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Part one. Chapter two.

Lunch

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Aris usually skipped lunch and dinner. Anything that involved going to the mess hall really. She already had plenty of issues when it came to food. Her father had her on strict diets for most of her life which meant that she was usually eating at home in their apartment in New Rome or eating half of whatever portion was served to her in the mess hall. But the dining hall brought back bad memories.

Kylie Harmon, legacy of Victoria, from the Third Cohort was the reason. It had the night she left camp, back when she was just trying to live her life as peacefully as she could. People didn't necessarily make it easy for her though.

What happened that evening was finally pushed her over the edge and want to leave the gods forsaken camp forever. Aris had barely entered the room when Kylie had marched right up. The water hitting her had come like a slap to the face. "What the fuck ?" Aris had yelped in surprise, wiping at her eyes. All the makeup and products the daughter of Venus had carefully applied on her face was dripping. Kylie wasn't a friend per se. They were friendly-ish, the other girl being a couple years older.

"YOU WHORE !" She had shouted, calling all of the dining hall's attention. "YOU TRAITOROUS SKANK !"

"What ?" Aris cried, utterly confused.

"You slept with him, didn't you ?" Kylie seethed.

"I—what are you talking about ?" Aris managed to stutter out, completely befuddled. She had never slept with anyone. Sure she had had a couple of make out sessions with Killian Webber from the Second but mostly because he wanted to be good at kissing before he finally got up the courage to ask out his crush in the First Cohort. And of course, there was Jason who had been her first kiss but that was a year ago, when they were thirteen.

"YOU SLEPT WITH MY BOYFRIEND !"

"What ?" Not only Aris but Kylie's boyfriend demanded at the same time.

Adam was a sweet son of Mercury from the Third. He and Kylie had been dating for five months and he was so in love with her that even the idea of her cheating on her was ridiculous.

"I saw you both," Kylie accused as Adam approached the two girls, looking just as incredulous as Aris. "You were smiling and giggling and hugging."

"So that means we slept together ?" Aris asked, finding it completely ridiculous.

Kylie scoffed. "Pretty face like you, all you have to do is bat your eyelids and you could have any boy you wanted. What do you care if he has a girlfriend ?"

"Kylie, calm down" Adam tried to reason with her, gently pulling the shocked and soaking wet daughter of Venus behind him. Kylie apparently saw that as proof that they were having an affair and started yelling her head off at Adam too and saying that she loved and trusted him, not even letting the poor guy get a word in.

By then, Jason had arrived and gathered a trembling Aris into his hoodie and arms. And Aris was tired of this. She took a deep breath and used her powers, channeling a sense of numbness and sending it Kylie's way. The girl stopped mid-sentence, as if losing sensation in her tongue and the rest of her body sagging. Everyone glanced to Aris whose eyes were glowing a bronze hue. She exhaled deeply before letting go of her hold on Kylie's senses, the glow fading with the effects.

The older girl dumbly blinked. "Did you just use your powers on me ?" She shrieked.

"You wouldn't let either of us speak," the daughter of Venus defended her actions.

Kylie scoffed. "What so you could lie about it all to save face ? We all know about you, Aris."

"Ky," Adam reprimanded. "She's fourteen."

"She has a vagina," the older girl snapped with a glare and a disdainful once over. "And clearly people who are willing to peek at it."

"The only reason your boyfriend was hugging me," Aris gritted out angrily, "is because he was happy I helped him buy a gift for you." Her biting tone distracted from the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"What are you talking about ?" Kylie scoffed.

Adam sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a box. He opened it to reveal a pretty bracelet. "For your birthday," he explained, finally able to speak. "You know ? In three days. I didn't know what to get. I told Jason who said Aris might be able to help since...daughter of the goddess of love."

Realisation dawned. Kylie was suddenly red and overcome with embarrassment. She looked at Aris, about to apologise but the girl only glared. "Save it," she pushed away from Jason. "She's pretty so she must sleep around right ? There's no way she could be anything other than a whore."

Aris had stormed out of the room. And she didn't come back for years.

But unfortunately, she had to often visit this place since Percy's arrival. That's what she gets for standing for the guy. Sure, she did it to screw with Reyna but it meant she had to be responsible and actually take care of him and show him the ropes.

And as much as she liked fucking with him, he had grown on her. That was just their relationship. They made jabs at each other but they cared about each other. Was he her top priority ? No. That went : Frank. Nico. Hazel. Percy. Everyone else. Jason. Octavian.

