This is a story that has been in my head for a long time now. It takes place before the Trials of Apollo. I hope everyone enjoys.


If there was one thing Frank hated about being a praetor, it was all of the paperwork that came with the job. He understood that they needed to document a lot of things, but did they really need to document absolutely everything? He felt like he had to write down every time he took a breath.

Truthfully, it all seemed like a ton of busy work, so he wouldn't mess up anything that was really important. His fellow praetor had to trust him enough to not mess up though, hopefully.

Frank slowly looked at the stack of papers in front of him. After glancing around to make sure no one was looking, he rested his head on the table and gently hit his head against it a few times. The whole shapeshifting thing was cool, but it would be really cool if he got a power that just allowed him to make paperwork disappear.

After a moment, Frank stopped trying to give himself a headache, and he slowly looked up. The mound of paperwork was bigger than his head, and it all revolved around revamping their old temples. It was something that Camp Jupiter did every twenty five years, and Frank was lucky enough to be praetor at that twenty five year mark.

Frank leaned back in his seat and stared down at the files. If he accidentally knocked over the stack and mixed up all of the papers, how mad would Reyna be at him? His fellow praetor had been gone for a few days on some kind of mission for Lupa. Apparently, the Hunters of Artemis had requested help from Camp Jupiter, and Lupa had volunteered Reyna.

That left Frank alone to led Camp Jupiter's first official visit to Camp Half-Blood. His original plan was to bring one centurion from each cohort to Camp Half-Blood. Then, both of the centurions from the first cohort had broken their legs and were confined to Camp Jupiter. When Frank was trying to decide which cohort should bring both of their centurions, he couldn't help but look at his former cohort.

Frank slammed his head back onto the table and instantly regretted it. A soft groan escaped, and he lifted his head. Frank rubbed his forehead and stared back at the files. He had brought them in hopes that Annabeth could give him a few ideas. So far, they had not found time to talk.

"Whenever I get stressed out by looking at too many files, I don't bang my head on a table," Percy said. Frank slowly turned and smiled at Percy. He had totally forgotten that the door behind him was open. "We don't really have any paperwork here at Camp Half-Blood, other than the contracts Mr. D tried to get us to sign that promised he could turn us into dolphins if we didn't leave him alone."

"Sorry," Frank said. He smiled sheepishly and looked at the files. Somehow, it looked like it had gotten bigger. A mug of hot chocolate was placed in front of him, and Annabeth sat nearby. "You didn't see that too, did you?"

"I didn't see it, but I heard it," Annabeth replied. She gave him a gentle smile. Frank looked at the hot chocolate and gently grabbed the mug. Percy placed another one down. "We were expecting Reyna to be here as well. Did she get too scared to come to a Greek camp?"

"She'll be here soon," Frank replied. He smiled at them and then looked back the files. "I was suppose to have this done a few days ago though. I thought it would be a lot easier, and then, I closed my eyes for two seconds. I woke with Hazel told me that it was time to head over here. I've been trying to get this done on the drive over, but it was impossible."

"I feel it," Percy said. He smiled and placed a hand to Frank's shoulder. "Why don't you take a break for a couple of minutes? These files aren't going to go anywhere, and they're not going to get any smaller. Dinner is soon anyway, and none of the Greeks or Romans have tried to kill each other yet."

"That's always a plus," Frank muttered. He slowly stood and followed the two older demigods out of the Big House. The Romans had only arrived thirty minutes ago, so it wasn't like the Romans really had time to mingle with the Greeks. It wasn't that he was hoping there would be a fight. He was just kind of expecting one.

The three of them walked towards the dinner pavilion. Annabeth motioned to a table and pointed out that it was for the Romans. Frank nodded and glanced around looking for the Romans. They had brought five centurions along, and his eyes were looking around for a certain one.

Frank continued to walk, but his eyes focused on the hill that signified the boundary of Camp Half-Blood. The dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece was curled up around the tree, and the fleece was glittering in the sun. Frank had heard the story once or twice, but it still amazed him.

