Hello everyone! I've been receiving positive responses from the readers lately, and it feels really good that you all appreciate my fic, so a great, big thank you. I'm writing a note to the readers today because of a special change that will be happening. Till chapter 12, I've written the fic in such a way that all four of the characters have had three chances on the point of view. But from Chapter 13, the story will progress into the Mark of Athena, and therefore I will be adding the points of view of Leo, Piper, Jason and Annabeth too. Since there will be too many characters' P.O.V. now, I've planned that from the next chapter, i.e. chapter 15, I will be writing in third-person perspective, so as to avoid any type of confusion. So that's exactly what I wanted to convey, and I hope that you will like my fic that way too. Thanks again.
Also, I just wanted to add something from my side personally. As we all know, things have not been the best since about a year and a half. We all are aware of the pandemic, and it has affected all of us. Some of us have even lost near and dear ones to the Coronavirus. So, I urge all my readers, and even the trespassers who might have accidentally clicked on it or whatever, to please, please stay at your homes and take utmost precautions. Things are worse than they seem to be, and health matters most. We all need to stay strong, and brave in these tough times. Therefore, I request you to stay at home, and stay safe, and pray to god for the safety of all the people and the speedy recovery of all the infected throughout the world. Also, I urge all of you to try and help as much as you can by donating various supplies using online NGO's or organisations that have been working so hard for our safety. Thank you. Stay home, stay safe!
Regards,
Silverstriker27
Chapter 14
We win the Battle
Natalie's P.O.V.
The ride back was not at all comfortable.
To me it felt like all of us were stuck in a mixer grinder, and someone had switched it on. The chariot held, and I thanked whichever god who was listening for it. Arion moved very fast, the chariot swaying with his motion. All of us kept bumping into each other, and the weapons that we had scavenged were not at all helpful in making the journey any good. I just hoped it would end soon, but Arion kept moving. Eyes closed, and my hand tightly clasped around Percy's, I lost track of time. After what definitely felt like hours, we stopped.
The chariot gave a horrible shudder, and all of us jumped off and collapsed on the ground, heads swimming. We stayed there for a moment, as though the ground was our only anchor, then finally sat up. Hazel's open hair was tangled badly. Frank and Percy looked as if someone had stuffed them into a very old dirty gunny bag and shaken it wildly, then thrown them out of it. Strands of hair had come up loose from my braid, and I knew I wasn't looking any better than them.
Frank pulled a bottle of water out of his pack. He seemed to have packed an unlimited supply of almost everything, because whenever we needed something, he was the first one to get it. First aids, water bottles, tissues, deodorants, you name it, he had it. He gulped some water down, then threw the bottle to me. We played pass-the-bottle until we all were hydrated. Then Percy grinned.
"My memory. It's come back. All of it."
Just then, as if something bad had to happen, a face solidified into the ground in front of us. The sleeping face of a woman, eyes closed. But even though she was sleeping, she was aware. She spoke, her voice echoing inside my brain.
"So you made it to your camp, demigods. You still have a battle to face."
"Gaea," Hazel's voice shook with anger.
"Hazel Levesque. You helped me in rising Alyceoneus, and you have destroyed him. But do not be happy. I too have someone dear to you with me."
The ground swirled to form an image. Two giants, smaller than Alyceoneus or Polybotes, stood in a dark chamber with their backs facing us. Light coming from behind made them look like dark silhouettes. But I could make out that they were looking at someone. Between their legs, a lifeless form lay on the ground. Lying unconscious before the giants was Nico di Angelo.
"Nico," Hazel gasped.
"Do not despair, Hazel, for your brother is not dead. But he will be soon. To rescue him, you must come to Rome. And if not, I myself will deliver you his corpse."
Gaea's face dissolved, leaving utter silence.
"Hazel," Percy said. "Don't worry, we'll go to Rome. We'll get Nico."
"But he was - lying there as if - dead," Hazel seemed to be deeply shaken.
"We will get him back," Percy said more firmly. "I promise. Remember the last time I promised you that we won't let Thanatos take you. I'm promising you now too. We will get Nico back. But right now, we have to win the battle, alright."
Hazel nodded, then her face turned determined. "Gaea will regret this." she muttered.
"BROTHER!"
