A Crown of Golden Leaves: A Percy Jackson Fanfiction

Caput XXXIX: Piece by Piece

Recap: According to Gaius, Annabeth has had a miscarriage and an illness is spreading in Rome. Percy is starting to Stress Out and is starting to become overly emotional. 

"You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear." - Sammy Davis, Jr.

Caput XXXIX: Piece by Piece

"STAY calm, good citizens of Rome, for I bring to you the wretched news of a spreading epidemic..."

Stay calm? Percy thought a little wildly. How is that supposed to be calming? That's the very opposite of calm.

As the official announcer continued on speaking in that vein, declaring that the people were to be segregated, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach made him close his eyes. This was so messed up. Why was the Senate segregating the people when they didn't even know what was causing this illness?

Think it through, a part of him reminded him. If they could isolate where this plague was coming from, it would be that much easier to cure.

However, he thought while listening as the murmuring lifted into cries of alarm and an occasional wail, it was just as likely that this approach would backfire on all the socialites. It could cause riots, mobs... thieves and conartists would profit off of this hysteria. The people could revolt. They could try to kill all the Senate. Chaos and anarchy. Panic. Mob rule. It could be the end of Rome as they knew it. Gods, the Gauls could sack Rome again like it had all those years ago, but they could keep it this time around. Then Rome would really be gone.

"Uh oh," a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. "I know that look. You can be remarkably level headed at times, and then stuff like this happens and you start becoming hysterical." Jason raised one eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, and Percy took in his waxy complexion and the circles around his eyes.

"You look terrible."

"So do you," he replied without losing a beat. Jason slid into the seat, knocking his legs off, and his head thumped against the wall as he looked out. The people that were being herded away into separate groups like they were flocks of sheep. "I feel pretty damn useless at the moment."

"Me too," he agreed with a sigh, and they lapsed into silence. What could they do about this anyway? He'd never even heard of anything like this happening practically overnight; it reeked of the work of the gods, and that was never good. If a god had caused this, then only a god to fix this ... and they certainly weren't gods, no matter what some of the people in the Senate seemed to think. Even his father. Especially what pater seemed to think about himself.

They were only men and men were mortal. Men could die.

Jason laughed suddenly. "Look at us. We're having a pity party, aren't we?"

Percy rolled his eyes, but a part of him was glad that his thoughts had been pulled away from his previous line of thought. He didn't like reflecting on mortality on the best of days, and this was certainly not a good time to be thinking about it. "It looks like we are."

A speculative gleam entered Jason's eyes as he stood. He bounced on the balls of his feet. It seemed like he had about as much restless energy as Percy himself had, if not more. He just wasn't as good at hiding it.

"Let's do something about it then. I'm going to go mad just sitting here, waiting to die." The light in his eyes was a little crazed and more than a little desperate, but Percy didn't say anything about it. Maybe they all needed insanity. It certainly had to be better than just doing nothing. "Let's get the books out of the locked section of the library."