Author's Note: This is a re-write of one of my stories "Better as a Pair". Some things will stay the same, some things will be completely different. Whether you are an old fan or a new one is irrelevant.
Important: I'm an aspiring author, which means I use fanfiction as practise. This series focuses on practising development. Character development and relationship development. For example, Gwen. In Heroes of Olympus she was said to be kind and bright. So in this story she will start as mean and cold, and I will DEVELOP her to be nicer.
One of the things pointed out to me in the last series was that things seemed different to the book. That is because this story is set, like, four years before and I'm going to DEVELOP things to canon. I'm not just going to keep everything the same throughout the entire series.
It's also good to note that this is to explore Camp Jupiter and New Rome more thoroughly. Especially the city. Is it like a normal city? How far can businesses go here? How much can one person achieve in comparison to the real world? Is there a class system? The city will be explored in serious depth.
Sorry about the long author's note. I just wanted to explain the purpose of this story. Don't expect everything to be exactly the same as HoO. It's all about development. -Izzy
Chapter One
The blinding sunlight shone into her line of vision whenever she opened her eyes, so she decided it was best not to open her eyes. She rolled over, pulling the thin covers tighter over her body, clinging to the warmth. Now if only she could block out the noise. There were too many girls in the room, buzzing around as they prepared for the day. She heard a few things of mascara open, a few brushed running through hair, and a few leather straps keeping golden metal to their bodies.
"You aren't going to get very far in the legion by staying in bed all day," said a voice near her. There was an athletic girl that jumped down from the top bunk. Reyna had met her yesterday during war games and had grown a lot of respect for her. Although, she forgot to learn her name.
"Five more minutes," Reyna pleaded. She tried to pull the covers closer to her, but the girl wouldn't let her. She had dark skin and buzz cut hair. She was visibly stronger than Reyna, and surprisingly beautiful.
She ripped the covers away from Reyna, who felt too exposed. "Seriously, breakfast is in five minutes. Get up! Reyna, is it?"
Reyna nodded as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. You're… Catherine?"
"Caitlyn," the girl corrected, smirking. "Come on, you can stick with me for the day. I'll show you the ropes." She abandoned Reyna and took the covers with her. Feeling exposed lying in bed, Reyna got to her feet. She was wearing a borrowed pair of pyjama trousers that were too big for her and a tank top.
She looked around before heading into the bathroom and looking into one of the mirrors. Her eyes were red, and she had bags. Her lips were dry and chapped and her skin was pale. She had been running from monsters for two weeks before she found Camp Jupiter. Before that, she was with the wolves for a week, and before that… before that was the pirates. Over the last few months she had been through hell. Always on the move or clad in chains, claws in her leg or a knife at her throat. She tried to remember the last time she felt safe and happy.
"Can I borrow that?" she asked one of the girls next to her. She was holding a chap stick and a tube of mascara. The last time she was happy, she was on C.C's Island, wearing make-up and braiding hair with Hylla. Maybe if she could trick her mind into thinking she was still there, then she could, maybe, feel happy in her new home.
The girl didn't reply so Reyna just snatched the make-up, turning to the mirror and making herself a little more presentable. That's what Hylla always said. Presentable. Reyna hated that word.
She was only twelve, but she knew how to work eyeliner when she wanted to. On C.C's island, she often had to do intricate little patterns and designs. She was also a master hair stylist, but she couldn't decide what to do with it, so she just brushed through the thick waves and let it stay down.
"Here," said a voice near her shoulder. Reyna turned to Caitlyn, who handed her a pile of clothes. "I asked one of the younger girls to lend a few things," she said. Caitlyn was at least sixteen, so she wasn't exactly Reyna's size.
"Thank you," Reyna smiled, taking them. "What's up with the work-out pants?"
"It's training day," Caitlyn winked. "Good luck." She left Reyna to get changed and she did, into a pair of black leggings and a light blue tank top. She slipped into the trainers and looked in the mirror, forcing a smile.
Of course she was nervous. She didn't know anybody here. So far, nobody seemed to like her, and she was thrown into a Roman training ground, which happened to look like a military base. The only time she had ever exercised before was running from the monsters or pirates. Before then, she spent her days with the sunshine on the beach, braiding girl's hair and doing their make-up. Spying on Circe as she turned boys into guinea pigs… yeah, those were the days.
When she walked out of the bathroom, everyone was filing out of the barracks. She followed them, grabbing a denim jacket on her way out. It was over-sized and smelled like home. It once belonged to Hylla, so Reyna had kept it with her.
