I'm back with another chapter! Again, let me know what you would like to see in my upcoming chapters! I'm always open to suggestions from you guys. Anyways, on with the chapter! All rights to Rick Riordan.
Percy's POV
At lunch that afternoon, Percy noticed people oddly looking at Jason. He suspected that it was an effect of Jason being associated with the greeks. Percy could relate to being glared at. He had gotten those exact looks since the day he had arrived at Camp Jupiter. He knew most of the disapproving demigods had been influenced by Octavian. The augur was a big supporting factor in the dislike towards anyone associated with greeks. Of course, Octavian had hated Percy since day one, so he was used to this treatment. It boiled his blood, though, to see the disapproval aimed at Jason Grace. The son of Jupiter hadn't exactly chosen the greek life, anyway. He was born a roman, but had disappeared due to Hera, and had ended up at the greek camp.
But Percy did know that Octavian was rallying up followers, in order to gain popularity from the legionnaires, and maybe even become praetor. Percy knew that as long as Reyna was one of the praetors, Octavian had but a slim chance at praetorship. Percy highly doubted that Reyna would willingly let Octavian become a praetor.
Percy snapped out of his thoughts, however, when Annabeth waved her hand in front of his blank face. He blinked and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Are you good?" She asked slowly.
"Uh, yeah," Percy said. "Just thinking about Octavian."
"I wouldn't worry about him becoming a praetor," Annabeth reassured Percy. "He's not necessarily all that socially excepted here, as far as I can tell. He does have some people on his side, but most of the legionnaires wouldn't appreciate him as a praetor. Plus, with both you and Jason as candidates, his odds of gaining praetorship are low. Statistically speaking, anyway."
"You're right," Percy said.
"But, it won't really matter anyway, if you come back to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said, matter-of-factly.
Percy sighed. Annabeth was kind of set on having him come back home to Long Island. His plans were to finish his quest on the Argo ll, complete his senior year in New York, and then go to college in New Rome. He still wasn't sure if Annabeth wanted to attend college with him in New Rome, or if one could even still be a praetor while at the university. But, he realized that if Jason wanted his praetorship back, then it didn't matter in the long run.
As Percy thought of Jason, he looked up from his food to find Jason, Piper, and Leo sitting across from him at their table. Hazel and Frank sat on Percy's left with Annabeth on his right. The seven demigods thought it best to sit together in order to get more acquainted with each other and to feel more like a team. Percy was glad that they were all attempting to get along, though he knew that Frank kept shooting Leo some weird looks, mainly because Hazel had a sudden interest in Leo. No one knew why she kept calling the son of Hephaestus, 'Sammy'. When Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth started a conversation together, Percy looked over at Reyna, who was sitting a few yards away, alone on a sofa.
Annabeth had just barely returned from talking to the daughter of Bellona. Percy was happy that the two half-divine daughters of the roman and greek war goddesses were getting along. For some reason, he knew that if the two saw a reason to get angry at each other, things would go terribly wrong. It was best that he had both on his side because he needed those two to be allies if the greeks and Romans were to ever win the war against the giants.
Reyna turned her head slightly to look at a venti floating over her. Reyna's charcoal eyes shimmered, and her dark braid swept over her shoulder. Reyna sure was gorgeous. A wave of sudden emotion filled Percy. It passed just as quickly as it had come. Snap out of it, Jackson, Percy thought.
Annabeth kissed his cheek, her lips warm. "You keep zoning out, Seaweed Brain. Are you sure you're ok?" She said as she took his hand.
Annabeth's soft touch brought Percy fully back to reality. "I'm fine. I think."
"That's about as much reassurance as I'm gonna get," Annabeth said snarkily. "Let me know if you need anything, ok?"
"Uh, yeah," Percy said. "Sorry. I think all the stress of this upcoming quest is finally catching up to me."
Annabeth rolled her eyes playfully. "Welcome to the club. We have t-shirts," she replied sarcastically.
