged to chug down the rest of the wine and when Prince Will pricked her bicep with a needle, she understood why.
To keep her mind off of the pain as Prince Will stitched up the cut, Jason
asked Reyna about her splendid bronze colored stallion, Scipio. This started off a conversation about the differences between the Greek and Etruscan styles of horsemanship.
"If you want to have a proper discussion about horses," Jason said. "My friend, Prince Perseus, is your man. What he doesn't know about the beasts, I doubt the God of the Seas himself knows either."
He then told her a fantastical story about how Perseus, when just a boy of thirteen, tamed a wild horse no one thought could ever be ridden.
"There, My Lady," Prince Will said. "We're done."
He then rubbed the stitched up wound with ointment and wrapped it with linen bandages.
"I have to warn you, it's going to leave a scar."
"I don't mind," Reyna replied. "I have a good story to go along with it."
"Listen, My Dear," a voice from inside the palace said. "I would stop with all your questions."
"Why?" another voice replied. Reyna recognized it as belonging to Lady Piper. "If there's nothing to hide, why would my questions cause any harm?"
Lady Piper wore a simple blue chiton and her hair in a loose braid. She looked even lovelier than she had in her finery the night before.

The other voice belonged to a slave Reyna had seen with Queen Hera: a tall, brawny woman with frizzy dark hair and a ruddy face. A himation made from woven strips of different colored fabric was wrapped around her head and shoulders.
"A word of advice, Sweetling: don't go sticking your pretty little nose where it doesn't belong."
"Now Iris," Princess Thalia said. "What's this about Lady Piper's nose?"
Iris bowed to Lady Thalia.
"My Lady," she replied. "This porné here has been accusing me of poisoning Queen May."
"I have not!" Lady Piper cut in. "I simply saw her gathering hellebores for Queen May's medicine shortly before her death, instead of her usual slave, and thought it was strange."
"I may have gathered the hellebores but the overdose was all the fault of that treacherous slut, Dione."
"It was a tragic accident," Princess Thalia said. "Lady Piper, did Annabeth put you up to all this questioning?"
"She and I both thought Queen May's death was suspicious and we wanted to make sure there was no foul play."
"That was noble of you but it wasn't your place to go prying."
"What's all this fuss about...?"
Hylla and her retinue of handmaids walked into the garden. She wore a simple pink tunic and a rose-colored veil held in place with a golden diadem.

"Queen Hylla," Jason said. "Your sister has done me the honor of engaging with me in swordplay. If Princess Reyna's prowess is anything to go by, then your Latin warriors must be a sight to see."
Hylla shot Reyna an approving smile.
"She fought like Penthesilea," Princess Thalia said.
"Who is Penthesilea?" Reyna replied.
"Penthesilea was an amazon. She and the Greek hero, Achilles, fell in love on the battlefield at Troy."
"Right before he killed her," Jason added.
"Then I am warned."
Reyna bowed to Jason.
"Don't be. Tragedy was perhaps Achilles's longest lasting love. Deidamia, Patroclus, Briseis, Penthesilea...everyone he loved came to grief. Heroes and those around them don't get to lead happy lives."

A commotion broke out in the megaron that night when a young man burst in, demanding to see King Frederick and Queen Athena. He claimed to have come all the way from Athens with news about Princess Annabeth.
"Show him in," King Frederick said.
A scrawny boy with messy dark curls and a crooked, mischievous grin approached the king and queen. He wore the chlamys and petasos of a traveler over a short chiton and leather sandals that laced up to his mid calf.

His companion was a pretty, ebony-skinned young girl wrapped in a heavy woolen himation with a straw Boeotian petasos perched atop her head.

One of the King Frederick's guards seemed to recognize them.
"Leo, Hazel," he said.
Leo and Hazel bowed to the king and queen.
"My Lord," Leo began. "I was onboard the Hermione when it was hit by a storm. The Gods were merciful and I washed up on an island called Ogygia. I was able to build a raft and sail back to Athens with the help of a maiden named Calypso. I was not the only one who washed up on Ogygia's shores. You're daughter, the princess, was there as well. Two evil witches are holding her captive."
"It sounds like you swallowed too much sea water, my boy," Queen Athena said.
"What are the names of these witches?" King Frederick added.
"Circe and Hecate."
King Frederick gasped.
"They conjured up a storm so that your daughter's ship would wreck. They wanted her to drown but The God of the Seas spared her life. So now they've imprisoned her on their island with their accursed magic."
Leo turned to face the rest of the crowd.
"Circe even keeps her own daughter, Calypso, as a prisoner."
"Those harpies," King Frederick slammed a kylix filled with wine onto the floor. "Hecate with her unnatural arts, and Circe with her treason, now the two of them threaten my poor child."
Reyna did not understand who Circe and Hecate were or what they had done to make the Macedonian court gasp with terror, or why they would want to harm Princess Annabeth. 
Prince Perseus approached Leo.
"Why is Ogygia?" he said.
"Near Piraeus," Leo replied. "Less than a day's sail away."
"Do you think you can show me where it is?"
"I can try."
"Then we'll leave as soon as I can have a ship outfitted."
Prince Perseus turned to leave the megaron.
"I'll go with you, Percy," Prince Jason said, putting an arm around his friend.
"I as well," added Lady Piper. A triangular bronze dagger hung from her girdle. She clutched it, as if ready to plunge it into the heart of anyone who dared harm the princess.
Hylla had told Reyna not to worry about Prince Jason and Lady Piper but the idea of the two of them going off together on a rescue mission gave Reyna cause for concern.
"Prince Jason," she said as they were about to leave the room. "Since I've pledged my sword to your service, count me in too."