Reyna hated children of Venus. She really really hated them. It wasn't bad enough that they barely did anything around camp. It wasn't bad enough that Venus herself had condemned Reyna's love life. Why did they even exist? Reyna could count how many children of Venus she liked on one hand, and spoilers, Piper was the only one. As Reyna laid on her back and stared up at the sword inches from her face, she hated children of Venus even more.

The day started out simple enough. Reyna ate her breakfast, enjoyed a little peaceful walk through the forest, and then was ambushed by the fact that she would sparring in about a hour. It gave Reyna enough time to warm up, get in a few reps, and browse through Camp Half-Blood's armory.

Reyna had no plans on actually using a weapon that belonged to the Greeks. She still had her own sword at her side, and since that sword could turn into a javelin, she was set. The time in the armory was spent comparing her sword to that of the Greek's, to see which one was sturdier and had the longer reach. She also ended up taking one of the swords in case she wanted to use two swords at once.

The entire camp, even Chiron, gathered to watch the fight, like they were spectating gladiator games. To condense the fighting, five names were drawn out of a hat, and Reyna was sure that it was just luck that Percy, Annabeth, and Clarisse were three of the names drawn. Reyna was allowed to pick the order in which she fought the Greeks, which totally made up for the fact that she had to fight five different demigods.

Reyna knew it was coming, of course. She had more than enough fun acting like she could take on anyone in a fight, which was true. She could take on any of the Greeks in a fight and most likely win. Taking on five Greeks back to back was a little more of a challenge though.

Annabeth was the clear first choice. If she was able to watch Reyna fight, she would just completely pick apart Reyna's fighting style. While it was no secret that Romans were trained by Lupa and all had a similar fighting style, Reyna had picked up plenty of other techniques along the way, and she knew that she would have to rely on them.

Annabeth would have studied the Roman fighting style or even sparred with Jason to get use to it. Truthfully, it could have just been Annabeth trying to learn other fighting styles and expand her own horizons, but it was also clear that Annabeth just wanted to get the upper hand.

Reyna would later be told that their battle was amazing, and she knew it was. Reyna pushed the Roman fighting style hard, standing her ground and attacking Annabeth with absolute ferocity. Annabeth fell into a groove of dodging and landing a few minor hits. The daughter of Athena clearly did her homework, and that led to her downfall. She clearly wasn't expecting Reyna to flip her sword into a javelin and then pull out another sword. When Annabeth tried to backpedal and adjust her fighting style, she ended up disarmed and on her back.

The next fight was against Percy, and Reyna played that one a little more defensively. She wasted a few minutes fixing her armor and trying to relax. Part of the reason was because the Greek armor was unfamiliar to her. It was lighter than Roman armor, but sooner or later, it was going to start weighing her down. The other reason was because Percy Jackson was a cheating bastard. He kept dousing himself with water as Reyna was fighting Annabeth.

Reyna won that one because she kneed Percy in the groin. The fight was running a little too long, and Percy had almost gotten her a few times, so Reyna "accidentally" slammed her knee right into his groin. When he collapsed, she placed her sword to his neck and apologized.

The third fight was the hardest of the three, and that was because apparently, Clarisse could just toss Reyna around like she was a toddler, and the daughter of war did so, twice. Reyna barely managed to land on her feet both times, and she almost got skewered twice.

Oh, Clarisse's spear was cheating as well. It grazed Reyna's leg, and she pretty much lost all feeling in the limb. Reyna was forced to hobble around and try to avoid the wrecking bull that seemed to want to run a spear through her. Clarisse knew that this was just a fun sparring session, right? There was no prize for murdering Reyna and spilling her guts everywhere.

Apparently, that little thing with Clarisse's spear numbing a limb was her signature move, which made sense when one considered that she was now on Lamer the Third or Fourth. That was what all of the campers called the weapon at least, and Clarisse, like all children of Mars, should have known to treat her weapon with more respect. The lack of respect was probably why Reyna managed to break Clarisse's spear.

