Chapter 1: Greek Reminder

Reyna's POV

I dreamt I was happy. Finally, sincerely happy. I was in the Garden of Bacchus, finally able to love. Venus said I'd never be able to, but I could. I was. Octavian pulled me closer for a kiss.

Venus' voice filled with laughter. "I said you'd never find love among the demigods. I never said anything about..."

"Reyna!" Someone yelled.

I sprang up, fully ready to take on an enemy, even while being half asleep and in purple pajamas.

"Reyna, you're late for breakfast." Frank blushed.

I calmed down once I realized it was just a wakeup call from Frank. "How late?"

"It started ten minutes ago." Frank said. "Sorry if I... freaked you out. Shaking you and talking normally didn't work."

I sighed. "You just surprised me. Give me a few minutes and I'll head to breakfast with you."

Frank nodded and dutifully left the room. I grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom to change. It didn't take long, but it did take me a few minutes to brush through my hair. Then I suddenly looked up at myself in the mirror.

It seemed as if my reflection were taunting me. "You think you're such a perfect leader. But look at you, completely disheveled, dreaming of Octavian. Why do you care about him? And why are you so lovesick? You're a praetor, you don't need love."

I couldn't handle seeing my reflection anymore. I headed out so I could go to breakfast with Frank. But along the way, I couldn't help but ponder those thoughts. Why was I dreaming of Octavian? He's practically the bane of my existence. He's lucky to even be alive after his cape got caught in that onager, but he was detached from the cape after Nico cut it off. And because of his treason, he was just lucky that Percy, Frank, and I had mercy on him by only denouncing him from being Augur and forcing him to do hard labor like a slave would have in Ancient Rome. We could have done much worse...

"Reyna?" Frank got my attention, slowing to a stop just outside the Mess Hall. "I've got to ask... Have you been okay? You've been late to a lot of things lately, you seem less happy than usual, and you didn't pay attention to anything I said on the way here."

He was talking to me? "What did you say on the way here?"

"I was starting casual conversation and talking about my reports on how the Camp is doing." Frank frowned. "What's wrong?"

I grimaced. "Thank you for being a friend Frank, but I'm fine."

I started to head into the Mess Hall, but Frank said something else. "When Annabeth gave me advice about Hazel, she said that a girl is never happy when she says she's fine."

That stopped me in my tracks. "I don't want to talk about it, okay Frank? Besides, I'm already late."

Frank nodded and followed me inside. "You can talk to me any time though."

I smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

As we walked in, a few people looked up, no doubt starting rumors about why I was late. I took my seat and Frank slid between Hazel and I.

"So, what kept you from breakfast?" Hazel smiled.

"I slept in." I admitted vaguely.

I looked up and immediately caught sight of Octavian. He looked overtired and depressed, but I assumed that was from his punishment. Then I noticed that most of his cohort sat as far from him on the table as possible, while a small few sat close to him with mischievous smirks.

"Hey Octavian, how's the workload?" A boy teased.

"Yeah, how does it feel to go from being an Augur to doing mind numbing slave work?" Another snickered.

"Traitor." One of them chuckled.

It oddly bothered me, and the words came out of my mouth before I realized I was saying them. "Octavian, could you bring your breakfast over here?"

Octavian looked up warily and slowly picked up his tray to do as I asked. Then one of the boys who was teasing him tripped him. The food fell everywhere, including on Octavian.

I stood up in fury. "Clean that."

The one who tripped him snickered. "Yeah Octavian, why don't you..."

"Not Octavian." I clenched my teeth. "I want the one who tripped him to clean it."

The tripper stared at me for a second before seeing the anger in my eyes and doing as I said. I walked over to Octavian and helped him up.

"W-what are you doing?" Octavian stuttered.

"Helping you. What does it look like?" I sighed. "Get yourself cleaned and come back to get another breakfast."

Octavian stared at me for a long moment before leaving the Mess Hall, probably heading for the baths. Everyone else was staring at me in shock.

"Go back to your food." I stated firmly before walking out of the Mess Hall.

I couldn't stand to have them staring at me, and I couldn't help but feel bad for what happened to Octavian. I knew it wasn't my fault, but it bothered me. Before I knew it, I'd sprinted to the Garden of Bacchus, my feet controlling me more than my mind. I avoided the bees as I sat on a bench, head in my hands. I wasn't the strong leader the Romans needed. I was weak.

"Reyna?" A familiar voice came from next to me.

I jumped a little before realizing it was Percy. "What are you doing here?"

Percy frowned, probably hearing the crack in my voice as much as I did. "I came with Annabeth for a visit. We want to go to college here, remember? I asked Frank where you were, but he said you took off from breakfast. Annabeth mentioned that this was your favorite place, so I decided to check for you here."

