Sigyn broke away from Theoric as they grew closer to check on Annabeth.

"Anna, are you okay, your not hurt anywhere? Make sure to tell me, I'll fix you right up, same goes for you Io, don't forget." Sigyn caringly said as she gave Annabeth a once over.

Annabeth boasted showing her proud side- "Nothing to worry about, as you can see I'm more than capable, it's part of my heritage."

Io rolled her eyes at Annabeth's boasting while thanking Sigyn for her concern- "Thanks, don't worry we know we can count on you."

Sigyn hearing this happily hugged her- "Yes! I'm glad your both okay." then turned to hug Annabeth before stopping- "Umm, I would hug you too but you need a bath."

Annabeth taking notice of her bloody form agreed,- "Yeah, I"ll do that as soon as I can."

Meanwhile, Manousos greeted Theoric- "Hello, I don't know if you heard but I'm the leader of this bunch, what brings you lot here?"

Theoric- "Just on our way to Athens when we came across you."

Manousos- "We are also on our way to Athens when we got ambushed, It's a good thin..."

He was interrupted by a rather large fat man who was waddling over- "Why hello there dear benefactors, I am Drusus Bucculeius Magnentius." He said with a bow before continuing, his eyes wandering over Io and then Annabeth to check out the lovely woman who came to help him. "And I would like to thank... thank..." He started to stutter, growing pale at the sight of her bloody appearance, sweating when he noticed the victims nearby.

"Uh, um, excuse me." The fat man said bringing a handkerchief to his mouth as he quickly retreated trying to make it back to his stagecoach, but not before hurling his recent meal.

Manousos sighed in exasperation- "You'll have to excuse him, he isn't used to these kinds of situations." he explained seeing their disgusted faces.

Theoric- "A sheltered flower is he?"

That got him a laugh as the girls giggled in response.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Manousos face scrunched up a bit not liking his lord being talked about like that, but seeing as it was his fault he kept it to himself, not to mention they were just saved by the girls which he's still embarrassed about despite his outward demeanor.

"I wouldn't go around openly making fun of him though, he is the son of Lord Decimus," he warned.

Io stepped forward knowing the others would never ask- "I apologize for any slight we might have said, I was wondering if you would allow us to accompany you to Athens?"

Io ignored Theoric's stare, unlike the others, Io wasn't some superhuman who could walk for days on end without rest, her feet were killing her and all she longed for was a break. This was her chance to get off her feet and hitch a ride.

At one time during the trip, she tried to talk them into getting horses but the others didn't seem all that interested, enjoying the slow time together. Annabeth was happy to spend more time with the person she had a crush on. While Theoric and Sigyn were happy to sightsee as much as they could along the way. Io on the other hand was pushing herself at this point to keep going but wasn't very vocal about it trying not to be a bother to the others.

Manousos- "Sure, that would be no trouble at all, plenty of room now." he morbidly joked.

Io frowned at the joke while Sigyn asked- "How much farther is it to Athens by the way?"

Manousos about to respond was cut off by Annabeth- "We should be a day away now if my timing isn't off." she said looking at Manousos to confirm.

Manousos- "Yes that's right."

Annabeth broke out into a grin having been proven right causing Io to once again roll her eyes at her.

Manousos- "Well we wasted enough time, my men and I will clean up what we can from our fallen brethren and then we'll set off, you can find any empty space in the back wagons if you don't mind... (Pausing he took another look at the bloody woman, receiving goosebumps as he recalled how she got that way.)... And you can use the spare water barrels to clean yourself up, we're near enough to Athens anyways."

Io- "Thank you, it'll suit us just fine."

Manousos- "No trouble, no trouble at all, now if you'll excuse me, those damn Spartans caused us quite the headache, I hope this doesn't lead to war."

Annabeth frowned hearing that.

Sigyn- "Anna, what's wrong?" she asked noticing the frown.

Annabeth shook her head- "It's nothing, I just don't think those were Spartans."

"Go on," Io said knowing she had more to say.

Annabeth- "Well most notably, Spartans are not known for running away, and while they were good fighters, they seemed a bit off to me from what I was expecting from a Spartan trained warrior, and then there are the women comments, in Sparta, women are also treated better than other places, they are allowed education, property, and physical activities are encouraged like the men, but in the end, even in Sparta women are still looked down upon I suppose." Spartans only wanted strong women so they can produce strong offspring, preferably male.

Io- "Anna, I don't know how much of that magical knowledge you received from your mom, but don't assume things without first-hand experience, you should only use it as a guideline."

Annabeth snorted- "Tell me something I don't know." then went to find some water to clean off.

Io ignored her sassiness and headed for the wagons to finally take a load off and let her feet get their much-needed rest.

Once they were all in the back, the girls took a snooze, Io pretty much collapsing as soon as she entered.

Theoric stayed awake keeping an eye on everyone wondering what he would do should he meet an Olympian.

The caravan's later stopped having found a place to sleep last night. The following day they found themselves parked on top of a hill, giving a great view as the morning sun swept through the valley below.

Theoric already up and about came back when he noticed the girls getting up.- "Hey there sleepy heads, I hope you had a good rest."

Annabeth spoke out first, being the most excited, wondering if they arrived- "Have we reached Athens?"

Theoric grinned and pointed south towards the city situated around another hill in the distance, you could just make out the Acropolis on top.

Annabeth's eyes sparkled seeing the city built for her mom, the sun making it look all the more magnificent. - "Wow, there it is, my mother's city."