Hey there! Here's another chapter, where Zoe speaks to Octavian, she's a little annoyed.

Thanks for all the reviews, hope you enjoy this chapter!

I woke up early the next morning, a Monday, in order to visit Octavian before I started working. Just like the first day, he was standing in front of the Altar in the temple of Jupiter and holding a sharp knife and a stuffed animal. He looked to be praying to the gods and I waited until he'd finished to announce my presence.

"Good morning," I greeted him softly.

Octavian turned around and, upon seeing me, his expression morphed into a smirk. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" He said, in a mocking tone. Obviously he knew why I'd come.

Another advantage of waking up early was that no one else was around and the temple was empty save for us. I saw no reason not to be blunt with him, perhaps he'd be a little honest back.

"Why did you blame me? Have I upset you in any way?" I asked him carefully. One rule for these sorts of people was that they always had a reason for everything they did.

He feigned surprise. "Blame you? I was merely informing the Senate of my concerns as any honest citizen should do," he replied innocently.

I tried not to roll my eyes at the word 'honest'. "I am no fool," I said with conviction. "You could have remained silent but you choose not to, why?"

"You're wrong," he said more seriously, "I couldn't have remained silent and I know absolutely nothing about you."

"Then why did you tell everyone that I was to blame for Jason's disappearance?" I demanded.

Octavian shrugged, "I had to accuse someone, of course," he replied as if it was obvious. It could be fairly obvious if I knew precisely what Octavian's aims were.

"Shouldn't you be trying to find him though? What could you gain from this accusation?" I asked. My questions probably didn't sound intelligent enough, but I hoped he'd take me seriously.

"When there's trouble someone had to stand up to keep order, and I did," Octavian replied. Well he seemed to be humouring me, at least.

But I was sure he had other motives, he had a reputation at this camp and I doubted he'd done this to me out of the kindness of his heart. And was having a scapegoat (which it seemed I was), really a good way to keep order?

"And what will you do if Jason turns up in a few days and you were completely wrong?" I asked, leaning against the wall.

Octavian's smile seemed a little more menacing. "I've been looking," he said, gesturing to his altar. "And I can tell you that Jason won't return any time soon."

I frowned. "Is he dead?" I asked uncertainly. Not only could he be dead but I was being blamed for it.

"I cannot tell unfortunately, but it's possible. And even if he isn't, he may be soon because of monsters," Octavian said, not seeming to care.

"So it would be wise to find him quickly," I replied, standing straighter.

"Yes, but we're unlikely to have any success."

He seemed to be thinking practically although coldly, without emotion. I was beginning to believe that he didn't hold any particular dislike for me, that I was just a convenient tool though. But it just made me more furious if he knew I hadn't done anything

"So, do you seriously think that I was responsible for Jason's disappearance?" I asked, managing to sound calm.

"I think that's very unlikely but not impossible," he replied. "You actually seem to care about him."

I smiled in success though I was still angry with him. "So will you help me to persuade everyone of my innocence?" I was sure he'd be able to, as he was very charismatic, though I doubted he would .

He confirmed what I'd thought. "No, I'm afraid I can't do that, you'll have to forgive me," he smiled at me more brightly, I thought he smiled a bit too much.

"Are you suggesting that helping me would interfere with your plans?" I said with frustration. Despite how unhelpful he was being, I was glad to have spoken with him.

"I wouldn't want to contradict myself," he replied cheerfully. "I've already declared you guilty and I can't just change my mind."

"Well is there any other way you could help me without contradicting yourself or is that not in your interests either?" I growled.

"You're very suspicious of me," he noted.

"Would you not agree that it's justified?"

"Perhaps. But remember, my ultimate goal is for the camp to prosper," Octavian replied, possibly a little offended.

"With a few sacrifices along the way?"

"Naturally."

"So how do you expect to achieve this prosperity? What can you do?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable with his uncaring attitude.

He didn't answer immediately but took a step towards the wall and leant against it. "Why should I tell you?" He said.

