So. *waves hand in wide gesture as if tracing imaginary rainbow* Hi.
Ummm...been a while. A full week, actually. Sorry about that.
So, no excuses can really do anything to make you guys forgive me, but just so you know, I never intended to go this long without updating. It was just supposed to be a few days, like three or four. Not seven.
And I was sick for the past two days. I still kind of am today. But I feel well enough to get out of bed, so that's why I am now updating.
Before, I wasn't updating because I wasn't writing, which is bad and I feel horrible about. But I have the worst case of writer's block ever right now, and writer's block makes me feel horribly, hideously empty, which also makes me kind of depressed.
Which makes it all the harder to get rid of the writer's block. Vicious circle, right?
I have maybe three chapters written, including this one. And that's really not that many...which you probably realize. Um. Yeah. That means that, until I find a way to get rid of this gods-awful writer's block, there will probably be longer waits in between updates. Hopefully not weeks. Because that is bad.
I'm not going to respond to individual reviews, because it's come to my attention that the review responses are now as long as the chapters, pretty much, and from all the reviews I've gotten in this very long week, those responses would now be longer than the chapter. So, a general, resounding THANK YOU to everyone for their support, compliments, constructive criticism, etcetera. Thank you all very much.
To those who inquired after my well-being-I'm okay. Like I said above, writer's block. And consequential depression caused by that writer's block. Nothing extreme. Just lots of tangled emotions that I can't identify which make it seem as if I'm not feeling any emotions at all, which makes writing hard.
Anyway. Enjoy the chapter, and I hope to see you all again in a few days. Not a week. I promise.
Cheers!
Chapter LXXXVII
Nico
Nico isn't generally a bad person. He doesn't usually take pleasure in other's pain-well, not too much, anyway.
But when he sees Reyna's fierce, veangeful smile, and she says that their next move is waiting for Octavian, Nico can't help the savage, burning anticipation he feels at the thought of what Octavian has coming to him.
The others seem to echo his feelings, because most of them get smiles similar to Reyna's, and even Gwen gets a fierce look in her eyes.
"Octavian shouldn't be here for several more minutes, though, so in the meantime, make yourselves comfortable." Reyna tells everyone, and they all start to drift off to different parts of the room.
Reyna walks over to him, and Nico gets that warm feeling again, mixed with jittery nerves. Which makes no sense-why should Reyna make him nervous?
"It's weird." She says when she stops next to him. "We went through all that trouble to make sure Octavian was out of our way, and now I can't wait for him to get here."
"It's understandable, especially when you imagine what his face is going to look like when he sees you." Nico tells her, and she laughs.
Almost everyone else in the tent looks up at the sound, their eyes wide with surprise and incredulity-Nico doesn't think any of them have heard her laugh before. He feels kind of sorry for them-her laugh is amazing.
They look away hurriedly when they notice him watching them, but he can see them sneaking glances out of the corner of his eye.
"I didn't expect it to be this easy." Reyna admits when she finishes laughing. "I'm used to things being almost impossibly difficult-and this wasn't."
"Most of the credit goes to you for that-you're the one who came up with the plan, and you're the one who convinced them to see your side of things." Nico tells her.
"The plan wouldn't have worked without you." Reyna reminds him, her gaze serious.
"Yeah, well, we're a team, right? Besides, I wouldn't even be alive without you. It was the least I could do." He replies, embarassed.
Reyna smiles at him, a bright glow in her eyes. She doesn't say anything, but she doesn't have to. The silence between them isn't awkward-it's kind of nice, actually.
She looks away, and her gaze alights on the couch where she slept when they first arrived, which is empty. "Hey, Nico, do you want to sit down?"
Nico shrugs. "Why not?" He follows her over to the couch, and they sit down side by side, waiting for Octavian to arrive.
They sit in silence-again, not the awkward kind. Reyna's eyes are far away-she's obviously lost in thought, but Nico can't take his mind off of her, so he decides to just observe her, in a non-creepy, non-stalkerish kind of way.
She's wringing her hands in her lap like she does when she's nervous, seemingly unconsciously, but besides that, she betrays no sign that she's the least bit worried. Several strands of hair have escaped from her braid and are hanging freely-Nico gets a really strong urge to reach out and tuck them behind her ear, but this time she's not asleep.
To distract himself, he looks back down at her hands-a mistake, because all it does is make him want to grab her hand and hold on tightly to reassure her that things will be fine.
