★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖔𝖓𝖟𝖊:
WISDOM'S DAUGHTER
WALKS ALONE

★ 。／｜＼。★

"BELLE!" THE VOICE of Jason Grace called as he repeatedly knocked on the door of her cabin, making the girl's eyes fly open. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up!"

She raised her head groggily from her pillow. "What is up with people getting the Disney movie wrong? First Ethan Nakamura with Aladdin and now you with Sleeping Beauty? Do your research."

He opened her door and stared at her with a blank expression, although his blue eyes were glittering with excitement. "I do know my Disney movies, but that's besides the point. We're descending in Rome."

"What does a girl have to do to get some sleep around here?"

"Come on, B, you'll love it."

Belle narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine."

Jason smiled triumphantly before leaving her cabin and shutting her door. Belle shook her head with an eye roll and a smile on her face before getting up from her bed. She quickly got dressed and ready for the day, and once she got up on deck, she immediately understood why Jason was so eager for her to see it.

The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, as if the storms they had encountered the night before never happened. Everything below them glittered as the sun rose over the distant hills. However, the thing that struck Belle the most was how large the city was. It spread throughout hills and valleys, jumped over the Tiber River with dozens of bridges, and kept sprawling all the way to the horizon. Streets and alleys zigzagged through quilts of neighborhoods. Glass office buildings stood next to excavation sites. A cathedral, a line of Roman columns, and a modern soccer stadium all stood next to each other. Old stucco villas with red-tiled roofs crowded the cobblestone streets in some neighborhoods. Piazzas and traffic-clogged streets were everywhere. Parks cut across the city with collections of palm, pine, juniper, and olive trees. It was almost as if Rome couldn't decide what part of the world it belonged to, or Rome still believed the world belonged to them.

"Wow," Belle whispered.

Jason elbowed her side. "Guess it was worth waking up after all, huh?"

Belle rolled her eyes and elbowed him back before crossing her arms. "Shut up."

"We're setting down in that park," Leo announced as he pointed to a wide green space dotted with palm trees. "Let's hope the Mist makes us look like a large pigeon or something."

The Mist seemed to be doing its job as the Argo II set down in the grassy field. Besides the noise of traffic, the park was peaceful and deserted. A green lawn sloped toward a line of woods to their left. An old villa nestled in the shade of some pine trees. A long brick wall with notches at the top for archers snaked along the top of a hill to their right. The top of the Colosseum rose above the rooftops about a mile in front of them to the north. That's when Belle realized she was actually here. She was in the very heart of the old Roman Empire, which was enemy territory for a Greek Demigod.

Jason pointed to the base of the archers' well, where a set of steps led down into a tunnel. "I think I know where we are. That's the Tomb of the Scipios."

Percy frowned at him. "Scipio . . . Reyna's Pegasus?"

"No," Annabeth replied. "They were a noble Roman family, and . . . wow, this place is amazing."

Jason nodded in agreement. "I've studied maps of Rome before. I've always wanted to come here, but . . ."

Nobody bothered to finish his sentence. Judging by the looks on everyone's faces, they were in just as much awe as Belle was. They had made it to Rome — the Rome.

"Plans?" Hazel asked. "Nico has until sunset — at best. And this entire city is supposedly getting destroyed today."

"You're right," Percy responded. "Annabeth . . . did you zero in on that spot from your bronze map?"

Annabeth's gray eyes turned stormy. "Yes. It's on the Tiber River. I think I can find it, but I should—"

"Take Belle along. Yeah, you're right."

Belle blinked. "What?"

Annabeth glared at Percy. "That's not—"

"Safe," Percy finished. "One Demigod walking through Rome alone. Belle can go with you as far as the Tiber. You can use that letter of introduction, hopefully meet the river God Tiberinus. Maybe he can give you some help or advice. Then you can go on alone from there."

Belle sent Percy a questioning glance. He raised an eyebrow and nodded his head to Annabeth. Belle glanced back to Annabeth to see her deep in thought. The blonde finally locked eyes with her.

"Fine," Annabeth muttered. "Hazel, now that we're in Rome, do you think you can pinpoint Nico's location?"

