▬▬▬ CHAPTER FOUR ▬▬▬

So uh, I was not able to sleep so now my eyes hurt and the painkillers are taking forever to kick in. Good news is that the drafted book I mentioned in the last chapter is now... I think... Up to date with most of my character's info so I'm 65% sure I will never slip up in small details like that again 😌👍

Anyways, here are some new books for you all to enjoy!

lamiapiccolapatata (from Quotev) just published a rtb fic called "reading aletheia" so go check it out! 😍

thatvongirl also published an Étienne fic "HOPE UR OK" so head on over there too!

OCTAVIAN ACTUALLY LOOKED SCARED UPON Étienne's arrival, and Esmerelda had no idea whether that was a good thing or not.

Étienne's embrace tightened, and he was no longer nuzzling his head against hers.

"Well?" He demanded from the blonde.

Octavian instantly collected himself.

"Étienne," he acknowledged, plastering on a smile. "I was just making sure one of our newest recruits is comfortable."

"Sure you were," Étienne replied, though he spoke in a tone that said he wasn't buying any of Octavian's bullshit. "You're lucky I've got more important matters to deal with than your bullshit. So, if you'll excuse us. Goodbye."

And with that, Esmerelda was sucked into a dark void. She had experienced this chilling sensation before. They were shadow traveling. But since when did he know how to do that?!

When they were pushed out of the shadows, she found herself standing outside of Jupiter's temple with Étienne beaming down at her.

"Essie!" He cheered. "I missed you so much!" He squeezed her into a bone crushing hug before lifting her up in the air like she was a beloved teddy bear of his.

"I missed you too," she wheezed. When he set her down, she greedily sucked in the air. Did he get stronger? How wonderful. He could probably kill a gorgon with one of those hugs...

"I knew you'd be here," he continued to gush, looking like he had just won a prize. "I knew those dreams weren't real."

She stilled. "What? What do you mean? What dreams?"

"For months I've been getting these stupid dreams," he rolled his eyes. "About you being in danger, and that I needed to leave camp to go save you. I reckon whoever gave me those dreams were just trying to trick me into leaving. Mother, after all, told me that I'd see you again here."

Her face was drained of color. "H-hold on, Étienne, you've been getting those dreams for how long? What else happened in there? Why would they want you to leave?"

He shrugged. "Who knows. I don't really care. But I knew they were lying to me anyways. They stopped a couple of days ago. Anyways, forget about those stupid dreams, you'll never believe what I did over the winter!"

"You killed your family."

"I killed my family!" He announced excitedly, smiling so widely that he was nearly splitting his face. Then he blinked once he registered her words. "Oh, you already knew about it?"

"It's kind of all over the news," she told him awkwardly. "You're, uh, in the FBI's most wanted list."

"I don't know what that is, but that sounds cool."

"The French aurors are also looking for you," she added. "Your brother, Maxence, told them it was you who did it. They think you're the next coming Dark Wizard now. Now, about those dreams you've been getting—"

"—I hate Maxence!" He blew up. "I was this close to killing him, you know? If it hadn't been for Alabaster interrupting me..."

She suppressed the urge to vomit when she heard her older half-brother's name. "Alabaster?"

"Yeah," his scowl deepened. "A brother of ours. You went to that other camp with him, right? He's the absolute worst, isn't he? He was so nice to me at first but then he went and stabbed me in the back by saving that worthless brother of mine. Pity I couldn't kill him."

Her eyes widened. "You tried to kill Alabaster?"

She wondered how that went down. He was the strongest out of all of Hecate's children, but Étienne was a force to be reckoned with too.

"He's so hard to kill!" He whined to her. "And he snapped my wand too so I could barely use any strong magic against him. Most of the time he just kept knocking me out and dragging me around because I kept trying to murder him. Then he knocked me out again and I woke up in front of the entrance to Camp Jupiter."

She tried not to laugh. It was a pretty comical description. She could almost imagine a weary looking Alabaster lugging Étienne around before dumping him in front of Camp Jupiter.

"He's not here though, is he?" She asked, her nervousness returning.

"No," he said darkly. "I haven't seen him since the last time he knocked me out. Smart of him to keep away."

Her shoulders sank with relief. He wasn't here. Thank gods for that.

"Oh by the way," Étienne spoke up. "Can you keep it a secret? Me murdering my family and all that? Apparently, Camp Jupiter takes those sort of things seriously."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"They'll execute me if they found out about it," he answered casually.

"WHAT?!"

"I know right?" He rolled his eyes. "It's so unnecessary. They deserved to die anyways."

