The Colosseum

Hey there! Clearcloud here. Happy December!

Hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I think it was pretty self-explanatory, but basically Will meets Annabeth and they are actually cousins so now one person knows Annabeth's secret. I'm seriously getting close to an itty-bitsy climax, but then the excitement will die down and you'll be bored again *yayyy*.

Thanks for reviewing: *crickets* *coughs* *sigh*

Okay, that's just sad. I don't care about my review count, but it will really boost my spirits if I see some reviews. Thank you all.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Percy Jackson characters. That is courtesy of my favorite Uncle, named Rick Riordan. I do own the plot and all extra characters.

Now, on with...

Chapter Four: The Prince's Thoughts

(Published 12.5.17)

"You want me to do what?"

Annabeth nearly choked on her food when she heard what Will had asked her to do.

"I just need you to quietly get out of your cell and get to the medicine storage room," Will smiled.

"And why does he have to do it?" Percy asked. He still hadn't figured out that "Andrew" was a girl.

"Because I know her - his skillset," Will let out a deep sigh, almost letting his cousin's secret go free.

"Okay," Leo mumbled. "If this guy even gets the medicine, how are we supposed to transfer it from him to Jospeh?"

"Um," Will said uncertainly, "That's the part... we haven't figured out yet." Everyone glared at him.

Annabeth suddenly had an idea. "Working sessions," she said. "All we need is for another working session to happen!"

"What?" Leo scoffed.

"Working sessions!" Annabeth exclaimed. "If I get the medicine, I'll carry it around with me until I see Leo at the hole-digging sessions. I'll slip it into your pocket."

"Even so, won't the guards see you?" Percy questioned skeptically.

"They won't," she said plainly and then went back to eating her stale bread.

This was one of the three days that the prisoners were allowed to eat. And the meal was stale bread and a small bushel of crinkled grapes for each person. Many tributes vomited their only meal of the day, because they weren't used to the food.

A whistle blew. "Alright, back to your cells!" a piercing voice yelled.

