Looking up, she saw the hard, black orbs of a Latino girl, who was wearing an ornate piece of armor and a purple cape.
And then her words registered in her mind.
"We need to talk."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Aphrodite stood next to Artemis, who was fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Aphrodite." Artemis said, slightly annoyed, "how can I help you today?"
They were in Artemis' favourite garden on Olympus. She had some news that she wanted to break to Artemis and had sought her out.
Hence the reason they were here.
"You can't help me today," she responded, "but I can help you."
At that, Artemis' gaze turned on her, sharply. "You can't help me," she said, her eyes slightly puffy after days of crying. It hurt her to see one of her godly friends hurting like this, even if it was a one-sided friendship.
"I can, Artemis. Just…trust me."
"You can't help me because you can't bring back the dead!" Artemis yelled, angry and frustrated. Her hair was slightly frazzled, and she pitied the moon goddess. Still, the bomb she was about to drop on her…
"I can," she said as gently as she could, "because she isn't dead."
Artemis' pale yellow eyes were as wide as dinnerplates now. "…what?" Artemis uttered, stunned and shaken. "But…I felt it. There…there's no way-"
"She didn't die, Artemis. She didn't. Believe me, please."
Stunned silence ensued.
And then, Artemis launched herself at her.
Before she could react, she heard sobbing.
From the normally stoic and hard moon goddess.
Tight, slender arms were firmly wrapped around her, and she returned the hug as gently as possible. Artemis continued to sob, but she didn't mind tears wetting her clothing for once.
She was happy to help a friend out.
They stood there for a long time, with Artemis crying in relief while she encouraged the goddess to let everything she had bottled up out.
Alas, the moon goddess' tears dried up, and she gently pushed her away. "I'm-I'm so sorry," she said apologetically. Looking at her dress, now stained with shimmering tears and golden flakes.
She didn't mind.
"There's nothing to apologize for, Artemis," she said, "You needed to know this. I can't stand seeing you hurting, and it's also been affecting your domain. For the sale of everything, you must be strong. For persia, for your domain, for your hunters. You won't be able to see her physically, but I can try to help. Someday, after all this is over, you can see her again. Believe me."
Artemis stared at her with wide eyes. After a short moment, she enveloped her in a tight hug again. "Thank you, Aphrodite…thank you. I-I'm so sorry for not believing you, for being angry at you, for being stupid…I though you were the ruin of everything, and…I can never thank you enough for what you've done for me and Persia."
Well, this was surprising. The harsh, stoney and easily angered moon goddess apologizing.
Persia must've changed her in more ways than one.
But she wondered how Artemis would react to the news she was about to drop on her…
"It's okay, Artemis, we all have our moments and poor decisions. But…speaking of poor decisions, you can't blame persia for what I'm gonna tell you."
Artemis' gaze narrowed, and she pushed herself away more forcefully. "What do you mean?"
"Well…you see, Persia doesn't just have you as her soulmate. Before everything involving you or thalia happened, before Percy was born…the fates already had their choice on what they would do with Percy's love life. And it was completely out of my control."
Artemis stared at her, before sighing in defeat. "I….what am I supposed to do then? Am I not good enough? I love Persia. She loves me…but I don't know if she knows who her soulmate is, or if I can even put up with her…"
She opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis continued. "I know soulmates make you whole, I know soulmates are destined to fall in love, but I don't want to share Persia…I want her for myself, but I don't want to hurt her…"
"Artemis, you-"
"No, but seriously, am I not good enough? Will Persia even love me? Did she even love-"
"ARTEMIS!"
That shut the moon goddess up as she turned to face her. For a split second, she saw a familiar, cold glint of anger in her eyes.
Good to know that the old Artemis is still there, somewhere.
