Chapter 5
—
‘No thank you Princess, I’ll be fine.’ Alma wrote, Reyna frowned in response. She knew Alma was selfless and not always in a good way. She was always there to support Reyna during her struggles but rarely came to Reyna for help with her own. She couldn’t force her to talk so she would keep her company anyways.
‘Will you keep me company?’ She asked. The response took a few minutes but came back positive.
‘Sure.’ Then, ‘What are you doing right now?’
‘Reports.’ She answers honestly, since the senate had ordered a clean up of the battle field of Saturn’s *1* Black Throne, hundreds of reports about everything found were coming in. And all the Battle Spoils had to be sent to the Praetors to approve whether they would be destroyed or repaired.
‘Aren’t you at my age, 15-16ish? Why are you doing reports?’
‘Aren’t you 15-16 too? Why do you have such a bad sleep schedule?’
‘Low blow Princess. And I’ll have you know we have a big time difference.’ Reyna smiled at her trying to pull one over. If it was 9 almost 10 o clock for her in California then it would be around 2 AM in Scotland.
‘Nice try Mi Alma, I know that it’s 2 am where you are.’ Reyna wrote out, then stills. Ay, Señors! (Oh, Gods *2*) Maybe she should take a break from her work. What was she doing? Mi Alma? (My soul) Just because she was her soulmate doesn’t mean Reyna had a right to call her a possessive term, much less a pet name! ‘Alma’ meant Soul, it’s safe and makes sense. Most soulmates use a nickname to keep each other’s names secret. Jason knew about her and referred to her as Alma, it was a nickname, not a pet name! Lucky for her, it seemed that Alma didn’t notice.
‘Fine you caught me. You should finish your reports, I’ll head to bed. Goodnight!’ As much as Reyna wanted to argue with her, she really did need to finish these.
— 2 days later —
Falling in love isn't a moment, it’s an experience. I doesn't happen in an instant but rather over time. Aura knows this, but if someone were to ask her when she fell in love with Reyna, she could pinpoint the exact moment. Honestly it was a month ago, back when Luna had arrived at Camp Jupiter. They had been in the Senate building, Aura was a little bit out of it, high on the dopamine hit of being able to clutch her little sister close again. Jason had been asking who was going to vouch for Luna, she remembers exchanging glances with Gwen and the pinknette preparing to raise her hand when to everybody's surprise Reyna's hand went up.
"What? But you are a praetor." Octavian says, offended on behalf of the ancient laws.
"Check the rule book Octavian, being praetor does not inhibit me from vouching for someone. I think she could be an asset."
"Her? How could she be an asset?" He scoffed, gesturing at Luna's thin figure. Aura remembers her nails accidentally digging into their place on Luna's shoulders in her anger. Then Reyna raised her eyebrow and slowly examined Octavian. The entire room held their breath, despite her silence Reyna's sway over them never faltered. *3*
"Funny. I remember thinking the same thing about you." She finally answered coolly. Aura was one of the many that couldn't help but chuckle.
When Reyna stood a hush fell over the crowd.
"Ambassador Page's magic has been of incredible help in our medical wing, she one of our very best. Imagine what could be accomplished with a full time member of the legion's magic." Her eyes swept over the crowd as she spoke. Onyx met hazel and Aura's heart began a gymnastic routine. 'Gods I love her.' Then Reyna took her seat and the moment was broken. This time when her heart began to race it was not a pleasant feeling. What was she thinking? Luna tensed beneath her and turned around. Aura's shoved her thoughts down to give her sister a smile. After that she remembers forcing herself to not think about her realization. Eventually Aura learned to cope with it but it wasn't until now this night, a month later that she really thought about it.
The first thing that came to mind was guilt, Princess was out there somewhere and here Aura was falling in love with her boss. The next thought was the high she got off simply being near Reyna. Now she's torn, on one hand Princess is her soulmate, her one true love. On the other hand, Reyna made her feel like nothing else. She wanted to be near her all the time, despite the nerves that came with it. Princess isn't here, Reyna is, but how could she be with Reyna if she was meant for someone else? Maybe Aura was overthinking, who says that Reyna is even interested in Aura back? Well she's not going to be getting any sleep, may as well talk to someone.
Now with the lights on and armed with the Aguamenti spell, she IM's Will.
