Hey boys and girls! Sorry I'm late, AN at the end as usual. Enjoy. T.I.

Note: Bold = Foreign language.

Chapter III

Percy found himself standing in a rather large tent. It wasn't the sort of a tent you'd take to your annual family camping trip either. It was made of several sheets of cloth connected together with large wooden pole between them, and the tent was large enough to house at least a dozen people comfortably.

The next thing that caught Percy's attention was the sheer opulence of the place. For a tent, it wasn't too shabby. Wooden furniture including tables, chairs, a large bed and a sizeable trunk were only the few things that Percy saw. The craftsmanship was superb, and the artistry on the furniture itself was extremely detailed, showing figures fighting, marching, and what appeared to be a position of praying. Percy concluded that this couldn't be anywhere modern. Damn his weird dreams.

The next thing that caught Percy's attention was the man he saw, sitting near the table. His made Percy feel… insignificant. It was clear to Percy that this character, whoever he is or was, radiated strength, wisdom and courage. The man wore what looked like heavy armor, and from the back, looked to Percy to be not too young, but not too old.

Percy noticed the figure had some sort of a writing quill in his hand, and was writing in an on and off pattern. Once almost manically fast, filling a whole page within minutes, and once calmly, almost meditatively, stopping after every word and thinking about what word should come after the one he wrote for it to make sense. There was something that resonated with Percy as he witnessed the scene, it was almost like a trance.

Curiosity started to bubble within him. He wanted to know who this man was, what he was writing about, what was this tent, when was this tent. So many unanswered questions. Percy almost didn't notice the man putting down his quill, and standing straight. His poise was firm and tight, almost regal in a sense, and as he started turning around, Percy could feel his heart start to race. He could finally see the face of the writer, maybe he could even ask questions. It was his dream after all.

There was a noise outside the tent. Percy turned around to see what was the source of the noise, and as he turned, he froze. At the entrance of the tent was a large pole, a little taller than his own height, and atop of it, stood a golden eagle, spreading its wings. Announcing its presence. The golden eyes of the eagle bore into Percy's like the stare of a lion at his prey before the chase, almost predatorily. The only thing Percy managed to see before everything turned to black once again was a red banner that was hanged on the pole, just below the eagle. It read IX.

Percy almost jumped out of the bed as he awoke, sweat covering his body. His breath was fast and rapid, and his heart beat hard. These dreams really had to stop. Taking a few deep breaths, Percy calmed himself somewhat and checked the time. It was almost six in the morning. What a great was to start the day, Percy thought.

He took a shower. There was a saying on the internet that you get the best ideas while you're in the shower. For Percy, it was more than that. The water made him feel focused, energized, full of life. That's why he liked to swim. And take long showers, he almost wished he could live his life underwater. No stress, no expectations, and no annoying school to get up to every single morning. Sounds like heaven.

The walk this morning was as every bit as usual as always, except the fact that he felt like he was being watched. Again. Percy searched his peripheral vision the whole trip, but found nothing unusual. Could his mom really be that protective of him and actually follow him around to school. Percy scoffed at the thought.

The school day wasn't anything exciting for Percy, but he found himself expecting Latin a lot more than he expected when he signed up for the class. A teacher never really made Percy feel connected to a subject, maybe it was due to the teacher, maybe it was due to him and his ADHD, but the feeling of expectation was truly new and refreshing for Percy. He liked it.

Entering the class, he noticed Mark was already there, and reading what seemed to be a rather battered book, its cover bruised and seemed to be late in the process of aging. It wasn't a large book, but Percy knew it must've been old.

As soon as he saw Percy heading inside, Mark closed the book, put it inside of his bag and closed it, smiling towards him. "Salve, Perseus." Mark said with a clear accent that was different from when he spoke English.

Percy decided to properly greet his teacher in Latin, they went over the basic greeting of hello and goodbye, and it might be on the test, so Percy might as well try and practice a little. "Salve…" Percy realized that he had no idea how to say his teachers name in Latin, so he just stood there, stuck like a tree, trying to think of something useful to say that was clearly avoiding his mind currently.

Mark gave a slight chuckle. "Well, you did the first part well enough." Mark commended. As for the rest, you get to pick. In Roman times, students would address their teacher as magister.

"But," Mark sighed dramatically, "Sadly we are still in this gods forsaken place. Only they know why the shift of power moved from Italy and Greece. A shame."

There he went musing again, Percy thought. Always saying the weirdest and most unusual things. The sigh was dramatic, of course, but Percy couldn't help but feel as if the sigh had some weight of authenticity in it. The mystery continues.

"And so, you have the choice of using my Latin name, Marcus." Mark said.

"Right, Marcus. I'll keep that in mind." Percy replied.

"Bene." Mark complimented. Percy again somehow knew the meaning. Good.

Mark took out a writing sharpie out of bag and went towards the blackboard, beginning to write.

