"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...
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Aurelia hated coffee.
And caffeine in general. There was a little cafe in New Rome that made some of the best coffee—but she and Reyna always ordered the hot chocolate. The one time she tried their very amazing coffee she was up for thirty two hours straight annoying Reyna into oblivion.
Coffee and caffeine made her jittery which made it hard for her to keep expression controlled. So ever since then she hardly ever drank it and when she did it was always more cream, milk and sugar than coffee.
But after a night of Aurelia laying inside a bed comfier than her own in the barracks back at Camp Jupiter, listening to the sound of the whistling wind against the windows, and seeing the light shadows of branches dancing on the ceiling, Aurelia needed coffee. Because despite the comforting circumstance, she had refused to sleep.
She refused to sleep because she was full of fear. Fear of what horrors her subconscious would conjure—what memories it would resuscitate. And fear of what her mind would fail to do when she relived those memories.
So when Hazel graced her friends with a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and roasted potatoes (she passed on the bacon, but enjoyed the rest), Aurelia served herself a thirty six ounce cup of coffee.
"Can you really call it coffee if you filled half the cup with sugar?" Percy wondered aloud as he watched Aurelia basically empty the sugar container. Percy had showered before the three of them settled around the table for breakfast. His clothes were newly clean—jeans, purple t-shirt, and Polartec jacket.
"It tastes disgusting otherwise," she mumbled, adding about a long stream of cream.
"You should put in some cinnamon," Hazel suggested. She had cleaned into nice clothes as well—jeans, a cream colored jacket, and a white shirt that made her skin look as warm as cocoa. Just like Aurelia, Hazel smelled of jasmine shampoo. "That's how my mom used to make hers ... before at least." To demonstrate Hazel poured a small cup of coffee and added a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of cream and two spoonfuls of cinnamon. "Try it."
Aurelia took the small mug from Hazel's hand and took a tiny sip. "It needs more sugar." But she took the cinnamon container and poured a good amount of it in her coffee.
She took a sip of her gigantic coffee, much to the amusement of Hazel and Percy.
"Do you need more sugar?" Percy mocked.
"Maybe a bit more cream."
Both Hazel and Percy snickered as the daughter of Pavor poured more creamer into her oversized mug and began to drain it heartily.
"Has Frank come down yet?" Aurelia asked, trying to veer the topic of conversation away from her.
"Not yet," Hazel said. "I'm making him a plate though, and I'm gonna place a set of clothes in the bathroom for him. He'll probably want to shower."
