What in the Hades, how has it been a year since I've last updated. Time really does fly by.

I highly recommend you read the authors note at the bottom of this chapter as there is a lot of important information in it.

And without further ado...

Here is the long awaited Chapter Six...Enjoy.

As of August 29, 2014 this chapter is not edited so sorry for mistakes. I will get onto the editing possibly tomorrow...

Unmatched

Chapter Six

The following two weeks passed by surprisingly fast for Piper. After her talk with Emperor Jason, she felt more comfortable at the palace. She had fallen into a routine. In the mornings she would join the Emperor and Leo for breakfast. Then she would run any errands the Emperor had for her or if there weren't any, she'd help some of the maids out in the kitchen. For lunch she would go and eat with Hazel, who she had surprisingly grown close to. Frank would sometimes join them and Piper enjoyed their time together. After lunch she would either spend some time with the Emperor, go to the library, join Frank while he taught archery classes, or help Hazel out in the stables. She'd eat dinner with Mellie and the other concubines in her room and then enjoy some down time to herself before she went to bed. Sometimes she'd go and talk to Emperor Jason if she hadn't talked to him during the day. She hadn't seen Annabeth since the one day she helped her with her errands.

Piper didn't give up the thought of escape. Sometimes she'd hide behind places she knew there were guards and she'd listen to them talk for any information about her father. She still didn't know where her father was, and it worried her. She often had nightmares about finding him dead when she finally managed to escape.

It wasn't until her fourth week in the palace that she finally heard her father's name being spoken of by the guards. Piper had been hiding behind a large table near the kitchen where a few guards were keeping watch on the cooks. She was just about to fall asleep when one of the guards said her father's name.

"I heard that the Emperor released Tristan McLean from the prison hold today," the taller of the two guards said.

The shorter guard nodded. "I was there when the Emperor went down to the cells. Since Mr. McLean is well known throughout Rome the Emperor decided to release him. I heard him say Mr. McLean will be staying in one of guest rooms until he's ready to travel back to Greece. But McLean's daughter will be staying here."

"Thank gods. Hopefully Jason will grow bored of her soon. It would be a fun time learning how the daughter of love fairs in bed." Piper cringed at the taller guard's remark but it quickly left her head as she realized that she had finally learned where her father was. He was right in the palace. And he had been in the prison hold the entire time before that. And the Emperor hadn't told her even though she had asked countless times about where her father was.

She knew Emperor Jason was in meetings all day today with his advisory council so she couldn't find him right then, but when it was time for their nightly chat tonight he was going to be getting a word lashing from her.

XXX

"Thalia, what the hades do you think you're doing?" Percy asked the raven haired girl lounging in his personal study.

"Shush, I'm reading," Thalia answered and tried to send the king away with a wave of her hand as she kept her eyes on the scroll in front of her.

"Thalia, those are private letters. As in, not for you to read," Percy said, attempting to take the scroll away from Thalia.

"These are documents about the weaknesses of the Roman army and the types of military tactics they use, and I'm not allowed to read them? Percy, in case you haven't noticed we're about to go to war with Rome and any information that could help us is valuable," Thalia responded with a raised eyebrow.

Percy sighed. "You're right," he mumbled. "But still, how did you manage to get these?" Percy asked as he peered at the pile of other scrolls from one of his secret vaults. "These were locked down in the cabinet in the catacombs."

Thalia smirked and raised a hand and allowed for electricity to dance around her fingertips. "I can be very convincing when I need to be."

Percy rolled his eyes and sat down on a chair across from Thalia who was lazily draped across the chair that he normally sat on with her feet propped up onto his desk. He grabbed a scroll at random and his eyes widened almost instantly as he saw exactly what he was reading.

"Thalia," Percy breathed, almost too afraid to talk. "Where did you find this?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated. "What did I tell you, your Royal Idiotness? I took these from your vault."

Percy didn't have it in him to be angered with her choice of words. He was too focused on the parchment in front of him to respond. Thalia must of realized that something was wrong because she set down her scroll and focused on Percy.

"What is it?" she asked.

"A prophecy. I've never seen it before," Percy answered,

Thalia scrunched her face in confusion. "A prophecy? What does it say?"

