I'm back with another chapter! I would again like to thank all the guests who support this story! You guys are amazing! The review shoutouts from this chapter are:
iNeptune: I love your constant support! Thank you!
Imgay (guest): Yeah, you probably should get to bed. I appreciate your time, though!
Guest: Yes, I do feel conflicted between the two couples. I love Preyna, and Percabeth, so it can be difficult to write only Preyna. As you might've noticed, I still write a little bit of Percabeth, just for the fun of it. Do you think I should write a Percabeth after this story?
Remember, if you want to have a shoutout and if you want me to answer your questions, well, review! Anyways, let's begin! (Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan.)
Percy's POV
As Percy was finishing up his sword fighting lesson, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, making him fall forward a bit. Luckily, he caught himself before he hit the ground, but the movement had caused all of his "students" to give him a weird look as he steadied himself.
"I'm fine," he reassured the group. "You're almost done. Just keep going." Immediately after he had said that another pain jabbed at his back in the exact spot where his bruise was. In the past day that he'd had this bruise, it hadn't hurt this much. Maybe it was time for another trip to the infirmary...
Finally, the class was over after about 45 minutes. Percy's back pain had only increased, and after everyone had left, he began to head for the infirmary. The walk was painful, each step sending a new shock of pain through his lower back, right near where his Achille's spot had been. The thought made him think. If Percy still had his Achilles spot on the small of his back, and Terminus had hit it, would Percy be vulnerable again? He shivered at the thought.
Percy was almost to the infirmary when two campers, a legionnaire and a centurion, walked out of the mess hall. They must've stayed late for lunch, but once they saw him, they immediately knew something was off. Percy's posture must've been a dead giveaway. Not only that, but the way he was walking must've looked strained.
"Are you alright, praetor?" The centurion asked, walking towards Percy cautiously.
Percy nodded, though the girl didn't buy it. Her comrade joined her and together they helped Percy walk, although nothing was wrong with his leg. Suddenly, Reyna emerged from the mess hall as well, a concerned look on her face. She rushed over to the three and took the legionnaire's place in helping Percy move along. "I'm fine, Percy grunted. "Nothing's wrong with my legs."
A look of realization crossed Reyna's features. "Is it your back?" She asked.
Percy nodded briskly, grimacing at the pain. To his surprise, however, Reyna wrapped an arm around his waist and said to the centurion, "I got him. Thank you."
The centurion nodded and went back to join her friend while Reyna helped Percy the rest of the way to the infirmary. Once the two demigods were out of earshot, Reyna asked Percy, "What did you do?"
"Me? I didn't do anything!" Percy exclaimed. Reyna shushed him, turning back to look at the retreating half-bloods.
"Why so secretive?" Percy asked, trying to focus on something other than Reyna's arm around him, or the pain in his back. This was the first time she had done something like this to him without him starting the interaction. It was probably just to stable him, and meant nothing, though.
Reyna rolled her eyes. They were almost to the infirmary at this point. "I don't want them to worry," Reyna explained. "I feel like this is more than just Terminus."
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
Reyna broke eye contact. "You know what? If my suspicions are correct, I'll tell you. Let's just see what the healers have to say." At that point, the two had arrived at the infirmary. They entered and another shot of pain coursed through Percy's bruised spot. He winced and Reyna grabbed him tighter, making Percy blush, despite the pain.
Lucas, the head healer and son of Apollo, was standing right inside as if he had been expecting them. His eyes grew in size when he saw Percy's pale face. "What happened, Praetor? Is it your back?"
Percy nodded, which only hurt his back more. "I was teaching a sword fighting class, and my back started hurting a lot. Like, more than it ever has. Even now, it's still super painful."
"Come on in," Lucas said, his eyebrows furrowed. Percy couldn't blame the guy. His case was certainly unique. Usually, a common bruise like this should've healed up immediately with some Ambrosia. But not this bruise. It had only grown. Based on demigod standards, this was not necessarily normal behavior.
Reyna followed into the room that Lucas lead them into, and her arm was still around Percy's waist. She could've let go a while ago, but she hadn't. Maybe there was more to Reyna holding Percy than just keeping him stable.