The breaking of the weapon caused a minor explosion. No one was hurt, of course. Reyna was just thrown backwards, landed hard on her shoulder, and managed to scramble to her feet. She managed to pin Clarisse and place a sword to her neck. Reyna had then promptly collapsed onto her back for the next ten minutes and wondered exactly why she agreed to do this.

The fourth fight last, well, four seconds. It was against a children of Ceres named Miranda, Amanda, or something like that. Reyna just threw her javelin at the demigod, before a plant could squeeze her to death or trip her. Of course, Reyna threw the blunt end of the javelin towards her opponent. She wasn't a monster, and she had been kind enough to catch the daughter of Ceres as she dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The final fight was with a child of Venus named Drew. It also led Reyna to her current predicament, even if she couldn't exactly remember how. The fight should have been over in a blink of an eye, and it was, just not in the way that Reyna thought it would.

After the demigods watching seemed to get over their stunned silence, a cheer rose up from them. Reyna slowly sat up and stared at Drew. How in Bellona's name had that happened? Reyna remembered attacking Drew, and somehow, she ended up on her back with her sword ten feet away. Did Mars decide to do Venus a favor and bless one of her children with the ability to actually fight? Was it just a freak accident?

Reyna couldn't help but feel angry. How had she lost to a child of Venus? It was the ultimate insult. Reyna could handle losing to Annabeth, Percy, or Clarisse. They were all seasoned veterans and children of powerful gods. She could have even handled losing to plant girl.

Reyna had to be the bigger person though. Everyone was watching them. It took Reyna a moment to swallow her pride and speak, "Congratulations Drew."

"Does this mean that I am a praetor now?" Drew asked. Reyna rolled her eyes and tried to push the anger away. Winning four fights in a row was commendable, and she could just blame the loss on a bum shoulder and exhaustion. Drew grinned down at her and then disappeared into the crowd of her siblings. Would it be a bad look for Reyna to pick up her javelin and murder Drew?

"That was amazing," Nico said. He appeared on Reyna's right and knelt by her. Reyna glanced at him, and Nico grinned at her. "You took out three of Camp Half-Blood's best fighters, and you only lost because Drew got lucky."

"Are you hurt?" Will asked, as he appeared on Reyna's left. Nico gave his boyfriend a look. Will returned the look, but after a moment, a small smile came to his face. "That was pretty cool though. And, that was perfect aim on the javelin throw. Miranda doesn't have a concussion."

The two gently grabbed Reyna's arms and helped her stand. A small curse escaped Reyna, and she placed a hand to her shoulder. Will gently grabbed her hand and lowered it. He felt along her shoulder and spoke, "Does it hurt to move?"

"Yeah," Reyna replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Percy and Annabeth talking to each other. Percy made eye contact with her and pointed downwards. He gave her a questioning look. Reyna just shrugged, and Percy couldn't hide his grin. Annabeth glanced over and gave Reyna a thumbs up. Miranda sat by her siblings, and they all seemed to be in good spirits. Clarisse was nowhere in sight though, and neither were the broken remains of her spear.

Reyna was snapped out of her thoughts as she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She jumped and glanced at Will. Even though she wanted to strangle him, she spoke, "Thank you, Will. Please warn me next time."

"I won't," Will promised. Reyna shoved him away, and he grinned. "Even though you were disarmed by Drew, you shouldn't take your anger out on anyone."

"You're hilarious, Solace. Do you want to spar together tomorrow?" Reyna asked. Will laughed nervously. "Oh, there's a capture the flag game that is going to happen soon, right? Which team are you on again?"

"Well, Will and I always work together, so that means you won't be able to destroy him then. We could probably arrange a sparring session between you two. As for capture the flag, you can take your anger out on Annabeth and her team," Nico said, and he threw his arm around Reyna's shoulder. Reyna couldn't stop herself from grinning. Her annoyance at the sparring session was long gone. "Besides, that is the fastest I have ever seen Drew move, even faster than when she tries to grab a fashion magazine."