I turned to see a cyclops and a hellhound rushing towards us, the cyclops' hands wide. I willed my sword into my hands, and was just about to attack him when suddenly Percy rushed forward and put a hand on my chest.
"No, wait! He's not bad!"
The cyclops and the hellhound stopped for a moment, then Percy turned towards them, and suddenly, the cyclops' eyes filled with tears and he wrapped him into a bear hug. The hellhound barked and turned a circle around Percy and started licking him. Percy patted it like it was his little pet chihuahua. I didn't believe my eyes.
"Hey Mrs. O'Leary! It's alright girl. I'm back," he said happily, scratching its ears as she barked joyfully.
"Wait, Percy. Would you explain this all to us?" I asked.
"They're my friends. This is Tyson. Tyson, Natalie. He's my brother. I mean, our brother. A son of Poseidon. The one I told you about back at Frank's house."
Tyson the cyclops frowned at me for a second, then his reaction changed, as if a sudden realisation had dawned upon. He bounded forward and wrapped me in the same hug, which nearly crushed me.
"Sister!" He exclaimed jovially.
"Uh, yeah. It's great to meet you too, Tyson. Percy told me about you."
"And she's Mrs. O'Leary-,"
"Your hellhound. Yeah, I remember."
Mrs O'Leary barked happily at me and allowed me to pat her head. Percy introduced Frank and Hazel to Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary, and when Percy mentioned that Frank was a descendant of Neptune, Tyson wrapped him up in his bear hug too("BROTHER!"), and Percy looked strangely at him, as though he wanted to say so something, but then thought better of it.
"Bad things are happening," Tyson said, shaking his head. "But Annabeth, Leo, Piper and Jason are coming tomorrow on the big ship!" he said excitedly.
My heart skipped a beat. "Wait, Tyson. Did you say Jason? Jason Grace?"
Tyson nodded. I felt as though someone had lifted a big rock from my heart. At least he's fine, I thought. He's coming back tomorrow.
"Guys," Hazel said. "I can hear something, and assuming Arion has dropped us near Camp Jupiter, I think we ought to go and help now."
Frank squinted at the sun. "But where are we? I've never been here anytime before. How do we get to camp?"
Tyson strained his eyes, then with a serious expression, started saying in a voice that unmistakably belonged to Reyna. "Let's just hope our quest members come back in time. I'll hold him off till them. Change the formation, attack the more dangerous monsters first. Take the fourth and fifth cohort with you. Go!"
The amount of panic in her voice was carefully controlled, and even though it was visible, Reyna spoke firmly. But, if Reyna was on the verge of panicking…
"Tyson! Can you lead us to that voice?" I asked hurriedly. He nodded.
"The battle's started. We need to get there as soon as possible," Frank said.
"Wait, I don't think Tyson should come," I stated. "What if someone thinks of him as a monster and kills him?"
Frank opened his backpack again and took out an SPQR flag(really? A flag, now?) and wrapped it around Tyson like a cape. Tyson looked dignified.
"No one will attack him now," he said.
Percy detached the chariot's reins from Arion and turned to Hazel. "You go on Arion along with Frank first. Tell them we've succeeded. We're right behind you."
Hazel nodded urgently and took out her spatha, jumped onto Arion. The news of Nico seemed to have made her determination more stronger. Frank turned into an eagle(that still felt a bit creepy) and soared away, flapping his wings with an urgency. Hazel disappeared in a flash of light. Steam bellowed from the Arion's tracks.
"That's great, sending them ahead," I said sarcastically. "But have you given a thought how we will reach there? I don't suppose we're going to run dragging the chariot all the way?"
Percy looked at the chariot, then at Mrs. O'Leary, and smiled.
Five minutes later, as we came into the view of battle, I was sure people were thinking we had gone insane on our quest to Alaska. They gawked at us as we sped past on the chariot, which was now attached to Mrs. O'Leary, who bounded forward barking merrily and destroying, crushing or eating as many monsters as she could. She seemed to be having the time of her life. Tyson jumped out of the chariot, and started whacking the other cyclops, yelling, "Peanut Butter!"
The legionnaires looked at him quizzically, but as they saw the purple flag wrapped upon him, they resumed fighting. The whole field of Mars was dusty. Random specks of blood lay on the dry ground. Legionnaires fought with the monsters, slashing and stabbing until they turned to dust.
