Cross My Heart | Jason Grace x Male OC

Chapter 12: Mr. D Chose Thought Son

For the first time in the last few days, Amias had some alone time. 

Well, he wasn't really alone. Calais was there explaining the rules of hockey the best he could while staying within his limited vocabulary. Amias had told him he knew nothing about the sport, which was mostly true. It wasn't exactly the most popular sport in California, let alone New Rome. 

Leo was taking advantage of the hotel's room service, taking a relaxing shower on what seemed like the highest possible heat, if the steam that flooded the entry hall from the bathroom was any evidence. His clothes were being washed by a couple of nymphs who looked extremely unhappy to be handling the soiled garments. 

That left Amias sprawled on the couch, letting the winged fellow's words fly over his head.

"Wow, that's really interesting. Tell me more."

Cal beamed, flying off into a tangent about the historical significance of hockey. 

Amias rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling as he reflected on the events of the last two days. First, he and Jason had been kidnapped by a goddess. Then, said goddess dropped them off on a school bus. After that, they arrived at a Greek summer camp with a very unfortunate dress code. Now, they were on a quest to rescue the goddess, or else. The worst part was, Jason was leading, which wouldn't actually be a bad thing if he actually had his memories. But alas, Juno was a monumental bitch. 

Which reminded Amias— why was he even here? Swapping Percy and Jason makes sense, they're the leaders of their respective camps. If it were up to Amias, he would have gone a step further and taken Reyna and Annabeth too. That would really cause a stir. But he supposed the point was to blindside both camps, not leave them in a state of utter chaos. Amias shuddered at the thought of Camp Jupiter without Jason and Reyna. They'd probably put Octavian in charge. That should not happen, ever.

But why him? Why not take his memories? Maybe she was toying with him. Maybe she gave Leo and Piper those fake memories just to screw with him. He tried to imagine Juno laughing in her cage. Hah, loser! Now Jason has a best friend who's not you. And a girlfriend. In your face, random demigod child. It just didn't make sense.

At the same time, it kind of did. The gods were known for their tendency to meddle with the lives of mortals. Juno —or Hera— was no exception. Amias recalled her role in the Trojan war. Legionnaires weren't often taught Greek stories, but the judgement of Troy was one of the events that led to the foundation of Rome. 

Peleus, King of Phthia, married the nymph Thetis, giving birth to Achilles, one of the most famous heroes of all time. The gods attended the wedding, but Eris, goddess of Discord, must have lost her invitation. She retaliated by dropping a golden apple to the earth labelled 'for the fairest'. Naturally, every goddess in attendance fought over the fruit, with the top three contenders being Hera, Athena, and of course, Aphrodite. Young Paris of Troy was the judge for the beauty pageant. 

Each goddess promised him something different: Hera, land and riches; Athena, victory in battle; Aphrodite; the love of the most beautiful human woman in the world. Amias himself would have stuck to riches, or maybe victory, that way he wouldn't have to worry about dying to monsters all the time. For whatever reason, Paris chose love, and Hera and Athena took that personally. The three goddesses took opposing sides in the war that followed, and Amias wondered if something similar would happen New Rome went to war with the Greeks. 

Amias wasn't stupid, he knew that that is what this would lead to. A civil war among demigods would be the perfect distraction from Gaea's awakening. 

Distantly, he noticed Cal had gone silent, and he willed himself to smile politely.