"Be on your best behavior Perseus," Marcella chided as she adjusted the obnoxiously long half-circle blanket that apparently counted as formal wear in ancient Rome.

"I will," Percy agreed.

"And apologize for running away yesterday, that was terribly rude."

"I will," Percy agreed, again.

Marcella brushed his hair with a wooden comb, "I know this all seems very silly and strange to a godly child like you. I hope you understand that to us mere mortals, dinner with the Augustus is the kind of thing we will tell our grandchildren about. It has the potential to help our family get to great heights or banish us from the empire. I would greatly prefer not having to move again."

Percy shuffled his feet, "I'll be on my best behavior."

Marcella smiled at him softly, "I know you will Perseus. You are a good man. Now let me take a look at you in your toga. Look how regal you are!"

Percy felt quite silly himself. The white toga was a bit too big on him and dragged on the ground. He felt like a kid wearing his father's suit. Usually, a toga was not supposed to have any pockets, but Percy had sewn a pocket into one of the flappy sides. Marcella had seen the badly done stitches, pulled them out and re-sewn a better pocket while showing Percy proper sewing techniques. Riptide was in reach.

Grandpa Plinius had been overjoyed this morning when a messenger had arrived from the palace inviting them to dinner. Gaius and Percy had shared a look of horror. How did the August guy know where Percy lived? Did he have them followed? Percy had been sure to check to make sure they hadn't been followed.

Marcella had seen the look of sheer dread on Gaius' face and asked her son if he maybe had something to share with the family. Gaius immediately broke down and explained about what had happened the night before when Percy had made a water slide. How the bloody emperor showed up in his wooden flip-flops and ruined the entire night. Gaius phrased it differently.

They had to explain to Grandpa Plinius that Percy was a demi-god. It had been a hectic day. Now they were going to dinner at a palace dressed like a family of burritos. Several people on the street stared at them. Grandpa Pliny preened at their attention, stopping to chat to some of his friends along the way to say how his family had been invited to dinner with the Augustus. Grandpa Pliny seemed genuinely more excited about going to the palace than he did when he learned Percy was a demigod. At some point Gaius had to pull him away from one of his chattier friends so they wouldn't be late.

The palace was within sight of the colosseum. The colosseum was still being built. If Annabeth were here, she would probably be super excited about the architecture of both of these places. Percy did his best to remember a few details just in case he ever saw her again.

The colosseum had wooden scaffolding and pulley systems to pull rocks and concrete bags up several floors to the last part of the colosseum that needed to be built. The palace was four stories tall at the highest point and stood on top of a small hill. It was similar to the Plinius house except bigger and with fancier rocks. Everything was made of marble and painted with reds, yellow, greens and blues. The ceilings had lots of pictures of the gods. Percy even found one picture of his dad. Neat.

The Pliny household had a little ancle deep kiddie pool for their family Lars to hang out in, the Flavian palace had a whole pond with a fountain in it. The Plinius family had a dining room with five lounge chairs and looked out on a courtyard, the Flavian palace had a dining room with ten lounge chairs, enough room on the sides for ten guards to stand around and look intimidating and looked out over the city of Rome. Etc. etc.

Palace stuff. Rome flavored. You get it.

The guards led Percy and the Plinius family to the dining room where four people were waiting for them. The Purple man himself, Titus Augustus, a teen girl in a silk dress who was introduced as the Augustus' daughter Julia, the Augustus' brother Domitian, and Domitian's wife Domitia. Domitia had a silk scarf draped over her hair and had a bunch of gold jewelry. Percy wondered if Domitian married his wife Domitia because her name sounded so much like his own name.

Grandpa Pliny bowed, kissing Titus' ring and introduced his family in Latin. Gaius and Marcella both also bowed and kissed Titus' ring. When it was Percy's turn Grandpa Pliny hesitated to introduce him.

"Perseus Jackson, but you can call me Percy," Percy said in Greek.

There was an awkward silence after Percy introduced himself, as if they were waiting for a bunch of mermaids to pop out of the walls blowing on trumpets.

"… and here I thought your name was Gaius son of Gaius?" Domitian asked with a bit of a smile, "as we Romans have two family names, should I assume your name is Gaius Gaius Gaius the normal Roman?"