Nico is jarred out of his thoughts by a commotion right outside the tent-angry yelling, and the voice is Octavian's.
His lips curl up in a faint smile, and when he looks to his left, Reyna has a similar smile on her face. If nothing else, this will be highly amusing-Octavian is comical when he's really angry.
The tent flap sweeps aside, and Octavian stalks into the tent, scowling, and then stops short when he sees the senate relaxing on his furniture.
"Nice of you to join us, Octavian." Reyna greets him, her voice light. She tilts her head a bit-if only she had a white cat sitting on her lap, the image would be perfect. "Why don't you take a seat?"
"What-" He splutters, his eyes wide in horrified shock. "-are-what are you-"
"Doing here?" Reyna finishes. "Oh, well, I seem to recall that I am currently praetor, meaning that this is my tent. Also, this is where the senate meets, and there was an urgent matter that had to be immediately called to attention."
Nico doesn't bother to try and hide his grin-it'd be impossible anyway.
A vein throbs in Octavian's forehead, and his face turns purple with rage. He looks like he wants to order someone to kill Reyna, but then he seems to remember that most of the senate is also present in the room, and he quickly does his best to compose himself.
"And what, exactly," he says through gritted teeth, "was this urgent matter?"
"A peace treaty, actually." Reyna replies. "Signed by the counselors of Camp Half-Blood, and now by the majority of the Roman Senate." She grabs the paper from where she layed it on the couch, and lifts it up for him to see.
Octavian's face pales. "You can't do that."
"Can't I, though?" Reyna muses, twisting the paper around with her hand, taunting him with it. "I am praetor, after all."
Octavian straightens himself to his full height-not very impressive at all, really, but he's trying to make a point. "You left, Reyna, and in your absence, I became the praetor. You know this."
"You know, 'leaving' seems like too simple a term. It was more like I was forced out of the camp by an attempted kidnapping and then a horde of your followers you sent to try and 'subdue' me." She reminds him.
Nico wishes he had popcorn; it'd make this whole thing just that much more enjoyable.
Octavian's gaze darts to the others in the tent, and then back to Reyna. He takes a deep breath through his nose and smooths his toga, puffing out his chest. "You are no longer fit to lead us, Reyna, as you proved when you assaulted me in public view." He draws breath to continue, but Reyna doesn't let him.
"Oh, as opposed to you sending guards to assault me in the middle of the night?" Reyna asks. "My 'assault,' as you put it, Octavian, was a result of your poor ability to follow orders. If someone in this room is unfit to lead, then it is you, Octavian. The first thing a Roman soldier learns is to obey the orders of their superiors-you seem to have missed that lesson."
"When a leader is unfit, it is up to the soldier to recognize that and take their place." He quotes stiffly.
Reyna laughs out loud, and Octavian flinches back-her amusement seems to take him by surprise. "Since when have you ever been a true soldier, Octavian? The one time I ever knew you to take matters into your own hands was during that disastrous war game-the one Percy participated in. And even then, you were to much of a coward to enter honorable combat."
Octavian's face pales even further, and his eyes flicker momentarily to Gwen. He wipes his sweaty hands on his toga-an obvious sign of nerves.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Reyna." He replies, and his voice is smooth-he might've gotten away with the lie if he hadn't been so obvious otherwise. He really needs to work on his physical representation.
"Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about." Reyna says, deadly calm. "You just can't admit to it, because it would ruin you completely."
Octavian glares at her with utter hatred, obviously at a loss as to how to reply to that without giving himself away.
"Reyna?" A querulous voice asks from the corner, drawing everyone's attention. Gwen is standing off to one side, her face pale, swaying a little. "What are you talking about?"
Nico sees a fleeting emotion pass through Reyna's eyes before she hides it-regret. She opens her mouth to answer, but Dakota speaks up before she has the chance.
"Gwen, she's talking about when you died." He answers bluntly, and Gwen flinches at the reminder. "No proof was ever found about the identity of the person who stabbed you, but we've all suspected."
Gwen looks like she's been hit by a truck, but Dakota forges on.
"The only person who was missing a pila after the battle was Octavian, Gwen." He tells her. "He's the one who did it."
"Unfounded accusations." Octavian spits angrily, drawing attention back to him.