The eating place was crowded with people, sat around different tables, talking and laughing as wind spirits served food around them. Despite Caitlyn saying she could spend the day with her, she was called away at the last minute to do some Centurion stuff. Reyna didn't know what a Centurion was but it sounded like a title. Unfortunately, she was left alone, facing a room full of people she didn't know what to think of.
She walked through the room, studying a few faces but being careful not to make eye contact with anyone. She plucked an apple from a nearby wind spirit's platter and found a quiet, uninhabited table in the corner of the room. She sat by herself for a minute, picking at the apple and letting herself drift into her own thoughts.
It didn't take long before she realised that some of the nearby tables surrounding her had gone quiet. They were all looking at her.
"Come on," said a voice at her ear. There was a girl with light orange hair standing next to her. She linked her arm through Reyna's and pulled her to her feet. "You don't want to sit there, Honey." She had green eyes and thick curly with a headband in. She wasn't incredibly skinny, but she didn't look like she was supposed to be. She wasn't over-weight, exactly. She had a very curvy figure and big lips, and she wore a white polo short tucked into a red active-wear skirt with a sparkly silver belt around her waist. She was about the same age as Reyna.
"Why not?" Reyna asked as the girl pulled her over to a different table. She sat Reyna down and everyone turned away, going back to their own conversations. She plopped herself down next to Reyna, at a table full of people and smiled a somewhat sarcastic smile.
"Trust me, I'm saving you," she said. "Don't worry, every newbie makes the same mistake."
"No they don't," said some guy at the table. The girl gave him a mean look. "What? They don't!"
"Okay, why is that table reserved?" Reyna demanded, crossing her arms as she faced the group. She didn't like being told what and what not to do, especially by people she'd only just met. "And why is it such a big deal? Who even are you?"
"I'm Gwen," the girl with the light orange hair said. "And to answer the rest of your questions… well if you were to look to your left?" She trailed off as she said it. The entire forum went quiet as everyone turned to the entrance. A boy walked in, nothing particularly special about him.
A few people raised from their seats as he walked in. If you looked closely, you could see him roll his eyes. He walked through, looking around the differently tables as if considering sitting down. But he lightly sighed before sitting in the lonely one Reyna wanted to sit in. He made no eye contact with anyone, and eventually, people started talking again, and the people who stood sat down. Reyna turned back to the table she was sat on. "Who's that kid?"
"That's Jason," the boy from earlier said. "Warning: steer clear."
"Why?"
"He's kind of a big shot around here," Gwen shrugged. "He… He's the son of Jupiter, the king of the Gods, so he's more powerful than anyone else here. Plus, he's been here his whole life, so he's a better fighter, better Demigod than all of us."
"We're not worthy," the boy joked.
"If he's so awesome then why does he have no friends?" Reyna asked, putting her apple down with a new sense of interest. The boy didn't look special. Blonde hair, tan, pretty muscular although he didn't seem much older than she was. He wore a purple camp t-shirt and track pants.
"He has loads of friends," Gwen said, quickly, as if it was a sin to think he didn't. As if it was dangerous to think he didn't. "Everyone here is his friend!" She leaned in as if telling Reyna this was a secret. "Everyone!"
Reyna leaned in as well, mimicking her. "Then why is nobody sitting with him?"
Gwen leaned back, offended by Reyna's mimic. "Don't even walk down that road," she advised. "Just live and let live, that's my motto."
"Your motto is: Nothing under seven inches," the boy mused.
Gwen paused before smiling at Reyna. "It's about my shoes." A horn blew somewhere in the distance and everybody stood up and started filing out. "Trust me, don't sit by Jason. For the good of all."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Training day. A field full of kids with knives and swords, doing weird karate kicks and flips. Reyna, who was accustomed to hairbrushes and manicures, could not feel more out-of-place. "We have two newbies," the instructor announced. "Gwen and Reyna. Play nice guys."
Everyone waved to Gwen and ignored Reyna, who was okay with that. They all seemed to know Gwen, and Reyna wondered how she was new. The kids eyed them up, not expecting much from them, clearly. Reyna scoffed. She had just escaped a ship full of pirates, ran from an army of monsters and trained with wolves. Despite being used to the luxuries, Reyna could fight. And she was ready to prove that.
"Warm up with a couple laps," the instructor called. The kids took off running around this track that surrounded the training field. It was huge but everyone seemed at ease with it. Reyna followed them. She overtook a few, but overall, she was behind everyone else. She had underestimated the track. Sure, running from monsters had been exhausting, but Roman expectation were a lot worse. By the time they came to a halt, Reyna was panting, her hands on her knees and sweat on her forehead.
