Chapter 49
Neville
I had expected the extra nausea caused by teleporting with Jennifer having done so to retrieve my parents, but I didn't expect the little statue yelling "NO!" over and over again when we arrived.
"Terminous, It is I, Praetor Reyna Ramírez-Arellano and with me is Praetor Frank Zhang and our guests. What has caused you distress?"
"Him, neither he nor her are welcome here. He attacked our city, and she is of the Gracian Pantheon. She cannot set foot here, it is forbidden." The statue said, nodding towards Leo and Jennifer.
I had been told to expect trouble regarding Leo, but not about Jennifer. I mean, who could not like Jennifer? And while I had a general idea that a pantheon was a group of powerful people, I had no idea what a "gracian" is.
"We will not speak of such things openly. Often you have traveled your realm incognito, I request the same courtesy." Jennifer said plainly, as if daring the statue to say more.
"Very well, but you know the rules of the pantheons."
"Yes, and I was merely providing transportation. Leo and myself will leave as soon as the portal is hung."
Leo was already affixing a door to the outside of one of the buildings I would later learn was part of the university. Several of the Romans openly stared at him, pointed, and whispered, but it didn't seem to bother him. We all waited uncomfortably until he announced he was finished.
"Good. Now take it down." The statue said.
"No, by orders of the pantheon, it stays. You know this, it is beyond your control and outside your boundaries. Say no more on the subject. Leo, we owe you a debt, thank you for your kindness." Reyna said.
"No worries. See around Terminous.. oh wait, you can't leave. Well, see ya anyway! You ready to blow this joint babe?" Leo laughed. "Get it? Blow this joint?"
"Lets do it!" She smiled and they both vanished.
A crowd was beginning to gather. Having gotten their fill of staring down Leo, folks were beginning to approach Reyna and Frank.
"Reyna, do all your statues give our friends a hard time?"
"Um, about that" Reyna began to say, while Frank snickered. "While we are around people it would better if you called Frank and I 'Praetor'. There are times you don't have to, and times you do, so its easier just to always call us 'Praetor." There are some other etiquette matters that Hazel can help you with, but, uh, first, the statute is a god, Terminous. He protects the boundaries of New Rome, but the University and barracks are outside that so we can hang the door there. Weapons are not allowed in Rome itself, but we can run armies back and forth for training and support now. Its something we have been working on with the gods all semester. Second, Leo... uh, well he's a special case. He kinda blew up a big chunk of New Rome last spring so he's, well, we, the Romans that know him, and the sacrifice he made, we just love him to death, and beyond. But to the average Roman, well, he's still the guy that blew up half the town. Now before we enter, we should knell to Terminous."
We all did, he declared us weapon free, meaning I guess that he couldn't see into our bags or didn't look and didn't consider wands to be weapons, and told us to enter.
"All hail the Praetors of Rome!" Somebody shouted and everyone knelt before Frank and Reyna. Folks who heard the announcement began coming over.
Reyna held up her hand and the crowd went instantly silent. "Praetor Zhang and I thank you for the welcome. Our travels for the gods have been arduous, and are not as yet complete. We are grateful to have a few weeks with you, and will be now able, thanks to an agreement with the Greeks of Camp Half Blood, to return daily so as to continue, to a great extent, our duties to Rome as well as to the gods. We must meet with the Senate, prepare for the games!" She shouted and the crowd responded with a loud roar.
We began walking towards some marble buildings on a nearby hill and Hazel put her hand in front of me to stop me.
"As their guardians we must walk three paces behind the Praetors." She said.
"Guardians?"
"Our actual, uh, identities? Relationships? Could be upsetting to the political structure of Rome. It sort of comes with the deal." She smiled.
"Guardian. I could totally be a guardian." I grinned and Hazel and I walked side by side like body guards protecting our principals.
How to describe New Rome? Well, it was all marble, and the weather was perfect. Everything was green and beautiful and the sun was shining. In the distance I could see some city, Hazel would later tell me we were near San Francisco and Oakland so I guess it was one of them. She also explained it was protected by the mist, so while we could see it, no one, including those on planes overhead, could see New Rome and Camp Jupiter.
