Act II Chapter XVIII: "I knew you could actually sleep."
Reyna rubbed one eye as she looked down at Camp Half-Blood. The sun was starting to peek through the clouds, and she had yet to find her bearings. She was sure that she fell asleep after eating breakfast with the others and had slept the entire day. And most of the night.
A look around showed that everyone else was asleep. Well, mostly everyone. She could see Chiron was setting up a small campfire. Reyna stood from her seated position and looked at the hill she stood on. Then, she walked down the hill and toward Chiron.
"Good morning," Chiron greeted as Reyna stopped near him, stepping on a branch.
"Morning," Reyna replied as she knelt and helped him place branches for the fire. She grabbed some kindling and placed it in the middle. Chiron lit a match and dropped it on the kindling.
"Sleep well?" Chiron asked.
"I did," Reyna confirmed. She stood and looked at Chiron. "I was hoping to talk to you. About the dagger."
Reyna knew that Chiron still had it. She saw it with his things before they left to find the Amazons. To find Hylla...
Reyna forced herself to keep from drifting into memories as she focused on Chiron. She continued, "I know it gave me a war flash, but the dagger is important to me. My mother gave it to me and told me to use it to remember the sins of the past."
"You shouldn't have to be burdened by those," Chiron stated as he looked Reyna up and down.
"We have to remember the past to avoid repeating it in the future," Reyna said softly. "What happened between the Greeks and Romans back then can never happen again. The dagger reminds me of that."
"Lupa didn't seem happy for you to have it," Chiron noted. Reyna looked down and nodded her agreement.
"I don't think that my mother and Lupa are on the best terms," Reyna said softly. She wished that Percy didn't have his dream. Or at least that he didn't just blurt out who Reyna's mother was to everyone. Especially Annabeth.
"Is the dagger that important to you?" Chiron questioned.
"It is," Reyna swore. "I've had it for years now. It's... the only thing I have of my mother."
"Okay," Chiron finally relented. "I will give it back to you, but you have to promise me that you will be careful. If you get another war flash, you will give it back."
"I swear," Reyna said. Chiron studied her and finally nodded.
"I'll grab it for you," Chiron said. "Do you mind tending to the fire?"
Reyna nodded and crouched in front of the fire, feeding it a few small sticks. She watched Chiron walk away. Her gaze moved back to the fire as it grew in size. She stuck her hands into her new jacket, courtesy of Luke. Her old one was tucked away into her bag until she could give it a good wash and repair the holes.
Reyna tested her jaw. Her entire body felt much better after her sleep, and she figured she had another day before all the stiffness was gone. There was no pain, though. Reyna closed her eyes.
"Why did you lie to Chiron?"
Reyna's eyes snapped open. She turned her head to look at Annabeth. It took Reyna a few moments to speak, "I didn't."
"You told us that you found the dagger and used it as a weapon," Annabeth stated. Reyna moved her gaze back to the fire. "But, you told Chiron that your mother gave it to you."
Why was Annabeth spying on her conversations anyway? It made no sense to Reyna. Annabeth just seemed so suspicious of her no matter what she did. Was it because her mother was Roman? Reyna kept trying to avoid this kind of thing, but it never seemed to work.
"Which means you're lying to one of us," Annabeth stated. Reyna gripped a branch in her hand and then broke it. "Just like you did to Kinzie.
"You're good at making up lies," Annabeth continued. "You're just not a good liar because you can't keep your story straight. So what is the truth of this mysterious dagger?"
Reyna sighed deeply and hung her head. She spoke, "My mother gave me this dagger and told me to finish what the Romans started."
"Which is?" Annabeth questioned as she knelt by Reyna and helped her tend to the fire.
"The decimation of the Greeks," Reyna muttered. She could just feel Annabeth tense next to her. "My mother hated the Greeks."
"But Percy's dream..."
"I know what he saw in his dream," Reyna said. "My mother wanted the Greeks to be slaughtered. You're already paranoid about the Romans. It keeps leading to friction between us, and that's with you just thinking I was a Roman. How much worse is it going to be now that you know I'm the daughter of a bloodthirsty goddess?"