They really didn't, but Esmerelda cared too much about her brother than whether or not justice would be served. Camp Half-Blood never bothered with any background checks and she knew Camp Jupiter would be stricter, but to have an actual execution? Holy Hera.

"I won't tell anyone," she promised in a quiet whisper. Her mind was going haywire with worry. She couldn't afford to lose another one of her siblings. She couldn't fail them again.

"Thank you," he breathed out in relief, looking grateful. "I knew I could count on you. You're... you're the only I could really rely on now that Alabaster went and betrayed me."

She wasn't really sure about that statement. She knew Alabaster. And she knew Étienne. The latter had most likely kept his murderous intentions a secret like he had done with her, and Alabaster must have found out the hard way like she had back in fourth year. Alabaster probably realized what was going on too late and tried to save as many mortals as he could, unintentionally pissing Étienne off.

"Now," his face suddenly turned serious. "Octavian. What did he want with you?"

"Oh, well..." She trailed off, frowning. "I don't really know... He was pretty vague about things, but I think he might be suspicious. About me being a Greek."

She went on to explain everything that happened. The Prophecy of Nine and how she, Percy, and Ethan were one of the members, Hera's mission, her stay at the Wolf House, and finally, her weird conversation with Octavian.

Étienne was shaking with rage by the end of it.

"You died? But then... then my dreams were real, and that..." she heard him trail off. He was clutching the front of his shirt like he was remembering some sort of pain.

"Étienne, those dreams could—" She tried to say.

"—No, forget it," he cut her off. "It's just... a few months ago I felt this horrible pain. I didn't get it at the time, but I think I understand it now. I felt you die. It was awful... but the weird thing was that the same thing happened to some other boy here. Only he had it much worse."

She stilled. Was he talking about Nico?

"I'm glad you're alive again," he told her with a relieved smile. "If you had chosen to stay in the Underworld... Haha... what am I saying, you would never stay! That'd be abandoning me, and you promised to never do that, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she answered warily. He looked close to snapping.

He nodded in approval at her words before his face turned serious once more.

"Now as for what happened with Octavian... he's trying to blackmail you," he bit out. "Use you to hurt me, possibly. He knows that I killed my family, so he tried to blackmail me too, but then I... well, let's just say I scared him away from that option."

"He's blackmailing you too?" Her eyes widened. First Hazel and now him too? "Why?"

"He wants to use me," he muttered darkly. "Octavian is a manipulator. He likes to collect special little chess pieces for him to use to do his bidding. I'm of value to him due to my status as a hybrid, but he's too scared of me now that he sees that he can't control me. So now he's hoping you could be what he needs to keep me under control. You can't trust him, Essie. Be careful when he's around."

Esmerelda shivered at his words. She wasn't good with manipulators. They were the worst and she was never good at handling them. She just didn't know what to expect with their mind games. Most of the time, she couldn't even tell when they had her trapped in their marionette strings. She was probably every manipulator's wet dream because of how easy it would be to have her under their control.

Étienne was right. She would have to be very careful around Octavian. Out of her, Percy, and Ethan, she was the weakest link when it came to manipulation. If she screwed up, then they could be in danger too, and Étienne could possibly be put under his control.

"Don't worry too much," Étienne shot her a comforting grin. "I could always just kill Octavian."

"Oh." For a second she almost forgot about his murderous tendencies.

"I promise not to tell anyone about your secret either," he added. "The people here... They don't like Greeks as much, nor are they even aware you even exist. If they knew the truth, I'm sure war would break out."

"Thank you," she gave him a smile.

"Now," he hooked arms with her, giddy with joy. "How about I show you around the place?"

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

The look on Nico di Angelo's face when he saw Percy would've made Ethan laugh had it not been for how moody he was since Esmerelda had been left alone with that washed up version of Luke.

For a brief second, Nico had this comical, panicked, deer-in-the-headlights look on his face when he turned around and saw Percy.

"This is Percy Jackson," Hazel said. "He's a good guy. Percy, this is my brother, the son of Pluto."

The kid regained his composure and held out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you," he said, good mannered like Esmerelda raised him to be. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

They shook hands, and Hazel introduced Ethan next.

"And this is Ethan Nakamura," she said slowly, glancing between him and Nico as if expecting a certain reaction.

Neither of them shook each other's hands. They just shot one another matching scowls. To be fair, it was their way of saying 'hi'.

Nico, much to Ethan's relief, looked perfectly fine. Sort of. He looked paler than usual and the bags under his eyes were more pronounced. His hair was in a messy state too. He looked okay in Ethan's terms (because hey, he wasn't missing a limb or anything at least), but Esmerelda would've fretted over him.