We arrived at the place the Senate meets just as some guy came up and knelt before Reyna.
"Praetor! It is good that you have returned. Your leadership and grace have been sorely missed." It almost seemed as though he was flirting with Reyna, but was so formal I couldn't tell. He was really tall and clearly worked out, a lot.
"Arise Dakota. I hope I have not been that missed. I had thought Praetor Zhang and I had left the proper Centurion in charge in our absence."
"I have done my best. Repairs have been slow as you can tell, the architects and builders have spent much of their time debating how to stabilize the senate building, or whether it is best to tear it down and start over, but the cohorts are near completely staffed again and the reservists are beginning to stand down. All is well with the Greeks and English I hope."
"Indeed. I am now certain that moving forward we will continue to be able to work with the Greeks, and the English as you call them are turning out some fantastic warriors. I bring an example in our friend, Neville Longbottom." Reyna said as she motioned towards me.
"Longbottom? Really? That's his name?" Dakota laughed.
One thing you should know, don't make fun of my name. I gripped my wand and drew it forth.
"Stand down Neville. Dakota meant no disrespect I'm sure."
"Longbottom is one of the oldest wizarding names in Europe. We trace back to before Merlin. I take pride in my family name and... well, if Reyna, uh, the Praetor says give you a pass, I will. But only this once." I warned.
"Centurion, you have offended our friend. I expect you to recant your words. Now." Frank said, his voice filled with anger.
"I, I am sorry. It is an unusual name, but I meant no disrespect. Is, is that a wand? So its true? You and your people can do magic?"
I used a silent windgardian on him and lifted him a few feet in the air then tossed him about ten feet away, letting him land squarely on his smug ass.
"Yes. But these days I'm just as comfortable with a sword."
"Neville is our greatest student. Between his magic and his martial skills, he may well be the most dangerous person you have ever met. He can battle myself, Praetor Zhang and even former Praetors Jackson and Grace to a draw with a sword, and his magic is incomparable."
"Owww fuck! Damn, that's... uh, pretty awesome. What else can you do?" Dakota said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Uh, I can kill with a thought."
"No you can't!" Dakota replied grinning.
"No he can't. Well, I don't think so anyway. Next time you use that line don't hesitate at the beginning Neville." Reyna smiled. "Anyway, we should do some introductions. Neville, this is Dakota. He and Centurion LaVesque are the heads of the Fifth Cohort and in the absence of myself and Frank he was left in charge of training and organizing what was left after the last war, and any new recruits. It appears we have had a few."
"Lupa has been busy. I understand the Greeks and Amazons are recruiting heavily too. Should we be concerned?" Dakota asked.
"The war weakened everyone. I suspect what we are seeing from them is nothing more than we are doing ourselves. Certainly that is what I have seen at the Greek camp. My communications with Hylla continue to be friendly and productive. Although not commanded by the gods they have been supportive of our work in Europe. Currently though two more armies have arisen. These we will discuss with the Senate as a whole. Centurian LeVesque, will you show Mr Longbottom around while the Senate meets? Neville, we will be holding a feast before the evening's challenges. You will enjoy observing the challenge, it will remind you of the training you have been through the last several months. Oh, and despite what the Oracle might tell you, no one, and I mean no one, throws a feast like Romans." Reyna smiled.
Hazel showed me around alright. The community was beautiful, from the barracks that the students lived in, to the Senate and commercial buildings of New Rome, and the University was just amazing. She saved the training field for last and walked me through the giant's invasion last year, showing where she, Frank and Percy had returned and rallied the troops, and where the Amazons had fought along with them.
"So can I ask you something Hazel?"
"Sure, anything."
"This Dakota guy, should I be concerned?"
"Concerned about what?"
"I don't know, he seemed to have a lot of interest in Reyna."
"Well she is Praetor, we are all... oh. Are you jealous Neville?" she giggled.
"No, I just... well, I mean."
