In the months that passed, Freya felt useless. Stuck in between worrying about her brother, the outcome of their quest, and the constant tension between her and Jason, she felt like she was going insane. Even if she did help with the building of the ship, Freya still didn't feel satisfied. Her days we're spent either worrying, doing manual labor, or leading camp activities.
In her free time, Piper came over to her cabin often, and now that they weren't fighting for their lives, Freya actually got to know her. Piper was one of the most hilarious people she'd ever met, and never failed to come up with a plan to spend their time. After curfew, they'd sneak out, go to the Hermes cabin to get cider, and then spend their night drinking on the beach.
Freya's and Leo's friendship also cemented, but she'd known from the start that they'd get along great. As it turned out, when Leo had more ingredients other then the ones his toolbelt offered, he could truly cook. Of course, they had food provided by the camp, but Leo enjoyed cooking a lot, and would often bring enchiladas for them to eat when they were working on architecture designs and whatnot. Freya would cackle with glee and slap a kiss on his cheek in thanks.
Her and Jason however...It wasn't going as swimmingly as she'd previously imagined. He had avoided her at all costs the entire summer. Freya didn't want to be desperate and intrude, so she'd let him have his space, expecting it was because he felt weird around her after she'd said she liked him and in return he'd played it off as something insignificant. Whenever Freya would think about it, she'd feel dread at how bad she embarrassed herself. Nevermind the acrid feeling of hurt in her heart when she remembered he hadn't meant it, and that now he wanted to ignore her.
If they did happen to run into each other, Jason was surprisingly sunny. He smiled at her as if nothing was wrong, and even engaged in simple talk. Freya hated it even more then having him avoid her. His words were careful and calculated, as if he were talking to a person he barely knew. He didn't linger a lot either- a few words exchanged and then he was back to pretending she didn't exist.
Two months prior, Freya was out at the beach and had just finished sunbathing when Jason came barreling through with Leo and Will on his heels. He was in his swim trunks, holding a volley ball in his right hand and and an opened coke can in the other. He was distracted enough that he didn't notice Freya was right in his way. Jason slammed right into her, and nearly toppled her to the ground before his large arms reached over at the last second to balance her. The momentum made him rock forward, pushing their bodies flush together.
She yelped in surprise and steadied her hands on his biceps. Freya was sure that if he hadn't been holding her, her legs would have given out anyway, and not because he had crashed into her. It was one thing to see Jason shirtless. Another was to feel him. Every inch where their skin touch felt like a an electric burn. Their chests and lower halves were pressed together and she could sense his stomach contract as he breathed. Her whole body felt hot and she was sure her face was redder then blood. She made the mistake of looking up into his blue eyes, and nearly lost it.
Freya broke out of her trance when Jason suddenly pulled away and started apologizing. She already missed the intensity of him. His face was flushed and he kept stammering. That was when she realized his coke had spilled on her when they crashed. So busy staring at him, she hadn't even felt it touch her skin. The one time being a daughter of Poseidon didn't pay off.
"Oh shit-" Jason said. "Fuck I'm so sorry-" He Reached out hastily and started running his hands down her abdomen and the middle of her chest where the drink had spilled as if to clean off. Freya gasped without meaning to, and immediately drew away, horrified with the urgent desire that overcame her. He'd run his hands across his chest. In a bathing suit. And she'd enjoyed it so much, she wished he'd run his hands other places too.
Jason seemed to realize what he was doing and backed away so fast it was like he'd burned himself. Leo and Will watched from behind with amused faces.
Since then, they hadn't talked once. If it had been awkward before, it was nothing compared to how it was now. Their friends started to notice that they were doing everything in their power to stay away from each other, and one night, Piper asked if Freya wanted to talk about it.
"There's nothing to talk about," She'd said.
Piper threw her hands up. "Oh come on! Something happened, didn't it? Between you guys."
"It wouldn't matter if it did," Freya said.
"Of course it would! Now, would you please tell me why you and Jason are dancing around each other like you're scared to even breathe the same air?"
Piper wouldn't stop bugging, so Freya had relented. She'd told her everything that happened since their shared kiss up to the beach accident. By the end of it, Piper's jaw was hanging open.
"You're telling me," She said slowly. "That while me and Leo were getting our asses dragged through the mud, you and Jason were sucking tongue."
Freya shrugged. "Being a demigod means you take a chance whenever its there. You never know when you may face certain death."
"Well," Piper huffed. "Isn't that joyful."
She tried to help, give advice as much as she could -which Freya appreciated- but it was just stuff she had thought about before. So in the end, she made Piper promise to just never bring it up again for her sake. She couldn't take the embarrassment, and her mind was already full of Jason Grace. She didn't need Piper bringing him up even more.
"Alright, fine." Piper relented. "But just so you know, avoiding any sign of him won't work in the long run. We'll be stuck on a ship, all of us working together. You'll have to talk to him eventually."
And that was fine, Freya thought. They still had one month till the ship would be done. In that time, she could get her bearings and manage to figure out what she'll do.
~~~~~~~~~~
She hadn't gotten her bearings. She had no idea what she should do. And on top of that, she was extremely exited/ jittery with nerves about seeing her brother again.
The warship they'd spent the last couple of months building was finally done. They were aboard it now, sailing for the Roman camp in hopes of striking a truce and uniting to defeat Gaea. To help with that, Annabeth had sent their official chaperone -Hedge- back to his cabin, not trusting the overhype satyr to not yell "DIE!" as soon as the Argo II landed. Still, Freya worried that this was going to be a lot harder then they'd thought. The Greeks had welcomed Jason. But would the Romans welcome them? Percy? Did they know he was Greek? Had they already set out to kill him based on that?
