reflection ● jason grace

Daria saves his ass (again)

"Silence!" Leila commanded. "The Senate meeting will now begin."

Jason sighed. He was sitting in between Reyna and Nathan, Dakota and Clara one seat over. "Are you sure you want to be sitting next to me?" Jason muttered, for the tenth time.

Dakota and Nathan stared at him. "Dude," Nathan said back. He still had a bandage wrapped around his head so maybe he was delusional. "Shut up."

Jason shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. He caught glares when he entered, and harsh comments that were probably best not spoken in front of children. Even Leila's expression got a little tighter when she saw him. Which was fine; Jason had been feeling guilty for two days.

It took a few more moments for the chamber to actually become silent. Jason could see Daria, Michael, and Octavian sitting closer to the front. The First Cohort wasn't exclusive...most of the time. He caught Clara's eye and she rolled her eyes in agreement.

"The battle was won," Leila started. "However, thirteen dead in what will be one of the minor battles over the course of the next few years. The legion must grow stronger. We must learn from our mistakes."

"You mean Jason Grace's mistakes." There it was. One of the residents of New Rome stood, addressing the room. "We don't expect to make it out of battle alive, but to die because of a careless mistake made by a centurion? This is unacceptable, Leila."

Instantly, a sound of agreement echoed throughout the chamber. Several important people, including Daniel, turned to the son of Jupiter. Once again, Jason wished he was invisible. He stared at the floor, unwilling to make eye-contact with anyone.

"Look up," Reyna hissed, nudging him. "Face it like a man."

"I think I would rather die."

"Look Angelo," Daniel shook his head. "Jason Grace's centurionship is not up for debate."

"Why not?" The girl Jason recognized to be Sofia's older sister joined Angelo in his protest. Camilla, Jason remembered. "Why are you so keen to defend him?"

"Camilla-"

Jason hadn't realized there was an earthquake brewing right in front of them. Truth be told, he hadn't had a real conversation with Daria since their argument. He knew she wasn't ignoring him; he also didn't know that she cared that much.

"Listen," Daria turned to face them as she got up instead of facing Leila and Daniel, which was the proper thing to do. "There's a prophecy coming to fruition in less than five years, and Jason will be the denouement of it whether you like it or not."

"Denouement?" He heard Nathan mutter.

"Final piece," Clara explained. "The final play."

"I think the best thing we can do from here is give him our support," she paused for emphasis. "And the knowledge that older legionnaires like you all possess."

"More than any war, we're fighting to defend our home." Now she addressed the room, and Jason, much like everyone else, was enraptured with her. "We win together and we lose together. Believe me when I say there is no one who feels worse about what happened than Jason, believe me when I say there is no one who will work harder to become better."

She looked back at Leila, a look of satisfaction in her forest green eyes. "That's all."

Reyna looked at Jason again. "She's really something, huh?"

Jason let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Senators and legionnaires started muttering to each other, but no one raised their voice above a whisper. "I thought you hated each other."