"Okay, I'm going to say this once. Reyna is mad stupid crazy about you. Understand? Her day here would be a lot easier if she had no romantic connection. Praetors are supposed to put Rome first, before family and before boyfriend, or girlfriend. Its not forbidden for them to date, but it is rare, especially for women praetors as it is seen as a sign of weakness. I know, that is terribly sexist, but thats the way it is. You're here because she can't stand the idea of being away from you for the time it takes to meet with the Senate, eat and observe the games, and because all the stress is worth it to share her world with you. So chin up bucko! I don't want to hear anymore of that nonsense. Reyna can have any guy she wants. She picked you."
"Thanks. I guess I need to work on my self confidence."
"It will awaken in you sooner or later. But be wary of it. Too often guys confuse confidence with being cocky jerks." She smiled.
"You know, you seem... well, its like I'm talking to a different Hazel. You seem.. calmer."
"I confess Neville, it is nice not being in charge for a bit."
"I thought you were, what? The quest leader?"
"I am, but the quest is effectively on hiatus. If anything comes up related to it I guess I have to get involved, but here in Rome, I'm just another soldier, albeit a centurion that the gods themselves have selected for three quests now so I guess I get some deference for that. No, here all the pressure is on the Praetors. Not me. Unless Voldemort shows up and attacks I can take it easy for a bit."
We were sitting at the outdoor terrace of a coffee shop, drinking perhaps the best coffee I had ever had. The view was amazing. In front of us a number of temples followed a trail to the practice fields and barracks, while behind us lay Rome. We could see the Senate doors from where we were. The dome was cracked still and several columns were askew. It was clear that the doors would no longer open and close. I pointed this out to Hazel and asked, "Is that Leo's work?"
"Yes. You know about the Argo II. When he and Octavia, well and a satyr named Glesson, were the only ones on it he opened fire with ballista on Rome, centering his attack on the Senate. He was possessed of course but no one knew that at the time, or for several days there after. The Romans fought back as best we could, but it was like the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, he had the jump on us and we weren't ready. If it were not for Jason, Percy, Annabeth and a few others getting on board and overpowering Leo the war might have ended that day with the death of Rome. Instead it was the beginning of the peace you see now."
"So, what, like a year ago you guys were at war with the Romans?"
"No, about, uh, eight months ago, and it wasn't 'you guys', I am Roman. The Greeks were at war with us. And vise versa."
"Oh, I thought you were Greek."
"No, Reyna, Frank, Jason, and I are Roman. Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Nico, and Will are Greek. I guess you could say Rachel is Greek too, but she's actually an American Presbyterian. And Nico is welcome at both camps, but he started Greek. And well, truthfully, although I was trained Roman, and Hades is found in both, my father was probably the Greek facet. I only ended up in Rome because of Nico's influence. So really, I'm both." She smiled.
"So Rachel. She's like the rest of us, Harry and Dumbledore's Army I mean, no god for a parent."
"Right, but the Oracle, and thus Apollo, speaks through her."
"Who are those guys?" I asked as several teenage guys exited the Senate.
"Hmmmm, looks like the Senators for Cohorts one thru three. Hard to tell from.. yep that is them. Neville, you should know something. Frank was never elected. He rose to Praetor by being named in combat. Its a long and confusing story, but you know how Percy and Jason got switched by Juno? Well, Percy was raised to Jason's Praetor spot because after the battle with the Titans, well, the soldiers just demanded he be Praetor. The very next day he steps down in favor of Jason, when Jason returned. We go on the quest and there is an army of monsters that we have to kill, and Nico was able to summon a Roman Legion from the dead to help. But only the Praetor of Rome can command it. Jason, well they wouldn't listen to Jason, he was too Greek already and they didn't recognize him. So he stepped down and named Frank as Praetor in his place. Frank takes command of the legion and they kill loads and loads of monsters, and Frank has been Praetor ever since. The thing is, no one but us saw this, in fact I was with Leo on the other side of a collapsed tunnel fighting a sorcerous and a giant. I didn't even see it. Anyway, he doesn't really have the full support of the Senate and even before we left many were calling for elections."