"I'm not going to hold you accountable for what your mom has done," Annabeth claimed.
"But, you hold all the things Romans did against me just for being a Roman," Reyna muttered. Annabeth didn't have a response to that. The two of them remained silent.
Reyna didn't want to fight with Annabeth. She wanted things to be cool between them. Reyna had too much to worry about without adding Annabeth to the equation. A sigh left the Roman.
"I'm sorry," Reyna said softly. "I'm not trying to lie. It's just so hard to open up and be honest. My sister was the closest person in my life, but now, she hates me for no reason. I've been alone for what feels like forever."
Reyna looked down at the ground. Hylla lived in a simple world of black and white. Anyone who didn't bend a knee to her was an enemy. Anyone who did was an ally. Hylla lived in that simple worldview. Unless it involved Reyna. She brought a shade of gray to Hylla's life.
Hylla was one of the only people that Reyna ever truly opened up to. And, her older sister just threw her aside. The other person that Reyna trusted...
Reyna closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, trying to filter her emotions. Truthfully, she hated this place. She hated Camp Half-Blood with all of the Dryads and Satyrs around. Bothering her and asking her about how great Bacchus was. She didn't care!
Everything was so easy before. They were constantly on the move, and with no border god or borders, Reyna was able to spend the night alone as she patrolled for monsters. Then, she could just sleep for the day or step away and train. Now, she was trapped in this camp.
Reyna was limited in where she could go. There was a damn body of water on one side and a border god on the other. There were Dryads and Satyrs wherever she went. Or Percy and his questions. Or Luke checking on her. Or Lupa watching over her. Or Annabeth and her suspicions.
Reyna just wanted to be alone.
"I'm sorry," Annabeth said after a few moments. "I guess I'm just so worried about finding a safe place for demigods that I'm worried something is going to ruin it. I'm just so paranoid about it, and I shouldn't treat my friend like that."
Why did Annabeth keep saying they were friends only to turn around and accuse Reyna of having ill intentions every time she turned around? Instead of voicing her thoughts, Reyna nodded and spoke, "Fresh start?"
"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. She smiled slightly. Reyna couldn't find it in her to return the gesture. Thankfully, Chiron walked back toward them and smiled bright enough for all of them. "Good morning, Chiron."
"Morning, Annabeth. Did you sleep well?" Chiron questioned.
"I did," Annabeth said with a grin. Chiron nodded and turned to Reyna. He held the dagger in his hand. After a moment, he handed it to her.
"Thank you," Reyna said with a bow of her head. She grabbed the dagger and studied it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Annabeth eyeing her. Reyna turned the dagger in her hand and then held it out to Annabeth.
Annabeth took it after a moment and studied it. Reyna smiled slightly, "The first monster I killed with it was a Cyclops. I stumbled into a whole pack of them. Barely made it out of there."
"So, your mother is Bellona," Annabeth said. "Do you know anything about her?"
"Roman goddess of war," Reyna answered with a shrug. "Hated Greeks."
"I'm sure she didn't," Chiron began. Reyna didn't respond. Annabeth handed her the dagger back. Reyna placed it into the sheathe that was strapped around her thigh. Then, she pulled her new jacket close to herself. She appreciated Luke thinking of her.
"Morning!" a voice called, and a hand hit Reyna right in her back. A small groan left the Roman as it felt like someone had tried to break a baseball bat over her spine. Clarisse looked at her and smirked. "Get some sleep?"
Reyna still hated it here.
"I did," Reyna confirmed. There were too many people. She was used to being alone, able to do her own thing.
"You looked like you were out like a light," Clarisse said with a smirk. "I knew you could actually sleep."
Reyna nodded again and allowed a small sigh to leave her as she rolled her shoulders. Clarisse examined the fire, "What are we eating?"
Reyna tuned the conversation out as she focused on the fire, watching it burn the sticks inside. She could not wait for new demigods to arrive, so the others would have anyone else but her to focus on. Reyna didn't want anyone to focus on her. She just wanted to fade away into the background.
It was better that way.