Nico doesn't turn-he keeps his eyes on Gwen, who looks like she's about to faint. He continues listening to the conversation, but he wants to make sure the girl is okay-he knows the fact that she returned from the dead is something she must have struggled with, since Hazel always did, and finding out the person responsible for your death can't be very good for you.
"Everyone in this room has suspected you were behind it, Octavian. More than that, we've known." Reyna tells him. "But we couldn't do anything about it, because we had no proof. Of course, a confession would be unrefutable, wouldn't it?"
"You won't get one." Octavian swears, and then hurries to add to his statement, realizing that it makes him sound guilty. "Because I didn't do it, of course."
"Oh, just give up already, Octavian, everyone knows it was you." Felicity bursts out.
Nico watches Gwen try to recompose herself-she puts her hand on the back of a chair for support and shakes her head, eyes closed, as if she can shake away the pain.
"Felicity, I assure you I had nothing to do with Gwen's unfortunate...incident." Octavian promises.
Liar. Nico thinks. He glances over just in time to see Octavian sweep his arms to the side in an encompassing gesture, addressing the whole room.
"I'm sure Reyna has made a very convincing case." He starts. "But I'm afraid she's deceived you. I would never harm a fellow soldier of the legion-especially not Gwen, who's such a good friend to everyone."
Something in Gwen's face changes, although Nico can't quite recognize what it is...
"Cut the crap, Octavian." Felicity interrupts. "You've tried blackmailing or bribing at least half of the people in this room at some point, and you're going to go with caring friend?"
Several of the others support her statement, murmuring-or yelling-agreement.
"Octavian, there's an army marching this way to destroy both camps-sent by Terra herself." Reyna says bluntly. "We can't be fighting amongst ourselves when that army gets here-and we have to unite forces with Camp Half-Blood."
Nico turns to see Octavian's reaction-but the augur has a wicked gleam in his eyes that Nico doesn't like at Reyna's words.
"You're falling for this?" He asks, his tone incredulous. "Reyna is obviously working for the Greeks-she's nothing more than a Greek spy, come to convince us to turn our backs. And as soon as we let our guard down, the Greeks will attack. We can't let that happen! We must strike first! Remember what they did to the forum-they fired on New Rome! They started this war, and we're going to finish it!"
A few of the centurions look unsure at his words, their sure expressions faltering. Octavian seems to notice this, and his confidence grows, but Dakota speaks before he can.
"The people in this camp never made a single move against us, Octavian." He says. He takes a swig of Kool-Aid and then continues. "And Reyna is working with the Greeks, not for them-she's working with them to help us, and ensure our victory against Gaea."
Octavian smiles, and Nico sees a flash of what he thinks is triumph before the augur starts talking. "And you're obviously working with her, Dakota. Why else would you defend her when she's so obviously guilty?" Whispers fill the tent, and he quickly continues, not wanting to lose his lead. "Is this who you take orders from now? A weak Greek spy and a clumsy son of Bacchus drunk on red Kool-Aid?"
Rage flashes through Nico, and he starts to get up to punch the blonde creep, but he doesn't get the chance.
From her side of the room, Gwen strides quickly forward, her face twisted in anger, eyes filled with cold determination, and she punches him in the face so hard that she breaks his newly-healed nose and knocks him back onto his butt.
Octavian looks up at her, completely astonished, holding one hand to his face in an attempt to staunch the blood flow.
"You have no right to insult them, you sick, disgusting, selfish bastard!" Gwen screams at him. "You're lower than low, lower than dirt. You deserve to rot in the Fields of Punishment for all eternity, and if I weren't such a 'good friend to everyone' I'd send you to Hades right now!"
She goes on like that for several minutes, screaming different insults at him, occasionally switching to Latin. It's an inspiring reminder of when Reyna first arrived back.
For the most part, everyone else is completely shocked, and just watches with wide eyes, totally astonished at her sudden change.
When she's finished, Gwen stands over Octavian, breathing hard, and then she leans down to his level. "You disgust me." She snarls at him, and then whirls around to face the others.
"Can't you idiots see what he's doing?" She shouts at them, starting in on a lecture. "He's undermining our confidence, playing on our doubts, trying to make us rethink everything! He's turning us against each other-or have you forgotten a few nights ago when we were literally fighting each other, because of him?"