"Why? What reason would you have for coming to see me?" I asked.

"You're one of my closest friends at Camp Jupiter. Why wouldn't I come see you?" Percy looked worried. "Are you okay Reyna?"

He was a reminder of one of the reasons I wasn't okay. "Do you remember how I indirectly implied we could date? Back when I suggested you become a praetor?"

"Yeah..." Percy admitted.

"It's funny how I didn't notice until she said anything. It should have been obvious..." I rambled.

"Notice what?" Percy asked.

"Venus said I could never fall in love with a demigod. It almost seems like a curse to me, what with Jason, you..." I trailed off.

Percy put an arm on my shoulder. "Reyna, you shouldn't take Aphrodite at her word. You weren't meant to be with Jason, because he found Piper. And I loved Annabeth way before I ever met you. You just need to find someone besides us. Aphrodite also said Annabeth and I would turn into a tragedy, but we're doing fine."

"Percy, I'm not like you. Even if what you say is true, I don't have the time to go out and find someone. And I shouldn't need love. I..." I was cut off by Percy pulling me into a hug.

"Reyna, even if what you say is true, Aphrodite only mentioned that you can't love a demigod. There's still mortals, legacies, or even Gods. Although, I really don't suggest dating a God." Percy said.

"Always the optimist." Tears were streaming down my face. "That's one of the things I like about you."

"You're niceness and vulnerability is starting to scare me." Percy joked.

"Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me." I pulled away from his hug.

"Iris Message me more often. Then we can figure out what's wrong with you." Percy gave one of his heart melting grins and kissed my cheek.

"And you wonder why girls like you." I smiled.

"Psh, I know why." Percy strutted like a ladies' man as he walked away. "All this talk of Team Leo... well I say Team Percy is the best!"

I giggled slightly as he left the Garden. He was probably going back for Annabeth. I decided to head back to my regular schedule. I walked into the Colosseum and headed up to the praetor seat only to find... "Mars?"

"You're late. Where have you been?" Mars questioned.

"Attending to some personal duties." I said. "What brings you here today?"

"Just thought I'd entertain myself by watching some fights." Mars pointed to the sword practice.

I needed no further explanation, but Mars was sitting in my seat, and Frank was in his own seat...

Mars must have noticed my awkward stares. "Frank, let Reyna sit in your seat. I'd tell her to sit somewhere else, but Venus says I should be respectful to women..."

Frank immediately got up during Mars' grumbling and gestured for me to sit.

I sat down. "But where will you sit?"

"It won't kill me to sit on the floor." Frank smiled as he sat on the ground.

"Octavian, move!" Someone yelled.

I snapped my head to find Octavian lying on one of the benches in the main arena, a crowd forming around him. He had a blanket on and was cuddling a teddybear. I would've laughed if I weren't so concerned about the situation.

"I said move!" The boy who had yelled before did so again.

"No." Octavian mouthed. I couldn't hear him because he wasn't yelling.

The boy who wanted Octavian to move punched him.

I was so angry that the word left my mouth before I processed it. "STOP!"

The crowd around Octavian as well as everyone else in the arena stopped and stared.

"GET AWAY FROM OCTAVIAN!" I yelled in fury. "EVERYONE HEAD TO THE CIRCUS MAXIMUS FOR THE CHARIOT RACES! NOW!"

After seeing the fury on my face, everyone obeyed me. Even Frank. Mars was the only one who stayed. He stared at me with amusement.

"What?" I snapped.

"I'm impressed with your... leadership skills. Although, you sounded more like one of my children than Bellona's just now." Mars smirked. "Why?"

"None of your business." I grumbled as I headed through the arena to see Octavian.

When I got there, he was brushing dirt off of his blanket. I also noticed his trunk sitting under the bench.

"How long have you been sleeping here?" I asked.

"How long has it been since a week after my punishment started?" Octavian shrugged.

"You've been sleeping out here for a month?!" I exclaimed.

"I guess so." As Octavian looked up, I could see that where he was punched was turning purple. He had a black eye. "Why does it matter to you?"

"Why wouldn't it?" I countered. "My job is to keep the Campers safe, including you."

"Reyna, I've never seen you this angry. I'm pretty sure this is about more than Camper safety." Octavian locked eyes with me.

I stared into them for a second, seeing all the mischief and anger gone. He was depressed. "I've never had a camper treated this cruelly. Even if they were charged with treason."

Octavian seemed to study me for a second. "You sincerely believe what you're saying. Can... can a traitor still complain about maltreatment?"