Percy stayed silent for a few moments to let the words he was reading sink in before answering her. "Two enemy nations shall meet at last, to settle a strife from the past," Percy began. "An army to come to claim their land, a city destroyed from a trusted ones hand. A son of sky and a son of sea, shall meet in a battle that all shall see. A daughter of love to determine their fates, to heal or destroy two nations blinded by hate."

It was completely silent in the King's study for a few minutes as both King and hunter processed the words.

"Piper," Thalia said. "Daughter of love. That has to be Piper. She's the only daughter of Aphrodite alive."

"We don't know that for sure," Percy said, wanting to deny the fact that Piper could very well be apart of the prophecy. "And we don't even know if this is about Greece and Rome."

Thalia slammed her hand on Percy's desk and stood up, her eyes blazing. "Percy, I swear to gods please don't be dense right now. Why else would this prophecy appear at this moment right before we're about to go to war? This is obviously about us. This is about you, and Piper, and that stupid brother of mine."

"A son of sky and a son of sea," Percy said. "Me and Jason. A daughter of love. Piper. But how can she be apart of this?"

Thalia was at a loss for words. "I have no idea," she finally said. "But at this point we need to be prepared for anything."

XXX

"Father, what a grand surprise," Jason said as the king of the gods appeared in a blinding flash of light in Jason's sleeping chambers.

Jupiter ignored his son and instead took a seat on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and motioned for Jason to do the same. Jason complied and sat down across from his father, a frown on his face.

"Look, if this is about the whole "you need to find a wife thing, I-"

"No," Jupiter said cutting his son off. "There are much more pressing matters to discuss. Finding a wife is going to be the least of your worries."

Jason narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"A war, Jason," Jupiter said. "While you've been running your country your council has been running your military. You're too trusting, my son."

"What are you talking about?" Jason repeated, growing frustrated.

"The Greeks are preparing for war against Rome," Jupiter informed Jason. "King Percy has had enough of being terrorized by you. He comes to claim back his land and his people and that pretty little concubines of yours."

"Well then we'll fight. The Greeks aren't getting anything from us. And I'm going to have to have a word with my council. It appears they haven't been very honest with me lately. And I think I know exactly who is the reason for this," Jason said coolly. "What are you going to do with all this?"

"You know the gods aren't supposed to get involved. I'm just here as a father warning their son to be careful. Rome is entering into a new era and I want you to be the one leading her all the way through it."

"I will try father," Jason replied. "But you must know that I will die before I let anything bad happen to Rome."

"I know," Jupiter replied. "And that's what I'm afraid of."

XXX

Jason was in a mood and as much as he tried, he couldn't shake the scrowl from his face. Servants scurried out of his way as he marched towards his council room where he held most of his meetings. When he burst through the doors his advisors and part of the members of his senate all scrambled out of their chairs and lowered themselves into a bow.

"Rise," Jason said. The men in front of him silently rose and watched Jason wearily. Jason ignored them and did a brief scan of the room, finding who he had sought out to find instantly.

"Leave," Jason ordered. "I need to speak to Octavian privately. And you," Jason said, pointing to one of his senate members. "Send word to Reyna that I request her presence in the council room immediately."

"Yes, sir," the man said before scampering out of the room along with the other men.

Jason dismissed the guards that were on duty to wait outside the room and closed the heavy wooden doors, sealing him and Octavian alone in the room. Turning around he saw Octavian lounging in the chair to the right of Jason's throne, a lazy grin on his face.

"What did I do to earn a private talk with the Emperor?" Octavian asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Jason forced himself to breathe and not blow up at Octavian. Instead, he walked over to his throne and sat down, giving himself a moment to collect his thoughts.

"You know why Octavian, " Jason said. "I want to know why you hadn't told me about the Greeks plan to invade Rome."

Octavian raised an eyebrow at his Emperor. "I didn't want to cause you alarm, my Lord," he said with a slight smirk. "You've been very busy lately with trying to find a wife and looking after that lovely new servant of yours."

"You should know better than to keep information from me, Octavian," Jason said angrily. "I should have you kicked off of the Senate for this."

"Oh but you wouldn't," Octavian replied cockily. "Wouldn't want to lose support from half your followers, would we?"