"Here," Percy yelled as we reached the lined up in-formation legionnaires and threw them weapons. They saw us, then with newfound weapons and energy, gave a yell and rushed to battle. I stepped off the chariot.
"I fight on the ground," I said, as Percy nodded and drove the chariot, with the eagle raised high. He randomly blasted the monsters with the standard. It seemed to be giving everyone the reassurance that we would win the fight now. I rushed into the field, vaporizing a group of cyclops as I moved past legionnaires and monsters fighting. The two gorgons who had been chasing Percy lunged at me, but I sidestepped and slashed at both of them, who immediately turned into a pile of monster dust. After what felt like ten minutes, the legion seemed to be slowly overpowering the army, but we were still outnumbered ten to one. Then somewhere from behind, I heard Dakota yell my name. He came rushing from behind, his lips red(not from blood). He gave me a quick hug, then jerked towards Percy on the chariot.
"You both go to the boundaries of the city. Reyna is fighting with Polybotes there. Go and help her. I'll handle it here."
In the hurry of the battle, I had completely forgotten about Polybotes. A dread spread over me. Giants could only be defeated by a hero and a god. But now I understood what Hazel had felt seeing Alyceoneus. Polybotes was Neptune's bane. It came down to us to fight him, not any other legionnaire. I ran towards Percy, who just vaporized a centaur.
"Percy," I said between short breaths. "Give the standard to Dakota - we need to - Polybotes."
Percy understood, then jumped off the chariot and handed Dakota the standard. Dakota held it gingerly at first, as though being presented with a glass sphere, but then pride shined on his face, he gripped the standard tight, jumped on the golden chariot, and yelled,"For Rome!"
Battle cries rose from everywhere. Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and started leading the chariot on Dakota's orders.
"Come on," I said. We rushed past the army, vapourizing any monster that came in our range. Members from the legion patted us as we ran past. Then we saw Polybotes. He was almost as horrible as he had been last time. Whole of the first cohort seemed to be gathered around him in a circle, trying to attack him. Reyna circled overhead on Scipio, attacking and parrying the strikes from gis trident. Out of all people, only Reyna seemed to be having some luck.
"We need to go help them. You ready?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
As soon as we neared him, Percy did his thing again. He shouted, "Polybotes!"
Everyone turned to look at us, even Reyna. Then, Reyna slowly came towards us and dropped off Scipio.
"So you succeeded," she said, trying to hide a smile.
"Yeah," Percy said, trying not to look at Reyna. I stifled a laugh. He still remembered the Iris Message.
"Look, Reyna. Go and take the legionnaires to the field of Mars. Dakota is leading the battle there. He has the standard. Go and help them. We'll fight Polybotes. He's ours."
Polybotes seemed to be observing us. Reyna led her troops the other way, still in the range of sight, but fighting against the monsters now. Everyone seemed to think that fighting monsters was better than Polybotes. I couldn't help but agree. We were near the aqueduct, and I wondered whether this would be an advantage for us or Polybotes. Surely, he must know a trick or two with water, if he was Neptune's opponent.
"Perseus Jackson and Natalie Carter. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Polybotes, the son of Gaea, bane of Neptune and his children. Pity you're his." he stated in a voice that closely matched Alyceoneus' cold, drawling excuse for sounds.
"I think you've got it wrong today, Polybotes," Percy said. "Perhaps we are your bane today."
The giant laughed. "You think so? Brave of you."
Then he lunged at us with his trident, and we parried it with our swords. We circled him, one attacking while Polybotes fought with the other. I jabbed him in the knee, and golden blood flew from his wound. His trident almost got me twice, but Percy parried his strikes.
"Gah! Enough of this child's play!" he yelled, as though we were annoying house flies buzzing near his ears. He flicked his hands, and clear water shot from the aqueduct, but turned a sickly green as soon as it got near us. I dodged and avoided getting hit, but it's smell told me exactly what it was. Poison.
Polybotes threw it again. But this time I willed the water to form a shield around me and Percy. The two waves didn't meet, but stayed as though an invisible wall of energy was preventing them. It seemed to at least give me time to talk to Percym
"We're gonna tire out and he's not gonna die this way. His poison is really powerful."
