IX
"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry!" a dark skinned girl with curly brown hair and golden eyes apologized over and over again. "It's just people are getting killed in the arena and I was afraid you were the killer!"
"I doubt the killer would knock your door, asking for entrance to kill you," Piper mused.
The girl blushed. "Right. That was very foolish of me. I'm Hazel, by the way."
"Piper."
"Well, Piper," Hazel poured a cup of tea, "what brings you here in such an ungodly hour?"
"A Centurion in the palace was killed," Piper said immediately.
The dark skinned girl almost dropped her teacup. "What?"
"Killed. And you see…" Piper began telling Hazel about her time in the palace, falling in love with Jason, the prince… For some reason, she just felt like she could trust her.
When she finished, Hazel was gawking at her. "But that's awesome!" she protested. "The prince loves you! You could become a princess!"
Piper shook her head. "That's not the point. My point is, Centurion Nakamura was a high ranked officer, and Jason is also high ranked. I'm afraid that Jason would be killed… so I decided to investigate."
Hazel nodded in understanding, though Piper doubted she understood.
"I'll help you. Octavian is horrid and we could only hope that he dies soon and Jason takes over the throne."
Piper couldn't help but agree.
"So… what do you want to know?" Hazel asked eagerly.
Piper thought for a while. "I heard that there are female gladiators here…" Piper started slowly. "Can you tell me about them?"
The dark-skinned girl obliged. "There is a blonde one named Annabeth. Apparently, she's Greek, and before, she had… 'rebelled', you could say, for lack of better word, against her master. At first her master wanted her killed but thought the arena would be a, ah, more interesting idea. She's nice, apparently in love with Percy, a boy with black hair and green eyes. He's good looking and also one of the best fighters in the arena. He managed to kill Luke, who had been our best fighter for years! Annabeth is another one of the better fighters, likes daggers, unusually smart."
Piper nodded and stowed all the information to the back of her head.
"Then, there's Thalia. I'm not too sure about Thalia, though it is rumored that she was a princess, older sister of Prince Jason."
Piper's heart gave a little leap.
"She's also good at fighting," Hazel continued. "She can use just about any weapon, though she's handy with a bow and arrows. She hates boys, apparently, except for her friends Percy, Leo, and Nico, and hates flirting." Hazel continued on and on about certain different gladiators, talking so fast Piper's having trouble keeping up.
"Who were the victims here?" Piper interrupted.
Hazel paused for a second, then said, "Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew. Both are good with the bow. They're nice, though they make terrible enemies; super good with words. Last time I checked, they were calling names to Luke, but he's dead."
Piper nodded and glanced out the window. The moon was high in the sky already.
"I should be leaving now," the palace slave girl stood up, setting down her empty teacup. "It's getting late. Thank you for everything."
Hazel nodded and led Piper to the door, watching her as she hiked back to the palace.
το τραγούδι του τέσσερις φωνές
Reyna couldn't't sleep. No, she's not getting nightmares or anything… she just can't.
Maybe it's the pressure of realizing that people are getting killed off one by one, or perhaps it's just the thoughts of her next conquering target.
Reyna was thoroughly tired. Her body's limp, energy-less, while her brain was a mumble-jumble of thoughts and decisions, fork-paths to walk, words to say.
Sounds confusing? Well, you're inside the Secret General's head.
Then, Reyna was jerked out of her thoughts at the sound of cautious knocking.
"Come in!" Reyna called, sitting up and running a hand through her wavy dark brown hair so it doesn't look too messy. When, she looked up, she saw a very pretty girl with choppy brown hair, and eyes that's ever-changing colors. She was wearing a slightly tattered, dirty slave dress.
Interesting, a slave girl.
"What are you doing here?" Reyna asked, her eyes narrowing.
The girl bowed. "My name is Piper, General Reyna," the slave girl said quietly. "I'm one of the palace slaves."
"That part is obvious enough."
Piper nodded. "You see, General, I'm sure you know, gladiators and centurions are being killed off one by one. I was worried, I believe you could relate, and also slightly scared. I was afraid the assassin would kill the Prince."
"And why would you be worried?" Reyna asked sharply.
Piper leaned forward as if telling a secret. "Well, I happen to realize that you aren't too fond of Emperor Octavian either."