Jason clenched his jaw and wrung his hands together in his lap to refrain from punching Octavian. The bastard was right though, Jason couldn't kick him off of the council. Octavian came from a well respected family and was a grandson to Apollo. His two older brothers were both honored war heroes, having fought bravely for the safety of Rome. And although Jason knew Octavian would shit his pants and cower in a battle, he still gained the same respect as his two older brothers. Octavian's family was very influential and Jason couldn't afford to lose their support. Half of his senate would probably plunge a dagger in his back if anything were to happen to Octavian. And not only was Octavian from a well-known family, he was also the Royal Prophet. So as much as Jason would love to kick Octavian out of his palace for good, he couldn't.

"You need to stop doing this Octavian," Jason said. "My job is to protect Rome and I can't do that if my own council is keeping secrets from me."

"I am well aware of that," Octavian said, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table. "And what a shame it would be if the Emperor failed to protect his country and he was forced to step down. And how terrible would it be if they had to replace that Emperor with a member of his Senate since the Emperor had no heirs to take his place."

It took a moment for Jason to process what Octavian had just said and when he did he was livid. "As long as there is a breath in my body I will protect Rome," Jason said, narrowing his eyes. "You will not stand in my way. And if you even try to get in my way I will have no problem getting rid of you, no matter what family you come from. Am I clear?"

Octavian just continued to smirk. "Crystal, my lord. But I do have to warn you that people aren't very happy with you right now."

"And way is that?" Jason asked.

"Well, for one, you don't have an heir nor are you married. The people need stability and you're not providing it. And with a war brewing on Roman territory, who's to say what the people are going to do? The only reason you are even on that throne is because of who your father is."

"And let me just remind you," Jason said carefully, "that the reason you're not dead is because of who your father is.

Reyna walked into the room at that moment and noticed the intense glare on Jason's face and the cocky one on Octavian's. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked as the wooden doors closed behind her.

"And another thing," Octavian said. "You allow a girl to be in charge of your army. No other country does that! Women don't fight. They're meant for cooking and cleaning and bearing children."

"Out," Jason said, pointing towards the door. "Now. We're done here."

"Very well, my lord," Octavian said mockingly. He got up from his chair and sauntered over to the doors, nodding his head at Reyna as he passed her. "Good day, Lady Reyna."

Reyna huffed at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest as Octavian excited the room. She walked over to the large table and took a seat to Jason's left.

"That guy is such a creep," Reyna said, glaring at the seat where Octavian had just been sitting.

Jason rubbed a hand down his face. "Tell me about it," he said. "Now, for the reason I called you here.."

XXX

Piper couldn't wait any longer. Her stomach was a mess and she was furious at Emperor Jason for keeping her away from her father yet also incredibly excited at the prospect of possibly being able to see her dad again. She had to find the Emperor and talk to him about her dad. And maybe slap him.

"Leo!" Piper shouted as she saw her pointy-eared friend walk around a corner. He would know where the Emperor was.

Leo stopped walking and whipped around and Piper noticed that he seemed slightly nervous.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as she walked over to him, all thoughts of Emperor Jason forgotten.

"Yeah everything's great, why wouldn't it be? Life is fantastic," Leo answered hastily. "Is there something you needed?"

"It can wait. Are you in rush somewhere? Do you need help?" Piper asked.

"No, no I'm fine. Just trying to help Jason. He's been super busy doing… stuff," Leo finished lamely.

Piper raised her eyebrows. "What kind of stuff?"

"Personal stuff," Leo said. "Look Pipes, now's not a good time for me to talk. Maybe later?"

Piper internally sighed. "Yeah, sure. Have fun with your stuff."

Piper turned away from Leo as he turned and continued to fast walk to wherever he was going. Just as she was turning the corner at the opposite end of the hallway did it occur to her that Leo was helping Emperor Jason and that he was probably on his way to the Emperor right then. Smirking to herself she turned around and ran down the hallway she had seen Leo turn down and saw him going around another corner. She crept after him, trying her best to stay quiet. After a few minutes of running around the hallways Leo finally stopped in front of a large set of wooden doors where two guards were standing outside of. They opened the doors as soon as he approached and closed them as soon as he stepped inside.

