The Goddess of College

Arrival

Reyna's POV

-Five Years Ago-

He's dead, I thought sadly. He's dead, yet I never told him how I felt about him.

It had been an hour after the body of Percy Jackson had been found. An hour after gallons of tears were shed over the death of Olympus' Savior. Even the gods came down to mourn the death of their hero.

His body was found near the riverbed by the goddess Hecate while she was working on a spell. The details are fuzzy, but she told us she found him at the base of a huge cliff. It was weird, really. He saved us all from Tartarus, yet we repaid him with betrayals and heartbreak.

Nevertheless, that day was one of the few that I publicly shed tears. Nor was I the only one to do so. Jason, Piper, Leo, even Annabeth shed tears over our friend. Our brother.

Through her tears I heard Annabeth mutter, "This is all my fault." Taking her resignation seriously, I stormed over to her, grabbed her by the shoulder, and slammed her into a wall.

"What do you mean 'This is all my fault,' Chase?" I growled, allowing the venom to seep into my voice in large quantities. Everyone snapped their heads to the sound, so I wasn't surprised to feel someone try to take me off of her. I shrugged them off and asked again.

Gasping for air, she admitted to what she did to him. Through tears, Frank, Hazel, and Nico confirmed it, though Nico admitted he didn't feel Percy cross over.

That detail isn't important I thought angrily. She ruined his life after everything he did for her. I felt Nico's hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down. As mentioned before, he feels like a little brother, so he's one of three people that have ever made physical contact with me.

He calmed me down enough to tell me what Hades did to punish her. As steely as my guts are, I found myself squirming at hearing what he did. It was just so, so horrible. Yet, I thought she had deserved it.

I truly believed she caused his death.

After burning the shroud, we went with the gods to bury him in Mount Olympus, one of the few places he deserved to be seen. Many minor gods and passive monsters mourned along with us. Even the Orphitarius mooed sadly as he watched his savior be lowered into the ground.

Looking back on that day, I couldn't tell you what I wore, or who I talked to. I couldn't remember who I came with, when I left, or how long I was there. All I remembered was how I felt.

And I felt hollow.

I cried myself to sleep that night, and horrific dreams followed me into Hypnos' realm. The week following his death, I gave everyone at Camp Jupiter time to mourn him as I did. Even Terminus shed a few tears at his demise.

But, eventually, we had to let him go. We left him alone, allowing him to finally rest in peace.

Present Time

It was one of my rare visits to Camp Half-Blood, and I spent it talking with Chiron in the Big House over whatever he chose. I didn't bother starting small talk, seeing as I suck epically at that. So, we talked about his taste in music and his favorite memories from forever ago.

When he mentioned a quest about a trip to the Garden of the Hesperidies, I thought of the quest Percy told me he undertook to save Annabeth when she was at Mount Tampalis. At the thought of him, I began tearing up a little.

I know it isn't like a praetor to carry herself in that manner, but I liked Percy. That's why I was upset when Annabeth showed up claiming to be his girlfriend. I would gladly trade that Annabeth with who she was now.

Considering she broke him, I never understood why she mourned him as much as (if even more than) everyone else.

But right now, I understand why. She cared about him, and she still does. Even though he's gone.

Which is why him showing up to Camp Half-Blood scared me.

The day started normal enough, I woke up in the honorary cabin made for Bellona. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, got my favorite set of armor on, and walked outside into the harsh rays of the sun.

I squint hard, wondering when the black spots would disappear, when I saw a figure running up to me. Once the spots finally left and my eyes finished adjusting, I saw that it was my assistant, Frank Zhang. I say assistant, but he's my partner praetor, so I really should start giving him more credit.

Anyways, when he finished panting, he gasped once more and spat out, "Reyna. Big House. Quick. Emergency." That was all I heard. As soon as 'emergency' popped up, I was sprinting as fast as I could to get there.

A minute or two, I showed up in the doorframe in all of my sweaty glory. I panted and gasped for air and thankfully, I was able to get it. After a few second of heavy breathing, I pulled out a seat in front of the Ping Pong table and sat down with a heavy thump.

Then, I decided to see who else was there. I glanced up and saw the usual cabin leaders. Clarisse LaRue, daughter or Ares; Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter; Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus; the Stoll Twins, sons of Hermes; Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, et cetera.

As I looked around, I noticed two new people at the table. As I took a glance up, I didn't get many details of his face before I slammed my head down. Despite the fact that I ran with the armor on regularly, I still felt extremely out of shape. I struggled, trying to remember details from the new guy and girl.

The girl had medium length golden hair, little bow-shaped earrings in place, and silver eyes. She was about 20 or so, but could have passed as younger. She just had one of those timeless faces, similar to Calypso.

Speaking of the Titan, she was seated comfortably next to Valdez, laughing at his jokes and enjoying his company in general. I could tell they were happy together, but she kept glancing at the new people like she was seeing ghosts.

So was everyone else.

"Now," I heard the centaur say, "I have gathered you all here for a very important announcement. But once I say it, you must swear on the Styx not to tell anyone outside of this room."

"What about Annabeth?" I heard Jason, son of Jupi-Zeus, ask. "This affects her as much as it affects us." Chrion seemed to stiffen at the mention of her name, but hid it quickly.

"I will not repeat myself," he said, steely determination in his eyes. Jason looked down and muttered a "yes sir" before looking back at the newcomers.

Newcomers.

The girl I analyzed already, so I looked at the man once more to gather what I could about him.

He was 6 feet easy, had messy black hair, and shiny sea green eyes. As I locked his with mine, I saw recognition and happiness in them. Confused, I continued my analysis on him. Then I saw his face.

The face that was in a casket two years ago.

The face of our savior.

Our brother.

Percy Jackson has returned to Camp Half-Blood with avengance.

Whoo! I got it out on time. To be honest, I was worried I wouldn't be able to. Sorry if it's shorter than usual, but the next one will be long, promise.

Anyways, thanks for all of the reads this has gotten so far. Gods, it's amazing that you guys like this. Part 8 will be out by Saturday, so be on the lookout for that.

Also, let me know if you want another story about something or someone else. I always read and respond to comments when I can, so I will acknowledge everyone's requests. Thanks and talk to you guys on Saturday!