REYNA
"That is but one of your problems. The more devastating issue is that Iusitos- the Spear of Roman Honor...has been stolen."
"Holy Shit!" Were the first words that ran through the praetor's mind. It is now that she understands what has happened to Percy. It is a well-known fact that the spear bonds to its wielder. If someone tries to remove their connection he would feel as if a part of him was removed. This confirms the fact that Percy truly does wield the spear. She had not questioned what Lupa had told her as a show of respect to the wolf goddess but she had not fully believed her. Yes, Percy is very strong and she even has a small crush on him but still, to wield the spear is an honor no demigod has held since the second Titan War; but now, after seeing the relationship he shares with Mars, Reyna has little doubts about the legitimacy of that claim.
Mars is not only the patron of Rome but also the creator and power source of Iusitos. The story is a well-known tale that delves into the long history of Rome.
During the first battle of the Caesar Civil War the Commander of Roman Rebel Army- Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great") demanded to battle the Commanding general of Caesars Roman Army in a one on one battle. This was actually a ploy to cause a division between the different legions who had joined forces to defend the Roman Empire. The ploy was a success as the praetors of the legions- XII, X, V and of course, the emperor's favorite – Legion I began to argue. The praetor's continued to argue to such an extent that a fight broke out between the various praetors'. What happened next was nothing short of a massacre. The praetor of the First legion killed all of the other praetors and of course, this led to a massive revolt within the various legions. The legions of the X and V quickly left the battle as did the first legion. Only the Twelfth legion stood their ground, even though the army outnumbered them ten to one. Impressed by their bravery and dedication to Rome and its citizens, Mars wanted to give a gift to the entire legion, he had wanted to bless them, but that was simply not possible. That was the first time in the history of the gods that Mars and Vulcan collaborated. Together the two gods collaborated to forge a weapon that would be just as powerful, if not more so than the standard eagle bequeath to them by Jupiter – together they came to forge the weapon known as Iusitos. Mars turned himself into a boar- his sacred animal- and his very tusk was cut-off and placed inside the spear.
The spear was thus blessed with the power of Mars and was passed onto the Twelfth Legion. Although, they didn't win the fight, they did not lose the fight either as they were able to push the invading forces back before they retreated on the emperor's orders. Since that day, the spear has been passed down from generation to generation to the best warrior in the legion- decided by a tournament held once every four years. Well that was until the end of the second Titan war. What happened at that time still brings shame to the legion and even thinking about it brings a red tint of anger to Reyna's face, as she remembered the events that led to the legion losing Iusitos. A number of legionnaires were drunk by the end of the party held in celebration of the end of war, however a few of the children of Bacchus committed an act that would shamed the entire legion. They got extremely drunk and rushed into the praetoria when no one was looking. When they reached the display case holding Iusitos they broke open the case and stole the Spear. By the time the other legionnaires returned to the praetoria it was too late, the children of Bacchus were lying dead on the floor. From their facial expressions it looked as if their very souls had been incinerated, as Mars was standing their looking at them with a disapproving look of anger on his face. He retrieved the spear and flashed out without another word. That was the last time anyone saw the Spear and the last time anyone talked about it. It became a subject of shame for the legion and New Rome; that is until today. When suddenly Reyna was interrupted from her musings when she heard her name being called.
Reyna looked up to see Octavian looking at her with a smug smile on his face. He turned to look at the legion with an expression that said "what did I tell you."
Thankfully Percy came to her rescue. "Well, what do you expect her to say Octavian? Are you trying to say she will not accept and follow the orders of Lord Mars himself? If he commands that Frank Zhang, his son lead the quest to free death in Alaska then that is what will be done!" Percy exclaimed.
Reyna threw him a very brief almost uncatchable look of thankfulness before she gave a nod of consent. Despite the fact that Frank is on probation and thusly not qualified by the rules of the legion to go on quest, it was pretty much over-ruled when Mars himself commanded that his son lead the quest.
Mars nodded and turned back to Percy. "Then I believe that it is one problem accounted for. Now for the next and much more troublesome problem. Another quest is to be issued, this quest is to retrieve the Spear of Rome from the clutches of our enemies."
Nervous chatters spread throughout the sea of demigods and Reyna couldn't blame them at all. One quest from the gods was a very rare occurrence, but two, two at the same time is almost unheard of.
