DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THESE CHARACTERS. They belong to Rick Riordan and Disney Hyperion.
Reyna had everything under control.
The Manticore had pinned her to the ground, but she was convinced that she was not going to die. Her mission was far too important, she simply couldn't fail.
But her Imperial Gold spear was trapped under the monster's scorpion tail and she knew she would never reach it.
Time slowed down.
She glanced at the enormous statue lying ten feet away and sent a silent prayer to Min– Athena.
Reyna tried to reach for the dagger in her pocket, but her bloody hands were busy trying to keep the Manticore's jaws away from her.
Out of the blue she heard a thunder and saw the glint of metal stab the monster in the back. It pulverized in a bunch of seconds, and Reyna was able to get up.
She looked at her savior: it was a girl. Just a girl dressed in black, holding a Celestial Bronze spear and a frightening shield. A silver tiara rested on her black hair.
"Thank you," Reyna said. She bent to retrieve her own spear.
"No problem," the other replied.
The two girls considered the situation for a while, slowly encircling each other like felines.
There was something about the girl… something familiar that Reyna could not quite put her finger on. Her eyes were stormy blue and she seemed pretty powerful, but the daughter of Bellona was not scared. She never was.
Hedge and Nico had found a safe place to rest not far from where the statue was and had told her to wake them in an hour. That hour was nearly gone. Reyna sincerely hoped the girl in front of her was in no mood for fighting. She guessed it was better to start off friendly: she abandoned her defensive position, hoping the other would do the same. She sheathed her dagger and held up her hands, to show she was unarmed.
"I'm Reyna. My friends and I are carrying the Athena Parthenos to Camp Half–"
"Wait, that's the Athena Parthenos?"
Not an enemy. Reyna began to relax. "The very one."
The other girl whistled. "I'm Thalia Grace, by the way," she introduced herself.
Her eyes…
"Grace?" Reyna asked, confusion drawing on her face.
"Yeah, you've heard of my brother Jason, perhaps? And if you've never heard of me… I get it you're from Camp Jupiter?"
How could it be? She had known Jason for years, they had been close, and he'd never mentioned his sister, not once. Maybe Gaia was tricking her. Well, she had just saved her life. And… the shape of Thalia's face. They way she spoke. Her eyes.
"You bet. Jason and I were praetors together," she said with a ting of pride. "Technically I am preator still, but…" she caught herself.
Thalia looked curious. "But?"
"I suspect that git Octavian has taken over the legion in my absence. The legion raised Jason and me on their shields after the Giant War, but then Jason disappeared, Percy Jackson came along and the crowd made him preator, then about a week ago Jason gave up his position and promoted a son of Mars, Frank Zhang during battle. Well, I broke the law by crossing the Mediterraneum Sea – Mare Nostrum – to the Ancient Lands, so technically they could've stripped me of my preatorship without a trial, but I'll assume that's not the case. So even if Jason has formerly resigned, there are still three preators, and that goes against our law. That augur might've proclaimed himself dictator."
Thalia had been listening carefully and when Reyna was done, she asked: "Percy was made praetor? Really? I thought you Romans were smarter than that. His head is full of kelp and Annabeth, nothing more."
"You know Percy, like personally?"
"'Course I do. We've been on a couples of quests together… children of the Big Three stuff," Thalia said.
"So you're a daughter of Zeus?"
"Yeah."
"But how is that possible that you and Jason…?"
"Long story short, our mom used to hook up with Zeus but then Hera found out and got mad and so he came to see her again after a few years as Jupiter and… Jason was born."
"After a few years? I don't want to sound rude or anything, but how old are you? You don't look older than he is."
Thalia laughed. "That's another long story. I died when I was twelve and Zeus turned me into a pine tree… six years later I was revived with the Golden Fleece. So in mortal years I'm supposed to be 23. But I guess it doesn't really matter: I have the aspect of a sixteen years old and I always will, since I joined the Hunters of Artemis."
"Well, your story's not less complicated than mine. How's the Hunt?"
Thalia gestured at her tiara, grinning.
"Well, I'm Artemis's personal lieutenant so it's epic."
