Chapter Five

Summary: Jason's disappearance leads to big issues both in the senate and for his loved ones

Evie's Notes: Happy Sunday! I hope you all are having a wonderful week ! Thank you so much your support of this story, it really and truly means the world to me 💜! See the end notes for translations. I hope that you all enjoy the this new update 🌺.


Taking her seat in the sacerdos section, Antonia looked around at the various representatives. Far down below her she spotted Nico's sister Hazel, and her friend Frank, sitting behind their Fifth Cohort Representatives Gwen and Dakota.

Today's senate meeting was of great importance as the senators would be voting on several bills which would decide how New Roma's finances would be spent. Antonia cautiously eyed the attendees and attempted to calculate a mental tally of today's votes. The first and second cohort tended to vote in favor of bills which would benefit the current residents of New Rome and preserve the current way of life. This was in part due to the fact that the soldiers in these cohorts tended to come from pre-established New Rome families and worked to build their existing power in the country.

The third through fifth cohorts voted the direct opposite way, given that they were largely made up of new demigods who desired to find a foothold in their new world. These soldiers therefore voted in favor of bills and plans which would advance the sharing of wealth and power as well as bring about opportunities for the newer families.

The New Rome Delegation was understandably a split vote. The representatives did their very best to convey the needs of all their constituents. The priests themselves each had a vote and Antonia found that her colleagues largely voted in favor of progress for New Rome.

The older families tended to forget just who they owed their current power too. There was a rumbling of discontent that had begun to build amongst the masses, and while Antonia disagreed with several of the policies which kept the old families in power she didn't want to see this come to violence. Which was why today's vote was so important. If things went smoothly and more laws were passed in favor of progress and assisting newer demigods then hopefully some of those grumblings would die down. That said, if the vote swayed the other way and the older families got away with passing the harsher restrictions they were suggesting… well Antonia was worried about everyone's safety.

"Where is Jay? I'm getting seriously worried about him" whispered Zhanna as she took her seat next to Antonia.

"I don't know. But I'm sure he'll be here. He knows how important today's vote is," replied Antonia with a forced grin.

"Jay's influence over the Senate is irreplaceable. Without him here to sway the third cohort and the half of New Rome that sometimes votes with the Old Families we are looking at an unmitigated disaster" hissed the woman.

"I know. But there is nothing that we can do about it now. So just paste on your politician smile so that Octavian and his crew don't get a clue about our weakness. Just project confidence"

"Fake it till you make it? Really Ti?" scoffed Zhanna dismissively.

"I became the feared and revered priestess of Juno at thirteen. I am the epitome of fake it till you make it" bragged Antonia, with a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Fair. Smiles it is" chuckled Zhanna, forcing a grin on her face and trying to hide the worry in her eyes.

The loud chiming of the bells from the nearby tower signaled the beginning of today's session. Rising to her feet Reyna raised her hand to signal for silence from the Senate.

"salve senatus. conventus noster ad ordinem veniat. Praetoris gratia hodie nos non coniunget. Pontifex Maximus Octaviani habes solum"

"Gratias ago tibi, praetori. I have read the omens and there is a dark cloud coming our way. The threat of the Greeks hangs heavy over New Rome. The Oracles warn that change and horror is headed our way. In light of this, today's vote is of much greater importance. In the coming dark times we need strong leadership, stronger borders and not to open ourselves up to possible weaknesses" announced Octavian dramatically from his seat atop his raised dais.

"Bloody fear monger" spat Anonia under her breath. Trust Octavian to sweep in and disrupt the vote. Without Jason here to try and settle the more jumpy senators, Octavian and his conspirators' policies would pass successfully locking new demigods out of policy making for New Rome. Change is hard enough to bring about in times of peace, but with possible new struggles on the horizon the more moderate senators were likely to vote in favor of old leadership rather than roll the dice on "new" policies.

"Thank you Pontifex Maximus, let us move on to our first vote of the day. Senator Amery you will present the pro, and Senator Ekon the opposed" cut in Reyna, successfully stopping Octavian's spiel of doom and signaling for the pair to come to the floor.

Senator Lillia Amery was a sweet woman and a part of the more new wave movement of New Rome Citizens. The woman was a demigod daughter of Aesculapius and owned an apothecary stall in the forum. She had to claw and scrape her way to her current standing as both a senator and stall owner after retiring from the 12th legion. Because of this she was well known to be a fierce advocate for rights for new demigods.

Senator Sebastian Ekon on the other hand was the son of one of the twenty founding families of New Rome. The man was infamous for pushing back against bills that would threaten his family's power.