"And those three guys are the ones leading the movement I would guess."
"Yes. I'm afraid so."
"That's bullshit."
"Yes" she giggled, "we don't say that but yes, that's exactly what it is. But even Reyna has a hard time backing him up. Oh, she's in his corner no doubt, but she wasn't there when Jason stepped down. I wish Jason were here tonight instead of goofing off in Florida. Anyway, supposedly they are all grateful for all Frank has done, but feel he should contribute more to Rome by serving as a Centurian another year and then standing for election should he wish. And they don't know about his combat record, other than the titan battle where Percy led us, or reports from the Alaska quest that we made ourselves, and what little they saw at the Battle for Camp Half Blood, where several of them are convinced he was on the wrong side. Mars supports him, fortunately, but the other gods take no position, which isn't surprising really. The thing is, the peace with Half Blood is fragile. Let the wrong Praetor in and it could easily collapse. And right now the right Praetors are spending all of their time in Scotland."
Frank and Reyna left the Senate with a group of their friends in tow. Reyna saw us, spoke briefly to the crowd, then she and Frank came over to join us. Hazel did a bit of a curtsey when they approached so I did too, which made them both grin.
"Arise noble Englishman! A feast awaits in, oh, and hour or so!" Reyna proclaimed. I wanted to hug her right then. It had been over an hour since our last embrace after all, but decorum and the proper respect to her position made me restrain myself.
"So how did it go?" I asked as we sat.
"About as expected. I suspect Hazel has caught you up?"
"She told me, well that Frank had a situation with some unloyal Centurians." I replied.
"They are loyal. But to New Rome, not me, as it should be. They were not there in Rome, or Greece, or at the Doors of Death, and only saw one side of Camp Half Blood. No, they have every right to doubt me. I just have to find a way to convince them that I have what it takes and have made enough of a contribution. I wish Jason had come with us today."
"That's the second time in five minutes I've heard that. Look, I love Jason, he's a great guy, but you don't need him to prop you up. Somebody told me I was lacking self confidence, well, so are you. These clowns say you haven't contributed enough? Lets make them look foolish." I said.
"You have a plan don't you?" Reyna grinned.
"More of an idea. Here's what I'm thinking..." and with that I told them what I thought was a great idea, only to have both of them, as master strategists, rewrite almost every part of it.
As an ambassador of the English magical community, and selected guardian of the Praetors, I was allowed to sit with the VIPs at dinner, which included the Chief Centurion of each Cohort, Frank, and Reyna. The three guys who had been pushing to replace Frank were of course among the Centurions.
Once everyone was seated Reyna rose and held up her hand to quiet everyone. All conversation ceased immediately.
"Fellow Romans, it is good to be home. Praetor Zhang and I have traveled half way around the world and into the land beyond the gods on behalf of the pantheon, and will all too soon be returning to that quest. We left the Legion in good hands we thought, however when I look at the state of repair of this building, I wonder if the state of our Legion is much the same. I have been told that your efforts have been focused on training the newest recruits and teaching them to conform with our doctrines. I hope this is the case, but I must wonder why the state of Rome is in such disrepair. This we will be examining closely in the next few weeks. I will not have a Senate divided in the physical sense. We descend from the greatest architects the world has ever known, yet our home is still a shambles eight months after Gaea's minions possessed the Greeks."
"But enough of the challenges leadership faced in the absence of Praetor Zhang and myself. Thanks to the Greeks we will be able to be here daily now. Although we must continue our efforts as commanded by the gods, we will be able to get the Legion in shape and get things done as they should be. Finally, we brought with us today an ambassador from the English student body, our friend, Neville Longbottom. Neville if you would stand."
I stood and heard the usual snickering. Oh well, they had about thirty seconds to laugh before the intimidation kicked in.
