The Best Of The Worst

CHAPTER 18

THALIA

Being Praetor was nothing like what she experienced for most of the previous years. But, mind you, for most of the previous she was a big, green, fucking tree. She didn't eat, sleep, or really do much at all. She was just... Standing there. 

After that, Thalia was the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. But she got kicked out because she started dating someone. She didn't remember, though, it being in the contract that same-sex relationships weren't allowed. But if they weren't (which was the case), then she was fine with leaving. 

As a praetor, she really felt close to her girlfriend. Might have something to do with the fact that her partner is also a praetor. 

New Rome was amazing, and she'd been there for 2 years now. She knew that the previous praetor wasn't even allowed to be named. But she didn't really feel like she was replacing him... 

"Hey." Reyna walked into the praetors' office, interrupting Thalia's thoughts.

"Hi." she replied, cracking a smile.

"I was just doing a check on the legions. Have you planned the teams for war-games tonight?" 

Thalia shuffled around the papers on her desk. "Yeah. Um, so..." she picked up three or so, then smoothed them out and passed them up.

"First and fifth..." Reyna read all of the plans aloud. "Third and fourth... First and fifth further to the left, third and fourth further to the right... Problem."

"What is it?"

"You forgot the second cohort." 

"Oops..." Thalia took the papers back and scribbled down some notes. "But don't we have multiple team bases?"

"Look, you can't split out teams evenly without leaving out a whole cohort." Reyna informed her, a bit bored. 

"Yes I can." Thalia was looking at the papers with all the cohort members. She wrote down some extra things, then handed the papers to her girlfriend. 

"Nice. I'm really quite impressed." she said after reading all the papers.

What Thalia planned was for second and fifth to go together. Third and fourth. First by itself; it had the most players, all of which were powerful. The bases all changed; she had a triangle planned out. First cohort was most defended naturally, but not by much. The other two were about equal, so their defences were too. Basically, they tried to make it as fair as they could for everyone. 

"But does the plan work?" Thalia asked, looking hopeful.

"It's... It's perfect!" Reyna grinned. "But now you should plan extra defences and weapons. I'll stay out of this one. You're plan today."

"Great! Thanks!" Thalia got out another piece of paper and sketched out a basic picture of the defence and offence upgrades each fort will get. They all got exactly the same things, except that each base had them in different places. 

"That's a very new plan..." Reyna looked nervous. "It's not awfully... Well... Roman..."

"No. It's not, I guess. But, you see, if we use this plan, each team can't just base their plans off their own fort. Makes it harder."

"But it is a Roman game."

"It may not be a 'Roman' plan, but it still should teach them how to make better battle-plans." Thalia retorted. 

Reyna seemed to get that she wasn't going to win this argument, so she just lowered her head slightly and said "Your plan."

So Thalia got some people in from each cohort, and gave them the plan. "Feel free to move it around," she told them, "But you need all this stuff." 

So they used that plan. 

As they walked out of the praetors' office, Reyna and Thalia held hands. It was a sweet gesture, but not the most romantic. But it was still enough for a daughter of Venus to giggle and sigh. "You guys are sooooo cute!" she cooed. 

The praetors ignored them, and kept walking together to the first legions' base. 

The war-games went just as Thalia planned. Everyone went for the first cohort, assuming that they'd be weak. The first cohort smashed them, and nearly won. But then someone from the third cohort beat them; a child of  Vulcan knocked out the whole row of attackers with a flame-thrower. 

Of course, no-one got hurt. Well, they did, but then they went to the infirmary and got healed. But that child of Vulcan really enjoyed invoking fear in the eyes of their enemies. 

"Congratulations to the third and fourth cohorts!" Reyna applauded along with those two cohorts after Thalia shouting that out, but the others just half-heartedly, quietly clapped. "Okay, then, if you don't clap properly for them, you're on duty for cleaning Hannibal." Thalia yelled to the other cohorts. Suddenly the applause got louder. 

That night, as she was getting into her bed, Thalia heard her girlfriend say something."You're really a new experience for the campers."

"Is that all I am? An experience?" Thalia asked her. 

"No, no. 'Course not."

Thalia lay back on the bed. "Am I too Greek to be praetor anymore?"

Reyna sighed. "Thalia Grace. Eight years ago, there was a big battle. Gaia had awoken. Greeks and Romans both fought against her, but not together. Eventually, she slept again, and still sleeps today. But it was after a fight between the Greeks and Romans that that happened. It was stupid of us Romans to attack the Greeks... Well, I knew that all along and didn't actually fight them. But most of the Romans did. I informed those that did fight under Octavian's order of how stupid it was, and we made a deal. A truce. We allowed Greeks to come here, and they allowed Romans to go there."

"Why are you telling me what I already know?" Thalia started fiddling with her hair.

"I'm reminding you. Shut up while I am." Reyna continued."As  I was saying... Roman could even join the Greek camp and vice-versa. But the best part would have to be..." Their eyes met, and Thalia noticed that she was crying, so she wiped away a tear. "That Greeks can become praetor and teach the legion new battle-strategies."

Neither of them talked for the rest of the night. Thalia really, really hoped that the rest of the legion agreed with Reyna on that.