He wished she was here and not stuck in Jupiter's temple with Octavian. He knew how much she had been longing to see Nico again since he was sent here so many months ago. 

Percy broke up the silence.

"I—I know you," he said.

Nico rose a brow. "Do you?"

"Um... Percy's lost his memory." Hazel explained. She told her brother what had happened since Percy had arrived at the gates.

When the topic of the previous war came, Hazel couldn't help but glance between the three boys warily.

She didn't understand what was going on. She felt like she had the puzzle pieces, but each of them belonged to an entirely different puzzle. Nico seemed to know Percy and Ethan. Ethan seemed to know Nico. And Percy clearly found Nico familiar. But they were all keeping secrets, Ethan and Nico especially.

Just what was going on?

"Percy," Hazel cut into the conversation, noticing how uncomfortable her brother was getting with Percy's questions. "Look, the giants aren't the worst problem. Even... even Gaea isn't the worst problem. The thing you noticed about the gorgons, how they wouldn't die, that's our biggest worry."

Ethan tensed up beside the clueless boy, and that was when she realized he knew exactly what was going on with death.

"Nico and I," she said carefully. "We think that what's happening is... Death isn't—"

Before she could finish, a shout came from down the hill.

Frank jogged toward them, wearing his jeans, purple camp shirt, and denim jacket. His hands were covered with grease from cleaning weapons.

He reached the shrine. "Hey, Nico..."

"Frank." Nico smiled. He seemed to find Frank amusing, maybe because Frank was the only one at camp who wasn't uneasy around the children of Pluto.

"Reyna sent me to get the newest recruits," Frank said. "Did Octavian accept you? Wait, where's Essie...?"

"He accepted us," Ethan said glumly. "But he wanted to have a talk with Essie back at the temple. That's why she's not here right now."

Frank's eyes flew open with concern, and he shared a glance with Hazel. Everyone knew a talk with Octavian never ended well.

Beside her, Nico stiffened. "Essie's alone with Octavian?"

Frank furrowed his brows. "You met her already?"

"Um—"

"—We should get going," Ethan cut in, sensing Nico's panic. "Reyna doesn't seem like the type to wait."

"Right," Frank muttered worriedly, before leading the two away.

Hazel and Nico found themselves sitting on the roof of Pluto's shrine, which was covered with bones and diamonds. As far as Hazel knew, the bones had always been there. The diamonds were her fault. If she sat anywhere too long, or just got anxious, they started popping up all around her like mushrooms after a rain. Several million dollars' worth of stones glittered on the roof, but fortunately the other campers wouldn't touch them. They knew better than to steal from temples—especially Pluto's—and the fauns never came up here.

"You know them, don't you," Hazel said knowingly.

"Yes," he breathed out.

"And Essie and Ethan?" She asked meekly. "They're your parents that you keep talking about?"

He nodded wordlessly.

Hazel's mouth ran dry. Her mind went crazy with all the loud thoughts screaming in her head. The most frequent of them was 'WHAT?!'.

Nico had always been a mystery to her. Maybe it was the fact that she was in a whole other era, but she just didn't get him. He dressed like a delinquent, but behaved like someone from an upper-class white family would. She could tell Nico came from one of those rich families because he acted just like them: back straight, good manners, and a high-quality taste in food.

From what she learned about this new century, people liked to dress in whichever way they liked, society be damned, but she had never seen anyone else in Camp Jupiter with the same level of fascination for the color black and the whole skull aesthetic Nico had going on. Maybe it was just a son of Pluto thing?

Anyways, the only normal thing about him was his family (or so she thought until today's recent development).

Nico never shied away from the topic of his parents. He spoke of his mother the most fondly. She was a sweet woman who loved him and Bianca fervently, and stayed with him after his sister died. She gave him all the never ending love and support he needed, and Nico would be forever grateful to have a mother like her.

With how Nico described her, Hazel pictured one of those rich white housewives who had it all: a loving husband (or Pluto in this case), a son, a daughter, and all in one big mansion. The American dream basically. She was sweet, overly doting, and probably gave her children the world.

Then came the topic of this Ethan fellow he seemed to hate. Hazel made the mistake of calling him his stepfather and she ended up having to listen to his hour long tirade about how much Ethan sucked and that he would only ever be known as 'mom's boyfriend'. According to him, Ethan was a rat demon that came from the deepest depths of Tartarus who 'couldn't keep his hands to himself' and 'kept tainting' his poor sweet mother.

