KARINA HAD JUST FINISHED HER noon day snack that she always had, when she saw reyna coming towards her hastily.

she was obviously very concerned about something, karina could tell. the way her eyebrows were knitted and her mouth was parted slightly. reyna also scratched her right wrist when she was nervous or concerned about something. karina always would smack her and away though whenever she saw her doing it.

reyna got straight to the point when she approached her. "i need you," she said, slightly out of breath. "a boy just blew up the tiber."

karina's lips pouted slightly. "oh?" she said with question in her tone.

"come on, we need both praetors to go down. quickly." she said, leaving karina no time to respond as she started speed walking out of the pavilion.

karina quickly dropped her apple and peanut butter and quickly followed after reyna, trying to catch up.

when tbey got there, what karina was expecting to see was far from what she actually saw.

there was a boy with raven black hair and sea green eyes standing at the front of the river. his clothes were steaming, as if the tiber's waters had given him an acid bath. in the middle of the river, frank stumbled around, looking stunned but perfectly fine. she saw hazel start wading into the water to help him ashore.

everyone was quiet and staring at him. only the old lady standing next to him looked unfazed.

"well, that was a lovely trip," the old lady said. "thank you, percy jackson, for bringing me to camp jupiter."

percy jackson, karina thought. so that was his name.

reyna made a choking sound. "percy...jackson?" she sounded as if she recognized his name. percy focused on her, but then he seemed to have finally noticed karina was there and whipped his head toward her fast enough to give himself whiplash.

his eyes widened and his mouth parted in shock. "y-you were in my dreams!" he pointed a finger at her. "karina! that's your name! your name was the only thing in my head when i woke up."

karina blushed at the sudden attention everyone was giving the two of them.

karina stuttered. "ho-how do you know my name?" she could barely speak. she hadn't seen this boy a day in her life and he says that she's the only thing in his head? none of this made any sense.

june laughed with delight. "oh, yes. you'll have such fun together!"

right after she said that, she began to glow and change form. she grew until she was a shining, seven-foot-tall goddess in a blue dress, with a cloak that looked like a goats skin over her shoulders. her face was stern and stately. in her hand was a staff topped with a lotus flower.

if it was possible for the campers to look more stunned, they did. karina and reyna both knelt. the others following their lead. one kid got down so hastily he almost implied himself on his sword.

hazel was the first to speak. "juno."

she and frank also fell to their knees, leaving percy the only one standing.

"juno, huh?" he said. "if i passed your test, can i have my memory and life back?"

the goddess smiled. "in time, percy jackson. if you succeed here at camp. you've done well today, which is a good start. perhaps there's hope for you yet."

she turned to all of the campers. "romans, i present to you the son of neptune. for months he has been slumbering, but now he is awake. his fate is in your hands. the feast of fortune come quickly, and death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope in the battle. do not fail me!"

juno shimmered and disappeared. karina saw percy look to hazel and frank for some kind of explanation, but they seemed just as confused as he was.

reyna stepped forward and karina followed her actions. she examined percy warily, and karina just looked at him in curiosity, wondering how in the world he knew her.

"so," reyna said coldly. "a son of neptune, who comes to us with the blessing of juno."

"look," he said. "my memory's a little fuzzy. um, it's gone, actually. do i know you? and why were you in my dreams?" he said, directing the last part at karina.

reyna hesitated. "i am reyna, one of the praetors of the twelfth legion. and. . .no, i don't know you."

the last part was a lie. karina could tell from her eyes.

"i'm karina, the other praetor of the twelfth legion. and i have know idea how or why you know me." she said with slight desperation.

percy looked at her for a long moment, as if trying to rack his brain to see if he knew her from anywhere. she felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and could feel a blush forming in her cheeks. karina turned her head away from him, trying to hide her blush and get away from his hard stare.

"hazel," said reyna. "bring him inside. i want to question him at the principia, along with karina. then we'll send him to octavian. we must consult the auguries before we decide what to do with him."

"what do you mean," percy asked, "'decide what to do with' me?"

reyna's hand tightened on her dagger and karina put her hand around her necklace. they weren't used to their orders being questioned. reyna was a little more. . . terrifying when this situation occurs, though.

"before we accept anyone into camp, we must interrogate them and read the auguries. juno said your fate is in our hands. we have to know whether the goddess has brought us as a new recruit. . . ."

reyna studied percy as if she found that doubtful.