Percy grinned. "Not my best lie. I don't know enough about Rome to be good at pretending to be Roman," Percy admitted.

"It also doesn't help that you speak an old form of Greek and perform miracles for fun," Domitian said. Percy liked Domitian.

"Sorry about running away. I have been told that that was rude," Percy says, glancing at Marcella.

"No harm done," Titus assures him, "We are glad to have this opportunity to talk again. I myself have many questions, but first, let's eat."

The Roman couch-chairs were arranged in a U-shape around a central table. A servant shows everyone to their seats. Titus Augustus lounges at the head of the table, to his right sits his brother Domitian, Domitian's wife Domitia and finally Marcella. To Titus' left sits his daughter Julia, Percy, Grandpa Pliny and finally Gaius. Food is brought out to the table: fruits, breads, all kinds of nuts, olive oil, several types of meats, crab and roasted vegetables. Percy has had enough crab to last a lifetime and doesn't touch the stuff.

Marcella and Domitia start a conversation in Latin and Percy gets the feeling that Domitia may not speak Greek. Percy compliments the food because he's on his best behavior.

Then a servant comes by to pour everyone wine. Percy covered his glass.

"If you don't like the wine, I can get you a different variety," Titus says, more curious than judgmental.

"No thank you, Augustus," Percy says politely.

"I've tried to tell the boy Roman water will get him sick if he doesn't mix it with wine, but Perseus is stubborn," Grandpa Pliny says, shaking his head.

"Water won't get me sick," Percy says, "and I just don't think it's a good idea for a Demi-god to get drunk. It just seems like that story would end badly."

Titus seems to understand him as he asks the servants to bring a pitcher of water for Percy.

"So you do claim to be a Demi-god," the princess says with a fake smile, "Tell me Perseus, what kind of magic can you do, exactly?"

"I don't know if I'd call it magic, but I can do water stuff and um, boats. Also, I can talk to horses."

"Boat magic," princess Julia says, unimpressed. "Can you also juggle?"

"I've been trying to learn juggling, but I'm not very good at it yet," Percy says. Julia sends her father a look. Titus Augustus in turn stares back at her. There seems to be a silent conversation going on between father and daughter, though Percy's not sure about what. "I also have a magic sword." Percy pulls out Riptide. Ta-da! Julia does not seem impressed by his bronze feather.

Percy grins and flips the quill into his sword. Movement comes from behind Percy and he blocks the sword coming at the back of his head immediately. Percy is off the lounge chair and behind his opponent in seconds. The Praetorian Guardsman swings at Percy again but Percy counters and disarms him easily, sending the sword flying into the wall. With a side-sweep Percy has the guard on the floor. He turns to the next two closest guards who have drawn their swords. He sidesteps one sword-swing and blocks the other. With a twist of his wrist the second guard is also disarmed, but not down. There are ten of them total, but they surround Gaius, Marcella and Grandpa Pliny so he'll have to-

"Desine! Depone gladius Praetorianos," Titus Augustus shouts, standing. His eyes are blazing. It takes Percy a second to register that he's talking to his guards who have taken a step back and are slowly re-holstering their blades. The captain of the guard (he's the one with feathers on his helmet) repeats the order and the guards step back without taking their eyes off Percy.

"I apologize for my overzealous guards. Their vigilance is generally to my benefit. He only meant to protect me," Augustus says. Everyone in the room is staring at Percy now. Most people look a little scared. Domitian is standing in front of his wife. Julia is staring wide-eyed. Gaius looks like he wants to study the shiny sword. Marcella calmly takes another sip of wine. That woman is unflappable.

"In hindsight, I probably should not have pulled out my sword when I was within armlength of the Augustus," Percy says. It'd be like pulling out a gun at dinner with the president and then being surprised when the secret service attacks you. Percy holds out his hand to help the Praetorian Guard back to his feet. "Sorry buddy," Percy said knowing full well the guard couldn't understand Greek. The man was really only doing his job. Also, he was so far from actually being a threat that Percy didn't hold a grudge.

The guard hesitated before accepting Percy's hand. Once he was standing, Percy hands him Riptide, "Hold onto that for me, would you?" The fight would be harder without Riptide if the guards do choose to attack again, but trust is a two-way street. Also, Percy would easily be able to overpower ten guards if he pulls some water from the pond-sized fountain that is just down the hall. The guard captain pulls the guard holding riptide aside, presumably to translate Percy's words and/or scold him.