"Thank you Praetor. It is indeed an honor to be here, not only as one of your students in the martial arts and sciences, but as your friend. Rome will have no greater ally than the magic users of Europe once our war ends and our lives return to normal. I understand the Praetors told your Senate of the rising of Voldemort and his minions earlier, I am here to tell you that a hundred or so spell casters have taken up arms to face him down. Though our number is small we are confident we can achieve victory. Thanks to your Praetors, as well as the Greeks, we are better trained and organized than those that oppose us. For that, we are infinitely grateful. As a token of our appreciation I would make a present to you of our magical services. Praetor Zhang, if you would assist me."
Frank and I walked to the middle of the room. It was the size of a medium auditorium and held all of the cohorts, plus many more. Ghosts roamed through out and at this moment all eyes were upon us. Cracks ran from floor to ceiling and several of the supporting columns were askew. It was clear that the place had been cleaned up since Leo's attack, but no effort at repair otherwise made.
"About here you think Frank?" I asked, and as soon as I did I realized the social error. The room gasped. Even though many did not support him, no one called the Praetor by their first name.
"It is alright centurions and legionaires. Mr Longbottom is new to our ways, and I am proud to be on a first name basis socially with him. I'm sure his lapse in protocol was merely an error due to his newness to our ways." Frank said by way of forgiving me. "And yes Neville" he smiled, "I think this is right at the center of the damage."
With that we raised our wands to the ceiling and shouted "repario!"
Waves of magical energy emitted from our wands and rushed towards every crack and column in need of repair. Within moments the damage was fixing itself to the collective oohs and ahhs of the assembled Romans. After a minute or so, the place was as good as new.
"Thank you Praetor" I said as we both lowered our wands to the applause of the room.
We returned to our seats and I said to Reyna, loud enough for all at our table to hear, "So Praetor Zhang has done more in the last three minutes to fix the place than your cohort leaders have done in three months."
"Your gift, well, we all certainly appreciate it" one of Centurians smugly said, "but I'm curious if your combat skills are of equal magnitude. If we are to grant ambassadorial status to..."
"We will not be offending our English friend after he has so generously allowed us to refocus our efforts from repair to our own martial training." Reyna proclaimed.
"It was Fra... I mean it was Praetor Zhang too. But I think that is a fair question. Tell me Centurion, do you practice combat against other Centurions?"
"Of course."
"Then how do you know if you are better than anyone other than another Centurion? Tell ya what, why don't you practice against me tonight? Praetor Zhang, Centurion LeVesque and I will defend that castle you have out there set up to attack, you lead the Roman army, and Praetor Ramírez-Arellano will judge."
"You three against the Twelfth Legion? That hardly seems fair" one of them snorted.
"Well by all means call up the Greeks and get more guys until you think you have enough. I have faith that the three of us will do just fine." I said, trying to make as wicked a smile as I could. Truthfully it probably wasn't that wicked, but my words found their mark in the Centurion's pride. Meanwhile Hazel was busy in the Leodis gathering the things we would need. I could only imagine Leo's glee in assisting her.
The Centurians accepted the challenge and Reyna laid down the rules. Quarter would be given when asked, and, to the audible gasp of those who would face us, Frank, Hazel and I would not be allowed to use lethal spells.
Dakota asked "You have lethal spells?"
I don't know why it would surprise them but I answered anyway. "Yes, most all of them can be, but only one purposely is, the killing curse. It is forbidden for a witch or wizard to use anyway. I told you earlier, I can kill with a thought. I only choose not to." I said this with as little expression as I could. This time I think he, and that part of the room that heard, believed me. Of course other than the rudimentary instruction the previous year from Barty Crouch Jr, I had no idea how to cast a killing curse and didn't really want to know more than I did.
The rest of the feast was surprisingly festive. I had figured my picking a fight with the Centurions would cast a gloom over the affair, but if anything it enlivened it. All seemed to be really looking forward to kicking our asses and I noticed the three leading Centurions huddled together plotting out their strategy. I hoped they didn't know what the Greeks had taught us about fair fights.
Frank and I arrived at the "castle" a few minutes before start time to find, as expected, two brooms loaded down with golden globes curtesy of Leo and Slughorn. We had asked Hazel to stress non lethel and it appeared that all of these were love potions, laughing gas and a few that simply knocked the person it came in contact with out. Each was clearly labeled for our benefit.