"or," she said more hopefully, "if she's brought us an enemy to kill."

percy blinked a few times, taking in her words. since karina was the. . . less aggressive preator of the two, she looked to him to give him a small, reassuring smile. but when she turned his way, it seemed he already had his eyes on her. he quickly looked away once he saw that she had noticed him staring again. karina coughed awkwardly and started walking up the hill to the principia, reyna and percy following closely behind her.

as they were walking through camp, karina saw percy looking at all of the ghosts that were around the camp.

shimmering purple warriors stood outside the armory, polishing ethereal swords. others hung out in front of the barracks. a ghostly boy chased a ghostly dog down the street. and at the stables, a big glowing red dude with the head of a wolf guarded a herd of unicorns.

no one really paid the ghosts much attention, having getting used to them after being at camp for a while. but as percy's entourage walked by, with reyna and karina in the lead and frank and hazel on either side, all the spirits stopped what they were doing and stared at percy. a few looked angry. the little boy ghost shrieked something like "greggus!" and turned invisible.

graecus.

huh, that's weird, karina thought. why did he yell 'greek!' at percy?

"am i seeing things?" percy asked. "or are those-"

"ghosts?" hazel turned. she had startling eyes, like fourteen-karat gold.

"they're lares." karina said, startling percy since she hadn't said anything on the walk. "house gods."

"house gods," percy said. "like. . .smaller than real gods, but larger than apartment gods?"

she let out a small laugh at that, to which he smiled her, glad someone here had a sense of humor.

"they're ancestral spirits," frank explained. he'd removed his helmet, revealing a babyish face that didn't go with his military haircut or his big burly frame. he looked like a toddler who'd taken steroids and joined the marines.

"the lares are kind of like mascots," he continued. "mostly they're harmless, but i've never seen them so agitated."

"they're staring at me," percy said. "that ghost kid called me greggus. my name isn't greg."

"graecus," hazel said. "once you've been here awhile, you'll start understanding latin. demigods have a natural sense for it. graceus means greek."

"is that bad?" percy asked.

frank cleared his throat. "maybe not. you've got that type of complexion, the dark hair and all. maybe they think you're actually greek. is your family from there?"

"don't know. like i said, my memory is gone."

"or maybe. . ." frank hesitated.

"what?" percy asked.

"probably nothing," frank said. "romans and greeks have an old rivalry. sometimes romans use graecus as an insult for someone who's an outsider-an enemy. i wouldn't worry about it."

he sounded pretty worried.

we stopped at the center of camp, where two wide stone-paved roads met at a T.

a street sign labeled the road to the main gates as 'via praetoria'. the other road, cutting across the middle of camp, was labeled 'via principalis'. under those markers were hand-painted signs like 'berkeley 5 miles; new rome 1 mile; old rome 7280 miles; hades 2310 miles (pointing straight down); reno 208 miles, and certain death: you are here!

for certain death, the place was pretty clean and orderly. the buildings were freshly whitewashed, laid out in neat grids like the camp had been designed by a fussy math teacher. the barracks had shady porches, where campers lounged in hammocks or played cards and drank sodas. each dorm had a different collection of banners out front displaying roman numerals and various animals-eagle, bear, wolf, horse, and something that looked like a hamster.

along the via praetoria, rows of shops advertised food, armor, weapons, coffee, gladiator equipment, and toga rentals. a chariot dealership had a big advertisement out front: caesar xls w/antilock brakes, no denarii down!

at one corner of the crossroads stood the most impressive building-a two-story wedge of white marble with a columned portico like an old-fashioned back. roman guards stood out front. over the doorway hung a big purple banner with the gold letters SPQR embroidered inside a laurel wreath.

"your headquarters?" percy asked.

reyna faced him, her eyes still cold and hostile. "it's called the principia."

karina nudged reyna and gave her a look that said lay off a bit. this guy has been here for what, twenty minutes? karina felt bad for him, having to go through reyna's wrath.

she just looked at karina and chewed the inside of her mouth, and she scanned the mob of curious campers who had followed us through from the river. "everyone back to your duties. me and karina will give you an update at evening muster. remember, we have war games after dinner."

the croup dispersed reluctantly. some muttered comments about percy's chances.

"he's dead," said one.

"would be those two who found him." said another.

"yeah," muttered another. "let him join the fifth cohort. greeks and geeks."

karina swiveled around, her purple robes rustling behind her. "if any of you have anything to say, you can say it to my face, rather than being a coward and whispering behind our backs." she said, raising her voice. the campers know that she's usually humble with the praetorship duties and demands, but when she hears someone disrespecting the fifth cohort or someone in the camp, she makes myself loud and clear.

once they heard that, they cleared off. reyna looked at karina with a look of respect, and percy gave her a look of thankfulness and slight shock, not thinking she would raise her voice like that.

karina awkwardly cleared her throat, wanting the attention away from her.

