Disclaimer: This piece is solely written for amusement, and wasn't made to offend anyone.
AN: This piece is written by AHalfblood. I enjoy hearing from readers, whether the comment is made to criticize my work or praise it. Please read and suggest this story to others. New parts will be coming out soon.
Warning: Later in the story there will be sexual parts, this story is rated M.
Rachel took a deep breath before she came into view of the Romans by momentarily hiding behind the green rolling hills. She unwrinkled her plain bright orange shirt that read "Camp Half Blood," with her head held high. The blood-lusted Romans were bound not to kill her immediately if she radiated confidence- no matter how fake it was- and if she came alone, weaponless. That was the reason she hadn't told anyone about her basic and obvious plan while everyone else was finishing gearing up for war. She doubted they would listen to Chiron due to how he radiated power and calmness. Ugh, it was all giving her a migraine, and right now, she honestly wanted a prophecy to think about to keep her mind off everything, which meant she desperately needed help.
She advanced slowly, in front of hundreds of trained warriors, barely keeping her heart beat steady enough so she wouldn't drop dead of a heart attack. The silence seemed to be deafening and her ears faintly rung.
2 people stood in front of the organized row of demigods -maybe 10 or 20 feet away from the rest. They were a girl and a boy who both had sour looks on their face. As she neared, she identified one as Octavian, he stood tall, thin, proud, and had a face of sheer rage and suspicion as he watched her come closer. He surveyed Rachel's hands, which were raised slightly in surrender.
Her breath hitched in surprise of how much she was attracted to such a face that only held anger. He had high cheekbones and pale blue eyes with blonde hair. He reminded her of Jason as a leader and cliche looking boy, but of Percy, with his thin and gangly frame. She ignored how her heart registered him, and focused on her brain instead. He was the enemy, he was a ruthless killer that wanted to murder his own kind, even if he was one of the handsomest guys she'd ever met.
She identified Reyna also, her brown eyes were thankfully softer, but still wary and on defense. Rachel guessed the 7 hadn't told Reyna about her, which didn't offend her, they had had much more important subjects to discuss. Reyna had her shinning dark brown hair braided down the side, the back part of her armor hiding behind a long purple cape, marking her as praetor. She also had a regal face, and was about an inch or two shorter than Octavian. Finally, after what seemed like a maiden voyage, she got to the leaders.
She slightly opened her thin lips, hoping her voice wouldn't tremble. "I am Rachel Elizabeth Dare, mortal, and I currently host the spirit Oracle of Delphi, and I come in peace. I presume you are the leaders?"
Her declaration was just loud enough so that only the 2 would hear. The demigods behind them had their weapons drawn, waiting for an order. Reyna put her hand up, and they stowed their weapons, curiosity splattered on their expressions, then she nodded.
"The Greeks are pathetic enough to send an unequipped girl against an army? Or are they so cowardly they will not face war in the consequences they bestowed upon themselves?" Octavian sneered, letting out a small chuckle. She observed him, surprised at how his eyes shone with feeling and pity but his voice was sharper than a knife.
Rachel bit her tongue so she wouldn't reply with a bitting comeback. She had to be disciplined around such a big threat who could kill so many of her friends. "No. Actually, nobody knows I am here right now, but I came to tell you something before you attack,"
"What is it? Do you hope to manipulate us?" Reyna actually attempted to be diplomatic, which she silently thanked her for in her mind.
"No. Leo, the Latino boy that you were with in the Argo 2, he didn't attack Rome-"
"Yes he did, I saw it with my own eyes," Octavian interrupted. "How dare you try to deceive us with such foolish lies?"
Reyna glared at him testily and contrastingly put her hand lightly on his right forearm. Rachel was surprised to feel a pang of jealously at the simple, calming touch, especially towards Octavian at all. "Octavian, please, hear her out,"
Rachel took a deep breath, wishing she had Piper's charm speak. "Leo was possessed, by one of Gaea's spirits. It's obvious she's trying to tear the two camps even further apart, kill off demigods, and win the war, by playing one simple card," Rachel decided to get straight to the point, they didn't exactly have enough time to sit and make tea. "If we don't work together, we'll all die, guaranteed, if we're not made slaves or eaten and tortured by monsters. The Greeks and Romans have to unite! We're only strong enough combined. Octavian, I know you noticed something wrong with Leo on board. Didn't his eyes become glazed over? If he spoke, he spoke weirdly, not like he did before, because he was possessed by a spirit and it attacked Rome,"
Octavian raised a brow, drinking up the information, putting the pieces together, and Reyna pretended to be surprised also. "Do you believe this?" He asked Reyna seriously. She looked even more surprised when he asked for her input.
"Yes," She said quietly. "I do. Jason would never get on a ship with someone who blew up Rome on purpose. He was Praetor, Son of Jupiter, and we treated him like family, he had no reason to back stab us. And, Annabeth told me they had a quest while we were talking, which was the reason they fled, besides how we attacked them with food. It all makes sense honesty,"
"Even if all this rubbish you tell us is true, you expect us not to do anything even though you attacked us?"