(Hazel's jaw had dropped to the floor when she realized what Nico was actually suggesting. Was that Ethan guy truly that out of control?!)

So yeah. Esmerelda was the best mom in the world and she was dating a supposed rat demon. That was the sort of impression she got.

But then today happened and it turned out Nico's parents... were TEENAGERS?

"You know," Hazel said hoarsely. "You could've given me a warning about their ages."

"Sorry," he winced. "I forgot."

"How do you forget something like that?!"

"Dunno," he shrugged. "It's just so normal for me that I forgot everyone's parents are supposed to be... you know... not teenagers."

"Can you explain to me how your mom's so young?" She pleaded, because her brain was overworking now what with everything that had already happened.

"Essie's actually the reincarnation of my mother, Maria di Angelo, but she's got most of her memories of her past life so I call her my mom." He explained.

Oh, that was right... Nico was also displaced in time. He was born on January 28th, 1932, while she was born on December 17th, 1928. 

Wait, didn't that mean she was technically older than him by four years? But physically she was only older by like a year or so... 

Stop it, she told herself. Her head was going to explode at this rate.

"And, um," she swallowed thickly. "Is she like me, too?"

His face darkened and she wondered if she had picked the best time to ask that question. But she couldn't help it because, well...

She remembered, months ago sometime in February when Nico suddenly collapsed to the ground. He was trembling all over and barely able to stand up straight. He looked sick and then he suddenly started to sob and wail.

A lot of people had been around at the that time when it happened, and none of them knew what to do. Hazel didn't either. She just held him tight as he cried and that was when she heard what he was saying. He was speaking in another language, Italian most likely, and he was crying for his mother.

Nico had once told her that children of Pluto had the ability to sense the deaths of someone close to them. Hazel didn't think she had that ability—she had their father's cursed affinity for riches instead—but she knew at that moment what had happened. Nico's mother had died.

And now... now she was back again.

Just like me, she thought shakily. She could still remember the feeling of black oil filling her lungs as Gaea's soft, sleepy voice lulled her to what was supposed to be her eternal sleep.

"Yes," Nico finally answered. Pain was written all over his face. "Essie... my mom... she died that day. And then she came back through the Doors of Death just like you had. Apparently, she brought her father out too."

"Your grandfather?" She asked.

"Not really," he smiled dryly. "He's Esmerelda's father, not Maria's. I don't remember much of my biological grandfather though, so it's alright."

"And what about Ethan? Is he a reincarnation too? Or did he come back to life as well?"

"No," he said bluntly. "He's just an asshole who likes to hog my mom all to himself."

But Hazel couldn't help but notice the way he kept swinging his feet around like a little kid. The scowl he wore on his face didn't seem to come from genuine dislike either, but more out of sheer stubbornness. She had a feeling he actually liked the guy, which was sort of amusing.

"And what about Percy?" She asked.

The air suddenly turned different when she said his name. What once was a lighthearted conversation about Nico's parents suddenly turned somber and tense.

"Percy Jackson." He said the name like an incantation. "Hazel, I have to be careful of what I say. Important things are at work here. Some secrets need to stay secret. You of all people—you should understand that."

Hazel's cheeks felt hot. "But he's not like... like me?"

"No," he answered. "I'm sorry I can't tell you more. I can't interfere. Percy has to find his own way at this camp."

"Is he dangerous?" She asked.

Nico managed a dry smile. "Very. To his enemies. But he's not a threat to Camp Jupiter. You can trust him."

"Like I trust you," Hazel said bitterly.

Nico twisted his skull ring. Around him, bones began to quiver as if they were trying to form a new skeleton. Whenever he got moody, Nico had that effect on the dead, kind of like Hazel's curse. Between them, they represented Pluto's two spheres of control: death and riches. Sometimes Hazel thought Nico had gotten the better end of the deal.

"Look, I know this is hard," he began. "But you have a second chance. You can make things right."

"Nothing about this is right," Hazel protested. "Essie—your mom—she's okay because at least she didn't do what I did. If—if they found out the truth about me—"

"—They won't," he promised. "They'll call a quest soon. They have to. You'll make me proud. Trust me, Bi—"

He caught himself, but it was already too late.

Hazel's face fell even more. He was about to call her Bianca. Nico's real sister—the one he'd grown up with. She was the reason Hazel was here in the first place. When Nico first ventured into the Underworld all those months ago, he had gone there with the sole purpose of finding Bianca and bringing her back to life.

It would complete his perfect family. It would be him, his mother, his stepfather/rat demon, and his sister, Bianca. Esmerelda would've been happy to have her daughter once more. Ethan would've liked her. Nico would have his beloved sister back.

