A Crown of Golden Leaves: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Caput XXXV: Breaking Forwards

"Nothing happens until something moves." - Albert Einstein

Capvt XXXV: Breaking Forwards

Rome

EVERYONE in the Roman Empire knew that Augustus Octavius Caesar was not a man to be reckoned with, especially when it came to his only son.

Not many people, however, realized that Perseus himself was a force just as volatile as his father when it came to Rome's best interests, or if someone he cared for was hurt in any way. If anything, he was even more determined when he became fixated on a path to the point where he became reckless.

So, of course, when those two great minds collided ...

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Percy stared at his pater as his eyebrow slowly inched up the longer the silence went on. He took a deep breath and counted to decem in his head to calm himself down.

"Pater," he drawled slowly to keep his voice steady, "be rational. We've been planning this alliance peace talk with Macedon for the past two years. To not send me on it just because of what happened in Tarentum is –" He bit his tongue on the word irrational, because, gods forbid, his pater would be anything but rational. "–illogical. Besides, I'll have a battalion of guards with me instead of just Jason. And Annabeth will be with me as well. And Reyna. I was far more exposed in Tarentum, and so I was caught off guard."

"And what if you are targeted by their king, Perseus? What if you are assassinated? What will happen to the Roman empire then?"

Percy struggled not to roll his eyes at his pater's words. He understood his worry, don't get him wrong, but it was irrational. He could be assassinated in Rome, or he could fall deathly ill and die. That was what being human is – You had to embrace your own mortality, or you'll never step out of the shadows of night and into the light of day.

His pater took his knight with gusto.

"You say that like I'm going to be blindly walking around. I'm very much aware the Greeks don't like Romans, pater. Annabeth made that clear when we first married."

"Your wife is an exception to the general rule."

He moved his bishop diagonally three spaces, realigning the next several moves – If he moved his rook like that and his queen like that and his knight and then he let his pater take his other bishop, he'd be able to checkmate him ...

"True. Annabeth is an exceptional woman. Back onto the topic at hand, however. I'm not staying in Rome without a solid reason, let alone out of fear. I can be assassinated any day – Reyna had to intercept fifteen assassination attempts in one week once. It's not just Macedon – I can be killed here, in my own homeland."

His pater nodded, but Percy wasn't sure if he was agreeing to what he said or if it was because he was thinking about how to point out the flaws in his argument.

"That is the greatest gift the gods gave onto us, the not knowing where we will be tomorrow." He moved his rook up, taking his pawn. Percy dismissed it; his pater liked to draw the game out as long as he possibly could. "There is a census later this year – You can be in charge of that for me. That's one of the few duties you haven't participated in, correct?"

Percy scowled at him, studying his pater who was smirking down at the chessboard. He'd just been checked and he hadn't even seen it coming.

"I haven't. But the renewal of the alliance is important to the welfare of the empire."

"Not to worry, Perseus – I'll send an ambassador in your place."