Chapter 15

Frank's P.O.V.

The last thing Frank expected was Tyson shaking him awake in the middle of the night. He had been sleeping peacefully, and, after a long time, without dreams. The sleep was so comfortable after the heat of the battle that he wanted to sleep like that for a million years, but the fates had to do something to irritate him, even after his euphoria of winning the battle. Snapped back to consciousness by Tyson shaking him(which was a lot more powerful than a normal person shaking somebody), he opened his eyes to see Tyson's big, round eyes looking at him.

"Brother! Percy told me to wake you up," he whispered, which was a good thing, since if he'd yelled and hugged me like the last time, the whole cohort would wake up and start yelling for disturbing their peaceful sleep.

Frank sat up groggily, rubbed his eyes and looked around. Percy was waking Hazel, Natalie already awake and yawning at his side. She was frowning at Percy.

Frank turned to Tyson. "Why?"

Tyson stared at him for a moment. Then he looked around, as though checking for eavesdroppers, then leaned close and whispered, "It's Ella."

Though Tyson looked concerned when he mentioned Ella, Frank could've sworn he was blushing even though the light was dim. He got up from his bunk. Surely, if even Percy had come from the Praetoria in the dead of the night, something must be serious.

Frank went up to Percy. "What's wrong with Ella?"

Percy gestured to the girls and Frank to follow him and Tyson. "I'll tell you on the way."

Natalie looked at Percy. "You do realize that we're breaking the curfew?"

"Yeah."

"On your first day, sorry, night as a Praetor?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, if you're in your senses, this means you're serious. Let's go before someone senses us awake."

Frank and the others followed Percy out of the barracks. They sneaked past towards the stables. As soon as they were sure no one could see them, he quickened his pace so that he was shoulder to shoulder with Percy. Surely, Frank felt intrigued by the guy. He was brave, strong, good at sword fighting, many other things and he was the Praetor. But after going on the quest with him, he had become such good friends with him that it was like just walking casually next to a fellow legionnaire.

"So what're we doing and what's wrong with Ella?" Frank asked Percy. Natalie and Hazel came closer to listen.

"Dunno," Percy said. "I was in Praetoria when Tyson came panicking and all hyped-up. He said that Ella was muttering words while sleeping, and when he shook her awake, she started running around the stables like a lunatic and said she needed to tell something to someone."

"That's weird," Hazel said, and it summed everything up. Everything that was happening definitely qualified for 'weird'.

They trudged along, a cool breeze ruffling their hair. Ella's mutterings could be heard from about 20 metres from the stables. As soon as they got in the range, they broke into a run and got inside the stables. For a moment, Frank thought Ella had definitely gone bonkers. Her feathers were sticking out weirdly. Her face was all scrunched up. The unicorns were grunting very annoyedly. Stray feathers flew about here and there with the slight breeze. She was muttering crazily.

"Ella!" Tyson called out. "I brought someone so you can tell them something. Tell them."

Ella looked at them, then her eyes widened. She went into one corner and sat down shaking and still muttering, and tucked her head under one of her wings.

"Now that's extra weird," Hazel sighed. Natalie made her approach first, and bent down next to her. They followed suit, until they all were bent near her in a semicircle. Frank thought it would rather look like they were cornering her and make her scared, but Ella peeked out of her wings and looked at them.

"Must tell someone" she muttered.

"Must tell what?" Percy asked.

Ella shook her head. "Bad things...bad lines... three heroes of age shall fall into the abyss... wisdom's daughter walks alone... hero's soul cursed blade shall reap...eight demigods shall answer the call...the Mark of Athena…"

Frank was becoming more confused by each word. Only one line made sense. Eight demigods shall answer the call. The line from the Great Prophecy. And if Ella was muttering that… No, Frank chided himself. She just might have come across it and was muttering like she always did. But some part of him knew that it had something to do, something big with the prophecy.

"The Mark of Athena. The Mark of Athena," Ella recited, as though she'd decided which one of all the things she said was the best and had picked it up. Then she looked back at them. "The Mark of Athena."

