Percy Jackson son of Neptune

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Percy stared at the piles of paper he had ahead of him. He normally hated doing any of the paper work that came with his title, but right now, it was the only thing he could think of. He had placed a detachment of Praetorians to protect the Greeks, and thanked every God or Goddess he could think of that they still obeyed him without question. None had seemed to be too angered by the Greeks, which meant that he could trust them to protect them as he ordered.

He was in the midst of signing a report when Reyna stormed through the door. She was clearly angry, and Percy knew what it was about.

"I thought you were trying to get rid of the Praetorians, not use them as a private security force!" She exclaimed. "The senators are worried that a state-sponsored gang is about to appear on the streets, in order to enforce your will."

Percy just leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"And I still plan on it, but with this recent mess with the warship, I needed someone impartial, or at least assuredly loyal, to protect the Greeks." He told her calmly. "Jason was hit in the head by a brick, and quite frankly, that mobs lucky I didn't kill them all for that."

Reyna's gaze softened a fraction, and she sat on the edge of his desk. He finished signing the document he was working on, before focusing all his attention.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to make a joint commission of the Senate and the Legion, tasked with investigating what occurred on the Argo II." He revealed. Despite his... close... relationship with Reyna, they both knew there were some things he had to keep to himself. "That should placate them enough for most of this to simmer down. If the Greeks were responsible for this attack, they shall be punished accordingly, by my will."

"And what if that goes against the people's wishes? You can't just ignore them." Reyna pointed out. "They'll overthrow you in a flash if they think you don't represent them any further."

"Technically, I don't." He retorted. "You do, as Consul. I'm Caesar, the Imperator. I have to look to the future for Rome, not Romans. It sucks, but it's true."

"Wait, is this your way of trying to force the job of pleasing the people to me?" Reyna asked, her eyes narrowed. Percy couldn't resist the opportunity.

"No, the only person that you should be pleasing is me." He said with a grin. Reyna blushed at the innuendo. "But in all seriousness, no, I'm not trying to force the job onto you. I am forcing the job onto you. I don't have the time nor the luxury to be pandering to the people. I have a city-state to run."

Reyna glared at him for a moment, before she relented. "So, what's with all the paperwork?"

"It's mostly simple stuff," Percy sighed, "missives to the Legion, shuffling finances to please everyone. There's only one potential item of note here, but I need to talk with Lupa and Michelle about it."

"The new Augur?" Reyna sounded surprised, which didn't surprise Percy. "What do you need from her?"

He sighed again, and handed her the new order he was working on. She slid from the desk into his lap, curling into his body as she read the sheet. He idly stroked her arm, waiting for her to finish.

"Is this... doable?" Reyna aske, shifting so that she was facing him. He shrugged.

"I'm not sure. That's why I need to talk to them both." He replied, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. Reyna quickly shifted off his lap, instead moving to a different chair. "Enter."

Frank poked his head in, before fully coming into the room. "Hazel's awake, but we've kept the son of Vulcan sedated, on her recommendation."

"Is he responsible?" Percy asked, and Frank paused. "Is he, Frank?"