But he ended up with Hazel instead.

He might have cared about her, but she'd never be Bianca. She was simply the next best thing he could manage—a consolation prize from the Underworld.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, and she knew he genuinely meant it.

Hazel tried to forget about his slip up. "Then it's true about Death? Is Alcyoneus to blame?"

"I think so," he said uneasily, watching her closely. "It's getting bad in the Underworld. Dad's going crazy trying to keep things under control. From what Percy said about the gorgons, things are getting worse up here, too. But look, that's why you're here. All that stuff in your past—you can make something good come out of it. You belong at Camp Jupiter."

"Right..."

"You do," he said firmly. "I know more than anyone what it's like to... Hazel? Hazel!"

His voice started to sound farther and farther away and before she even knew it, she was sucked back into yet another grim memory of her life before she died.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Esmerelda's walk with Étienne was going perfectly fine until she saw a kid fall off the roof of one of the temples.

She didn't even hesitate. Hastily, she unlooped her arm from her brother's and shot her hand up. "Aresto momentum!"

The person's fall slowed down. The other figure on the roof, a small one dressed in black, quickly disappeared in a burst of shadows before reappearing underneath the falling person to catch them.

She ran towards them, ignoring Étienne's complaints to leave them alone. As she drew closer, she realized the girl falling had been Hazel and the person carefully setting her on the ground was...

"NICO!" She squealed, nearly tackling him down.

"Ack—!" He choked as he was swept up in a bone crushing hug that could probably rival Étienne's. His bewildered dark eyes locked with hers and that was when it finally clicked in his head. It was a face he once thought he would never see again, not until he got her letter saying that she was alive.

"...Mom...?" He whispered, his arms shooting up to wrap themselves around her. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face into her neck. "Mom!" 

"Oh gods, I missed you so much!" She cried. "You have no idea how badly I've missed you! Are you okay? Ethan told me you were in near tears the last time you talked! Is the camp treating you well? Gods, you're so pale! And you look like you haven't slept in days! I'm so sorry, Nico!"

"I'm fine, mom. It's not like I'm the one that died...!" He said, panting for air once she released him. Once he was finally able to breathe again, he felt like he could cry any second now that she was here. But that would just make her cry and they would both end up looking like babies, so he stood strong.

"I missed you," he admitted, leaning heavily against her. "Please don't do that again, mom. I was scared father wouldn't let you leave." Because he knew how much Hades liked to keep her in the Underworld by using her job as an excuse.

She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back soothingly. "My mother said it would be fine if I were to leave since your father understands my importance for this quest. It's good to be back. The last time I died, I knew I couldn't stay. I had to be there for you. It's the same reason even now."

Nico could feel himself tear up at her words, until—

"Who's this?" A forced chipper voice cut through the moment.

Nico pulled away and saw Étienne Rosier watching them with a strained smile. A frown tugged at his face. He didn't trust the son of Trivia. Nobody in Camp Jupiter did, to be honest. Trivia wasn't exactly well-liked for the same reasons Pluto wasn't, but the Romans didn't fear her as much though.

However, Étienne was kind of a wildcard. So wild that everyone decided to stay away from him. According to the sentry guards who had been stationed at the entrance at that time, Étienne had been unconscious and was carried to the entrance by someone else they didn't know. And then, the guy just shadow traveled away without a word. When Étienne woke up, he was furious. Unstable even. He was taken away to Octavian and everyone was certain he wouldn't be approved, but Octavian did approve so now the camp was stuck with him.

Étienne had about two moods: unstable happiness and murderous rage. That was pretty much all there was to him. Sometimes he would be seen walking around the camp, admiring the flowers or basking in the sunshine with a smile on his face. Other times he would be trying to murder someone during war games or muttering to himself about how much he wanted to kill some rock or whatever.

"Oh, Étienne," Esmerelda turned to him, shooting the taller boy a sheepish smile. "So sorry. This is Nico, my um... son? From a previous life?"

Étienne looked as if he had completely shut down.

"Uh, mom," Nico tugged on her arm like a child wanting attention. "You know this guy?"

She nodded. "He's my brother, another wizard too. I met him a few years ago back at Hogwarts. My mother already told him about Greeks before he was sent here, and I filled him in on the rest."

"Ah." Figures she would know another mentally unstable individual. His mother seemed to be a magnet for them.

Since Étienne didn't seem to be recovering any time soon, Esmerelda glanced down at Hazel in concern.

"What happened to her?" She asked worriedly.

"She—"

He was cut off by a groan. Hazel was already stirring awake.