Natalie narrowed her eyes. "The Mark of Athena? What about it?"

Frank turned towards her. Her expression was unreadable, though she had asked about the Mark of Athena thing as if she knew it personally. Almost as if it was a trigger to doomsday.

"The Mark of Athena burns through Rome," Ella said to her. Then she got up, moved towards the makeshift nest they'd made and curled up. In moments, she started snoring. The unicorns behind them started grunting, like they meant to say - Finally, we can get some peaceful sleep.

"What's this Mark of Athena?" Percy asked Natalie.

"No idea. It just sounded important, so I asked."

Frank could've sworn that Natalie definitely knew something, but decided not to push it. He didn't want to know about any type of doomsday trigger.

"And what about the gibberish she was saying? All those lines?" Hazel asked.

Tyson whistled. "Prophecies." he said.

Tyson turned to Percy. "Remember, brother? Hero's soul cursed blade shall reap. The line from the prophecy. Luke."

Percy's face turned ashen. His eyes became saddened. Frank didn't know about any Luke guy, but he figured out he must have been close to Percy. Natalie nodded. She obviously knew, since Percy had told all his adventures to her already while he and Hazel were sleeping during their quest.

"But that wasn't just one prophecy," Natalie stated. "She also muttered that line from the Great Prophecy. And all those other lines also sounded like them. But how does she know them? She's just been at camp today. And I don't remember any of us mentioning them to her back in Portland."

"Maybe she heard someone speaking the prophecy today at camp. You can't deny somebody might have just been telling Amazons or something like that when she heard them. With Ella's memory, she might have had it memorized in a second," Hazel offered.

"Yeah, that's possible," Percy said, scratching his chin. "But what about the other lines. That hero's soul line? It was the prophecy of the war between the Olympians and Saturn. And yeah, she also recited the first line back at Portland. That's what made me all nauseous. I knew those lines. A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds. That half-blood was me. That was the prophecy I got during the war. But I don't know how she might have come across it."

"What if she read them somewhere?" Natalie suggested, her tone careful, as though she was pointing something out to us. Frank understood where she was going. His face paled.

"You don't mean she's come across the Sibylline books?"

"I'm sure I do. That's exactly what I mean."

Hazel gasped. "But those books were destroyed!"

"What's the proof? Maybe some part of it was left. Ella might've come across them sometime. And as you said, with Ella's memory, she might have had it all memorized in a second," Natalie told her.

"One way to find out," Frank said and shook Ella awake. "Ella, can you tell us where you came across those lines you were saying?"

Ella stared at him, as though he was missing something obvious. "In a book," she said.

"In a book? What did it look like?"

"Old," Ella said. "Worn out. Red."

"Was there something written on it?" Frank asked, his curiosity increasing by every moment. He almost knew what the answer would be. But he still held on, waiting for Ella to say something.

Ella nodded. "Sybillinos Libros."

Hazel gasped from behind. Ella sensed it was the end of our conversation, so she went back to sleep.

"Is it bad?" Tyson asked, looking concernedly over Ella.

"No," Natalie said with a false smile. "It's all okay, Tyson. Why don't you get some sleep too?"

Tyson nodded, then curled up on an extra large sleeping bag and started snoring. Silence pressed over like a layer of thermocol over them. The unicorns were all asleep now. Frank gestured towards the door.

"Let's get outside. I don't think anyone else would be okay waking up and getting disturbed by our conversation."

As they walked back towards the barracks, Frank's head was swimming.

"We should not tell it to anybody right now. Let things cool down, then discuss it with Reyna. If Octavian finds this out, that would be very…,"

"Bad." Hazel completed.

Frank was walking silently listening to their conversation when Natalie suddenly grabbed the back of his t-shirt and yanked him back, crouching behind a huge boulder.

"Wha-,"

She put one of her hands on his mouth and silently peered over the boulder. Then she gestured for us to see it. He slowly turned and slowly peeked over the huge chunk of rock. Someone was walking stealthily towards the Temple Hill, looking here and there, checking for anyone looking at the dead of night.