"Lord please let my crops and children grow" He's singing loudly. Lucky for Aura as the image materializes she notices Katie is alright present. She notices Aura first and is
quick to switch off Will's old radio.
"Cause that’s all he's ever kno- Hey, what the hades Katie?" Will whines. Already reaching over to the dial when she slaps his hand away.
"Stressed best friend trumps Country music jam." Katie fires. That gets Will's attention, he glances around till he sees the medic.
"Aurie! Gal what time is it over there?"
"Like 3AM?" She finds a smile growing, its nice to be able to chat again. Shes been pretty busy lately.
"Enough of the small talk, what's wrong?" Katie interjects. The witch takes another look at her, Katie's skin is red and her hair is frizzy and slightly… blue? Diagnosis? Bad day. Probably forgot sun screen and got burned working in the fields yesterday. Her particular hair color is more then likely a result of the Stolls which also explains why she's in the infirmary. The infirmary is sort of their safe spot. Will and Aura work there so they can enforce the rules and kick out anyone who is being annoying. Its also a quiet place to relax. Will's worried voice snaps her back to reality.
"Kates is right Aura, Spill." Ok, deep breath and…
"Is it immoral to fall in love with someone other than your soulmate?" The words leave her mouth fast and quite a jumbled together but she's certain her best friends will be able to pick it apart. They all have experience with rushed speaking, thanks to Will and Aura's science rants. Will looks frozen and Aura's pretty sure Katie's muttering about how she "came here to escape the Stolls and instead I get relationship problems".
"Ok, Aurie, listen up. Under no circumstances is love ever something bad or "immoral". Got it?" Katie says. Somewhere behind them Aura hears a voice that sounds vaguely like Michael from Cabin 10 cry out in agreement.
"F*CK YEAH IT ISN'T" Will, who was leaning back in his chair, fine with Katie taking the lead, now turns to call into the infirmary.
"Kayla, can you check Michael's dosage? I think he got just a bit too much of the good stuff." When Kayla's freckled hands appears in a thumbs up, Will turns back to the projection.
"Katie's right Aura -wow that’s not something I say a lot- OW! Don't pinch me. Anyways, we're human, falling in love is something we are bound to do. Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't, but if you really are in love, I think you should give it a chance."
"And get some sleep." The gardener chimes in
—
“Come on.” Marie begged Jason and herself. Aura had found a hidden cove in the New Rome lake *4* and their entire friend group, except Luna who was busy, now wanted to have a picnic there.
“Camp Jupiter can survive for a couple hours without its praetors, right?” Dakota, a new addition to the friend group from Jason’s division, said. Reyna really wanted to tell him that it probably couldn’t but Jason interrupted.
“Well… I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Alright, I’m in!” The others cheered and turned to her.
“Please Rey? It’ll be fun.” Aura asked her with those eyes she couldn’t resist.
“Fine.” She sighed. This time the cheers were even louder, Dakota and Gwen high fived and Marie ran off mentioning something about a picnic basket but Reyna couldn’t care, not with the reward of a smile that Aura was shooting her. She smiled back and Aura signed ‘thank you’ to her *5* then turned and jumped back into the conversation.
“I’ll bring some butter beer!” She chirped and Jason’s face turned white.
“Wait a minute, no one said anything about alcohol.”
“Jason, butter beer is like Wix root beer, there’s no actual alcohol.”
“Oh.”
— at the lake —
“ and yeah, that’s how I convinced some of the New Rome little kids that I’m a vampire.” Dakota finished as they walked the trail.
“And they actually fell for it?” Jason asked, Dakota just nodded proudly.
“Aura, how much further is the cove?” Marie asked from ahead the group. She had been asking almost every five minutes and gods if that didn’t prove Aura’s infinite patience then nothing could.
“It’s just a few meters more.” She answers. The rest of the group blinks and turns to look at her.
“A meter is about 3 feet.” Reyna speaks up. *6*
“So we’re almost there?” Gwen asks. Aura nods.
“How did you find this place?” Jason asked Aura casually, her face flushes in response.
“Umm, I kinda lost myself to my instincts last time I was in my animagus form and ended up chasing a bird all the way out here.” It’s silent for a moment then everyone bursts into laughter, Reyna can’t stop herself from chuckling.