Octavian believed this as an opportune time to try and retake control, again. "But Lord Mars, two quest's at the sam- "
Mars plucked a grenade from his belt. "What was that, augur!"
Octavian noticeably paled before he chose to change his words. "I mean of course, a quest needs to be issued for this as well. I will personally read the auguries and get a prophecy for this quest-"
"No kid. There will be no prophecy for this quest!" Said an irritated Mars
Everyone turned to look at Mars with a surprised and confused expression. Mars himself had given the prophecy for the other quest earlier, although, thankfully it was not too much of a riddle and gave the demigods a clear and concise idea of what was to happen.
"But how is the quest supposed to-" Octavian started to say
"I know!" An all too familiar voice interrupted.
They turned to look at Percy who had a determined expression on his face.
"Percy? What do you mean, you know?" Reyna asked, before Octavian could open his mouth and use this as an opportunity to play Percy down.
"I had a dream yesterday, I know what to do to retrieve the spear." Percy stated
"Oh and how would that be relevant to this quest?" Octavian asked in a very well-known curious tone. "I don't suppose you have somehow gained the blessing of Apollo overnight?"
Percy glared at the augur. "You know as well as I do that demigod dreams are not normal dreams; they are a warning for the future. We all know that Octavian."
Thunder rumbled overhead. Mars looked up and sighed. "I cannot stay any longer. I am afraid Jupiter calls. The quests are both to be three man quests." He looked at Frank who still look shell shocked and pointed at Bianca. "Take her with you, my son. She will be needed on your quest and as for your third companion choose whoever you see fit, I do not really mind." He then looked at Percy. "Perseus, I expect greatness of you. You shall lead the quest and retrieve the Spear of Rome or all hope is lost. Goodbye Romans, I hope we live to see each other again." And with that Mars disappeared in a flash of red leaving behind a thoroughly confused and equally scared Roman army.
Reyna mentally shook herself free of her thoughts, she needed to regain control of the legion. Now is not the time for daydreaming.
She turned to face the awe struck group of centurions and looked at Frank. "Centurions!" All heads turned to her. "Meeting in the senate house! There will be a senate meeting to discuss the two quests and prepare our defenses for the upcoming battle and of course, elect the quest members. Frank Zhang, you are also required to be present for the meeting." Frank gave her a small nod but still looked confused and depressed.
She turned to face the crowd of Romans assembled. "Romans! Dismissed!"
Within seconds the large sea of demigods had departed the fields, all making their way over to the activities allotted to them.
Reyna departed from the field and began to make her way over to the senate house. Just as she had exited, a voice called up to her from behind.
"Hey Reyna wait up!" a voice yelled out from behind her.
Usually Reyna would have reprimanded any legionnaire that dared talk to her in such a casual manner, but she didn't exactly want to sound unfriendly to the all too familiar voice.
Percy jogged up to her.
"So you are making your way over to senate house too?" Percy asked her
It wasn't much of a question, more like a statement one gives to start up a conversation. She just nodded.
"So, why are you walking all alone?" Inquired Percy
She stopped all of a sudden and looked at Percy with a look that must've been pretty funny.
"I mean, you could've waited for everyone." Percy stated like it was the normal thing to do.
Reyna was about to ask who he meant by everyone when a horde of Centurions appeared behind her.
LINE BREAK
Reyna was now walking to the senate meeting accompanied by a large group of Centurions around her. The group consisted of The Minerva Twins, the centurions of the Second, Dakota and Hazel, centurions of the Fifth, Bobby the centurion of the Third, Percy and Bianca, the centurions of the fourth and Frank Zhang, who had been specifically requested due to the fact that he is to lead the quest to Alaska.
