Despite that fact that Nico had done nothing wrong, he felt like he was in trouble. Just sitting in Reyna's office made it seem like he had been sent to the principal's office. Aurum and Argentum were curled up in a corner of the room, but their owner was currently away. Both of them watched Nico with soul piercing eyes. When he first stepped into the office, both of the dogs almost lunged at him, but upon realizing it was him, they had settled down slightly.
Nico looked around the office. Truthfully, he was looking for the report that the centurion was suppose to leave at Reyna's office, but Reyna's desk was spotless. There wasn't any papers or food crumbs or anything on Reyna's desk. There didn't even seem to be any dust in the entire office. Nico glanced at the bookcase at the far end of the room. It was filled with books that were all set in alphabetic order and were somehow all the same size. Part of Nico felt like if he breathed the wrong way, he would upset the balance of the room.
"You guys won't tell on me, will you?" Nico asked. He slowly stood and looked at Reyna's dogs. The two greyhounds stared him down and didn't make any movement. Nico nodded and slowly walked towards the desk. He tried to open a drawer, only for it to be stopped by a lock. Both greyhounds turned on him, and Aurum growled. "I know."
Nico stepped back and looked around the office. Since everything was so neat and in place, it would be easy to tell if he tampered with anything. Nico sighed and leaned against the desk. He knew that the right thing would be to find Reyna and explain what had happened, but sometimes, they couldn't do what was right.
Nico gently felt each of the drawers, but all of them were locked. Nico reached into his pocket to pick the lock, but he heard the sound of a doorknob turning. Nico didn't have any time to curse his luck. He threw himself over the desk and scrambled towards the two chairs that were by the door. He barely managed to sit in one as Reyna walked into the room.
"I already dropped my half off," Reyna said. She turned back towards the door and didn't seem to see Nico. "I finished most of the paperwork, but gods know that there will be more tomorrow. You should get some sleep, Frank."
"You too," Frank said. It sounded like he was just outside the room. Nico glanced down at his watch. It was two hours after Hazel told him about the bully, and they had made a quick plan. Nico would shadow travel Annabeth to Camp Half-Blood, and she would find Hazel. The two of them would go to Frank and explain what happened. Nico would find Reyna and tell her what happened.
"I will soon," Reyna replied. She closed the door and turned back towards her desk. Upon seeing Nico, she jumped and let out a soft curse. Reyna placed a hand to her heart. "What in Bellona's name are you doing in my office?"
"I was just looking for you," Nico replied. Reyna watched him for a few moments and then sighed. She walked towards her desk and sat in it. She propped her legs up on her desk and sighed softly.
"Did something happen?" Reyna questioned. Nico looked at her and found that his mind was at a blank. He had literally seen Reyna only a few hours ago. It had to seem weird that he just randomly appeared in her office. If she had seen him going through her desk, he would have been dead meat.
"I just have a lot on my mind," Nico said. Reyna nodded, and Nico heard the sound of a drawer opening. She tossed a small bag of jellybeans towards Nico. He heard the drawer close, and Reyna stared to eat from her own bag. "You lock your drawers?"
"My office is always open, but I can't just leave important papers laying around," Reyna said. She closed her eyes and seemed to relax in her chair. "And if anyone got to my jellybeans, I would have to kill them. What's on your mind though?"
Nico went to respond, but he was saved by a knock on the door. Reyna sighed deeply and opened her eyes. After a moment of glaring at the ceiling, she removed her legs from the desk and sat up straight. Reyna spoke, "Come in."
The door opened, and Annabeth stepped into the room. Reyna frowned and slowly propped her legs back up on her desk. She rested her arms behind her head and spoke, "Sit down. Close the door behind you."
Annabeth slowly closed the door and took a deep breath. She looked at Nico and spoke, "I'm just going to face the music. Thank you for trying to help me though. Hazel is with Frank."
"Face the music?" Reyna asked. She closed her eyes and sighed tiredly. "Give me two minutes to relax before you stress me out with anything."
"I'm sorry," Annabeth said. She sat down next to Nico and stared down at the ground. "I shouldn't have done it. I don't regret that I did it, but I do regret doing it so hastily. Hazel is going to explain everything to you."
"Two minutes," Reyna repeated. She kept her eyes closed and didn't even acknowledge what Annabeth said. Nico gently grabbed Annabeth's shoulder. A minute passed, and Reyna didn't move. She seemed to be relaxing, and if it wasn't for how her right hand was tapping against her left arm, Nico would think that she had fallen asleep.
Nico stared at Reyna. It felt like a year had already passed. He was worried about how everything would go down. The worst case scenario would be the centurion getting away with everything and continuing to bully Hazel, along with Annabeth losing her ambassadorship. The best case scenario would be Annabeth escaping consequences, and the centurion getting his head kicked off.
Reyna finally opened her eyes and sighed. They both heard the door slam open. Reyna shook her head and lowered her legs from her desk once again. She sat up, and a man stormed into the office. By the way that Annabeth tensed, Nico could tell it was the centurion that was bullying Hazel.
"Richard, why are you barging into my office?" Reyna asked. She crossed her arms and studied the man in front of her. Nico did as well. The centurion was tall and well built, but there was a scowl on his face. His green eyes studied Reyna, and a hand ran through his short, black hair.
"I know what they're doing," Richard snapped. His eyes shot around the office. Reyna sighed in annoyance and studied the centurion in front of her. "I did everything by procedure. I filed my report and left it in your desk."
"I have no clue what you're talking about," Reyna said. She crossed her arms. Richard glared at her. "I did all of my paperwork today, and there was no report from you. What are you talking about?"