He smiled when he noticed her approaching their table with Frank. Aris plopped herself down with a scowl. "Do I have to be here ?"

"Yes," Percy said.

"Why ?"

"Because, I want to officially introduce you to Annabeth."

"You can't do that after lunch ?"

"No."

Aris rolled her eyes. "I'm leaving."

"Mal," Percy sighed. "Please."

The girl let out an aggravated sound and huffed, "I hate caring about people."

"Aw, you car—"

"Do not push it," she warned with narrowed eyes.

Percy smiled. "Well, this is Annabeth. Annie, this is Aris. Though, I call her Mal," the boy introduced.

"Pleasure," Aris drawled as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.

"Nice to meet you too..."

The girl scoffed with an amused smile. "You don't have to lie. I honestly don't value anyone's opinion on me enough to care about yours."

"She's a little rough around the edges."

"I'm a completely jagged around the edges Jackson," the girl rolled her eyes. "Get too close and I might cut you."

"You're a big old softie inside," Percy waved off.

Aris sent him a deadpan look and took a sip of the kale juice in front of her. She pulled a face at it but kept going. She didn't have those juices because she liked them. It was a force of habit. Her father made her drink them every single day since she was medically allowed to safely ingest something other than milk. He researched what fruits and vegetables were good for skin and hair. Anything to make sure she was beautiful. Somehow, even after it being almost three years since the man died, Aris still drank those disgusting juices every day. Maybe deep down, she had a subconscious fear that his ghost would come and punish her.

She looked around her. It was the usual set up. Sets of couches and low tables were carted into the forum until it resembled a furniture showroom. Romans lounged in groups of ten or twenty, talking and laughing while wind spirits—aurae—swirled overhead, bringing an endless assortment of pizzas, sandwiches, chips, cold drinks, and fresh-baked cookies. Drifting through the crowd were purple ghosts—Lares—in togas and legionnaire armor. Around the edges of the feast, fauns trotted from table to table, panhandling for food and spare change. In the nearby fields, the war elephant frolicked with Percy's pet hellhound (because why the fuck not ?) Mrs. O'Leary, and children played tag around the statues of Terminus that lined the city limits.

Aris did not want to be there. She wasn't sure how she let Frank talk her into going finally. It was probably because she had come to be incapable of refusing Frank Zhang. Who would have thought that the first person to manage to break into the fortress she had built around herself would be this awkward and clumsy Chinese-Canadian sixteen year old ?

When Mars had claimed him after the War Games a few nights back, Aris had not been expecting it. There was no way this kid was actually a son of Mars. She was more like Mars than Frank Zhang (though, that could be explained by the fact that she is technically his granddaughter).

Then they got sent on a quest together and Aris found herself looking out for this kid. Until he had somehow entered the fortress around her heart. He had come and taken a place next where she sat with the corpse of the girl she used to be. Holding her, supporting her, being there for her.

Frank had become her brother in a matter of days. She wouldn't trade him for anything.

He was in the seat next to her. Aris laid her head on his shoulder.

They were sitting with Reyna and a few of her officers (including Octavian, freshly back from burning a teddy bear for the gods). They also had the pleasure of Annabeth and her crew's presence. Aris had someone been seated in front of Jason who kept glancing at her every now and again. She almost scoffed. Old habits died hard. Even after eight months of being gone, he was still trying to look out for her. Ridiculous. If he really wanted to look out for her, he should have let her die as it was fit for a traitor. Instead he had saved her life and condemned her to years and years and years of service to the Legion.

She hated him for it.

"Here Mal," Percy cut off a piece of his burger and set it onto her plate.

Aris immediately straightened and shook her head. "It's too much."

"Eat as much as you can," he gently said. "I'll have the rest."

"Percy—"

"I said I would help you with your eating, Aris," he cut her off. "Let me help."

"Ari, you said you'd try," Frank said next to her with his big stupid eyes which she couldn't say no to.

Aris had been forced onto a quest with Percy, Frank and Hazel Levesque. They had noticed how alarmingly little Aris ate. It wasn't a choice. More like habit. Due to her father giving her the tiniest portions of food and sometimes even starving her when he deemed that she had put on weight (she rarely did), she had a very bad and complicated relationship with food. It led to her not eating properly and if she did now, it might make her ill or cause problems. Percy, Frank and Hazel were slowly helping her ease her way into a healthy and normal diet with proper portions for a woman her age and size.