"I guess I have that affect on people," Reyna said, and she managed a half shrug. Her shoulder ached, but she would get over it Will held out ambrosia, and Reyna just stared at it. He held it closer to her, and she crossed her arms. Will crossed his arms as well, and they both stared each other down.

"Take it," Nico ordered. Reyna looked at her best friend, and he gave her a look. She returned the look but sighed. Reyna took the ambrosia from Will. She ate it and almost smiled as it tasted like the brownies from New Rome.

A small frown came to Reyna's face. She was trying to enjoy her visit to Camp Half-Blood, and for the most part, she was. The only problem was that she missed Camp Jupiter. It wasn't even worry about what would happen with Frank in charge. Reyna just missed being at Camp Jupiter.

Reyna always considered Camp Jupiter her home, but now, she was realizing how much of a home it was. It was a place where Reyna was safe, and she felt like she had a true family. Reyna felt someone nudge her shoulder, and she slowly looked at Nico. He spoke, "You okay?"

"I think I'm a little homesick," Reyna admitted. She looked down and shrugged. "It's only been a few days, so it's a little pathetic."

"It's hard being away from home," Will said. Reyna glanced at him. "It's always good to have a nice break though. It's nice to have a place to clear your head and be able to relax. Nico's a pretty big plus too."

"I would say he is a short plus," Reyna said, and she leaned on Nico. He glared at her. Reyna grinned. She looked around Camp Half-Blood. This could be a second home, and wasn't that the ultimate goal? Complete unity between the two camps with enough distance to keep their own identities. "I think I'm going to send a message to Frank tonight, to check on him."

"We'll help you set it up, after we collect our money for Drew winning," Will said. Reyna stared at the two of them. Will started laughing. "I'm kidding. I put all my money on you."

"I changed my bet to Drew after you picked the order of who you were fighting," Nico said. Reyna stared at him with a look of betrayal on her face. He smiled and patted her shoulder gently. "I knew one of three things would happen."

"Three?" Reyna asked. She crossed her arms and glared down at him. "What exactly would those three things be?"

"One, you would get overconfident after beating four demigods and underestimate Drew. Two, you would get some kind of injury from Clarisse that would hinder you. I guess both of those were right. Three, Drew would use charmspeak on you, and your eyes would trail a little too much."

"Shut up Nico," Reyna said. She shook her head. "Just because you do it when sparring Percy doesn't mean I'll do it while sparring with Drew, and it's not like Drew is that hot anyway."

"That's right. Piper is your type," Nico said. Reyna whacked him in the head. Nico laughed. Reyna glared at him and crossed her arms once again. "It's not my fault that I know you so well."

"I'm going to throw you into the lake," Reyna decided. Nico's eyes widened, and he turned to run. Reyna grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him backwards. She grabbed onto his waist and lifted him. "Help me, Solace."

"Sure. Why not?" Will asked, and he grabbed Nico's kicking legs. Reyna kept Nico's arms trapped to his side, and with Will's help, they started to carry Nico towards the lake. "It might be a little far. What about the bathroom?"

"That's a good idea, We can just dunk his head inside," Reyna said. Nico tried to struggle with the two of them, but he wasn't able to. They made it towards the bathroom, and Reyna met Will's eyes. He nodded to her, and they both let go of Nico.

Nico stood and punched both of their shoulders. He spoke, "You two are dead meat. When you least expect it, I will get the two of you. Mark my words."

Reyna laughed and wrapped an arm around Nico. He glared at her, even though it looked like he was struggling not to smile. Reyna glanced at Will, and she let out a sigh. She missed Camp Jupiter, but she would be back there soon. For now, she would enjoy the time with the people who were quickly becoming a second family.