"Do I expect you to be better than a predictable pawn in Gaea's game to tear us all apart? Do I expect you not to be so proud as to attack even though we're innocent? Yes,"
"Do you have any other proof other than your word?" Octavian asked, still not quite ready to believe her.
"No, you have to believe me. Even better, us, we don't want or need war. You guys are the best builders in all of history, New Rome is probably almost done being built back up by now, it won't be lasting damage,"
"HEY WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG TO KILL THE GREEK?" Someone rudely shouted from the crowd, with some whoops in agreement following.
"We have to talk this over with our legionaries, they're getting restless, as you can see," Reyna turned around, and went to face all the antsy Romans behind her, leaving them alone.
Octavian took a step closer to survey the Greek. She was gorgeous, yes, with her wild red hair and emerald green eyes and what not. She made him want to get closer to her despite all the times he had riled up the soldiers by calling the Greeks foul, betraying, lying bastards, and honestly the list was really endless and quite racist.
"What's an oracle? And if you're mortal, how come they let you inside camp?" The questions had persistently bothered him since their conversation had first started, like a popcorn kernel stuck between his teeth.
She nervously fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt, " What a nice greeting," She said sarcastically "Well, I met Percy, who let me know I wasn't going crazy even though I was seeing monsters like up to 10 times a month, then he told me about the Gods. You know, seeing people with fangs, scaly skin, and a bronze leg tends to freak a person out who knew nothing about monsters," Octavian laughed a bit, enjoying her company more than he knew he was allotted to.
"I found out I was able to see through The Mist a lot better than demigods, and so I went on a quest with Percy and Annabeth. A year later, I knew my destiny was to be the Oracle, so I became one. The spirit of Delphi kind of controls me sometimes, and I foam green at the mouth while I spit out a prophecy, it doesn't happen much, only at important times. And I'm granted permission to be in camp whenever I want. But I go to a boarding school otherwise, so I only come when I have free time. This is the first time I've ditched,"
"Well I give sacrifices to the Gods with stuffed animals and I see the future in the stuffing. I'm also known as the Augur. We use to use real animals, but honestly, it was such a chore and a disgusting mess. So I guess you could say we're in the same boat," She raised an eyebrow, stifling a laugh.
"And the Romans call us weird," She muttered and we both laughed. Octavian turned around unwillingly to Reyna giving the Romans the start of a speech and a couple of weird looks coming his way at his friendliness.
Octavian cleared his throat. "I better get up there and explain we went all this way for nothing, but make it sound like a good thing, yay," He mumbled.
"Definitely not nothing. It's a good chance for our cultures to mix and get to know each other and make battlefield plans," Rachel assured.
He squinted at her. Was it foolish to take such a big leap of trust just because he had a crush of sorts on this girl? Octavian had to admit that the statement she gave him did add up to what he had seen. He was worried though. The Romans wanted vengeance on the Greeks for attacking them. He had promised to tear them down. He suddenly realized that if anyone else had claimed what Rachel had, he wouldn't have believed them, or have been too stubborn to see reason.
Octavian turned around and walked towards Reyna. When she was finish explaining about Leo being possessed, He heard moans and groans when they figured they wouldn't be attacking. Octavian stepped forward, ready for the same response.
"I know you're mad, disappointed, and angry, hell, you don't even trust my word any more, and this is exactly the type of un-united enemy Gaea wants." He paused for a dramatic affect on the crowd, and to let the information sink in. "She wanted a civil war. She wanted blood shed and rage, so that we would be easy meat. So that when the real war comes, against her and the giants and the monsters, we will be crippled and defenseless. We will not give her what she wants- needs." Octavian glared at the crowd, waiting for anyone to say otherwise. "Demigods will not be strong enough for her unless we fight together. Who wants to prove her wrong? This is a golden opportunity to step forward and know the Greeks! Borrow, perfect, and change battle strategies. Increase our numbers! We'll show the Gods there was no reason to keep us apart! We will amaze them, and Gaea will watch as we kill her monsters one by one until the only evil thing left is her. We will get revenge! Not on the Greeks, but on her- the monster who started this all! SHE IS THE ONE WHO ATTACKED ROME! WE WILL SHOW HER WE DO NOT STAND IDLY BY AND WATCH OUR HOME, OUR PEOPLE GET ATTACKED!" He paused again, and let his voice drop dangerously low. "We will show her we are not easily deceived. We will show her how it's like to be defeated!" Octavian punched a fist in the air.
Cheers and applaud roared through the crowd. Oh, how much he would kill for being Praetor and have this applause all the time.
"We will be staying with the Greeks, getting to know each other, if they offer hospitality. I encourage you to make friends. We are both children of the Gods, cousins, you could say. If I see bitterness, and unwillingness to just talk, there will be consequences. We will advance, with our weapons stowed, to the entrance, slowly, so they know we mean no harm," He stopped there, wanting them to remember the speech before, and steeped off to the side, waiting for Reyna to say anything else.
"Let's go," She said simply and turned around and walked to the front of the army. Octavian was amazed how much a rushed one-minute conversation between a pretty red head could change everything so much.