Aris sighed and nodded. Frank smiled and kissed her forehead.

That's when Reyna called a toast to friendship.

After introductions all around, the Romans and Annabeth's crew began exchanging stories. Jason explained how he'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood without his memory, and how he'd gone on a quest with Piper and Leo to rescue the goddess Hera (or Juno, take your pick—she was equally annoying in Greek or Roman) from imprisonment at the Wolf House in northern California.

"Impossible !" Octavian broke in. "That's our most sacred place. If the giants had imprisoned a goddess there—"

"They would've destroyed her," Piper said. "And blamed it on the Greeks, and started a war between the camps. Now, be quiet and let Jason finish."

Octavian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Charmspeak. Great. This girl was one of her mother's greek spawns. Aris rolled her and took a sip of her juice. But in her annoyance she took a sip that was too large and too fast. She coughed at the taste, her features contorted to shape distaste.

"You okay ?"

Aris waved Frank off and nodded, "Water," she rasped out.

Hazel handed her a glass. Aris gratefully took it.

"Aris—"

"Fuck off, Grace," was her response.

He sighed before continuing his story, "So, that's how we found out about the earth goddess Gaea. She's still half asleep, but she's the one freeing the monsters from Tartarus and raising the giants. Porphyrion, the big leader dude we fought at the Wolf House : he said he was retreating to the ancient lands—Greece itself. He plans on awakening Gaea and destroying the gods by...what did he call it ? Pulling up their roots."

Percy nodded thoughtfully, his arm casually lounging on the back of Aris' sofa. Annabeth didn't miss the movement but she didn't show any signs of jealousy. "Gaea's been busy over here, too. We had our own encounter with Queen Dirt Face."

Percy recounted his side of the story. He talked about waking up at the Wolf House with no memories except for one name—Annabeth (something Aris had relentlessly teased him about). When he mentioned that, Jason shifted slightly, looking at his plate. He hadn't mentioned remembering anyone or anything. But...he was hiding something.

"Who'd you remember, Gracie ?"

Jason glanced up. Everyone glanced between them, confused. He tilted his head. "You used your powers on me ?"

"Didn't have to. I know you," Aris begrudgingly reminded. She might not want to but she did know him. And he thought he still knew her.

Piper bristled slightly next to him. Interesting...

Jason shook his head. "No one."

Aris didn't press more. She had already done what she wanted. Caused some chaos and drama.

Percy glanced her way but she was back to staring at the piece of the burger, trying to build up the courage to pick it up. That meant he was good to start explaining their quest. He told the others about how he'd traveled to Alaska with Aris, Frank and Hazel—how they'd defeated the giant Alcyoneus, freed the death god Thanatos, and returned with the lost golden eagle standard of the Roman camp to repel an attack by the giants' army.

When Percy had finished, Jason whistled appreciatively. "No wonder they made you praetor."

Octavian snorted. "Which means we now have three praetors! The rules clearly state we can only have two !"

"On the bright side," Percy said, "both Jason and I outrank you, Octavian. So we can both tell you to shut up."

Octavian turned as purple as a Roman T-shirt. Jason gave Percy a fist bump.

Even Reyna managed a smile, though her eyes were stormy.

"We'll have to figure out the extra praetor problem later," she said. "Right now we have more serious issues to deal with."

"I'll step aside for Jason," Percy said easily. "It's no biggie."

"No biggie ?" Octavian choked. "The praetorship of Rome is no biggie ?"

Percy ignored him and turned to Jason. "You're Thalia Grace's brother, huh ? Wow. You guys look nothing alike."

"Yeah, I noticed," Jason said. "Anyway, thanks for helping my camp while I was gone. You did an awesome job."

"Back at you," Percy said.

"No !" Aris glared.

"What ?" Percy looked at her.

"You're supposed to be on my side," she said.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Are we divorced or something ? Why are there sides ?"

Aris snorted derisively. "Please, as if I'd marry you. I have taste unlike some people."

"Well, apparently that's new cause we both know about your crush on me when we were younger."

"I was young and naive. I grew up." She turned to Percy. "You're my friend. Therefore you hate him. Clear ?"

"Ok."

Aris smiled. "Thank you."

People chuckled slightly at the interaction. They may not like Aris, many of them even feared her, but her hate for Jason was definitely entertaining at times. The blond in question rolled his eyes but seemed pretty unbothered as he leaned back into his seat. His girlfriend was another story. She looked like she was fuming but trying very hard not to show it. Aris sent her a fake smile and wiggled her fingers at her in a small wave. Piper glared back.

