See ya then, Princess //reychel
Reyna hadn’t sat for a painted portrait before. Everything was done with photographs, and the one hanging in Camp Jupiter of her was outdated. The alliance with the Greek camp brought her new friends, and the chance to meet a real Oracle.
She met Rachel on the porch of the Big House, the redhead specked with paint of faded jeans and a worn in Camp Halfblood hoodie. She was mortal, which surprised Reyna, but the Oracle of Delphi was inside her. They talked for what felt like hours, sharing jokes and debated whether brownies were better or worse than chocolate cake. Reyna completely forgot why she went to the Big House. Instead, she got lost in the malachite green eyes in front of her. Her heart fluttered when the mortal girl tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, commenting on how Reyna’s hair fell out from the braid.
The bushy curls of the redhead were pulled back into a haphazard ponytail, little curls framing her round face. A few ginger curls grazed her freckles, and Reyna found herself wanting to memorize Rachel’s face. She was beautiful, in the way a desert storm was. Unpredictable, unexpected, but you couldn’t help but stare in awe.
“Can I paint you?” Rachel blushed, blurting out her question. Her cheeks seemed to turn pink before she added, “You’ve got really pretty eyes.”
If Reyna’s heart fluttered before, it soared now. It almost hurt to contain her grin, but it slipped through. This beautiful girl wanted to paint her.
“Of course,” Reyna had answered a little too quickly, “I was going to see if someone in New Rome would do an updated portrait of me anyway. If you don’t mind…” She trailed off.
Reyna hoped she covered up her excitement of spending hours with Rachel. Here she was, grinning from a few simple words from this girl.
“Oh, yeah! I can do an acrylics portrait that you can take with you!” Rachel stood up, excited at the prospect of showing off her work, “Also, I’ve been working with watercolor more and it could be cool if we did a less realistic painting too. Something for fun?”
A little giggle escaped Reyna. Rachel looked so happy, her eyes sparkled and her hands traces shapes in the air. A wide smile was spread across her face, and Reyna noticed that her jeans were riddled with paint splatters. She was adorable, and Reyna felt the urge to kiss Rachel’s nose and listen to her ramble forever.
“Tomorrow morning?” Reyna smiled, offering an actual plan.
“Yes,” Rachel said, letting herself send a playful and awkward wink before adding, “See ya then, Princess.” Before hurrying off to hide the flush of her cheeks from Reyna.
Reyna’s own cheeks felt like they had been lit on fire. If she felt any pressure to look pretty for the painting, she felt even more. Now, it was to make sure that the artist wouldn’t want to look at anything but her subject.