Hello! I am back! I hope you liked my last chapter on the War Games! It was super fun to write. I got a very nice comment from a guest, and they mentioned how I had great character development. Thank you to whoever that was! Remember, if you want to be shouted out like they were, make sure to review, and I will mention you in the next chapter. The poll however is looking interesting. Unless I'm mistaken, Pertemis, Preyna, and Percabeth are still in a three-way tie, with three voters for each. Make sure to cast your vote before that closes. Anyway, let's get on with the chapter. Disclaimer: All rights to the GENIUS Rick Riordan.

Reyna's POV

Reyna didn't know if she should consider her vision a dream, or a nightmare. Surprisingly, nothing in her dream hinted at doom, destruction, or an angry god or goddess, but Percy, which Reyna was pretty sure was worse than all the other options combined. Her dream wasn't much, but it sure felt like a lot. It meant a lot, too.

Her dream (or nightmare) took place in the Principia. Reyna and Percy were both chatting about praetorian things, like their duties, and some select campers. Somehow the topic of otters had come up. (Furry marine mammals were the least of Reyna's worries, though.) Nevertheless, Reyna kept meeting Percy's eyes, and they would go moments without speaking and just looking at one another. Just thinking about it now made Reyna anxious, but excited nonetheless.

Suddenly, the door of the Principia burst open, and Annabeth stormed in, steaming mad. She yelled at Reyna for several minutes about how stealing another girl's boyfriend was wrong. Not to mention the ugly Greek curses she kept throwing Reyna's way. When Annabeth was done with her, she turned her attention to Percy, her eyes stinging with even more hurt than when she'd been aggressively speaking to Reyna. Annabeth hadn't said anything to her boyfriend. She just stared at him, and then ran out of the room sobbing.

Percy stared at Reyna, confused, then his expression softened. "At least I have you," he had cooed. That's when the dream ended.

Reyna was stuck, replaying this dream in her mind as she got ready for the day in her praetor's cabin. Now that she thought about it more, it was definitely a nightmare. There was no doubt about it. Sure, it had started out nice, but it had ended in a way that Reyna hoped never came to pass. She couldn't risk getting on the bad side of Annabeth Chase.

Hopefully, though, if everything went according to her plan, Reyna would have Percy completely out of her life. Romantically, anyway. This attraction was over. No matter what Percy did. That was that.

Reyna quickly attached her required cloak and toga, then her Roman cuirass which she chose to wear, but was not a necessity. She then put her hair up in her signature braid, and left the room, shrugging off any final thoughts of her nightmare.

()()()()

Same POV

Reyna had a tendency to be an early riser, so she usually had most of the camp to herself in the morning, other than the lares of course. She could never escape the lares.

Reyna usually headed towards the arena, the Caldecott Tunnel, or the Little Tiber this early in the day, but she decided against all those options. Reyna headed towards the mess hall instead. She didn't know why. It just felt right, she supposed.

When she arrived, no one else was there. Not even the lares, which was super rare. They usually jumped at the chance to torment a lone demigod, praetor or not. She sat down at her usual spot and looked around. She had seen the mess hall empty many a time, but it felt different today. More nostalgic, perhaps?

Reyna's solitude was shortlived, for Vitellius, the Fifth Cohort's lare, floated beside her. "What is it, Vitellius?" Reyna demanded. She should've known a darn lare would've shown up to torment her.

"I need to speak with you concerning one of my cohort's members, praetor," the purple ghost stated.

"And this member would be...?" Reyna asked, gesturing for him to continue.

"Perseus Jackson," Vitellius spat.

"What about him?" Reyna asked, straightening her spine. She hoped her cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

"I've seen how you look at him. I want to be sure you have no... affection... for him," the lare sneered.

Am I that transparent? Reyna nearly yelled out loud. If a lare had noticed, maybe some campers were gaining suspicions, too. Oh, gods...

"What?" Reyna asked, trying to look taken aback. "No. Why?"

Vitelllius looked unconvinced. "Interesting..." he muttered under his ghostly breath. "I just want to be sure that nothing disturbs the work of two of our praetors. They cannot be sidetracked from their duties."

"And what makes you think I'm becoming sidetracked?" Reyna countered. "Do you have any right to question me?"

"I just wanted to be sure," Vitellius huffed. "No need to get so worked up."

"Well, no, Vitellius, there is nothing between Percy and I other than comradery," Reyna insisted, though even she could hear the lie as it came out.

"Well, I won't bother you any longer," the lare said, as he began to float away. "I just want the best for our camp."

"As do I," Reyna sighed. She couldn't believe she and Percy's stares were that obvious. It was fine when they were alone, but in public... If the lares were beginning to notice, gods only knew who else had suspicions.