"Octavian, you were never given the punishment most traitors get. We could have killed you if we wanted. You're still considered a Camper. A probatio. You can complain any time." I assured him.

"Can we talk about this in your office? This somehow doesn't seem like a good place." Octavian requested.

I gestured for him to follow me and we headed to my office. Aurum and Argentum were laying next to my desk, but they got up and into a sitting position as soon as we entered. Octavian sat in a chair as I sat at my desk.

"Give me your complaints." I said.

Octavian took a deep breath. "After I was sentenced to my punishment, my cohort said it wasn't strong enough punishment. They beat me, put my mattress into the lake while I was sleeping on it, and taunted me constantly. I decided to sleep in the Colosseum after a week. And... I think you've been seeing what kinds of things the rest of the Camp has been doing to me. You saw it today."

I frowned. I remembered Octavian having a few bruises when he started his punishment, but I thought they might have been from the battle with Gaea. "Octavian... don't sleep in the Colosseum anymore. I'll see if I can get a house for you in New Rome. Until then... You could stay in my guest bedroom."

"I've started to like sleeping outside. And... why would you be willing to let me sleep in your guest bedroom?" Octavian asked.

Why was I willing to do it? "Because it can keep you safe."

Octavian pondered that thought. "You have a guest bedroom? I thought your house had multiple rooms in case you ever retired or had kids."

That was one thing given to all Roman citizens when they stopped living in cohorts. "I do. I just refer to the extra two bedrooms as guest bedrooms."

"I'll have to get my stuff if I'm going to sleep in your guest bedroom." Octavian stood up.

I followed him back to the Colosseum, where he put the blanket and teddybear back into his trunk, then he dragged it to my house. Octavian didn't say much as we walked in, but he started talking when we got to the bedroom he'd be sleeping in.

"For it being your house, you sure don't have a lot of personal items out. Everything is practically bare." Octavian commented.

I hadn't moved much since I'd moved into the house. I was almost never here anyway, I was taking charge of the Camp. "Maybe that's my personality. Bare walls. What you see is what you get."

"I'm pretty sure you're more interesting than that." Octavian said. "No one is a bare wall. There's always something underneath, something that's been painted over with a bare look on the outside."

"That was... poetic." I said. "But there's not much mystery to me. You should know that by now."

"Actually, most people still don't know how you knew Percy before he showed up with no memory. Including me. And we also don't know how you have an Amazon for a sister, and yet you don't hate men." Octavian mentioned.

"It's no one's business how I originally met Percy." I countered. "And just because Hylla has a negative view of men, that doesn't mean I have to."

"Whatever." Octavian shrugged. "I was just making a point. I think I'll try to sleep now. I don't have any labor today, and I was trying to sleep back at the Colosseum."

I nodded curtly and started to leave the room. As soon as Octavian laid on the bed, I heard a wince of pain. I turned to find him holding his black eye, probably having lain on it.

"Get up." I said.

"But..." Octavian started.

"You need ice on your bruise. Now get up." I instructed.

Octavian reluctantly stood up and followed me into my kitchen I pulled an ice pack out of the freezer and handed it to Octavian. He tried to put it on his eye, but the cold must have stung, because he immediately pulled it back.

"Hand it to me." I said.

Octavian handed me the ice pack. I surprised him by putting it back on his eye and holding it down as he tried to push it away in protest.

"Agh! Get it off of me!" He demanded.

I relentlessly held the ice pack down until he finally stopped fighting me. He must have gotten past the sting of the cold, because he was starting to sigh as if it were relieving his pain.

"Better?" I smirked.

"Better." He admitted.

Octavian suddenly looked at me in confusion. I didn't understand why at first, but then I realized I'd been subconsciously stroking his hair with the hand that wasn't holding down the ice pack. I tried to remove it, but Octavian's hand shot up and held mine in place.

A sudden negative thought drifted into my mind. "You're a praetor. You don't need love. And he's a traitor."

I drew back both of my hands, which left Octavian with the task of grabbing the ice pack I nearly dropped. "I... I have to go. I was supposed to direct the chariot races."

I nearly stumbled as I got up, backing into the wall on my way out of the room. As I stepped outside, I tried to figure out what had just happened. Why did I stroke his hair? Why did he hold my hand in place? I was so focused on sorting things out that I ran into someone. Annabeth.

"Ouch. Oh, hey Reyna. Percy said he saw you earlier." Annabeth greeted me with a smile. The smile faded as she assessed the look on my face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I..." I wasn't sure what to say. "I have to go to the chariot races. Maybe I'll visit you before you leave."

"Okay... See you later!" Annabeth called as I scrambled to the Circus Maximus.