"Here, let me look at your back," Lucas said, gesturing for Percy to take off his shirt. He did and turned so his back was facing Lucas. While Lucas was checking out the bruise, Percy made eye contact with Reyna. Her cheeks were a lot more red than usual. If Percy had to guess the reason, it would be that he was shirtless. She had seen him shirtless once before, and that was yesterday when she'd taken off his shirt to look at his back after getting knocked out by Terminus. Clearly, she hadn't gotten used to the sight.
Percy flashed a grin at Reyna and her blush deepened. Finally, she looked away.
"Oh my gods," Lucas finally spoke. "You're bruise has grown. It hasn't doubled in size, just... grown."
Reyna walked over to see Percy's back. Percy looked over his shoulder and saw her eyebrows raise.
"Is it bad?" Percy asked.
"Well, the color has changed, and it looks like it could be healing," the healer explained. "I'm just wondering why it's growing in size."
Reyna touched the bruise in the exact area where Percy's Achilles heel spot had been. The contact made him shiver and blush profusely. Reyna soon dropped her hand.
"So, what do you think is giving me these pains?" Percy asked.
Lucas walked in front of Percy over to a cabinet and he pulled out some Ambrosia and a special ointment for his back. "I'm hoping that these supplies will finally work on you," Lucas said. "Now that you are showing signs of healing."
Percy ate his square of Ambrosia as Lucas applied the ointment. Reyna was still watching from behind, but finally, all the ointment had been lathered on.
"You're free to go," Lucas said, handing Percy his discarded shirt. "If you feel any more agonizing pain, come back. I want to keep an eye on that."
Percy nodded his thanks and slipped out of the infirmary with Reyna by his side.
Reyna's POV
He turned to Reyna who had exited beside him. "So, are your suspicions correct?"
Reyna shrugged. "We'll have to wait and see."
Percy groaned. "You are so confusing."
Reyna shook her head, laughing slightly. "That's the only way to be."
"Ok, earlier today you were this shy, flirtatious girl, and now you're this," Percy said, gesturing at Reyna.
Reyna stopped him, glaring. "If you ever call me shy and flirtatious again, I will kill you."
Percy held up his hands in defense, a look of shock on his face. "I believe you! I won't call you those things again."
"Good," Reyna smiled. She liked to feel in control of any situation, though, with Percy, she wasn't most of the time.
But was she really acting flirtatious around him? And shy? Those for sure weren't any of her normal qualities. Percy was definitely changing her, and not really for the best.
"Does your back feel better, at least?" Reyna asked Percy, resuming their walk to gods' knew where.
Percy nodded. "Yeah, it does. I really hope it doesn't start acting up again."
"If it does, I will be there to escort you to the infirmary," Reyna said teasingly.
"Yeah, why did you come with me, anyway? It wasn't my leg that was injured. I could walk just fine," Percy pointed out.
Reyna felt her face grow red. Why had she helped Percy? And why had she let her hand linger at his waist? He didn't really need the support. "I don't know," Reyna said. "I guess... I don't..."
Percy didn't say anything else on the matter, and Reyna was glad that he had dropped it.
After a few semi-awkward moments of silence, Reyna asked, "So, how did your class go anyways?"
Percy shrugged. "It was pretty good. A girl asked me who I was dating."
Reyna's heartbeat sped up. "What did you tell her?"
"Well, I told her that I was dating Annabeth, but she didn't really seem to believe me..." Percy explained, trailing off. He started to look at his hands and fidget with them, a habit that reminded Reyna of Leo Valdez.
"And?" Reyna gestured for him to continue. She felt that he still had more to say.
"And, she said that I look at you a lot," Percy said, still looking downward.
"Well, yeah, that fact is a bit obvious," Reyna scoffed.
"Yeah, clearly," Percy retorted. He stopped walking.
Reyna stopped too, a confused expression on her face. "You good?"
Percy shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just... I don't know where to go from here."
Reyna grabbed his hand, and even now, this action still surprised her. "You're going to go on that quest, and you don't need to worry about me, or... our relationship. Please just focus on that."