"Um . . . hopefully, if I get close enough," Hazel answered as she snapped herself out of a trance. "I'll have to walk around the city. Frank, would you come with me?"

Frank smiled brightly. "Absolutely."

"And, uh . . . Leo. It might be a good idea if you came along too. The fish Centaurs said we'd need your help with something mechanical."

"Yeah, no problem," Leo agreed.

Frank's smile turned sour. Belle was no genius when it came to relationships despite dating Percy for over a year, but she could definitely feel the tension from those three. They hadn't been acting quite the same ever since they'd gotten knocked into the Atlantic. No longer was it Frank or Leo competing for Hazel — it was something else, but Belle couldn't figure out what.

Piper drew her knife and set it on the rail. "Jason, Percy, and I can watch the ship for now. I'll see what Katoptris can show me. But, Hazel, if you guys get a fix on Nico's location, don't go in there by yourselves. Come back and get us. It'll take all of us to fight the Giants."

Even all of them wouldn't be enough. They had to have a God on their side, but Belle decided to keep her mouth shut about that.

"Good idea," Percy stated. "How about we plan to meet back here at . . . what?"

"Three this afternoon?" Jason suggested. "That's probably the latest we could rendezvous and still hope to fight the Giants and save Nico. If something happens to change the plan, try to send an Iris-message."

All of them nodded at that, but several of them glanced at Annabeth. She was on her own time searching for the Athena Parthenos. There was no telling when she would be back, or if she would be back at all.

"That'll give me time to eat the coconuts — I mean dig the coconuts out of our hull," Coach Hedge commented.

Percy looked around at all of them. "Good luck, everyone."

Belle walked up to him. "Why did you volunteer me? Shouldn't have it been you? I mean, you've known Annabeth longer than I have."

"And yet you get her more," Percy admitted. "She doesn't need me and my Seaweed Brain moments right now. She needs you and your calming nature. Trust me."

She sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. I'll see you later. Love you."

Percy kissed her quickly. "Love you more."

Belle turned back to Annabeth. "You ready to go?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Percy tugged Annabeth into a tight hug. "Be careful, okay, Wise Girl? You can do this. I know you can."

"I will, Seaweed Brain."

The two pulled away from each other. Belle gave Percy's hand a small squeeze before Leo lowered the gangplank. And, finally, Belle and Annabeth were the first ones off the ship.

⭒  ☆  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━  ☆  ⭒

IF THE CIRCUMSTANCES were different, Belle would've loved having a girls day with Annabeth walking through Rome. Even though the weight a weight rested on their shoulders, the two shared laughs and smiles as they navigated through the winding streets. They dodged cars and crazy Vespa drivers, squeezed through multiple mobs of tourists, and waded through oceans of pigeons. It soon got very hot out as the afternoon progressed. Once they got away from the main roads, the air smelled of fresh baked bread and flowers, which Belle greatly appreciated.

The two decided to try and find the Colosseum because it was an easy landmark, but it proved to be pretty difficult. It was even more confusing on the ground. They got lost on dead-end streets several times and found beautiful fountains and huge monuments by accident.

Belle listened intently to Annabeth rambling on about architecture and how she would design something like it when they got back to Mount Olympus, but Belle couldn't help but notice other things around them. A glowing purple ghost — a Lare — was glaring at them from the window of an apartment building. Another time, a white-robed woman — who could've been a Nymph or Goddess — slipped between ruined columns in a public park with a wicked-looking knife. Belle had a very bad feeling they were being watched by some not-so-friendly things.

They finally reached the Colosseum, where about a dozen guys in cheap gladiator costumes were scuffling with the police with plastic swords and batons. Belle and Annabeth just decided to move past it. Mortals could be stranger than monsters sometimes.

Every once in a while, they had to stop to ask for directions. The people were nice enough to switch to English once they realized that Belle and Annabeth couldn't speak Italian. They didn't stop to rest until they ducked into a tourist shop that sold sodas at about noon. It was getting really hot, and both girls decided they they needed a drink. However, they didn't have any euros. Annabeth quickly solved that problem by pulling Daedalus' laptop out of her backpack and typing a few commands. A plastic card then ejected from a slot in the side.

"What'd you do?" Belle asked.