Quickly though, the glint vanished, and Artemis crumbled in front of her. "I-I'm sorry, I rambled, I'm so sorry…"
"Don't be," she said, striding over to hug the moon goddess. "You should know that your love wan't meant to be, but Persia does have a tendency to stand up to the fates, yes? No matter what, she loves you, and you love her. Yes, having to share her might be a painful reality, but she'll respect your choices, and you'll tolerate her choices. After all, you two are bond deeper than anyone could imagine…and what's there to say that the love you three have towards each other won't be mutual?"
Artemis remained in her embrace, silent, before she tightened the embrace. "I….thank you for telling me this," Artemis said, "and…I'll respect Persia's decision. But…do you know who is her soulmate?"
"Simple," she responded. "She is already with her soulmate, on the other side of the continent."
Artemis' eyes widened.
"Her soulmate is Thalia Grace."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Sit down."
Thalia did as she was told to, and sat down in front of the large, polished wooden desk.
The Latino girl, who apparently was Praefectus Castrorum, or commonly, praetor. Her purple cape swished and fluttered in the slightest of breezes as she strode behind the desk and sat down.
"So, tell me who you are." The praetor said, and she couldn't help but notice how sharp and harsh her tone was.
Clearly, she was someone who had experience leading.
She cleared her throat lightly, and spoke. "I am Thalia Grace, lieutenant of-"
"Stop."
She couldn't help but feel like the Latino girl's dark brown eyes pierced her soul as she leaned forwards. Her aura was commanding and harsh, and she couldn't help but feel like whoever wronged her would not survive another day.
"You said your last name was Grace?"
That caught her slightly off guard. "Y-yeah," she stuttered slightly, annoyed at how she was ready to crumble under the harsh gaze of the praetor opposite of her.
It didn't help that everything around her was large and intimidating.
The Latino girl was silent, her eyes scanning all over her features as she squirmed slightly in her seat. The penetrating gaze of the praetor was harsh, powerful, and solely trained in her,
Finally, the praetor leaned back, and she felt that it was as if pressure on her was lifted. "Thank gods," she thought, but then the praetor dropped a bombshell on her.
"You know you have a brother here, right?"
Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open. "What-brother?"
"Yes. Jason Grace."
Her world spun, and she nearly fell out of her chair. "But-it's impossible, she told me he was dead, dead-"
"He's very much alive, miss. Other than the fact that he went missing just a few weeks ago."
That hit her even harder. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish as tears sprung to her eyes. Here she was, confronted by the news that her brother was alive and well…and then he disappeared.
Wiping away tears, she tried to regain her composure as the praetor asked, "who exactly told you he was dead?"
"Hera. Queen bitch."
The praetor's eyes widened, and she frantically glanced around to check for anything and everything. Quickly, she turned back, but her calm and composed demeanour was gone. "Grace, I suggest you…refrain from doing that," she said in a low tone, but she scoffed.
"What the hell can she do?" She laughed bitterly. "She ruined my life. She lied to me about Jason. She lied to me about everything. She took away my chance, practically had a hand in forcing me into the hunters."
The praetor was silent, but she had her head propped up on her hands, listening intently as she continued to rant.
"She ruined my chances with Percy. She ruined everything I had, and what does she give back? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Because she's a self righteous, pompous bitch who doesn't care about anyone other than herself."
The praetor was silent for a bit, before she sighed. "Gods have the ability to do that, Thalia. My life wasn't exactly going well but I learned to accept it after some person threw a wrench in my plans."
Sighing, the praetor got up and began to stroll around her. "My mother never helped me. My patron was nearly killed by another demigod. My comrades were killed in battle during the battle for the black throne. If I wasn't a child of my mother, I would join the other side. But, loyalty and honor is the essence of a Roman demigod, and I will remain loyal to my mother, to Olympus. No matter that, it is my personal code of honor. I know how you feel, but…it isn't exactly how you want things to go, Thalia."
They returned to a period of uncomfortable silence as the praetor went back behind the desk and sat down.