Her eyes fluttered open. Nico helped her sit up slowly.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yeah..." She trailed off, and then sat up straight when she noticed Esmerelda was there. "O-oh. Hello... ma'am...?"

Esmerelda's face fell to despair. "Ma'am?"

Not this again! She internally wailed.

"Sorry," Hazel said quickly. "It's just... er, well... Nico told me that you're his mom. I-I just don't know how to address you since you're technically... you know... old."

"Essie's just fine," she squeaked. "Please. I'm still too young to be called ma'am."

"Got it. I'm sorry," Hazel apologized.

"No need, it's okay," Esmerelda assured, sending her a tiny smile. "So how are you feeling? You fell off the roof. Did something happen?"

Hazel hesitated to answer, but when she saw Nico's short nod, she said, "I... black out sometimes," she admitted. "I don't really know how to explain it..."

"She's like you," Nico murmured quietly so nobody could overhear. "She died back in the forties, and I brought her back to life. Ever since then, she'd been having these blackouts where she would be sucked back into a memory. Like flashbacks, basically."

"Have you experienced those?" Hazel asked in a tiny voice.

Esmerelda frowned. "No... I'm sorry, but I haven't. Where exactly were you in the Underworld?"

The younger girl swallowed anxiously. "I was in the Fields of Asphodel."

"Then you must have been through the process, right? All spirits who are sent there have their memories wiped first." She pointed out. "That's most likely what's happening. Though, usually spirits could never remember their lives, but you're probably a special case being the daughter of Pluto and all."

"Do you know when it'll end?" Hazel asked hopefully.

She gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I don't."

Hazel sighed in disappointment, but she expected this. She knew it wouldn't be easy finding the right answers. The whole 'leaving through the Doors of Death' situation didn't happen to everyone after all.

"I'm sure you'll be okay," Esmerelda said soothingly, offering her a hand. There was a caring smile on her face, and Hazel couldn't help but stare.

Here was the thing, when Nico first told her about his mother and how 'she would like her', Hazel hadn't believed him at first. She had lived through the early 1900s, hadn't she? What if she was just like everyone else back then? Hating her because of what she was?

She thought back to when they met each other back at the entrance. Esmerelda hadn't really talked to her much, more focused on surviving (not that Hazel could blame her). But now, the thought of officially meeting her made her nervous. She seemed like a genuinely nice person, but Hazel had met way too many racists in her life to get her hopes up.

Esmerelda reminded her greatly of the rich white girls back in New Orleans, with their fancy dresses and pearl necklaces. They had everything they ever wanted, and they constantly looked down on girls like her. Either because of the state of her clothes or the color of her skin.

But times were different though. Nico told her all about it. The issues still existed, but it wasn't as bad anymore. Hazel had experienced it herself. The diversity around here was amazing. There was still some division between the cohorts since some were clearly more privileged then others, but it wasn't based on race for once.

(In Camp Jupiter, that is. She had a feeling the outside world would be much harsher.)

It was a nice, pleasant change, and Hazel was still getting used to it. Baby steps, she always reminded herself.

"Hazel?" Esmerelda called out to her, and the concern in her eyes were genuine.

"Sorry," she replied, and took the girl's hand. Esmerelda pulled her back up on her feet, and Nico followed suit. Hazel was about to speak up once more until she saw Étienne Rosier standing a few feet away from them, an empty look on his face.

She accidentally let out a frightened squeak at the sight of him.

"Oh my gods!" Her hand flew to her heart. "He scared me!"

"Who?" Esmerelda blinked, and then she whirled around, eyes wide. "Oh yeah... I forgot about him..."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Étienne seemed to have taken the news of him being an uncle... somewhat well. He couldn't stop looking between her and Nico, as if counting the similarities they had.

"I can't believe I'm an uncle," he muttered under his breath, still looking a bit astonished. "And that you actually... with a god! Twice—!"

"—Okay," Esmerelda cut in, flustered. She wished people would stop bringing that up. "Let's forget about that for a moment, please? How about you tell me what the war games are?"

She received three different answers from that:

"Oh it's fun!"

"It's kind of barbaric..."

"It's boring."

"Ignore them," Étienne grinned, shoving his way in-between her and Nico, who sent him a dirty look for that. "The war games vary. There's Deathball where we shoot people with acid, poison, or fireballs. I nearly got Octavian in that one. Then there's Siege, where you have to defend your team's fortress and seize the banners of the opposing team. There's Chariot Racing, but that one's boring. Gladiator Fighting is just what the name implies. In my opinion, it's the best one."

"And the bloodiest," Nico added dryly.