Hopefully, Reyna's new guidelines for herself would keep these things from happening. Though, even that might've been a false hope.

Percy's POV

Percy needed to confront Octavian on the shield issue. He just knew that conniving little weirdo had something to do with it. He must've, right? Unless someone else from the First did it, but that was unlikely.

He decided that it was best to talk to him during or after breakfast. Sure, Percy was still pretty fresh to the legion, but if Camp Jupiter was anything like Camp Half-Blood, cheating was not tolerated. (Which was a lesson that Clarisse could learn to use, in fact.) He could also discuss it with Reyna. It was probably best that she know, too.

Percy arrived at the mess hall after just getting a bath, so his hair was still wet. As a child of Poseidon, he could will himself to stay dry, but it felt nice to have wet hair for once. Besides, when he was bathing, he'd rather just relax other than worry about staying dry the whole time.

There weren't many people when Percy appeared at the mess hall, so he just took a seat where he usually did, while he waited for his friends. He was also keeping an eye out for Reyna, as well, so he could speak to her.

Not long after he sat down, he spotted Reyna. He stood up abruptly, reminding him of the time he had done so and had knocked over Reyna. Then, he had caught her and they made eye contact for what seemed like forever. Eventually, they let go once it had become awkward. That moment had felt like it'd occurred a long time ago. But really, it was just a few weeks ago. Time flies when you're preparing to save the world, he supposed.

Percy straightened himself out and walked over to Reyna. He saw her blush, again. She had been doing that a lot more lately. Maybe she was thinking of yesterday when he had grabbed her waist. That was his train of thought, anyway.

"Uh, Percy," Reyna said, raising a nervous eyebrow. She usually never looked anxious around him. What was up with Reyna?

"Hey!" Percy greeted her, nonchalantly. "I need to speak with you about Octavian."

She rolled her rich brown eyes. "What is it now?" Reyna sighed, clearly frustrated.

"Well, you know that little issue you had Jason and I address yesterday? Well, apparently, the First Cohort rigged the Third's shields. The First, of course, denied it."

"Naturally," Reyna gestured for him to go on.

"Well, I have a sneaking suspicion that it was Octavian's doing, or at least his idea, anyway," Percy implied.

"Percy, I-" Reyna began. "The First has always been desperate for victory, but they've never gone so far as to cheat."

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but you saw the argument. No way they got that heated up over one measly broken shield," Percy explained. "The entire Third's artillery of shields was recked. Now, who else do you think would do that?"

"I see where you're coming from," Reyna agreed. "But you know as well as I do that Octavian will deny it."

"Of course, he will, but we might be able to tell if he's lying or not."

"And if we can't?" Reyna asked.

"Well, then the issue can resolve itself," Percy stated pointedly.

Reyna exhaled exasperatedly. "Alright, we can ask him."

The two looked around for Octavian, but he was nowhere in sight. Only about half the legion was awake by now, though they didn't have to be out and about for nearly another fifteen minutes.

"We'll look for him once everyone arrives," Percy insisted.

"Alright."

Percy returned to his spot where Piper, Jason, Frank, and Annabeth were sitting.

"Where's Leo?" Percy asked. "And Hazel?"

"Well, Leo, of course, is checking up on his dragon, for what seems like the millionth time this week," Frank said. "He's become really protective of it since the battle. I don't really blame him though. I would be defensive over my most prized possession, too after an incident like that." Frank glanced down at his pocket and grimaced.

"And Hazel?" Percy asked, ignoring Frank's sudden interest in his pocket.

"She's in the stables, checking up on Arion," Piper answered. "She told me she'll be back soon."

The group made conversation for a few more minutes until breakfast began. Annabeth began chatting with Percy. "You've been different lately," Annabeth pointed out. "Are you ok, Seaweed Brain?"

"I'm fine," Percy said. "Why?"

"I'm just worried about you," Annabeth said. "Is that so wrong?"

Percy, in his defense, held up his hands. "No," he said, chuckling. "But seriously. I'm fine."

Annabeth remained silent for a few moments, then said, "You should really take me on a date here in New Rome. You know, while we're still here."

"Wasn't the river a date enough for you? Or how about that time we went to Paris" Percy laughed.

Annabeth gave him a reprimanding side-eye. "Percy, don't you know how to treat a woman?"

"No, but I know how to treat you," he said, as he leaned in for a kiss. He got one in return, luckily. When they pulled apart, Percy said, " A date it is. How's the cafe in New Rome sound?"

Annabeth grinned. "Great. When?"

"How about tomorrow at two?"

"Sounds like a plan." Annabeth pecked him again on the lips.

"Hey, just try not to get to used to me treating you like a goddess," Percy said. "It won't happen all the time. But trust me, every time I can, I will."