"That's Octavian," Natalie whispered. "That's definitely him. What's he doing, going to the Temple Hill at this time?"

"Dunno," Percy muttered.

Octavian started going up the hill, now quickening his pace. He was still looking around, and we decided it wasn't safe to go until he disappeared out of sight.

"Should we follow him? See where he goes?" Hazel asked.

"If Octavian's breaking the curfew, something's definitely dodgy. Come on," Natalie said as they started following him, hiding whenever they could. They spotted Octavian, sitting behind a fire in the shrine of Apollo, chanting in Latin. The fire glowed warmer. Then he started whispering, as though he was speaking to somebody through it. It was impossible to decipher what he said, but they occasionally caught snippets.

"- no, you are too powerful. You do not need to step up in these silly matters, whatever your father says, my Lord."

"But-,"

"You should be more honoured, my lord. You should be on my side. I give offerings to you regularly."

"Who's he talking to?" Percy whispered.

"No idea, but I think we should get back as soon as we can. It won't be good if he sees us," Frank said.

Somehow, they made it back to the barracks. Percy insisted he didn't like the Praetoria, said it felt too much like Jason, and he got in the bunk under his. Frank knew no one of them would be able to sleep properly after what they'd seen. First, Ella and the Sibylline books, then Octavian. Frank was exceptionally interested in who Octavian was talking to, at midnight in such secrecy. He couldn't help but think that Octavian had referred to that person as 'lord'. Was it possible he was secretly working for somebody? Frank turned and he sensed something under his pillow. He reached under it, and felt something solid. He threw his pillow aside. Lying there was a photo frame that surely hadn't been there before, but it was recognizable. It was the same photo Frank had been wanting to take from his home back at Vancouver. A small note lay beside it. He picked it up gingerly and opened it. Written inside were three words, but suddenly Frank understood their meaning. They were just three words, but they seemed to be speaking hundreds of sentences. Reading them again and again gave Frank an odd satisfaction. The three words were - Good job, kid. The words echoing in his head, Frank clutched the note in his hand and the photo close to his chest and fell back to his comfortable sleep.

Frank woke up early that morning. Only a few bunks were empty. Not only did he feel refreshed, but he still had the photo with him. He placed it gently on his bed, then got up and looked around. Dakota's bunk was empty, along with Natalie's. Percy and Hazel were sleeping, still curled up in their blankets. Frank decided not to wake them up. He went to the baths, cleaned up and then started heading towards the shrine of Mars Ultor. He surely needed to thank him. He had been helpful on his quest. On the way, he spotted Natalie coming out of Neptune's shrine.

"Hey! You're up early?" she said.

"So are you."

"Yeah, well. I had to thank someone," she said, flicking her chin back towards the shrine. "Also, you know no one except me tries to even be near Neptune's shrine. It had become all dusty while I was gone. Someone needed to clean it and put in some new offerings."

Frank peered over her shoulder. The floor of the shrine was clean and recently swept. Fresh fruits gleamed in the bowl in front of the statue of the sea god.

"Yeah I came here for the same thing. Even I needed to thank somebody."

Natalie laughed. "Sure. See ya around, then," she said as she rushed back towards the barracks.

Frank slowly went inside Mars' shrine. He stared at the statue for a good two minutes. Frank felt speechless. All that he had experienced and done in the last few days, he wasn't sure he could weave it all in words. He knew he was among the eight demigods of the quest, Mars himself had told him. He knew life was not going to be easy. But he also had friends now. Those few days had taught him so much in life. The responsibilities of a leader, the maturity. Somehow, he felt changed. Different from his normal self.

He was clueless. He hadn't brought any offerings for Mars. The floor was already clean, and he knew just cleaning it won't be good. All the time, he'd imagined himself sitting and telling everything, but it seemed silly now. Finally, he decided he'd go with the classic Mars trick. He pulled out a pen and took out the paper which had appeared with the photo out of his pocket. Frank lit up the fire in front of the war god's statue. Then, with the pen, he wrote two simple words. Thank you. He waited for a moment, staring at the little piece of paper. It felt... incomplete. Slowly, he lifted his pen and wrote one more word. Dad. He threw the paper in the fire, and it changed colour to a bright red, and much more warm. It was as though a gentle breeze was blowing through it. Frank looked up at the statue one more time, and knowing Mars had got his message, finally headed back to the barracks.