Looking up at the sky told Frank that it was a nice, peaceful day. If he pushed the paperwork out of his mind, he could actually relax. Frank glanced to her right and spoke, "Annabeth, do you think you can help me with looking over the renovations for the temples? I don't know a lot about architecture or really anything about temples."

"Are we really asking the Greeks for help with Roman temples? What would you father say?" a voice asked. Frank quickly turned around and let out a deep breath. His fellow praetor met his eyes and crossed her arms, but there was a small smile on her face.

"Annabeth knows a lot about architecture. She helped out with Olympus after all," Frank began. He could feel himself starting to sweat. The last thing he needed was for Reyna to think he couldn't do his job. A lot of people already seemed to think that, even if they would never say it to his face. Reyna noticed his look and let out a soft chuckle. Frank's shoulder relaxed slightly.

"You didn't finish the paperwork, did you?" Reyna asked. Frank looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. "Dakota owes me twenty dollars then. How are you doing, Greeks?"

"We're good, Roman. How are you?" Annabeth asked. There was a smile on her face. Frank glanced at his fellow praetor. Reyna look tired and was covered in mud, dirt, and monster dust. Frank frowned and met her eyes. Reyna gave him a small nod.

"I'll be fine, after a meal and some sleep," Reyna answered. She glanced down at herself. "I think a hot shower will be nice as well."

"You should have enough time before dinner. Do you have a change of clothes?" Annabeth asked. Reyna nodded, but they heard the sound of metal hitting metal. Frank slowly turned his head and looked at the noise. "Please tell me that is one of the Stoll' pranks."

Annabeth took off towards the sound. It sounded like it came from the cabins, but Frank didn't know the layout of the camp enough to know which specific cabin it was. They passed by a cabin that assaulted Frank's nostrils. It took him a moment to clear his mind and focus on not being distracted by the cabin. All of his attention snapped back to reality as a pilum flew by his face.

"What is going on?" Reyna demanded. She slowly pulled the pilum out of the wall and studied it. Frank glanced at the three centurions and three Greek demigods that were in front of him. All three centurions were covered in something that could have been ash or maybe gray paint. Reyna walked towards the centurion that was standing in the middle, and she held out the pilum. "Centurion, I believe this is yours."

After a moment of silence, the centurion, who went by the name of Livia, grabbed onto the pilum and placed it onto her belt. Frank slowly looked at the three Greek demigods. He recognized the middle one as Clarisse La Rue. From the way she was standing and the hole in the cabin that was in front of her, she was definitely the target of the pilum.

Frank didn't recognize the other two campers, but he did notice their mischievous features. They had to be children of Mercury. Frank glanced to his left. Annabeth and Percy was standing only a foot apart. Percy leaned in close to Annabeth and spoke, "You did ask for it to be one of the Stoll's pranks.

Annabeth elbowed Percy hard and gave him a look. Frank looked away from the two and looked at Reyna. The daughter of Bellona was staring a hole into the centurion in front of her. Reyna finally glanced at Frank and gave him a small nod.

"What happened?" Frank asked. Everyone turned to look at him, but Frank focused his attention on the two children of Mercury. They had to be the Stoll brothers

"Travis had a surprise planned," one of the Stoll brothers replied. He rubbed his neck and glanced to his right. The other Stoll, Travis, returned his gaze. "It kind of got a little out of hand."

"Praetors, we can explain," Leila said. She was a centurion of the third cohort and usually the most levelheaded of all of the centurions. "The Stoll brothers told us they had a surprise, and well, they shot a confetti cannon at us. The cannon was filled with paint."

"And ash from the battle," Nathan added. Frank let out a deep breath and glanced at Reyna. His eyes closed. Why would anyone think that would be a good idea? "As you can see, it didn't go over so well, and the daughter of Mars only egged her on."

"I was speaking the truth," Clarisse said. "That little weasel was a coward. He deserved to die a more painful death."

"The Romans haven't even been here for a hour, and you're already pulling pranks on them?" Annabeth demanded. She stepped forward and glared at the Stoll brothers. "Why did you two think that was a good idea? You shouldn't disrespect the dead."

