Reflection

By: xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx

AN: Well, hello there. I'm sure all remember my previous story, Different Than In Pictures. Yeah, remember that one? You know, the one with the meanie Romans and tortured Percy? And the HUGE cliffie at the end? That one?

This is the kindasorta sequel to that!

The unresolved(at least for you) ending was bothering me a bit... And last night, I had the perfect way to make a companion to it. I knew that if I had the Percy rescue scene, it'd turn into this huge Percabeth MUSH, and I'd hate that, and you would too, probably. Anyway, I decided to SKIP that, and say that, YES, Percy was rescued. Your mind can fill in the details. :)

So, another thing that was unclear was why did the Romans mistreat Percy? Hm, they're supposed to be nice, are they not? Well, I guess you'll have to find out in this story!

Yes, this companion explaisn what went on, and why the Romans threw Percy into prison. It's all Octavian's fault, I bet. ;)

Whoo. I'm done. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HoO.

Jason

"Annabeth, you have to get out of here sooner or later."

"Jason, I already told you. I'm not leaving, and if I am, then I choose later. I'm fine in here, alright? I'm a big girl that's held up the sky. You don't need to worry about me."

Jason's eyes shifted back and forth from Annabeth's serious expression to his Greek cousin, Percy Jackson, who lay still on the cot in the infirmary. Their hands, though Percy's was limp, were intertwined, and Annabeth looked as if she never wanted to let go.

With a slight frown, the Roman demigod sighed. "Alright, Annabeth," he said reluctantly. "I'll be back tomorrow to check up on you guys… Try to get some sleep. We don't need you exhausted when it comes time to leave for Greece."

Annabeth nodded, her eyes betraying the unspoken promise, and heart heavy, Jason turned and walked out of the infirmary, his arms shoved into his pockets. As he walked through the city, he couldn't help but think of how incredibly different it was than how he thought it would be. Yes, they did accept him, but he never would've thought that… well, he couldn't believe that they would actually do that to a person.

Thinking about it, Jason felt like he should be a Greek more than a Roman. Yes, his fighting style was definitely more Roman, but that was just how he was trained. He acted more like a Greek, especially now that he had spent over half a year with them. He loosened up greatly, and now, looking at his Roman kin… he wasn't so sure that he actually came from a Roman god. He actually wished he could've been a son of Zeus, not Jupiter. That probably would've made life much easier.

He didn't want to be a Roman. He didn't want to be known as part of a people group that would… that would brutally beat someone until they were half-dead. That wasn't at all how he had left the place—when he had disappeared, all was good at Rome! There was peace, and everyone mostly got along! But, everything changed when Juno—Hera, whatever she wanted to be called—switched Percy and him. Everything changed when Octavian gained controlled. When Reyna was manipulated by him…

Reyna.

The entire time, Jason knew he was angry, upset at someone, but he… just couldn't really tell who it was. Maybe it was Octavian, for wanting Percy to die. Maybe it was Dakota, for being so damn good at following his orders. Or… maybe, Jason was mad at himself for actually letting that happen when he was MIA. And maybe, he was mad at all of those people, but the thought had never crossed his mind that he was actually most upset at Reyna, for letting herself be manipulated by Octavian.

From what he remembered, Reyna was the rock. She was the unmoving, unchanging one. She was headstrong and oh-so annoyingly stubborn, but sometimes, that was a good thing. She never let anyone change her resolve. She never let anyone get in the way of what she wanted. To think that she would actually listen to someone like Octavian… That just didn't sound like the Reyna that Jason knew. The Reyna he knew would never listen to Octavian…

…unless she agreed with him.

Jason's heart sank all the way down to his stomach. He honestly couldn't believe that Reyna agreed with something was downright… disgusting and cruel as what happened to Percy. That wasn't the Reyna he knew; it wasn't the Reyna he had fought by all those years. It wasn't his partner, his fellow Praetor.

It wasn't the Reyna that he had began to fall for after everything was said and done.

Now, he wasn't even sure what to think of Reyna. He wanted to hate her, like he hated Octavian, but, come on, it was Reyna. Even before he knew her very well—back when she first came to camp—he had admired her. She'd always been a good asset, maybe even a friend, on certain days. The thought of hating her… Well, it was like hating Annabeth. You just didn't do that, unless you wanted to be on a death list.

"I'm surprised you haven't gotten lost," a familiar voice said from behind Jason.