"So," Domitian says with a bit of strained smile as he takes a seat next to his wife again, "You have boat magic?"

Percy shrugs.

"We have heard tales of your control of the Navy fleet during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. What did you think of the roman navy?" Domitian asked.

Percy is on his best behavior. He will do his best to be nice. "Those boats certainly do… float." Nailed it.

Domitian laughed and the tension left the room a bit, "I have rarely seen a man more disgusted."

Percy sits back down on his couch-chair. "Your boats are not terrible. It's just that they could be so much better. It's frustrating." Percy says.

"How so?" Domitian asked.

"It's hard to explain. It's like looking at a chariot with square wheels and a horse without a bridle. Every time you want to turn the chariot, ten men have to come by and pick up the horse to turn it in the right direction. You clearly have all the tools to make it better but just design the whole thing badly."

Percy had spent the years between his seventh and eleventh birthday obsessed with ships. He watched documentary after documentary about all the different parts of a ship, modern shipping vessels, Olympic sailboats, motorized boats, sailing ships, pirate ships, military navy vessels, and more.

"Would you be able to design better ships?" Titus asked, sharing a look with his brother.

Percy snorted, "Oh, easily. To be entirely honest, it'd be hard to design worse ships."

"Could you explain?" Titus asked.

"Are you sure you want to know? I can talk about this for hours."

Titus apparently did want to know about ships, so Percy did his best to explain some of the design flaws as they ate dinner. Titus seemed interested in ship design, or at least he pretends to be. Julia occasionally interrupted to ask clarifying questions, and Domitian split his time between paying attention to Percy talking about boats and chatting with Domitia and Marcella. Grandpa Pliny seemed mostly excited about the food and doesn't bother listening in, while Gaius was too shy to interrupt. Percy explains what is wrong with Roman boats as he eats, trying not to talk with food in his mouth because Percy is on his best behavior.

1) First of all, Roman ships do not have keels. Percy explains about how a keel help maintain the stability of the ship. There are different kinds of keels like side keels, full keels and fin-like keels. If your ship needs to go in shallow water, you can even make them retractable.

2) Roman ships use paddles near the back of the ship to steer, but larger and longer rudders would be better. The small paddles give very little control and makes the Roman ships slow to turn.

3) The sails are too small, and why is there only one sail? You can easily add two or three masts and add a jib to help control the direction of the ship.

4) Square sails are fine, but have you tried triangle shaped sails? Triangle sails are more efficient and allow you to travel against the wind as long as you zig-zag a bit. You'll have much better maneuverability.

5) No crow's nest. Why not? They are very useful helping the captain and navigator orient the ship. They also help detect pirate ships from further away so you can prepare better. Wait, let me explain what a crow's nest is.

6) Your anchors don't have stocks. Stocks will help the anchor attached to uneven ground without getting stuck.

7) Roman ships have hulls that are too flat. This can allow the ship to sail in shallow water but makes them easy to tip over. This might be fine in the gentle Mediterranean Sea, but how on earth have you crossed the open ocean to conquer England without tipping over? Poseidon wouldn't need to be mad at the ships for them to sink, he would just need to be mildly annoyed in the vague vicinity of the ships for them all to sail to the bottom of the sea.

"Would you be interested in taking a job as a Roman ship designer?" Titus asked.

"A job? Yeah, that's sounds—"

"That sounds like a potentially interesting idea," Grandpa Pliny interrupts, "and Perseus would be happy to look over any job offer you would give him. After I have had time to look through the details."

"You claim to do business in his name, Plinius Celer?" Domitian asked.

"This young man is my guest, so I have some responsibility for him. He is a wonderful young man, but he has no idea how much anything is worth and I will ensure he is compensated fairly," Grandpa Pliny said. Percy had no idea why he was worried about telling Grandpa Pliny that Percy was a demigod. Grandpa Pliny was clearly awesome.

"You don't know how much things are worth?" Julia asked, brow furrowing.

"I'm new to Rome. I still need to figure out the coins."

"I thought you were from Pompeii. Surely you had coin there? Pompeii uses Roman coin just as the entire empire does," Julia responded.