Freya couldn't be sure about any of those things, and it made her bounce her leg restlessly against the wodden deck of their ship. When Leo had built it, he'd really made a warship. It was two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, mounted repeating crossbows fore and aft, a flaming metal dragon for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae amidships that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete...well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet-and-greet with the neighbors. Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads-up. She'd asked Leo to send one of his special inventions—a holographic scroll—to alert their friends inside the camp. Hopefully the message had gotten through. Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull—WASSUP? with a smiley face—but he was outvoted.
Annabeth paced around the deck, double and triple checking everything. She was even more nervous then Freya, somehow. Her hair was pulled taught in a high ponytail, her faded gray streak glinting in the sun like polished silver. She kept watch on everyone and what they were doing, gazing at each of their moves like one wrong one and the whole crew would blow up.
As the clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them, they each took their places. Leo ran around his technologized hull- assorted with a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors from a Nintendo Wii- pulling levers and checking gears. Piper was practicing her lines, every now and then whispering, "Lower your weapons," her voice veiled in charmspeak, "We just want to talk.
Freya stayed with Annabeth near the starboard rail while the blonde gripped one of the bronze shields beneath them. She wasn't sure that standing next to her was a good idea considering that Annabeth practically vibrated with each breath. Freya didn't know what to say, either. They were going to see Percy again, and although he was her brother, she doubted her and Annabeth felt the same kind of nervous. Yeah, she was exited through the roof to see her brother again, but Annabeth was his lover. For her, this entire ordeal must be ten times more timorous.
Freya's gaze slid to Jason, her brother's and Annabeth's relationship reminding her how disastrous her situation was. She had went from not trusting Jason, to calling him a potential ally and then a friend. But slowly, her feelings had started to morph from friendly, to strong attraction that over the months developed into full fledged feelings. She remembered the first time she realized that whatever she felt felt towards Jason was more then simple lust, how Freya had to fight with herself that it wasn't true for two weeks. Then, she'd finally given in to the fact that she may have a teensy, tiny, little crush on him.
Which was absolutely infuriating.
Now, she felt that same spark of fury when she looked at him standing at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. That same frustration with herself appeared whenever her eyes slid to him without even meaning to.
Jason's knuckles were white on the hilt of his golden sword. Otherwise he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target. Over his jeans and orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, he'd donned a toga and a purple cloak—symbols of his old rank as praetor. With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control—just like a son of Jupiter should. He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky.
Freya tried to piece it all in her brain- to imagine it. A whole other camp of demigods, with a whole other pantheon of Gods. It was hard to think that Jason had lived here his entire life, that that was were he belonged. She had gone soft in the last couple months - expecting to see him at camp after breakfast and at the nightly fire. But in truth, Jason wasn't from there, and in the end, he wasn't Greek either- which meant Freya couldn't hold on to him. When all of this was over, he'd come back here, come back to his life.
And that was fine. More then fine. There were plenty of boys Freya had to pick from. She was just the girl who was stupid enough to choose a son of Jupiter from the enemy camp.
Just as she was thinking about enemy camps, she heard horns sounding from the valley below. The Romans had spotted them. Freya thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to them in great detail. Still, she had trouble believing her eyes. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake. Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. She recognized landmarks Jason had told them about—the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.
She saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building she guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins. Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafés, gawking and pointing as the ship descended. About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill.
A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant. Freya wanted to land the Argo II before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. She scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Percy. Then something behind her went BOOM! The explosion almost knocked her overboard. She whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.
"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.
Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga. "I will not have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" he announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!"
Jason shot Annabeth and Freya a look that said, I've got this.
"Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."
"Oh, I remember you, Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"
"But they're not enemies—"
"That's right," Piper jumped in. "We just want to talk. If we could—"
"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on me, young lady. And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"
Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding. "Um...okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."
"Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking. "If were at full strength, I would've blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!" The statue announced.
"Lucky for us then?" Freya suggested.
The statue gasped in offence and was probably about to yell again before Leo broke in.
"Hold up." He stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that."
"Let's all calm down." Annabeth raised her hands to show she had no weapons. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of—"
"Oh, I know who you are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. "A child of Athena, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess."
"What exactly do you mean, that goddess? And what's so scandalous about—"
"Right!" Freya interrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can—"
"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender !Leave my city immediately, daughter of Neptune!"
"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?"
"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"
"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look." He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal.
"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. Another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."
"The what?" Piper asked.
"City limits," Jason translated.
"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You cannot land!"
Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. Freya scanned the faces and felt her heart burst with joy. She saw him. Her brother was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies—a stout boy with a black buzz cut, and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. Percy looked so at ease, so happy. He wore a purple cape just like Jason's—the mark of a praetor.
Well. As long as he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere.
Apparently Annabeth had also spotted him. "Leo, stop the ship," she ordered.
"What?"
"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."
Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.
"Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"
The statue frowned. "Well, no..."
"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."
The statue seemed to ponder this. Freya wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands. "I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still..."
"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching toward us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"
"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"
"Uh, Annabeth..." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"
Freya didn't think it was a good idea. She felt even more jittery then before, and going in with no weapons in what was a potentially hostile land didn't help improve her mood. But Annabeth had her "It's settled" look, so there was no going around that one.
"It'll be fine," she said. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She looked at the marble statue. "Do we have an agreement?"
Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. Please try not to destroy my town."
"We'll do our best," Winked Freya, just for good measure.
The statue bristled, but she couldn't bring herself to regret it.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Jason looking at her, the ghost of a smile on his lips.