He sent him a wicked smile. "That's why it's my favorite."

"'Course it is."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Nico ignored him and faced Esmerelda. "Why do you always attract the weirdos?"

It looked like it was taking a lot of Étienne's energy to not snap. "Excuse me?!"

While they were shooting each other scathing remarks, Esmerelda and Hazel trailed behind them, chatting amicably.

"Thank you so much for watching over Nico," Esmerelda beamed down at her. "He has the tendency to forget how to take care of himself. Ethan and I once had to fight him to get him to attend his dentist's appointment... then there was the time where he wouldn't any of the veggies Ethan served him, and... well, you get the point.

"Oh, I didn't really do much," Hazel admitted. "He's usually the one taking care of me..."

"Well, it's still nice that you two had each other," she said and then she perked up as if she suddenly had a great idea. "Oooh! I brought some pictures of him from when he was younger! Do you wanna see?!"

Before Hazel could even say anything, she curled her fingers forward and something floated out from her backpack. It was a glowing green... mini photo album. When it plopped itself into her hands, the glow disappeared and she eagerly flipped through the pages.

"This is Nico when he was ten years old and he and his honorary uncles stole a bunch of chocolate from a convenience store," Esmerelda shoved a page to Hazel's face, and the younger girl gawked at how adorable her brother looked. He was flanked by two teenagers, beaming up at one of them with his face covered in chocolate.

Esmerelda showed her another picture. "And this Nico wearing a cute little Snuggie I bought him! And this is Nico with me in my dog form! And this is—"

"—Are those baby pictures?" Étienne grinned. "I want to see!" He hurried back to join them, cackling at the pictures he saw.

Nico's eyes widened with horror. "Mom, stop it! Don't show them those pictures!"

"But you look so cute—"

"—Mom!" Nico looked like he could bury his own grave right now.

Hazel had to hold back all her 'aww's for her brother's sake, but she was greatly disappointed when Esmerelda put the photos away. Nico looked eternally grateful, but he was glowering at Étienne with every comment he made.

Right now, the other child of Trivia was tugging his sister forward, trying to make her pick up the pace. "Come on, you don't want to be late for the war games! Besides, I think you'll finally be assigned a cohort."

"Cohort?"

"The group of forty legionnaires who serve the Twelfth Legion," Hazel explained. "There's five cohorts in all, and every camper is assigned one to stay at."

"Hazel and Nico," Étienne shot the boy a triumphant look. "Are stuck staying at the Fifth Cohort, which is the lowest and the worst. I'm in the First Cohort, the best one. Mother herself gave me the letter of recommendation."

She furrowed her brows in confusion. "Letter of recommendation?"

"You'll see later," Hazel said urgently. "Come on, we should hurry up. The punishment's are terrible if we're late."

Seeing the entire camp joined together was an amazing sight, but with the way everyone was dressed for war, Esmerelda couldn't help but be reminded of the Second Titan War.

The entire legion had been assembled. The first four cohorts, each forty kids strong, stood in rows in front of their barracks on either side of the Via Praetoria. The Fifth Cohort assembled at the very end, in front of the principia, since their barracks were tucked in the back corner of camp next to the stables and the latrines.

Gross, Esmerelda winced sympathetically at their poor spot. Étienne hadn't been kidding when he said the Fifth Cohort was the worst...

The campers were dressed for war. Their polished chain mail and greaves gleamed over purple T-shirts and jeans. Sword-and-skull designs decorated their helmets. Even their leather combat boots looked ferocious with their iron cleats, great for marching through mud or stomping on faces.

In front of the legionnaires, like a line of giant dominoes, stood their red and gold shields, each the size of a refrigerator door. Every legionnaire carried a harpoon-like spear called a pilum, a gladius, a dagger, and about a hundred pounds of other equipment.

Esmerelda, Hazel, Nico, and Étienne jogged down the street as everyone was coming to attention, so their entrance was really obvious. Esmerelda ignored that as she focused on trying to find Ethan and Percy.

"See you," Étienne whispered to her, before he joined the rest of his cohort.

Nico quietly led her over to the side where Ethan, Percy, and a couple other guards were while Hazel scrambled to fall in line.

"Where have you been?!" Ethan whispered worriedly once she joined them. "What did Octavian want with you?"

"He was just being a creep," she said, reaching up to give him a peck on the cheek for reassurance. "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. I met up with Étienne, then I saw Nico and Hazel, and... Sorry. I got caught up in a lot of things."

Ethan grasped her hand tightly. The worry didn't leave his face. "It's fine, I just... I don't like it when we're separated for too long."