"Okay Neville, you see those rocks in an arc across the field? That is the maximum range of their archers. From that point forward we can expect them to have probably three cohorts doing nothing but pinning us down. The arrows are dum dums, they have rounded points, but if they hit your body they hurt, and worse, you're considered wounded, and twice you're dead. One shot to the head kills, and arms and legs that are hit cannot be used. Its an honor system thing, but Reyna will be careful to enforce it."
"So just before then, we need to hit them. Does Hazel know?"
"She'll be on it."
Our plan was pretty simple and relied on creating as much chaos in the ranks as possible. We could shoot them all with spells, but not before many of them were able to bring arrows and later spears, upon us. A stand off, shot versus shot fight was what was expected, and was a recipe for our failure. But of course we don't believe in fair fights.
So it was that when the cohorts were organized, just as Frank and Hazel had predicted, into three archery groups, one cavalry that would actually charge under the umbrella of arrows, and one reserve, we felt a bit reassured that our plan would work. The reserve was in the rear with the three guys mainly opposing Frank, ready to swope in at the last second and take credit for the victory won by others. It was standard Roman attack doctrine, and each cohort was surrounded by shield bearers whose sole job it was to protect that box formation's contents, be it archers or cav.
Four cohorts moved forward in tight formation. It was truly thrilling to watch their discipline and I hoped soon all of the DA could come and witness in action what Frank and Reyna had been trying to teach us. These guys were really tight, and really good.
And fortunately for us, really predictable.
With about twenty yards to go until the arrow line I took off on my broom and flew quickly left to right just outside arrow range. All eyes were upon me, and based on the shouts all were stunned to see someone flying a broom, which meant when Hazel attacked from the rear she was able to drop her ordinance cleanly at low level right into the center of each box. Leo had given us smoke, knock out gas, laughing gas and love potions to share with our Roman friends, and each of the forward cohorts were given plenty to share by Miss Hazel.
With that chaos began, as did the truly risky part of my job. I charged right at the so far untouched reserve cohort just as their leadership began to realize that about 80% of their might was gone. I came in at low level and fast. Now, I'm not Harry or Ginny, but I'm pretty sure I'm the fastest guy they ever saw on a broom. Okay, I'm the only guy they ever saw on a broom but whatever. I popped up right at the last second and dropped six bombs in their midst before getting back out of their range as fast as I could. Within moments all of the reserve cohort was in the same shape as their four brethren; blind, and either asleep or strongly infatuated with the soldier next to them and laughing hysterically about it all. The effectiveness of the Roman army as a fighting unit was eliminated. The castle was safe.
We had figured that a few of the Romans would be gifted like Jason or Percy and there were some attempts to blow the gases out of the cohorts, or summon giant eagles to attack, but Frank picked those guys off with stunning spells before they could do very much. Leo had a truly warped sense of humor I decided as most of the Romans were clearly in love.
Except the three Centurions standing in the rear shouting orders to rally their troops, orders that were neither heard nor heeded.
I flew up in front of them and hovered a second or so while Frank caught up. With Hazel guarding our rear from the air we dismounted ten yards or so in front of them. Each had eyes filled with anger; we couldn't see the rest of their faces what with their helmets.
"Your magic is impressive, but how is your steel?" One said as they all drew their swords.
"Swords? You want to finish this with swords? Fine by me!" I said as I drew my Norman.
No doubt this would be a fight involving blood, injury and maybe death. I truly believed I could beat them, but Frank interceded.
"I don't have time for this shit" He exclaimed as he turned into a dragon and backhanded the three of them about thirty yards.
"Expelliamous!" Hazel shouted and their swords flew to her before she backed up with the weapons falling harmlessly to earth in front of her.
"The battle is over. Victory to the defenders!" Reyna shouted before landing and dismounting her pegasus beside me.
"So, how did I do Praetor?" I asked with a smile.
"Excellent. But did Leo and Slughorn send any antidote? I fear my army may have the 'luvs'" She grinned.