"We should talk about the Great Prophecy," Annabeth cut in, as if sensing the tension between the two half-sisters. "It sounds like the Romans are aware of it too ?"

Reyna nodded. "We call it the Prophecy of Eight. Octavian, you have it committed to memory ?"

"Of course," he said. "But, Reyna—"

"Recite it, please. In English, not Latin."

Octavian sighed. "Eight half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm and fire the world must fall—"

"An oath to keep with a final breath," Annabeth continued. "And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

Everyone stared at her—except for the kid who looked like Hazel's ex (Aris hadn't bothered to remember his name), who had constructed a pinwheel out of aluminum foil taco wrappers and was sticking it into passing wind spirits.

Frank, sat forward, staring at her in fascination, as if she'd grown a third eye. "Is it true you're a child of Min—I mean, Athena ?"

"Yes," she said, suddenly feeling defensive. "Why is that such a surprise ?"

Octavian scoffed. "If you're truly a child of the wisdom goddess—"

"Oh shut up Malfoy," Aris rolled her eyes. "At least she's actually the child of a god. What are you ? Some long lost distant relative of one ?"

"I am the augur, you traitorous whore !"

"Name calling ? Real mature," Aris drawled. "This just proves that you're an insecure and insignificant little bitch."

"I will fucking kill you—"

"Enough," Reyna snapped, stopping Aris and Octavian's argument. "Octavian, you can't kill her. She's a legionnaire of Camp and if that's not enough, she has Mars Ultor's blessing and protection. Aristea, you cannot provoke Octavian anytime you see it fit. Now, Annabeth is what she says. She's here in peace. Besides..." She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. "Percy has spoken highly of you."

Aris snorted loudly at the undertones in Reyna's voice. Reyna had tried to make a move on Percy. And he had turned her down for someone he didn't even properly remember.

Oh this was amazing. Aris lived for Reyna's pain.

It made sense when you thought about it. See, four years ago, when they first met, Aris Mallory had had the hugest crush on Reyna Avila Ramirez Arellano. She never said anything because she wasn't sure she would stand a chance and Reyna was her friend. Actually her friend. Not someone who just said it and then started talking shit behind her back. Aris didn't want to risk losing that. But she had loved Reyna. She loved Reyna so much. And so did Reyna...until she didn't. Until she started avoiding Aris, making up excuses to walk away from her or pretending she didn't see the girl waving from afar and from there, straight up glaring at her and looking at her with such hate. A part of Aris knew that Reyna was what got her to that edge. The one who backed her up so close to that cliff that it would have only taken the smallest gust of wind to push her over.

Surely, that gust had come. And surely, Aris fell off. She fell and let all that hate and anger she had consume her until she was convinced the only way to make herself feel okay was to join Titans and try to overthrow Gods.

So if you think about it, it's really Reyna's fault Aris was a traitor.

"Uh, thanks," Annabeth told Reyna, clearing her throat. "At any rate, some of the prophecy is becoming clear. Foes bearing arms to the Doors of Death...that means Romans and Greeks. We have to combine forces to find those doors."

Hazel, picked up a large ruby next to her plate and slipped it into the pocket of her denim shirt. "My brother, Nico, went looking for the doors," she said.

"Wait," Annabeth said. "Nico di Angelo ? He's your brother ?"

Hazel nodded as if this were obvious. "Okay. You were saying ?"

"He disappeared." Aris explained.

Hazel sadly moistened her lips. "I'm afraid...I'm not sure, but I think something's happened to him."

"We'll look for him," Percy promised. "We have to find the Doors of Death anyway. Thanatos told us we'd find both answers in Rome—like, the original Rome. That's on the way to Greece, right ?"

"Thanatos told you this ? The death god ?"

"Yep, right after he hit on Mal."

Jason choked on whatever he was eating. "Death hit on Aris ?"

"Jealous ?" She smirked.

"Of you ? No. You can keep Death."

"I hate you so much."

"I know," Jason assured her in a hushed voice with a sarcastic smile.

Percy snorted at them as he took a bite of his burger. "Anyway, now that Death is free, monsters will disintegrate and return to Tartarus again like they used to. But as long as the Doors of Death are open, they'll just keep coming back."

Piper twisted the feather in her hair. "Like water leaking through a dam," she suggested.

"Yeah." Percy smiled. "We've got a dam hole."