"It was a little shortsighted. Connor and I are willing to admit that. I don't even remember setting it up, but I do remember it was suppose to be funny. It's not so funny now," Travis said. Annabeth glanced at Percy and nodded. Percy returned the nod and led the Stoll brothers away. Annabeth glanced at Clarisse, and after a moment, the daughter of Mars stalked away.

"Go," Frank ordered. He glanced at Nathan and Leila. After a moment, the two centurions nodded and walked away. Frank took a deep breath and looked at Livia. "You attacked a Greek demigod, in their camp. I know what they did crosses a line, but what you did was unforgivable."

"I only regret that I missed," Livia said. She looked down at the pilum and took a shaky breath. After a moment, Livia looked up. Her hands were shaking, but she tried to hide it by moving her hands behind her back.

Reyna slowly looked at Frank, and he gave her a small nod. They both knew that they were in a delicate situation, and it would require a delicate solution. Reyna bowed her head towards Frank, as if to give him the floor. He almost wanted to give it back.

"We cannot attack our allies. This is a chance to make a good, first impression," Frank said. He wanted to take a deep breath to calm himself. Instead, he met Livia's eyes and stared a hole into her. "Your entire cohort will be punished for your actions, as you are their leader and representation. For now, you will skip dinner and guard the Golden Fleece.

"They have a dragon for that," Livia argued. Frank looked at her and kept his face clear of emotions. Livia really didn't have any outbursts, as she mostly just slunk around in the background. He wasn't sure how to handle the behavior, but he knew it would be best to remove the problem from the equation.

"I hope he doesn't see you as a treat then. One of us will come find you, later, Dismissed," Frank said. Livia glared at him, but she turned and stormed away. Frank finally let out his deep breath and looked at the demigods that were near him. Reyna gave him a small nod. Annabeth was watching closely, and she had been rejoined by Percy.

"Not bad, Zhang. I'll let you decide the cohort's punishment too," Reyna said. She glanced at Annabeth. "We should tell Chiron what happened, and I will have a talk with the other centurions."

Frank nodded and watched the girls walk away. He glanced towards the hill. Livia was standing at the top of the hill and seemed to be eyeing the dragon near her. Peleus was staring at Livia, and it almost looked like he was licking his lips. Frank spoke, "Peleus won't actually eat her, will he?"

"Probably not," Percy commented. Frank let out another breath and nodded. He really didn't want to explain to Lupa that a centurion had been eaten by a dragon. Percy nudged Frank and led him toward the dinner pavilion. "That centurion looks pretty familiar. I don't think she was a centurion when I was at Camp Jupiter though."

"She wasn't," Frank confirmed. He glanced back towards the hill. Livia had moved as far away from Peleus as she could. Frank shook his head and focused back on what was in front of him. "She was promoted during Octavian's little reign of terror. Reyna and I haven't been able to find a reason to have her demoted, as she's good at her job."

"If you don't include this," Percy commented. Frank nodded. "So, is she a child of Ares? No, she's not big enough to be. Don't tell me though. I like to play this guessing game. She's got weasel like features that I feel like I recognize. She doesn't seem to like Greeks, so is she a child of Roman god with no Greek equal?"

"No. She's a legacy of Apollo, as was her half brother," Frank said. Percy stopped walking and gave him a look. It took a moment for Frank to nod. "Yeah. She's Octavian's half sister. They have the same mother but different fathers. Livia and Octavian never acted close to each other, but she was clearly affected by his death."

"Why does Camp Jupiter have all of the crazies?" Percy commented. Frank shot him a look, and Percy smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. You know what I mean though. I don't know how you and Reyna keep all of it under control."

"I don't either," Frank admitted. He shook his head. When he had first became a praetor, Reyna told him to take one thing at a time. If he became overwhelmed, it would make him ineffective and would make him seem weak. Frank had taken the advice to heart and did his best to take everything one at a time, which meant he was going to focus on dinner and then Livia.