Legacy of Asgard

When a Good Man Goes to War

Ch. 14

Frank Zhang refused to open his eyes. Yesterday might have possibly been the worst day of his short and difficult life. He had taken the word of some unknown goddess whom he had never even heard of and then used that as his reasoning for trying to kill his best friend. The one guy who ignored his awkward and clumsy nature and accepted him for who he was; tried to help Frank improve himself when it came to his battlefield skills and confidence around the other legionnaires, and had undoubtedly been the closest thing to a real brother he was ever going to get. Then, in a foolish attempt to protect a place he didn't even really like before 'Jack' got there, he put a poisoned arrow through Percy's back when he was risking his life to protect him and Reyna. Now he had screwed everything up. Reyna was itching to have him drawn and quartered for his moronic actions and as if having her out for his head weren't enough, his former best friend was having trouble restraining himself from killing Frank too.

Frank clenched his eyes a little tighter in the impossible notion that if he tried hard enough, he could make everything that happened the day before disappear and he could go back to having his best friend not wanting to run him through first chance he got.

That was when he felt the sharp point of a sword press firmly against his chest.

"Get up, we need to have a chat." Percy said coldly.

He slowly opened his eyes to see a dark expression plastered on the face of 'Jack Vidar', er, Percy Jackson. Frank opened his mouth to respond when he felt the tip of the blade dig a little deeper against his shirt.

"Actually I will talk. You will listen. At the end, you will nod your head if you understand. If you don't, well, you should make sure you understand."

Frank nervously nodded his head.

"When we return to camp, you will follow the story Reyna and I tell the others to a T. I am only in Camp Jupiter because it is the best strategic place for me to be when Hel reveals herself as an ally of the Titans. You aren't going to mention anything that happened on this quest; not that I'm not Roman, not that we never actually made it to Mount Othrys, not that you cowardly tried to kill me with an arrow to the back or anything else that happened outside of what Reyna and I tell the Senate. After that, you will stay away from me. I thought you were a friend, someone I could trust but you're just a foolish boy who thought he could be a hero by literally trying to stab me in the back. Do we have an understanding?"

Frank looked near tears but managed to nod his head slowly.

Percy ignored Frank's pained look and pulled his blade back and sheathed it at his waist.

"Good. Now get up, we're leaving in ten minutes." He said before turning and walking out without a second glance at Frank.

He emerged from the tent where Reyna was waiting outside of hers.

"Did you start another fire this morning?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head, "I just kept it going all night, it got cold."

"You didn't sleep?"

Percy shook his head again.

"I thought it was best if I kept my distance from Frank, I'd still like to kill him at the moment. Besides, I had a lot on my mind."

Reyna stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

He sighed tiredly, "When the battle comes to Camp Jupiter, it will likely be the last day I can stay in New Rome. If Hel sends Norse monsters then I will have no option other than to reveal myself to fight them. Only you and I have weapons that can harm them. I always knew this was temporary but I thought I had more time; more time to figure something out."