This girl Thalia was great. Reyna found herself continuing to speak.
"My sister Hylla's Queen of the Amazons," she dropped like it was no biggie.
"Cool! I hear the Amazons don't turn their backs on the company of men as we Huntresses do?"
"They don't, but they're still big feminists. They just enjoy the, er, company. Plus, they run Amazon."
"Are you kidding me? I thought that was Hermes!"
"I know, it's crazy." After a moment of silence, Reyna spoke again. "You mentioned Annabeth earlier…"
"You know her?"
"Yes, I met the Greek crew of the Argo II crew before they sailed. Annabeth seemed like… the most friendly. We get along pretty well. She's a warrior, I like her. I'm a daughter of Bellona, see."
"War goddess?" Reyna nodded. "Wait, you said you were carrying the statue…"
"Yeah, Nico and I are carrying it to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth's had a dream about her mother telling her that the Parthenos must be brought to Half-Blood Hill by the Roman. That would be me."
"Nico di Angelo? I haven't seen the kid in ages."
Does she know everybody? Daughter of Zeus… She must have been like a celebrity back at Camp Half-Blood.
"Yeah, he's been through some tough stuff…"
"How did you and Nico end up carrying the statue anyway? I haven't heard from Chiron in months… I promised the Hunters would be there if Camp ever needed us, but he's never called me. Tell me what's going on."
"How much do you know about the Argo quest?"
"Just that they were going to sail in June."
Reyna frowned. "This is going to be a long story."
"I have all day."
"I don't."
"Just – just tell me about Annabeth. And my brother. Are they doing okay? Do they need help?"
"Look, Thalia, there's something I should tell you. Just don't freak out, okay?"
She nodded.
"Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus."
Thalia visibly paled before she started screaming. "WHAT THE –"
"Calm down, they made it out alive, they're both okay!"
Thalia relaxed. "How in Hades did that happen?"
"Annabeth got pulled into the pit by Arachne and Percy didn't want to let her go, so he fell with her."
"I've always known that guy was crazy."
"It was pretty heroic. But pretty stupid, too–"
"Crazy about Annabeth. You should've seen them when they were 13. Always blushing whenever the other was around… if they don't come out of this freaking war alive and get married, I'm going to be so pissed that I will slay a giant or two myself."
Reyna found herself laughing. When had been the last time she'd had a good laugh? She honestly could not remember. Laughs were for friends, and she didn't have any. Just allies and enemies. She had learned the hard way not to trust anybody.
Still, she wanted to listen to Thalia. She was Jason's sister – and that was another reason not to get attached – but she seemed so much like herself, strong and independent, she radiated power. But Reyna was supposed to wake Nico and Coach Hedge. They had to go. This quest was far too important. She couldn't fail.
"Listen, Thalia, I'd love to stay here a little longer and chat with you, but I really gotta go. Camp Jupiter is hours away from attacking Half-Blood Hill and they'll destroy each other if I don't get there soon enough. They'll do Gaia's job for her."
Thalia's face changed. "Your camp is attacking us?"
"Not on my order. I told them not to throw the spear of war. It was my last command."
"How are you going to travel with Athena here?"
"Nico and I have been shadow-travelling all the way from Greece."
"Just so you know, he accidentally ended up in China, once. But seriously, poor kid. Must be exhausted," Thalia commented.
"He is, the statue is an enormous burden, and we've got a chaperone satyr with us. I wish I could do something to help. Every time we stop he has to take naps, so I collect food and stand guard and fend off monsters until he's regained enough strength to shadow-travel."
"You're not travelling fast enough."
"What do you expect –"
"I know you can't go faster. But if there's going to be war between the camps, I gotta go and protect Half-Blood Hill. I don't want there to be a battle, but –"
"Of course you want to defend it, it's your home."
Thalia shook her head. "Not mine. My home is with the Hunters. But it's Percy and Annabeth's. I'm doing it for them."
"So you think we're doomed? We won't make it in time?"
"I might have somewhat of a plan in mind," Thalia said and smiled.
Reyna's heart skipped a beat."Let's hear it."
