Chapter XIX

Though Percy knew he could make the rain dissipate and keep himself completely dry if only he chose to—as he was getting more and more practice with his powers—the thought never crossed his mind at the moment. He and Reyna were both soaked and the rain kept getting stronger, but he had a feeling that neither of them even noticed any of it—and if they did, neither of them cared.

"Percy? Answer me." Her voice was getting less that of the confidant girl he was getting to know and more of something that he couldn't tell. It showed in her eyes at times as well, a sort of sadness or loneliness which resided deep inside her. His tears kept flowing for both his teacher, and that hidden side of her.

He threw to her the ring he found at Mark's office. Pure gold and heavy, it arced high and slow through the air, crossing the setting sun, and throwing a glint of light towards his eyes as it came down towards his companion. She caught it without trouble, as he expected she would. She looked at it first, inspecting it, and recognized it. When she stared back at him, he saw that side of her reveal itself fully, the one she was shrouding in a mist inside of her, just as he did. and she started shaking her head in an almost reluctant fashion at him.

"I'm sorry." We're the only words he could manage out without choking, taking a step towards her. He knew he needed to be strong. There were still too many questions to answer. But she and Mark made him strong, a part of this world that shouldn't exist. How could he be support himself with the earth shaking under his feet? How could he be strong when he saw that she, who lived her life in tandem with myth and monsters much longer than he had, looked so fragile in front of him?

"Why couldn't I save him?" He heard her mutter to herself.

"Reyna, you couldn't. We had no idea." He took another step.

"I knew he was weakened, I let my emotions control me. Again. Why?" She kept asking herself question after question.

"Stop, Reyna, this isn't your fault. You couldn't have known!" He was getting closer; she was a few steps away.

"I never should have left. It came again. It came again." Her voice was choking at this point, and he could clearly see the tears streaming down her face now. He took a step, and stood in front of her.

"Reyna, I saw the damage whatever… took him did, it was no normal monster." He tried whatever his mind instructed him could direct that feeling away. It hurt him to see her like this.

"Then I would have died protecting him! Rather that, than to lose another one!" She looked up, her face a mix of anguish and anger. Seething, unrelenting and belligerent. The same he felt for so long, questioning things he couldn't possibly know. So, he did the only thing he thought up to do in front of such a force.

Percy hugged her. As his mother hugged him.

His hand circled her shoulders and brought her into a tight embrace. He wasn't sure if it was for her or for him, but for that second of shock caused by the physical touch, Reyna stopped chiding herself.

"That's selfish of you, Reyna. Leaving me here without anyone? How do you think I'd feel to lose not only him, but you too? You both dragged me kicking and screaming, spewing about gods, some prophecy, a hope and of a dream that was Rome." He didn't need to raise his voice. His mouth was right next to her ear, still bound in a tight hug, so instead he spoke softly, almost in a whisper.

"If I really am that hope, show me. Stay with me. I'm still here. You won't lose me. Help me become what you and Mark wanted me to." He felt that warmth again, and realized that he didn't only say these words to try and console her. Something awoke in him, a realization, an ambition. He only regretted that he couldn't find it sooner. Whatever that future meant for him, he was ready to grasp it with two hands and fight. Be it people, monsters, or the gods themselves.

He felt her hands circle his waist in reciprocation. They were slow, hesitant, and unsure at first, but when she finally gave in and hugged Percy tight, he felt the warmth expand from him to her, and he knew she felt it, as for the next few minutes she kept silent, and cried into his shoulder. Percy always knew Reyna was strong. And now, as he saw her in weakness, he knew she had to be.

They broke their hug after a few minutes, taking comfort in one another. Percy wanted to say something, but had no idea what. Now, looking back, what he did was rather abrupt if not embarrassing. The rain weakened to a light drizzle. And as he tried to compose the thoughts running in his head, he felt Reyna's hand touch his and grab tight. Looking at her, he could see a faint smile on her lips, and he smiled back.

"Thank you, Percy. I mean, being honest—I'm sorry you saw me like that." Reyna said, the smile faded from her face at the reminder of what she said.

"No need, I honestly felt lost too, I have no idea what came over me but… I think I understand how you feel now. I want to do this. Help you. Give you hope. Give all of us hope." He said, never breaking his eyes from hers.

"I'll help you. We'll do it. We'll make him proud. Together." She pulled on his hand and started walking, Percy only now noticed that stars were beginning to blink into existence in the sky. He looked upwards, and though the rain clouds helped hide most of the sky, Percy could swear that through a small section of the sky that was visible, the stars shone as brightly as he even saw them.

It was probably around ten minutes later, as they kept walking north from the beach—towards the older part of town—when Percy noticed a couple of things. Firstly, he had no idea where they were going. Reyna kept leading him., and seeing as she saved his life before, he was willing to go along with her. The heavy rain subsided, leaving behind a smell of fresh soil and life which reminded him of early spring. The second, and far more self-conscious of his epiphanies, was that as they kept walking, neither he nor Reyna let go of the other's hand. He was sure she didn't notice. Probably still in the haze of emotions. But somewhere, Percy hoped she did notice, and did it on purpose. Just like he did.