A few people look away and shift uncomfortably, ashamed at her confrontation. "Don't fool yourselves into thinking he cares about us-because he doesn't. Everything he's ever done, from day one, has been for his own gain. He wants power, and for some reason, some people think it's a good idea to give it to him. Don't you remember our history? Giving power to people like him" she gestures wildly at Octavian, and he flinches, "never ends well. Open your eyes-stop seeing what you want to see and see the truth."
Like when Reyna gave her speech, there's dead silence for a few seconds. Unlike when Reyna gave her speech, there's no simultaneous cheer for Gwen. They're all too shocked.
"Wow, Gwen." Felicity says, grinning. "I didn't know you had it in you." Gwen blushes, and then Felicity starts clapping for her-all the others soon join in, excluding Octavian, of course.
Next to Nico, Reyna sighs in relief. He looks at her questioningly, and she smiles at him, sending his heart pounding against his will.
"I think that we've won now." She explains to him, gesturing towards the Roman Senate, who have almost all stood and are clapping Gwen proudly on the back.
"Yeah," Nico agrees. "It looks like it."
Hey, look at that. Octavian got punched again. Not that it was unexpected or anything, although I'm guessing not many of you expected Gwen to be the one that did the punching.
So, now, since I've been asked, I'm going to share with you all another tidbit from my daily life. Yay!
On Wednesday, my friend Elfie invited me to go to a water park with her and her mom. Her little sister is my little sister's friend, too, so they both came along.
We had a really great time, and I even convinced Elfie to go on the bigger slides, even though she's terrified of those kind of things (don't ever try to convince her to go on a rollercoaster. It won't end well).
And then things got a little weird. One of the lifeguards, a bigger guy maybe in his middle or late twenties, started getting friendly. Like, weird friendly. He was one of the-slide attendants, I guess you'd call it?-and the whole thing started when he told us not to scream as we went down the slide. He was joking, and it was just something he was saying, in different variations, to pretty much everyone, but we were one of the only ones who didn't scream. I actually found the slide kind of boring, and excessively irrating, because whenever it came to the sharp curves, my legs were so long that they kept hitting the side. Not fun.
Then, we met him coming down as we went up for a second go, and he grinned at us and patted us on the shoulder (again, complete stranger, never met him before) and was all like "You didn't scream for me!"
Now, I'm just getting totally creeped out by this point, because either he's a serial killer looking for victims, or he's hitting on us. Which is just weird, because I'm 15 and my sister is 13, and he looks about in his late twenties. Ugh. I'm shuddering just thinking about it.
After this, I would've expected him to have left, or gone to relax somewhere, since his lifeguard shift was obviously over. But no. After that, he kept popping up in the weirdest places, and every time we saw him, he'd wave as if we were old friends and jog over to talk to us. Creepy, much?
I was just getting irritated, especially when he started shaking the rope net (there's this obstacle-course-ish thing where you hold on to a rope net and step on floating 'lily pads' to get across the water) and made me fall off for the first time, giving my hands rope burn and making me belly flop onto the water. That was just rude. But he thought it was hilarious.
We finally lost him, and Elfie and I were discussing why he was stalking us. This is where our conversation turned:
Elfie: "Maybe he's a Greek monster."
Me: *starts laughing, abruptly stops and turns to Elfie* "OMG WHAT IF HE IS?"
Elfie: "Kidding, Courtney, kidding-why would a Greek monster be a lifeguard at a water park?"
Me: "Why would a Greek monster be a teacher, or a vice principal? Monsters are weird, okay?"
Elfie: "Okay, if he's a monster, what kind of monster is he? I didn't see any tell-tale warning signs."
Me: *momentarily stumped* "I don't know. I didn't really look too closely at him-I didn't want to."
Elfie: "You know, thinking about it, I don't think I could describe him. I can recognize him, but I can't remember what he looks like."
Me: *Looking at Elfie with wide eyes* "HE'S A CYCLOPS."
Elfie: *own eyes widen in realization* "OMG YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT. He's a cyclops!"
Me: "He's tall, and...um...big, and I never got a really close look at his face because I didn't want to look! All I can remember about his face is that he had crooked teeth and weird scruffy facial hair! WE MET A CYCLOPS!"
Then we both proceeded to do a weird funky happy dance about meeting a Greek monster (weird reaction, I know) before collapsing in a pile of giggles.
So, yeah. That's the story of how my best friend and I met a Cyclops at a water park.
I love you, dream about punching Octavian, avenge the death of Percy's panda pillow pet, and give three cheers for Gwen!