"It will wear off in fifteen minutes or so. This was a light dose." Hazel smiled.
"Praetor! I do not believe that was a proper test of our skills. The defenders used solely magic." One of the Centurions said as he slowly got up.
"Mr. Longbotton and his brethren have been fighting worse magic for several years. I saw today only the least use of his abilities. No Roman was frozen solid, burned with the fires of hell, or killed by lightning. I assure you that should his army be defeated the army of the dark lord will turn his attention to suppressing the demi god communities of America, first by attacking the Greek and Roman armies with those powers and worse. The world of demigod and magician has changed. You and your cohort had best be prepared for what might come. This is why I welcome Mr Longbottom, Ms Grainger, Mr Weasley and Mr Potter's offer to train us. I assure you our Greek, hmmm, cousins, will be accepting their training with gratitude and vigor. Finally, as to your complaint, if an asymmetrical attack wasn't foreseen that is a failure of your leadership. You have been trained to not expect a fair fight, or to offer one, yet you complain when a magician and two Romans use magic you should have expected to defeat an entire army under your command. I expect you will be calling for elections in the cohorts to see if you continue to have their support."
I felt pretty good at the moment and figured Frank's job was his for as long as he wanted it. Then the guy in camo fatigues started yelling and I got a bit confused for a moment.
"How about that! Last year he beats your best cohort, he restores pride to the legion then beats the armies of Gaea, and now he defeats all of ya! That's my boy! Way to go Frank! I see you learned your mother's trick, it suits you! Damnation! What a great set of Praetors New Rome has, am I right?" the guy asked no one in particular as he came over and hugged Frank, now in human form. Everyone else, well everyone who wasn't knocked out or rolling around laughing, knelt down, including Hazel, the Centurions and Reyna.
"And you! Longbottom isn't it? I've been familiar with your family since Hastings. Good to see you all doing so well, great work, you're welcome in New Rome anytime, am I right Praetor?"
"Yes, of course Lord Mars. Neville is a true friend of Rome." Reyna said, staring at me with a look that told me I was fucking up some how.
"Mars? As in God of War Mars? I, I'm sorry" I whimpered as I finally wizened up and knelt.
"Oh get up, you're Anglican anyway. All of you, there is fighting in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria, I can't hang around. I just wanted to point out what a great job RA-RA and Frank were doing and thank Neville here for fixing our Senate. And I don't want to forget about Miss LeVesque, she took out four cohorts on her own! Has anyone ever done that before? I don't think so! I'm not saying she has to win the Mural Medal, but come on! Four Cohorts! I commend each of you on an outstanding battle and, on behalf of the pantheon, for your part in a thus far successful quest. Oh, and where is Dakota, ah, there you are. Next time you are in charge and the other Centurions are too busy scheming to help with repairing our city, call for a vote and get them fired. Rome doesn't need plotters, the Caesars knew that. We need leadership of courage, wisdom and action. Follow your Praetors Zhang and RA-RA and Centurion LaVesque and you'll do alright. Praetor RA-RA, I will have a word with you." He said as he walked over to Reyna, well, it was more like the air and earth just moved her towards him while they both stood in place, gods don't really walk. He placed his arm around her in a fatherly fashion, said something, and they both looked over their shoulder at me. She gave him a huge smile and nodded her head, then he vanished and when he did the gas effects on the troops were instantly removed from them.
I wasn't sure whether to be happy or just go ahead and fall on my sword.
Afterwards there was another post action briefing and party. There wasn't much to brief, Frank went over what we did, Reyna pointed out the wisdom of it and reminded all that the three of us could have hit them with damaging spells that would have had the same outcome but would have left permanent damage, and the three problematic Centurions were roundly criticized by all of their own troops. It was decided that a scouting group should have attacked the castle from the flanks at the onset to perhaps limit our ability to shape the battlefield and the Centurions should have been ready for both air attacks and Hazel's attack from the rear. They had been way over confident and relied on overwhelming force that they simply never had a chance to apply.