Piper narrowed her eyes. Fantastic, she thought. She sighed and straightened herself up from the kneeling position she had been in hiding behind a statue. Glancing around she noticed she was in a part of the palace she had never been in before and decided to do a little exploring. She walked away from the doors the guards stood in front of and took off down a different hallway. At the end of the hallway was a small door that Piper pushed open and peered around. At the sight of what was behind the door she gasped and fully opened the door to reveal a small garden in the middle of the palace. A pond rest in the middle with a few benches strewn about bushes of flowers. She walked outside and towards the pond and noticed that koi fish were swimming around in it and a few ducks were lounging in the water.

"Charming, isn't it?" a voice said from behind Piper. She whipped around and saw the dark haired boy from the stables standing a ways behind her, leaning against the wall by the door.

He pushed away from the wall and began walking towards Piper. "I like to come out here. It's quiet and peaceful. Plus, my sister loves nature so I feel more connected to her." He stopped about three feet away from Piper and stuck out his hand. "I'm Nico."

"Piper," Piper said, shaking his hand slightly. "What happened to your sister?"

"Nothing," Nico said. He turned away from her and faced the pond, his eyes following an orange koi fish as it swam in circles in the pond. "She joined the hunters of Artemis about three years ago. I rarely see her. And then my half sister works here in the stables. She's actually quite fond of you."

"You're Greek," Piper said bemusedly. "And you're related to Hazel. But how, you don't even look a-"

"Same mom, different dad," Nico said, cutting her off. "We're the children of Hades."

Piper's eyes widened. "What are you doing in Rome then! You should be back in Greece, both of you! Were you captured?"

"No," Nico said bluntly. "Well, I wasn't. Hazel was and she choose to make a life here. Everyone she loved from her life in Greece was killed during Rome's raid of her city. As for me, I'm a drifter. I pop up from time to time."

"Does Percy know about you?" Piper asked.

Nico's eyes darkened slightly at the mention of Percy's name and his cheeks reddened faintly. "Yes. I've talked to Percy on numerous occasions. I guess I'm kind of like his spy. I try to help protect Greece from Rome."

"Well at least you're doing good here. I'm just stuck," Piper huffed.

"At least you're not dead," Nico replied.

"Oh yeah, because being the concubine to the man who ruined your life is much better," Piper said.

"It's not like he's done anything to you," Nico said.

Piper narrowed her eyes. "How would you know?"

Nico shrugged. "People talk. The maids especially. They would've noticed the blood on his sheets."

"Blood…?" Piper thought. "Oh. Blood. First time. Got it."

"Jason's not that bad, I guess," Nico said. "He has good morals, at least. He's not a big fan of all the wars Rome has started to gain land. But he has to go along with it because it's his job. Now, let's go inside before we get caught. This is technically Jason's personal garden."

XXX

"What's this?" Reyna asked, poking at the scroll Leo had brought in.

Jason picked it up and examined it, his eyes widening as he read the words.

"Leo," Jason said, "is this that big prophecy people have been speaking about?"

"Yes," Leo answered. "And with the rumors about Greece preparing to wage war against Rome, it's safe to say that it's about to happen very soon."

"What does it say?" Reyna asked.

"Here, you read it," Jason said, passing her the scroll.

Her eyes ran over the words and widened the same way Jason's did. "A son of sky and a son of sea." Reyna's eyes met Jason's. "You and King Perseus."

Jason nodded. "It would seem so. And the daughter of love, it has to be Piper."

Leo nodded solemnly. "I try to keep her safe and away from harm and the next thing I know she's tied to a dangerous prophecy between the world's two biggest rivals. She's very high maintainace."

Jason spared Leo a look. "Right, not a time for jokes," Leo said. "But I should warn you since we're all here talking now that I saw her hiding under a table this morning listening to these guards talk. They mentioned how you had released her father from the prison hold. She looked pretty furious."

Jason paled slightly. "Today is just not my day," he said, groaning into his hands. He noticed Reyna looking at him funny and asked "What?"

Reyna shook her head slightly. "Nothing. You just seem to actually care about this girl. Most lords don't develope relationships with their servants."

Jason smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess. But I consider Piper a friend. A friend that I need to protect." He turned to Leo. "What are we going to do about her?"