For once, she noticed how the girl had slight bags under her eyes, and they looked tired and slightly bloodshot.
"You…haven't been sleeping well?" She blurted out, before ducking her head as she realized what she had done.
Why was she doing this, she didn't know. But the praetor made her feel like she was being scolded in school all over again.
The praetor was silent, and didn't make any movement. Looking up, she was surprised to notice that the praetor was looking at her, shocked, yet she felt a new underlying sense of vulnerability from the praetor.
Finally, after a few tense moments, the praetor's harsh and cold facade crumbled. She slumped into her chair as she sighed, the sound emanating weariness and exhaustion. "Yeah, I…it hasn't been this bad for months, but…Jason's the other Praetor, and we need him back, especially with the increasing amount of tension and unrest in the city. I am a military leader, Jason isn't. He, ironically being a son of Jupiter, is more diplomatic than I am." She sighed. "It had been…hard, dealing with the citizens. legionaries. Senators. And…" she looked directly at her, "I hope your arrival won't cause worse problems."
"I'll try not to…" she said, training off, realizing that she had no way to refer to the praetor.
"Reyna. Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. But if you call me that, I'll personally see to you getting punished." Reyna smiled, and she returned it.
"Well, Reyna…I do hope I can help."
"You better…" Reyna trailed off, though she paused, before looking at her. "The augury predicted you would come, though the wording is a bit..,off. But, regardless, what grave news do you bring?"
"The new prophecy…well, Perce believes it's started, and Olympus more or less is shut off for now."
Reyna furrowed her brows, before pinching her brows and exhaling. "That…that is worse than I thought. With no help, we are not going to survive another war."
She walked back over to her chair and sat down. "Our legions we're decimated. The entire fifth cohort was nearly wiped, nearly 300 lost from that single cohort-"
"Three hundred?" She asked, dumbfounded. "How-three hundred demigods, in one place? That-that's absurd! Where were you guys during the battle of manhattan?"
Reyna furrowed her brows. "The battle of manhattan? How-"
Abruptly, she stopped, before asking in a slowed tone, "there are more demigods out there, isn't it…and, they aren't Roman?"
She nodded.
"Yeah…and I have a bad feeling about this."
"This is bad. Very, very bad. These others we refer to…they're Greeks, aren't they?"
She nodded.
Reyna slumped back into her chair, weariness in her eyes. "This…this is not good. Not good at all. You do realize that there was a reason we're separated."
She shook her head. Up till now, she had no idea that the romans even existed, let alone why they were separated.
"I…as Praetor, I am entrusted with this information. There is a reason you're sent here, after all, and I have to tell you why…" Reyna sighed, before continuing. "Do you know of the American civil war?"
"Yeah, I do, though…not in clear detail."
Reyna nodded. "Well, in essence, it was the north versus the south. And…you can see how our camps are now located. One is more or less north of the other, and on the completely different side of the continent."
"You're not saying…"
"The civil war was Greeks versus romans? It was, indeed. And…the Greeks won, which is why mount olympus is in the west. Of course, there are also relations to the original greek heartlands, geographical concerns…but that isn't important. The most important thing is know that, under no circumstances, should Greeks be with romans. Though we're demigods…it's like different pantheons clashing, different cultures, different beliefs. If we were to meet…it would mean all out war again. And with an ancient enemy on the rise…"
"Hold up, hold up." She said, cutting Reyna off. "How are you talking with me then if we're destined for war?"
"Because…you were prophesied to come. Your appearances aren't a random coincidence. Someone either wants us to unite…or for us to go to war."
Reyna abruptly stood, and whistled. A second later, twin blurs, one silver and one gold, raced to her side to reveal one silver and one golden animatronic dogs.
"Meet my hounds, Argentum and Aurum." Gold and silver, she mentally translated, unsure of how she knew that. "Nice names," she said, and Reyna nodded, before drawing her Gladius.
