This was originally going to be a very long one shot, but I think the story will be better off as multiple chapters. In the future, I may edit the story into a long one shot, depending on how the story turns out. I plan for this to have three-eight chapters.
Anywho, this is a Jasper (JasonxPiper) story. I'm sorry for any Jeyna shippers, but I think Jason and Piper are a better couple.
This is based off of ancient times. I have tried my best to make this story relate to history as much as possible, but it's kind of hard since Greece and Rome existed during different points in history, and as far as I know, they didn't really hate each other. Any constructive criticism to make this story more real is appreciated.
Disclaimer: Lay off the happy juice if your pjato or hoo books have my name on it.
Update as of 7/12/14 This chapter has been revised and edited. Enjoy
Unmatched
Chapter One
Piper could feel the aching pain as she was tossed around, could hear the screams and cries of those in need, and could smell the ash from burning homes. All of this was caused by one thing.
The Romans.
She buried herself deeper inside of the wooden box the Roman soldiers had thrown her into. Piper knew they were taking her to Rome, probably to become a slave. The thought brought tears to her eyes. She had heard the stories about the Romans, how they invade cities and show no mercy as they wipe the town out. She didn't believe them. Surely they weren't that cruel?
She couldn't have been more wrong.
Piper squeezed her eyes shut. She was not going to think about that. She had to find a way to escape. She glanced around the wooden box, but it was too dark to see anything. Sighing, Piper curled into a ball and lay on her side. She would escape later.
The cries of those in pain and the smell of burning wood slowly drifted away, telling Piper she was being taken further and further away from home. What was left of it, at least. She rocked herself to sleep as she was tossed around the dark box.
XXX
"Get up," a gruff voice said. Piper opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times as the sunlight burned her eyes.
"Get up," the voice said again. She looked up and saw a mean looking man with beady black eyes and a bashed in nose. She blinked at him and refused to move.
"What's wrong with her?" another voice asked. Piper looked around the first man to see another Roman soldier who looked much younger than the first man.
"She won't move," the older soldier said. "Tie her up. We'll just drag her in."
The younger soldier ignored the older one's order and looked over at her. He had slightly shaggy dark hair and a deep tan. He gave her a smug, blindingly white smile and offered her a hand. "I'm Dylan."
Piper glared at Dylan's hand and stayed silent. Dylan sighed before reaching inside the box to grab Piper.
"Don't touch me!" she screeched. Dylan jumped back and Piper could see surprise written all over his face.
"You can either walk, have me carry you, or get dragged by Darrel. Your choice," Dylan told her.
She growled at him and slowly made her way out of the box and onto solid ground. She took her time adjusting her toga while looking around. Other carts and boxes like the ones she was carried in were scattered about. Soldiers carried weeping girls over their shoulders towards a large palace.
"What is this place," she asked Dylan.
"The very center of the great Roman Empire. This is the Roman palace, where Emperor Jason lives. You are now under his rule as his war prisoner," Dylan explained to her.
Piper stayed silent for a few seconds to let the new information sink in. A war prisoner. She was now a war prisoner, forced under the rule of her country's greatest enemy.
"What if I don't want to be his prisoner? Why can't I just go home?" Piper said without thinking.
Dylan grabbed her arm and pulled her to his side. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You can't and never will be able to go home. This is your new home. Get used to it. And I'd watch my tongue around here if I were you. Not everyone is as nice as I am."
Piper struggled against his hold and eventually Dylan released her. "You're a feisty little thing, aren't you? I feel for the poor fellow that gets stuck with you," Dylan commented.
The other soldier, Darrel, rolled his eyes and pushed Piper forward. "Walk," he ordered her.
She walked forward slowly and let Dylan and Darrel lead her into the palace. The door to the building was massive and had bars along the top. The entry hall was made of stones. Windows lined the tops of the walls with bars across them. Statues of various gods were placed about the hall, while a fountain with the goddess Aphrodite in it was in the very center. Piper felt a pang in her chest. That's Venus, she reminded herself. Not Aphrodite. They're different. Still, Piper felt like the statue's eyes were following her every move.
"Keep walking," Dylan told her. She obeyed and scurried after him and Darrel, not wanting to be in the same room as the statue any longer.
Dylan and Darrel led her up several flights of stairs and down various long halls before stopping in front of a another set of large doors. What's with everything having big doors? Is it for dramatic effect?
