Before things could get even weirder, Reyna asked Fabius, "Is it safe for Verity to stay at Camp Jupiter?"

Reyna, see, if I could survive your co-praetor and Romulus and fainting like a damsel in pink, of course I could stay. Right?

Fabius looked up to the sky, and a raven and an owl flew by. I raised an eyebrow. I'm pretty sure owls were –what's that word?-nocturnal.

Fabius nodded.

The sound of horns rang towards us, and Reyna informed me (again), "It's time for lunch. We have to go and I expect you, Verity, to at least sit through a meal." I snorted.

"I'll try, but don't expect much," I replied, trying to be polite. Smiling at us, Reyna walked towards the mess hall. Fabius followed her, tripping on sticks and stones (and his feet. Poor guy).

"Hey, Verity? You'll be chosen for a cohort and I'm just saying I'll stand for you if no one will accept you into their Cohort," Hazel told me. I almost cried. I feel bad because we met with me standing in the middle of the walkway wand her colliding into me. What are friends for?

"Thanks Hazel. Just promise to remember me when my chosen Cohort beats yours at the games." I was just joking, obviously. Rolling her eyes, Hazel led me to the mess hall, and I ran up to the praetors. Frank (thank the gods) was fully clothed and he indicated my presence with a slight nod.

Reyna spoke. "Romans! Our augur, Fabius, has spoken a prophecy, the first after the gods themselves said there would be none!"

Gasps broke out here and there, and hushed chatter started. Frank called for silence. He motioned for Reyna to continue.

"Fabius, if you may." She motioned for him to step up, and his face glowed pink. Managing to take a deep breath, he recited:

Mortals see forbidden secrets through the goddess in danger

Three shall go; wind, waves and shadows will aid the stranger

The accursed one and youth's child shall aid the son of magic the Mist veil

And the gift of the freed shall end with a wail

Before more talking started, Reyna gestured for me to get up. I was nervous, and my stomach churned gastric juices. (What am I even thinking about?) Seeing all the people made me dizzy with fear, but the sight of Hazel reassured me. Why wasn't she looking at me?

"All of you may know Verity know. She wasn't able to be chosen for a Cohort earlier, due to"-cue my fumbling of fingers-"some issues. Since all of that is over, Verity, do you have any credentials? Letters of reference?"

I was tempted to say, 'Where in what world were amnesiac kids supposed to get big vocab papers?' but I didn't. Instead, I checked my pockets (you can never be too sure) and shook my head. From the corner of my eye, I saw Frank roll his eyes. (He better watch his back…)

"Very well. Will any Roman stand for her?" No response. I swear even the crickets grew silent. Thanks, little bugs. I feel special.

Okay, fine, it wasn't like I did a huge heroic deed or anything, but it would be nice to feel like you belong. Glancing at Hazel, I realized she had a fierce expression on her face. It seemed almost pained…

Even Frank must've felt bad. He looked at Hazel, and seemed to notice what I was seeing. He mouthed, What's with Hazel? I shrugged, tears pricking the back of my eyes. Sighing, I slightly tugged on my necklace, feeling useless.

"I will stand for the newcomer!" The masculine voice from the First Cohort sent me into shock. It just can't. Oh, it is.

"Romulus Blake, you may stand for the new-"

"NO!" The word escaped my lips before I even remembered what position I had. Why am I such a selfish brat?

"Reyna, don't you dare listen to him. There must be a reason why he wants me to join his Cohort." I glared at Romulus. "What did you do to her?"

Romulus stepped out of line, arching an eyebrow. "Do you want to be cohort less or what? And who is this 'she'?" Someone from his Cohort elbowed him, as if wondering why he wanted me on the supposed Cohort. I caught a glimpse of an arm cast, and I had a feeling who that could be.

"Stop fooling around. You know I meant Hazel." Cue the second set of gasps. I felt Rex appearing next to me, and for once, he sounded urgent and serious.

That's part of his curse.

He left, and I was more confused than ever. What did he mean? Next to me, Frank got up, and growled, "What did you do to Hazel?"

Romulus looked terrified. "I swear, praetor, I don't even know what is going on. All I'm trying to do is accept the recruit, but if she goes on like this, I will decline my offer."

Ignoring the states of protest, I stormed to Hazel, who didn't even flinch when I snapped my fingers under her nose.

"That's not normal. Sure she's a trained Roman, but…" I trailed off. Feeling a bit impulsive (and insane), I swiftly grabbed Hazel's cavalry sword from her sheath.

Then, without any warning, I aimed it at her throat.

Obviously, that sent people crazy. And obviously, I didn't kill her. It wasn't like I was going to anyway.

I dropped the sword and held my hands up. "I am not going to kill her, got me? She is not reacting, and that is not normal!" I hollered when some Romans from the Fifth Cohort tried to attack me. Reyna yelled, "Enough!" Surprise, surprise, they listened.

"One of our centurions has been…injured and I am certain this has something to do with the prophecy. Who paralyzed Hazel?"

"I don't know who tried to hex Centurion Hazel, but I do know that the prophecy talks about me."

We all turned towards the Third Cohort, and that was the perfect moment for me to faint.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Dun dun dun! Seriously, Verity, don't faint that much, unless you are a damsel in distress. Anyways, sorry for the late update. I have this tendency to start new stories and never update…which reminds me. Check out my other stories, if you sort of enjoyed this or want to see what other schist I wrote. Hehe, I wrote plenty.

Hope you guys liked this, and yeah.

QOTC: Why do the Romans hate traveling on sea?

Like usual, get this right and you get a sneak peek to the next chapter. Hope you have patience because I take a long time to write something up. Bye!