Reyna ordered Dakota and those assistants he chose to put the Legion to rest and set guards. I was later told this was a direct slight to the three Centurions that had lost, as well as the one that had taken no side in the dispute regarding Frank. With Mars' backing none would oppose either Reyna or Frank for a long time, and there was a price to be paid for undermining Frank's authority, even if done out of genuine loyalty to New Rome.
We got back to the Leodis around one am eastern time, or six am Hogwarts time. We had decided as a group to use Hogwarts time for some purposes as legal age there was sixteen (although seventeen to remove the trace and apparate) and that applied to nearly all of us, magicians and demigods alike. I was exhausted but we gave everyone, this being most of the demigods on the quest and DA1, an after action report of New Rome, and heard about their day at Disney World. Annabeth was looking forward to visiting but had promised Rachel they would do Epcot with Percy. The University of New Rome was scheduled for the day after that.
Finally I walked Reyna to her room so I could go to mine and sleep for a few hours at least. She paused at the door and said "Aurum. Argentum. Guard this portal and let none pass." before taking me by the hand and with a smile leading me inside.
"I know you must be as tired as I am but we need to talk about a couple of things Neville." She said as she led me to a couch in her bedroom. "First, earlier you heard Mars call me 'RA-RA.' That is short for my full name, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Please don't ever call me that, I hate it. Mars uses it because he can and knows there is nothing I can do about it." She smiled.
"I was wondering what that was about."
"Well now you know. Its a stupid nickname and makes me sound like a member of a Puerto Rican street gang from a musical on Broadway."
"Got it. No RA-RA. Besides, Reyna is the most beautiful name I have ever heard anyway."
"Riiiiight." She smiled. "That goes to the second thing. Last year Piper, you know she's the daughter of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, well, Venus to us Romans, anyway, Piper has a lot of insight into romance and made a prediction about me using her knife, Katoptris, it belonged to Helen of Troy and sometimes gives predictions. Anyway, um, and sorry if I seem scatter brained, she, in friendship, not to piss me off or hurt me, she told me that I would not find love among the demigods. Thats what Venus had told me a couple years before, right before I became Praetor. Well, all I knew were demigods, so it might as well been a curse for a loveless life. The thing is, I want to love, I have a lot to give a guy, I'm, well, I know I'm supposed to be good at war, but love, its not the opposite really but knowing one will teach you about the other. I think, well, I just know, I would be an awesome partner to someone in life. And they basically told me, no, no you won't because you won't find a partner in the people you know or will ever meet."
With this, Reyna was in tears and all I could do was put my arm around her as we sat on the small sofa in her bed chambers.
"Well they don't know everything, you met me, and I think we are pretty good together. If I'm not the right guy for you, well, someone will come along. You're too wonderful to be alone." I said, trying to not be selfish or egotistical or anything. I just wanted her to stop hurting. What I really wanted to say was "Duh! I'm right here!"
She turned and threw her arms around me. "Stupid boy! Let me finish! I swear all of you should be turned into hamsters!" She laughed as tears ran down her face.
"Anyway, then this quest came along. I didn't really want to go, I wanted to work on rebuilding Rome and the Legion as that would be my legacy, the capstone of my loveless, childless life, but when the gods order, you answer the call. Tonight when Mars wanted to talk to me, well that was scary. I thought he was going to draft me to go to Afghanistan or something. Instead he said he had a message from Venus, just for me. Then he looked at you, then at me, then back at you until I looked to see where he was looking, and I saw you, just as he said 'The message from Venus is this is the guy she and Piper were telling you about. You two will bring the worlds together.' And then he left. So, I think we have a quest, just you and me, to bring the demigods and magicians together, and I think we as a couple are blessed by the pantheon. So, uh, what I'm trying to say is, uh, if you wanted to stay the night, I think I would like that. I think that would be all right. You were my shy student yet the only one brave enough to approach me, you were courageous enough to care and make Scipio and me feel welcome and wanted, you were quiet and even meek, but now you have beaten my army and won my heart. You are my equal in every way, the most courageous man I have ever known, and my partner. You are the one I've been waiting on. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have finally arrived."
It was a good night.