“Oh look we’re here!” Aura exclaimed eager to distract everyone from her embarrassment. She rushes past Reyna and when her eyes follow Aura they catch on the view. It’s stunning, sand hugs the edge of the ground all the way in. The cove itself is shaped like a horseshoe. A wall of stones covers the northeast side and a magnificent waterfall flows off right of it. The midday sun adds a layer of beauty to the blue water that makes the entire area feel unreal.
The whole group takes a moment to soak it all in.
“So? What do you all think?” Aura asked, snapping us out of our dazes. She looks excited and Reyna can’t help the wave of fondness that rolls over her.
—
All of the group minus Aura, who had decided to take a "cat nap", was already enjoying the water when she noticed it. *7* Gwen and Marie had teamed up in a splash fight against Dakota and she couldn't see Jason anywhere. Reyna herself was sitting on one of the cliffs that protruded from the wall of rocks, enjoying the mist that came off the waterfall to her left. She had just been looking around the cove for Jason when she noticed Aura and froze. Off Reyna's right was a thin stretch of the water, it was shallow so none of the others bothered with it. Aura, being as smart as she is, took advantage of that and had set up her base far away from the splash war. She wore a blue one piece swim suit with an open back. She honestly looked gorgeous in the sunlight, Reyna could stare at her all day. The gleam of the sun on her unmarred skin. Aura's muscles, much more subtle then most of their fellow Romans, being shown off after hiding for so long. That chocolate shimmer on her hair, still not down, never down she thinks. And of course, the alluring dip of her back, a dip that leads to a black design that Reyna recognizes. That is what makes her freeze.
Her first thought is that Reyna must be mistaken. Yes, surely her eyes are playing tricks on her, perhaps her brain wanted to combined her soulmate and her crush. So Reyna looks closer, and sure enough tucked in the open back of Aura's swimsuit is the same tattoo that she remembers tracing when Alma got it two years ago. It’s the same bold and elegant strokes that carve out what she remembers discovering as the Greek symbol for family. The next idea that occurs to her is that Aura must not want her, because if that is what she thinks it is then surely Reyna's legionnaire brand must be resting on Aura's own arm, likely covered by one of her trusty spells. However Aura's behavior doesn't make sense, she doesn't seem to know. Its then Reyna remembers that although Aura is brilliant, a fact too many people tend to forget, she is also incredibly oblivious. Reyna know this well enough, she can recall Aura's confused face from just a few days ago when she naively mentioned how odd she found it that lately a few of the same people with faked or minor injuries had been showing up at the infirmary asking about her. Although it annoyed her that Camp Jupiter's own soldiers were being so unprofessional, Reyna couldn't quite blame that for recognizing Aura's beauty (Somewhere in her mind one voice made a protest, that now that she knows Aura is her soulmate she has every right to ward everyone else off and keep Aura all to herself, Reyna stuffs down that voice as quickly as she can) but it doesn't mean she has to enjoy hearing about their pathetic attempts of flirting while she nods along to keep Aura happy.
After those first two considerations, Reyna's mind brings in wave after wave of panicked thoughts trying to figure out what to do. Leading and fighting were much easier then this, for leading she learned from around her and found herself to be, much to many peoples surprise, including her own, that she was a natural born leader. Fighting she inherited from her parents, her father a soldier and her mother a goddess of war, fighting was in Reyna's blood.
There's plenty of options, one part of her wants Reyna to just go over and kiss Aura in front of the entire camp, to show everyone that Aura is hers. She knows where that part of her comes from, its born from her fathers obsessive love of her mother. The same all consuming love that although it had long since stopped being reciprocated he leaned into the memory of it so hard that eventually that's all he was. A Memory, haunting their home, tormenting Hylla and herself long after his body was left to rot. Un Espectro. A Ghost. Sure that love worked for Hylla and Kinzie, it makes sense Hylla never was very good at sharing, but no matter how far she ran Reyna never could escape the crazed look in their father's eye when he spoke of Bellona.
Another part of Reyna knows that she doesn't deserve Aura. This side of her is Reyna's "gentle side" as dubbed by Hylla back when it was safe for Reyna to display that weakness. This side tells her to shield Aura from this, sure she will probably be disappointed that she cant find her soulmate but if people found out about Aura then she could be used against Reyna. If Reyna stays as friends with Aura she will be safe. Distantly her brain begins to consider the pros and cons of asking Jason for his advice on this subject, after all he had certainly picked up on her fondness of the medic. Before she can reach a decision there's a shove against her back and she begins to fall.