On the way back, he took a brief glance at the shrine of Apollo. It looked exactly the same, as though no one had even been there or done something. Frank wondered why exactly would Octavian go there at midnight and talk to someone, then remove all the clues of his presence there.

When he got back at the barracks to go to breakfast with his friends, he found most of the legionnaires had already left. Percy was having trouble with his toga. Natalie had already worn it perfectly well, and Frank realized he had to do the same too. He had almost forgotten he was a centurion now. Hazel and Natalie laughed as they watched Percy untangle himself.

Frank immediately took off his bedsheet and started draping it over him.

"Wait," Natalie said between her laughs to Percy, who looked clueless and desperate. "Let me help."

Percy shook his head. "Who took out the tradition to wear these togas, huh?"

Natalie chuckled. "The same person who might have made the concept of uniforms. Take it like the uniform of the senate," she said, as she helped Percy wear his bed sheet properly over his camp t-shirt and jeans. Frank was ready by the time Natalie had finished, and only Hazel was the one who wasn't wearing a toga.

They headed towards the breakfast, which was a lot louder than ever before. The Amazons would be leaving just after having some food, and the campers were sharing last chats with their new friends as they ate. Reyna and Hylla were silently talking, but Frank was pleased to see Reyna was smiling. Octavian was nowhere to be seen, so Frank assumed he'd already left.

Alisha came and sat beside them. "You guys look like those old Roman people in statues with these togas on."

"Am I looking that stupid?" Percy asked.

"Nope. I didn't say those statues looked bad."

"So you'll be leaving today, huh?" Frank asked. It seemed very weird that Alisha would be his sister. She was the cool type, and Frank was...well, according to him he qualified every definition for not cool

"Yeah. Gotta go. Would've absolutely loved to stay with you people, but work is work. And I'm still serious about that joining offer. Natalie, Hazle, you both are welcome anytime."

"What about us?" Percy asked.

"Well, if ya both fancy orange jumpsuits and getting your hands bound, I'm sure I'd love to have you both around," she said, shrugging.

"No, I guess we're still fine with not joining," Frank said.

"Come on. I'd love to have a brother around," she said jokingly. "Don't choke," she added as Frank shook his head and drank a bit of his orange juice.

"Thanks," he said.

Hylla got up. After thanking and some formal speech about friendship, she bade us farewell and asked the Amazons to come.

Alisha shook hands with each of us. "It was nice meeting y'all."

"The feeling's mutual." Hazel smiled.

After the Amazons had all left, everyone started heading towards the Senate Hall. Funnily enough, nobody seemed to be chatting about why a sudden meeting was called. Perhaps everyone thought that they were going to hear the story of the quest.

When they reached the Senate Hall, Percy went towards the Praetor's podium, and he and Natalie sat around in the lowest row, the one for senior members and centurions. Hazel sat just two rows above them. Finally, after everyone was seated, Reyna started the formalities. Frank looked around. Some cracks in the hall were still there, but most of it had been repaired. He turned back when he heard Percy speak.

"Okay, look, I'm going to get straight to the point, and I'm going to make everything clear. But first, I want you all to hear me till the end. I'll answer all your questions after it."

The whole room quietened. They surely felt that the situation was serious now. The tension in the air was almost overwhelming.

"I'm a Greek," Percy said.

Silence. No one spoke a word, but they all suddenly started to him as though he was a sword swinging lunatic. Percy continued. He told everyone everything. About their quests, his life, Jason coming back. Everyone listened quietly, but Frank knew they were going to break the moment he finished.

"- so Jason's coming today, with Greeks from my camp." Percy finished.

Pandemonium broke out. Octavian started yelling. But Reyna silenced them.