Instinctively, she reached for her can of mace, and it expanded into the celestial bronze spear her father had gifted her. Reyna's eyes widened in wonder, but her gaze quickly narrowed as she pointed her Gladius at her.
"Thalia grace. No matter who your brother is, I will hunt you down and kill you if you ever leak a word that was said in this room."
She bit her lower lip. "Can I at least tell Persia?"
"Persia…? I thought you came with one Perce…is that her nickname?"
"Yeah. She was known as Percy before everything happened-"
"Hold up. Percy…as in a guy with sea green eyes and dark hair?"
She was surprised to know that Reyna knew Percy. "Um-yeah, but it was before her transformation-"
"Say no more." Reyna said, before sheathing her Gladius. "Is she the child of Ves-Hestia the prophecy speaks of?"
"She is-"
"Then I allow that to happen. However, what goes on in this room, stays in this room. If you need to, I will bring her here and have you explain to her. I will not have troublemakers overhear this news, especially with these tensions in the camp. They will surely be clamouring for war against the Greeks, and we cannot have that happen."
She nodded.
"Then it is settled. You may fetch this Persia if she awakens and is well enough physically. Otherwise, no speaking about this. Understood?"
"Yes, Praetor."
"I'm surprised you already know the name of my position," Reyna smirked, before motioning for Thalia to follow her.
Before Thalia could though, knocking sounded in the door. Slightly irritated, Reyna strolled over and opened the door to be greeted by a Roman legionary wearing bronze armor with a red tunic and red-purple striped helmet plume, as well as purple cape.
"Praefectus Castrorum!" The legionary snapped to attention, "the new arrival you have shown interest in has awaken, ma'am."
Without hearing more, she immediately ran over to Reyna. The legionary drew his golden Gladius in a defensive stance, but Reyna raised a hand as she practically yelled, "Where is she? I need to see her!"
"I will lead you to her. Do not fret."
"Then be quick! I need to see her!" She said, slightly calmer but still frustrated. The legionary gave her a harsh glare, but she didn't care as she practically shoved past him, following Reyna's lead as they walked towards the city.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Persia's head swam as she blearily opened her eyes.
"Here. Have a drink," a distant voice said, and she felt water being poured down her throat, mixed with…something else she couldn't identify.
She managed a low groan, and instantly she felt people all around her as someone else yelled out…something.
Her head was killing her, and she felt a sharp pain in her gut when she tried to move. She had a slight but blurry memory of being awake sometime ago, but her head pounded and her throat was dry.
"Hey, hey, Persia, can you hear me?" A familiar voice-Thalia's-rang out, and she blindly reached out towards the blurry blob that she presumed to be thalia. "Thals..?" She groaned, her voice slightly raspier and harsher than usual.
"Persia, Persia, hush," Thalia's voice was soft and comforting as she leaned in and hugged her tightly. She returned the gesture feebly, still weak from her wounds. She felt Thalia's warm embrace firmly envelop her, and she sighed in content as she felt her limbs relax.
"Thank you, Thals," she mumbled, and struggled to sit up. "Where are we…?"
"New Rome, Camp jupiter." A girl behind Thalia stepped up and said.
And then it all came back rushing to her.
Romans. Caldecott tunnel. Wound.
"Are you okay, Persia?" Thalia asked, concerned, and she nodded weakly. "Yeah…but, why are we here…?"
"You've heard of the prophecy predicting your arrival, I presume," the girl in the purple cape said, and she nodded. "We did…but we're not supposed to mix, are we?"
"You aren't. Yes. However, current circumstances seemingly require it." The girl in the purple cape said, and turned around, her purple cape swishing behind her. "Follow me if you can. We must discuss certain things in private,"
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"We will give you space now. Lady Diana isn't known for her tolerance for males."
She nodded at her two male Legionarii escorts as she and Thalia stepped into the temple. By now, she had recovered enough using ambrosia and nectar supplies Thalia had kept in her back pocket.