Annabeth shrugged. "Fine by me. Oh, and that Paris date was not your idea, remember? Hermes made all the arrangments, anyway."

"Fair point," Percy answered. They continued to talk, although Percy couldn't help wondering what a date with Reyna would be like, assuming she even said yes to a date. It would be nice to just have the two of them alone for once. The few times they were completely alone were not enough in Percy's opinion.

Reyna's POV

Reyna began to eat her breakfast when she spotted him. Octavian quickly slipped into the mess hall to have a word with his fellow centurion of the First Cohort. Reyna quickly stood and started to pursue him. Percy must've acknowledged her motives because he hopped to his feet and joined her. Octavian noticed the two praetor's approaching him, for he backed away, cowering like a cornered animal.

The praetors followed him outside the mess hall, Octavian's stuffed sacrifices trailing fluff as he went. "Of course, you two are together. I can barely find you apart these days. I wonder-" Octavian sneered.

"We need to speak with you," Percy said, cutting him off. Reyna was so happy Percy had changed the subject, she wanted to kiss him! Oh, there was another unwanted thought...

"For the last time, I did not kill Gwen!" Octavian exclaimed.

"Well, to start, yes, you did," Percy insisted. "But that's not what we're here to talk about. We know you did something to the Third Cohort's shields, or at least had a little part in it."

Octavian glared at them, though a hint of panic flashed through his features. "I would never do such a thing. I'm above cheating!"

"Oh, but your not above killing?" Percy shot back.

"Hey, I didn't-" Octavian began, lunging at Percy. Reyna held him back and switched the topic.

"That's for another time. But, Octavian, don't try lying to us," Reyna said. "We'll see right through you."

"Why is it that when something goes wrong, everyone thinks I'm the problem!" Octavian whined.

"Maybe because you are always the problem," Reyna and Percy said in unison. Oh boy...

"I should've known something was going on between you two. You're even..." Octavian trailed as both Reyna and Percy's gazes bored into him like hot daggers.

"Octavian, don't make this harder than it needs to be," Reyna began. "You of all people should know the kind of punishments we insure around here." She hoped Octavian would get the message. Some punishments at Camp Jupiter consisted of death. Of course, Reyna hoped they wouldn't need to take it that far, but it would help if Octavain would catch on to the threat.

Octavian stiffened. "Alright. I had Jacob, the eagle bearer, and Michael Kahale rig the shields. Is that the confession you want?"

The two praetors made eye contact. "Well, it's better than I imagined," Percy pointed out.

"Argh! Don't sugarcoat it! Just tell me what my punishment is, oh wise and powerful praetors," Octavian retorted.

"The First Cohort has to muck the stables every day for two weeks, and they don't get to participate in the next three War Games," Reyna said. It was the punishment she always gave for cheating. Though, the usual cheats were a simple missing sword or an unfair advantage. Never once had someone taken it this far. Well, that was a lie. There was the time that Octavian had killed Gwen. It still felt weird to say, because she was still with them today.

Octavian grumbled and started to walk away. Percy and Reyna did the same. As they turned, they heard the augur grumble, "We didn't even win!"

"I swear. That centurion is going to be the death of me," Reyna muttered.

"It's a miracle I haven't killed him yet," Percy said. "Or destroyed the whole camp's plumbing system," he added.

"What?" Reyna stopped.

"Long story," Percy explained. "I tend to blow up toilets when people bully or annoy me."

"I... see," Reyna said.

The two returned to the mess hall. The crowd had thinned out a bit. Most of the legionnaires should've been going through their morning training activities or chores. Some, though, were still eating.

"Well, thanks for letting me know," Reyna said. "About the shields, anyway."

"Yeah..." Percy trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but was debating over whether to say it or not.

"Well, see you," Percy concluded. "I'd better go attend to my praetor duties."

"See you," Reyna walked away. What had Percy wanted to say? And why did he seem so hesitant to say it? Reyna shrugged it off. It probably didn't concern her anyway. It's not like Percy only had Reyna in his thoughts at all times. If anything, he was thinking about Annabeth. But... was he?

Well, this was sort of a filler chapter. There wasn't much action or excitement. I am thinking of adding a little twist in maybe the next chapter, or the one after that. It will involve Preyna, so don't worry! ;) Anyway, if you did like this chapter, feel free to let me know. I love feedback! Also, are the Percabeth supporters excited about the date that I will write about in the next chapter? I sure am! I love Preyna, but Percabeth will always be my first favorite ship, with Preyna as a close second. Anyway, I hope you have a great day and I will try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can! (Also, some of you may not remember reading about Percy and Annabeth going on a date in Paris, and that is because it was written in the Demigod Diaries, which some fans have not read. It's a side book off of The Heroes of Olympus!)