"hazel," reyna finally said. "come with us. i want your report on what happened at the gates."

"me too?" frank said. "percy saved my life. we've got to let him-"

reyna gave frank such a harsh look, he stepped back. karina looked at him in pity.

"i'd remind you, frank zhang," she said. "you are on probatio yourself. you've caused enough trouble this week."

frank's ears turned red. he fiddled with a little tablet on a cord around his neck. karina had never really paid much attention to it, but it looked like a name tag made out of lead.

"go to the armory," reyna told him. "check your inventory. either me or karina will call you if we need you."

"but-" frank caught himself. "yes, reyna."

he hurried off.

karina waved hazel and percy toward the headquarters. "now, percy jackson, lets see if we can improve your memory."

the principia was even more impressive inside.

on the ceiling glittered a mosaic of romulus and remus under their adopted mama she-wolf, lupa. the floor was polished marble. the walls were draped in velvet, so it felt like you we're inside the world's most expensive camping tent. along the back wall stood a display of banners and wooden poles studded with bronze medals-military symbols, percy guessed. in the center was one empty display stand, as if the main banner had been taken down for cleaning or something.

in the back corner, a stairwell led down. it was blocked by a row of iron bars like a prison door. karina never looked down there to see what was behind those bars, she was honestly too scared.

in the center of the room, a long wooden table was cluttered with scrolls, notebooks, tablet computers, daggers, and a large bowl filled with jellybeans (karina had the idea to put them there, even though she only eats the green and blue ones). two life-sized statues of greyhounds-one silver and one gold-flanked the table. karina knew those were reyna's "pets" as she called them. karina had her own pet, but she didn't want to scare percy with him just yet.

reyna and her walked behind the table and sat in the two high-backed chairs. hazel and percy remained standing.

"so. . ." percy started to say.

reyna's dogs bared their teeth and growled.

percy froze, and karina poked reyna's arm with her finger, telling her to control her demons. she just glared at her.

"easy, guys." reyna told the greyhounds.

they stopped growling, but kept eyeing percy as though they were imagining him in a doggie bag.

"they won't attack," reyna said, "unless you try to steal something, or unless i tell them too. or if you try to hurt nina's tiger. that's argentum and aurum."

"you have a tiger?" percy asked karina.

she tilted her head back and forth. "sort of a tiger." she started to grin. "do you want to meet him?" she asked excitedly. but that idea was quickly dismissed by reyna sending a harsh look in their direction.

karina pouted but raised her hands in defense. "right, right, i know i'm getting off topic." but she promised herself that she'd show percy her pet at some point.

"silver and gold." percy said, referring back to the greyhounds. their latin meanings popped into my head.

reyna set her dagger on the table. karina took this time to study her features. her hair was black and glossy as volcanic rock, woven in a single braid down her back. she had the poise of a sword fighter-relaxed yet ready to spring into action at any moment. the worry lines around her eyes made her look older than she was.

"we have met," percy decided, talking to reyna. "i don't remember when. please, if you can tell me anything-"

"first things first," reyna said. "i want to her your story. what do you remember? how did you get here? and don't lie. my dogs don't like liars."

argentum and aurum snarled to emphasize the point.

percy told his story-how he'd woken up at the ruined mansion in the woods of sonoma. he described his time with lupa and her pack, learning their language of gestures and expressions, learning to survive and fight.

lupa had taught him about demigods, monsters, and gods. she'd explained that she was one of the guardian spirits of ancient rome. demigods like percy were still responsible for carrying on roman traditions in modern times-fighting monsters, serving the gods, protecting mortals, and upholding the memory of the empire. she'd spent weeks training him, until he was as strong and tough and vicious as a wolf. when she was satisfied with his skills, she'd sent him south, telling him that if he survived the journey, he might find a new home and regain his memory.

none of this surprised karina, and it didn't seem to surprise reyna either. in fact, she seemed pretty ordinary-except for one thing.

"no memory at all?" she asked. "you still remember nothing?"

"only fuzzy bits and pieces. except for karina." he looked at karina with those curious eyes once again that made her want to jump out the window. reyna looked to her. "have you ever in your life met percy?"

"no!" she said exasperated. "i have no idea why or how he knows me."

