Reyna's POV

For Reyna something had felt off all day. In fact the whole week had felt off. In the pit of her stomach a ball of worry was growing. Of course nothing had happened to make her worry. There weren't any attacks, no sudden surprise ambushes, no accidental freak accidents. No everything had been completely...normal. Maybe that's why she was worried. Things weren't supposed to be normal. There was always something to worry about. Only today there wasn't.

"You really need to calm down little sis." It was Hylla. Hylla had visited once a month the past few months to help Reyna with her duties. Only Hylla had a different style when it came to being in charge.

"I can't. I feel like I need to be doing something." Hylla laughed as Reyna turned to face her. Hylla was lounging in a throne next to Reyna's watching her sister pace back and forth.

"That's your ADHD." Reyna sighed completely frustrated with her sister. Grudgingly she returned to her throne like seat and absent mindedly picked a jelly bean from the bowl that rested on the table next to her.

"Have we heard from Annabeth?" Reyna inquired. Hylla shook her head. "The hunters?"

"No. I don't know why you're waiting for them to contact you. Nothing's happened that would drive them to do that." Hylla tried to reassure her sister but it wasn't working.

"I'm going to my room. You're in charge but please don't eat all of my jelly beans this time." Hylla rolled her eyes but mumbled a promise. Reyna needed to desperately clear her head. Wandering down the hall she strode into her room closing the door. Slipping off her shoes and peeling her armor off Reyna settled onto the floor. Crossing her legs she took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. Meditation was something she had discovered a long time ago that would calm her thoughts enough for her to specifically target what was bothering her. At rare times she saw glimpses of visions. She wasn't sure why she saw visions, but she believed that maybe it was her mother.

When her breathes became even and the world around her dissapeared it was as if she was completely detached from the earth. Think. What's bugging you? What's causing your agitation. Wracking her brain Reyna pulled forward snippets of thoughts from her subconscious. The first to come was the date. What does the date have to do with anything? Brushing it aside Reyna moved to the next thought. What time of day it was. It's almost night time. Her next thought was how long it had been since she had heard from the Greek camp. Two weeks, that's all. Reyna then thought of her last conversation, and iris message with Annabeth and the others. Nothing peculiar. So what am I so worried about? Reyna sat there for what felt like hours. She sifted through the same scraps of thoughts over and over again.

"It's no use. Maybe I'm just being paranoid!" She groaned resting her head back on the edge of her bed. Argentum awoke from his sleeping position on her mattress and slipped off the bed. Resting his head in her lap Reyna stroked his fur sighing deeply. There was a faint knock on her door.

"Reyna, it's late, are you coming to dinner?" It was Hylla. Reyna had forgotten about dinner the time had slipped by almost effortlessly.

"I'll be out soon. Let me get ready." Reyna could hear the light steps of her sister disappear. Springing to her feet she busily redid her braid and straightened her robes. "Gods I hate formal wear."

Once she pronounced herself ready she whispered and Aurum along with Argentum accompanied her to the pavilion. The sun was setting casting beautiful hues of color over the white marbles that adorned New Rome. Children were scurrying about with their parents not far behind, going to accompany their older siblings at dinner. Reyna smiled as a young boy skipped up to her with a chewing bone in both hands.

"May I feed your doggies? My mom says I have to ask." He regarded the two gleaming beasts with wonder.

"Of course. I think they'll like it very much. They might even try to follow you home." The boy giggled thrusting out his hands. The two dogs carefully grasped the bones careful not to catch the boy's fingers. They munched happily as his soft hands smoothed their hides. The boys parents approached calling for his attention.

"Sorry, Praetor. We told him to ask." His father glanced at his son.

"He did I can assure you. Your son is very polite." His Father's gaze shifted to one of pride as he grabbed his son's hand and pulled him away. The boy turned beaming over his shoulder and waved. Reyna lifted a hand and waved back. She felt happy but there was a strange mixture of sadness in her feelings. She found that happened often now, ever since she had lost contact with her friends at Camp Half-Blood. Sure Frank and Hazel were amazing company, she often spent her days with them, but sometimes you need a change of scenery per say.