"I'll do it tonight," Annabeth whispered to Leo and Will.

~~~~~~~linebreaklinebreaklinebreak~~~~~~~

It was the middle of the night, when all the prisoners were sleeping. Perfect, so that no one could report that they'd seen her.

"Percy, I'm going," she said.

"Mmkay," he said sleepily.

Annabeth was careful to be as quiet as possible. Without a sound, she was at the door. Unclipping one of her hair clips, letting a strand of hair flow down, she reached her hand through the bars and felt for the lock. Without clanging the hair clip on the bar, she put it into the hole.

Suddenly, she heard a solider whooping and she stiffened. Probably drinking with his friends, Annabeth thought. He was drunk, so he wouldn't realize her escaping.

Sighing with anxiety, so fiddled around with the hair clip. "C'mon, c'mon..." She heard a click. Even quieter than before, she creaked open the cell door.

"Medicine center... medicine center," She looked around. Avoiding the soldiers, she slipped past them. Seeing a small room, she blended into the dark wall and went inside.

"This has gotta be it," she said. She silently crawled to a place in the corner with small cabinets and opened a door. In the closet, there was a treasure trove of vials, all marked in Latin. She had been taught many languages by her mother and father, Latin one of them, so she scanned the bottles.

"Illness, fever, throat, nose, eyes, injury - ah! Here!" She took one of the vials, filled with a dark brown paste, and clutching it in her hand.

Suddenly, one of the vials fell from the shelf. It seemed to go in slow-motion, plummeting until it crashed on the ground.

There was a momentary silence. "Who's there?" yelled a voice. Annabeth cursed under her breath. She started to sprint.

She caught a glimpse of the voice, a burly man with black hair, but she was moving too fast for him to see her. His friends didn't care, as they were all drunk, but this one seemed to have been responsible. "Hey! Come back!"

Annabeth finally got back to her cell, breathing heavily. "Open, open, open," she tried to command the lock of the door. She pried it open, slamming it shut and flinging herself down on the cement floor.

Pretending to seep, the man went past each of the doors suspiciously.

Looking at Percy, he was still somehow fast asleep.

She laughed and realized that he drooled when he slept.

Hazel really, really wanted to be free.

Well, she technically was, but no one acknowledged that. Here she was, a servant for the distinguished Lady Reyna.

"Milady, you should start to get ready." Hazel yelled past the velvet curtain.

Reyna stuck her head out. "Hazel, you know you can call me Reyna," she laughed.

"Of course, mil - Reyna!" she giggled. "So, Reyna, you should really get dressed."

"Ah, fine. Can you get my nice robes? The red ones."

Hazel obliged and went into her master's closet. Taking out the red tunic with silver emblems, she brought it inside Reyna's inner chamber.

Reyna took it. "Here, let me help," Hazel reacted immediately.

"No, no, Hazel, you don't need to do that." Reyna said, pulling it over her undergarments.

"Th - that's my job," Hazel stuttered, surprised someone was treating her this way.

"Listen, Hazel." Reyna sat on her bed. "Come, sit down. I want you to know that no matter how much people mistreat you, you must be ready to bounce back."

"What does that mean, milady... Reyna?" she corrected herself.

"It means that you must be your own person! Do what your heart tells you." Reyna encouraged.

"But... I'm just a servant," Hazel muttered. "What can I do?"

"Can you fight?"

"I'm good with horses. I can paint," she said. "I can use a gladius."

Reyna was delighted. "Let's have sparring session after the fights!"

"What - no! A sparring session?" Hazel, on the other hand, was horrified. Reyna was so distinguished and she was so...

"Aw, c'mon, it'll be fun!" Reyna nudged her.

"Okay," Hazel smiled. She paused. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because," Reyna said, plopping herself off the bed, "I want to be your friend." She gestured, and Hazel also got off the bed. "Now, come on. We have to get you ready."

"Reyna... for what?" Hazel asked.

"You will be coming with me to the Colosseum tonight, won't you?" Reyna asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, yes, but - "

"Then you will need the proper attire! Come now, maybe I can find you some nice clothes in your size..."

After a while, Hazel was dressed in a long red tunic similar to Reyna's, except with gold emblems instead of silver.

Hazel felt as if she finally felt as if she had a friend.

She thought it would last a week, at most.

"My dad and my friend," Piper said through gritted teeth. "Sent to the Colosseum!"

Well, Leo wasn't exactly her friend, since she had known him for three hours and they had a talk about politics. But still, it really was her fault he had been captured. He'd probably be slaughtered at tomorrow's match.

Tomorrow's match... Piper had an idea. Pacing through the shop, she though diligently.

"Ah," she said with a smile and got to work.

Jason paced around, thinking.

He did not love Reyna. That was for certain. Yes, his father's words may be true, - "Ah, son, you'll get used to her," - but for now, he wanted to choose for himself.

He walked out of his room, with many servants, again, awaiting him. He, again, dismissed them.

Jason walked towards the his betrothed's room to escort her to the palanquin.

As he walked, he wondered. Why go to a ruthless, brainless, fight? How was it enjoyable? Why did the people cheer when an innocent prisoner died?

Alas, that was the nature of a Roman. Of his father.

Jason used to enjoy the fights. That was before his mother died. Before he realized the effect of swords on an innocent, what blood could do to a mind. Yes, he would cheer right along with the crowd.

Even then, he would see one uncomfortable person in the crowd, cringing when they saw a dead body and he would wonder: Why aren't they cheering along?

Now he understood.

"Lady, Reyna, I am here to escort you," he sighed from in front of the curtain.

She stepped out. Her hair was done up in a bun, with strands loosely flowing out. Her dress was perfect for her build.

Next out was the servant, Hazel, who looked equally as stunning. The gold of her dress accentuated her eyes and her hair was in loose curls.

"Hello, Prince Jason," Hazel said and bowed.

"Good afternoon, both of you," he said back. "I am here to escort you both to the arena."

"Yes, of course," Reyna said with a smile.

"Then we must be going," Jason smiled back. Internally, it was a frown. "The Colosseum awaits."

The Romans had gathered up the prisoners.

"Why are they bringing us here?" Leo whispered to Joseph.

Joseph, who was now walking with a limp and was fully conscious, replied, "You don't want to know." Leo figured it was something bad.

Across the hall, Percy was whispering something to Andrew the was probably similar to what he just heard. Except when Andrew heard the news, he embraced it and kept a straight face. Unlike Leo, who was a coward and murderer.

Murderer. Murderer. The voices echoed in his head.

"Alright everyone!" The voice of a soldier came up from the front of the hall. "We're going to choose randomly who is going to the fights." The fights? Leo thought in misery.

The soldier continued. "You," he pointed at a man, who looked down. "You, you, eh, you..." He pointed at Andrew, who was flimsy for a male, not as flimsy as Leo. Poor guy, he thought.

"Erm, you," the soldier finished off. Leo looked around. Everyone backed away from Leo's position and he could see that the soldier was pointing straight at him.

It was a daze from then on. He heard Joseph faintly whisper, "Nice knowing you, thanks for the medicine," and then he pushed him forward. Some friend.

He stumbled forward with the rest of the men. Another soldier pulled all of the men to the captain, who inspected them.

"I'm Tristan," said the man next to Leo. He had charming brown eyes and a kind smile, even though this was the worst situation you could possible be in.

"Leo," he mumbled back. "I'll be sure to remember your name when we get to Hades," he said sarcastically.

"Look on the bright side," Tristan smiled.

"What bright side?"

"Hades will know that both of us are Greek."

With that, the soldiers pushed them out into the light of day and the crowds of people cheering.

I hope you liked this chapter. Can you see the little climax coming soon? Obviously, this is not going to be the climax, but next chapter will be fun to write. I also enjoyed writing in so many people's POV's this chapter because I can get a taste of everything.

Please review. Again, I don't want reviews to brag, I want them so that I can get inspiration and support if you want this story to continue. Also, give ideas for the storyline! Even though I have a main plot going on, I really want some detailed moments, maybe ship moments? (Jasper, Percabeth, Frazel, Caleo) ;););)

Thank you so much for the support, everyone! Stay tuned for the next episode *coughnotreallycough* of The Colosseum!

-Clearcloud