"I didn't grow up in Pompeii, and Chiron doesn't ask for payment," Percy says, evading the question a bit. He had decided not to tell people he was from the future. Answering the question about how he traveled back in time included exploding a volcano and holding on to the titan Kronos' blade, and Percy didn't want to tell people about any of those things. He didn't want people to know he was responsible for Mount Vesuvius. He also didn't want to give people the existential dread of not knowing what was going to happen in about 2000 years when Kronos would try to overthrow the gods and Percy was no longer there to help.

Percy had come up with a cover story: Percy's mom was Greek and he went to Chiron full time when he was twelve. Chiron's location was so super-secret that Percy could not tell anyone where it was. Not because he didn't know where Chiron was. He was visiting Pompeii when it unexpectedly exploded.

"You were raised by a centaur?" Julia asked, amazed.

"I was raised by my mom in Greece, but Chiron is one of my teachers."

"So, you weren't born from the volcano? We have heard conflicting tales. Some say you are half-human, others say you are a new god born from Poseidon and the spirit of Mount Vesuvius," Domitian said.

"My mother is human. Also, I'm fifteen, not a newborn baby! Why did those rumors start? I'm blaming Gaius," Percy grumbled.

"What?" Gaius asked, frazzled, "I never said you were born from the volcano, only that mother and I had pulled you, naked, from a lump of lava that had flown out of the Volcano. Other people assumed that was your birth."

"I was wearing clothes before the explosion! The clothes just burned off!" Percy said.

"I have heard many tales of you Perseus Jak-son," Titus says, "Would you tell us of the truth of these tales?"

"I'm not a great storyteller, but Gaius is," Percy says nodding at his friend.

Titus Augustus looks at Gaius. "I have notes, Ceasar Augustus," Gaius says nervously, pulling out a scroll. He starts to slowly tell his tale about what happened in Pompeii. He talks about the deafening explosion of the mountainside and the huge amount of black smoke. He talks about his uncle Plinius the Elder running to the navy ships to rescue the people of Pompeii and never coming back. He talks about running away from home on foot as the sky turns black and starts hailing rocks large enough to smash your skull in. He talks about finding Percy completely unburnt inside a large lump of lava.

Percy remembers the dead bodies in Herculaneum. It starts to rain.

He remembers the gray silence of the coastline in the days and weeks following the eruption. He remembers having to throw a child into the ocean because there was an avalanche of burning ash hurtling down the side of Mount Vesuvius. Percy remembers the strange corpses the people in Pompeii will look like in two thousand years.

Gaius is still talking but Percy doesn't hear him.

"I'm afraid I must go to the bathroom," Marcella stands up, "Perseus, would you mind escorting me?"

Percy looks up. Marcella has a pleasant smile on her face but Percy can see she's concerned. He nods and stands. Once out of the dining room though, Percy doesn't actually know where the bathrooms are. The guard captain follows them, but keeps his distance.

Marcella leads him to the pond sized water fountain in the middle of the palace and sits on the ledge of the fountain. The fountain is in a courtyard, and it's still raining. Soon Marcella's fancy clothes get wet. The statue in the fountain looks like Athena.

"It looked like you needed to get out of there for a little bit," Marcella says.

Percy nods and sits next to her. "Thanks," he muttered, not meeting her eyes.

"You're not the only one who lost family and friends that day, Perseus. Some days I can't bear to think of Mount Vesuvius, on other days I can think of little else. The ash rain and smell of sulfur fills my dreams. I needed to leave the room as much as you did, I think."

Pery should tell her that it was him who caused the eruption, but he doesn't. He sits and lets the rain wash over him.

"Gaius wants to be a natural philosopher and historian like his uncle. I've always encouraged him to learn and write as much as he can. He's written and re-written the events of the eruption several times. I think writing about what happened helps him think about it. I want to support him, but I don't think I'm ready to read this part of his histories just yet," Marcella says.

"I'd never seen so many dead human bodies before," Percy says, "and there were so many people I couldn't save."

"You did all you could, and that's all we can really expect from each other," Marcella said.

After a few minutes the rain lessens.

"We do still need to find the bathroom though," Marcella casually mentions, "I wasn't lying about having to pee. I think I've had a bit too much wine."

Percy laughs and stands up, "I'm sure we can find it."

They do find it eventually with the help of the guard. Afterwards, the two of them head back to dinner. Before entering the dining room, Percy dries Marcella's clothes.

