Nina's Destiny

Mare Nostrom

The next morning, I had a panic attack. Percy and Lavender had vanished. I almost died of laughter though when I found out they had fallen asleep together in front of the stables. Freya had found them and now wouldn't let go of Percy's leg. Leo took a bunch of photos for blackmail. Freya didn't really understand why everyone was laughing at her.

"Where are we now?" I asked Leo.

"We're hovering over Atlanta as we speak," Leo grinned. "I'll go land us in a park where there aren't a lot of mortals."

"Sounds good to me," Sirius said. "Of course, Moony is the smart one."

"So glad you remembered," Remus snorted. "That's a smart move, Leo. Tonks and I will help you."

"Course we will," Tonks shouted excitedly. Frank and Percy agreed to travel together to find salt water. Percy wanted to take Lavender too, until Hedge told him they weren't allowed to travel together anymore because of their little "incident". They were both miffed about that. Hedge said he would go with Percy and Frank. The rest of us would stay on the ship and work out any problems.

When Frank, Percy, and Hedge got back, they immediately told Leo to lift off. Leo and Annabeth rushed to the deck to steer the ship to Charleston as per Frank's instructions. "Why are we going to Charleston?" Lavender asked as she curled up into Percy's side.

"There's a map there," Frank replied. He and Percy went into detail about their little excursion in Atlanta. They had run into Phorcys and Keto, sea gods. I felt bad for them. They almost got turned into exhibits at an aquarium. This map in Charleston would supposedly lead us to the Mark of Athena. I noticed how nervous Annabeth got whenever someone mentioned it.

"What should we do when we get to Charleston?" I asked.

"I know two places the map might be," Jason said. "Leo, Frank, Percy, you guys can come with me. But there's another thing too. There's this spirit, like a confederate southern belle. I met her once when I was with Reyna." Piper glared at Jason. He bit his lip. "She only talks to girls."

"We'll have a girl's adventure," Annabeth grinned. "Nina, Hazel, Piper, Lavender, and me."

"Sounds good to me," Hazel smiled.

"I come too!" Freya shouted.

"No, baby," I sighed. "It's too dangerous."

"Pwease!" Freya begged.

"No, Freya," I said sternly. "You want to see Daddy right?" Freya nodded excitedly. "Well, then you need to stay with Uncle Remmy and Auntie Tonks so that you don't get hurt. If you get hurt, you won't be able to see Daddy."

Freya frowned. She seemed to be weighing the pros and cons. "Okay, Mommy. I'll stay here."

"Good girl," I smiled. I hugged my daughter. "Ti amo, Sunshine."

"Ti amo troppo, Mama!" Freya grinned. I stood up. Lavender hugged Freya good bye before linking arms with me.

"Shall we, ladies?" she asked.

Charleston really was a nice town. The town the girls and I were in was beautiful. I would have to convince Apollo to take me here for a date one of these days. That is, if, no when I free him from Otus. And I would. I would free Apollo from Otus because I loved him. I couldn't live without him. I looked down at what I was wearing. I was wearing a forest-green sweatshirt Apollo had lent me so long ago. I hadn't taken it off since I found out he had been kidnapped. Apollo had given it to me when I was eight, right before my mother hit me for the first time. I shook my head to rid myself of the memory. My mom and I were on much better terms now.