Praetor's legacy

Chapter 2

The Lares fetched Octavian for us- thank the gods- and Reyna and I fetched Gwen. The sun was set, and the stars had already come out to light our way.

We walked up to the college dorm, and knocked on 13B, like we were told to do so. A bedraggled Gwen answered the door. "Can I help you with something?" Gwen asked.

I stepped into the light and said, "Gwen, it's me, Percy, with Reyna. We need to ask you an extremely important question. May we come in?"

Gwen must have seen how serious I was, because she moved out of the way automatically to let us in. "What can I do for you today, praetors?" Gwen asked with a curious expression on her face.

Reyna answered, "I'm going to have a baby."

Gwen's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and she opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. Finally, she formed a coherent word. "Baby?"

And we then told her of the ritual the Lares mentioned, and how we had to pick a retired legionnaire to care for the child in times of crisis and war. She nodded, acceptingly. We told her that we were about to perform the ritual right outside the principia, with Octavian.

At the mention of Octavian, her face soured. Not even soft-hearted Gwen could stand the slimy weasel. We told her how only an augur could perform the ritual. She agreed, less accepting this time. "When do you want me there?" she asked.

Reyna replied, "In 20 minutes, in your finest toga. Percy and I must go get prepared now. Good-bye for now Gwen."

Percy bid his good-byes and followed Reyna out of the door.

"Reyna, are you sure about this? We don't have to do this. We're only 16!"

Reyna replied, "We do have to do this. If we die, I want a child who will follow in my footsteps and train to become a legionnaire, and if their lucky, a centurion. Hell, they could become praetor! I want this, Percy. I want this so bad!" And she did something else that shocked Percy even more. She grabbed him, pulled him close, and cried heart-breaking sobs into his chest.

He rubbed her back uncertainly. She hugged him tighter, and started to sob louder. Percy hugged her close, and kissed the top of her head. He whispered, "When the baby's born, I hope it's a girl. I want her to look like you, too. She'll be such a beautiful baby, and when she grows up, she'll be absolutely gorgeous. Just like you. She'll have your amazing wit, your stunning knowledge in fighting, and she'll be the most sought after girl in all of New Rome. "

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He wiped away her tears. Reyna whispered hoarsely, "That sounds lovely, Percy, but I really want a boy. A boy with your beautiful eyes, and your amazing personality. For him to be kind, caring, compassionate, and loyal. But no offense, no matter what the gender, I really hope they turn out smarter than you."

They both started laughing. Percy answered, "Me too, Reyna. Me too. Well, I'll put the gender up to you then. You're going to be the one carrying them for 7 hours."

Reyna smiled. "A boy it is."

They arrived at the principia, dressed in their togas, 3 minutes early. Reyna blew out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we're not late!" Percy nodded his agreement.

Octavian walked out of the principia, carrying an assortment of items. He told the praetors, "Stand a foot apart, and face each other." They did as they were told. Octavian then laid two wax candles in-between them, and set them in the shape of an X. "Reyna, I need you to hold this white feather in your right hand, while Percy holds this black feather in his left hand." He handed them the feathers, and they did as he was told. "Now Reyna, I need you to put on this necklace of silver, while Percy puts on this bracelet of gold. Good! Now Percy, I need you to pray to Neptune for which gender you want. You both need to agree on what gender the baby will be. Have you both decided?" They nodded to let him know that they had. "Now Reyna, while Percy's praying to Neptune, I need you to pray to Bellona on what eye color the baby will have. Now I have to warn you that it may not turn out how you want it to. There could be a slight difference in the eye color." Reyna nodded, and began to pray to her mom that her baby boy will have sea green eyes, just like his father, Percy. She prayed with all the strength that she had.

Octavian then said for Percy to switch the black feather to his right hand, and clasp Reyna's left hand in his. Percy did as he was told. Octavian then told them something that would really kill their happy mood. Octavian ordered, "Now Percy, I need you to kiss Reyna for a full ten seconds, at least. I have the timer set, so whenever you're ready."

Percy shot a panicked look at Reyna, who met his stare with eyes the size of saucers. This couldn't turn out well.

Percy hesitantly leaned closer to Reyna, who slowly came up to meet him in the middle. Percy prayed that Annabeth would forgive him. Their lips then met, pulling Percy out of his prayer. Reyna pulled him closer to her, and he obliged. They kissed, and kissed, and kissed, until they were out of breath. And until Octavian cleared his throat.

"Well, I think five minutes is enough, don't you? Now Percy, we wouldn't want Annabeth to hear about this, now would we?" he mocked with a sneer on his face.

The only thing that stopped Percy from punching the slimy weasel in the face was Reyna's outburst of surprise. Reyna was holding her flat stomach. But now, her stomach wasn't flat. It had a bulge, a tiny bulge that looked like it was growing by the minute. The baby. Percy and Reyna's baby.

The ritual had worked.