Percy nodded, looking at the boundary of New Rome. I stole a glance at the battle. The monsters were endless, and our troops too less. Even if we defeated Polybotes somehow, they would definitely be a problem. Then his expressions changed, the same way they did when-
"I've got an idea."
"What is it?"
"Terminus. He's a god. If we can get him-,"
"He'll kill Polybotes with us. Percy. You. Are. A. Genius," I said, shocked at how dumb he was normally, but how quickly and efficiently his brain worked in the face of a battle. Suddenly, a battle cry from nowhere shook us from the conversation. Horns blasted. Hundreds of warriors emerged, rushing in with their weapons held high.
"Do you see this, Sea Spawns? Amazons, aiding us. How will your army get past them?" Polybotes said from the other side.
But even his voice seemed to be fading near the end of the sentence. I turned to look at the army. Standing in the lead was Hylla, who, her voice firm, yelled, "Amazons! Destroy these monsters!"
I grinned. The battle took a turn, and Polybotes led out a horrible bellow. He pushed the poison harder on me, but the shield still held.
"Can you hold him off while I talk to Terminus?"
"Well, what am I doing now, huh?" I asked him.
He nodded then went rushing off. Polybotes pushed on me harder than ever. I knew what I had to do. I concentrated on my power, felt it flowing through me, and the shield deflected poison with a burst of energy, that blasted both me and Polybotes off our feet. I fell hard on my left elbow, and pain flared in that area like someone had just pressed a hot iron to it. I groaned. Polybotes got up and ran to attack, but I rolled on one side as his trident came down. I kicked him from beside, willed my sword into my hand then jabbed him behind his knee. He yelled in pain, then turned with his trident so suddenly, I had to duck to avoid getting my neck broken, or probably off my head.
As soon as his trident soared above my head, I slashed and somersaulted over his head, like Anakin had tried to in The Revenue of the Sith. Fortunately, it worked for me, as I didn't get my limbs cut off. I realized the best way to keep out of Polybotes' range of fire was to attack him from behind. This time, Polybotes didn't swing his trident, but brought it down just as I raised my sword above my head to avoid getting sliced in half. Polybotes was too powerful. My body shook with the effort of keeping his trident from coming down on me. Pain flared in my injured elbow, but I held it. I needed a distraction. Quickly, I concentrated on water but as soon as it got near enough, the giant flicked his hand and the water turned into poison and fell at the ground, leaving the grass burning. I was in too much pain to concentrate.
I had a sudden idea. With all the remaining strength, I slowly started to bend. Polybotes thought I was losing, but as soon as I got my chance, I quickly kicked at a jagged rock in the ground. Fortunately, it's sharp edge got Polybotes, and he got distracted, long enough for me to escape. This time, I slashed at his back. He howled in pain, giving me enough time to talk to Percy.
"Percy! What is Terminus saying?" I yelled.
"He's not agreeing," Percy looked desperate. "Wait, I have an idea."
This time, I would've dearly loved to say, "What a surprise!" but I refrained, the pain in my elbow making me grit my teeth. There wasn't water around, and no ambrosia, so I didn't know how to heal it.
"Look, Terminus won't agree. But if we get Polybotes with that weapon past the Pomegranate Line-,"
"Pomerian Line."
"Yeah whatever, if we get him past the boundary with that trident of his-,"
"Aaaarrrrgghhh," Polybotes yelled, coming out of his pain and charging at us. We both dove sideways. This time, I was not very fortunate. I landed on my left hand again, and pain shot up my hand again. But this time, the tip of the giants' trident had got the back of my hand. It was bleeding profusely. The pain worsened. I groaned, but heard Percy talking to me.
"Yeah, just like this. Get him over there," Percy yelled. I groaned and got up before Polybotes could come at me again. Polybotes started charging but I ran towards the Pomerian Line. Just as I reached the boundary, I jumped sidestepped, and Polybotes was inside New Rome with his trident. Immediately, Terminus' statue popped up.
"How dare you bring that weapon inside the boundary of New Rome, giant?" he yelled furiously.
Polybotes bellowed and swung his trident towards Terminus, amd his handless statue broke into pieces, head falling aside. He called Polybotes some foul words I'd never seen Terminus speak.