Walking into the massive temple built from marble and silver, she awed at the majestic interior, worthy of her lover. A statue of Artemis-no, Diana, stood proudly at the centre of the temple, silver bow in hand, staring down at her with a stern gaze,
At the foot of the statue was an altar. A few peices of fresh fruit were placed on it, but they weren't claimed yet. Two female priestess were busy cleaning the floor, but nodded in recognition as they passed.
Stopping at the foot of the altar, she knelt down and concentrated. A few seconds later, a plethora of fruits appeared in a small burst of flame, and she clasped her hands together as she prayed to her goddess, knowing this was the only way to tell her she was safe.
"Arty," she mouthed with barely a whisper, "I'm safe. I'm okay, I'm with Thalia in the roman camp. I'll find a way back to your side soon enough, love, I promise."
The fruit on the altar then erupted in flames and burned away, leaving nothing but a fragrant smell and a pair of silver bracelets as well as one elaborately decorated tiara lying on the altar in their place. The priestesses stared at her, slightly shocked, but they otherwise didn't react to the flames erupting.
"We're done?" She nodded, feeling a small increase in power within the temple. The smell of fresh pine and nature filled the light breeze that encompassed the room, and she felt the comforting presence of her love within the temple, softly caressing her heart and soul.
Picking up the pair of bracelets and the tiara, she smiled lightly as she left the temple, Thalia on her heel, grinning lightly as they rejoined their male escort party.
Now, time to make their way to the gladiator trials…
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Reyna stood in the 'box' as she awaited the participants of the trials to be ready.
Normally, she wasn't looking forward to these. Most recruits, even ones trained by Lupa herself, would be easily beaten. And since the pack had shrunk drastically after the last war, Lupa had to train new recruits form time to time-often the best one in the batch.
None of them made it past cohort seven most of the time.
Cohorts nine to four, excluding five, were mostly matched equally in skill levels. They operated slightly differently, had different levels of strictness, but generally they were equal. Their combat track records were even, and the only reason recruits didn't make it past the initial cohorts was due to low stamina, fatigue and lack of experience.
Cohort five, after losing nearly three hundred of their strength, was rebuilt by mostly probatios and fresh recruits. Their reputation, already having taking a massive beating and left badly dented after losing the eagle in the land beyond the gods, took an even deeper dive as many veterans and skilled members of the fifth were lost.
If these recruits performed badly, she would see them siphoned into cohort five too.
"Praetor," one of the arena Tesserarii stepped up to her side and spoke up, "the two raw recruits are ready. Unconfirmed heritage, but if they are indeed the ones spoken of from the prophecy I doubt the child of Vesta can perform-"
"I suggest you shut it. She's still a child of one of the most important gods. Even if she shouldn't exist." Another piped up, and some others nodded in agreement. The first tesserarius opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by her.
"Enough petty arguments. We're here to witness and judge their performance during the trials. Not to argue whether they will be strong or not based on their parentage."
Some of the trainers snickered, but glares from others silenced them pretty quickly. "Anyway," one uncomfortably said in an attempt to clear the air, "shall we give the go-ahead?"
"Yes. If the opponents are ready…?"
An affirming nod confirmed her thoughts. "Then we'll begin. Tesserarii, take posts. Fair judgment, no prejudice, no personal quarrels. Ave Roma."
The trainers returned to their respective cohorts, and the Cornicens stationed around the arena blew on their horns, the trumpeting sound ringing loud and clear in the arena. The massive coliseum, with more than seven thousand people sitting in the stands-most of whom were active or retired legionaries, with some citizens of new rome mixed in between, fell silent as she stood up to address the gathered masses.
"Legionaries, citizens of New Rome! Today, we are gathered to witness the trials of two fresh recruits, a child of Jupiter and a child of Vesta-"
Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd. They still couldn't believe the rumors were true, even though it had been spread reverently yesterday on the streets when the augury announced it. She ignored the crowds and carried on.