Well not a very large group when compared to that of the cohorts and other groups she has led into battle but she truly felt as if she was in the middle of a sea of demigods. She has never had a large group of people accompanying her anywhere and it felt kind of nice. As they all walked with her the girls were gossiping, the Minerva Twins arguing about which of them would score higher on an IQ test and Percy had put Dakota in a head lock for his antics at the bath house, while Bobby laughed his head off. Honestly for once, she felt like a normal mortal girl walking around with her group of friends which had a healthy dose of annoyingness and humor. It was like she was not a Praetor of a legion of Roman demigods- who fight to death as regularly as one eats peanut butter-, like they were not all going into a confrontation with silver tongued, power hungry politicians, like they were not going to prepare for a quest from which they had less than average chances of returning. Yet somehow... It felt good. It felt good to not worry about your lives every second or constantly ponder who could be an infiltrating spy inside your own ranks. For the first time since Reyna had come to Camp Jupiter, she actually felt at home, like she belonged here, in-between these goofballs. Ever since her first day of Camp, all Reyna had done is train, train and train more. She had wanted to overcome all of her emotions; she wanted to make her mother proud. She had never bothered to make any friends; she thought it was a stupid concept. She always thought making attachments was futile, one day they too would leave her just like her sister and she would break down emotionally. But now looking at the truly happy faces behind her, she realized one thing, she felt happy and she wanted to stay that way for once.
A small elbow to her ribs startled Reyna out of her own musings as she looked up to annihilate anyone who dared to touch her.
"Hey, what's wrong, Reyna, what you thinking about?" Asked a voice that Reyna had grown accustomed to.
"Oh it's nothing Percy, I was just thinking about what Octavian could possibly say to hinder the quests." She said hastily, there was no way she was going to tell him what she was thinking about, she still had her pride burning inside her.
Percy gave her a lopsided grin "Just relax for once Reyna. I know you're really worried about the upcoming attack and these quests, I know that expression because it is exactly what I saw in the mirror a couple of minutes ago. This-" He gestured around her with open arms where the entire group was laughing and chatting away with each other. "Is the last time we will get to truly laugh? Once it starts, there will be a domino effect, one thing will lead to another and fall like domino's. Soon, we will all be too busy trying to save our butts to enjoy ourselves so don't think too much about it, okay."
Reyna wanted to call him extremely stupid and laugh at what he had just said telling him that he is so naive. But inside she knew that he was right. Reyna had already faced one war and she knew that once it starts there will be no breaks. The deaths and various responsibilities that come with war will take its toll on everyone. Her insides were burning, how in the name of Jupiter is Percy so calm. Gods, not only is he super annoying and infuriatingly handsome, but his calmness is extremely endearing. As the domed roof of the Senate House came into view Reyna glanced behind her at her group of friends (Gods, she felt so delighted to say that) and she knew one thing, she was going to give her life if it was what it took to protect them.
BIANCA
"You know the Venus girl from your coho-" Hazel started to ask Jane
"Yes, I heard that she was going all googly eyes over my brother. Do you know how annoying it is to have girls storming near you just so they can talk to your twin?" asked Jane
"Well, I really don't know but you can do about it, but Bianca certainly has some ideas about that. I've heard that she is thinking about installing a full fledge anti- Venus girls security system around the centurion chambers. Something about-" Hazel was saying until she was interrupted.
"Girls, can you two stop talking as if I'm not here." Bianca groaned at the two girls beside her. She has had enough of the gossiping. At the start it was fine, with the occasional teasing but by the gods, she never knew Jane even had the capability of being so annoying. You'd think that two centurion daughters of Pluto and a daughter of Minerva could talk about something serious like how the camp's defenses has blind spots or what kind of necessities their cohorts were lacking, but no she felt as if she had been surrounded by a horde of Venus girls high on Dakota's extra sugar Kool Aid.
Hazel made a face at Bianca while Jane stuck her tongue out at her, but both of them stopped their nonsense. It's about time they did.
"So Bianca any thoughts about who you would prefer your third companion to be on your quest?" Hazel asked with a hint of longing in her voice which didn't go unnoticed by Bianca.
"I am not actually sure. I had initially thought about asking Percy to join us but as you know, that is out of question now. Besides, in all honesty it's Frank's decision, he will be the one designated to choose the quest members. Knowing Zhang he will definitely choose you. And honestly, I couldn't think of a better option. I'm just tagging along because Mars has commanded it. "And hopefully it will be the first clue to regaining my memory." That went unsaid as the words hung in the air itself.
Hazel's face visibly brightened at that but she did not utter another word as the group of Centurions and the Praetor had reached the senate house. The Eight entered the marble columned building as they separated and went to sit at their respective centurion and praetor tables. Or to the left side of the house, in Frank's case.
Bianca walked up to the fourth's table and took a seat beside Percy as Reyna began to give the senators a brief summary of what happened.
"-and finally he vanished returning to Olympus." Reyna said to the Senate. Retelling the events of earlier in the evening.