"Thank you Praetor Avila Ramírez-Arellano" began Senator Amery. "The first bill we will be debating today is the expanding of the New Roma Business Council. This council handles the approval of all businesses in the Forum and decides whether or not to approve certain products for sale. At the moment, twenty out of the twenty five seats on the council are held by the original twenty families. This proposal would allow for new seats to be offered to first or second generation demigods and increase their interests in our market. This is a much needed change, as right now first and second generation demigods find their applications delayed and rejected in favor of more 'reliable' investments given familial bonds. An example of this is Creel's Dress Emporium. Creel Carlburun, daughter of Aphrodite is one of our most popular entrepreneurs in the main Forum. Nowadays it is almost impossible to picture the base of Capitoline hill without seeing her gorgeous shop windows. What most do not know is that it took five years for her permit application to finally be approved. Other competing businesses with familial connections were quickly passed through and approved while her application stalled. Creel's story is just one of many that our first generation citizens experience everyday. By expanding the New Roma Business Council we will be able to streamline applications and allow the voices of our marginalized populations to be heard".

"Well stated Senator Amery" praised Reyna, gracing the woman with a rare smile. "Senator Ekon, your response?"

"Thank you Praetor Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Senator Amery and my fellow senate members. It is an honor to stand before you today. Senator Amery does an amazing job advocating for her constituents" schmoozed Senator Ekon. "What she fails to see is the harm that such an expansion would bring to the current process. The current members do their best to remain impartial and fair when reviewing all permits. The only goal of our council members is the greater good of commerce for our community. Many times these permits take a while to process, like Miss Carlburun's. Each member of the committee looks over the permit, weighs the pros and cons and debates whether this newest business will benefit the whole. Expanding the current twenty five seats to a total of thirty would slow the process even more rather than increase the productivity of the committee. This would also increase taxes as the five new representatives would need to be paid".

It took everything in Antonia to keep the forced smile on her face and not drop her head in defeat when Sebastian said the "T-word". If there was anything that would scare the more moderate members of the senate it was taxes. No matter the Society money is the thing that makes the world go round. And while this new plan would need to find funds for those five new committee members, their pay likely wouldn't lead to an across the board rise in taxes and instead just come from budget cuts of an overfunded organization. Still, as soon as the "T-word" gets dropped, for many lawmakers and their constituents logical and rational thinking goes out the window.

"I will leave you all with this final thought, do we really want slower turn around times on submitted permits and higher taxes for our constituents? Or do we want to continue to trust the process that has worked for the last two hundred and forty years?" finished Senator Ekon.

A loud round of applause, led by the first and second cohort filled the senate chamber as the senator took his seat. Antonia's heart broke for her fellow first generation citizens, once again their dreams died in thunderous applause.

"Thank you Senator Ekon, it seems that we are ready to vote. Please cast your ballot pro or opposed at this time" declared Reyna.

Antonia pulled out her stylus and wax tablet and scribbled down her vote in support of the bill. Signing her signature, the tablet glowed a shimmering silver before clearing showing that her vote had been counted.

Reyna stood on her dais accompanied by her dogs, Aurum and Argentum counting the votes as they appeared on her cera tabula. It only took five minutes for Antonia's fears to be fully realized when Reyna raised her hand to bring the room back to attention.

"The senate has spoken and bill three hundred and four will be dismissed in favor of keeping the New Roma Business Council at the same number of seats".

Antonia sighed sadly. She was disappointed in her fellow senators, but not surprised by their votes. Clearly she would have to do more campaigning when this bill was brought up again in a couple months.

Glancing over at the Pontifex Maximus dais, Antonia spotted Octavian, surrounded by his assistants and supporters, smiling smugly down at the gathered senators, clearly pleased by the vote's outcome.

"Let us move on, the next item up for debate is bill number seven hundred and fifty six, senators Brígh and Teresa you have the floor" called Reyna, signaling that it was time to move on with the session.

The rest of the two-hour session went similarly with several bills in favor of the newer generations being shot down. Antonia was frustrated knowing that if Jason had been here to argue on behalf of the bills or to hold certain senators to their agreements the outcome of today's session would have been very different.

As soon as Reyna closed the meeting, Antonia was on her feet and hustling out of the Senate building back towards her villa.

* Rise of the Lotus * Rise of the Lotus *

Back at her Villa. Antonia quickly changed into a pair of black walking pants, knee high boots, a long purple tunic, and a silver corset with peacocks embroidered on it. She had learned early on when living with Talia to never go to the fields in her day dresses as it was the perfect recipe for clothing destruction and ending up on Anabella's bad side. The woman already had enough on her plate running the villa, she did not need to waste extra time scrubbing mud stains out Antonia's priestess dresses.

Pinning back her hair into two braids, Antonia grabbed her satchel and headed down the main spiral staircase to meet up with her apprentice.

"Toni! How did the Senate meeting go? Did Jason show up?" asked Mollie as the pair donned their walking cloaks and headed out towards the livestock district.

"It went about as well as could be expected given that Jason was not in attendance"

"What? He's still missing?"

"I wouldn't say that missing is the right word, as at this time there is no need to panic. But yes, Jason did not attend today's senate meeting"

"But he knew how important today's bill was for us," protested Mollie. "For him too! I mean he won't be Praetor forever and as it stands right now his rights as a first generation demigod are limited by the current families in power".