Percy's eyebrows furrowed. Reyna tried walking away, but Percy's grip tightened on her hand. He pulled her back and into a warm hug. Reyna was surprised at first. She should've been used to this physical contact, but mainly with Percy, it was kissing, not hugging. Nevertheless, Reyna hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his neck, as his hands were around her waist.
Reyna's head was resting on Percy's shoulder, for he was slightly taller than she was. Maybe by just a few inches, but the difference was still prominent. Reyna seemed to slip into a daze as she felt Percy's warmth against her. Heck, she could even feel his muscles. It was great, and definitely nice for a change. It seemed to her that they were there for hours, but in reality, it was probably only 10 seconds, give or take. Finally, the two pulled apart, and Percy gave her a warm smile. Reyna seemed frozen in place.
"I thought you were going to leave?" Percy asked, smirking. "You seemed so eager to do so before I had hugged you."
Reyna shook her head. "Right, yeah. Thanks for distracting me!"
Percy laughed. "My pleasure."
Reyna rolled her eyes and walked away, though she wasn't sure where she was headed. At this point, it was about 3:00 or so. Reyna couldn't think of any other duties she hadn't already attended to, but she didn't want to go hang out in her room. She wasn't really sure what she wanted to do except hang out with Percy, but that seemed a bit too desperate, not that Percy would care, though.
She finally settled on riding Scipio. It had been a couple of days since she had ridden him. She only hoped that he wouldn't start calling for Percy again. Although, that had ended out to be quite the day. It was hard to believe that a couple of days ago, Percy had confessed to loving her, even through a whisper.
Nevertheless, she was excited to see her pegasus again.
Piper's POV
Why did Piper always have to walk into awkward situations? It seemed to be happening more and more often lately. Probably the worst of them all so far was her turning the corner to find Percy and Reyna having a moment.
All of her training had been completed for the day and she was going toward the Little Tiber for a little rendezvous with Jason. She knew that she would have to pass the infirmary, but what she didn't expect was to find Reyna and Percy in front of it. Piper slipped back around the corner of the closest building, but she still managed to get a good look at them. She normally wasn't a snoop, but she was seriously dying to see what would happen. Darn her Aphrodite instincts.
Percy looked as though he had just come from the infirmary, and Reyna had gone with him. If Piper had to guess, it was probably because of his back.
The two were talking and walking until Percy stopped. Reyna looked at him with a concerned look on her face. Percy seemed to say something, and then... Reyna grabbed his hand. What the...? Piper thought. You know, it's probably just a friendly gesture.
Reyna seemed to say something else to Percy, and then she attempted to walk away. Percy kept his hold on her hand and pulled her back in a hug. Reyna wrapped her arms around his neck, and Percy's arms were around his waist. It looked... romantic. But it couldn't be! Percy had a girlfriend. Just earlier today Annabeth had gone to talk to Percy- Wait a minute. She had said that something had felt off with her relationship with Percy. Maybe Reyna was the reason.
Piper hated to point fingers, but it was pretty much the only reasonable explanation for Annabeth's relationship problem. Piper really hoped that Reyna wasn't the issue; she hated the thought of Percy, whose fatal flaw was loyalty, cheating on poor Annabeth.
No. They're simply really good friends. Quit jumping to conclusions!
Piper thought that maybe her mom was causing her to feel this way. Aphrodite had promised to make Percy's romantic life difficult. It was possible that Piper was supposed to catch Reyna and Percy in the act. She wanted to scream, Stay out of Percy's business! But Piper knew that wouldn't work. Aphrodite was stubborn. Like mother, like daughter.
The thing was, this didn't only have to do with Percy and Annabeth. It was Reyna, too. The poor girl had been through enough with Jason, and Piper was partly responsible for that pain. Nevertheless, Piper didn't want Reyna to get hurt yet again. How much heartbreak could someone take until it was too much?
But, Piper was probably just blowing this out of proportion, right? Reyna and Percy were good friends, and that was a fact. Piper couldn't convince herself otherwise. Even though she had practically caught them in the act. And all the evidence lead to this. Piper was no detective, but...