Silence, utter silence followed the words of the praetor. And then, suddenly chaos erupted in the Senate House. A large number of senators were yelling that a new comer shouldn't be allowed to lead such an important quest while others were glaring at the awkwardly shuffling son of Mars sitting in a corner. Honestly, Bianca didn't know what exactly to think of Frank. She liked him a lot, he was nice to her and he was one of the only ones who even bothered to make an effort to form a friendship with her. But Bianca was a little skeptical about his leadership capabilities. He is a fine fighter but leading a quest is a lot of responsibility, maybe too much responsibility for the son of Mars. He just didn't look like someone she could depend on with her life.
"SILENCE!" Reyna roared above the noise and the Senate immediately quieted down. Bianca fought an unhealthy urge to dive under the table and hide herself from Reyna's furious expression. Bianca thought Reyna was intimidating enough when she is normal, but when she is angry- may the fates be with you.
Seemingly satisfied that she had everyone's attention she turned her gaze over to Frank who immediately stood up.
"Frank Zhang!" Reyna called out as she said his name like it was an unhealthy stale meal." I believe Lord Mars's instructions were quite clear on your part. You will lead a quest of three to Alaska where you will have to find the chained god of Death, Thanatos and free him. I assume you have chosen your second companion knowing that you shall be accompanied by Bianca di Angelo as your first quest mate."
Frank took a deep breath and with much more confidence than he probably had he announced "Yes Praetor! My second companion shall be Hazel Levesque, centurion of the fifth cohort!"
As soon as a small creak of someone standing from their seats was heard, Reyna turned around and glared at the offending senator. Probably scared out of his mind, he sat back down without another word swallowing whatever he wanted to say. Reyna turned and gave Frank an approving nod.
"A wise decision to be accompanied by daughters of Pluto on a quest to free death, Zhang." She turned around and faced the audience in general. "I believe that is all for the quest to Alaska." She turned her gaze to Percy and he nodded to her as he stood up to take the stage. "Before I present our primary goal in the quest to you, I need to inform you of my chosen companions." She nodded for him to continue.
"If they accept, I ask Jake and his sister Jane, the centurions of the second cohort to accompany me. Their wisdom will be of great help on this quest as we have an unclear destination. Their battle prowess have also been proven in battle and in the arena fighting against myself." Percy finished
Jane looked thoroughly surprised while Jake hid his astonishment well. She could only guess that it meant that he had not informed the two of his plans.
They both stood up and nodded. "We will be honored to be of service to the legion and to help protect a fellow Roman."
Reyna nodded and the three sat down. "I believe that it is the conclusion of the discussion. The legion will provide you with a small supply of godly foods and mortal money but I am sorry we cannot provide you any more help." She said looking genuinely apologetic. "These are dire times and we need all of our resources to prepare ourselves for the battle. If no one has anything to add, the senate is dismissed."
They all nodded and began exiting. When outside, Bianca searched for her companions and the fellow questers when she noticed the absence of her fellow centurion. Noticing who she was looking for Jake pointed back to the praetoria.
"Reyna asked to meet Percy in a private meeting." He said.
Bianca just nodded and looked back at the praetoria. She was admittedly a little worried because she had a rough idea of what the Praetor wanted to talk to Percy about and all she hoped was that her sometimes oblivious cousin doesn't mess up their already tangled situation even further.
A/N: Hey guys I'm back with the twelfth chapter of the sheathed sword. So how did u like it, huh. It had been about time i updated, just so u know, before u bombard me with insults i had been diagnosed with dengue so i couldnt write. Well the quest mates were unexpected right, i know most of u expected Bianca to be on the quest with him but I had planned the things very differently.
Guys please check out my other story The Roman Shadow. Honestly saying, I had the idea around my head for so long I actually feel relieved to have started writing. The story has more or less a little inspiration from The Twins of Rome but dont worry the story line is totally different. The only thing even a little similar will be that I am showing Percy as a Roman before the Titan War. That story is gonna be long because Percy is going to change from the outcast and unaccepted to the hero. I am hoping you all would show similar support to that story as u have given this.
SO guys PLEASE REVIEW, it is what keeps me going. Actually I dont care, u can Pm me too just please tell me your thoughts on my stories. Thank you.
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.kansalsudarsh