Reyna looked away. Of course she agreed.
"Well, if Jason is dead when Octavian dies, who knows who will take his place? And Jason would be a kind, generous ruler," the slave girl pointed out.
Reyna was thoughtful.
"And Jason, unlike Octavian, doesn't like guards and soldiers following him around. He has no protection," Piper continued.
Slowly, Reyna nodded. "That is a fair point, Piper. You have a way with words. I will think about it."
Piper curtsied again. "Thank you, General." And she left the room, leaving Reyna to drown in even more thoughts.
το τραγούδι του τέσσερις φωνές
The next morning, Reyna called Piper to her room.
"I have made my decision to help you, slave girl," Reyna said. Piper's eye lit up in happiness and relief.
"Thank you so much!" she gushed.
"What I want to know is that why you asked me," Reyna mused.
"You seem trustworthy," the slave girl replied. "And you should get General Frank involved if possible. I've discovered that he seems to be quite a close friend of the Prince's."
Reyna narrowed her eyes. This girl seems to know a lot. "Tell me about all the information you've gathered," she demanded.
Piper bowed, sat down on a chair opposite of Reyna, and started talking. She had snuck into the arena where the gladiators were killed, interviewed one of the kitchen girls, and had also examined Centurion Nakamura's death scene. She had found a footprint.
According to her description of the footprint, it was barefoot, and obviously male. The footprint was wide, so whoever it was must have spent a lot of time walking or running.
In the arena, she had learned about the two dead gladiators, Lee and Michael, their names were. Apparently they were good archers, and used to tease and publicly humiliate one of the more skilled gladiators- Luke Castellan. Except said gladiator is dead, killed by a dagger thrown by the gods because he had cheated on a gladiator fight.
And anyways, even if he was still alive, why would he kill Centurion Nakamura?
There were still so many unsolved mysteries.
"First things first," Reyna stood up after Piper finished talking, "I have to visit the arena."
Piper nodded. "That would be wise. I will accompany you."
Reyna strapped a dagger to her thigh. "I will go inform General Frank. Meet me at the palace doors in 20 minutes."
το τραγούδι του τέσσερις φωνές
True to Reyna's word, Piper, Frank, and Reyna met up 20 minutes later at the palace doors.
"I still don't get what we're doing!" Frank protested as he blundered behind the two girls, Reyna stalking forward confidently, chin up, and Piper trailing less than a pace behind her, holding a basket and looking the way a slave girl should.
Frank, however, wasn't as graceful. He jogged to keep up, following Reyna and Piper like a lost puppy following a stranger.
"Where are we going?" Frank asked again, though with the same amount of success as the past few times he asked. The General was met by silence except for the clinking of Reyna's armor as she walked, the swishing of her braid, the shuffling of their footsteps and the soft banging as the basket hit Piper's thigh with every two steps she took.
"Where-" Frank started to ask again but was cut off by Reyna who said briskly, "The arena."
There was a moment of silence as Frank took in the information. "Why?"
"To investigate," this time, Piper answered him. Reyna had briefly introduced Piper to him when they met up at the palace gates, which was unnecessary, seeing the fact that he had caught her kissing Jason quite a few times.
"More like to find a way to save Jason," Frank muttered under his breath. Thankfully, none of the girls heard him.
They arrived at the arena.
Inside, the arena was cool in the shade, but smelt kind of humid and damp, the smell of blood and sweat lingering in the air.
"Nice place," Reyna commented. "Much better than any other arenas I've been in."
"Piper?" A voice suddenly asked. The three people from the palace spun around to face a girl with dark skin, curly brown hair, and curious golden eyes.
"Hazel," Piper sounded surprised. "Right, of course, I should've expected you. You're a kitchen girl here."
Hazel nodded, examining the two strangers. "And who are these?"
"This is Reyna, and this is General Frank," the slave girl introduced.
Hazel bowed in respect. "I'll show you guys around, if you want."
They agreed.
And so the dark skinned girl began introducing them around the arena, telling them about the gladiators and other stuff.
Then, they passed the training center.
Reyna, Piper, and Frank were immediately mesmerized by the sight of a boy with black hair and green eyes fighting against a girl with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, and stormy, calculating gray eyes. Both of them were skilled, moving inhumanely fast, so fast their limbs and bodies were a blur.
