This is the shortest time I've taken to update so far!
Hope you enjoy Chapter 6!
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Chapter 6: Reyna
In that split-second, Reyna didn't know whether she wanted to kill Jason, or hug him. Of course, seeing as he was only an Iris-Message, she could do neither.
Seeing Jason again, she didn't know whether she felt bitter, happy, miserable, relieved, angry, or a mix of them all. All she could do was quickly wipe away the tears, stand up, and try to clear her face of all emotion. She was used to suppressing her emotions like this...it was one of the many skills a leader of Rome had to possess. Then she turned to face Jason.
"Yes, I'm fine," she said coldly to him, "What do you want?"
Jason looked a bit taken aback by her rudeness, but Reyna couldn't see how Jason could have expected her to give him a warm welcome. She kind of wished she could have, but she needed to keep her image as a figure of authority.
"I - um - wanted to - er - ask you -er-," Jason began awkwardly. Reyna felt slightly pleased that she could intimidate Jason...or at least make him lose his train of thought. Through the Iris-Message, Reyna saw Piper kick Jason and then whisper something to him. Reyna felt a surge of jealousy at the sight of Piper, but managed to suppress it.
Jason cleared his throat and tried again, "What I mean to say is - um - how are you?"
Reyna laughed,
"How am I?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "Oh, I'm spectacular, thank you very much! It's been great, trying to convince the Romans to hold off the attack on your precious camp without appearing a traitor, having to constantly evade Octavian's hints that he would make a better praetor, knowing that he would just love to see me executed on some bogus charge, and at the same time getting dream-messages from my mother, who seems to enjoy giving me impossible tasks!" Reyna took a savage pleasure in seeing how uncomfortable she could make Jason.
"Reyna, please listen," Jason pleaded, "The attack on New Rome wasn't our fault. It was eidolons possessing Leo. Can't you tell the Romans that? If you made them accept that that's the truth, then they'll have no reason to attack Camp Half-Blood!"
Reyna shook her head. They just didn't get it.
"You don't understand,' she whispered, "The Romans don't care if you were possessed or what your motives may have been. They just care that their city was attacked and they want revenge. Even if I was to tell them Leo was possessed, which by the way at the moment I will not, as Octavian will accuse me of being allied with the Greeks, the Romans wouldn't care. They want blood and they're going to get it." Jason looked miserable, and so did the rest of the crew, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, Nico...wait, what was Nico doing there?..and where were Annabeth and Percy?
Before Reyna could ask about Nico, Annabeth, and Percy, Frank suddenly spoke up.
"Wait, there is a way to prevent the war! You guys are forgetting the Athena Parthenos!"
Reyna wondered if she had heard correctly. "The what?" she asked.
"It was the statue of Athena that used to be in the Parthenon," Hazel explained, "According to the legend, the Romans stole it from the Greeks to break their spirit. They literally stole Athena's battle aspect, and it was supposed to be the reason the Romans and Greeks could never get along. We - no - Annabeth found it in Rome, with the guidance of the Mark of Athena, and we hoped it would help us against the giants, and to heal the rift between the two camps."
Reyna couldn't believe what she was hearing. Maybe there was a way to avoid the war! But something was bothering her. She still couldn't understand where Annabeth and Percy were, and why Nico was there.
"I just have one question though," she said cautiously, "Why is Nico with you? And where are Annabeth and Percy? If Annabeth found the Athena Parthos, shouldn't she be telling me this?"
There was a definite change in everyone's expressions. Reyna saw Leo mouth uh-oh to Piper, and Hazel suddenly appeared to be holding back tears. A wave of fear overwhelmed Reyna. Was what she feared possible?
"We rescued Nico in Rome from the giants Ephialtes and Otis in Rome," began Piper in a thick voice,
"With a little help from Bacchus," added Leo.
"As for Annabeth and Percy," Jason continued from Piper, "Well, there's no easy way to tell you this, Reyna, but they fell into Tartarus."
Shock coursed through Reyna like a river, and she covered her face with her hands. Great. Now Percy and Annabeth were falling to their deaths in the evil pit of the underworld. Her day just kept getting better and better...
"They're not dead, and there's still hope!" Reyna heard Nico shout.
She stood up and faced him.
"What do you mean, Nico?" she asked quietly.
"I'm the son of Hades, and I can sense that Percy and Annabeth are not dead," he said firmly, "We're going to sail to the mortal side of the Doors of Death, at the House of Hades, meet Percy and Annabeth there, and close the Doors of Death. what we need you to do is convince the Romans to call off the attack, ally with the Greeks, and come to our aid."
Reyna's head was still spinning.
"I think-" she began, but then she heard a familiar voice behind her say,
"That's an awfully long bathroom break you're taking, Reyna,"
"Gotta go," She whispered, and cutting off the Iris-Message connection, she spun around to see Octavian standing in front of her, a triumphant smile on his face.
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How was that for Chapter 6?
Post comments below to tell me if you liked how I wrote Reyna!
Next chapter: Hazel!!!
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The House of Hades
FanfictionCompleted as of October 2, 2013 Percy and Annabeth are falling into Tartarus, and the crew of the Argo II is falling apart. Nico is charged with bringing the remainder of the seven demigods to House of Hades where together, they must close the Doors...
