A Tale of Romans and Slaves | PJO/HOO

Chapter 28: Piper

It was Kronia. Or, as the Romans like to call it, Saturnalia.

Kronia was my favourite day of the year for two reasons. One, its a celebration. Two, roles get reversed for a meal.

In other words, the masters serve the slaves.

And that was why Jason was currently filling my wine cup.

I had stuffed myself on the food the chefs had prepared, and now I was getting drunk off wine. This was the life.

"I love this!" Rachel cheered from her seat beside me.

"I know!" I said. "It's the best day of the year!"

She hiccuped. "I remember, last year, the prince's personal slave made him run through the city in his underwear with a bedsheet tied around his neck."

I smiled. That was one of favourite memories. "You're from Argos?"

Rachel's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"Because I was the prince's personal slave," I said with a grin.

Rachel laughed. "Oh my god girl! High five!"

I accepted her offer.

Somehow, two thousand people had crammed into the Great Hall. Yeah. There were that many slaves. Luckily, almost every lord in Rome had come to the palace, so there was enough servers.

"I challenge you to a drinking competition," Rachel said when Jason refilled our cups.

"You're on," I said at the same time Jason said, "Your drunk enough already."

We both ignored him.

I beat Rachel two times, and she beat me once. And the end, I felt like I was going to pass out.

Just then, the bell sounded, meaning it was time for the masters dinner. Which was probably a good thing, seeing as I probably would've gone for a round four.

Rachel and I exited the Great Hall. I was feeling extremely light-headed, and I had to use the wall as a support to keep me from falling over. My goal was to get to my room, but I would be lucky if I made it that far.

Suddenly, I heard Rachel shriek. I turned my head towards her, but my vision was blurring, and all I could see was black, red and a bit of something the color of sand.

I fell to my knees and threw up. My head was spinning. I knew I had drank to much wine, but why were the side effects hitting me so quickly? Did I have a low tolerance?

I heard someone calling my name, but I couldn't tell who. I threw up again. Then everything went black.

΅🕊΅

I woke up on something soft. What the?

Once my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized I was in Jason's bedroom. How did I get here?

I groaned. I felt like shit.

"Life tip," I turned my head to Jason, who was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Extreme drunkness leads to extreme hangovers."

I groaned again. Thinking hurt.

"I hope you learned something from this," He said.

"Yeah," I replied. "To never drink again."

He laughed.

"Do you know what happened to Rachel?" I asked. "She was with me, and I heard her shriek."

Jason look confused. "She wasn't with you."

"Yeah she was," I said.

"No," He replied. "I found you alone in the hallway."

"Bu-" I started. "I'm going to throw up."

He pointed to a bucket on the bedtable, which I grabbed just in time.

"But what?" He asked after I was finished.

"We left the Great Hall together," I said. "And we didn't-"

My eyes widened. "Jason, is Octavian here?"

His eyes widened. "Shit. I didn't think of that. He is."

He got up. "I'm going to go find her. You stay here."

I nodded, then threw up into the bucket.

I waited for what felt like years. I was worried sick. What if he hurt her?

Eventually, Jason returned, with Rachel in his arms. She was still unconscious.

"I found her in an old laundry room like this," He said as he laid her down gently on the floor.

Her dress was ripped almost completely off, leaving her practically naked. She was covered in cuts and bruises.

"Oh, Rachel," I whispered in horror. "What happened to you?"