I'm back with yet another chapter! Guys! We are gaining so much popularity! This is crazy! I'm so happy and I owe it all to you guys! Shoutouts today go to iNeptune, and piratamaia. These users reviewed, so thank you to them! If you would like to be shouted out as well, make sure to leave a review! Just a reminder that my poll is still up on my profile, so please go check that out! Disclaimer: I don't own HOO or PJO, sadly! Enough stalling! On with the chapter!
Reyna's POV
Reyna knew very well that she had to do something about Octavian. When she was heading towards the mess hall in order to get something to eat, (Ambrosia and nectar were good, but after a while, one can get bored of eating just godly food) she heard a couple of demigods chatting about how Jason had been influenced by the Greek's ways too much, and not for the better. It made Reyna absolutely furious that the legionnaires could be talking about one of their praetors like that. She had felt tempted to go over and punish them for the way they were talking about Jason. A good cleaning of the stables would be good for their attitude. But, she shoved the temptation away and decided that she would let it slide just this once.
But, eventually, she would have to punish Octavian, too. He couldn't strut around the camp spreading rumors about Jason Grace without facing the consequences. Reyna couldn't help but feel protective of Jason. Partially because she still had strong feelings for him, and partially because no praetor deserved to be treated as he was being treated by the campers. The poor guy was good at shoving aside the occasional side comment thrown his way, but he couldn't put up with it forever.
Octavian did have a powerful position at Camp Jupiter, being the augur and a centurion. So, the demigods did listen to him. Especially the first cohort. It was Octavian's cohort after all.
Reyna arrived at the mess hall and found that a lot more people were there than she originally thought there would be. It's probably lunch, she thought.
Reyna quickly sat in her usual spot, and a venti quickly approached her and took her order for lunch. It soon returned with her requested chili and some hot chocolate; Reyna's favorite drink, even in the summer.
As Reyna ate, she tried to avoid thinking about the one subject on her mind, which surprisingly for once wasn't her co-praetor, Percy. Eventually, she came to terms that she had to put together the missing pieces of the puzzle. The puzzle was the Battle of the Feild of Mars. She couldn't figure out several things. Like why Terminus hadn't put a stop to Gaea's armies. He could've at least warned them after all. He was the Roman god of boundaries and should've tried to stop the monsters. If he had stopped the Argo ll from arriving, it didn't make sense that he wouldn't do anything about the giant's armies.
Another thing that stumped Reyna was why the demigods that were supposed to be guarding the Caldecott Tunnel had done nothing to warn the camp of the monsters. Perhaps the army had entered camp a different way? But even then, Terminus would've stopped them. Maybe the monsters killed the demigods? Reyna thought. No. That can't be.
Then a thought entered Reyna's mind. Maybe Terminus had gone into a state of mental confusion, just like the other gods? But that didn't make sense. Terminus had no Greek counterpart. The Greek god of boundaries was Charon, but they weren't the same person necessarily, like Jupiter and Zeus, or Bacchus and Dionysus.
Reyna decided to focus on one problem at a time. Her current problem would be the demigods at the Caldecott Tunnel. Terminus would have to wait. He was a capricious god, anyway and he could possibly show up out of the blue. But, Reyna needed a better place to think. The mess hall was noisy and was not a good area for one to be alone.
Reyna finished her food and stood up to leave, knowing that the venti would take her dishes. As she was leaving the mess hall, she heard someone say her name. Reyna turned abruptly to find Piper waving at her. Reyna walked over to where the daughter of Aphrodite was sitting with Hazel, Leo, Frank, Annabeth, and Jason. Where was Percy?
"You're all healed!" Piper said cheerfully. "When did they let you leave?"
"This morning," Reyna said. "Why?"
"Well, we're just glad you're okay," Piper answered.
"Sorry, Reyna. I would've come and visited you, but I was sort of busy," Jason said.
"It's fine," Reyna said slowly. "It's not like I was on my deathbed or anything."
"Well, it would've been praetorly of me," Jason said. "I should've seen you when Percy did."
Was Jason trying to one-up Percy as a better praetor? Percy was going to give Jason his rank as praetor, but Jason still must've been self-conscious. He probably still felt guilty for leaving Reyna. Aargh! She wanted to sit Jason down and tell him that she managed just fine on her own and that his disappearance wasn't his fault! Jason was impossible. One of these days Piper would get through to him, charmspeak or not.