"okay," reyna turned toward percy, "you said you've had dreams of her, describe them." she said in a slightly commanding tone.

percy explained how the dreams weren't much, but they merely just showed her face. they showed her laughing at something that he didn't know, and another time where she was being promoted to head centurion of the fifth cohort, which he had no idea what that was at the time. they were like images flashing through his head like memories, except they were hers.

karina really had no idea what to say to this, but questions were flooding her brain.

why did he have images of me inside his head. why was i the only thing he remembered? why me? she thought to herself. it didn't make sense.

reyna pursed her lips, "i've never seen anything like this. most of what you're describing is normal for demigods. at a certain age, one way of another, we find our way to the wolf house. we're tested and trained. if lupa thinks we're worthy, she sends us south to join the legion. the only demigod that didn't go to her is karina, but that's because her mother personally guided her here, and knew that she already had the potential to join the legion. but i've never heard of someone losing his memory. how did you find camp jupiter?"

percy told her about the last three days-the gorgons who wouldn't die, the old lady who turned out to be a goddess, and finally meeting hazel and frank at the tunnel in the hill.

hazel took the story from there. she described percy as brave and heroic, which i saw made him uncomfortable. but it was true.

karina studied him. "you're old for a recruit. you're what, sixteen?"

"i think so," percy said.

"if you spent that many years on your own, without training or help, you should be dead. a son of neptune? you'd have a powerful aura that would attract all kinds of monsters."

"yeah," percy said. "i've been told that i smell."

karina smiled widely at him, which she could tell he appreciated. reyna almost cracked a smile.

"you must've been somewhere before the wolf house." she said.

percy shrugged. juno had said something about him slumbering, and karina did have a vague feeling that he'd been asleep-maybe for a long time. but that didn't make sense.

reyna sighed. "well, the dogs haven't eaten you, so i suppose you're telling the truth."

"great," percy said. "next time, can i take a polygraph?"

karina bit back yet another smile. reyna stood. she paced in front of the banners. her metal dogs watched her go back and forth.

"even if i accept that you're not an enemy, because clearly karina already deemed you not," she said. karina bit my bottom lip, trying to prevent myself from blushing. "you're not a typical recruit. the queen of olympus simply doesn't appear at camp, announcing a new demigod. the last time a major god visited in person like that. . ." she shook her head. "i've only heard legends about such things. and a son of neptune. . .that's not a good omen. especially now."

"what's wrong with neptune?" percy asked. "and what do you mean 'especially now'?"

hazel shot him a warning look.

reyna kept pacing. "you've fought medusa's sisters, who haven't been seen in thousands of years. you've agitated our lares, who are calling you a graecus. and you wear strange symbols-that shirt, the beads on your necklace. what do they mean?"

karina looked down at his tattered orange t-shirt. it might have had words on it at one point, but they were too faded to read. he should have thrown the shirt away weeks ago, it was worn to shreds.

as for the necklace, the four clay beads were each decorated with a different symbol. one showed a trident. another displayed a miniature golden fleece. the third was etched with the design of a maze, and the lady had an image of a building-maybe the empire state buildin?-with names she didn't recognize engraved around it.

"i don't know," he said.

"and your sword?" reyna asked.

percy checked his pocket. the pen had reappeared as it always did. he pulled it out, and uncapped it, and riptide sprang to full form. but then karina realized that she'd never seen his sword. neither did reyna. how did she know about it? hazel gasped. the greyhounds barked apprehensively.

"what is that?" hazel asked. "i've never seen a sword like that. except karina's, but her mother gave that to her." karina subconsciously reached up to clasp her hand around her necklace. whenever she took it off, it grew into a long imperial gold sword, with a black hilt that had golden vine designs spirling around it. it didn't have a name, she didn't think it needed one.

percy noticed her reach up to grab her necklace, and then it clicked for him that karina's necklace turned into a sword the same way his pen did. great, another thing they have in common.

"i have," reyna said darkly. "it's very old-a greek design. we used to have a few in the armory before. . ." she stopped herself. "the metal is called celestial bronze. it's deadly to monsters, like imperial gold, but even rarer."

"imperial gold?" percy asked.

reyna unsheathed her dagger. sure enough, the blade was gold. "the metal was consecrated in ancient times, at the pantheon in rome. its existence was a closely guarded secret of the emperors-a way for their champions to slay the monsters that threatened the empire. we used to have more weapons like this, but now. . .well we scrape by. i use this dagger. hazel has a spatha, a calvary sword. and karina has something similar to you, a gladius that is concealed in her necklace. most legionnaires use a shorter sword called a gladius. but that weapon of yours is not roman at all. it's another sign you're not a typical demigod. and your arm. . ."

reyna and karina held out our own forearms. the letters SPQR on both of their arms, reyna had a crossed sword and torch with four parallel lines under that, while karina had two torches that crossed over each other with a grain of wheat laying in between them. she had six score marks under that. six years of being a part of the legion.

percy glanced at karina's forearm, and then to hazel.