"This is the trial room. You will be tried for you crimes," Dylan explained. What crimes? "You will be marked as either a slave or concubine and given to your master. Answer every question honestly and try to show some respect." With that, Dylan shoved Piper through the doors. She stumbled before regaining her footing. She looked around and her heart quickened as she saw that she was in the very center of a large circular room with hundreds of people sitting around her. Piper felt like she was in the stadium back in Greece that she used to watch war prisoners be tried in with her father. Only, this time she was the prisoner.
"Step forward," a commanding voice said. Piper turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw a wooden table with five mean looking people sitting behind it. The girl that had spoken looked around her age and had dark brown hair and calculating brown eyes. She was wearing purple and gold robes over a white shift dress and two dogs lay at her feet, ready to attack at any moment.
"I said step forward," the girl said again. Piper obeyed and walked towards the table, stopping a few feet in front of it. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room watching her and she felt faint.
"State your name and age," the girl commanded.
"Piper McLean. Fifteen years of age," Piper answered. The girl nodded and the woman to the left of her wrote down the information.
"Parents?" the girl said.
Piper's eyes widened and she glanced around the room at all the people. They probably all knew her father, he was famous all through out Europe, but they couldn't know who her mother was. Her mother told her it would be dangerous if too many people found out who had given birth to her.
Piper swallowed and focused back on the girl. "My father is Tristan McLean." There was a collective amount of gasps throughout the room.
"The actor?" the girl asked. Piper nodded.
"Very well. And who is your mother?" the girl asked.
Piper bit her lip and shook her head. They couldn't know.
"Are you telling me you don't know who your own mother is?" the girl said.
She nodded her head. Piper decided to just play along and say her mother left when she was young and her father didn't like to speak of her, which wasn't a complete lie. Hopefully the girl would buy her story.
"You're lying," the girl smirked. Or not. "You know, Piper, I've been working in here for a long time. And in that time, I've been able to pick up a few things on how to tell when a person is lying."
Piper clenched her fists at her sides and tried to calm down her heart which was beating way faster than what would be considered healthy.
"I'm going to ask you one last time. Who is your mother?" the girl asked, putting emphasis on every word.
Piper shut her eyes and breathed in a long breath. She slowly opened her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but no words come out. She glanced around her and swallowed.
"Aphrodite. My mother is Aphrodite," Piper blurted out. She glanced around her, waiting for something bad to happen to her, but nothing happened. The room was completely silent. She stood there, fidgeting and playing with her thumbs. What did she just do? Did she really tell all these people-strangers- her biggest secret?
"Aphrodite," the girl said. Her brown eyes narrowed. "You're a child of Aphrodite."
Piper nodded and bit her lip so hard she started to taste blood.
The girl stood up and walked over to Piper, her two dogs trailing behind her. She smiled a cold smile before sticking her hand out towards Piper. "I'm Reyna, daughter of Bellona, praetor to the twelfth legion of the Roman army and part of Rome's senate."
Piper nodded her head and gingerly shook the girl's, Reyna's, hand. She didn't understand most of what Reyna had just said.
Reyna released her hand and starting walking around Piper. Piper's heart started beating and she wondered if anyone else could hear her heart pounding.
"You're a pretty thing, aren't you?" Reyna mused. "A daughter of Aphrodite. That's rare, you know. There hasn't been a child born to Aphrodite since the Trojan War. And your father is Tristan McLean, the treasured actor. My, you are a lucky child." Lucky? You're looking at me like I'm some new toy for you. I'm standing in the middle of a courtroom being tried as a criminal, and you call me lucky?
Reyna stopped circling around her and stood a foot in front of Piper. "I've made my decision," Reyna announced. "She shall become a concubine to Emperor Jason. Take her to the harem."
Piper felt her heart sank as two guards came forward and each grabbed one of her arms. Dylan had said something about becoming either a slave or a concubine. She racked her brain, trying to remember anything about the word. As far as she knew, concubines weren't used in Greece, and if they were, she had never come across one.
"You're a lucky girl," one of the guards said. "And very pretty, too. Whenever Emperor Jason is in a giving mood, I'll see if he'll let me use you."
Piper grimaced and felt her heart sink even further. She was starting to remember what concubine meant, and her future wasn't looking too good. Oh, what am I thinking? My future started looking bad the moment the Roman soldiers invaded my city.
Like it? Review & tell me what you think! I love to hear all of your thoughts on how I can improve this story and things you'd like to have me add. Also, if you have any character suggestions and people you would like me to add, let me know!
With love,
Lauren
~Lulunoel