Title: Moments in Life As a Queen
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Word Count: 443
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'And innocence is gone, and what was right is wrong.' – Imagine Dragons, Bleeding Out
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Reyna's hands shook. They never shook while she killed – not even when she had to murder demigods. Her eyes lowered down to Jason's blue eyes and saw him giving up. His eyes seemed to want only one thing – a painless death.
The Greeks lost, Jason was branded a traitor, and Octavian was the praetor. Reyna had to prove her allegiance to Rome, by killing a traitor – a friend, colleague and a true child of Rome.
"Kill the traitor, Reyna," Octavian sneered. "Or are you too attached to the traitor, Praetor?"
Reyna gritted her teeth. She could see the dead bodies of the fallen Greeks littered around the Half-Blood Hill, along with her friend – Annabeth's. She could see Percy's head bowed down, Hazel and Frank holding onto each other and Piper's tear filled eyes. The body of Leo Valdez was still burning – Reyna didn't know how Octavian managed to burn the son of Hephaestus, nor did she want to.
"I am not attached to any traitor, Octavian." Grace was never a traitor to Rome went unsaid.
"What, then? Kill him and prove your loyalty to Rome, to me." Octavian smiled. Reyna looked at the faceless crowd, her comrades; they were all urging her to kill Jason. She needed to kill Jason, in order to gain back their trust.
This is all so wrong, Reyna thought as her dagger slashed through Jason's throat, his blood splattered on her face. She heard Piper's final scream as a child of Apollo shot her down. She closed her eyes but she could still see the noiseless screams of Hazel and the whimpers of Percy as Frank tried to comfort them both.
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"You aren't a traitor. You can't be, you know." Reyna murmured. Jason was flying over her, as he always did when he was frustrated, angry or confused.
"But they're all saying that." Jason muttered, "Especially Octavian."
Reyna laughed, they were near the garden of Bacchus. Reyna's hands clasped tightly around the mug of hot chocolate, "Octavian is always spewing bull. No one believes him."
Jason was suddenly beside her. "He says that the recent monsters are attacking because of me. He says I'm going to kill all the Romans – because I… I work for the Titans."
Reyna put down her mug. "You're the praetor now, Grace.
Reyna put down her mug. "You're the praetor now, Grace. You're not a traitor; you never worked for the Titans. You'll never help any enemy of Rome and you're not going to kill the Romans. It's wrong."
"I'll never be a traitor," Jason promised. "That's wrong."
