Rosie was distracted.

The past few days, Rosie's mind had been wandering, never quite dwelling on things for too long. If she did think about everything...Percy and Annabeth gone...a certain scrawny boy in her mind...she would feel herself unraveling.

She was so distracted that she nearly died by a boulder crashing into her face. Frank had to pull her out of the way at the last second, tackling her to the ground of the Argo II.

"Are you paying attention?" He asked scoldingly, shaking his head in disapproval.

"No."

Frank jerked back in confusion. "Seriously?"

"Thought it was the moon," she offered weakly.

Frank frowned. "What-"

Jason, flying above, cursed loudly and landed next to her. "Those stupid numina," he muttered. "At this point, we'll never make it around. We may have to sail back around the tip of Rome."

To reach the House of Hades, all they had to do was go straight east over the Apennines and across the Adriatic Sea. However, everytime the ship tried to cross the spine of Italy, numina had attacked- ugly, rock-like sons of Gaea.

Rosie sighed. "No- no more Rome."

Jason shot her a sympathetic look, nodding in agreement. "No more Rome."

Frank gave Jason a lost look. "What now?"

Rosie could hear the labored sigh coming from underneath Jason's breath. After Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus, everyone seemed to gravitate towards Jason. They needed someone to give them direction, keep them on their path. They needed a leader.

Rosie was the only one who knew how much he hated it- she knew that he felt like he couldn't let them down...that he couldn't say no.

Jason's eyes flickered down to her fingernails, which had been bitten down to their nubs. It was a terrible habit she had when she was younger, one she had only kicked when her mom made her soak her fingernails in lemon juice. It came back now, however, when the stress of everything had gotten to her.

Self-conscious, she made her hands into fists, hiding her fingernails.

"We go to bed," he said, meeting Rosie's eyes.

"We do?" Frank asked.

Jason shrugged. "Our shift's almost over anyway- Nico, Leo, and Hazel will be up soon." He glanced over at Rosie again. "You good with that?"

She hated her cabin.

"Yeah," she said weakly. "I'm good with that."

Frank nodded, yawning and stretching his arms over his head. "I could definitely use some sleep. These days.." he hesitated. "I'm out like a light."

"Yeah," Jason said. "Me too."

Little did either of them know how Rosie spent last night: in Hazel's cabin, crying in her arms.

"It's all my fault," she cried. "I'm why they're in Tatartus,"

"Shh," Hazel comforted gently as she wrapped her arms around Rosie, cheeks shiny with tears. "It's not your fault. It was going to collapse anyway."

Piper knocked at the door. Her eyes were puffy and red, and she was clutching a tissue box.

"Hi," she said weakly. "I hear we're having a crying session in here?"

"Come join the party," Rosie choked out with a sob.

Together, the three of them cried for their friends.

Thank god Hazel woke her up.

Her dad had started appearing in her dreams again, reminding her of the time when she thought he had hung the stars in the sky. She could see him so clearly in these dreams, could smell the sea on him.

His promise that he would never hurt her.

Dreams that hurt like hell.

She was grateful for the knock at her door that awoke her, the voice calling out her name.

"Rosie?"

Rosie rolled onto her side, glancing through the dark. "Hazel? Is that you? Is it another attack?" Wearily, she threw her blanket off, placing her feet on the ground.

Percy was gone- sea attacks were her daily reminder of this. She was responsible for the sea powers now- she was the token Poseidon kid.

Rosie had never understood the Roman ideals of duty. However, these past few nights, she was starting to get it.

Hazel winced. "No- sorry, no attacks." An embarrassed look appeared on her face. "I shouldn't have woken you up- it can wait."

"Hazel, come in," Rosie said, moving over in her bed to make space for Hazel. "It's fine, I promise." She had cried in Hazel's arms; the least she could do was return the favor somehow. "What happened?"

Hazel gulped, nodding as she sat down next to Rosie.

"So...I was on duty with Leo and Nico," she started.

Leo. That was another thing.

When he was on watch, she could sometimes hear his footsteps above, or the sound of his laugh.

