Thalia Grace

Riddle me this: why the fuck does the Roman camp have an entire city attached to it?

"In the... The what?" I asked my brother as Luke, Reyna, and the other, shorter blond boy ran to catch up with us. "Do you mean like, in San Francisco?"

"Hm? Oh, no, in New Rome." He explained to me. "We don't go into the mortal world unless absolutely necessary— it's extremely dangerous. As I'm sure you know— you've been there for a while. New Rome is our city that it attached to Camp Jupiter— so when demigods or legacies are old enough, usually around your age, they can choose to leave the service and start their own life. We have some businesses, a university, and like, basically anything a town needs. The only drawback is that you do act as backup reserves, but it's pretty rare that we ever need them. Also, if you're like me, and you come here before you're old enough to train, there are some families that will foster or adopt kids until they're old enough to train with Lupa and then come back and join the service."

I opened my mouth as I looked in the direction we were walking in, and sure enough, just a few minutes walk away, I could see what looked like an old Roman City, with people walking and biking around.

"You guys..." I said, at a loss for words. "How long does an average demigod live?"

Jason shrugged.

"Whatever the average life expectancy is minus probably five years," he figured as if that wasn't something we'd only ever dreamed of on the east coastx at Camp Half-Blood. "Those five years being because of like, the occasional attack or battle or quest that you partake in during your time in service. If you survive service, which I think most people do, you live a pretty normal life. Why? Are you interested in moving?"

Looking back at Luke, it was definitely a consideration for the two of us.

"Not right now, but... Maybe in the future." I told my little brother. "Also, who's the other Blondie behind us? You got a boyfriend or something?"

"Wh—" and he blushed, which was kind of cute to see, because he carried himself as a very calm, nice, level headed person. "No! No, Octavian and I are not dating. We're just... Best friends."

He so has had a crush on him before, if he doesn't still.

I smiled, nudging him.

"That's what they all say."

He scoffed as the trio behind us caught up to us— Luke standing to my left with Jason to my right. Octavian stood behind Jason, Reyna besides Luke.

"Well, okay, I can ask you the same question." Jason insisted, which was very true. "Who's the Blondie with you? Your boyfriend?"

Very simply, I nodded my head, offering my hand for Luke to take.

And, because he'll die if he goes an hour with affection when I'm around, he gladly took it.

"Yup!" I confirmed my baby brothers suspicions. "This is Luke, my boyfriend, partner, date mate— whatever you want to call him. We've been together for six months but also for a number of years, depending on how you look at it."

"Oh?" Octavian asked, sounding intrigued. "How... Wait."

He looked between Jason and I.

"Sorry, maybe I'm behind, or maybe just deaf— but how do you know Jason?"

"Oh!" Jason said, realizing that our conversation earlier probably wasn't audible to most other people. "Octavian, do you remember how I told you about the like, four memories I have of my mom from before I was brought here, and how I mentioned that I was pretty sure I had a sister but I was never sure because of how much older she was than me?"

The other demigod nodded his head.

"This is my sister, Thalia!" Jason introduced me to his best friend, which... Made me feel a certain kind of way that wasn't amazing. I looked down, which Luke immediately picked up on.

He squeezed my hand, reminding me that it's okay to be myself.

"Sibling." I corrected my brother, still looking down as we walked, feeling that rubber ball return to my chest. "I'm his older sibling, Thalia."

Is it going to feel like this every time I come out?

"You— oh my gods, I'm..." Jason said, stopping as he covered his mouth with both of his hands, looking both shocked and terrified. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, sounding guilty. "I didn't mean to misgender you or... I just assumed that it was the same as before and I'm... Sorry. Older sibling, so..."

He raised an eyebrow.

"They/them? They/she? I really don't want to misgender you again."

I smiled, the rubber ball melting away.

"Any pronouns are fine, just like... Mix them up. Keep it fresh."

"Any pronouns, got it." Jason said to himself, then looked at Luke. "He/him?"

Luke nodded his head.

"Yeah, he/him," Luke confirmed. "I'm kind of boring like that."

I smirked.

"Yeah, loser." I insisted in the most loving way possible. 

"Anyways, this is my sibling, Thalia." Jason corrected his former statement as we continued to walk. "after I was brought here, they looked for me for like, a long time, and found me... How, exactly?"

"I was given a tip that you might be here, but I didn't have the means to come here myself without getting into a shitload of trouble." I explained to my brother. "But I met Reyna right before she was sent here, and so I asked her if she could let me know if you were actually here or not. I accidentally showed up too early in the day, though, so she wasn't able to warn the camp that we were coming."

Jason looked over at his coworker, shocked and a little betrayed.

"You knew he was coming? And didn't tell me?"