Gwen came to a stop next to her and continued jogging on the spot. "You okay, sweetie?" she asked, a look of concern plastered on her face. "All newbies take a while to get used to it." Reyna looked around them, at the group of kids who were already getting their breath back.
"I'm fine," Reyna said, straightening up and controlling her breathing. "You?"
Gwen smiled, but something about her grin was dishonest and patronising. "Peachy."
"Well, you're new too, right?" Reyna asked.
Gwen paused. "Well yeah, but I've lived in the city for like, six years, so I kind of took part in training before. Despite the rules." She winked at Reyna and jogged off to the instructor. "Can I lead the warm up, today?"
The instructor nodded at Gwen, who bounced over to the front of the class. Reyna waited for a second before walking into the line, between a few grouchy kids. Gwen bounced around, taking everyone through a warm up routine they had clearly done before. Reyna, the newest and most clueless, fell a step behind everyone else. Gwen spoke quickly and quietly with the instructor before turning to Reyna. "Reyna, sweetie," she said, too kindly. "Why don't you sit today out and watch? Just so you get the feel of things."
Reyna grumbled as she went to sit not too far away on the grass to observe the group instead of taking part. After the warm up of stretches and lunges and jumps, etcetera, the entire group ran two laps around the track again. Reyna decided she didn't like Gwen.
After a while, Reyna got restless and started pacing. Maybe it was best for her to sit out that one day, just so she knew what to do before doing it. But still, she didn't believe Gwen had had the best intention when she excluded Reyna. When she turned for another lap of pacing she almost walked into a group of kids, mostly a few years older, sprinting past her on the track. She backed away from them, but one caught her eye.
It was the blonde boy who had reserved that breakfast table. Jason, or something? The one the other kids were afraid of. Or, at least, they seemed to be. He was running around in the advanced group, a small collection of boys surrounding him. He came to a stop when he saw Reyna watching him.
The boys around him stopped as well and crowded around him, but he waved them off. They practically ran away from him. Him and Reyna kept eye contact for about five seconds before he turned away and ran off again.
"Reyna?" Gwen called from the group. "If this group is not satisfactory, feel free to join the advanced group you're staring at, but good luck surviving the first day."
"She's not staring at the group," some kid said. "She's staring at Jason."
Reyna huffed and shook them off, re-joining the group. The day didn't get any better for Reyna. The instructor claimed to be giving Reyna and Gwen equal opportunities, as the two new kids. But he didn't. He picked Gwen for everything!
Every demonstration where he wanted a new kid? Gwen. Every kid-led activity? Gwen. Every skill that Reyna had and wanted to show off? Gwen. Every time she tried to volunteer, the class voted for Gwen. She had heard the quotes: "Let Gwen take this one", "Gwen knows it better" and "Gwen, you! Reyna, you can take the next one" countless times in one day.
After a long while, they went to lunch. Reyna tried to walk past her, but Gwen grabbed Reyna by the arm and pulled her to the seat next to her, away from Jason's precious table.
"Look, stop obsessing about it," Gwen said, leaning across the table and grabbing Reyna's wrist. "Jason's popular, but he eats alone. That's just how things work. Now just… let it be."
"She's right, you know," said the same boy who was sat by her earlier.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Reyna asked, turning to him. "Gwen makes herself known enough by herself, without an echo needed."
"He's not my echo," Gwen said, defensively. "He's an ass."
"I'm Dakota," he smirked. He had curly black hair and eyes that shone almost purple in the light. He was tall and fairly muscular and tan, and had a face that made you think he wasn't to be trusted. "Nice to meet you."
"He's a man-whore," Gwen said.
"She's a bitch," Dakota said.
Reyna looked between the two. "Gods, anyone would think you two had a crush on each other," she commented. The rest of the table laughed, including Gwen, who seemed to find it funny. Dakota, however, got out of his seat to go back to the training grounds.
"I say this with all the honest bones I have," he said, leaning down on the table and smirking at Reyna. "I hope Gwen dies."
Reyna's face fell, all joking gone. "What?!"
"Yeah," Gwen nodded, as if she got it all the time. "He means it as well." He winked before walking off. The horns blew for lunch to end and everybody started making their way back to the training fields.
They all gathered back around on the training field and the instructor told them all to face him while he talks. "Monster attacks," he mused. "Let's start common. Who knows how to fight a hellhound? Without a weapon. Hands up."
Reyna put her hand up. She had been in that situation twice while travelling from the wolf house. Gwen also put her hand up, and surprise, surprise, he picked her.
