Annabeth / November 28th
"This whole thing smells just like treachery!" Octavian said. "That warship is obviously not one of peace"
"Don't be so grumpy. I'll even give you a tour if that makes you feel better" Leo offered. "And if you want the little paper captain's hat then I can get you one of those"
Octavian snorted. "You dare-"
"It's a good idea" Reyna interrupted. "Octavian, go have a tour. We will gather the senate for a meeting in an hour"
He looked like he wanted to protest, but Reyna gave him a facial expression so that he knew better. Leo got up and for a second his smile shifted into a cold and cruel one.
I blinked and his smile was just his usual impish grin.
"I'll be back soon! This is going to be totally cool" Leo said as he walked away with Octavian grumpily trailing behind
"Reyna, if you don't mind, I'd like to show Piper around the city. She's never been to New Rome"
Reyna's expression hardened to a density that could match Jason's thoughts. "Of course..."
Percy raised his hand and held mine with the other. "I'd like to do the same with Annabeth"
"No" Reyna quickly denied
"Um, sorry?" Percy replied
"I would like a few words with Annabeth, if you don't mind, fellow praetor" Reyna said, clearly not asking for permission
"Fine" Percy muttered
I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before departing with Reyna to wherever we were going. I hoped she wasn't going to yell at me or something.
I really tried to hate New Rome, but they made it difficult with their amazing architecture. I had gotten the privilege of redesigning Mount Olympus last summer, but now that I was walking here, new ideas came into my head.
Reyna noticed my facial expression. "We have the best architects in the world. Rome always has, even in ancient times. Many demigods stay to live here after their time in the legion. They can go to our university, settle down and raised families... that stuff. Percy himself seemed fond of the idea"
I didn't know what she was talking about, but I must have scowled pretty hard because she laughed.
"You're definitely a warrior. You have the fire in your eyes" She said
"Sorry" I apologized
"No need. I'm the daughter of Bellona anyway"
"The Roman goddess of war" I said
Reyna nodded and led me to an outdoor cafe, where the waiter clearly already knew her. He smiled and handed her a to-go cup with the order he must've known was coming. He offered me some and I accepted it before the two of us walked on.
"Here in Rome, Athena is Minerva. Are you familiar with how the two differ?" Reyna asked
"I know she isn't as... respected" I answered
"We respect her. She's the goddess of crate and wisdom after all. But she isn't a goddess of war for us. Like Diana, or Artemis as you would say, she's a maiden goddess. You won't find any siblings here"
"Oh" I said at the realization. "So I'm not supposed to exist. And even if there were children of Minerva..."
"They wouldn't be like you" Reyna finished. "They might be craftsmen or artists, but not warriors. And definitely not leaders of dangerous quests"
I wanted to object to the idea of being the leader of the quest, much more the seven. But I also wondered if the rest of them wold agree with that conclusion. Even Jason and Layton - people who I should listen to - follow my orders.
"But there's also more... that harpy Ella, it was definitely a prophecy she spoke. We both know that"
"Yeah it sounded like one" I agreed. "But she acted like she knew about me, and I've never met her or heard those lines"
"I have. Or some of them at least" Reyna replied. "If the prophecy doesn't line up with our current conflict, we might be fighting a battle on three ends"
"I'm starting to doubt victory" I admitted. "Gaea was bad enough, but now we have The Hidden Archives and more specifically, Xander and his Majin Kai"
"It may seem rough, but I believe that together, the Greeks and Romans can win. I can tell you do too. We mustn't loose hope" Reyna shook her head slowly
"These archives... you said you thought they were a rumor. I thought people weren't suppose to know about them?" I questioned
"It may sound ridiculous, but when I first separated from my sister, I travelled and somehow found a page out of it. It was written in Ancient Greek which confused me however. When I first became Praetor here in New Rome, I did deep research and it took me a long time until I discovered from Octavian that there might be a book with pages much like the one I found"
"What were the page about? Shouldn't it have released whatever was in it?"
"I can't read Ancient Greek of course, but guessing from the image, it was about some kind of dark spell"
"So is that all you know about the book? I can't lie when I say that I'm itching for information about it. As horrible and evil as it seems, the book sounds... interesting"
"You bring up a fair point" Reyna agreed. "But that is all I know. Perhaps if you were to speak with Athena, she could provide information. But guessing on how Layton described it, I would doubt she will"
Speak with Athena... the last time that happened, it hadn't gone so well. Reyna turned and gave me a warming smile, and that's when it struck me. I knew that face...
"We've met before" I stated with confidence. "Years ago..."
"Very good" Reyna said. "Percy didn't remember me, but of course he had amnesia. You mostly spoke with my older sister Hylla, who is now the queen of the Amazons. When we last met, I was just a handmaiden in the house of Circe"
"Circe..." I repeated, remembering the trip to her island back in the Sea of Monsters.
When we were thirteen, me and Percy had washed up on their beach. Hylla was the one to greet us, and she had given me a beautiful new dress and a complete makeover.
Now that I was thinking about it, I wonder what Percy was thinking when he saw me like that...
"She's the queen of the Amazons now? How did that happen?"
"Long story," Reyna shrugged, "but I remember you well. You were very brave and I'd never seen someone refute Circe's hospitality before, must less outwit her. It's no wonder why Percy cares for you so much..."
The group met back up where we had all departed. From the looks of it, Percy had been hanging out with Hazel and Frank while Jason and Piper had toured around New Rome.