Entering the room, Percy finds Titus talking intently to the one guard Percy had defeated. "What's going on?" Percy asked Julia as he walks back to his lounge-chair-couch thing.

"There is a small problem with your sword. It seems to have, um, disappeared. I'm sure we'll find it soon," Julia says.

"Oh, that?" Percy pulls out Riptide. "It's a magic sword. It's mine. It will always return to me."

Titus stops whispering to the guard, who looks relieved. Crisis averted.

"It is bizarre how casual you are with a godly gift that would be considered the most holy item in the empire if it was in anyone else's hands," Julia says, her eyes glued on the bronze feather.

"It's a good sword," Percy says, "and if it was in anyone else's hands, it would just disappear after a bit. Poseidon had Chiron give it to me when I was twelve, mostly because Poseidon can't be bothered to talk to me himself."

"You've never spoken with the lord of the seas directly?" Domitian asked.

"No, I've spoken with my father a few times. He looks out for me sometimes. But gods are not great parents; they usually just ignore you. I didn't even know Poseidon was my dad until I was twelve. I've spoken to Ares more than I've spoken to my dad, and I don't even like Ares. He's a dick. But I've been told I've inherited my father's respect for authority," Percy says.

"You have respect for authority?" Domitian asked.

Percy grinned, "Not really. The sea doesn't like to be restrained."

"Perseus," Marcella said, "Please apologize to the god of war."

Oh right. One of the down sides to living in a society that believes in the gods is that people actually get upset when you insult them. Percy picks up some of the chicken from the table and tosses it into the metal firepit at the end of the table. "To Ares. I'm sorry I called you a dick. I'm sure Aphrodite finds your violent arrogance appealing. Have some food," Percy says. The meat is consumed in less than a second. In the smoke of the firepit appears the symbol of a penis. Ares was apparently listening and clearly calling Percy a dick as well.

Half the people in the room fell to their knees including Domitian and several of the Praetorian guards. Julia is covering her eyes, head bowed low. Titus is staring directly at the smoke, eyes wide. Perseus is reminded again that people in ancient Rome are actually religious. "Oh. Uhh, sorry. I'll give you more of a warning next time," Percy says awkwardly.

People eventually sit back down or resume their post as guards. Some whisper prayers and make hand signs Percy is unaware of. Conversation starts again when Grandpa Pliny compliments the food. Soon enough, people are talking in a slightly more hushed tone than before. Titus continues to stand and stare into the fire.

"You can uncover your eyes," Percy says to Julia, who is still covering her eyes.

"No way. I do not want to become pregnant with Mars' child. I'm not even married yet!" Julia shakes her head.

"You can't get pregnant from looking at the shape of a penis in smoke," Percy laughs.

"Of course you can! Seeing the symbol of Mars in a sacred fire is exactly how Princess Silvia got pregnant with Romulus and Remus! I am not ready to be a mother." Julia hissed.

"Mars' symbol is a penis?" Percy asked. Internally, he wondered about the frequency of virgin births that apparently happened a lot more than Percy realized in olden times.

"Of course it is, he is Mars. Why else would people use that symbol to ward off the evil eye and keep their homes safe?" Julia asked, still covering her eyes.

Mars' symbol being a giant dick made a lot of sense to Percy. He decided not to say this out loud because Percy was on his best behavior, and because he didn't think anyone would appreciate it if he had to apologize to Mars/Ares again so soon. Although why anyone would think that drawing a bunch of dicks on their house would keep anything safe was beyond Percy.

Dinner continued on in a more subdued tone for about half an hour. During that time Julia absolutely refused to open her eyes despite Percy's assurances that the fire no longer had penis-shaped smoke. Apparently, she was not about to risk getting pregnant just because Percy didn't know how to respect the gods.

Finally, Titus stood and thanked everyone for coming to dinner, asking the servants to come in and escort the guests out of the palace. Each member of the Plinius family bowed to Titus as they stood up to leave, thanking Titus for hosting them. Percy held back a bit and waited until after Domitian escorted Julia (who was still covering her eyes) out of the room.

"Titus Augustus, may I speak with you for a moment?" Percy asked.

"Of course," Titus said.