Annabeth held it up and waved it triumphantly. "It's an international credit card for emergencies. Courtesy of Daedalus."

Belle laughed slightly. "You never fail to amaze me, Annabeth."

The sodas helped a little, but by the time they arrived at the Tiber River, both of them were still hot and tired. All around the river was a stone embankment, a chaotic assortment of warehouses, apartments, stores, and cafés. The river itself was the color of caramel and was wide and lazy. A few tall cypress trees hung beautifully over the banks. Meanwhile, a fairly new bridge made from iron girders was right next to a crumbling line of stone arches that stopped halfway across the river.

"I think this is it," Annabeth announced, pointing at the old stone bridge. "That was on the map. But what do we do now?"

Belle looked around for a moment. She was a little glad that Annabeth said we, because like that feeling last night, Belle didn't know how she could possibly let her go. It was hard enough leaving Katie, Connor, and Travis back at Camp Half-Blood. The three of them and Annabeth had been her saving grace when Percy went missing. But Belle knew that Katie, Connor, and Travis would be waiting for her back home. Annabeth, on the other hand, was off to face a dangerous quest with no idea if she would even be back. That made Belle's worry deepen.

She snapped herself out of her trance and pointed to a table at a café overlooking the water. "You up for some lunch?"

The café was empty despite it being noon. Belle and Annabeth sat at a table outside by the river and the waiter hurried over to them. He looked surprised to see them, especially when they said they wanted lunch. Belle — what an idiot she was — soon realized that Italian culture was a lot different than American culture.

Both of them ordered paninis and some fizzy water. Once the waiter left, Belle looked back to Annabeth.

"I forgot Italians eat much later in the day," Belle admitted. "With the amount of books I've read and studied, you would think I would've known that."

Annabeth chuckled. "It's cool. At least Percy isn't here. He would've ordered like, pizza and a blue Coke or something."

"He definitely would've." Belle paused for a second and leaned forwards on the table with her elbows. "I — uh, I'm sorry Percy volunteered me to go with you. I know you probably wanted to go by yourself."

She shrugged. "It's all right. He was right, though. A Demigod going somewhere alone is never safe. Especially now that we're in Rome."

"There's one more thing. Um, when I asked Percy why he didn't go instead of me because he's known you longer than me, he said you needed my calming nature more than you needed his Seaweed Brain moments."

Annabeth nodded. "He's also right about that. I think if he came I'd just yell at him. Lovingly, though. He is my best friend, after all. But you, Belle . . . you know how to comfort people and calm them down."

"I'm worried about you," Belle blurted out before she could stop herself. "I know you can handle yourself, but Annabeth . . . children of Athena haven't returned from this quest. No one has succeeded so far. And I'm only saying that because I don't want that to happen to you, not because I think you can't do it. You can, but—"

"Belle, you've let too much of Percy rub off on you," Annabeth interrupted. "Percy's the type of person to let the weight of a whole quest rest on his shoulders. You know that. But you seem to be doing the same thing, and it's impossible. That's why there's eight of us. We all have to share that burden. And it might be hard, but you'll have to let me search for the Athena Parthenos on my own."

"You've helped me tremendously these past six months. Annabeth . . . you've grown to become my sister. If I lost you—"

She was cut off by the waiter coming back with their food. The waiter placed it down on the table, looking much happier than before when they first came.

"It is a beautiful view," he voiced, nodding his head towards the river. "Enjoy, please."

Both of them were silent as they both ate their paninis. The air was heavy between them.

"You'll have to trust me, B," Annabeth suddenly said, not meeting her eyes at all. "You have to believe I'll come back."

Belle set down her glass of fizzy water as her eyebrows knit in confusion. "Annabeth, of course I trust you. But come back from where?"

The sound of a Vespa interrupted them. Belle looked over to see a man and woman on an old-fashioned baby blue scooter. The man was driving in a silky gray suit and the woman behind him had a fashionable headscarf. They weaved in between the tables of the café and puttered to a stop next to Belle and Annabeth.

"Why, hello," the man greeted.

His voice was deep like a movie actor's. He seemed old fashioned, like everything he did was from the 1950s. The man stepped off the bike and somehow seemed to look more manly and stylish than before.

