Hi! I am posting a new story! This is going to be fluffy, at least a first. Reyna might be OOC, but she has to be, because of the circumstances of he story. The second part of the story, which is in Italics, takes place in the past. Except for the Spanish in the beginning. I hope you like the story!
-SAVE THE NARGLES
He was sitting on the floor in his house. It was dirty, and it was hard to live where they were now, with barely enough to live by, but they were up for the challenge.
Besides, they were tough people.
The rough white carpet was rubbing against his calves, and he was sweating, from the hot summer day you could only get in Texas. His clothes were messy, and he should have been in the shop. Especially on a Saturday afternoon.
But everything he did was for them. And now, that was being at home, than at the shop, where he could be earning next to nothing. But he did not care, he was smiling.
"Come here, Eli. Ven a papá, cariño." His eight-month old daughter crawled towards him, and he grabbed her and twirled her in the air, as she giggled. His little Eliane. His phoenix in his life. HIs source of light.
Leo put Eli down gently, and she sat up, then sneezed. A burst of red flames shot up from her head. Her dark eyes turned to the color of hot coals, for a split second. Her fine wavy hair shook around her head, and her Hispanic skin tone was slightly more pink than it was before.
She blinked a couple of times, then giggled again. She just set herself on fire, and her father's eyes , but she did not seem to care.
"You're doing a good job. She's got her daddy's sense of humor, that's for sure." His fiancé strided in from the backyard. Her long hair was braided, and a bandana held back strand of hair back, and she was wearing a tank top and muddy jeans. Her tattoo stood out against her revealed skin, but that was all that was left.
"Mommy!" Leo yelled, and picked up Eli and ran towards her. She still stood tall and proud, but there is little of that previous coldness that was there for all those years. A smile was spread on her face. They left their friends and family behind; it was so much of a burden, to leave their lives and if they stayed. They had mementos, weapons and pictures, things that could not be left behind. But they had not seen a god or demigod since they left, much less monsters and disturbing dreams. They liked it that way.
Reyna took Eli from Leo's arms, and she held her close, and her lover's arm slid on her waist. It was a life of struggle, and they were still young, but it was familiar enough for both of them. The hard work was like the legion, but the atmosphere was more for him. It was perfect.
"How are you, mi reina? Do you want me to cook something?" Leo asked, as he kissed her cheek. They walked into their small kitchen, Leo heading towards the stove.
"Sí, and for Eli... Can you get a bottle along with some of the baby food?" She held Eli and placed her in the high-chair, and handed her a stuffed rabbit.
"We are not eating this, are we? I don't even want to feed it to Eli." Leo asked as he pulled out some mashed carrots in a glass jar and read the contents. "First ingrediant. Apples."
"Well then, not the carrots." Reyna gave Eli a bottle Leo handed to her and he spreaded some Cherrios on the table. One of the Cherrios bounced into the air. Eli grabbed it and stuffed it in her mouth, dropping the rabbit.
"Good reflexes. Great when she gets her first weapon." Reyna mummured without thinking.
"If she get's a first weapon." Leo reminded her sadly, as he picked up the rabbit and placed it on the table. He cooked their food, and they ate.
"Let's give her a bath." Reyna said, as Eli got her mushed up peas in to her hair. They walked towards the large sink and they placed Eli inside naked, and they filled the sink with warm water, washing the mushed up food off of their daughter.
Just like the blood and slime she had washed off of her hands when she was a warrior, not a mother and a minimum-wage waitress at a diner.
Leo picked up Eli and put her pajammas on, and they walked into the living room and crashed onto the sofa, tired, even though it was barely seven-thirty.
Reyna rested her head on Leo's shoulder, holding Eli, and Leo held her hand. Reyna felt a bump in his pocket, and she slipped her free hand in to find a mecanical dragon.
"Some days more than others, really. Just disappearing off the face of the earth." Leo fiddled with a key on Mini-Festus' back. He twisted it, and the dragon started flying around the room. Eli grabbed sleeply at it whenever it flew towards her.
Reyna watched the glint capture the light, holding the now sleeping Eli. Her mind floated back to the day she found out she was pregnant, the day she left the Legion forever...
About a year ago...
She walked into the woods, early in the morning, before the sun had peaked though the sky. Her stomach was still queasy, and her eyes were rimmed with tears. She did not need a test for her to know she was pregnant. All she wondered was how?
She knew that Leo was the father of her child, she was overjoyed, about having a baby. He loved her, and he would love their unborn child. They were both alone, so they were together. But she was still part of the Legion. Her ten-year mark was in three months. But how would she hide it? She was scared. How would she take care of the baby? What would they do? She was supposed to be the smart, responsable one, not pregnant at age twenty-two.
"Morning, Rey Rey." Leo walked into the woods, holding a blanket and two cups of coffee. Whenever he was at camp, they went on their early morning dates. She stopped slouching and tried not to let her eyes show, or touch her stomach.
"Don't call me Rey Rey." She reminding him, though she wasn't really trying. She took her cup of coffee from Leo's hand as he unrolled the blanket, and set it down on the grass. She sat down on the blanket next to Leo. Leo leaned back and took small sips from his coffee, watching her and the stars.
"Something's wrong." Leo said, as if it were normal.
"Nothing's wrong." She said, maybe a little too quickly. Leo gave her an odd look.