Reyna rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Superman, I've known for maybe a week that Thalia would be here today." She defended herself. "Figured you'd appreciate the surprise of seeing your older sibling for the first time since you were a toddler. But since you're here now, Thalia, I have to ask—how did Jason get the scar on his lip? He refuses to tell me."

"Because it's not—"

"Oh, that? He tried to eat a stapler when he was two."

The group breaking out in a laugh, Jason looked like he was debating if he actually wanted to be related to me.

"He has always chewed on pencils, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Octavian commented, Jason rolling his eyes as we reached the border between Camp Jupiter and New Rome, where a limbless statue was talking with a little girl who couldn't be older than 5. Octavian nudged Jason. "I guess you just like your stationary, huh?"

"Oh, can it, Octavian," my little brother told his best friend, even if he was smiling while saying it. "So, Thalia, Luke, just so you know, no weapons are allowed in New Rome— whatever you have on you, you just leave with Terminus and Julia here and and if you try to bring anything in, you won't get in, so don't bother trying. You'll also have to show IDs."

Why do they need my ID to let me into a city?

"Hi Praetor Grace!" The girl, Julia said as we approached the duo. She gave him a hug, then gave Reyna and Octavian high fives. "Are you showing new demigods around? I don't recognize them."

She glanced at Luke and I.

"They look kind of scary. Will you be okay?"

I covered my mouth, not because I was surprised that she called me scary— a lot of new demigods at camp this summer had a similar impression of me.

But the only scary thing about Luke is his scar.

But maybe I'm just biased. I guess to a five year old, he would be super tall, but... He's got a scar.

That's it.

"We'll be okay, Julia, they're very nice people." He insisted, and I admired his patience with her, I won't lie. "we're just going to—"

"Praetor Grace, why have you brought grecus scum to my city?"

And, even as Jason had been in the middle of a conversation, it went dead silent.

Do the Romans really think of the Greeks like that?

I shot a look over at Reyna, who look apologetic, to say the least.

Jason looked back at the four of us, then to the talking statue.

"Terminus, sir, what are you talking about?" Jason questioned, sounding on edge himself. "You know just as well as I do that Greek demigods haven't existed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. After the gods transitioned to Rome, it wouldn't make sense for them to exist."

Julia stared up at Luke and I, and maybe I am the worse of the Grace siblings because I debated punting her like a field goal would win me the Superbowl.

Is that how football works? I don't watch football, but you get the point.

I looked at Reyna again.

They don't believe we exist? I mouthed to her, because the least she could've done when she realized that is said that, hey, she knows Greek demigods.

They called me crazy when I said you do. She informed me, which...

Was amazing news.

Like, I know they mentioned that they don't like Greeks, which I guess is fair (well, not really) after a war that apparently happened over a hundred years ago, but to not even believe we exist?

Who got ahold of their textbooks?

"Augur Octavian," Terminus, who I was scouring my brain for any information in right now. "Your great-grandfather, Cassius, the son of Apollo, fought in a war. Did he ever tell you about it before he passed?"

Octavian casted a glance at Luke and I, then at the piece of stone with a consciousness.

"He simply described it as a civil war between demigods. One that shed a lot of blood. Why do you ask, sir?"

"Because," Reyna chimed in, surprising Jason and Octavian with that bit of knowledge. "that was a war fought between Greeks and Romans, but in the textbooks given to campers here, it falsely claims it as a war between the Twelth Legion and another Legion that never actually existed."

The stone smiled.

"And pray tell, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano," Terminus requested in a sweet tone. "Why would you bring Greek demigods to my border? If you know that information, which you must've learned prior to your admittance to Camp Jupiter, you must also know that we have a strict no-contact order with grecus scum. Are you trying to incite another war, young lady?"

Even though I couldn't get myself to even look up right now, I could feel Jason staring at me like an animal at the zoo. Wondering if I'd attack, retreat, or just lay down.

"Terminus, they are not—"

"Greek? Don't lie. News travels fast in our realm, Praetor, and I'd have to be a fool to not recognize Thalia Grace or Luke Castellan. So why—"

"Because I asked her to." I spoke up, avoiding looking at Jason and directing my attention onto the statue. "It's been over a hundred years since that war took place, and unlike you guys, we have no surviving fighters to tell us about it. We didn't know about it until a quest party found Reyna and her sister, Hylla, this summer and brought them to our own camp because we didn't know there was a Roman specific camp."

Octavian scoffed.

"What? You thought we didn't exist?"

I gave him a questionable look.

"You and Jason just said that I didn't exist," I reminded him. "And no, it was never a conscious thought, but I think most people just assumed that regardless of if it was Jupiter or Zeus, the camp used the Greek names just because it was commonplace. I had to tell Luke about it because he wasn't even at camp anymore. But Terminus, if it makes any difference, we're not here as representatives for any Greek anything. If you know so much, you must know how our camp works, and shouldn't be surprised to hear that Luke has been out of camp for over a year and I'm currently in the process of getting ready to leave as well. I actually left the camp against our directors' wills."

