A Crown of Golden Leaves: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Capvt XXVI: The Root of Fear

Capvt XXVI: The Root of Fear

"YOU were gone for a while. I almost started a search."

"Sorry. I lost track of time," Percy replied as he and Jason stepped into the threshold of the inn. The keeper smiled at him and waved in greeting, so he waved back.

"Why does he look like a cat who just swallowed a canary?" He frowned and looked at Jason. Who is he talking about? Jason must have read the expression on his face, because he elaborated a heartbeat later, "The innkeeper."

"I don't know," he replied without a pause. He wasn't lying, he really didn't know. Maybe the innkeeper just had a strange smile. Or Jason could just be imagining things out of paranoia. His purse jiggled merrily at his side, still considerably lighter than before. "Come on, I want to get some food. I'm hungry."

He walked over to the dining area, finding it by the smell of beer and food and the sound of happy chatter with Jason only a half step behind him. The floorboards creaked loudly underneath his boots, and that made him wonder what it had been like for these people—men, women, children—to have Roman soldiers come and seize their village under the Caesar's orders. Terrifying was the word that came to his mind. The men with arrows, dressed in red tunics and armor, brandishing torches that burned homes to the ground, their feet trampling over grain and places where people slept. Probably killing livestock just for the fun of it, and taking women with them to do whatever they pleased. Maybe they even took children with them as slaves for their farms.

Disgusting. That was another word.

"It's full," Jason complained as they halted at the door. Percy observed the room quickly. Men were drinking and eating as they talked and laughed. No women or children. All the wooden tables had occupants at them.

He heard Jason's stomach rumble. He had to bite a smile back, though the urge disappeared when his stomach growled as well. Great, he thought. I'm hungry too and there's nowhere to sit.

"Percy, look," Jason nudged his arm and tilted his head away from him. He followed his gaze, and saw a group of four men sitting at a round table, waving at them. Well, he was pretty sure it was him and Jason, since they were the only two standing up. "They're motioning us over."

Jason moved first, easily slipping between chairs and dodging women serving beer like he was a fish instead of a human. Or maybe a snake. Percy had to wait a few moments for the barmaids to pass, and he constantly apologized whenever he bumped into a chair. By the time he got at the table, Jason had already sat and was talking to one of the men.

"Thanks," he said as he pulled out a chair and sat down next to Jason.

"No problem son. We let straggles like you two in with our table all the time." A bearded man with a chipped tooth told him. He took a deep draft of his drink then held his hand out. "Name's Saul."

"Percy." He took it and shook.

"And I'm Jason."

"My daughter's name is Jasmine," the youngest man said, turning to face them. He looked a year or two older than him, and he wore corrective lens.

"Not again Samuel," another man groaned. He had an X shaped scar on his forehead. "You're always talking about her."

"How can you be tired of my little princess already?!"

"Ignore them," the man who sat next to him said, and Percy faced him. He had gray eyes that looked like Annabeth's, though they were different in some way. Not as alive? Warmer? "We call the grumpy one Nathanial. I'm Malcolm by the way."