"Today, Percy, we are going to talk about…" He never finished the sentence, as if keeping the tension in the air for the big reveal of his wide strokes of the sharpie, but when he finished writing and turned around like an artist presenting his masterpiece, Percy found he could read, but not understand. And that shook him. The reason for that was, that the word that was written on the board wasn't in Latin characters. Percy recognized them from all the stupid frat house parties that were usually going on and that he paid no attention to.

"Mythologia." Percy almost whispered, too stunned to actually raise his voice, yet somehow Mark seemed to have heard him.

"Exactly! Mythologia. Now, can you guess why we have the I and the A at the end, Percy?" Mark questioned, seeming excited.

"You mean the Alpha and the Iota?" Percy asked.

It was only for a second, a mere instance in time, but Percy could swear he saw Mark's eyes dilate just a bit, and his expression almost shocked. But it was merely for a second. In a flesh Mark turned around and started to wipe down the Greek word he wrote on the board, switching it with its Latin lettering.

"Do forgive me Percy. Sometimes I just don't pay enough attention and my automatic mind writes in the native language of the word. You should have seen my professors; they almost went mad." Mark said as he wiped the board and wrote on it a second time, his shoulders still seemed somewhat stressed to Percy.

But he wasn't focused on the musings of his teacher. He was slowly processing the information that he could read both Latin and Greek characters with no seeable problem. Just what the hell was going on? He saw Greek words before, and felt extreme sympathy with the saying "It's all Greek to me." But now he could read Greek alphabet? Was this another part of his dream?

"-ercy... Percy, are you listening to me?" Mark's question tore Percy out of his thinking.

"Um… Yeah sure Mark. You were saying something about your professors and university and whatnot." Percy was still somewhat distracted, but hoped he could still make it up.

"Right… So I guess we're not quite ready for mythology yet. It's okay, I myself had a hard time grasping it as well." Mark said with a grin. "We'll start the day with a little fact of trivia Percy." His teacher announced, and Percy raised his hand.

"Yes, Percy?" His teacher asked.

"What do you know about a Roman column, really tall with a lot of scenes on it? I saw it once in a picture and thought to myself what it was." Percy had to know, to connect the picture he saw with the character of Mark. There were simply too many unclear questions, and for once Percy wanted some damn answers.

Mark again seemed a bit taken aback, but only for a moment. "Ah… I know what you're talking about. I based my thesis on it. You're referring to the column of Marcus Aurelius, aren't you?" He asked.

Column of Marcus Aurelius? What was that? Was that really the tall column he saw when he found that old and pixelated picture of Mark online? He was finally about to get some insight to the inside of his teacher's head.

And then the phone rang. It came from Mark's phone. Percy wished this was a cruel test of some kind of cruel being, and that his teacher would ignore the ringing, but alas, Mark took the simple dial phone and answered.

The conversation was quick and hushed, and by the end of it, it was clear to Percy that something was up. Mark closed the phone and put it back in his bag.

"I'm sorry Percy, but an emergency came up, and I have to take care of it. I'll send over today's practice sheets and I expect you to complete them for our next class." Suddenly the air around Mark made Percy feel on edge, as if he was about to get attacked at any minute. Mark took his bag and left the classroom, never sparing his student a second glance, and leaving him with even further questions and frustrations.

Percy honestly thought that fate had a nice laugh every time something he was doing was getting messed up, and left him seeking answers. The whereabouts of his father, the strange dream that he was having, and now the enigmatic teacher that suddenly appeared before him. Fate must be rolling on the floor laughing right now.

Feeling frustrated and honestly rather annoyed, Percy sighed deeply, took his things and left the school, heading towards the long way home, to the road that went through the sea. The sea was his sanctuary, his safety and a quiet place for him to think, and he needed that right now.

He saw the beach a mile away, and it already made him feel better. As he got closer, the sea breeze, fresh ocean air and the smell of salt made Percy feel a wellness and rationality that he had a hard time finding an explanation for.

Heading deeper, Percy knew of a place not many people knew of. There was a platform of rocks that was rather well hidden, and continued a bit inside the ocean. You could stand atop the rocks and stare at the waves crashing against them, spraying you with droplets of the ocean, like soft kisses.

When he arrived there Percy almost let out the biggest sigh he ever thought possible. Standing there, almost on the edge of the rocks was a girl that seemed to be right about his age, maybe older, he couldn't tell from the distance. She turned around, saw him, and started advancing towards him. Acting like he never saw her was impossible, as her eyes caught Percy's when he first saw her, and he once again felt nearly entranced, as if her eyes were pulling him towards her.

Add another joke to fate's ever growing stand-up comedy act.

AN:

Hello there people! I'm glad to see that people are enjoying and reviewing my story. It means a lot.

As for my lateness, exams are upon me, and getting ready for Latin and Ancient Greek is fun and not fun at the same time.

Expect the next chapter a little sooner (hopefully).

Hope you enjoyed, and see you on the next one,

T.I.