AN. Here is the next chapter!

Chapter thirteen, New Found Respect

Hazel POV,

My hands have seemed to be glued to the wheel. I haven't left for a few days. You know, I think I am turning into Leo. But, I can't talk to Piper. I can't even look at her, which makes me feel like a bad person. She is probably grieving just as much as I am, but she was the one who killed Leo in the first place. But I can't think of that right now, I want to get to Greece.

"Festus?" I ask. Festus makes a clicking noise. I have figured out a few things, some of them Leo taught me. Like a high pitched squeal means he needs more oil and such. He doesn't talk in like...sentences, he talks in ways that let me know when there's a monster alert or if he needs more antifreeze and so on. I was a little bit sad to hear that, but oh well. My stomach starts to ache. I don't move. I need to get to Greece. For Leo, for everyone. Percy, Annabeth, me, Piper, Leo, Nico, Jason, even Hedge. And everyone in the world.

"Hazel" Piper whispers.

"What?" I ask.

"You should take a break" Piper says.

"Why would I do that?" I ask.

"Because, if you starve to death before we even get there, there's no point" Piper says.

I sigh. "Okay."

I try to take my hands off the wheel. "Okay, I need a little help..."

Piper walks over and pulls my hands off the wheel. I yelp. I take deep breaths and head to the dining area. The difference between Leo and me is I'll give in earlier when I'm hungry.

I take a bowl off the shelf and just look at it for like...ten minutes. All of a sudden it fills with gumbo. I smile. No matter how many bad memories New Orleans brings back, I must say I've always loved all the food. I start to eat. It tastes better than my mother's gumbo. Well, that isn't saying much. My mother didn't even care, she just threw stuff in – whatever was getting old in our icebox. It makes me sad to think that my mother never loved me for all those years. I loved her, and the only time she gave me any respect was when she was about to die. I don't even realize I'm crying, but a tear just dropped into my bowl. I start to eat. I can't spend to much time down here. The sooner I get back to the wheel, the sooner I'll be back in Leo's arms.

I finish my food and put the bowl in the sink I walk upstairs to Piper. I hear a big BANG! I start to run.

I get to the deck and I stand with my mouth agape.

"So sorry" Piper laughs. She is standing in the middle of the deck covered from head to toe in oil. "I thought that Festus may want some oil or something and when I went to go get it I slipped and..."

Before she finishes her sentence I'm already laughing. Piper starts to giggle and in a matter of seconds I have tears in my eyes I'm laughing to hard.

"So sorry" Piper says.

"That's fine" I laugh.

"Oh good" Piper says.

Wow, this is the first time I've laughed since Leo died.

"Hee-hee, okay, I need to get back to steering" I laugh.

"Okay" Piper says. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"That'd be best" I giggle.

Piper walks downstairs laughing. I look up at the sky with my mouth open. Should I laugh? Yes. I let out a giggle. Oh great! I need to get back to steering.

I start to hum a song. It's a song that I heard Leo sing when he got bored. I don't know the words, the song was in Spanish. When I asked him about it he told me his mother used to sing it to him. Then he asked me not to laugh. I told him I'd never laugh at him and that he was lucky. I never had a mother who sang to me, nor did Piper or Jason or Annabeth for that matter. But, with Jason his mom was a drunk. With Piper, well, her mother is a goddess, same with Annabeth. My mom barely registered my existence. Leo, he was lucky. He had a mom who loved him more than anything in the world. Percy has a mom, though he doesn't talk much about her, but from what I picked up she's a really good person who really loves him. Nico, he never talks about his past, in fact he only told m a few days ago that he is Greek, not Roman. I don't really care, but Reyna will kill him. I know nothing about Coach Hedge's past and frankly, I really don't want to.

I sometimes wonder about Reyna. What was her past like? I know about Circe. I mean, how can you go on a quest that half is about Reyna's sister and not know what's happening? But what happened before that? What was before Circe? Who was her Father? What was her life like before Circe? But, if I ever ask her about that, she'll have her dogs eat me. Oh course, I could ask her through an Iris message. Well, the last time we did that she was taking a bath, and I do not ever want to see that image again. But, the I could at least try.

"Festus, go on auto pilot" I say. Is that what you say when you're on a warship?

Anyway, I walk down the stairs and and to my room, grab a Drachma from my sock drawer, and head to the bathroom. I want to understand Reyna, see what she went through to become like this.