I frowned, I hadn't finished talking to him yet, hopefully he'd say a little more. "I want the camp to prosper as well, and you're not a fool."

Wait, did I just offer to help Octavian? I'd definitely implied that we had the same goals but I didn't want to help him, the fact that he was a boy would just make it worse. Maybe he wouldn't accept though.

He considered it an offer. "Thanks. If you must know, I'd like to become the next Praetor, where I can help the camp the best," he replied.

No wonder he wasn't sad to see Jason go. But he was too proud and too manipulative, for me to be sure he'd actually be beneficial to the camp.

"I'm not sure I can support you yet," I replied bluntly. Or ever.

"I don't want you to support me yet, that would be another contradiction but we could speak again, if you'd like?" Octavian said with a calculating look.

I shrugged, I didn't have any good reason to say no and it wouldn't be particularly to offend him, he had already made my life difficult. Maybe he'd be able to tell me more.

"Good," he said, taking that as agreement. "Let's talk again here, the same time next week, okay?"

The rest of my day was uneventful. People tended to avoid me if they recognised me and not too many did. Things went worse in my first swordfighting lesson though, they all knew who the new girl was.

Apparently we had these lessons every Monday and on Tuesday I could do archery while most people did some sort of legionaire practice on other days. Anyway it didn't go well.

I was of course, very accomplished with a sword and disarmed my first opponent in a short time. People looked at me in shock and they began muttering. I was just confirming the accusations.

My next opponent was more skilled and the fight lasted longer and we both realised that we had completely different styles. I find it impossible to predict what my opponent would do but it was the same for him and I eventually managed to disarm him as well.

By the end of the session I think everyone in the room was convinced of my guilt.

Louise and John (who apparently never left each other's sight) were both initially suspicious too, they'd by now heard the news.

But after I told them that I was innocent, they accepted that and even ate lunch with me. I was glad not to be on my own again and it was good to have some friends.

"Everyone is, like, staring at us, Zoe," Louise complained as we ate.

"Yeah, shouldn't everyone be avoiding us if we're eating with you?" John asked, though they weren't annoyed. They just complained for fun.

"Just the opposite, unfortunately. Unless I glare at anyone, in which they do avoid contact," I replied feeling comfortable sitting with them, far more comfortable than when talking with Octavian.

"Have you tested this out?" John replied.

"Do you think it'll work if I glare?" Louise asked.

"Maybe if you hold your streak knife menacingly?" John suggested.

"Or if you get accused of causing a Praetor to disappear," I added with irritation.

"Hmmm... do you think I can get anyone to believe I made Jason disappear?" Louise said, considering my suggestion when a grin.

"Yeah, just anger Octavian," I said.

"But he's like our brother," John said in mock horror.

"Not really, he's like only a descendant so we're barely related," Louise said. "And you're not really my brother either!"

They began arguing and over the past few days, I'd learned that they had this argument a lot.

In the evening, Gwen found me and made sure I knew that she knew that I was innocent. She said she wanted to support me but I told her that she didn't need to.

She was well respected at camp and I didn't want her to lose it because of me. Gwen had other friends and even a boyfriend so it was best if we didn't act too friendly. It was a shame to have to do this but I would be fine, even if I was disliked, and I had already made a few other friends who really didn't care if I was suspicious or not. I wouldn't be too lonely though I was possible I'd begin to miss Gwen..

Still, after talking to her, I felt like our previous fight was just a memory and hoped we could be agreeable when we talked in the future.

So what did you think? Was Octavian in character? I tried to make him seem a little more sympathetic, just a little, and of course he's supposed to be charismatic and naturally persuasive. I found him hard to write actually, writing with John and Louise is much easier, maybe it's because they're OCs. Do tell me if you don't like them though.

I need to pick up the pace a bit in story but I want my characters to be nice and developed and there's a few more to introduce too. But I love subplots...

So if you have any feedback, please do review! Thanks for reading!