Chapter XXI

Part 1 – Annabeth

"We have gathered here today after five Intruders were found attempting to breech the Castra Romana's walls. They will be trialled, and if found guilty, executed by the ways of Ancient Rome. Let this be a warning to all."

Lupa's words chilled me to the bone. I peered out of the cage, feeling like a circus freak. Thalia was slumped on the floor of her cage and so were Leo and Piper. Jason was still unconscious, his face concealed by the sandy ground. No one had seen his face yet. I wondered what would happen when they recognised him.

I stared around the audience. None of the faces showed any sympathy. The campers' lips were curled upwards, as if I was a piece of muck they found on their shoe. I searched desperately for Percy, but his face wasn't in the crowd. The flicker of light within me was stamped out.

Lupa was snarling something at the audience, but I was barely paying attention. I knew what they would do to us. "Executed by the ways of Ancient Rome" she'd said. That could only mean one thing: a gladiator fight. All of us were too injured from the fall to even try to fight, and our weapons had been taken away.

I'd thought that the Fates were on our side. I'd thought that meeting that little girl was a sign that for once things were going our way. I'd allowed hope to cloud my judgement. Not so wise now, was I?

All this made me think of Percy, and how he'd used to call me "Wise Girl". The way his green eyes used to sparkle with amusement, the way his smile lit up the room. My eyes began to water. I missed him so much. My heart buzzed with excitement at the prospect of seeing him again, but my head warned me that I would only get hurt. After all, Jason had found Piper when he clearly had a girlfriend at this Camp. He'd only just remembered he'd had one at all. There was a very large chance that Percy would have a new girlfriend, too. I didn't think I could bear that.

I met Thalia's gaze. "What are we going to do?" she asked, but for once I had no answers. There was no plan worthy of Athena this time.

Suddenly, the crowd began to whisper frantically. Lupa growled and turned to face the entrance to the Colosseum. I followed her gaze and my throat constricted.

Standing in the entrance was Percy. His black hair shimmered in the sunlight, and he wore a purple t-shirt, just like Jason's. My heart filled with love. Until, that is, he moved slightly, and I saw the girl with him. Her eyes were soft and brown, and her hair fell just past her shoulders in a tumble of dark curls. My eyes froze on their interlocked hands.

They moved forwards. The girl murmured something in Percy's ear and he nodded silently. "We were checking the camp for more intruders," Percy told Lupa.

The wolf replied, "You have done well, son of Neptune."

Percy smiled fleetingly at her. He and the girl walked up the steps together, and sat down at the back. I couldn't see his face anymore.

Not once had Percy looked at me. The tears finally spilled over and rolled down my cheeks. I turned away, ashamed, trying to hide them from the bitter crowd.

Thalia was looking at me. She tried to reach out to me, but the cages were too far apart. I stared at Jason instead. His body began to twitch. Slowly, his eyes opened.

Confusion was written all over his face. He got to his feet in a daze, and stared out at the crowd.

There was a loud shriek.

"JASON!"

A girl came sprinting down the steps in a blur of red.

Lupa's mouth hung open in surprise. Slowly, it closed and her eyes blazed with fury.

"It seems our Intruders kidnapped Jason. They will pay for this," she snarled.

"No," I tried to shout, but no sound came out.

Lupa gave the red-haired girl a curt nod, and nudged some keys over to her with her nose. The girl swooped down and picked them up, then hurried over to Jason's cage. She turned the key, and he staggered outside.

"Jason!" The girl shouted again, pulling him gently out. "Where have you been? I looked everywhere!"

She wrapped her arms around him. Jason tried to pull away. "Please, they're not Intruders. You have to believe me, Reyna. You have to let them go."

The girl took no notice of him. "Sssh," she whispered. "They can't hurt you now. You don't have to lie. I'm here."

Reyna slowly pulled him up the steps, soothing him all the way. Jason shot an agonized look at Piper, before sitting down near Percy.

I looked at Piper. Her head was bowed, but her skin was white as snow and her mouth was taut.

Lupa turned to face us. Her eyes bored into mine.

"Gwen, take the blonde-haired girl out."

A short girl around my age stalked towards me, her eyes shining with hatred. She unlocked my cage and dragged me out, inflicting as much pain on me as possible. She leaned close. I could smell her stinking breath. "Freak," she whispered in my ear.

I turned away and she laughed.

She walked out of the Colosseum. When she came back, she was tugging a large wooden crate along. She positioned it just south of me, and then opened it. Inside was a huge wolf, snarling with rage.

Gwen ran back to her seat, laughing all the way.

The wolf leapt out of the cage, and my heart clenched with fear.

"Let the fight begin," Lupa snarled.

Part 2 – Percy

I stared down at my lap, avoiding looking at the fight. The campers jeered at Annabeth. It made me sick.

"Don't worry, Percy," Hazel murmured. She could feel me shaking. "Everything will be okay."

"How?" I argued. "How could everything be okay?" I stared into Hazel's face. It was always so happy, dancing with life. It usually made me smile, too, but this time it just made me annoyed.

"Stop pretending you understand, Hazel, because you don't. Nobody does," I snapped. I turned away, rage bubbling inside of me.

I dared a look at Annabeth. She was trying to limp away from the snarling wolf. She stepped back, so she was just in front of the audience, and staggered across the front row. The wolf was just behind her, snapping at her legs.

It all happened in slow motion then.

Gwen, lounging in the front row, stuck her foot out in Annabeth's path. Annabeth, too busy avoiding the wolf's huge teeth tripped over it, and tumbled down on to the floor.

The audience went silent.

The wolf leaned over her trembling body, baring his teeth.

My heart burst like a balloon. I couldn't let this happen. Ignoring the hands that tried to tug me down, I leapt out of my seat and sprinted down the steps.

I locked eyes with Annabeth for a moment, before launching myself in front of the wolf.

The last thing I felt was its teeth slice open the small of my back.

A.N. Thank you for reading! I hope you had a nice weekend and you enjoyed reading those two chapters! Please review!