A/N: Thank you so much alyssa_coyle for commenting and voting for my story! You're the best!

~*~

Silence. That is what greeted that statement. Percy looked over at me, his eyebrows so far up his head they looked like they had disappeared completely. I stared back at him, a mixture of fear and excitement swirling in my stomach. I had never met the Romans before. I had only heard about them. Percy said they were cool once you got to know them...but he also mentioned that they were prideful. They didn't take insults lightly. With my luck, cool would mean something totally offensive in their language and I'd get skewered and fed to the dragon.

Chiron gazed around at us all, his face unreadable. "We'll be greeting them at noon today." He said into the silence. "I want you all there."

He turned to walk away, then paused and looked over his shoulder. "A couple of weapons by your side wouldn't hurt though."

"He's only kidding." Percy assured me as mutters broke out from the people around us. "When was the last time Chiron kidded?" I asked. "Erica, I've known him longer, don't insult me."

~*~

At noon I joined the line of campers standing by the pine tree. A gentle breeze rustled the trees in the forest and made ripples in the water. "Nervous, Princess?" A voice asked behind me. I spun around. "Leo!" I yelped. "What?"
"Don't scare me like that!"
"AHA! I KNEW YOU WERE NERVOUS!"
"I'm not nervous!"
"Liar."
"I'm not lying!"
"Liar, liar, pants of FIRE!"

Leo lit his hand and held the fire so close to my face I had to cross my eyes to keep it in sight. "Would you like me to do the honors?"

"I could douse you right now." I said, backing away. "Not fast enough." Leo replied, taking a step closer. I took another step back, and as I did I summoned a wall of water. Leo yelped as it came crashing down on him.

Percy strolled over to us, a smirk on his face. "I told you she would try to drown you, Leo." He said as the wall of water retreated. Leo coughed and sputtered. "I didn't think-" He hacked. "You were serious man!"

Percy grinned like a devil. "I'm always serious, Repair Boy." "DON'T-" He coughed again. "CALL ME REPAIR BOY!" His voice cracked on the word "boy". I laughed.

Chiron came over to us. "What's going on here?" He asked. I bit my lip as Percy snorted and Leo hacked yet again. "Nothing." Percy replied. Chiron raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yes."

Though he still looked doubtful, Chiron turned and walked away. "That was close." I said, grinning. Leo got to his feet and glared not-so-angrily at me. "See you later." He said, turning around. "Oh," he added over his shoulder. "Watch out for the Romans. Percy might not have told you this...but they eat human flesh." And with that, he disappeared into the crowd.

Percy stared at the spot where Leo had disappeared. "He's such an idiot." He said. I smirked. "Yeah, pretty much."

Suddenly a horn blared at the base of the hill. I jumped. "The Romans are here, Greeks! Form a line!"

Now, one thing I love about us Greeks, is the fact that we can't do anything in an organized fashion. So "form a line" meant something more like: "Stop being so chaotic".

Everyone calmed down (as much as you could ask for, anyway) and faced the hill. Three kids were marching over the rise. Now, I had heard enough about the Romans to understand that they were tough...but I hadn't expected them to show up in full battle armor.

The group was lead by a tall girl with long black hair. Her face was hard and her jaw was set. She was definitely the type of person you would picture as a leader. Behind her trailed two people; an Asian boy, built like a wrestler, and a girl with curly brown hair, golden eyes, and dark skin. "That's Reyna, Frank, and Hazel." Percy explained to me. "Why did they show up in full battle armor?" I asked him. Percy shrugged. "I'll never be able to answer that question."

"Because they don't trust anyone." Leo stated as he reappeared beside Percy. "Especially me." "Why?" I questioned, curious. "Well, we had this problem once where I blew up their town and-"

"That's enough, Leo." Percy said, laying a hand on Leo's shoulder. Leo shrugged. "Just telling the truth." I snorted.

Chiron trotted up to greet the Romans. "Hello, Reyna, Frank, Hazel. So nice to have you here."

The girl with the black hair, who Percy had pointed out to me as Reyna, pushed past Chiron and looked at us. "Where is Nico?" She asked, her eyes glittering beneath her helmet. "Why?" Someone from the crowd shouted. Reyna stared at us. "I want to see him."

There was a loud "Oooooooooo" from the crowd. I felt my stomach squirm. Why did she want to see Nico, exactly? Did they have some special connection? Did something happen between the two of them in the past, when I wasn't around to butt in? Were they...involved?

Wait, why would I care about any of that stuff? Nico and I were just friends. That's all we were, and that's all we'd ever be.

But I couldn't deny the fact that my squirming stomach was trying to tell me something. I was jealous.