Leo ran a hand through his unruly hair. "I don't know. I guess for now we just try and keep her as far away from this war and prophecy as possible."

Jason nodded. "Agreed. Reyna, any input?"

Reyna just shrugged her shoulders. "In this case it would appear that ignorance is bliss."

XXX

Jason wearily made his way back to his room that night knowing that he was about to get tongue lashing from Piper. As he approached his door the guards that were positioned to guard him as he slept stepped forward and bow faintly to him.

"My lord," one of them said. "your concubine entered your room not too long ago. She looked quite furious and kept mumbling about ripping your head off. We searched her for weapons and found none, although I would still be cautious."

Jason internally sighed and almost started laughing as he noticed the nervous looks on his guards' faces.

"Thank you gentlemen. You may return to your posts. I'll be sure to call you if trouble arises," Jason said, walking into his room.

And then quickly ducking as a shoe came flying at his head.

"Sir!" one of the guards exclaimed as he and his partner rushed into the room.

Jason waved his hand at them. "I'm fine. Just go please. And shut the door behind you."

His guards looked like they wanted to protest but listened to their Emperor's order and retreated from the room and closed Jason's door firmly behind them. Standing up from his crotched position Jason saw Piper glaring muderously at him from one of his couches. She rose as he did and drove the knife she was fiddling with into his sitting table.

Jason sighed. "That's mahogany. Where did you even get that knife?"

"Does it matter!" Piper exclaimed. "My dad, Jason. You had him locked up this entire time and you didn't tell me!"

"Look, Piper, I'm sorry. But it took me forever to get the council to release your father. I didn't want to get your hopes up in case they voted against it."

"What do you mean?" Piper said, the glare leaving her face and a curious look replacing it.

"They wanted to have your father publicly executed," Jason said as he walked over to his sitting area and sat onto one of his couches. Piper followed suit and sat on the couch across from him. "They wanted to show the people that it didn't matter how well known you were, no one was safe from Rome's wraith. But I convinced the majority of the council to vote against it and to have your father released."

Piper's eyes were watery and Jason felt an urge to go over and hug her but he remained in his seat.

"They wanted to kill him," she said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "But you saved him. Why?"

"Because he's your dad," Jason replied. "And I know how much he means to you. We're friends Piper. I told you you could trust me."

"I-," Piper began to say then stopped. "Thank you," she breathed.

"Of course," Jason replied. "Anything for you."

And Jason hadn't needed to get up and go over and hug Piper. Because she had already leaped up from her seat and had wrapped her arms around his waist with her head resting on his chest. It took a second for Jason to process what was happening but before his mind could react his arms were already wounding themselves around her. When Jason's mind finally caught up to what was going on there was only one thought in his head: this feels right.

Sorry, this is going to be long but I highly recommend you read it.

First things first I'm the realist. Just kidding. No but really, first thing I wish to talk about is the whole beta thing. (If you don't wish to be my beta you can skip onto the next part of this author's note.) I received too many offers and I lost track and so I gave up. I still am looking for a beta and these are the requirements. If you feel like you fit them, please send me a PM (don't send in a review saying you'd like to be one because I might not see it) saying that you wish to be my beta. I will then send you an application with a few questions for you to answer and I will ask you to send a piece of sample writing of at least 500 words. If you wish to be my beta, you must tell me by September 5 & all applications will be due by September 7. Some of the requirements are I would also like for you to be willing to discuss and review other pieces of writing I'm working on and give me tips and be willing to edit them for me. These may include stories that I may be posting on here in the future and/or original stories I'm working on. I wish for you to become a friend and someone I can bounce off ideas with. Another thing is age. I know age doesn't define wisdom but you must be at least 14 before applying. Some of the topics I love to write fanfiction for are the Percy Jackson books (obviously), Hunger Games, Mortal Instruments, and Avatar: The Last Airbender and if you're a fan of these too then it will definitely make things easier to discuss.