()()()()
Annabeth's POV
Annabeth strolled from the mess hall to the fighting arena. Percy had said that he needed to sign some documents that Reyna had put him in charge of. Annabeth kissed him, then told him that she would be at the arena if Percy needed her. Percy had told Annabeth that she could borrow a sword or spear from the camp armory, but the daughter of Athena insisted on using her dagger. It was her choice weapon, and she rarely used anything else. Of course, that did not apply when she was doing things like archery lessons back at camp. She would occasionally use a sword when dueling with Luke but, that was when the son of Hermes was alive, of course.
On her way to the arena, she saw Jason and Piper talking near the bathhouse. Piper turned to Annabeth as she walked by. "Hey, Annabeth, are you going to the arena by chance?"
"Uh, yeah. Why?" Annabeth said.
"Jason and I were just going to head over there. Mind if we join you?" Piper asked.
"Oh, no, not at all," Annabeth replied.
Jason and Piper walked alongside Annabeth for a moment. Then Annabeth said, "So, Jason. Are you going to accept praetorship again?"
"Well, that depends on how willing Percy is on giving up his spot," Jason replied.
"Well, Percy told me that he would give his spot up for you if you wanted it back."
"He really said that? I thought he hated me," Jason said.
"Believe me, he doesn't hate you. I think he respects you, seeing how you both were put in the same situation, losing your memory and all."
"Well, that's good to know," Jason said.
"See, I told you," Piper said. "Percy just got a little protective over Reyna and snapped at you. He was probably just stressed and overwhelmed about everything."
"I think we all were," Jason said.
When the trio arrived at the fighting arena, Annabeth unsheathed her dagger. The celestial bronze weapon gleamed in the San Fransisco sun.
"Who are you going to duel with?" Piper asked Annabeth
"I'll just practice some techniques on a dummy or something. Don't worry about me," Annabeth replied.
Piper and Jason walked away, both taking out their weapons as they went. Piper looked like she was telling Jason something using charm speak, judging by the way Jason's expressions softened when she spoke. Piper leaned forward and kissed Jason. They then stepped into their beginning stances. Annabeth smiled. They were a cute couple.
She turned towards an unlucky dummy and chose an ice-pick stance, to begin with. She slashed her dagger, using various greek techniques and tricks she had learned over the years. It really made her grateful for the extra time she had spent at Camp Half-Blood, on the years when she had decided not to go home after the summer's end. She had an advantage over most demigods because she had earned more training and combat time while most of the others were living their mortal lives. This was a luxury that Annabeth hadn't had for a long time. Once she finally made up with her dad, she started spending the school year at home.
Once Annabeth had made enough marks and slashes in the dummy for a little bit, she walked over to the arena's edge, where she grabbed a bottle of water. She would have to remember to suggest putting water bottles in the arena at Camp Half-Blood. It would make combat training a lot less tiring. She sat down on a nearby bench and watched the other demigods duel. Some were on their own as she had been, and were just practicing on dummies.
Once Annabeth had finished her break, she stood back up and took out her dagger again. She jogged back over to the unfortunate dummy and started again.
()()()()
Percy's POV
After dinner that evening, Percy decided to take a bath in the bathhouses. He had grown to learn that Romans really knew how to take baths right. This was definitely a compliment coming from him, because really any water could rejuvenate Percy, being the son of Poseidon.
As he ran the water and slipped in, he instantly felt at peace. The cut that he had gotten earlier that morning on his arm closed up almost right after he got in. He washed his face and hair, then the rest of his body before he got out. The air in the room was hot and moist.
Percy dressed quickly and walked outside, breathing in the crisp air A memory entered Percy's mind. A memory of singing songs by the campfire at Camp Half-Blood, and dumping part of his food into the fire as an offering to the gods. He really missed Long Island, and couldn't wait to return after the war. Assuming he survived that was. He scolded himself for thinking so negatively.
Percy started walking toward the fifth cohort's barracks, wanting to talk to his friends. When he arrived, he saw Hazel and Frank chatting on a couch. He walked over to them. "Am I intruding?" He asked.
"Nope. Have a seat," Hazel said. Percy obliged.
"How's praetorship treating you?" Frank asked.