"I knew the little bitch would pull something," Richard snapped. A third person walked into the office. Nico glanced at Reyna. He could see how clenched her jaw was, and he knew that everything was really starting to annoy her. The third person exchanged a confused look with Reyna. "That is why I brought Lynn here. As a senior senator, she will oversee this."
"The only thing that I see is someone calling an ambassador a bitch," Reyna stated. Lynn looked in between all of them. She was an older looking woman with a serious expression. "And, you barged into my office like you own the place. What exactly is this all about?"
"She punched me in the face," Richard snapped. Annabeth looked like she wanted to say something, but Reyna gave Nico the slightest look. Nico grabbed Annabeth's arm and gave her a look. The daughter of Athena looked straight ahead and kept her mouth shut. "I was only talking to a centurion of the Fifth Cohort, and this crazy ambassador attacks me. I left the report in your desk."
"Again, I didn't see anything in my desk when I went through my everything. Did you leave it in the slot?" Reyna questioned. Nico glanced at the small slit in Reyna's desk that was just large enough for a few papers to slid through. Nico didn't even notice it at first, but it wasn't like he could fit his hand inside. Richard walked towards the desk and slammed his hand into it.
"I know you're lying," Richard growled. Reyna's eyes narrowed into a glare. "I know how you much you like the Greeks. You are always spending time with the son of death. That ambassador right there was handpicked by you. I know that you are just covering for them."
"Those are serious accusations," Lynn stated. She walked in between the two. "Praetor, did you see the report in your desk?"
"No. I went through everything in my desk earlier," Reyna answered. She stood and handed a key to Lynn. After a moment, Lynn walked behind the desk and opened each of the drawers. Reyna stood with her arms behind her back and stared down Richard. He returned the stare.
"No reports are in here, but you may have a slight addiction to jellybeans," Lynn stated. Reyna nodded her agreement. Lynn closed the drawers. "And, you dropped all of your papers off to the rest of the Senate. I looked through them all and did not see Richard's report that he claimed to make."
"I did make it," Richard said. He pointed at Reyna. "She is covering for her friends. She threw away the evidence."
Reyna looked like she wanted to speak. Instead, she visibly tensed and kept her mouth shut. Lynn looked in between the two of them. Richard spoke, "You are covering up for your friends. You threw away the report that I made. Jason Grace can back up that I was punched in the face by that bitch over there."
"That's enough," Lynn said. She turned towards Richard. "That is the second time that you have called an ambassador a bitch. It is two times too many. You also accuse our senior praetor of hiding a report, but this is no evidence that you even made one. How many problems have you had the past year?"
"This wasn't my fault," Richard began. Lynn held up a hand, and it seemed to stop Richard dead in his tracks.
"You insult a praetor and an ambassador, and before you came to me, I heard about what you have been saying to a fellow centurion," Lynn said. Richard stiffened, and the color drained from his face. "That is what I thought. We will bring this before the rest of the Senate, after we do some investigating. I would not be surprised if the first cohort has a new centurion in the next few days. Come now."
Lynn left the room. After a few moments of staring at the ground, Richard looked up. He looked in between Annabeth and Reyna. He said something in Latin that caused Reyna's lip to twitch. Then, Richard stormed out of the room.
Reyna sat in her chair and stared at the desk. She ran a hand through her hair and then closed her eyes tiredly. Annabeth spoke, "I'm sorry, Reyna. Just let me explain."
Reyna held up a hand. After a few moments, she lowered her hand and pressed it to her face. After taking a deep breath, Reyna stood and walked towards the door. She closed it and then walked back towards her desk.
"Don't ever put me in a situation like this again," Reyna said in a low voice. Her eyes focused on Annabeth. "I know what you did and why you did it. If anyone asks you about it, keep your mouth shut. Tell them it's under investigation. If they asked you when this is done, tell them it is in the past. Do not discuss this with anyone. Understood?"
"I understand," Annabeth said. Reyna looked down and closed her eyes. "I didn't mean to put you in this situation. I'm sorry."
"Hazel should have just come forward in the first place. You should have kept your cool," Reyna muttered. She slowly sat down on her desk and buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to bed. Please just get out of my camp."
Annabeth looked down, but there was no missing the hurt in her eyes. She closed her eyes and stood. Nico quickly stood and spoke, "Reyna, you don't have to be like that."
Reyna lifted her head and glared at Nico. He quickly realized that it was the wrong thing to say, but he met Reyna's piercing gaze. Reyna stood and spoke, "If it wasn't for the fact that we really need to have smooth relations, Annabeth would be out as an ambassador. If anyone finds out that I made that report disappear, my reputation would take a huge hit, and I would be under the close watch of the Senate."
"I'm sorry," Annabeth repeated. She looked at Reyna. "We'll leave. When should I come back to tutor you?"
"Don't worry about it," Reyna said. She walked towards the door and held it open for them. Annabeth stared at Reyna and looked like she wanted to say something. Instead, she turned and walked out of the room. After a moment, Nico followed behind her.
As Nico walked, he saw that Lynn and Richard were both talking to Frank. Richard looked like a chastised dog, which was better than what he deserved. Nico followed behind Annabeth and tried to think of how to make her feel better.
"It's just the politics of Camp Jupiter," Nico began. Annabeth shook her head and looked down. "Reyna's just frustrated right now. Just give her time to calm down."
"Maybe I'm not cut out to be the ambassador that Camp Half-Blood needs," Annabeth said. Nico tried to protest, but Annabeth shook her head and started to walk faster. "Let's just go home. I want to go to bed and forget today ever happened."
Nico nodded and led Annabeth towards the shadows. He hated that they were leaving the situation pretty much unresolved. Nico needed to find a way to convince Annabeth that she was the perfect ambassador, and he needed to find a way to convince Reyna that it was all just a big mistake. Nico sighed and closed his eyes. He had a long week ahead of him.