His blood ran cold as he turned around, facing the not-so-unfamiliar stranger. Her long, black hair was braided and thrown behind her back, and she was garbed in her usual purple toga and golden armor, despite the fact that there was no battle happening. A small, knowing smile rested on her face, and she, to be honest, looked pretty, in Jason's opinion.

"I remember most of camp," Jason replied. He desperately wanted to tell her something—more like tell her off—but he chose not to. Having Reyna, the Praetor, as an enemy wasn't something anyone would want on their shoulders.

"I see," Reyna said with a curt nod. "That's good."

"Yeah… it is."

An unsettling, awkward silence came on the two of them, and they looked at each other, no words spoken. Both just looked at the other, analyzing each other like a complicated math formula.

Finally, Jason spoke up, "So, Octavian's the other Praetor now, huh?"

Warning flares went up all around Reyna, and she frowned darkly. Jason knew he was entering dangerous grounds, but hey, he had been up against a Titan alone. And a Giant alone. 'Dangerous' had no meaning.

"Unfortunately yes," Reyna said. Her voice was carefully controlled and terse. She despised the very fact that Octavian was her partner(because everyone knew that partners ended up together eventually), and she made that very obvious. "The nasty little twerp weaseled his way into becoming Praetor somehow, someway."

"And he seems pretty highly respected," Jason added. "Wonder why that is."

Another frown formed on the girl's face. "Octavian… is an interesting case," she said finally. "From what I've heard, the only reason anyone voted him Praetor was because he blackmailed them. That's the only way anyone would listen to him. Ideas are terrible. Thoughts are downright awful. He's not fit to be Praetor. If I had it my way, I would've voted Percy Jackson my new partner, if I had to do so. If not, I would've waited for you."

Jason's spirits lifted. Maybe, just maybe, Reyna never wanted anything to do with the Percy Jackson dilemma. Octavian had probably blackmailed her like everyone else. She even wanted Percy to be his replacement. She hadn't changed… Hopefully.

"Then, why didn't you wait?" Jason asked curiously, after a few moments of letting her words soak in. "You could've. You know I would've come back, and look, I did."

"I wanted to," Reyna reassured, "but the people grew restless. I first made set the date of choosing a new Praetor the Feast of Fortuna, and they were okay with that… Days later, they grew extremely restless. I think Octavian had something to do with that, little scheming weasel. Anyway, they talked amongst themselves, taking it to me every now and then. I didn't want to change the date… but eventually, I had no choice but to. It was getting close to a riot. So, I set the new date, and the people voted Octavian as their new Praetor. I was surprised, but I said nothing. It wouldn't have made a difference either way. That was the one thing that a Praetor—"

"—can't veto," finished Jason. "I remember. So… it was Octavian that started the entire thing with Percy?"

Her face darkened visibly, and the air grew tense around the two. "Yes," Reyna said, voice abrupt. "That was his idea."

"He wanted to get rid of Percy. He considered him a threat," Jason guessed.

"Just like he considered Lucas and you a threat," Reyna replied, frowning. "Octavian considers people like that a great threat to him… Once he finally got into a position of power, he took the vote to the people. The majority, probably because of blackmail, voted to imprison Percy, and I vetoed that decision. I thought that Octavian would give up… that everything would be alright. But, the day after the veto, he came up to me and said that my veto had been overridden by over 2/3 of the people. And, I can't do anything to argue against that, so we imprisoned Percy."

"I figured that he would be treated like a regular prisoner, but Octavian insisted on more. He wanted Percy to suffer under the crazy idea that he was a Greek, and well, another vote went up. Another veto that was overridden in the end. That's how Percy ended up… yeah. If I had my choice, it would've been Octavian that was locked up in the gods damned room, Jason, not Percy."

Jason nodded slowly, digesting Reyna's story. "Well," he said finally, "it's good to hear your side of the story, Rey. I just wish that Octavian could be put into his place."

"That makes two of us," Reyna said darkly. "I'd never tell anyone this, but I'm hoping Octavian is one of the seven so that a Giant can squash him with his foot. That twerp deserves the Fields of Punishment."

"Agreed," Jason said with a slight nod, feeling another awkward pause come over them. It was now or never… If he wanted to hang out with Reyna, now would be the perfect time to ask her.

"Hey, uh, Reyna?"

"Yes?"

"You wouldn't want to… I dunno… go grab a coffee or something?" Jason shifted awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "You know… to, um, catch up and stuff."

Reyna smiled. "I'd love to."

AN: So, now you know. This, unlike Different Than In Pictures will remain a one-shot, and a one-shot only. Maybe it'll have a companion. You never know with my mind!

Vote on my poll for future stories! :]