"Hey, about Octavian- don't let him get to you. As long as I have anything to say about it, he won't take your spot as praetor," Reyna reassured him.
Jason smiled, his Son of Jupiter smile. The one that made everyone look to him as the leader. And the one that made Reyna fall harder for him. "Thanks. I'm not too worried about that guy. He never did have tons of favor with the senate. I doubt he will now."
"I agree," Reyna said. "Let's just hope he doesn't manage to gain an audience with the senate. That's when I would start to worry."
Jason shrugged. "He's always been a jealous guy. He's not even a real demigod. And he's always wanted power. Someday, that will be his demise."
Reyna and the other six demigods sat in silence for a moment. Just then, Frank said," have you seen Percy, Reyna?"
"I saw him on the way over here. He and Octavian were arguing about something. I put an end to it, then walked away. That's the last I saw of him," Reyna said.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. Reyna suspected that Annabeth was curious about what they were arguing about, but Reyna didn't say anything. "Well, I gotta go."
Reyna started to walk away but stopped. "Hazel, didn't you volunteer to clean the stables?" Reyna asked.
Pluto's daughter nodded. "I want to see Arion and the others. I'll give Scipio an extra treat if that's okay with you."
Reyna nodded her approval, and finally walked away. Hazel Levesque was awfully fond of equine animals, as was she. But Reyna was especially attached to her pegasus, Scipio.
When Reyna arrived at the Principia for some peace and quiet, her two dogs, Aurum and Argentum, appeared. It had been a while since she had seen them last, Reyna realized. Having them around did help her think though. But, it would've been nice to have their help when she was battling monsters only days ago.
Nevertheless, what was done, was done, and she sat down on her "throne," her dogs sitting on either side of her, their ruby eyes watchful.
She still couldn't puzzle out where the two demigods were. Why hadn't anyone warned them of the coming army? Unless... No. Reyna had to have hope.
Just then, Reyna heard a racket outside. She stood. Her metal dogs growled at her sides.
The doors burst open, and non-other than Percy Jackson ran inside. He slowed down and caught his breath. "I've always wanted to have a crazy entrance like that," he muttered.
"What's wrong?" Reyna demanded. Percy sat down in his seat next to Reyna's, though she remained standing. Aurum and Argentum were about to lunge at him, but Reyna quickly called her dogs off.
"Two demigods... have gone missing," Percy said in between breaths.
Reyna groaned. It looked like her suspicions were correct. "Oh gods," Reyna sighed.
"What?" Percy said.
"I should've known," Reyna said.
"What?!" Percy said.
"Come on, let's go," Reyna said, looking back at a disheveled Percy. He was definitely confused. It looked like his hair had gotten messed up on his way over here, and Reyna wanted desperately to fix it, but she held back the urge. Besides, he looked cute that way. Not like he didn't always look handsome.
"Later, Reyna," she whispered.
"Okay, what in Hades is going on?" Percy said, sitting up. He adjusted his praetor's robes.
"You said it yourself. Two demigods went missing," Reyna said.
Percy blinked. "So... we're going to go look for them?"
Reyna sighed but relaxed her tight muscles. Percy could be so oblivious sometimes. Most of the time, actually. "Well, yes. We need to send out a search party. Let's just hope no one else gets captured."
"You think the giant army took them?"
"I have a hunch that they were the two demigods who were supposed to be guarding the Caldecott Tunnel. That's why no one warned us," Reyna said.
"That would make sense," Percy said, fixing the jet-black hair that had fallen into his eyes. Reyna pursed her lips and took a deep breath to calm the wild swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
"Do you know the names of the two missing demigods?"
"A girl from the Third Cohort said that her friend, Reese was missing. I was going to come to tell you, but I was stopped by another girl that said her boyfriend was missing. I think his name was... Saul."
Reyna nodded. "I know that Reese was- is a daughter of Ceres. She's a centurion for the Third. Saul, I'm not sure."
"Well, what I don't understand is why it took them so long to realize that these demigods were missing. Don't you think they would've noticed right after the battle?"
Reyna shrugged. "I don't- I don't know."
Percy stood up. "Hey, I know this is a lot. The battle, your injury, and now these disappearances. But, like you tend to forget, you're not the only praetor." Reyna glanced at him, but quickly glanced away, trying to hide her blush. Reyna didn't understand how Percy could say the littlest thing, and she would become so flustered. It drove her insane, and she knew she was breaking her promise.
