"In Latin my name, Aurelia, basically means 'the golden one.' My mother literally named me her golden light through the storm that was her life. That is my job. To be everyone's light at the end of the tunnel. And I got stuck worrying so much about...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Aurelia hated being summoned.
Well, maybe not hate it. She hated it when she was by herself with a single moment of peace and clarity, only for someone to come barging in telling her that she must go somewhere for whatever reason.
Exactly three months ago, she was forced to give up her search for Jason, per Reyna's orders. It wasn't too often Aurelia just had a moment to sit in silence, before someone came in telling her that Reyna needed her assistance.
This was one of those times. Although it definitely was interesting listening to Gwendolyn yell at her about a son of Neptune carrying Juno across the Tiber, Aurelia still found annoyance in the fact that she had to hurt to her summons.
Aurelia hurried her way towards the principia. As she passed, she could hear the whispers among the Lares about a "graecus." She could fear their uneasiness and worry, but it rolled off of her as she walked by, releasing a calming feeling to everyone in a ten yard radius of her. The whispers began to die down a little as everyone went back to normal. Aurelia's hand went to her necklace and the fear she had collected was absorbed by the ebony jewel. The shadows that were forming on her skin were gone.
There was a small entourage standing around the principia as she approached, and they all naturally parted for her as she made her way to the leader in the purple cloak. Reyna was speaking to the large group, "Everyone back to your duties. I'll give you an update at evening muster. Remember, we have war games after dinner."
The crowd was dispersing reluctantly, many of them commenting about the boy's chances. Aurelia took in his appearance. His dark hair and tanned complexion. Has she seen him before? Good looking, but not exactly her type. Her type was a blonde boy with blue eyes and a dazzling white smile.
But if his unfamiliar Mediterranean look wasn't warning enough, the orange shirt and the strange beaded necklace set off several alarms in Aurelia's head and they all screamed, Run away! Enemy!
"He's a dead one," said one.
"Would be those two who found him," said another. Aurelia took notice of Hazel Levesque, the daughter of Pluto, and Frank, an unclaimed probatio, standing closest to the stranger boy.
"Yeah," a third muttered. "Let him join the Fifth Cohort. Greek and geeks." Several people laughed at that until they noticed Reyna's scowl.
"Reyna," Aurelia greeted the praetor with a formal nod.
"Aurelia, thank you for coming," Reyna said.
I didn't really have a choice, Aurelia wanted to say, but the timing felt off and a little unnecessary.