I turn on the tap and turn it to hot, then open a window and let that steam out, making a rainbow. I say "Oh Iris, Goddess of Rainbows, please accept my offer!" I throw my Drachma into the water and it disappears. I say her name and location, and an image at her at her desk appears.

"Reyna" I say.

She looks up. Hazel?

"Why aren't you attacking Camp Half-Blood?" I ask. "I mean, I'm glad and everything, but I thought you headed out weeks ago?"

I've been trying to hold Octavian back for a long time, and finally I just gave up and through the weapons out of the ship so now we came back to get more weapons. I don't know what to do! Reyna says.

"Okay, good. Do you want a status report or something? I really need help" I say.

Okay Reyna says.

"Well, it's been the worst few days possible. First of all, the good news. Annabeth finished the Mark of Athena; the bad news, she and Percy fell into Tartarus. Second, Gaea took both me and Leo over and manipulated us. Now Jason, Nico and Hedge have been captured. Third, Piper had to kill Leo to to save me. Fourth, Frank left the ship because Gaea put evil memories in his mind about me. He should be at Camp Jupiter in a few weeks. So life is pretty bad" I say.

Well, Leo tried to destroy our camp so I don't care about him Reyna says.

"About that" I explain everything that happened and Reyna nods. Wow, that was easier than I thought.

So, you and the Venus girl are the only people on the ship? Reyna asks. She says Venus like it's the worst thing on the planet.

"Aphrodite, and yeah" I say. "Leo taught me how to steer."

Where are you? Reyna asks.

"Serbia" I say. "Just a few weeks away."

No, about a week Reyna says.

"Okay, I as actually going to ask you a question" I say.

Ask away Reyna says.

"Who were you before Circe?" I ask quietly.

Reyna sighs. Hylla and I grew up a few miles away from the Sea of monsters. Our father was a man named Jaden. He was no genius, in fact, he was an idiot. He didn't care about us, he kept us in his garage and only brought as food and water once a day, and at holidays he let us come into the house. Hylla soon made a plan to escape. I was young then, I was only nine. Hylla was a teenager. One night when our father had had too much alcohol, Hylla and I sneaked out. But father had woken up just a few minutes after we left, and he ran after us. We ran as fast as we could, but I was so little...father caught up to me and pulled me back. That was the first time I used my strength against anyone. I am a daughter of Bellona, and I honoured her. After that, Hylla and I ran and ran, until a lady appeared to us, she told us her name was C.C., and she brought us to her island and gave us jobs. Food and water, clothes. Then when I was the age of fifteen, two kids came to Circe and they blew it up. But I guess it was because C.C. Turned him into a guinea pig. I forgave him though, but it took him years to find me again. It was Percy. And, that is what I remember. I was very young then.

"Wow" I say. "But I do know about Percy. I mean, I went on a quest and stuff, how can I not know?"

I see Reyna says. Hazel, you may not tell anyone, I have never told anyone in my whole life. But I trust you, Hazel. You have a horrible past, just like me.

"I promise" I say. "So your dad was horrible?"

yes Reyna says.

"I'm so sorry Reyna, I had no idea!" I say.

I know, no one knows Reyna sighs. Do you want any advice on your quest?

"Yes, but Reyna...your past" I say.

Something that I have come to learn in the past few years. The past is the past, what matters is the present, and the future. What matters is who you choose to be. And I chose to tell you. Hazel, if you want to be a hero, be a hero. Try never to fall into evils tricks. Once I can get rid of Octavian, I will. But how I feel about some people is how I feel, like I'm still not sure about the Greeks. But I can chose differently in the future. That's what's important. But you can't always rely on, or wish on the future, the present is important. You need to make good choices. Really, you can choose whatever you want, Hazel Reyna says. As for the quest, do what you have planned, and stick to it.

"Thank you, Reyna" I say.

Alright, I need to go now. No more Miss Nice Daughter of Bellona, I have been far too soft. I've been soft enough to last me a whole year. Go Hazel, finish your quest Reyna says.

"Alright" I nod. Reyna smiles and her image disappears. That is the first time Reyna has ever been nice to me.

I shut the window, turn off the water and leave the bathroom with a new found respect for Reyna.

End of chapter.

AN. So yeah, please Review!