Things, admittedly, were weird between them. She wanted to tell him everything she felt about him. A little voice of doubt always stopped her, made her second guess herself. She would open her mouth to speak and then...nothing.

It obviously wasn't the best time either. Everyone had been coping with Percy and Annabeth's departure differently- albeit, all terribly. Leo had gotten angrier, hardly sleeping. Some nights, Rosie could hear him stomp into his room to grab a tool, slamming the door on his way out.

And yet, sometimes there were these moments. Moments where he would grin at her from across the mess hall table, or tap out Morse code messages on her door in the morning. Things where she didn't know if it was special, or maybe she was just reading into everything.

"Rosie?" Hazel was saying. "Are you alright?"

Shit.

"Sorry, yeah- what were you saying?"

"Well…" Hazel trailed off, unsure of how to continue. A small smile appeared on her face. "Arion appeared."

"Arion? Your horse?"

She nodded.

Rosie couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy. She hadn't seen Karey since December...before that, it had been almost three years. "Oh. Well- what was up with him?" She wasn't sure why Hazel was here, talking with her. As the time drew on, she was getting more and more nervous.

Hazel chewed her lip thoughtfully. "We found a route, you know- to get to Epirus." She sighed, fidgeting with a piece of her hair nervously. "I-I ran into the goddess Hecate. Arion took me to her."

Rosie blinked at her. "Sorry, you're going to have to jog my memory." Surprisingly, a Jeopardy category of gods and goddesses wouldn't be her strong suit.

"Goddess of Magic. She, uh, has a secret pass for us. To get through to Italy."

Rosie still didn't know where this was going. She could feel her eyelids drooping. "A goddess actually helping us? That...doesn't sound right." Usually, the goddesses were the ones trying to kill them.

"She wants us to go through the pass, north to Bologna, and then to Venice. From there we can sail the Adriatic to Epirus."

She hoped she wasn't being told this because maybe, the Argo crew viewed her as Percy's replacement. She knew with certainty that she could never come close to being like Percy.

"Baloney? Why is she sending us to a deli meat?"

"Bologna," Hazel corrected. "She...she said to find a thief and two dwarves in Bologna- said they could help us. That they could help us survive the rest of our journey."

Rosie gulped. "Why are you telling me this? Maybe you should wake up Jason or Coach or…" Anyone but me.

"I need your help, Rosie."

"Help," Rosie repeated flatly. What could she possibly help anyone with? After all, she was the one with the death sentence looming over her head- she was the one to cause her brother to fall into Tartarus.

"I need you to teach me how to control the Mist." Hazel's eyes grew wide with pleading.

The request took her by so much surprise that for a second, she said nothing. She sat there, playing with the loose thread on her blanket.

"I...I don't know how I can help you with that, Hazel," she admitted.

"Hecate said I already have some of the magic within me- you just have to help me harness it. She says it'll be easy for you to teach me how to control it."

"I can't."

"You can, though," Hazel insisted. "You already know how to do it- Chiron taught you, right? Hecate said it had to be you- she said we could help one another. I know she's right. I know this'll work out."

"Work out, huh?" Rosie asked bitterly. "Just like the whole Athena Parthenos thing worked out?" The minute the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She had noticed a shift in herself since Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus- she was spiteful. She had found herself snapping at her friends, even when she didn't mean to.

Rosie sighed. "I'm sorry," she started. "I…"

Hazel grabbed her hand, squeezing it comfortingly. "I miss them too," she said softly. "But they'll be okay, Rosie- they will survive. You've got to stop blaming yourself."

Nights were when the ugly thoughts entered- thoughts that it should've been her who fell into Tartarus. She knew Gaea had a vendetta against Reiger children- she should've just finished what she had started so long ago with Max.

Max. Percy. Her entire body ached with sorrow.

"I'll teach you," Rosie said weakly.

A faint smile appeared on Hazel's face. "You will?"

"You have much to learn, grasshopper," Rosie said in her best Chiron impression, trying to plaster a smile on her face. "You will be my prodigy."