"Nothing's wrong. This is...nice." She recovered.
"Well, if you say so, but I forgot to kiss my queen." Leo leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
They continued sitting, Leo talking about his new job in Houston.
"It's great. I am glad that I went home. Though home is really wherever you are."
Reyna frowned. "That's cheesy."
'Cheesy's my middle name."
"I thought it was Samuel."
"It is. I just have two middle names."
She rolled her eyes. "Leo Samuel Cheesy Valdez. Classy."
"Yeah, I know. He waited for a moment, staring into her eyes. Reyna looked away, her hair falling into her face.
"I'm not good at some of the perfect-boyfriend stuff, but I know something's wrong. Tell me."
Reyna paled. Mother of Jupiter, now she will have to tell him. She took a breath, and she felt the tears streak across her cheeks. Leo grasped her hand, and she leaned on his shoulder.
"I...we...we are going to have a baby." She deadpanned, dropping her head in shamed.
Leo's eyes sparked, and his hair caught of fire, then his hair went back to normal.
"This is...great. This is great, yet terrifying." Leo hugged her and kissed her hard. She started to relax.
He smiled. She smiled back.
"We fucked up, big time, you know that. But I don't care." Leo confessed.
"I'm just worried, about our future. We're barely old enough to drink legally! I will be exiled from the legion. How will we pay for all the needs anyway?"
"We'll make it. Don't worry."
"Leo."
"Yeah?"
"We have to leave. Our child would have to go though so much pain, if he or she knows about the gods. Just like we did."
Leo nodded. He held her hand for a while.
"We'll go to Houston. You'll like it there. Get your stuff, then we will leave. For us." Leo placed his hand on her stomach. She smiled sadly, then got up to pack her bags to leave Camp Jupiter.
Forever.
Meanwhile...
"How long has it been since anyone had seen her?" Hazel asked the new Ceurtrion of First, Linnaea.
"One of the overnight guards thought that he saw her leave the barracks at around 4, with her bags. They thought it was a Lare or a shadow, but now they know it was her." Linnaea told her. Hazel had risen to the position of praetor, after Reyna had to give up her spot, and she tried to rule Rome with an iron fist, even though she was not a leader. She was nobody. She was an outcast. But outcasts do become great.
"Was anybody with her?" Frank demanded. Sitting in his pajamas, in the Senate room, with all the Ceurtrions yelling like mad men was not his ideal wake-up call. Neither was it for her, thank you very much.
"Quiet!" Two years as praetor made Frank great at quieting large crowds.
"So," Hazel butted in after everyone was quiet. "The evidence Ceurtrion Berkley has said was that if Former Praetor Reyna left, then she did it by her own will. She might be far away from here by now. Frank and I will discuss various solutions. Ceurtrion Szeck?"
Nathan from Fourth Cohort came up. "Yes, Praetor?"
"Do a short search quickly. Don't go into any houses, don't go into the barracks, don't tell anyone what you are doing. But search everywhere that is public, and within camp boundaries. Be back in an hour, to tell me the results. Ceurtrion Berkley and the overnight guards will come with you."
"Yes, Praetor." Nathan, Linnaea and the two sleepy guards followed them out of the Senate house.
"Addison? Please make an offering to the gods, and try to find out anything about her location." Frank said to the new augur, Addison, who was a lot nicer than Octavian.
"Yes, Preator." Addison left the Senate house after the first group.
"We will meet again at ten this morning. Meeting adjourned. " Frank ordered, waving his hand.
Hazel strided over to the chair and slouched down on it, sighing. Frank knelt down and held her hand, smiling. Hazel was worried. It was etched on her face already, and she respected Reyna, for holding off Octavian for all those tough months. She could not believe she was gone.
"Do you have an idea about what we are going to do?" Frank asked gently.
"All I'm wondering is why she left. It does not seem like something she would do. I looked up to her. We all do."
"I know. But she only would have left if it means for the danger of someone else, not herself."
"Still, she puts the Legion before herself."
"But she is not praetor. We are the praetors now. She must have known that the Legion was safe in our hands."
Hazel sat there for a while, thinking. It worked well, them working together. She was good cop, he was...honest cop. She was the agreeable one, like Jason and Percy were and he was the tougher one, like Reyna was, but still a person who smiles a lot. Not as tough as Reyna, but just enough for him to be sucessful. He was more of a fearful figure than she was.
"I'll propose an idea." Frank started.
"Yes?"
"We...we should just let her go. Just tell everyone that she wanted to work in the mortal world. She made the decision herself."
"Can we send an eagle, just to find her location? It will make me feel better."
"No, I don't think so, but we have to tell Camp Half-Blood. And our friends. Jason, Percy, Annabeth...you know."
"And Leo..." Hazel trailed. "Leo will be devastated."
They knew Leo had some feelings for Reyna. But that was all they knew. If they were in a relationship, they kept it very private.
Frank nodded. "It's fate that this happened, Hazel. Maybe one day we will cross paths with her...The Fates are not completely done with any of us, because we are alive, and that we care about our friends and family,, and the world as it is today."
"That's true. The Fates are never done with the living."
Please review. constructive criticism is allowed, but flames are for Leo, not me. Also follow and favorite if you liked it. I update randomly, because of school, though I am on Thanksgiving break now. See ya!
-SAVE THE NARGLES