Reyna's POV
Reyna didn't bother to put any tack on Scipio. She was too eager to start riding him. The feeling of being on her pegasus, the wind whipping her hair everywhere, was incredible. The only thing comparable.. was being with Percy. He made her feel alive, just like riding Skippy.
Reyna spurred her horse into flight, and he climbed into the air. Once Scipio was at a height satisfactory for Reyna, he started to glide above the valley.
Watching the scenery roll down below her was one of Reyna's favorite parts of flying. She loved looking down at the arena, trying to pinpoint any specific people training. Over in the Field of Mars, she saw the Argo ll and was almost positive that she saw Leo. The son of Hephaestus spent most of his time around the Greek trireme. He must've been continuously prepping for the quest, though it was still a little more than a week away.
Surprisingly, the Greeks had only been there for about 9 days, with the exception of Percy, of course. So much had happened in that small period of time. The giant army had attacked, two demigods had been kidnapped, a quest had been sent out, the questers had returned, Ezra had died, Terminus had attacked, and so much more. Not to mention, all the personal things that had happened with Reyna. Venus's appearance still rattled her, even now.
Had Reyna really fallen for Percy over the course of 9 days, maybe more? Well, ever since she had seen him, she had thought that he was attractive. But that affection had only grown with all the time she had spent with him.
Scipio nickered, bringing Reyna back from her thoughts. Her pegasus soared over New Rome and Reyna spotted several children running through the streets, wearing a combination of modern clothes and togas. Mixed with the small citizens were adults, wearing similar attire. The city looked so peaceful, even after receiving the news that Terminus was possibly being controlled by an eidolon. Now, the city's only protection was Camp Jupiter, and the citizens who knew how to fight. Of course, they could manage, but it was better to have a god on your side.
While Reyna was thinking about New Rome, her thoughts shifted to Julia, the little girl that always hung around Terminus. She wondered how the poor girl was feeling about all this. Wait. Julia was always around Terminus. Maybe she knew something about the stone god. Maybe she had seen him become possessed, or at least witnessed something unusual about the bust.
Reyna wasn't sure where to find the little girl, but talking to her was worth a try. She could only hope that Julia had any information on the odd behavior of Terminus. At this point, she was the only hope.
Scipio whinnied happily, probably glad that he had the opportunity to stretch his wings and fly, even if just for a little while.
Reyna could sympathize. She loved being up in the sky with her favorite animal. It felt amazing, and it was a refreshing break from her normal schedule. Especially with all the crazy stuff going on at camp, she needed the time out.
The pair flew for about another 30 minutes, but Reyna could tell that Scipio was starting to tire, despite how much he was enjoying it. Reyna decided to land him, even though she was relishing her time in the air. She led her mount to the ground. Before she put Skippy in his stall, she quickly brushed through his peanut butter-colored fur and gave him an apple. Even though Skippy was a mythical creature, he still enjoyed regular equine snacks.
Reyna caressed the pegasus's head, giving him a soft kiss on the muzzle. "Thanks for the ride, boy," Reyna said softly, trying to ignore the jealous nickers coming from the unicorns. She quickly made a mental note to have Hazel dote on them later.
Finally, Reyna left the stables, heading towards the mess hall. She knew that dinner would be served soon enough. She thought that with all her extra time, she might as well help the wind spirits. She was almost there, walking down the via praetoria, when suddenly, she saw a figure running up from New Rome. She recognized the person as a legionnaire from the 1st Cohort. The girl looked flustered and distracted. She stopped when she came to Reyna. Before Reyna could say anything, the legionnaire spoke. "Terminus is back, and he's in New Rome!"
I'm SO sorry that I got this out so late! I was really busy these past few weeks, from going to a musical and a softball game to reading Percy Jackson as homework... etc., etc. Anyways, here is this update! I knew that I wanted to do something else with Terminus, and I hope you guys aren't getting bored. If you are, please let me know, and give me any suggestions you may have! I'll gladly take 'em! Anyways, thanks for all your support! Please review, review, and REVIEW! (And yes, the Greeks have only been at Camp for 9 days. Some of you might think it's been weeks, but if you really count all the nights and mornings and such, it adds up to 9 days. I really want to stretch this out so it doesn't go by too fast, ya know? Anyways, love you guys!)