"-they seek to join the legion after a harsh trip, and have proven themselves in moderate combat. However, their trial of fire has yet to end, and today we will witness the skill and prowess of our new recruits. Thalia Grace, Daughter of Jupiter, step forth!"
She watched as the crowd grew increasingly anxious upon hearing of the last name of the Greek daughter of Jupiter. The name 'Jason' and last name 'grace' were thrown around quite a lot, and she wondered if his sister could live up to their expectations.
After all, Jason had come to a stop at cohort three, with minimal training given by Lupa.
"First up, Cohort ten, second file, Immunis Joseph Adler!" The Colosseum head directorate yelled out, and from the archway directly opposite to the daughter of Zeus' came the buff form of Immunis Joseph. He carried a normal scutum and Gladius, ready to strike at a moment's notice, buff muscles shoring on his forearms.
Thalia just stood there like it was another casual day. She didn't even have weapons in hand.
Many in the crowds scoffed and laughed.
"Ready!"
It was only now Thalia casually reached into her pockets and pulled out a mace canister. More laughed and jeered-up until a fully fledged bronze spear replaced the canister in her hand.
That shut most people up.
"Impetum!" The directorate yelled, and that was when Thalia showed her true powers, immediately running at Joseph, who barely dodged her first spear strike and narrowly caught the second strike with his shield. The crowd watched in awe as the sight er of Jupiter easily forced one of the better legionaries within the tenth cohort on the defense, and 'oohed' and 'aahed' as they watched her easily parry any attacks that came from Joseph.
She hadn't even broken a sweat yet.
Meanwhile, Joseph was already struggling. His helmet was knocked askew, and his shield had quite the few punctured holes in them. His hair was matted and wet from the sweat, and he was visibly panting as she strained to intercept attacks and launch counterattacks of his own.
Eventually though, it seemed that Thalia was beginning to get bored. Unleashing a series of attacks, she unhandled his Gladius, forcing him on pure defense, and then tapped the bracelet on her off hand. Immediately, the crowds shrieked and yelled as the horrifying head of a monster-seemingly Medusa-appeared, imprinted on the shield in a grisly manner, and Joseph froze in fright and terror long enough for Thalia to bash his shield away and place her spear tip at his throat, right under his chin.
"Yield."
The crowd clapped, though mutters of foul play echoed all around the arena. Joseph walked away, defeated, after collecting his weapons and shield.
The first centurion from cohort ten, Simon, posed no real threat either. Although the crowd initially was tricked into believing that he hand the upper hand, the duel was over as quick as it had started-Thalia Grace had played the centurion easily without anyone catching on other than a few Tesserarii.
Cohorts Nine, Eight, Seven and Six all failed miserably, their centurions, Legionaries, even an Optio, were all easily defeated and cast aside. Most were by now awed at the splendid performance offered b6 Thalia Grace, and eagerly awaited the fight with the fifth cohort. Chants of "wipe out the fifth" were heard echoing all over the arena, and Thalia did, easily defeating the legionary that was sent her way. However, the Optio was a completely different story.
"Second, Cohort five, Officer, Optio Annalise Johnson!"
She noticed that Thalia nearly doubled over in shock as she saw the girl walk out, a dagger in hand. She heard her mutter something unintelligible, and watched as she readied her weapon regardless, though her grip on the spear was noticeably tighter.
"Attack!"
This time, the daughter of Zeus didn't choose to run, instead letting the daughter of Minerva slowly advance towards her. She stopped near Thalia's position, and both began circling each other, Annie with her dagger poised to strike, Thalia with a tight grip on her sword and shield.
Thalia Attack First, as always.
Annie though, didn't directly meet her attack, instead parrying her spear aside before kicking her in the shield. Thalia narrowly avoided a stumble, but this opening allowed Anna to dart forwards and slam into her. Thalia, seeing this, pushed her away and shocked her with her shield, gaining her a bit of breathing room.