Polybotes charged at Percy, and I rushed to help him with the fight. The sounds of fighting from the field of Mars had died. I turned to see legionnaires and Amazons standing, looking at us with interest. This only meant one thing. The monster army had been defeated.
Percy and I both aimed for Polybotes legs and jabbed at them. He fell on his back, howling. I quickly went near Terminus' remains. I picked his head and tossed it to Percy.
Terminus said, "I see now why you were right, Percy Jackson. These types of garbage should be cleared about. We have a deal."
Percy smiled at the head, then at me. I came forward on either side of Polybotes.
"Remember I told you we were your bane, Polybotes? Why don't you meet our friend Terminus, here. FYI, he's a god," Percy said.
Then as if we'd planned the whole thing for months, Percy plunged the head, and I plunged my sword into Polybotes' stomach together. He screamed, then his body turned into dust and flew away. Terminus made a tut-tutting sound and reappeared as a repaired full statue, throwing dirty looks to where Polybotes had been a few seconds ago. The whole crowd cheered. Then, as if some instinct took over me, I went near Percy. I knew what I had to do, and knew everyone would support me. I grabbed Percy's hand and raised it above our heads, yelling, "Praetor! Praetor!"
Percy looked at me quizzically, but I was smiling. Hazel and Frank grinned, then started repeating. Soon, almost the whole crowd was following the chant. They rushed towards Percy, then lifted him up on a shield, just like they had done with Jason. Reyna was smiling, and Octavian was reluctantly clapping, his hands meeting so hard as if he were imagining Percy's head between them. The pain and bleeding in my left hand lay forgotten, and I smiled. Smiled, because we had won the battle. Smiled, because Jason would be back home tomorrow. Smiled, because Percy was the new praetor. Smiled, because I knew I had done the right thing.
The pain returned just as the adrenaline wore off. After lots of cheering, hugging, shaking hands and pats on the back, the camp medics finally looked over my hand. My elbow had been sprained, but, as Pranjal, the head medic said, nothing ambrosia and a good night's sleep couldn't fix. The gash was more of a problem, though. Whether it was due to Polybotes' trident or the camp medics said they didn't know what, it didn't heal like usual from ambrosia. I tried to put it in water, but it didn't work too. Pranjal shook his head glumly.
"You'll need to get it dressed and let it heal like a regular wound."
I groaned, but let him do his stuff. Finally, after dressing my hand and wrist with gauze, he let me go. Romans were good at building and stuff, and therefore, in just a few hours, most of the damage had been repaired. Cracks in buildings had been temporarily plastered, because everyone was tired and thought about rebuilding it properly after getting rested, but New Rome and Camp Jupiter looked almost like they were before. The real thing was dinner. Being the Feast of Fortuna, it was grander than usual, but with the Amazons and legionnaires sitting together, it looked like a huge-scale party. The four of us, Tyson and Ella(who Alisha had taken good care of) sat together, laughing and talking and gulping down food as we celebrated the victory among the others. Being the Praetor, Percy would have sat in front, but with so many guests around, nobody cared where people sat. Reyna was happily talking with Hylla. The only person who wasn't happy was Octavian, who kept throwing dirty looks at Percy.
Alisha came by and thanked us, and told us all about Hylla's battle with Otrera. Several of the Amazon girls tried to get a move on Percy, and while he politely refused, he was annoyed by the three of us snickering.
"Shut up," he said irritably.
Someone had found Tyson an XXXL sized t-shirt, which he gladly wore along with his khaki trousers. Ella looked healthier than ever, and was eating with a relish, muttering information about every dish she ate. Finally, after a great dinner, came the traditional marking ceremony. But before the tattoos, Reyna stood up to formally welcome the Amazons and officially proclaim Percy the praetor.
"Romans," Reyna said in a formal tone, but she smiled, which made it pleasant all the same. "We have survived the camp's levacy for another year filled with adventures, mysteries, battles. But we have emerged victorious. We have made new friends," she gestured to Hylla, Tyson, Ella and all of the Amazons, "we have completed quests that were almost impossible," she gestured to us, "and we have won a tough battle."
This time she pointed to everyone who sat in the hall. "We have had some losses, but we will remain tough. For now, there are new appointments, medals to award, and the time for a new stripe, as we begin our new year. Octavian, may I ask you to step forward and take charge?"