Leo came back with Octavian moments later and the two seemed to be in good spirits.
"Octavian doesn't look mad, I'm surprised" Percy said
"He thought it was fun, and he can't lie" Leo replied
He rolled his eyes. "It was somewhat entertaining"
"Very well. With that settled, we will gather the council and discuss our quest at hand" Reyna announced
"Hopefully this goes well" I sighed
"I cannot say I'm certain. Each time the Greek and Roman demigods have met, it ended in bloodshed" Reyna said
"No bloodshed please" Leo wished
And that was how we ended up in a semicircle of red seats that faced one single Dias with a podium and two chais.
We sat on the right side of the semicircle and ten senators sat in the front row. Upper rows contained all of the older veterans and hosts who wore formal togas. Octavian stood at the front with a knife in one hand and a plushie doll in the other.
"You ever been to one of these?" I asked Percy
He nodded his head. "They can get... intense"
Reyna walked up to the podium and raised her hand to call for attention. "Today we gather to discuss the events that occurred earlier, and the actions we will be taking"
"I don't see how she's going to explain all this without mentioning the book" Frank pointed out
"She'll find a way" Percy assured
"I'm sure you all have heard the rumors about the great seven from the prophecy, and what happened to our lake" Reyna motioned over to us, and the whole crowed turned
Percy and Frank gave small waves, Leo a large one with a grin on his face, and the rest of just stared.
"And how do we know for sure they are the seven?" questioned a ghost
"It's evident guessing from their recent quests. Both having to do with stopping giants and one of Gaea's plans" Reyna answered
"And so what happened to our lake?" someone exclaimed. "Don't tell me they caused it"
The crowd murmured amongst themselves.
"Hush now" Reyna ordered. "They did not cause the incident at the lake. There is a dark evil that has arisen, and today we are proposing a quest for the seven to go out and stop this evil before it can inflict further damage"
"By dark evils, we mean the Greeks" Octavian smirked
The crowd once again bursted out into a conversation that was much louder than the first.
"Silence!" Reyna snapped and everyone stopped. "The Greeks had nothing to do with the lake. A sorcerer is behind this, and they seek to release a greater evil than themselves. The sooner the seven leave for their quest, the better"
"A Greek Sorcerer" Octavian corrected himself
Frank stood up. "Point is, we need to stop him! It doesn't matter if he's Greek or Roman, he's a common enemy and that's all that matters"
Jason joined him. "If we're going to defeat Gaea, we have to learn to work together. That requires trust. Without it, we'll loose alone"
"I believe we have made our point" Reyna concluded
"You weren't wrong" I whispered to Percy
"Crazy, right?" He replied and I giggled
After receiving consent from the right people, we were set depart early tomorrow to begin our search for the lamp. Percy and was currently leading me on a tour around New Rome.
"You know, I really missed you" I said
"I would hope you did" Percy teased and I rolled my eyes. "I missed you too, Annabeth"
"We just reunited and it seems like we're already being thrusted back into the action" I sighed
"I know, but once we find this lamp, maybe we'll have some time. Or if we're lucky, queen dirt face will abandon her plan completely"
"We both know that won't happen, but it's nice to imagine"
Layton
"Still no lamp"
"Perhaps it's in a different sea. It might have travelled after all these centuries" Rubrum, the small red dragon sitting on my right shoulder suggested
"Or you aren't looking hard enough" Caeruleum, the blue one on my left shoulder suggested
"What if he already has the lamp?" I pointed out
"It's a possibility. He might be waiting for the right moment to strike, and you will never see it coming" Caeruleum said
"But he could also have a different objective. Perhaps Xander wishes to create a new Majin then attempt to seek out the lamp" Rubrum argued
"I don't think the resources to do such a feat are still around" I said
"Maybe he wishes to have two Majin. And why stop at that, he might be hoping to conjure a whole army. There is information even you don't have. Creating a Majin is still doable today, granted the right sources" Caeruleum explained
"You sure are optimistic" I sarcastically said
"Optimism and Pessimism have no place here, I only speak out of the most fair possibility" Caeruleum replied
Before I could give my piece, thunder shook the valley in the distance as storm clouds settled in over the sun.
"Did I have any scheduled appointments today?" I inquired
"Not that I know of" Rubrum denied
A thunderbolt crashed down in front of me and I recognized who was paying me a visit.
"A surprise visit, it must be important" I guessed
"It is. I come on business that will help you" Thor said
"What's this about?" I raised my eyebrow
Thor walked closer. "Stark is looking for you and your demigod friends. S.H.I.E.L.D has a file on most of you, they hope to bring you all in for questioning"
"He can try"
"You underestimate the ability of modern technology. Stark has satellites and all the tools he needs to track people down"
"I've already beaten his 'modern technology' twice. If he wants to bring us in, he'll need to try hard"
"Stark learns from his mistakes. I'm sure you found your second fight with his much harder. He will find you and the others, and if he intends to use our latest recruits, it might not be so pretty"
"Right... Lighter issue, how's Asgard?"
"Loki tried stealing the tesseract again, but I had the help of an earthling, although I can't seem to remember his name... ah, Magnus Chase"
"An earthling? Like a mortal?"
"He's a demigod like you and your friends, but not quite the same. He's Norse like I am"
"Norse demigods, not something I've heard of"
"Oh, they exist" Caeruleum assured
"They aren't as common as Greeks or Romans, but they're out there" Rubrum added
"Right. Point is that there's a lot of issues going down at once..."