long may i reign

t h u n d e r

Jason tugged at his sash, nervous. It wasn't itchy but he was sweating. He studied himself in the full length mirror. His toga was a dark dark blue and he was wearing a gold sash.

Why was he nervous? He shouldn't be nervous. It wasn't even the ball yet. It was just the welcoming feast. Everyone wasn't going to be there anyway. It was only a couple other kingdoms. The rest were coming the day after tomorrow.

But everyone who was there would stare and know he'd been rejected by his betrothed.

So? Other Princes' have been rejected.

But Piper would be there.

She likes you back, remember?

But Reyna would be there.

That was the real reason he was nervous. Reyna would be there. He had to talk to her.

He shuddered.

Zeus marched into his room and looked at Jason through the mirror. "Why are you wearing a gold sash?"

"Um, because I want to?" Jason said questionably.

"But it's also the color of Romania. You will not wear a gold sash." Zeus said firmly.

"So? Isn't this week about making alliances?"

Zeus sighed. "You are not wearing a gold sash and that's final."

Jason groaned but pulled off the silk sash anyway.

Zeus left with a hmph.

He pulled out a purple one when he heard a knock on the balcony doors. He whirled around and saw a familiar freckled face.

"Thalia?" He rushed towards the doors and pulled it open. Thalia jumped inside. "How did you get up here?" His bed chambers were on the seventeenth floor.

Thalia collapsed on his bed. "Nice to see you too, little brother."

She looked at him and Jason caught his breath. She actually looked stunning. She was wearing a floor length gown and and a silvery blue flower crown. White silk gloves went up to her elbows. Her hair was slicked back artistically. The eyeliner brought out her eyes so they shone brighter than Jason's.

"Don't. Ask." She got up and slipped into the bathroom. She came out two seconds later completely different.

Her hair was it's normal spiky mess. She had changed out of her dress and into torn black skinny jeans, a silvery top and her combat boots. Her silver circlet was braided into her hair. She had her bow slung over her shoulder along with a backpack. "That's better."

"How'd you get dressed up anyway?" Jason asked.

"Stupid Stoll brothers. There were three roads: Olympia, Corinth and Arcadia. They switched up the signs so I ended up in Corinth." She shuddered. "They thought I was there for a makeover. Like, hello? Princess of Delos here! Gods."

Jason stifled a grin. Thalia narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you laughing at me?"

He burst out laughing. "You would think Thalia Grace would be able to fight of a bunch of people from Corinth. I guess not. It's not like you're the world's best swordsman anyway."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Then who is?"

"Me. Olympia is known for having the best swordsmen." Jason bragged.

Thalia smirked and dug for something in her pack. Without a word, she threw her silk glove on the floor between them. A challenge. She drew her sword. "I didn't have my actual glove with me, so this'll do."

Jason's sword was on the rack with all the others behind Thalia. He couldn't go and get it. He'd have to use his backup's backup's backup's backup's backup. He grabbed the golden gladius from under his bed and lowered into fighting stance.

This wasn't comfortable. He was wearing a toga.

He attacked first. Their blades clanged together over and over. She was good. He tried to look for a pattern in her movements without luck.

He decided to go for talking. Distract her.

"Looks like you've traded you gold for steel," said Jason, nodding at the silver blade in her hand.

"It isn't steel. It's silver. And I prefer it to gold." She gestured at his Imperial Gold sword.

"It's still a downgrade. Looks like now you can't kill all the monsters under your bed. One day they're gonna eat you up."

"It kills the monsters just fine. It's not like you can kill the wolves. Wolves're gonna eat you up a lot faster than the monsters."

Right. Silver harms wolves. Jason forgot.

He stumbled, thinking of a comeback. Distracted, he forgot about Thalia, and suddenly she had him pinned to the balcony railing on the other side of the room.

"You've forgotten something, little brother. I used to live in Olympia too."

-oOo-

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