As she approached the dining quarters she could hear warm laughter and soft music. Dinner was one of her favorite parts of the day. There was always a sense of belonging and the feelings that only family brought. Stepping up the marble steps she entered and powerful but pleasing scents filled the air. A smile graced her lips as she observed the happy faces of her people. Searching through the crowd she spotted Frank and Hazel sitting at a far table together. Once Hazel spotted her she was beckoned over to the table.

Reyna obliged and sat next to her friends. She was asked what she wanted for food but Reyna politely refused. Hazel raised an eyebrow knowing that when Reyna was stressed she often did not eat, but it slipped right over Frank's head.

"To many jelly beans?" Frank asked smiling at his own joke. Reyna laughed lightly.

"Yeah, only Hylla decided to eat my entire back up stash." Reyna's gaze flicked over to her sister who was busy arm wrestling some of the Mars kids.

"So is that like a genetic thing?" Frank asked referring to the fancying of jelly beans. Reyna shrugged.

"You could say that I guess, but she eats all of them. I only like certain kinds." Frank nodded in understanding.

"I hate the banana ones." Hazel's nose crinkled up in disgust. Reyna laughed again but it was lacking in enthusiasm, again only Hazel noticed. Reyna fingered a dinner knife watching its silver surface gleam in the torch light. Hazel cleared her throat calling Reyna's attention back.

"I was walking around campus today and I noticed one of the alters was damaged. I was wondering if I should have gotten it replaced right away but I wanted your opinion first." Hazel stood, Reyna picked up on the social cues that Hazel was excusing both of them. The two girls exited while Frank joined the festivities that accompanied dinner. By now it was almost completely dark outside and the first of the stars appeared.

"You're worried aren't you." Hazel noted as they walked along the path that took Reyna back to her quarters.

"Yes." Was all Reyna said. A moment of silence passed between the two girls as they walked.

"I've had a funny feeling too you know. Something just feels off but I can't figure out what it is." Hazel spoke mirroring Reyna's thoughts.

"I'm sure we're being paranoid but I can't help but agree." By now they had reached the building. Reyna was about to take the first step when Hazel reached out and caught her arm.

"Listen, don't stress to much. I'll talk to Nico see if it's just us alright?" Reyna produced a thankful smile, but she wasn't sure that would exactly help. Hazel turned and headed back towards the dining house. Meanwhile Reyna stepped inside of her house and headed straight for her room. Gladly taking off her formal clothes she slipped into her pajamas and stooped over her desk. Dozens of papers were stacked, reports, inventory, war games requests. All of it requiring her attention. Time ticked by as she scribbled on each sheet of paper a reply, or request to give to her senate members. Eventually having had enough of senseless scribbling and paper work Reyna stepped out onto the balcony that adjoined her room. It was officially night and Reyna had no idea how late it was. One thing she knew though was that it was cold, so cold that seconds goose bumps prickled her skin and her breath clouded in front of her. Of course Reyna didn't mind, in fact she could have cared less.

"What's got you so worked up Reyna?" She asked herself studying the dark shadows before her. Closing her eyes she breathed in deeply. Trying to center her thoughts that revolved around her head again. It took a long time but finally something clicked. It was so insignificant she couldn't believe how much it had aggravated her. It was late November bordering on December. It was nighttime. The last Iris message she held with her friends was just around this time. It was in New York. It was freezing cold.

Reyna studied the sky her thoughts dancing. This one tiny question danced around in her head. Even in California it could happen though on extremely rare occasions. In fact as far as she knew it hadn't happened since she was born. She'd only heard stories. So why hadn't she seen any in New York, a place that was known to have such an event occur. Shaking her head she closed the balcony doors behind her as she reentered her room. Climbing into bed she found a comfortable position and in seconds she was drifting off to sleep. A single thought raced through her head; why wasn't it snowing?