"What ?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," he said. "Inside joke. The point is we'll have to find the doors and close them before we can head to Greece. It's the only way we'll stand a chance of defeating the giants and making sure they stay defeated."

Reyna plucked an apple from a passing fruit tray. She turned it in her fingers, studying the dark red surface. "You propose an expedition to Greece in your warship. You do realize that the ancient lands—and the Mare Nostrum—are dangerous ?"

"Mary who ?" Leo asked.

"Mare Nostrum," Jason explained. "Our Sea."

"It's what the Ancient Romans called the Mediterranean," Aris completed. She pushed her plate towards Percy. She had gotten through a little more than half of what he gave her.

Reyna nodded. "The territory that was once the Roman Empire is not only the birthplace of the gods. It's also the ancestral home of the monsters, Titans and giants...and worse things. As dangerous as travel is for demigods here in America, there it would be ten times worse."

"You said Alaska would be bad," Percy reminded her, taking what Aris had left, cutting off the sides. "We survived that."

Reyna shook her head. Her fingernails cut little crescents into the apple as she turned it. "Percy, traveling in the Mediterranean is a different level of danger altogether. It's been off limits to Roman demigods for centuries. No hero in his right mind would go there."

"Then we're good !" Hazel's not-ex grinned over the top of his pinwheel. "Because we're all crazy, right ? Besides, the Argo II is a top-of-the-line warship. She'll get us through."

"We'll have to hurry," Jason added. "I don't know exactly what the giants are planning, but Gaea is growing more conscious all the time. She's invading dreams, appearing in weird places, summoning more and more powerful monsters. We have to stop the giants before they can wake her up fully."

"Eight half-bloods must answer the call," Annabeth said. "It needs to be a mix from both our camps. Jason, Piper, Leo, and me. That's four."

"And me," Percy said. "Along with Mal, Hazel and Frank. That's eight."

"Woah, hang on there," Aris held up her hands and shaking her head at the same time as Octavian screeched "What ?" and shot to his feet.

"Octavian, shut up. Nobody needs a dramatic little bitch right now." She then turned to Percy and poked at his chest. "How fucking dare you ? I am not going on a quest across the world when I have finally gotten the right to retire."

"Didn't you just say we didn't need a dramatic bitch right now ?"

"I have two modes : heartless bitch or drama queen. Would you rather I go heartless bitch on your ass ? Because I will, you stupid, cocksucking, waste of space."

"Damn, you changed personalities quick." Percy wasn't offended. If anything, he was impressed. "And come on, Mal. We need you. You're the eighth demigod."

"No."

"Aris—"

"No, Frank" she cut him off. "I am not going on this fucking quest. I am going to my apartment in New Rome and staying there until I die. That's it."

"How can you act like this ?" Piper demanded. "The world is at stake !"

"Sweetie, if I cared about the world, I wouldn't have joined the Titans in the last war."

"Wait, you—"

"You think they call me a traitor for kicks ?" Aris raised an eyebrow.

Piper looked at Jason with wide eyes. "Is she the one that statue guy was talking ? The one you saved ?"

"Please, he didn't save me from shit," Aris rolled her eyes. "If anything, keeping me alive was more of a punishment than letting me die."

"Sorry for caring," Jason deadpanned.

"Oh my gods, for the last time, you don't care about me !"

"Pretty sure I know how I feel better than you do," Jason countered.

Aris let her eyes flash. "Wanna bet ?"

"Aris—"

"I knew I shouldn't have come," the girl cut Reyna off. She got to her feet and glared at everyone. "I am not going on this quest. I let this fucking place and you fucking people take enough from me. You're not taking my retirement too. I'm done."

And she swivelled on her heels and stormed off.

Pari Speaks !

Mean Aris is back ! Though she has a heart when it comes to Frank. She loves Frank so much, she is so protective of this kid, which is why she will definitely hate Leo for the longest time. And Piper. And she already doesn't like Jason. Basically, she hates the Lost Trio. I mean, I love the boys but Piper...meh. She doesn't mind Annabeth though. And her and Percy just have the kind of relationship where she keeps insulting him and he is completely unbothered by it.

And her and Jason conflict...I live for it. I love them so much. They are so complicated and messy and real. Can't wait to develop more.

Also, I changed Aris' face claim. I love Blanca but I can't make edits with her, so now Aris is now played by Courtney Eaton.

I hope you guys enjoyed ! See you soon !

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