"we all have them," she confirmed, holding up her arm. "all full members of the legion do."

hazel a tattoo also had the letters SPQR, but she only had one score mark, and her emblem was different: a black glyph like a cross with curved arms and a head.

karina looked at percy's own arms. a few scrapes, some mud, and a fleck of crispy cheese 'n' wiener, but no tattoos.

"so you've never been a member of the legion," reyna said. "these marks can't removed. i thought perhaps. . ." she shook her head, as if dismissing an idea.

hazel leant forward. "if he's survived as a loner all this time, maybe he's seen jason." she turned to percy. "have you ever met a demigod like us before? a guy in a purple shirt, with marks on his arm-"

"hazel." reyna's voice tightened. "percys got enough to worry about."

percy touched the point of his sword, and riptide shrank back into a pen. "i haven't seen anyone like you before. who's jason?"

karina saw reyna gave hazel an irritated look. he is. . .he was my colleague." she waved her hand in karina's direction. "the legion had two elected praetors. jason grace, son of jupiter, was our former praetor until he disappeared last october. so since then, karina has stepped up to the position as praetor in his place."

"it would've already been me if the legion wasn't so sexist and stereotypical." karina grumbled. reyna shot her a look, and she shot one back.

"so he's been gone eight months, and you haven't given up?"

"he might not be dead," hazel said. "and no, we haven't given up."

reyna grimaced. she never admitted it, but jason had always been more to her than just a colleague.

"elections only happen two ways," reyna said. "either the legion raises someone on a shield after a major success on the battlefield-and we haven't had any major battles-or we hold a ballot on the evening of june 24, at the feast of fortuna. that's in five days. but in karina's case, since jason's. . .disappearance was so sudden, that we just decided to elect her as temporary praetor until elections."

karina felt a twinge if hurt in her heart. she'd always worked so hard to get a chance to become praetor. she trained after hours, got up extra early to be first to the sparring arena, she was always thinking of new battle strategies to practice, it was like her brain was constantly running miles around all the possible strategies and techniques she could use. but, even after that it was never enough. it was always her two best friends in the spotlight, not her. she kind of felt like the person in the friend group that always walked in the grass while the two other friends took up all the space on the sidewalk. she always pushed those feelings aside though, for the sake of everyone around her. they didn't need to see her upset, she didn't want them too. she wanted them to see her as happy and uplifting, not jealous and upset.

she was snapped out of my thoughts when she heard percy ask, "you have a feast of tuna?"

karina couldn't help the laughs that escaped her lips this time. she hunched over slightly, covering her laugh with her hand to try to conceal them, but she couldn't help it. percy was either really funny, or really stupid. she was going to go for the latter. hearing percy say this made her spirits lift just a little bit.

"fortuna," hazel corrected. she looked at karinawith slightly amused eyes. "she's the goddess of luck. whatever happens on her feast can affect the entire rest of the year. she can grant the camp good luck. . .or really bad luck."

karina, reyna and hazel both glanced at the empty display stand, thinking about what was missing.

"the feast of fortune. . ." percy mumbled. "the gorgons mentioned that. so did juno. they said the camp was going to be attacked on that day, something about a big bad goddess named gaea, and an army, and death being unleashed. you're telling me that day is this week?"

reyna's fingers tightened around the hilt of her dagger. karina wanted to act like she was being tough also, stood she up straighter, crossed her arms, and clenched her jaw. it really just looked like she had a stick up her ass. hazel gave her a weird look. did she look that scary?

"you will say nothing about that outside this room," she ordered. "i will not have spreading more panic in the camp."

"so it's true," percy said. "do you know what's going to happen? can we stop it?"

"we've talked enough for now," reyna said. "karina, take percy to temple hill. find octavian. on the way you can answer percy's questions. tell him about the legion. and hazel can join."

"yes, reyna." hazel said obediently. karina inwardly groaned at the thought of being even in the presence of octavian.

"but reyna," karina drawled out, sounding like a whiny child. "octavian hates me, and i hate him. it's mutual. why can't hazel just take him?"

reyna looked at her with steely eyes, but they looked lightly desperate. "nina, i need a praetor to guide them and to watch over and make sure octavian doesn't. . .do anything to cause trouble."

she sighed. "but what about the time when me and jason-"

reyna breathed out, "he probably is over it by now!"

"but please-"

"go." she ordered. she pouted and turned toward the door to leave.

"good luck with the augury, percy jackson," reyna said. "if octavian let's you live, perhaps we can compare notes. . .about your past."

4864 words
the long awaited first chapter!

karina is literally so soft like she blushes whenever percy even looks slightly in her direction