Octavian grudgingly stood up, then he raised his voice and addressed the people. "Today, we thank Amazons for their help, and begin an official partnership with them, promising to help when in each others' needs. Lady Hylla, queen of the Amazons, might I ask you to step forward?"
Hylla stood up, and Octavian gave her a medal, then shook hands.
"This is the formal beginning of our new ties. Now, as our Praetor and the legion sees fit, Percy Jackson, probatio of the fifth cohort, you have been promoted to the rank of Praetor for your exceptional bravery for Rome. Step forward and collect your cape and medal."
Percy stood up and went towards Octavian, who grudgingly gave him the cape and medal. Octavian held Percy's hand, then looked at the heavens. A flash of light, and Percy got his tattoo. The sign of Neptune, a trident just like mine. Though with only one line.
"Natalie Carter, legionnaire of the fifth cohort, come forward."
I went near Octavian, who uneasily held my hand and looked above. Light flashed, and on my arm appeared my tenth stripe. I looked at it proudly.
"Natalie Carter, you have completed ten years at camp. You have remained faithful to your oath of your unswerving loyalty to Rome. On our Praetor Reyna's recommendation, you have been promoted to a Senior Member of the Senate."
I looked at Reyna, who was smiling. An understanding passed between us, and I nodded, then took my seat back with the others. Slowly, everyone got their stripes, Octavian pronouncing their names and honours. All of the legion received medals for their bravery. Then, Reyna stood up again.
"The day has been tough on us. Therefore, to freshen up and bond with our Amazon friends, the night curfew will start an hour late. Today, we shall rejoice with our friends. Let us raise a toast to all of us, both alive and dead, who stood bravely in the face of danger. For Rome!"
"FOR ROME!"
I went immediately to Reyna.
"Thanks for making me a senior member," I said.
"Well after what you have done, you've really earned it."
Then I gestured for my friends to come forward. "Reyna, we have to talk about something. Can we go to the Principia?"
Reyna looked confused, but nodded as all of us headed back towards the Principia. The last time we'd been here, it was for determining whether Percy would live or not.
The room looked the same, the only difference was that this time, Percy sat on the previously empty Praetor's chair beside Reyna.
"I'll listen to you, but first, tell me about your quest. I need to know everything."
And so we started, talking about everything that had happened, every person we'd come across. Iris, Phineas, Alisha, everyone. When we finished, Reyna nodded, clearly meaning she'd understood everything.
"The best thing is we all got through this," she said. "What did you want to tell me?"
I leaned forward and laced my fingers together on the table.
"Jason is coming back tomorrow."
Reyna's expression immediately changed, but before she could speak, I cut her.
"With Greeks from the camp Percy came from."
She looked aghast. She turned to me, then at Percy, and frowned. "So it is true then. You are a Greek. Greeks are still around."
"Yeah they are, Reyna, but look, we don't mean any harm. I promise they won't attack unless and until attacked. They are coming in hopes of friendship, or at least, if not friendship, a peace treaty."
"How do you know they are coming tomorrow?"
Tyson explained everything to Reyna, who looked more aghast with every word. It was as if someone had suddenly hit her with a stick, then giving excuses that it was just a mistake.
"How do you suggest I tell this to the legion?" Reyna said, not minding to hide her anger. "How do I go and tell them that the Praetor they just elected is a Greek, huh?"
"Look, Reyna," Frank said. "Jason is with them, right. He's the one who told them where camp is. And from what I've heard of the guy, he would never betray Rome."
"But-,"
"Remember what Juno said?" I said quickly. "An exchange. That meant exchange of leaders between the two camps. Juno did this so that both the camps would forget their rivalry and stand together."
"But why?" Reyna got up from her seat. "Why would Juno want to bring the camps together?"
"Because the Great Prophecy has started!"
Reyna looked stunned. I'd never quite yelled at her.
"Yeah, and we'll be making the same mistake again. Figuring out the prophecy! You of all people know the best, Natalie. You even fought Michael Varus. We're going to make the same mistake again! And I am not ready to put the legion into this. We've just survived one battle, and that too with many losses. I can't put forward the camp to do this!"