"He is aware of that Mollie. I don't know what has happened to him today, but I am sure whatever he has been up to is incredibly important. We will just have to wait to hear whatever his story is when he returns" comforted Antonia.

"I bet he's wrestling a griffin" guessed Mollie. "Oh! Or maybe he's rescuing a clutch of pegasus eggs from a hungry strix".

"Nah, he's totally trying to escape from a herd of catoblepas," suggested Antonia.

The pair traded wild ideas of what their friend had gotten up to while he was gone all the way to the fields.

* Rise of the Lotus * Rise of the Lotus *

"Thank you for coming out to meet with us, Sacerdos Talheir, we know how busy you are," thanked farmer Faustine as she led the pair towards her barns.

"Of course, Faustine. I am so sorry to hear about the damage that occurred to your land when the Ophiolatrous attacked last week" apologized Antonia, looking around at the devastation.

"Thank you Sacerdos. My children and I have done our best to clean up the area but this job is just too big for us. We submitted our claim to the Central Help Office but have yet to hear anything".

"That's horrible! They're supposed to send out an agent to assess the damage within forty eight hours of your claim being filed" grumped Mollie.

"In theory, yes they should have been here by now. But given that my husband and I are first generation demigods our pleas tend to be pretty far down on the list"

"Never with me" promised Antonia, using the camera Trenton had given her to snap photos of the damage. "As soon as we finish up here today I will speak with the Central Help Office and sort things out. I would guess based on the damage I am seeing, you will get a pay out to help with rebuilding as well as a clean up team".

"That is more than I ever expected. Thank you both" grinned the woman.

Faustine guided the pair around the rest of the property and waited patiently while Antonia and Mollie took careful notes and collected samples from the wreckage. When it appeared as if they had everything they would need for the time being, they headed back to the front entrance.

"I know that it is frustrating waiting on the people in power to get around to helping. Change and progress takes time, but know that I am in your corner and here to fight for you and your family. Given that it will take a couple days for your plea to go through even with Mollie and I's help please accept this basket. Hopefully it should help ease your family's suffering while we get justice for you" explained Antonia.

Mollie passed the heavy wicker basket the pair had brought over to the grateful farmer. Inside were warm woven blankets and dolls for the kids, several loaves of bread, two jugs of milk, a bucket of goose eggs, a wrapped package of beef, a tin of churned butter and a jar of honey. Hidden underneath everything was a drawstring purse of golden denarii, enough to help the family stay afloat as they waited for their pay out.

The woman's eyes filled with grateful tears as she accepted the gift.

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Sacerdos! Please know that you and your apprentice are always welcome at my table" thanked the woman, pulling Antonia into a tight hug.

"It is my pleasure. Give our love to Paul and the kiddos. You guys are going to get through this and come out the other side, bigger and better" swore Antonia hugging Faustine back just as tightly.

With their business concluded in the Agriculture District the pair headed back on the main road to their final appointment of the day, offering sacrifices on the Capitoline Hill.

* Rise of the Lotus * Rise of the Lotus *

Entering the cella of the Temple of Juno, Antonia quickly set to work. Washing her hands in the fountain she prayed to be cleansed. Plucking several different spices off her spice rack, Antonia mixed up her offering in a cow skull. Placing the spice mix on the altar, Antonia added a few sprigs of rose and myrtle.

"Dea Iuno venio ad te hodie honoro et laudo. Gratias tibi pro benedictionibus et praesidiis tuis, quas populo tuo imposuisti"

Lighting a match, Antonia watched as the spices ignited, activating her sacrifice.

The scary feeling that hadn't left her alone all day was back in full force. While normally, Antonia would clean up and set about checking on the rest of the temple at this point, she couldn't bring herself to move on from the ritual space.

Selecting a magpie feather Antonia laid it atop the image of Jason she pulled from her purse. Next she sprinkled droplets of crocus oil over the pair, chanting "quae amissa sunt revertetur".

A purple cloud formed above the offering, twisting and eventually forming into a miniature horse. "Find Jason Grace and return him to me" instructed Antonia, before blowing the cloud horse out of the temple.

Feeling better with the spell complete, Antonia sped through her temple chores before collecting Mollie and returning home for cena. Antonia could only hope that Jason would be back tomorrow morning.


Latin Terms:
Cena - Dinner
sacerdos - priest/priestess


Senate Session:
Reyna: Hello senate. Let our meeting come to order. Praetor Grace will not be joining us today. Ponifex maximus Octavian you have the floor
Octavian: Thank you Praetor


Translation of the sacrifice prayer:
- goddess Juno i come to you today to honor and praise you. Thank you for your blessings and protections you have laid upon your people.
- return what has been lost.


Evie's Notes 2: Thank you all so much for reading 💕! I hope you enjoyed this update, let me know your favorite part of in the comments! I hope to see you all next week 💗!

I love hearing from y'all! Let me know what you think of the chapter and the story as a whole in the comments or my Tumblr Find-y0ur-j0y! Have a great week and stay safe! - Xo Evie🌺