"So why ask the Praetor for access inside the camp? Don't you think you're pushing your luck, missy?"

"Pushing my... I'm here because it's been ten years since I last saw my little brother, you inconsiderate slab of stone." I informed him. "We came here as peaceful visitors because Reyna was able to confirm that my brother, who is standing right in front of you, was alive for me— don't blame me for the fact that my mother fucked two versions of the same man."

I paused, allowing him to argue back, but the statue, who I assumed had to be their version of Mr. D, remained silent.

"Now, if you would please let us check our weapons in, I'm fucking starving and don't want to argue with a god about whether or not I should be allowed to have lunch with my brother."

Terminus thought to himself.

"We were given clearance to visit," Luke chimed in. "by a praetor, which is one of your highest ranks, isn't it? Just let us visit— we're entering a no-weapon zone. I can't speak on Jason because I just met him, but this is really important to Thalia. And I promise that this isn't a threat because you are a god, but I don't think you want to see him get angry."

"Terminus, it's okay," Jason insisted, which calmed me down slightly. He looked back to the god of the line or whatever, having decided that I was no longer an animal in an exhibit. "I've spent basically my entire life here, I want to be able to talk to my older sibling and at least establish a way for us to communicate without having to cross into each other's territory if it's going to cause legal issue. They're willingly complying with our rules. If we can allow mortal family into New Rome to visit, I believe you can let two demigods pass."

The Roman god glanced at Luke and me with a scowl on his face.

"Fine." He resigned from his argument. "But if anything happens, Praetors, you will be single handedly cleaning up the mess, and you'll be lucky to keep your positions. Do you understand?"

"Sir." They both responded, placing their weapons into the box, motioning for us to do the same.

And because this already hasn't gone according to plan (getting exposed as Greek while in camp and also getting targeted upon walking in), we complied.

"Sorry about him, it's... Kind of his job to be skeptical about who enters New Rome. God of borders and all." Jason apologized "but um... There's another camp? Like... You've been there? Is that where you two live? Or, I guess you would live in the city attached now, right? Athens 2.0 or something?"

Luke laughed.

"Ha, yeah, Athens 2.0." he said, confusing my brother. "I was at camp for what? Five years? Before moving to Manhattan. We don't have a city attached to our camp."

"You don't?" Octavian questioned, scowling. "Why not?"

Luke opened his mouth.

I gave him a warning glance, reminding him that we were in a place where gods may be able to eavesdrop a little easier than usual.

He closed his mouth, reconsidering his words.

"We function more like a summer camp rather than a military base." Luke explained to them. "kids are welcome to stay all year, but many of them still have mortal parents that they like to see and friends in schools or whatever. I stayed year around during my time there since my mother wasn't in a good enough mental state to care for a child anymore, but..."

My boyfriend shrugged.

"Our trainer doesn't seem to care," Luke continued, trying to keep his tone not furious. More sad than angry. "I spent years arguing with him on building more cabins for demigods and getting an in-house therapist or a shuttle line to a therapist office or just... Something to help because they've been dealing with a mental health crisis there, but their way of dealing with it is basically to just say that you should be able to tough it out and..."

Luke sighed, I squeezed his hand.

"If he doesn't care enough about if his students live and die now, I don't think he'd ever consider giving them a place to become adults."

"So where are you expected to go?" Jason asked. "And more cabins? Like barracks, or?"

I nodded my head.

"I'm not sure how you guys divide your demigods, but we're sorted by godly parent— currently we have 12 cabins for the 12 olumpians. All unclaimed demigods or demigods of minor gods live in Cabin 11— Hermes, or Mercury."

"What about legacies?" Octavian asked.

I shrugged.

"We're told that it's a miracle if we live to graduate high school— I don't think we have any legacies." I told the augur, who seemed saddened by the news. I wonder if he was a legacy rather than a demigod. "I suppose there could be— it could be why some demigods have never been claimed, but the closest thing we have to a legacy is our friend Percy, who is the stepson of another demigod. Most demigods, if they live long enough, just either move into New York City or move back home with their parent. Maybe go to college."

"That's... Weird that you sort by parents but don't have enough cabins for all of them." Jason said, thinking that through as he guided us towards a small restaurant on our left. "Can you guys like, call for a new vote for your like... Whoever the equivalent of your praetor is? Whoever is in charge? Does the 11th Cabin not get really full?"

Both of us chuckled.