She noticed that the daughter of Zeus had halted, and was carefully analysing the movements of the daughter of Minerva. Armed with only a dagger, the blonde slowly pushed back towards the ravenette, keeping her distance as she took her time. The duel continued at a slow pace, both unable to break through each other's guards.
Finally, after five slow, agonizing minutes, the head directorate rang the bell, signifying the beginning of a countdown of one minute. A ticker in front of the praetor's box began ticking, and then Thalia launched herself at Annie.
Both fought at an intense ferocity, stabbing, slashing, rolling, dodging. Thalia was a black blur while Annie's head of blonde hair darted here and there, intercepting Thalia;s jabs and deflecting her tabs. She also launched counterattacks, but they were also dodged or parried as Thalia. The clock continued ticking, but neither one of the girls got a breakthrough-
Until Annie managed to snag Thalia's shirt.
The daughter of Zeus yelped in shock as she fell down, and even though she recovered, Annie leapt on her just as she recovered her spear.
Annie was faster to react.
The crowd was stunned by the final turn of events. She was stunned too, but as she rose to announce the winner, a yell of "CHEATER!" Ranc clear through the silent arena.
Quickly, the Arena began to fill with angered yells and housed whispers. Some knew that Annie won fair and square, and she didn;t doubt the young girl, but many more were yelling in rage.
They were more angry at the reality of the fifth cohort winning.
No matter, the daughter of Minerva had won, fair and square.
And nothing changed that reality.
As thalia stepped off the sandy arena floor, Annie following her, she rose up and announced Thalia Grace's final achievement.
"Thalia Grace, Bested by Optio Annalise Johnson, Fifth cohort. Tesserarii, meet at the Praetor Box to discuss further matters."
Sitting down, she sighed as she saw the various trainers make their way over to her, their faces twisted in angry scowls and annoyed expressions.
Gosh, she was in for a long time.
Bracing herself for the angry tirades that was about to happen, she wished that the next trial was going to be smoother.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Persia sat next to Thalia as she sipped on some cold water.
"That was…a good fight." She said, smiling at Annalise as she made her way over to her.
"You did good too," she said to annie and the younger girl smiled. "Thank you," annie said shyly as she waved goodbye and walked past.
"Honestly? I didn't expect you to lose that, Thals."
"Oh, everything happens. Shut up."
"Well, you gotta train harder from now on, don't you?" She playfully jabbed at her, and Thalia grinned too, before asking a question that made her freeze.
"Well, I can always train wit you, no?"
She froze up for a split second, the question burning itself into her mind.
She wanted desperately to.
She wanted to spend time with Thalia in this turbulent time.
But, she couldn't.
She couldn't be close to Thalia…she had sworn that to herself.
She offered a small smile, but it felt forced.
And Thalia probably noticed it too.
Sitting in silence again, she turned her head away from Thalia to avoid eye contact. Frankly, she didn't want to upset her cousin.
Footsteps echoed down the hallways, and one of the Arena staff walked over, along with a Tesserarius. "Thalia Grace? Your presence is required in the debrief hall. Please follow Tesserarius Deacon…"
Turning to her, the arena staff continued, "And Persia Hallie? Please follow me and prepare yourself. Your trials are about to begin."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
A/N: And that's chapter 21.
Persia and Thalia arrive at new rome. Reyna found out about their true heritage, Persia finally gets to contact her lover, and they undergo the gladiator trials.
What else is to come? Follow the story or add it into a library and find out!
Anyway, no long-arsed AN because I'm hella tired. I have a hectic schedule soon, so I won't be able to update frequently. I do plan to keep updating the story though, and I thank you all for your prolonged support lads and lassies!
Also, leave your reviews or comments down below. I only had 1 review last chapter, and I'll wait a bit before another review response. Though thank you everyone for following or favouriting!
-le idiot out