"Reyna," He started.

"It's just up ahead." She responded before he could finish.

"What is?" He tried to think about anything she or Mark mentioned about this side of town.

"The payback for your blue waffles." She chuckled quietly, to the point he though he misheard her.

"What?" Not really understanding, he followed nonetheless.

A ten-minute hike up a small hill later saw them in front of a somewhat shabby apartment building. The light in the first floor was still on, part of the white paint that covered the entrance started to peel away, clearly last maintained years ago. The darkness made it difficult for Percy to pick up more detail, and the flickering light of the streetlight above didn't help the matter.

"Salve, ad homilem domum meum." She brought her hand forwards in an exaggerated motion of showcasing a piece of art. Her cynicism didn't fall short even on Percy. In the moment, she found her other hand being occupied by his own, as he clearly saw her looking towards their connected palms. But, instead of what he expected, she made no move to remove her hand from his.

"Wait, you live here?" Percy held himself back as hard as he could from doing a double-take. This part of town was known to be rather old, with more buildings abandoned than lived in. Percy never came here often, and for some reason seeing the old building in the state it was in, he felt a pang of sadness imagining how grand it must've been in the past. As the thought faded, he noticed she was staring at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" He started, thinking she might have taken offense to his sudden and rather impolite outburst. But instead, she unexpectedly snorted before letting out a string of small laughs, which left him horribly stunned.

"Don't worry Neptunule, I also asked magister that same thing when he first brought me here. Come on. I promised to pay you back." She pulled on his hand with hers and dragged him into the building before he could sound neither his surprise, nor his questions.

The inside of the building fared no better in both appearance and care. Three of the light bulbs that were supposed to light the lobby ceased working, putting the already dreary atmosphere into an acute display. Large pots with dying plants, placed in equal spaces decorated—if he could call it that—the walkway up to a flight of stairs that kept going upwards until the fifth floor. There was no elevator which he could see.

"Don't worry," Percy heard her mutter ahead of him as they started climbing the stairs. "I live on the second floor." The cheap carpet that coated the staircase muffled their steps somewhat, though it was clear that it had seen better days with its red color faded and the many holes that Percy could see as they took the steps.

The second floor broke off from the stairway into a narrow lobby where two people could go side by side almost comfortably. As Reyna kept walking inside all Percy could think about were the questions flooding his mind about Reyna's situation, and the realization that past killing monsters, saving his life, and breaking into a crime scene together, he really had no idea about who she was as a person. But he wanted to.

The lobby separated four apartments. They reached the end of the lobby where a lone, and rather small, window was placed. He could see a small portion of the star filled sky out of it when he felt Reyna's hand let go of his. He looked away to see her fish a copper-colored key out of her jeans' smaller pocket—the one which no one had any use for—and slide it into the lock of a wood-coloured door in front of them. With a swift twist of her wrist, he heard the lock click and the door slid open immediately, as if it was only held by the locking mechanism. Reyna entered, and Percy followed.

Not knowing what to expect, Percy's first steps were hesitant, not wanting to bump over any upturned flooring or broken light bulbs. But after the first steps in it was clear to him that whatever the state of the building itself, Reyna's apartment seemed as if it was taken from another apartment altogether. The wooden flooring were clean and smooth. The walls painted a solid white colour, and the furniture, while basic and utilitarian, seemed almost brand new.

As he kept turning his head around to study the room, he heard another click of the lock, turning to see Reyna locking the front door, which kept it closed. As she turned to him Percy though she almost looked embarrassed at the state of the door, though he must've been mistaken.

"I have several questions." Percy heard himself blurt out, unsure of the situation.

"I'm sure you do," She started. "But they'll have to wait for dinner." Reyna started walking, crossing him and turning to the small kitchen situated on the opposite wall.

"Dinner? What dinner?" Percy asked, taken aback.

"My payback dinner for your blue waffles. I even bought blue food coloring." She stated as if it was nothing but a regular occurrence between them. She opened a cabinet above a small stove and pulled out a skillet and a large bowl. "Come on, hero. You're helping too." She said as she busied herself with gathering more ingredients.

The next half hour saw Percy wrestling with different boxes and packs of flour and baking soda and sugar. He knew he didn't cook much, but seeing the finesse with which Reyna managed to mitigate the disaster that he had brewing, managing to create a blend that somehow resembled something edible, Percy figured he should have tried and cook more. Nonetheless, with Reyna's help, they managed to stack up a rather tall plate of blue pancakes after Percy burned down the first couple.

The almost alien colouring of the food had no effect on him. Rather, he was used to it. Even fond of it. But seeing her take a few pancakes into her plate without a single look of hesitation—be it from her experience at his house or any other reason—he found himself feeling a deeper connection to her. They were both eating blue pancakes. And acting as if it was the most regular and normal thing they ever did.