Frantic gasps for air come from both her and her attacker. She remembers twisting on instinct and flipping whoever pushed her so that they would fall with her. Reyna continues trending in the water but uses her left hand to brush away the water soaked strands of hair so she can identify the culprit and speak of the devil, Jason has recovered his breath and is laughing loudly, apparently very proud of himself. What a Pesado. (Annoying person.) Around them Marie and Gwen have let up on Dakota to watch the spectacle, swimming over to them. Jason, the child he is, is looking over at them with an expression on his face that says 'did you see that?' Greedy for praise. Gwen rewards him with a pat to the head.
"I swear to the gods Jason, I'm going to give you stable cleaning duty." Reyna threatens as Dakota paddles over to her, putting her body between his and the other girls. Jason is unconvinced.
"A. That would be an abuse of your power. B. I'm praetor too. I'll just veto it." Reyna quite enjoys the shocked look on his face when she splashes him in retaliation. Jason splashes back and with a simple dive to the water Dakota to take the hit for her. Within moments the five of them have descended into a full water war that lasts for a good 20 minutes before someone pulls a trump card. The card in question is a 6 foot wave, when the group surfaced Aura was watching with a mischievous quirk to her lips. Later when Jason and Marie tease her for it Reyna will deny the love struck look in her eyes with every bit of her strength but here, in the present, she knows its clear as day on her face.
—
Reyna has been acting weird since Jason pushed her into the water, she seemed lost in her own mind. The group had dried off and Marie was setting up her picnic basket with Aura was telling Gwen about the events of her book. Dakota had refused to listen to her “spoilers” claiming the book was on his ‘to read’ list and was now helping Marie set up the blanket. Which left Jason and Reyna. Jason was chattering Reyna’s ear off about some new war game he was thinking of adding to the cycle and Reyna was simply nodding along absently. By the time Aura's done ranting about the latest chapter, the picnic is ready. She finishes her strawberries and retrieves her deck of cards from her purse.
"Who wants to play cards?"
"I'm always down for a game of BS." Gwen chimes in across the blanket. One by one the group mutters their agreements, Reyna nods her head after a nudge from Jason. Aura opens the pack carefully, the deck of cards is old. She's had it for 5 years, the very same deck Luke had gifted the youngest Hecate children. Looking back now she knows that the cards were only meant to keep the kids occupied while Alabaster, Luke, Cindy and Jessica discussed Kronos, she cherished it all the same. The box is falling apart and the cards are so well loved that many of the images have faded and rubbed off but its one of the only relics from her past that doesn't bring up painful memories.
"Wow, that deck is old! I know what I'm getting you for Christmas." Dakota says leaning back, the group chuckles. Aura does too, its more of a polite laugh, Dakota doesn't know the story. So, shuffling the deck with a fancy move she learned from Elana, she decides to tell them.
"It was a gift. One of the only things I have left from that time." She says calmly, its true. With how little belongs demigods have in the first place and how her sibling cleared out their bunks when they left, this deck, one of Alabaster's old sweatshirts and her memory's are the only things that are left. Continuing with a flourish she cuts the deck and shuffles the cards again in an arch she picks up talking, "I've gotten quite good at it over the years."
"I'll say!" Jason watches astonished. The others nod with various levels of awe, Aura smiles and starts to deal. Throughout it all Reyna watches the coast eyebrows furrowed. Aura skips her turn.
—
*1* Roman version of Kronos
*2*I know this isn't the traditional translation of God but I was looking at all the translations and i feel like for the Greek/Roman deities it fits the best. I'm (probably obviously) not a native nor fluent Spanish speaker but im trying my best to make this accurate. Some of the phrases you'll see are from "research" (in the best way I can without making this a whole blown project) on Puerto Rican phrases but again they might not be 100%. If you see any mistakes PLEASE let me know.
*3* I bit more of an exaggerated version cuz Aura is head over heels
*4* not a real thing just made up for convenience
*5* Aura is teaching her friends ASL whenever they are able
*6* Aura and Reyna both live or lived outside the US so they both use or know whatever the other measurement system is
*7* fun fact, Aura actually hates the water, probably because she’s a cat
—