Secondly, I was reading through all the previous chapter of Unmatched and omg, I cannot believe the amount of spelling and grammar errors there were. I took the liberty of going back and editing all the chapters and I changed parts that didn't make sense in order to fix things up a bit. A few scenes have been taken out/changed and a few things were added. I practically rewrote chapter two because I feel like I made Annabeth too mean. I wanted to portray her as a girl who had been broken by the enemy, but instead I made her seem bitchy. And then I added more to Jason's and Leo's conversation in chapter four because I wanted to show the serious side to their friendship and also the silly side while making it clear that Leo is protective of Piper. Also, I feel like I made Reyna too stoney. She's a warrior and she's proud in the books but I made her heartless in here which I regret and I made Jason seem liked he hated her which isn't true, so I fixed that up, too. I began writing this when I was thirteen and now I'm fifteen and some of the things I had in here just seemed childish and rushed so I fixed what I could. The general plot of the story is the same but I do recommend rereading the story. And it has been a year since my last update, so it might be nice to refresh your memory. I definitely had to go back and see what I had written.

Thirdly, a lot of you were around when I was dealing with the hard truth that I was depressed. I went to a therapist and got anti depressant pills that actually helped me a lot. I no longer take them though, as I have managed to pull myself out of the mindset I was stuck in for so long. This past year I have grown a lot mentally and I'm okay again. I'm happy with my life and with myself and I just want to tell anyone who is reading this that is also dealing with similar problems that it does get better. I'm speaking from experience. If you allow yourself to heal and get help, then you can become okay again. But you have to be willing to help yourself.

Okay, now moving onto this chapter! The story is finally moving forward and speeding up as the main plot settles in. I hope you enjoyed Percy & Thalia! I love writing them because they're both stubborn as hell and like to mess around with each other. Also, I'm not good at writing poetry/rhymes and I did my best with the prophecy x) At least it gets across the point that Rome and Greece will be meeting in battle and Piper has the power to save them or destroy any kind of bond the two nations could form. And the scene with Nico and Piper completely wrote itself. It wasn't planned at all. And we get to see the beginning of the Jasper romance forming.

Also, if you guys want you should check out my new pjato drabble series:) I started them to help with writers block & to help get the writing process going to help me write this story.

And as always, thanks for sticking with this story! I swear to the gods you will never have to wait a year again. Gods, freshman year was insane and I was constantly busy and time just really flew by. And thanks so much for the 553 reviews! This story is the second highest Jason&Piper story when it comes to reviews, 5th when it comes to favorites, and 2nd again when it comes to follows. Thank you guys so much for all of this! I can't express how much this makes me happy that I was able to write and create a story that many people love! And I love reading your reviews! You guys are honestly the best :)

And a few things that are going on in my life at the moment in case you're interested...

1. I made cheer captain

2. As soon as I complete my online driving school I can get my permit. I turned 15 1/2 on July 1 but laziness so I'm a little late on getting my permit. Whoops.

3. I got my first kiss with a guy my age who goes to a different school then me but he still lives close. I go beach camping every year & he just so happened to be there the exact same time I was. Total coincidence. I actually had a thing with his older brother a while ago before he got back together with his ex girlfriend & forgot to tell me. Anyways we hung out a lot & he kissed me in the middle of the bay & it was adorable & awkward & everything a first kiss should be. And now my opinion on kissing is that it's awkward & not at all as enjoyable as they make it seem on tv but his lips were soft & it was nice. & no we aren't dating nor will we date in the future.

4. I start school on tuesday, September 2 and I'm both excited and sad. And slightly pissed because they gave me periods one-six instead of two-seven and I have to be at school by 7:14 :'( (I'm so not a morning person)

5. My first football game is tonight! I love friday night lights!

Random fact: if you combine Piper's and Nico's names you get Pico or Pino and both are great.

Review Question: What is your favorite book at the moment? Are there any you recommend for me to read?

Also, I've recently become obsessed with Zutara, and I have no idea why. It was completly random. It's like my crack at the moment. An episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender came on a few months ago and ever since then I've been reading Zutara to make me feel better about the fact that Katara and Aang actually end up together in the finale. Bleh. Also season three of LoK came out & I had no idea! So I spent this past week watching all of it. Poor Korra and stupid Mako.

So, if you know of any good Zutara fanfics out there, I'd love to hear of them! I've already read all of Fandomme's stuff and Stormbenders and all the big name, well known Zutara and I'm looking for more. So let me know if you know of any!

With love,

Lauren

~Lulunoel