Reyna nodded. "You're right. Let's go figure out Saul's parentage. Any idea who his girlfriend was?"
"A dark-haired girl, also from the Third Cohort, I believe."
"Alright. Let's go."
The two slipped out of the Principia and headed towards the barracks, for that was where Percy said she ran up to him. Aurum and Argentum still slinked behind Reyna. She was glad that they were with her, because they brought her comfort, but she still didn't know why they decided to show up now of all times.
When they arrived near the barracks, they were met by the scene of a girl in hysterics, with two other demigods trying to comfort her. When they saw the praetors approaching they shared an anxious look. The other girl was still in tears.
"Praetors," the tall brunette boy said, straightening his spine. "We're so sorry. Her boyfriend's missing, and we've been trying to console her."
Percy nodded. "Yes, she told me. What's her boyfriend's name?"
"Saul," spoke up the ginger-haired girl that was on the crying girl's right side. "We're pretty sure he went missing while guarding the Caldecott Tunnel."
"We thought so," Reyna said. "Who is Saul's godly parent?"
The hysterical girl looked up. She had dark hair and blue eyes. "His dad was Mars." She sniffed. A tear slid down her cheek. "Let me go look for him. I owe him that much."
"We can send you and two others to search for him and Reese," Reyna explained. "But we'll need to consult the auguries first."
"Reese is missing, too?" The brown-haired boy said.
"She must've been on duty with Saul," Percy said.
"What is your parentage?" Reyna asked the blue-eyed girl.
"Mercury," she said, standing up. She wiped her nose on her sleeve.
"Very well," Reyna said. "We will make an announcement at dinner today, then have Octavian does his augur thing. We should have you out and looking by tomorrow morning."
The girl smiled. "Thanks. Oh, and praetors, my name is Sierra."
The two praetors nodded. "Don't worry. We'll get them home," Percy said.
Reyna and Percy walked away, towards the Principia.
"Let's just hope that Reese and Saul aren't with the giants," Percy said after a long moment.
"That's hoping against hope," Reyna said. "You know very well that the giants captured them."
"Well, we sure as Hades aren't going to tell that poor girl that. She's stressed enough as it is."
Reyna sighed. "We'll just tell the group of three, whoever they may be, that if they don't find them within three days, they should come back to camp. Then, we can decide what our next course of action will be. A group of three demigods can't take a whole army of giants."
"Okay, fine," Percy said. "We can't risk any more lives than we have to."
After an even longer pause than before, Percy said," Meet me by the Little Tiber. My treat."
"Percy, we can't keep doing this. It was different when your girlfriend wasn't here," Reyna protested.
"We're just going to talk. Like the friends we are. Why would Annabeth get mad? Besides, we're praetors, and we need time to discuss things in private." Percy said.
"Well, what if Annabeth thinks we aren't talking as friends? I don't want anybody to suspect anything," Reyna said.
"Why would I cheat on her? My fatal flaw is loyalty, after all," Percy reassured her.
"That's what I thought, too," Reyna muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" Percy said.
"Nothing," Reyna said. "...Ok... I'll do it. Just no PDA."
Percy was about to say something but stopped before any words escaped his mouth. "Ok, I'll meet you there in thirty minutes. You can do whatever you need until then. And Reyna, we're just friends. Okay?"
Friends don't kiss each other, Reyna thought, but shrugged him off and treaded towards her praetor's cabin. She wanted to kill Percy. But she did admit that it would be nice just to have some breathing room. With everything going on, she needed to relax for a bit. Maybe this is what she needed. Or maybe, it would turn out like the last time she and Percy hung out by the Little Tiber...
Hope you enjoyed it! I may have a little twist next chapter, but I am still unsure. Thanks to all who reviewed my last few chapters, and please make sure to leave a review on this chapter, as well! And, check out my poll on my profile, blah blah blah. Anyway, I honestly did not see myself putting this many twists and turns into Comfort In Preyna. When I wrote my first chapter, I had a pretty clear outline in mind. But I actually like how this story is looking! I think it has a good mix of romance and regular happenings of Camp Jupiter. If you don't feel the same, that's fine! I just want you guys to be happy. Oh, and for you guests who are reviewing but don't have an official account, please remember that I can't reply to your reviews. I can only reply to actual users. So, keep that in mind! I don't want you to think that I am ignoring you guys! Anyway, thanks for all you do!
-Bookish77