She squeezed his hand back in understanding. After everything that had happened, it was no surprise that the both of them had gained some separation anxiety. She didn't think either of them would ever get over it.

She turned her attention back to the rest of the camp. The Lares were the last ones to fall in. Their purple forms flickered as they jockeyed for places. They had an annoying habit of standing halfway inside living people, so that the ranks looked like a blurry photograph, but finally the centurions got them sorted out.

Octavian shouted, "Colors!"

A group of kids stepped forward. They wore lion-skin capes and held poles decorated with each cohort's emblems. The last to present his standard was just holding a pole. Esmerelda was pretty sure there was supposed to be something on top of it, but she didn't no what.

Reyna brought her pegasus to a halt.

"Romans!" She announced. "You've probably heard about the incursion today. Two gorgons were swept into the river by this newcomer, Percy Jackson. Juno herself guided him here, and proclaimed him a son of Neptune. Alongside him are his two companions, Esmerelda Black, a daughter of Trivia and our second hybrid, and Ethan Nakamura, a son of Nemesis."

The kids in the back rows craned their necks to see them.

Esmerelda ducked behind a scowling Ethan whereas Percy was more welcoming. He raised his hand and said, "Hi."

"They seek to join the legion," Reyna continued. "What do the auguries say?"

"I have read the entrails!" Octavian announced, as if he'd killed a lion with his barehands rather than ripping up a stuffed panda pillow. "The auguries are favorable. They are qualified to serve!"

The campers gave a shout: "Ave!"

Frank was a little late with his "ave," so it came out as a high-pitched echo. The other legionnaires snickered.

Reyna motioned the senior officers forward—one from each cohort. Octavian, as the most senior centurion, turned to the three newest arrivals.

"Recruits," he asked. "Do you have credentials? Letters of recommendation?"

"Um, what are those?" Esmerelda asked. Étienne had mentioned it, but there hadn't been any time to explain.

Octavian smiled at her, but it looked more patronizing as if he was saying 'awww, look how clueless she is! How cute!'.

"A letter of recommendation," he began patiently. "Is a letter given to you by a former member of the Legion or a god. It determines your entire life here. If you have the best letter, you'll be given privileges like a promising future job. The worst or no letters... well, you'll be put in a lower cohort and given jobs like digging in the trenches in the Field of Mars or looking over Hannibal."

"Hannibal?" She repeated. Wasn't he a serial killer?

He waved a dismissive hand. "Our war elephant. So? Do you have any letters?"

Esmerelda, Ethan, and Percy looked at each other.

Octavian was able to decipher the answer from their silence.

"Well," he said with feigned disappointment. "I see that you don't... I guess that means—"

Suddenly there was a small green poof of mist that cut him off. A white envelope appeared in front of Esmerelda's feet, but before she could grab it, Octavian snatched it from the ground first.

His eyes widened.

"It's... It's a letter of recommendation," he said. "For you."

He was looking at her when he said this.

But stupidly, she still pointed at herself. "Me?"

"Yes, you," he deadpanned, before schooling his expression. "It was sent by your mother, Lady Trivia."

"So... what does that mean?" She asked.

"It means," Reyna spoke up. "That you have been given the highest privilege. Congratulations, Esmerelda, you are excused from any sort of work. A letter of recommendation given from a god guarantees you a spot in either the First or Second Cohort."

"I accept Esmerelda Black into the First Cohort!" Octavian announced before anyone else could. Behind him, his entire cohort pounded their shields against the ground in approval.

Esmerelda locked eyes with an excited looking Étienne. They would be living in the same cohorts together!

But then suddenly Étienne's joyous demeanor was replaced by a look of horror. Esmerelda didn't understand why until Octavian spoke up once more.

"It'll be such a pleasure to have you in my cohort, Esmerelda," Octavian said.

"Wait," the smile slipped off of her face. "Y-your cohort?"

"Well yes," he answered slyly, and she didn't miss the greedy look in his eyes "I am the Centurion after all."

She looked over to Étienne, and then over to Ethan and Percy. Then she glanced at Nico, Hazel, and Frank. They were already looking at her, and she knew what their eyes were telling her.

She was so fucked.

— author's note —

HMMMM WHAT'S UP WITH ÉTIENNE'S DREAMS??? 🤔

Btw, Essie doesn't actually have pictures of Nico back when he was a baby. Sorry, but they're long gone. She has pictures of him back when he was still staying at camp up until now.

Hecate thinking she did Essie a favor by sending her to the most privileged cohort completely unaware that she was also sending her to live with Octavian:

From TheOGholcookies: