Daughter of Death

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WOAH WOAH WOAH HOLD UP—
SINCE WHEN HAS THERE BEEN 122 READS—
Well
The symbol is an eye so I assume that's a read—

ANYWAYS I KNOW IT'S BEEN WEEKS I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON I'M SORRY—
I'VE BEEN BUSY

Anyways short chapter

There was stunned silence in the room after the sound faded.

    Tension was thick in the air, as every pair of eyes turned to face her.

    Hallez squirmed internally, and glared back.

    The deafening silence continued on for a while longer. Hallez felt the need to say something, even though she was thoroughly confused and she had no idea what that was and—

    Well, she was just utterly confused. Oh, and terrified, don't forget that.

    Slowly, Hallez held up her hands in a peaceful gesture. "I...don't know what that was about, I don't even know what that was. I had nothing to do with that—at least, not intentionally. So please, someone say something other than me because this is getting awkward."

    Tim (THANK YOU TIM, Hallez screamed internally, hating all the eyes on her) came to the rescue and cleared his throat. Then he clapped his hands when the majority of the people were still focused on Hal, and the sound made everyone flinch, excluding Hal, but she was still startled.

    "Ava," Tim said gently. "When did you get the massage?"

    The dirty-blonde girl was rubbing her temples, and she winced while she spoke. "I...I was at the Temple of Apollo when I heard him inside my head, telling me to hurry to the Senate House. So I did."

    Pauline muttered something Hallez couldn't hear. She said to the audience, "That must've been a prophecy, and prophecies from the gods are no small matter. But this one seems to be...simple."

    She looked to Tim, who shook his head. "You take this one, daughter of Minerva."

    Pauline nodded. "The first line—'One of the twelve, the Shield of War'—is self-explanatory. We need to find the Ancile, the Shield of Mars, one of the twelve copies.

    "The second line—'Lies in a cave, the golden warrior and winged stallion were born'—indicates where the Ancile is. The 'winged stallion' must be Pegasus. The 'golden warrior' must be Chrysaor, twin brother of Pegasus, but not as well known. And I'm sure you all know who gave birth to Pegasus, and where?"

    The Senators all gasped and nodded, even Hallez had an inkling of an idea. Pegasus was Neptune's child, which was, ahem, a bit strange to think about. However, he was born in...

    "In the Cave of Medusa," Pauline answered everyone's thoughts. "The Ancile is in the Cave of Medusa, the place where the Greek hero Perseus cut off her head, and, from her blood, Pegasus and Chrysaor were born.

    "'Death's daughter shall lead them through the fray'. Martin, you asked who should go on this mission? I believe that line answers your question." Pauline looked at Hal. "The daughter of Death and her contubernium will go on this mission."

    Fiona made a disbelieving, nervous, and excited noise beside her, all at the same time.

    Hallez wanted to protest. She had been here less than twenty four hours, and she was already being sent away again, to save Rome Ultima, no less! But then her mind flashed to Cade...

    She could save him. Somehow. She knew little to nothing about this world, but she had to find a way to save him. Theoretically speaking, it shouldn't be hard, since apparently, he was in the same place as the Ancile. Then again, that was just a theory.

    She was snapped out of her thoughts when the audience began to protest.

    "She can't go!"

    "She just joined the legion! She's still being supervised and tried!"

    "She and her contubernium are still in the Tenth Cohort! They're not qualified for a mission like this!"

    As the protests piled up, Hallez tried to block them out, but it wasn't like they were false accusations. They were truths.

    A bang like a judge's mallet hitting the plain desk echoed around the Senate House suddenly, and everyone quieted down. Hallez looked down, and saw June, holding a gavel, with a sheepish but triumphant look on her face.

    She grinned at Tim, who was looking at her with the biggest exasperated expression of all time. "What? I like it, it makes me feel professional!"

    Tim sighed. "Anyway, whether we vote for Hallez to go or not, you heard what the prophecy said. We cannot just ignore the words of the gods, especially those of our patron, Apollo. And, by tradition, her contubernium will accompany her. Any objections?"

    Apparently, the Senators were big on traditions, because, while they grumbled, they didn't protest again.

    Except one. The one named Martin and the blonde hair.

    "How about we give them a test?"

    Mark turned to him. "What do you mean?"

    "A test, to prove they can handle it. They're not as well trained as the First and Second Cohorts. We shouldn't put the fate of Rome Ultima in the hands of a contubernium from the Tenth without assurance that they at least have a chance!"

    That made Fiona angry. She stood up and shouted, "Whose fault was it that we're still IN the Tenth Cohort, Centurion Martin? OH THAT'S RIGHT, YOU!"

    Hallez suddenly felt anger as well. Centurion? So Martin was the one responsible for suggesting which contuberniums to move up the cohorts. He hadn't been doing his job correctly, which was the reason why there were so many people in the Tenth Cohort.

    Martin simply looked back at Fiona calmly, as Pauline called, "Fiona, while it is understandable why you're angry, do not express it during the meeting. Please don't take it the wrong way, but Martin does have a valuable point."

    Hallez was hesitant, but when Fiona didn't sit down, she gently grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back down.

    "It's not worth it," she said softly, but she kept her eyes on the consuls and praetors.

    "What kind of test do you have in mind, Martin?"

    "The MFSDO this morning hasn't started yet, correct?"

    Hallez felt like she was dropped from the Empire State Building, or the Hollywood sign. Or maybe the Hoover Dam. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

    Fiona must've too, because Hal saw her swallow out of the corner of her eye.

    Pauline paused.

    "Yes..." she said cautiously.

    Martin tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "The test I have in mind is: Can the daughter of Letum and her contubernium infiltrate the fortress of the odd cohorts, and retrieve something from inside, and get out, all by themselves?"

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Yeet.
-Lunya