New Jasper story! Yayy! I hope you guys enjoy! Hmmmm...not much to say. Well..ENJOY!

DISCLAIMER : I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS WHATSOEVER!

Bellinda Cross

Chapter 1 Jason

It has been 2 years since my exile. I had left Rome because of its ruthlessness and cruelty, resigning my post as the captain of the guard. Being Captain of the Guard meant doing everything the Emperor ordered me to do. Even if it meant killing innocent people. Even if it meant torturing refugees from Greece. I had spent my whole life there. Worked my way up to the high ranks. Became Captain of the Guard at 14. I was young, yes, but the Emperor thought I was good enough. Everyone thought I was good enough, even me. But I wasn't ruthless enough. Wasn't cruel or heartless. Every night, I used to hear the people I killed's voices in my head, haunting me, driving me mad. So I left. I ran away from the post. I had loyal friends that stayed by my side, ran away with me. We fled to Greece, believing the many rumours we heard about Greece. That Greece was a peaceful country. That it was fair and kind. But when we reached, the soldiers took us straight to the Emperor Tristan, who wasn't pleased to see refugees from Rome.

In both Rome and Greece, children are chosen by the Gods. Children with bright souls, with pure spirits. They are hand picked by the Gods and blessed with a few of their traits, a few of their powers. I was blessed by Jupiter, or Zeus as the Greeks call him. My friends were all also blessed by the Gods. Reyna was blessed by Bellona. Dakota blessed by Bacchus. Hazel blessed by Pluto. Frank blessed by Mars. When we reached the Emperor's palace, he stripped us of our powers and cursed us never to leave the borders of Greece. All the rumours about Greece were wrong. Everything. Now none of us can leave Greece. It's physically impossible. The Emperor is blessed by Hecate. That was how he cursed us. That was how he took away our powers.

Ever since then, we have been on the run. Hiding from the guards. Keeping away from the palace. It's hard living like this. It's like a prison. We can never leave but don't want to stay. I swore that i would find a way to get our freedom back. I won't give up. I won't let my friends down.

I'm sitting in an abandoned house, on an old broken down sofa. The house is pretty dim, except for a few rays of light peeking in from the cracks in the walls. Everyone else is sleeping on old mattresses around me. The room is quiet, except for the faint inhales and exhales from my friends. I shift on the sofa a little and it creaks. Reyna stirs. She's a really light sleeper and alert at all times. She wouldn't miss the footsteps of a mouse, even if it was running inside the cracks of a wall. The sofa creaks again as I move a little. I swear colorfully. She opens her eyes and smiles faintly at my creative use of swear words.

"Morning, Reyna." I say. "Sleep well?"

She gets up and sits beside me on the sofa, making no noise. I always wonder how she does that.

"I was having a pretty good dream," she says. "Before you decided to make some noise and wake me up."

"Yes," I say, "I so did it intentionally."

"Yes you did." she says.

"Well, you can't expect me not to move at all. Being on guard means I protect you guys from harm, not from being woken up during a good dream."

She shrugs. "Hey," she says. "You should get some sleep as well. I can guard."

I shake my head. "Can't." I say.

"Nightmares?"

I nod. She takes my hand. "Hey, it's going to be alright, okay?" Reyna says. "We're going to get through this."

"I know, it's just...with every day that passes, I lose more confidence in myself. I want to make everything easier for you guys. I just dont know how."

She squeezes my hand. "Jason, don't worry about us." she says softly. "We're willing to follow you wherever you go. Well-"she glances at the others on the floor. "-I know I am."

I smile. Where would I be without her or any of these people? Whenever I feel underconfident and want to just give up, curl up in a ball until all of this ends, these guys boost me up and remind me that I have people depending on me. And I can't let them down. I squeeze her hand back. She smiles faintly and looks at me, her eyes full of determination and something else. I know I'll always have my friends with me. If any of them are ever in trouble, I'll do whatever I can to help them in anyway. With that thought, an idea clicks into my head.

"I got it!" I say. The others stir. Reyna gestures for me to quiet down, but they already opened their eyes.

"What?" Frank says in a yawn.

"I know- why didn't I think of this before!" I say to myself. "I'm such an idiot!"

"Jason, what is this? 'Stating the obvious' day?" Dakota asked.

"Look," I say, "I know what we can do to get our freedom back."

Reyna's eyebrows raise. Frank and Hazel frown. Dakota looks surprised.

"Okay," Dakota says, "What is your ingenious plan?"

I smile. "We're going to capture the Emperor's daughter."