Wow! I never in a million years thought that this story would be so popular! Apparently I'm doing an ok job lol.

Anyways… a few of you seemed to be concerned with my portrayal of Octavian. I replied to your comment, but I want everyone to know my reasoning as well: I understand that he's not stupid. That's just Annabeth's first impression of him, based on his physical appearance alone. In SoN, I felt that Percy kind of had the same reaction. So don't worry, his abounding cleverness will be revealed soon enough. You might wish he had kept in hidden in the long run. Wink wink.

So, enough of the horrendously long author's note: on with the story!

Percy

Percy just wanted to show her around. That's all he really wanted to do. Well… he wanted to do some other stuff to her too, but that could wait for later. Why did Octavian have to ruin everything? Percy squeezed Annabeth's hand for reassurance as Octavian approached her menacingly. He had a nasty feeling that this was not going to end well.

"We have a traitor in our midst."

Yeah. This was not going to end well.

"What do you mean, Octavian? Everyone here is clean." Percy said, trying to put as much authority as he could into his voice.

"You should know what I mean better than anyone, Jackson. In fact, would you care to explain why you brought her here?" Octavian said, gesturing to Annabeth.

Percy looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him and Annabeth, waiting for an answer.

"Are you suggesting that my girlfriend is working with Gaea?"

"Not necessarily. But have you looked at her lately? She can't stay here. It's not safe for the camp."

Percy was starting to lose his cool. Who does Octavian think he is, striding in here and trying to kick his girlfriend out of camp? He stepped forward, but Annabeth pulled him back.

"Do I get any say in this?" she asked, folding her arms and scowling.

Reyna stepped forward. "Ok everyone, I know this is very interesting, but I need everyone to get back to their duties so we can settle whatever it is Octavian in going on about."

Nobody moved.

"NOW." Apparently, this was the signal to scramble, because everyone from Camp Jupiter ran in different directions. Everyone from Camp Half Blood remained except Jason, who had gone to catch up with his old friends. They were standing in an awkward looking bunch near the end of the ramp, not sure if they had been dismissed as well. Percy was glad they were staying, he might need back up.

Octavian scowled. Percy figured that he probably wanted everyone to hear what he had to say. It couldn't be anything good, that's for sure.

Reyna continued. "Octavian, why are you saying that Annabeth is a traitor? Please explain yourself." She glanced at Annabeth, silently asking if she had gotten her name right. Percy sniggered, receiving glares from both sides. This was probably not the best time to laugh.

Octavian looked at Reyna as if she had missed the most obvious thing in the world. "Can't you see it? They're right there on her face!"

"Ok, listen." Annabeth had apparently had enough, and was taking charge of the situation. "Spit it out Octopus boy, or I'll make you."

"Of course, Princess." He sneered at her. "You my dear, have the Mark of Athena."

Gasps arose from everyone present. Except for Percy. He had no idea what Octavian was talking about.

"What's the Mark of Athena?" he asked. Annabeth had been rendered speechless. So had Reyna.

"Look into her eyes, Percy. Aren't they beautiful? A dark, stormy grey?"

"I've always loved your eyes," he said to Annabeth, trying to cheer her up at bit. She was starting to look pretty downcast and defeated an emotion he had never seen on her face. He didn't ever want to see it again.

"Just explain what the Mark is, Octavian. But I don't think Annabeth could have it… nothing bad has happened so far," Reyna said assuringly.

Octavian sneered again. Percy was getting really annoyed with the sneering. He wanted to grab hold of Octavian's mouth and rip it right off.

"The Mark of Athena is thousands and thousands of years old. No one knows where it originated or why it came to be, and it hasn't been seen in hundreds of years. All the same, when it is spotted, the person contaminated must be estranged from society immediately. The consequences of not following through with this can be deadly." Octavian smiled. "Only special children of Athena are given the Mark, which can be identified by the alarmingly striking color of her eyes. These children, the ones with the Mark, are extra powerful. Their wisdom and skills at battle planning cannot be matched. This can be very dangerous. You see, for every gift, there is a curse. Miss Annabeth here has that curse. The Mark of Athena brings terrible luck." He turned to Annabeth. "Any of your master plans go horribly wrong lately? Bad things happen when you're around? Mount St. Helens? Yeah, that was your fault, not Percy's. He could have controlled his power just fine, but because you were there, he lost it." He grinned in triumph at Annabeth's appalled look.

Percy couldn't hold in his anger any longer. There was no way Octavian was getting away with such a crazy suggestion.

"How do you know about Mount St. Helens, Octavian? It was my fault, not Annabeth's. All of her plans work perfectly, bad luck doesn't follow her around, and she doesn't have the Mark. If you ever accuse her of anything ever again, I'll rip your skinny arms off!" Percy was breathing hard by the end of his rant, and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.

"Don't I have any say in this?" Annabeth asked with annoyance. She directed her glare towards Octavian. "Listen, the Mark died out hundreds of years ago; nobody's been cursed since the Revolutionary war. If they had been, we would know. The kind of bad luck they bring is way more severe than any little volcano."

Octavian smiled. "We'll see then, wont we? In any case, if I have anything to do with it, you won't be one of the seven."

Woohoo! Chapter three is finished! I was kind of worried… this one was really difficult to write, what with trying to get each character to sound like themselves and all. *wipes brow*

Glad that's over. Please review!