"Pretty good, considering I'm co-operating a camp for a ton of ADHD godly children."
"So, pretty much like your other camp?" Hazel asked.
"Exactly like my other camp, except we had adult supervision," Percy replied.
"I'm not sure if that would be a blessing or a curse," Hazel said.
"I'm pretty sure Reyna's close enough to an adult," Frank added.
"You're not wrong," Percy said.
The demigods continued to talk for another couple of hours or so. Finally, Percy had to leave due to curfew. Not like that had stopped him before.
The praetors each had their own spaces, so Percy walked over to his sleeping quarters near the Principia. Once he arrived and stepped inside, he took off his shirt and slipped into some pajama pants. Sometimes, Percy would stay up before heading to bed. Occasionally, he would read about a hero or monster he didn't recognize. That night, however, Percy was exhausted, so he headed straight to bed. Almost instantly he fell asleep.
And of course, he had a dream.
Percy was in the arena teaching Reyna greek combat moves, just like he had the morning the Argo ll arrived. As he was teaching her a particular stance, she instantly collapsed. He knelt down and called out her name desperately. She didn't respond. Suddenly, she disappeared, and in her place was an army of monsters, appearing one by one. Then, a giant stepped out of the group. Percy recognized him as Polybotes. "She's dead," the giant bellowed. "Same with Athena's spawn, and the rest of your demigod friends." Polybotes grinned, raising his giant trident. "You're next."
Percy awoke with a start. He jumped out of bed and pulled on a shirt. He was so shaken up, he felt the urge to check on Reyna, just in case.
He sprinted out of his room and down the hall to Reyna's room. Percy didn't know why he felt so compelled to see if Reyna was alright. He knew that it was just a dream and she could protect herself just fine if she was in harm's way, but he knocked on her door anyway.
About ten seconds later, a confused-looking Reyna opened the door, wearing a tank top and pajama shorts. "For all the gods, Percy, what are you doing here at three in the morning?"
"Are you- are you ok?" Percy asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Reyna raised her eyebrows skeptically, "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Why?"
"Well, I had this dream...," Percy started.
"Do you want to come in?" Reyna asked, interrupting him.
"Uh, sure?" Percy answered, making it sound like more of a question.
Reyna stepped aside, so Percy could enter. He sat down on a chair by her desk, while she sat on her bed. Reyna continued to look more and more confused as Percy went on explaining his dream. When he had finished, she said, "Wait, so I was replaced by an army of monsters? And I was killed?"
"I guess," Percy answered.
"And you felt the need to check on me," Reyna added.
"Yes...," Percy said. "You're making this feel awkward."
"My only question is, why me? Why didn't you dream about Annabeth, instead? And why was it the morning that you and I...," Reyna trailed off.
"I don't have a clue. I was hoping you would know," Percy answered quietly.
()()()()
Reyna's POV
"I don't have a clue. I was hoping you would know."
For a split second, Reyna was about to tell Percy about Venus's visit with her. Words were about to come out of her mouth, but she bit her tongue. She knew that bringing up the fact that Venus had talked about Reyna and Percy would certainly arise extra drama. And with the camp on the brink of the giant war, Reyna didn't need that. "Well, thanks for checking up on me," Reyna said. "Even if I was perfectly fine."
"Uh, yeah. Sorry for waking you up," Percy replied.
"I wasn't asleep," Reyna said.
"Well, I'll go now, so you can go to sleep," Percy said.
Reyna opened her door so Percy could leave. Before he did, he said quietly, almost in a whisper, "I'll miss you, you know. When we're on the quest and everything." Then he kissed her on the cheek. Reyna gasped but shut the door quickly. The last thought Reyna had before she fell asleep was, Perseus Jackson, I hate what you're doing to me.
Some of you may have noticed that this chapter was way longer than my previous ones. I just felt like I needed to add more Preyna for you guys. Again, feel free to leave suggestions and helpful tips. I will have the next chapter out as soon as I can, and until then, keep on reading! Again, thanks for all your support! We now have over 8,200 views! AHHHHH! Thank you so much!
-Bookish77