"Whatever you want to clear," she said firmly. "Ask one by one. This is a senate meeting. We must maintain our discipline."

"He's a Greek. Why should we trust him?" Larry shouted.

Natalie raised her hand. Reyna nodded to her.

"Well, Larry, he was the one who fought Polybotes and saved the camp. Didn't we all agree to make him the Praetor together for that? What more do you need to trust him. He went on a quest that was deemed almost impossible. He fought Polybotes. I don't think he'd have risked his skin if he wanted to destroy the camp. He would have just stood aside and see it destroyed."

"He's playing around. Acting. Perhaps all this was the Greek's plan," someone shouted.

This time Frank raised his hand. Reyna nodded, giving him permission. "Look, I was with him too, alright. I, Hazel and Natalie were with him during the quest. And I've seen him risk his life. And of all things I'm sure about, Percy's loyalty towards Rome is on the top of the list. Whatever he's done is not an act."

"What if you're with him too?" someone else shouted. This time, Percy spoke up.

"I don't mean you any harm, and neither do my friends from the Greek camp. Look, I just want you all to hear them. We have to cooperate. As I explained, the Great Prophecy has started. We need to combine forces. And if that's not enough, I swear on my life that I or any of my friends don't mean any harm to the camp."

This time, everyone was silent. They had understood if Percy had sworn on his life, then he was correct.

Finally, Octavian spoke. "But why combine forces with someone who have been our mortal enemies for centuries?"

"Because that's what the line of prophecy means. Foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. Foes, Greeks and Romans. And both the camps have been working together, though not knowingly. While you all were raging battle on Mount Othrys, I and my friends were defending the entrance to Mount Olympus in Manhattan. I fought Kronos, sorry, Saturn myself."

Everyone gasped, but Percy continued. Even Frank was stunned. Percy had fought Saturn? The only person who took it neutrally was Natalie. It was either because she'd already fought Atlas, or she already knew that bit of information.

"Both the camps worked together during the Second Titan War. And this time, we have to do the same too."

Everyone was silent.

"So," Reyna spoke. "Propositions on the matter?"

Frank knew propositions could only be made by senators, not legionnaires. So while Hazel remained quiet, Frank and Natalie raised their hands. Larry raised his hand too.

"Senator Larry?" Reyna asked.

"I propose we capture his friends as soon as they arrive along with him and hold trials. We find out the whereabouts of their camp. We destroy the Greeks and end this rift between Greeks and Romans for good."

"Senator Zhang?"

"I propose we listen to them first. Hospitality has been the tradition of Rome. We welcome them, we hear them, and then decide what to do."

Frank would have said to put forward a hand of friendship, but he knew all the legionnaires would be opposite to him on that matter. So, he decided he'd better propose something small and reasonable.

"Alright. Senator Carter?"

"I agree with Senator Zhang."

"Very well," Reyna said. "Any other propositions?" she looked to the other senators. They all shook their heads.

"So then, we shall vote on the propositions. Those in favour of Senator Larry's proposition?"

A few people, mostly Octavian's cronies, raised their hands. Reyna counted the numbers.

"Those in favour of Senator Zhang and Carter's proposition?"

More than half the senate raised their hands. Frank's heart leapt. They were winning. Reyna didn't count this time. She obviously saw the outcome. Octavian looked furious, but Reyna smiled.

"Very well. The motion is passed. We shall welcome the Greeks, hear what they have to say, and decide what should be done on the basis of their story."

Just then, Ella and Octavian waded into the Senate Hall.

"Brother! The others have arrived! In the big ship!"

Reyna immediately set off outside, everyone following her. We got up and went to Percy.

"That went well," he said.

We looked through a crack in the hall outside. A huge ship was descending from the air. Percy wrapped his arms around us.

"Come on. Let me introduce you to my other family."

And with that, they walked outside the hall, where everyone else was gathering. Frank was excited to finally meet Jason Grace, the guy who was supposed to be camp's Mr. Perfect. He headed out with his hopes high. Surely, everything would be alright.