Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings ect. ect. are the property of their respective owners (Rick Riordan). The original characters (if there are any) and plot are property of the author (me). No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.


Sunlight reflected off his blond hair. There was no mistaking it; it was him. Him, who was gone for eight months. Him, who had disappeared without as much as a warning. Him, who was now standing there in an orange t-shirt, 'Camp Half-Blood' emblazoned on the front.

The crowd erupted into a deafening cheer that easily drowned out Octavian's shouting of how this meeting was only the beginning of an unsightly end.

Despite being engulfed in the complete pandemonium of the cohorts, Reyna could not join in with the rest of the legion and celebrate the homecoming of their long-lost praetor, for in that moment where she could not feel anything but utter happiness and relief at his return, she could not help but feel something else inside her rupture; he had come home, but with another girl on his arm.

She stood still, her vision started to blur and all her senses dulled; she could not hear or feel anything except for that small, clean sound of her heart breaking into two.

"Reyna?"

Her deep feelings of hurt dispersed in the split second it took for her to turn to Percy.

"Yes? What is it?" She said sharply.

She knew that he was waiting for her to be the 'strong praetor Reyna' and give some high-authoritative welcoming speech to the Greeks so he could then run to his girlfriend, but her aloof mask must not have been on properly as he, instead, gave her a sympathetic look. She hated that.

"Look, Reyna, I know that I hardly know you," he started.

"You don't." Reyna said dismissively.

She could not deal with a heart-to-heart talk, not from Percy, not before and not now. Especially not now, seeing as her heart was lying on the ground in a thousand pieces. He, however, clearly did not get the message.

"But I remembered Annabeth and that means he could've, no, would've remembered you, too. There's nothing for you to worry abo-"

"You mean there's nothing for you to worry about." Reyna whispered angerily at him for trying to comfort her, and then continued in a much smaller voice. "She did not just come back, after missing for eight months, holding hands with someone else."

Percy started saying something else but Reyna had started walking away. He reached out for her.

"Aren't you going to see him, at least? I mean, not from the distance but really see him and, maybe, say hi? I know that you've been waiting, Reyna. Everyone knows that you've been waiting."

She couldn't even make eye contact with the obviously loved-up son of Poseidon; her mask truly was slipping now and she did not know how much longer she could keep it on. She had to think of something quickly.

"I have other things so do." It was a pathetic excuse, and even she knew that. "You welcome them. You convince the legion of their harmless intentions. Consider this your initiation to praetorship." She did not even bother to wait for his reply before merging into the sea of armour.

She separated from the throng of people as tears began breaking from their barricade that was her lashes and streamed down her face.


She was at her house now and her armour and toga were carelessly discarded on the ground in her bedroom.

In her rush to get away from him and from her and from everything else, she had not put one thought into how out-of-character she must've seemed.

Reyna sat down heavily onto her bed, undoing her shoes, and sighed as the springs creaked under her weight. Thinking back to what had happened and how she had dealt with it she gave a mental groan; she had just given Octavian years' worth of fuel to fire his campaign against her being praetor, and not to mention reasons for others to believe him.

She then walked over to the vanity and sat down in front of it. She ran her finger down the mirror and cut a clear line through the thin layer of dust settled on it. She sighed again and removed all the remaining dust with the palm of her hand.

Before her days in the legion, Reyna has believed that to neglect one's own appearance was something to be ashamed of, but circumstances have changed and she now believed that to have time for one's own appearance was of great luxury, one she did not have.

If only past Reyna could she present Reyna now, She thought bitterly.

Reyna looked at her reflection closely. Even after year of intense training, and abandonment of her looks, she has to admit, to her great discomfort of confessing, that she looked quite well for someone who had gone through what she had.

Her hair, although always kept in a tight braid, was long and smooth, unlike her, and as she has grown, the chubbiness in her cheeks had disappeared, revealing sharp, regal facial features, unlike her.

What did she lack that the other girl had? No, the question was 'what did the other girl lack that she had?' The answer was dark spots under her eyes from sleepless nights, hollow cheeks from missing meals and walls around her heart so high that she wondered how he even found out she had one in the first place. She also does not have the bright light in her eyes anymore; it had disappeared eight months ago and was yet to return.

What she now saw, when looking into the mirror, was a shell of the person she use to be.

Things break all the time, Reyna. She sternly told herself. Fingernails break, voices break, records breaks, contracts break, silence breaks, promises break. Even hearts break. She admitted sadly before sitting up straighter. But you are the daughter of Bellona. You are the praetor of the twelfth legion. You will not crumble. You will triumph. She stood up, the prep talk in her mind still continuing. You will attend the senate meeting. She picked up her toga. You will continue leading. She tied it around herself securely. You will not let Jason Grace know just how much he hurt you. She picked up her gladius and put it in its sheath. You will smile and let them wonder why. She looked into the mirror again and saw the person she pretended to be every day. Remember; your weakness is your enemy's strength and as a daughter of Bellona, you must stay strong and eliminate all weaknesses.

She nodded, her own voice echoing in her mind.


First chapter and already we are already seeing hearts break. Poor Reyna! I really do love her, though.

So, do you think I gave a good introduction into the complicated labyrinth that is Reyna's mind? I was going for the 'girl under the armour' thing and I think writing in her perspective in this chapter gave me a good opportunity to do so. I really wanted to show how she feels, how she deals with the disappointment and exactly what goes through her head when she decides to act in the way she does - is it because of her position as praetor or because of personal pride?

Next chapter: Jason will be in the spotlight and how do you think he dealing with returning home? Is he confused? Frustrated? Neither? Or both?