A Crown of Golden Leaves: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Capvt XXXII: Abhinc

Capvt XXXII: Abhinc

"Where there's life, there's hope." – Cicero

Translation: From here on

JASON waited until his King was sleeping again—he may pretend he was well, but Jason knew better— to make his move. Darius had a frown on his face as he hooked his spare cloak over his shoulders and buckled it around his neck.

"It is not safe for you to go to Tarentum alone, Sir Jason." Darius said for the fifth time that evening. Jason struggled not to roll his eyes; he was their host and he had saved their lives, but his demeanor was almost suffocating. He was ready to leave, but his King wasn't yet: at least, not for a few more days.

It was so strange... he seemed perfectly fine, and then he would suddenly grow weak, and Jason knew his hand was hurting him though he pretended otherwise.

"Don't worry, Darius. I need to see how badly damaged the town is, and see if there's anything I can do to help. I'm not going to do anything stupid." Unlike his majesty. Which was too true—Percy truly was reckless at times. He still didn't know how they survived the giant wave. Darius sighed.

"I don't understand you lads." Lads? I'm twenty-two summers! ...Well, somewhere around there. "I'm not about to stop you. Just don't be a bad influence on Demetria."

Jason smiled, nodding. "Of course not. Don't worry Darius, I'll play it safe."

"You better," Darius grumbled, "I'm not going to patch you up a second time."

~...~

His steps were nearly silent as he walked through the town. His mind was blank as he took in the buildings that had once stood firmly, falling into pieces in a way that reminded him of ten years prior, back when he had been an addict of opium. The buildings he had slept in back then looked similar to the ones that stood now.

His majesty... he'd be heartbroken to see this, he thought. And it was true. For all of his faults (and he had a lot of them), Percy was kind and he genuinely cared for his kingdom, and he had unflinching loyalty to people he considered to be his family.

"It's you." A young voice said, and Jason spun around, heart hammering. It was that girl that his majesty had played with earlier. He couldn't even remember her name. He crouched down and forced a smile on his face.

"Hey," he said. "Where's your brother?" Her name... it began with an "M", like his mother's and her brother's was... Abraham? He had heard that name somewhere— perhaps in a book?

Her gray eyes fell. "He got swept up in the wave, like some of the others. I haven't been able to find him."

"Oh." Words failed him as they normally did whenever he was in highly emotional situations. He wasn't a natural speaker like his Majesty or Reyna. Reyna. A pang in his heart—he wasn't sure if it was because he missed her, or if he felt guilty because he had barely thought of her, and had instead been focused on Piper, with her lovely ever-changing eyes and her kind smile and softly spoken words.

"Can you help me look for him, sir?" The girl asked, looking up at him with big, pleading eyes. They were shiny, and pulled at his heartstrings so much he had to look away. He didn't know how he and his majesty escaped exactly, he suspected his majesty had done something to manipulate the water somehow, but he knew that no normal mortal man could survive in an unnatural wave like that. To lead her on would be cruel... To tell the truth would be merciless, but nobody ever had bothered to tell him the truth when he asked. If somebody had, perhaps he would have been able to not have so many problems when he was growing up.