They ate in silence, and there were many pancakes still left on the serving plate when they were done. But throughout dinner Percy looked at her. Catching her eyes with his for few precious moments before she would look away for some reason. He wanted her to know he appreciated her efforts, and that the pancakes came out delicious, thanks to her. But he felt that talking would interrupt with the atmosphere he felt sitting next to her. A comfortable silence made through a bond no other person could understand.

"Thank you." He finally said, trying to convey his gratitude for far more things than just the dinner. Her eyes move to look at his as he broke the silence. Eyes widening, she smiled one of her true smiles, the one Percy saw only once before.

"You're welcome." She said, keeping her gaze leveled to his. As their eyes met, Percy felt his breathing quicken and his heart beat a faster rhythm. Adrenaline rushes through him like it did when he was fighting that monster in the school's pool, and he realized as her eyes started getting closer to his, that they were closing the distance offered by the pair of chairs placed next to each other.

"Reyna," he said, her eyes coming closer and closer.

"Percy," she responded, leaning her body towards his.

A metallic ring burst their bubble like a balloon hitting the stratosphere. They looked down at the floor, looking for the source of the noise. Percy's eyes moved quickly to a shine they caught, and saw the ring he found in Mark's room lying on the floor, probably dropped from Reyna's pocket as they leaned in. He picked it up, looking at it and showing it to Reyna, who seemed to be trying to hide her embarrassment as much as he did.

"Any idea what the letters mean?" He asked, trying to clear the air.

"No, it could mean anything for all I know." She said, studying the ring. "You should put it on, so it won't go missing again."

"Don't you want it? I think it'll look better on you." Percy said.

"This is clearly a man's ring by the size and insignia Neptunule. You should have it." Reyna said before grabbing the ring and placing it on Percy's index finger.

"Wait, Reyna-" Percy started as the ring slide into his finger, far too big for his size, before it started glowing a fine golden color and adjusting itself to fit him perfectly. They both stared wide eyed at the ring.

'Dei immortales, you leave me for two-thousand years and now you want me back huh? Well, no matter what Imperator you think you may be I will never- wait.' Percy heard a deep voice echo in his head.

'You're not the emperor, you're a child, a toddler, mere miles in the ranks of Rome, what theft did occur here soldier? Answer me.' The voice kept talking, and Percy was too stunned to answer.

"Percy? Are you okay? You're pale." Reyna said, now looking worried.

"What?" Percy said, not sure whether he was talking to Reyna or the voice in his head.

'Oh, so you can talk, child. Very well. Answer then. By Mars I've never seen a more backwards castra in my entire career. What province are we in now, soldier?' The voice kept talking.

"Reyna, take off the ring." Percy said, looking more panicked than anything.

"What, why?"

"Just, please just do it." He almost begged. As her fingers came over the ring to remove it, she felt immense heat as she touched it, causing her to recoil in instinct.

"By the gods." She gasped.

'I will not allow further theft, soldier. You're lucky I don't call for a centurio and have that maiden's hand removed. Now answer. Where is my master? Where is the emperor?'

'He… He's dead.' Percy thought, not wanting to utter it aloud again.

The strings of curses the voice uttered in his head were probably the most creative and archaic ones he ever heard, a few missing their mark due to what Percy guessed was lack of context.

'Great. Who masters Rome, who gives sacrifices to the gods?'

'Rome is gone. The gods are gone. It's basically me and Reyna, the maiden, demigods who somehow survived.' Percy explained.

The next string of curses made Percy place the removal of the ring become his number one priority, next to sleeping and eating.

"Percy? What is it? What about the ring?" He heard Reyna ask, though he gave no reply.

'How do I remove you?' Percy asked.

'You shan't remove me soldier. Not until I'm done. If, as you say you and the maiden,'

'Reyna.'

'Yes, yes, Regina, a crude name, but as you wish. If it is as you say then things are about to get very bad very quickly, if they didn't already become such. We must counteract as soon as possible.'

'By doing what?' Percy asked.

'If you are still a part of the Legion, though I know not its numbering or name, then there is still a possibility. You must rebuild. Gather allies, forces, for the war to come. By Jupiter I will guide the next Aeneas.' The voice sounded more lively the more he talked.

'What in Hades are you talking about? Who are you? What are you?' Percy asked, absolutely confused.

'I, am Aurum, weapon of emperors, forged by Vulcan and blessed by Mars. And though I sense none of the wealth of power I once possessed, and though I am wielded by a mere soldier child, I shall guide you to the sites of Rome. First built by Romulus, second by heathens, a third will rise from its ashes a phoenix of purple.' Percy heard, and was too stunned to answer.

'As with Caesar, we march on Rome, Miles, gather your courage.' The voice said before finally quieting down in Percy's mind. It was only then Percy felt Reyna's hands touching his shoulders, a look of worry in her eyes.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I told you, you should've kept the ring." He said, trying to comprehend what he just heard.


A/N: Salvete Omnes!

Hospital, thesis statements and a new job kept me from writing for a while, but as things slowly calm down I hope I can clear more time in my schedule for writing, as I want to publish longer chapters. (At least 3K as the one I'm publishing now).

Thank you for reading and sticking with me, and most of all I hope you enjoy the story.

See you next time,

T.I.