The woman slid off the bike after him "We've had the most lovely morning."

She also seemed old-fashioned. Her long marigold skirt and white blouse were pinched together with a large leather belt. She removed her headscarf and her short wavy black hair bounced into perfect shape. Her eyes were dark and playful and her smile was brilliant.

Annabeth's panini fell out of her hand and clattered onto her plate. "Oh, Gods. How — how . . . ?"

Belle's eyes widened upon realizing why the man and woman looked so familiar. She hadn't put the pieces together until seeing them up close.

"Holy Demeter, you're Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn," Belle breathed out. "You're from Roman Holiday. Katie made Connor, Travis, and I watch it one time when we were visiting her house. But that was from the 1950s."

"Oh, my dear!" Audrey Hepburn exclaimed, twirling around and sitting down at their table. "I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else! My name is Rhea Silvia. I was the mother to Romulus and Remus, thousands of years ago. But you're so kind to think I look as young as the 1950s. And this is my husband . . ."

"Tiberinus," Gregory Peck stated, also taking a seat at their table. "God of the River Tiber."

"I — I don't even know what to say," Belle stammered out. "Do you always look like stars from old films?"

"Do we?" Tiberinus questioned, frowning and studying his clothes. "I'm not sure, actually. The migration of Western civilization goes both ways, you know. Rome affected the world, but the world also affects Rome. There does seem to be a lot of American influence lately. I've rather lost track over the centuries."

Belle glanced in between him and Rhea Silvia, her shock slightly fading. "Are you here to help?"

"My Naiads told me you two were here." Tiberinus looked towards Annabeth. "You have the map, my dear? And your letter of introduction?"

"Uh . . ." Annabeth trailed off, staring at the river God intently as she handed him the letter and disk of bronze. "S-So . . . you've helped other children of Athena with this quest?"

"Oh, my dear!" Rhea Silvia cut in, putting her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "Tiberinus is ever so helpful. He saved my children Romulus and Remus, you know, and brought them to the wolf Goddess Lupa. Later, when that old king Numen tried to kill me, Tiberinus took pity on me and made me his wife. I've been ruling the river kingdom at his side ever since. He's just dreamy!"

"Thank you, my dear," Tiberinus replied with a wry smile. "And, yes, Annabeth Chase, I've helped many of your siblings . . . to at least begin their journey safely. A shame all of them died painfully later on. Well, your documents seem in order. We should get going. The Mark of Athena awaits!"

"Now?" Belle asked, her heart slightly sinking. "Wait—"

Rhea Silvia laughed gently. "There's no time for waiting, sweet girl. You must return to your ship and gather your other friends. Confront the Giants! The way will appear in your friend Piper's knife. Annabeth has a different path. She must walk alone."

"Indeed," Tiberinus agreed. "Annabeth must face the guardian of the shrine by herself. It is the only way. And Belle Adair, you have less time than you realized to rescue your friend in the jar. You must hurry."

Belle looked to Annabeth, tears slightly filling her eyes. "Annabeth I—"

"B, it's okay," Annabeth reassured her, reaching over and squeezing her hand. "I have to do this."

She wanted to protest, but Belle knew she was right. Annabeth had to be the one to find the Athena Parthenos. It held the key to defeating the Giants and healing the schism between the Greeks and Romans. She could do this.

Belle nodded. "Yeah, I know. Stay safe, all right?"

Rhea Silvia giggled at that. "Safe? Not at all! But necessary. Come, Annabeth, my dear. We will show you where your path starts. After that, you're on your own."

Annabeth pulled Belle into a tight hug. Belle dug her face into her friend's shoulder and blinked back her tears.

"You got this, okay?" Belle whispered. "Go find that statue."

Annabeth squeezed her one last time before letting go. The two shared small, watery smiles before Annabeth shouldered her backpack and climbed on the back of the scooter.

And Belle, standing there at that table at a café in Rome, was forced to watch as Annabeth motored off through the streets with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, off to face the most dangerous quest of her life.

—  [  ♡  ]  —

THE FLASH COMES BACK TONIGHT BRB GONNA GO CRY BARRY ALLEN MY LOVE AND #1 COMFORT CHARACTER I WILL SEE YOU SOON

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