"You did it again." Reyna said.
Nico blink, trying to remember what was going on. Reyna was standing in front of him, her hands on her hips.
"Huh? What did I do?" He asked.
"You called me Maria."
Nico squinted and thought for a moment. "Did I?"
Reyna stared at him, her face full of concern. "Nico, are you sure you're alright. This is the third time you've called me that."
"Maria," Nico repeated. Suddenly, his head started to hurt. He screamed and grabbed his hair.
Reyna jumped. "What's wrong?" There was panic in her voice.
"It's my head," Nico answered.
The praetor grabbed his arm and began dragging him towards the big house. "That's it, you're going to the infirmary."
Nico tried to pull away from her. "No, I'm fine."
She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you?"
"Y-yeah," He didn't sound very sure. Reyna took him over to the dinning pavilion and they sat down on the steps. She studied him carefully. He didn't look sick in anyway, that was the good news. But for the past few days, he'd been calling Reyna, Maria. The bad news, he didn't know why.
Reyna sighed. "Was there someone named Maria in your past life, before your memories were taken away? Maybe I would remind you of them."
Nico tried to think, which gave him a headache. He hadn't learned much about his life before, and didn't really get a chance to talk about it with anyone. But Reyna was obviously invested in his life now. She was the first person who should know about it all. So, Nico kept thinking. Not a lot of people popped into his head.
His older sister, Bianca, was one of the only people he could remember.
He shook his head. "Not really, no."
Reyna glared at him, getting the sense that he was lying.
"What? I'm serious." Nico protested. "My father doesn't like to tell me about my past life."
Reyna took a deep breath. "What about," She started cautiously. "Your mother?"
Again, the throbbing in Nico mind was getting heavier. Small visions started appearing before his eyes. A woman, smiling down at him. Her black, yet kind eyes. Her dark brown that tumbled down past her shoulders. She held Nico's hands, and he felt like a kid again.
"Ti amo, figlio mio," The woman said. Then, the image of her started to change. Her face became worried. When Nico blinked, he realized her was looking at Reyna.
"Woah," Nico jumped. Reyna flinched.
"What is it?" She asked. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the infirmary?"
Nico shook his head. "I-I just saw my mother."
"Really? What did she look like?"
"She was very beautiful. She had my sisters smiled, and my eyes. She kind of looked like you."
Reyna started blushing, she turned away from Nico and focused on the ground. It took a moment for Nico process his thoughts, then his face began to turn red.
"Uh, I mean, with the dark hair, and your skin tone. You look a lot like her." That wasn't really helping.
Reyna cleared her throat and didn't take her eyes off the ground. "So, you think the reason you keep calling me Maria is because I look like you're mother."
"Well, that's part of it." Nico's head still hurt, but it might not have been from the memories. "I didn't know my mother very well. All I remember is that she was confident, and determined, and put other people before herself. Just like you."
Neither of them could meet each others eyes.
"OK," Reyna said finally. Her voice was a little shaky. "Well, that explains why you call me Maria." She giggled. "I remind you of your mom."
Nico smiled, realizing how silly it sounded. Reyna even had his mother's laugh. He took a moment to look at the girl in front of him. He didn't remember his mom, but he had a feeling she was just like Reyna. Strong, determined, always looking for the good in people. His mother saw the good in Hades, and Reyna saw the good in him. Another thing that made them similar, Nico loved them. He loved the way they smiled, the way they let their guard down around people they trusted most. He loved everything about them.
When Reyna calmed down, she looked at him. "So, you're alright."
Nico nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I don't know a lot about my past, and it hurts to think about it. But, it's over now. It's time to focus on the future."
"You know Nico," Reyna said, meeting his eyes. "I'm no Oracle of Delphi. But right now, the future looks pretty good."
"It sure does," He agreed, taking in another look at her face. "Maria."