Reyna clapped with the sing-along, looking at the man beside her suspiciously. Octavian was the only reason she was not whooping and weeping with joy at his verdict to not go to war. Her gut said he was planning something, something huge that would make sure the Romans and the Greeks would never trust each other again. Betray the little amount of trust they held.
The Mars- err, Ares- cabin got along great with more of the hard core Romans, laughing about swords and killing and battle field strategies. Around 5 people from the Aphrodite cabin mingled around the cuter boys and flirted, both sides knowing they would have to break up sooner than they intended. The Apollo kids conversed with the Roman archers. There were a small group of hostile Romans who refused to take part in this, even after Octavian's warning. Besides that, some people got into large groups, half Greek and half Roman, which was more common. Some talked in twos or threes, not finding people of the other group to talk to.
Reyna studied Octavian from the corner of her eye, and saw he was staring dreamily at something. She followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at Rachel.
Rachel was talking solemnly with a friend of hers, they were making lots of hand gestures, obviously having an argument. Her friend was pretty, but not enough to be jealous of. She was tall, thin, and had light brown skin, like caramel.
OH GODS, he had a crush on Rachel! How had she not thought of it before?! Reyna had to curt herself some slack, she didn't even know he had a heart, let alone use one in a way to be attracted to someone else. No wonder he had believed her so easily about Leo. He had let his emotions get in the way, which hey, was a good thing for the situation they had been in.
Despite the warning her brain gave her, she broke out in a series of small laughs.
Octavian turned towards her immediately, his eyebrows raised. "What's up with you?"
She shook her head quickly. "No, nothing, I-I-I'm fine," She swallowed hard and started laughing again, harder.
"Reyna I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before, what's so fucking funny?" He exasperatedly said, slightly laughing too.
She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Octavian's got a crush," She said in a sing-song voice, not believing how childish she was being. Maybe it was the festive mood or the campfire or maybe the sing-along, all she knew is that she missed laughing, and hell, when she wanted to, she would let it out.
She grinned at how his cheeks tinted red despite the rest of his face paling. "Ok, ok, this is rich-" She began, taking his reaction as confirmation.
"You had a crush on Jason Grace, and I kept that secret. I saw the way you looked at that Piper girl. Oh, you wanted to kill her," He said slyly.
She rolled her eyes. "I got over him a long time ago. I'm not making goggly eyes,"
"Like a week ago, long ago?" He said with disbelief. And her statement was true. She didn't have a crush anymore. Her heart was finally free of the months of torture for longing of Jason.
"Yes. I don't currently have a crush on a Greek! Who was the one saying that they were terrible people? And the first girl one you meet you fall heads over heels for," She said in a stage whisper, ignoring her past thing for Percy. She had been a bit attracted to him, so what? He turned her down, and she was glad he did before she could start to crush on him too hard .
He looked around nervously, worried someone would hear. "Will you keep it down?"
She grinned like a drunk and nodded. "So what do you see in her? Rachel Elizabeth Dare?" She said with grandeur. She hated to say it, but she was currently having a great time with Octavian. He wasn't being sly and making Reyna watch every single word she said. Maybe it was the fact she finally had something she could use against him. Maybe this girl would bring out the good side of him- that wasn't manipulative and power hungry.
Rachel was hyperventilating- hard. She glanced over at Reyna and Octavian, seeing how much they laughed and smiled made her stomach pit 100 stories. She hated how she was crushing on him. She was supposed to be strong, not falling for any boys. That was the image she had created and she wanted to keep it. She hated how her heart ached with longing for the first time when she listened to him speak so passionately to the Romans. Her brain said he could deceive her easily if he could convince people so well, which made her even more wary of heart break.
Aden put her hands on Rachel's shoulders and shook them to capture her attention. "RACHEL! Could you stop giving goggly eyes and day dreaming and just hit on him already?"
Rachel shook her head. "He doesn't like me back. He's into Reyna, just look at them," She helplessly changed her gaze to the two of them, who were still laughing. She wanted to go over there and tell Reyna to back off her man. Ugh. She hadn't felt this way about Percy and Annabeth so long ago.
"Come on Rachel. Stop. Being. Pathetic." Aden stared me right in the eye defiantly. Rachel was mixed with a feeling of gratitude and wanting to slap her.
She nodded, suddenly pumped. "Yea, you're right. I'll hit on him during Capture the Flag. If I'm on his team," Rachel added quickly. "Honestly, Aden, you sure you're not a daughter of Aphrodite instead of Dionysus? You are a tiger,"
She rolled her eyes. They were a beautiful, contrasting green. Her green eyes looked better on her than they did on Rachel. "I'm sure I'll kill you if you don't kiss him. So you're going to stop being so cliché, use the straight forward approach, and start acting like one of my best friends, "
Rachel shook her head in mock disbelief, glad to be friends with Aden. "You are brilliant. Crazy but brilliant,"
Aden grinned and put an arm around Rachel's shoulder, averting their conversation to Capture the Flag.