"I wish— but he's immortal, and it's not really a democracy." Luke explained. "our activity director is Chiron, and the camp director is uh, Dionysus, but we call him Mr. D to avoid giving him a splitting headache. But even Mr. D's say in things is... Pretty minimal because he's only there for a certain number of years on a punishment from Zeus. As for cabin 11, there are almost always more campers than beds, and you were lucky if there was a path to walk through to get out of the cabin if anything happened in the middle of the night."

"That's awful— not that our systems are perfect, but we at least have enough beds for everyone." Jason said, which I could agree with. "But if you have cabins for all Olympians, doesn't that leave like, 4... No, 6 of them empty? Our father and Neptune, Juno, Diana, Minerva, and... Okay, 5, not 6. That's half of the cabins."

"Athena does have children, born in the same way she was." I corrected his count. "and the Artemis cabin is occasionally occupied when members of her Hunt come to visit, but Hera is always empty. I'm the only member in my cabin, and Poseidon only has two children, one of which doesn't even attend anymore, so."

"You— wait." Octavian said, a pang of realization hitting him as a waiter dropped off some water for us, insisting our server would be with us soon. "You and Jason have the same father?"

I nodded my head.

"And you're older than he is?"

Once again, I nodded.

Trying to stay calm, but not succeeding, the young blond crossed his arms.

"How old are you, exactly?"

I took a sip of water.

"I uh... I just turned 18." I answered for the Roman demigod, who looked puzzled by my answer. "You're asking about it because of the Great Prophecy, right?"

"Yeah... How are you...?"

"Alive?" I suggested, leaning back into my seat. "well, you see, I almost died when I made my way to Camp, and instead of letting me die, our father turned me into a pine tree, which... I could go on a whole rant about, but basically I was not dead but also not alive, it never unraveled. Thanks to my tree getting poisoned this last summer, the same group on the quest that rescued Reyna was able to find and secure the Golden Fleece, which actually revived me, so I dodged it."

Jason looked down, and I realized what his assumption was because of that.

"You're not going to be the child of the prophecy, though, Jason." I said, which naturally had both of their attentions. I took a breath. "There's um... There's a son of Poseidon who's a little bit older than you are, he's 14, and he's pretty determined to not let anyone else have to bear the prophecy."

Octavian scoffed.

"What, does the kid have a death wish or something?"

Luke and I shared a look, knowing that he did just get out of the mental hospital because his mental health is continuing to decline.

"Not a wish, but more of an indifference." Luke answered. "He's been through a lot, as far as demigod lives go, but his boyfriend and his parents help a lot. They're nice people— basically adopted Thalia and I."

"Yeah, Octavian's parents are basically my parents now." Jason commented, nudging his friend. "Is there any way I'd be able to visit you guys? Or would it forbidden because I'm like, Roman? I'm curious to see how your camp functions— it sounds a bit messier than ours, but... I don't know, I'm intrigued."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, you could come back with us." I told my little bro. "If you want to come, too, Octavian, you're more than welcome."

"It won't bother Chiron or Mr. D?" Jason questioned, sounding skeptical. "You won't... you won't get in trouble?"

I rolled my eyes.

"In trouble for what? I found a demigod, I brought them to camp— that's what we're supposed to do." I insisted. "plus, what are they going to do? Take away dessert for a week? Oh no— I'm moving out soon, I don't care if I get in trouble with that old horse. Didn't respect him before, not going to start now."

"You don't respect your trainer?" Octavian asked, with a little bit of an attitude behind it. "what did he ever do to you?"

I looked at Jason, then at his best friend.

"He refused to tell me where Jason was." I said, crossing my arms. "And also refused to tell me about the great prophecy during the short period of time where we didn't know how old I was after being revived. I had to argue to get him to admit that he knew you were alive and that he knew your location, but he refused to be more precise than telling me it was in California. Told me that I shouldn't come or try and communicate with you. And that's just from the first day we met— the list goes on."

"My final straw with him was when he sent a demigod on a quest to the Underworld with less than a week of training." Luke chimed in. "The kid, lived, by the way, but he was 12 and thought his mom had just died when he was sent on this quest."

Jason's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"A week!?" He asked, sharing a look with Reyna and then with Octavian. "I... It sounds like he needs to quit his job. I thought Chiron was meant to be an amazing trainer."

"That's the sad part." My boyfriend told my brother. "he is an amazing trainer—he taught me almost everything I know, but he's an awful caretaker, and he refuses to hire somebody to be a caretaker. That's the issue. If he was just a trainer, just a teacher, and somebody else was there to help manage the business side of the camp, to help manage the campers mental health and transitions, to deal with parents, it would be a wonderful place to be. But he won't do it, so after four or five years, it becomes miserable. But again, not many kids make it five years, so..."

He shrugged.

"Maybe he'd listen to you, as a praetor." Luke half joked. "but if he doesn't, don't say we didn't warn you."