Reyna POV
When the smoke and dust cleared, I saw that Madeline was not, in fact, dead or unconscious. My vision was slightly blurry because of the explosion, and I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was real or not. My eyes focused and I froze in shock, much like the rest of the audience. Madeline was standing straight and proud, a bolt of white hot energy gripped in her left fist. Jason had apparently noticed too, because he was stumbling over his own feet to get away from her. The white lightning bolt Madeline was holding seemed to glow even brighter as she shifted her fierce gaze from Jason to the bolt. The bolt slowly turned a soft yellow, orange, then a burning hot white blue, mixed with the previous colors. Jason must have realized something was going to happen because his jaw dropped (Madeline seemed to have that effect on him lately) and he whispered, "No," A daring and sadistic grin split Madeline's face. "Oh, yes." She whispered back. "Oh, yes." She repeated. The daughter of Apollo's back muscles tensed, and she hurled the lightning bolt at Jason with speed to rival a major league baseball players pitch. The lightning smashed right into the son of Jupiter's chest. Usually, I wouldn't be worried about Jason getting hit with lightning because of his father, but the way it had changed colors after coming into contact with Madeline, told me this bolt would not be so harmless. Jason flew across the Field of Mars and crashed into the ground, skidding a few hundred feet when her hit the ground. A resounding, "Ooooooh," came from the crowd, along with a couple ow's and ouches. I decided that it had been enough and jogged over to where Jason had landed. Madeline was already there, holding out a hand to help him up even though he looked like he needed a stretcher, not a hand. Jason's clothes were slightly charred and all the visible skin on his body was tinted pink. He also seemed to be having trouble moving without groaning and his breaths were uneven. I called out to the stands, "I think we need some medics over here!" As some of Apollo's children started to make their way over a weak hand grabbed my wrist feebly. When he spoke, Jason's voice was hoarse and dry. "No," he said. "I'll make it. Call them off." I raised my eyebrows at him but waved the medics off anyway. I slowly knelt beside him. Madeline looked at him slightly sympathetically. "Sorry. I usually wouldn't use something like that but I knew you could withstand it." She turned so that she could now face both of us. "You two are made of something else. I haven't had a sparring partner last that long in years." A wistful expression crossed her face for a moment before anger and barely-concealed bitterness replaced it. Madeline's jaw clenched tight and the skin on her arms was pulled taut as she tensed. "Let's not talk about that now though." Jason shot me a questioning glance and silently we both decided to discuss it later. I raised my head and pulled my chin up as I stood and turned to face the crowd. "I must say," I announced, "I am surprised you managed to overcome all four challenges set before you. Congratulations, Madeline, daughter of Apollo and champion of Hestia! You have defeated both of our praetors!" I went to continue, but my voice was drowned out by the deafening roar of the crowd. I turned to the daughter of Apollo. "Since you have bested all of the contenders, I give you free choice over which cohort you choose to be in, as long as the centurion accepts you." Madeline didn't hesitate. "The Fifth." she said. "I choose the Fifth." I was genuinely surprised, yet again, by her choices. The Fifth was known to be the worst cohort, and the weakest. Nobody wanted to be in the Fifth. So I double-checked. "Are you sure?" I asked. She nodded her head. "Positive." I let out a deep breath. "I'm sure Gwendolyn would be glad to have you, then. Gwen!" I called. The dark headed girl rose from her seat and stood at attention. "Present." She replied. "It seems, centurion,
that Madeline has chosen to be part of the Fifth cohort, if you will take her." Gwen's eyes widened in surprise, then she nodded her head so hard I feared it might fall off. "Yes of course!" Gwen turned towards Madeline, then banged her shield on the ground thrice. "We, the Fifth, would be honored to have such a fearsome warrior in our barracks." The banging of her shield was repeated by the rest of the soldiers in her cohort. I nodded my head, then announced. "Then it is done! Madeline, you are now an official member of the Twelfth Legion, Cohort Five! Senātus Populusque Rōmānus!" All of the legionnaires echoed the cry. Jason finally spoke, although spluttering a bit at the beginning. "Now, it has been a long night. Time for bed! You are all dismissed!"
Okay, so, a short chapter is better than no chapter at all. And I swear to the Gods I was this *holds out fingers to infinitely small distance* to getting my head chopped off. I apologize, guys. I'm really sorry.I don't have a good enough excuse to list it (or them) so I'm just going to summarize and say I was busy. It's 9:53 and I'm really tired and I got hit by 3 softballs today but I'm going to try to crank out another chapter for tonight, although no promises. I better start working. Goodnight my pineapples :) ;)
Peace out
~M