Reyna Avila Ramίrez-Arellano sat in the mess hall of Camp Jupiter. Frank Zhang, the new praetor, had taken his seat beside her, with his girlfriend Hazel Levesque on his right. The two lovebirds were smiling at each other while eating their lunch. Hazel had a shrimp gumbo in front of her, while Frank ate a poached egg with bacon on toast, accompanied by a glass of orange juice. Their favourite food, Reyna had observed over the months. She allowed a small smile to slip onto her lips.
The female praetor looked down at the ruby-red apple that she held in her hand. Her long fingernails cut little crescents into the smooth surface of the fruit, revealing the magnolia-white flesh inside. Reyna had always loved mealtimes in the mess hall. It was a time when everyone could enjoy themselves and talk to their friends to catch up with the happenings of the day.
Just then, Octavian strode by. Reyna hardened her expression into a perfect poker face (she had a lot of practice) and received his glare calmly. The Augur was too preoccupied in the Staring Contest and crashed into a plate of fruits that a wind spirit was carrying. The apples, oranges and grapes went tumbling off the large silver plate, causing the wind spirit to shoot Octavian a death glare and curse under her breath in colourful Latin before speeding off with the empty plate. Another wind spirit materialized suddenly, sweeping up the fruits while sticking a tongue out at the descendant of Apollo and left with a whoosh.
Serves you right, Octavian. The Augur sent Reyna a final glare before marching towards his seat, stumbling over an orange on the floor in the process. Some of the campers started laughing until Reyna held up a hand for them to stop. If she didn't, they might start another food fight, like the one that was instigated by Dakota the Kool-Aid Freak earlier that week. Reyna had ended up with omelette in her hair (not that she had joined the crazy food fight) and Dakota had to clean the unicorn stables for a week.
Octavian wasn't that lucky. He was still recovering from being stuck under an avalanche of tomatoes. Reyna was pretty sure that his white Augur robe still smelt of ketchup. It was probably revenge for Mission Teddy Assault that Octavian had planned for Percy Jackson's visit to Camp Jupiter. As ridiculous as it sounded, the sacrificial stuffed animals that were charmed by the children of Hecate (how Octavian persuaded them to, Reyna didn't have an inkling) gave Percy quite a warm welcome by hurling spears at him the moment his pegasus Blackjack entered the boundary of the camp. As a punishment, Reyna ordered Octavian to clean the unicorn stables for a month in addition to cleaning the public baths (which were basically swimming pools). The stink really didn't mix well with Eau de Tomato.
"Ow! What was that for?" Octavian whined when an apple hit him on his shoulder. Rubbing it to soothe the pain, he scowled at Gwen, who merely gave him an innocent smile. She replied, "I thought that apples would cover the unbearable stink. I'm sorry that it didn't work."
A banana went onto Octavian's head with a splat. Then a pear. Then an orange. Grapes. Then…what was that?
A blueberry pie smacked straight into the Augur's face. There was a sudden uproar and the campers started throwing food at each other. The fauns that hang around in the mess hall were most delighted to see food raining down on them and started to stuff them into their mouths like starving wolves.
"STOP! Stop the food fight! Settle down!" Reyna shouted as loudly as she could, but no one heard her over the din. Everyone seemed to be having fun, even the usually grumpy Octavian, who was grinning like a madman while shooting grape missiles at Dakota. His white robe was a complete mess and looked like one of Rachel Elizabeth Dare's T-shirts. Reyna told herself to remember to arm the campers with burritos the next time they went to war. Some campers were laughing themselves to death, rolling in the food muck on the floor.
No longer able to stand the food fight, the daughter of Bellona stomped out of the mess hall and took a shaky breath. An egg flew towards her and she ducked just in time. It was unmercifully pierced by the nose of the statue of Julius Caesar. Reyna shook her head, wondering why the craftsmen had carved him such a long, pointy nose. Seriously, the statue's nose could skewer a few marshmallows on first try. Not that Reyna had ever tried.
She strode on and arrived at the fountain. Sitting there, Reyna stared at the azure blue sky, deep in thought. She wondered what was going on at Camp Half-blood then, and if Dionysus and Chiron allowed food fights during mealtimes. Her thoughts then drifted to the first time she met Annabeth Chase. She really admired the daughter of Athena. Not anyone could single-handedly trick Arachne, retrieve the Athena Parthenos and escape Tartarus with a fractured ankle.
Just then, a wind spirit zoomed towards Reyna and handed her a scroll. Without another word, she opened it to reveal something that was similar to a YouTube video. The video started playing, and Percy appeared on the parchment. There were several beds around him with fauns-no, satyrs tending to the injured. Reyna assumed that he was in Camp Half-blood's Infirmary.
"Hi, Reyna. I hope that this message finds you well," Percy spoke, weakly waving his right hand. Reyna almost gasped in shock. Percy was definitely not well. He had heavy eye-bags and his face was gaunt and pale.
He continued, "After I returned to Camp Half-blood from my visit to your camp, Annabeth-she fell into a coma." His voice cracked. Reyna's throat felt dry all of a sudden. Percy shook his head and said, "I need to go to Circe's Island. A-yay-ya or whatever it's called. It's the only way I can save Annabeth. I need your ring. I have to save Annabeth. Please, Reyna."
Reyna twisted the ring on her finger protectively. It was given by her mother, Bellona, the Roman goddess of war. The ring was Reyna's most prized possession…should she give it to Percy? If she did, she could save a life. But she couldn't help thinking Octavian's way. What if it was a trick? No, the sad look in Percy's eyes had to be real. Reyna trusted him. She would lend him her ring.
"I'll arrive at your camp next week with Blackjack. Please tell Octavian that I mean no harm," Percy finished. From the background, a voice that Reyna recognized as Leo's spoke, "Hey, you done?"
Percy looked away from Reyna and said, "Yeah."
The screen went blank.
"It must be a trick! The Greeks cannot be trusted!" Octavian said through gritted teeth, shooting up from his seat into a standing position. Reyna pursed her lips and mentally groaned. Was that guy ever going to stop being an idiot and accept that fact that the Greeks were already their friends? Frank, who was sitting beside her, spoke calmly, "Octavian, you do realize that no one's really listening to you, don't you?"
True enough most of the campers present at the meeting were either studying their nails, zoning out or minding their own business. It was only until Frank spoke that they turned their attention back to him. Octavian looked really pissed, and shouted, "You have to listen to me! This is important! What if that Percy Jackson comes with a whole army?"
"Eh, it's pointless to argue, Octavian. Run along now, go skewer some bears," Frank replied to his outburst, waving him off dismissively. The Augur clenched his fists, and then stormed off like a spoilt brat. Reyna turned to the rest who were in the room. "So it is decided. Percy will arrive next week. I will lend him my ring so that he can save Annabeth."
A lare in the back row raised his hand. "But what if he doesn't return it?"
Reyna's expression hardened. "I trust that he will. Anymore questions? No? Good. You are all dismissed."
But what if he doesn't return it?