SAFE . . . reyna ramirez-arellano

0.5 - revelations

"COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE me—" briar's absolutely amazing singing voice ( when she tried, it was good. the legion was probably tired of hearing her and piper sing. ) rang out loud and proud before reyna put her hand over her mouth.

"do you want to attract monsters?" reyna hissed at her, though she didn't sound angry at all. "we're nearly at camp."

"you're gonna jinx us," briar said from behind reyna's hand. it was pretty disgusting, but piper did it all the time to them, so she didn't feel as grossed out as she should've been.

reyna looked at her, unimpressed, before taking her hand off of her mouth. "you're the one attracting the monsters."

"duh! i'm the prettiest princess in the world." briar put on an angelic smile, positioning her hands under her chin so she looked as if she was. "everything's attracted to me."

reyna shook her head, but didn't say anything. oh?

they were getting close to the camp — briar actually sort of recognized the scenery outside — when, naturally, the car stopped. for too long.

the legionnaire that was driving them to camp jupiter looked back at them. "sorry," he said. "my car broke down. you'd best be off on foot, as it'll take a while for a mechanic to come."

and so they went, walking to camp jupiter. it was daytime, at least, just past dawn, and they'd both gotten enough sleep, so they'd probably make it without stopping to keep watch.

briar walked in front of reyna, letting herself appreciate the beauty around her of suburban neighborhoods as she held reyna's hand behind her, mentally mapping every flower and the green grass that seemed unnatural. they cut through backyards and yards, and briar enjoyed looking at the pretty houses and the yards.

"have you ever read romeo and juliet?" briar glanced up at a balcony, before turning back at reyna. "it's one of my favorites. even if the age gap between them is problematic. whoops."

reyna raised an eyebrow at her. "you like plays?"

"just that one," she shrugged, pulling reyna forward so they were walking side by side. "my dad told it to me a lot, growing up. it's, like, the only piece of literature i think i'll like. for never there was a story of more woe than this of juliet and her romeo."

"your dad told it to you?" reyna asked absentmindedly.

briar felt her excitement dampening. "yeah. apparently he and my mother bonded because of it. she used to tell him that she wished to make love reminiscent of them. as if she hasn't probably done it before. the play's existed since the sixteenth century."

reyna stared at her, briar making sure that she didn't crash into trees or whatever. finally, she asked, "would you like to have a love reminiscent of romeo and juliet?"

"you never answered my question on whether you've read it or not," briar said cheekily, but she sighed, her feet dragging her along backyards. she hoped that no suburban moms would scream at them. "i mean, i certainly wouldn't want a love that ends in death, but if it's with the right person . . . if i fell in love with the right person, i'd do anything for them. if i could love someone like juliet loved romeo, then i would like to love that way."

briar looked over at reyna, who was the right person that she loved. she would do anything for her. she loved her like juliet loved romeo.

"i am a daughter of venus, after all," briar said softly. "the more love i give, the more i have, because both are infinite. but you should read romeo and juliet. or i will have to read it to you."

reyna rolled her eyes, but smiled. "then you'll read it to me. beginning to end."

cool. cool. cool. briar tried not to freak out about the fact that she would be spending more time alone with reyna, reading her shakespeare. that really sounded like a date.