Not far from the sparring couple was another girl, except she has short spiky black hair and shocking blue eyes. She was in the archery section, shooting arrow after arrow, sometimes running, climbing and rolling to avoid people and obstacles as she shot. Not a single arrow missed. After a while, the girl stopped and sat down in the shade, next to two boys. One boy has a mop of curly brown hair and a gigantic grin. He told a joke the moment the girl sat down, causing the two of them to laugh. The other boy was pale, deathly pale, with black hair and dark eyes. He was hugging his knees to his chest, staring at the sandy ground.
"Who are they?" Reyna asked Hazel, pointing at them.
Hazel followed her gaze. "Oh, them? That's Thalia, one of the best fighters ever. She's friends with Leo, the one with the crazy grin, and Nico, the sad looking one. Also with Percy and Annabeth, who's fighting over there."
Reyna nodded slowly, and then without another word, suddenly turned and stalked to the group of chatting friends.
"Reyna?" Piper called after her.
Thalia, Leo, and Nico looked up immediately when Reyna neared them. Thalia's eyes lit up with recognition. "I remember you!" she exclaimed. "You were at my-" she glanced at the two boys.
"Your execution, yes, I was there," Reyna was emotionlessly. Thalia winced while the two boys' eyes widened.
"Well then, what are you doing here?" she asked casually, though her electric blue eyes seem slightly unsettled. Electric blue, just like Jason.
Piper hurried up to Reyna and heard the question. "Well, you should know that two of your friends were killed. We're here to investigate, since one of our centurions was also murdered."
"Hey guys," Percy and Annabeth jogged over. "What's happening?"
Piper quickly explained the situation. Percy's expression darkened. "What can we do, though? It's not like we could figure out who the killer would murder next."
"Just observe. Report anything out of place. And also, don't get killed," Reyna instructed. The group of gladiators nodded.
And then, to everybody's surprise, Reyna sat down cross-legged on the sand with a sigh. "I've seen the three of you fight," she said, pointing at Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia. "You're good, so now I want to see the skills of the other two."
Leo raised a hand. "Unfortunately, pretty lady, I have managed to convince them to make me the blacksmith instead. I used to work in a mechanic shop before I came here."
Reyna furrowed her brows. Pretty lady?
Annabeth caught the Secret General's expression and laughed. "Ignore him, Reyna," she chuckled. "He's like that to everybody. Well, every girl, for that matter."
Nico nodded. "Thalia broke his nose when he called her hottie."
The Huntress smirked while Leo unconsciously rubbed his nose.
Reyna smiled, though the warmth didn't exactly reach her eyes. "But how about your fighting skills? What if the murderer decided to attack you?"
Percy shook his head, chuckling. "Obviously you've never seen him with too much sugar and a hammer. Maybe a couple of nails and strips of metal to top it all off."
Reyna cocked her head to one side, thoughtful for a moment, and then turned to the younger, paler boy. "What about you?"
Nico looked away, seeming slightly embarrassed. "I don't know how to fight," he mumbled.
Reyna frowned. "That's not good. You're just lucky you haven't been forced to fight yet."
The pale boy nodded.
"Well then," Reyna stood up, then reaching over and pulling Nico up by the back of his shirt. "I'll teach you."
The boy's mouth opened and closed for a moment, then he nodded.
"Go find a wooden sword. A long stick if you couldn't," Reyna instructed. Percy stood up, moving next to Reyna. "I'll help you."
And so Reyna and Percy began to teach the younger boy how to fight, while Hazel, Frank, Piper, Leo, Thalia, and Annabeth sitting in the shades, watching, chatting, occasionally shouting advice to Nico, who had a determined look on his face.
They practiced until the sun was about to set, and Reyna, Frank, and Piper has to leave.
Nico trudged back to where his friends were sitting. He was panting heavily and was covered with bruises.
"I'll be back tomorrow," Reyna said.
Then, before they left, the Secret General turned back to Nico. "You know," she said with a small smile, "you have a talent. You just need to know how to use it."
A small, sad smile quirked the tips of the younger boy's mouth. "Thank you," he whispered. "Bianca used to say so as well."