"Just like every other dog, hellhounds will see eye contact as a challenge," she said, as if repeating it from a textbook. "The first thing you do is avoid looking them in the eye. You also don't want to wave your hands, as that's something for them to bite. And don't turn and run away. It'll catch you and kill you."
"Very good," the instructor said.
"That's just how to escape a fight," Reyna said. "Not how to actually fight it."
The instructor turned to Reyna, a cold look on his face. "I'm sure Gwen was getting there," he said. "I don't tolerate interrupters. Gwen, continue please."
Gwen glared at Reyna, but she paused. "I would try to… punch the mouth and try to get the fangs out."
The instructor paused before sighing and looking around the group. "Anybody else?"
"A hellhound will bite whatever it can," Reyna mused. "Give it your forearm, and then roll onto your back. While rolling, wrap your legs around its neck, squeeze and twist. You'll either strangle it or break its neck."
"And get your arm bit in the process," Gwen pouted.
"Better than your neck," Reyna returned.
"Reyna!" the instructor snapped. "Respect other people's contribution!"
Reyna couldn't help but let her face fall. The instructor started partnering people up to put these theories into practise, with fake wooden dogs to fight. Reyna got to her feet but was almost knocked down again by Gwen's shoulder slamming into hers as she passed. "I really want to believe that was an accident," Reyna said.
"Then you must be delusional," Gwen retorted, smirking. "Show me up again, and it'll be more than balance I take."
-0-0-0-0-0-
At dinner, Reyna was already covered in bruises from training. Her limbs ached and she was tired. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror and borrowed a girl's concealer to cover the more noticeable bruises. This was what Hylla used to do whenever Reyna fell over. And again, if Reyna could put her mind back into her old life, then maybe she would find happiness at Camp.
She changed into a dress, one that looked like the white ones she used to wear at Circe's. She slipped Hylla's denim jacket on and kept her hair down. There were no war games that night, and no new recruits, so it was straight to the Mess Hall for the last meal of the day. Reyna grabbed a few pieces of chicken and looked around for somewhere to sit. For the third time that day, Gwen dragged her over to sit with them.
"Why do you still care?" Reyna asked.
"Because I don't need you disturbing the order here," she snapped. "You already tried once today, and I will not let that happen again."
"Disturbing the order?" Reyna exclaimed, laughing. "What, the order that you're Queen-Bee and everyone's first choice? And nobody is allowed to correct you or challenge you? That order?"
"Yes that order!" Gwen almost shouted. "I may be new in the Legion, but I've been working my ass off for the last two years to make sure everything was in order when I got here."
Reyna paused, smirking. "Look, I'm not here to take your reign-"
"Because it's just yours to take if you wanted it?!" Gwen demanded.
"Probably," Reyna shrugged. "Want a bet?"
"No, I want you to behave!" Gwen said. The whole table was watching them, but they hadn't drawn the attention of anybody else yet. Thank Gods. "I want you to stop trying to compete with me, and I want you to just let things happen the way they're supposed to."
Reyna sucked her teeth. She picked up her plate and got to her feet. "Fine," she mused. "Be that way."
"And where do you think you're going?" Gwen demanded.
Reyna turned to Jason's table, where he sat all alone. Like every meal. Because people were afraid of him and his Father. "To make a new order," she said. She walked over and put her plate down on the table, sitting down opposite him. He looked up at her with a shocked, maybe slightly scared expression on his face. She smiled but didn't say anything. Neither did he. They ate in complete silence, but not alone.
"Things were getting boring around here," Dakota mused.
Gwen huffed. "She better not keep making her own rules around here," Gwen said. Everybody knew that it was her job, and now, Reyna was the competition.
"I'm actually kind of hoping she will," Dakota replied, shrugging.
Author's Note: Okay, so more often than not I will just have one AN, but this is the first chapter, and I have a few warnings. Remember, this is all about development. Characters and relationships will change throughout the story.
Also, I would like to note that in this story, Reyna is like, twelve. She just left her sister after running from some abusive pirates. Before that, she was forced to (SPOILER ALERT) kill her own father. She's not going to have a perfectly easy time adjusting to Camp Jupiter. In fact, she's going to have a super hard time, because I feel like that's realistic of a 12 year old, traumatised kid.
Speaking of which, symbolic things to watch out for: Reyna's hair/how she treats her appearance, and Jason's table.
So please review! Let me know what you think. In all honesty, I was kind of worried about publishing this story. I feel like people are going to be mad because not everything is exactly where it is in Heroes of Olympus. Just bare with me. Revieww! -Izzy x