Titus dismissed his guards, sending them into the hallway. The guard captain frowned at this, giving Percy a hard stare as he stepped outside. That guy does not smile much.

Once it was just Percy and the Emperor of Rome, Percy spoke again, "I wanted to ask if you could not tell people I was a demigod? When I was Gaeta, they started worshipping me and there were cultists and goat sacrifices. I didn't like that. I'm more human than God. I'd rather not start any cults."

Titus seemed to choose his words carefully, "Rumors have already started to spread. Stories of your emergence from a volcano have moved beyond Italy, and word of your worshipers in Gaeta has already reached Rome. Complete anonymity may be impossible, even if I stay silent."

Percy grunted, "Yeah. I understand that, but I was hoping to start over in Rome, just be a normal guy."

"Godly power surrounds you, Perseus. You may not see it, but people who spend time with you will see it. Your powers and the Gods' response to your sacrifices are also fairly noticeable."

"I'll be more careful," Percy promises, "I won't cause any trouble."

Titus nods, "I will agree to remain silent about your parentage and godly nature. I will swear my family and guards to a similar silence. However, I would ask for a favor in exchange." Percy prepared himself for this favor.

"I would ask you to become a citizen of Rome and obey our laws," Titus said, "and that you ask my permission before killing a Roman citizen."

Percy stared at Titus for a second, baffled. "I don't plan to kill anyone," Percy said.

"Do we have a deal then, Perseus son of the sea god?" Titus asked.

"I can agree to be a citizen and promise not to kill anyone without your permission, but I can only promise to do my best not to break Roman laws, as I don't know them very well. I don't know any Roman laws actually, but I'll try not to break them anyway," Percy said, holding out his hand.

Titus shook his hand. A deal was struck.

.

"Tiberius Alexander, what do you think of Perseus?" Titus asked after the Semi-Deus had left. Titus and Tiberius Alexander were in Titus' office. It was late and Titus has dismissed his slaves. No one else was around, so discussing Perseus' nature with someone who already knows would not be breaking his oath.

"He defeated one of my best men in seconds, even when Jullius had the advantage of surprise," Tiberius Alexander said. "His stance and mastery of the sword is one of an experienced soldier. With how quickly he moved, he would have easily defeated my other soldiers if you hadn't stopped them. However, he didn't finish the job. He disarmed and outmaneuvered Julius but didn't spend two seconds to run him through before turning to the other guards."

"Mercy, perhaps? Or is he only accustomed to bloodless sword practice?"

"Hard to tell."

"Where did he go when he and Plinius Celer's daughter left the dining room?" Titus asked.

Tiberius Alexander stood next to his friend with a frown. "I followed them. I can read Greek better than I can understand it, but I caught some of their words. Additionally, I've learned to be good at reading people as a soldier and a governor and as your guard. When the two left the dining room, the woman was overwhelmed and grieving, but Perseus? Perseus was guilty. I have seen guilt in the eyes of fresh soldiers as they crucify people begging for mercy or burn a home to ash. I know what guilt looks like. Guilt eats away at Perseus more than grief does."

Titus stopped and turned to his right-hand man, "Guilt? Guilt about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius?"

Tiberius Alexander nodded.

"I think this Semi-Deus may be far more powerful than he pretends to be," Titus said, wondering what kind of monster, exactly, he had just made a citizen of Rome.

.

.

.

Author's Note:

Percy sees himself as a kid who only just barely passed middle school. Romans see Percy as the son of one of their most powerful gods and the most holy being that has walked among mortals in over a century.

I try to base the historical characters on what is known about them from history books, but very little is known about the woman of Rome other than who their fathers and husbands were. So, this leaves me with more room to invent personalities for them.

Also: Men of Rome in this time period have one first name and two last names, plus any titles they might have earned. Titus was born as Titus Flavius Vespasianus and became Imperator Titus Ceasar Vespasianus Augustus. It was also very common for men to give their sons their own name. For example, Emperor Titus and his father Emperor Vespasian both have the exact same name: Titus Flavius Vespasianus. Historians name them Vespasian and Titus to help differentiate them, but people at the time did not make such a clear distinction in their names. Meanwhile woman often only had one name. Titus's daughter is just named Julia. Historians end up giving them two or three extra names just to help differentiate woman from each other. So the princess can be called Julia Flavia, as she is part of the Flavian family.