Ave Atque Vale

Disclaimer: I don't own anything as usual. And I am making connections to things that are totally unrelated...

"You don't have to say anything more; you've made your choice. I respect your decision." Reyna said, looking directly at him.

He felt like his heart was being wrenched apart by metal pliers. He felt guilty beyond measure.

Reyna's displayed almost no emotion and she was merely speaking in a monotonous manner.

Polite, but no longer friendly. She was hiding her emotions well, too well.

"Reyna, please." he said.

"I lost my memory, I didn't remember anything. I just woke up in a school bus holding Piper's hand. I swear we didn't have anything at first, but she saved my life. I…"

Jason trailed off, knowing that he had picked his words poorly.

"Because she saved your life." Reyna repeated, almost snarling. "How many times did I save yours, Grace?

Admit it, you liked her. Even Percy, the one they called the Greek, he remembered his girlfriend.

Being an amnesiac does not cut it. If you had dared to make the mistake, you should have enough guts to admit to it. That's what a Roman would do."

Her words stung, a lot. He knew he had let her down, she had waited eight months for to get back and she was rewarded at the first sight with the knowledge that he had gotten another girlfriend during his time at the other camp.

"This isn't about Piper, it's about us. There was a lack of trust between us from the very beginning and the hole has only grown larger in time.

We shouldn't have started, Hylla was right." Reyna's words hit him hard. He had let her down knowingly, he had made her suffer.

"Reyna, I'm really sorry…" He knew sorry couldn't cut it, but knew nothing more to say to make her feel better.

He was silently observing Reyna now, looking for signs. Her eyes seemed more tired than angry now, like all she wanted was to let go of it all, his betrayal, everything.

Sighing, Reyna said, "Take care of her, don't let history repeat itself again, she's not like the other Venus kids, she doesn't deserve the pain."

Turning on her heel, she left the Garden of Bacchus, a stream of silent tears sliding down her cheek, leaving pain in its wake.

This was the first time Jason had seen her cry and it struck him how little he knew about Reyna. He still loved her, but he loved Piper too. He appreciated how she had ended it all.

No argument about him choosing between her and Piper, no force. It was a withdrawal, she left the game.

In his heart, he would still love her. She was the one person who actually bothered about his feelings even during something like this.

Watching her lone retreating silhouette in the evening glow, he whispered, "No, you don't deserve this pain too."

The flower on my balcony just died... ._.