Percy stood up impatiently now. "Yeah but ignoring it won't help either, Reyna. I know it's not easy to trust me now since I'm a Greek, but trust me. If I'd have any bad intentions against the Romans, do you really think I'd have helped in killing Polybotes even after remembering I'm a Greek?"
Reyna looked unconvinced. I'd have done the same too, if I'd been in her position. But I knew if she'd have been on the quest, she wouldn't have hesitated. It was, after all, a hard decision.
"Reyna," Hazel spoke through the silence. "Phineas himself said Gaea is his patron, she brought him back. Gaea is primordial, the mother of the Titans. If Saturn's return almost resulted in the world being destroyed, do you think that Gaea's return would be a kitty party compared to it? Gaea is the Earth herself, and she's awakening. This definitely is some Great-prophecy-level stuff."
"But-,"
I slightly lowered my voice. "Don't deny it, Reyna. You know it. The Doors of Death are out of bounds. And they were in the prophecy, right? I'm talking about the same line. Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. Greeks and Romans have been enemies for centuries. That's it, Reyna. That's what the line means. Greeks and Romans."
Reyna breathed, but I knew I'd gotten the point. She understood it.
"But how do I tell everyone this? Octavian will seize the chance and get you all banished or executed by tomorrow if he hears this."
"You don't have to tell them anything," Frank stated. "Just tell them tomorrow is a senate meeting. Our new praetor would address them about the subject. Percy has the right to put forward his issue."
Reyna thought for a moment, then nodded. "Argentum, Aurum, go and fetch Octavian. Someone needs to inform the camp."
I really liked how Reyna said 'fetch Octavian' as if he was a stick she wanted her dogs to fetch.
"You all go and get your minds cleared before the curfew. Tomorrow is a big day. The senate meeting will commence early. And while you're at it, make sleeping arrangements for our guests."
While most spent time talking and roaming, Percy, Hazel and Frank went to roam about the streets of New Rome, coming back from the unicorn stables after making sleeping arrangements for Ella and Tyson. We let Hazel and Frank go on roaming, and I and Percy got some coffee from Bombilo and went up to the garden of Bacchus. We sat on the ground on the lush green grass, sipping and laughing and talking about the battle.
"How long did Pranjal say it would take to heal that?" Percy asked.
"Oh, he said it would heal in two or three days. Pity ambrosia and water didn't work," I added, wincing.
"You know, I can't believe last night we were sitting in Alaska, slurping stew."
I laughed. In just a day, we had moved thousands of miles, defeated two giants, saved the camp from battle. But tomorrow will be the real challenge.
"Have you thought anything about tomorrow? Only a praetor can put forward a subject," I said to him.
He thought for a moment. "Actually, no. I'm never good at this stuff, you know. I just do my best when I improvise, so that's what I'm gonna do tomorrow. I'll just need help from you all. Especially now you've become a senior member," he added, winking.
"Yeah, I was shocked too. I mean, a senior member. That's quite a privilege."
"Not to someone who's denied the post of a praetor multiple times."
I smiled. "Sure it is. I think I know that person."
He smirked too. "Yeah, I do know that person too. She's quite annoying, you know. And a bit sarcastic, which I don't mind. But she's really close to me and I absolutely love hanging around with her. She's good enough for me. More than good. She's the best."
"Oh really?" I asked with mock surprise. "I'm sure I'd like to meet that person. In fact, I just happen to know an annoying person. But I love him too."
He laughed. "By the way, my birthday falls on the 18th of August. So, I guess I'm the big caring and concerned bro now."
"Yeah sure. You're the old man. I'm still young. Would you like me to help hold your cup, your hands might be shaking from the effort at such an old age," I said sarcastically.
"You know, till now I used to think only Annabeth can have a reply for every sentence, whether a question or sarcasm. I think I've just found another one."
I raised my eyebrows. "You mean that really annoying person you mentioned earlier?"
"Oh yeah. But I did say I like her."
"I'm sure she likes you too."
Percy looked at his watch.
"Fifteen minutes for curfew. Come on, let's go to the barracks. Big day tomorrow."
"Yeah, let's go."
And with that, we got up, threw our empty cups in the dustbin, and walked towards the barracks, our hands flung over each other's shoulder, laughing, talking and joking. For once, everything seemed perfectly fine and happy.