"First of all, how determined is your legion?"
Pride had been in Reyna's voice the last time she'd answered that question, but now it was gone. "They will fight until they have no more men standing. They want blood, they don't care –"
"How determined are they to attack right now? I mean, how do you know that they'll attack tonight?"
"I've seen it and dreamt about it."
"Yes, but why tonight?"
"They set up camp about a week ago. They did just move an entire legion, they probably needed some days to organize everything and gather our – I mean, their – forces. I don't know, they might've studied the conditions of Half-Blood Hill and decided tonight was the best night."
"Very well," Thalia said. Reyna didn't know what was very well, but she kept quiet.
"I can create some disturbance. Thunders. So close to Olympus. The augurs might even think Zeus is disapproving of their actions. I can create a storm so thick they won't be able to set a foot outside, let alone attack my Camp."
If they cannot march on Camp Half-Blood… Yes, this might actually work.
"It sounds great to me. I am sure you are capable of doing… thunderful things. But how are you going to make it to Long Island in time?"
"Here's the part where you'll have to trust me. I shadow-travel with Nico to Camp Half-Blood, without the statue. It will take barely a minute, and less energy from him. Once I'm there, I'll do my job and Di Angelo gets some well-deserved nap. I'll send you some campers with a flying chariot so you can carry the statue. And we just hope that when you get there, our gigantic friend Athena can cease the hostility between Greeks and Romans. I'm not just talking about the camps, but also the gods. They will be watching, I know it."
Reyna considered everything for a minute. It was brilliant. There were a thousand reasons not to trust Thalia and her plan. But this was probably the only chance they stood. Besides, she was not going into this blindly. Thalia claimed she knew Nico, Reyna could trust his judgment. Let the choice be up to him.
"Okay," she finally said after a minute. "I think your plan can work. But let me talk to Nico first."
Thalia shook her head. "We'll tell him together. I know him. He used to be super scared of me when he was a kid. But I knew his sister and he will trust me."
She couldn't be referring to Hazel when she mentioned his sister, Reyna knew that. She was tempted to ask for explanation, but she kept her mouth shut.
Coach Hedge was awake and standing guard. They quickly explained everything to him. Meanwhile, Nico was still snoring loudly with his aviator jacket as a pillow.
"He looks younger when he sleeps," Thalia said quietly. She ruffled his hair.
Up close, Reyna could see that her eyes were not identical to Jason's. Thalia's irises were electric blue, with silver rays. Like a clear sky full of stars.
"Okay, let's wake him up. Coach?"
The satyr nodded. "I am going to kill you, evil creature, DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Nico sat up instantly and grabbed his Stygian sword. "What?" He scanned his surroundings and saw no immediate threat. His eyes widened when he saw "Thalia!"
"Hello, pipsqueak. Long time no see."
"What are you even doing here? Where are your Hunters?"
Reyna thought she saw something contract in Nico's face when he mentioned the Hunters.
"Doesn't matter. But listen, we've got a plan…"
"You sure you don't need anything?" Thalia asked for the fifth time.
"I'll be fine."
"She's got me, she's gonna be super safe," Coach Hedge said.
Reyna tried to hide her chuckle and saw that Thalia was grinning too.
"Have a safe trip then. Good luck," Reyna said.
"Thanks," Nico muttered.
"Don't worry, I'll buy you enough time. Just hang in here and watch the Athena Parthenos," Thalia told her.
She nodded. "I'll see you on Half-Blood Hill," Reyna said confidently.
They both smiled.
Reyna watched them disappear. Once they were gone, she sat, her back on the statue.
She found herself thinking that Thalia Grace was an interesting girl. Someone she wouldn't mind sharing an adventure with. Like Annabeth, a potential friend.
These Greek demigods weren't half bad. Reyna just wished her entire camp could see it too.
Author's notes: Hullo everybody! Thanks for reading.
I love Reyna and Thalia, they are among the – endless – list of my favorite characters, and I hope you liked the way I portrayed them.
Let me know what you think, your opinion is always appreciated.
Ginny_theQueen xx
PS: I can't wait for The Blood of Olympus. What about you guys?