PERCY p.o.v
It's been almost a week since me and Reyna started dating, and it's been the best week of my life. But like they say, all good things come to an end.
I wake up and feel the familiar weight on my chest and look down at my beautiful girlfriend. Slowly she began to stir, and opens her eyes.
"Hey" I say, and give her a quick kiss. She looks at me with love in her eyes.
"Hey Percy, we should get some breakfast. It's pretty late" I nod and put some clothes on.
As we walked to the pavilion I realized how nervous I really was. Today the Greeks are arriving, and then I will sail with them, Frank and Hazel to Rome. Then there's the thing that scares me the most:
Annabeth.
Today I would have to tell her that I'm with Reyna and then travel with her to the Ancient lands in a ship. It's going to be awkward.
"-cy,-ercy, Percy!" I turn and se Reyna looking at me.
"hmm?" I ask.
"You zoned out for a minute there. You feeling ok?" Reyna doesn't know about Annabeth and I sure as Hades do not want to tell her. But she has to find out eventually, so here goes...
"Reyna, the other day when I told you about my past... well... I didn't tell you everything." I admit and she gestured to me to continue.
"Well, you know my friend Annabeth? I'm starting to think that she was more than that." I say. She keeps an emotionless face but her eyes showed hurt. It broke my heart to see her like this.
"But I'm with you now, and that's not going to change ok?" She looks down to her feet, and I lifted her chin with my finger. She looks into my eyes.
"Reyna, I will never leave you." I say. She smiles slightly, I wrap my arms around her and she rests her head on my chest. Looking down at her I knew, and wanted her to know too:
"I love you" I tell her. She lifts her head and looks into my eyes.
"I love you too" I lean in and kiss her softly.
ANNABETH p.o.v
I couldn't believe it. After eight months I finally get to see my seaweed brain! I missed him so much, I missed his sea green eyes and raven black hair. The way he hugged me as if i was his lifeline, the feeling of his soft lips on mi- Annabeth! get a hold of yourself. Just then I her Leo's annoying voice thru the speakers:
"Ladies and gents, we will be landing at camp Jupiter in about two minutes so please get ready to disembark. Signing off, supreme commander of the Argo II!" He says. Gods he's annoying.
The warship descended through the clouds, but I couldn't stop second-guessing myself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked and attacked them on sight?
The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete...well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet-and-greet with the neighbors.
I had tried to give the Romans a heads-up. I asked Leo to send one of his special inventions—a holographic scroll—to alert their friends inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through. Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull —WASSUP? with a smiley face—but I vetoed the idea. I'm not sure the Romans have a sense of humor.
The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. I gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail. My three crew mates took their places.
Piper paced back and forth between the mainmast and the ballistae, practicing her lines:
"Lower your weapons," she murmured. "We just want to talk." Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over me, filling me with the desire to drop my dagger and have a nice long chat.
Jason had described Camp Jupiter to her in great detail. Still, I had trouble believing my eyes. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.
Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. I recognized landmarks Jason had told me about—the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens. I saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters.
The dome was cracked open on a building Guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafes, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.
Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. I scanned the faces and...oh, gods. I saw him.
He was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies—a stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy Looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's, the mark of a praetor.
My heart did a gymnastics routine.
The ship landed in front of the Legion.