HAZEL

Hazel had no idea for how long she had been in the Fields of Asphodel. Time was meaningless in the Underworld.

She never forgot why she was there. She remembered everything: Queen Marie, Pluto, Sammy, Gaea, Alcyoneus, her curse. Her entire life was right there, fresh in her mind. It was almost like a punishment. No one else remembered their lives, only Hazel. There was nothing worse than being dead at the age of thirteen and remembering everything that happened and everything that could've happened.

But Hazel was done with self-pity. She wasn't that kind of girl. If she spent all eternity pitying herself, she'd never be at peace.

At one point of her death, Hazel was at a grove of black poplar trees. It was way more pleasant than the yellow fields that seemed to go on forever. And this way the other spirits didn't bother her.

Then, out of nowhere, Hazel saw a girl running, heads down, toward the grove. She hadn't been there the second before. As she got closer, it was clear to Hazel that the girl was dead too. It was easy to see. She seemed troubled, like all the spirits there.

When the girl reached Hazel, Hazel said, "Hey! Calm down! Are you a new comer?"

The girl stopped suddenly, gasping, her eyes and mouth wide, as if she had just realized Hazel was there. She looked around twelve. She had a pretty face, but hidden under a green cap. Her skin was olive-toned, her eyes were intense black and she had silky dark hair. She wore a beautiful silvery jacket and jeans and there was a bow over her shoulder. "You look like you remember your life," the girl said pointedly to Hazel. "How?"

"Bit of a long story," Hazel said. "But you remember your life too."

The girl regained her composure. "Oh yeah, I do. Pretty well. Answering your previous question, no, I'm not a new comer. I've been dead for a while."

"Then why were you running?" Hazel asked. The girl ran like there was someone stalking her, but why would you be stalked in the Underworld?

The girl looked over her shoulder uncertainly and turned back to Hazel. "I escaped. I should be in Elysium right now."

Hazel felt tempted to say, 'Who would be insane enough to trade Elysium for the Fields of Asphodel?', but then she bit her tongue: she had done the exact same thing. "Why did you escape?" she asked instead.

"I am going to be reborn," the girl told Hazel. "But, halfway there I just… I just felt that I had to come here."

Hazel had heard that those who went to Elysium were able to choose to stay there or to be reborn into a new life. "So, aren't you certain of your decision?" she asked.

"Oh, it's more complicated than that." The girl sighed. "But I simply had to stop by. I don't know why. Something told me that this was the right place to be. I had to take the risk."

Hazel took a look on the girl again. There was something about her… She looked like someone that had godly blood running through her veins. "Are you a demigod?" Hazel asked.

"Yes," the girl said. "I'm Bianca di Angelo, daughter of Hades."

Hazel's heart started racing. "I'm Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto. Hello, half-sister."

Bianca di Angelo's jaw dropped. "My half-sister! I have a half-sister! I can't wait to tell Ni—" She stopped herself, turning suddenly sad.

"Tell who?" Hazel said quickly.

Bianca didn't seem willing to talk about that, but she finally said, "My brother. He's alive. At least he was when I last saw him."

"Oh." Hazel felt as if her heart heavy. She didn't know what to say.

Thankfully, she didn't have to say anything. Bianca resumed, "I love him, but, if I choose to be reborn, I'll never see him again."

Hazel suddenly understood everything. "You've had to leave him once. You don't want to do it again."

Bianca nodded. "I'm doing this not only for me, but for him as well. He can't get over my death. He keeps trying to make me come back to life. I don't want him to suffer anymore. Maybe, just maybe, if I be gone for good, he'll have no choice but to move on."

"You should do what you think it's best, for you and for your brother," Hazel said. "If you think it's going to be better off this way, if you're certain of your decision, you should go for it."

Bianca still looked worried. "When I was alive, I joined the Hunters of Artemis. My brother didn't understand why I did it. I fear that he might not understand my decision this time too."

"If he is alike you in personality, I'm sure he will," Hazel said.

Bianca smiled. "You know, Hazel, maybe that's why I had to come here. To meet my sister."

Hazel smiled too. "I'm glad I met you, Bianca. I've never had siblings. I wish we'd met in real life."

"Me too," Bianca said. "But, Hazel, you seem such a good person. Why are you stuck here in Asphodel?"

Hazel turned uncomfortable. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell her story. She hadn't ever talked about that with someone.

At last, she decided to give Bianca the short version. She was Hazel's sister after all. "I died with my mother," Hazel told Bianca. "We came here together. I could've had Elysium, the judges told me so. But they would've sent my mother to Punishment. I couldn't let them. I convinced them to make me share the guilt with her. So they sent us both to Asphodel."

Bianca seemed at a loss for words. "Hazel, that's beautiful. You deserved Elysium. And yet… oh, Hazel."

"I've accepted my fate," Hazel said. "Really, Bianca, it's fine."

"No, it's not," Bianca insisted. "If there's anything I can do—"

"There's not," Hazel said. "You know there's not. But meeting you has already made my death worth it, honestly."

Bianca gave Hazel a sympathetic smile. "As much as I wanted to be here with my sister, I really have to go. The Furies and my father will soon find out that I'm missing."

"I understand." Hazel didn't want Bianca to go, but asking her to stay forever would be really selfish of her. Bianca had to be reborn if that was her wish. And there was Bianca's brother… Hazel didn't even know him, but he must've been very important to Bianca to make her make such a big decision just for his sake. "I hope we meet again, after you've gone full circle."

"I hope we do too." Bianca hugged Hazel. "Goodbye, sister. You are going to have your recompense, I promise you."

"Yeah." Hazel just said that not to be rude. She was very unlikely to have any recompense. "Goodbye, sister."

Bianca started to walk away toward the yellow fields, but then she stopped and turned back to Hazel. "Hazel."

"Yes?"

"If you ever meet my brother Nico, please make him understand why I'm doing this. I can't make myself say goodbye to him. It's too painful. Will you do this for me?"

"I'd do anything for you, Bianca," Hazel said. "If I ever meet Nico, I promise that I'll say this to him."

Bianca smiled widely. "Thank you, Hazel. For everything." And then, waving goodbye, she ran through the yellow fields until she disappeared in the middle of the crowd of spirits.

As soon as she was gone, Hazel felt more alone than ever. She had met her half-sister and then lost her in the blink of an eye. It was twice more bitter to be alone now that she'd had company.

But her loneliness didn't last long. (Or it did, but she couldn't know if it had passed two minutes or two millennia). Suddenly, there was this boy next to her. He simply appeared there. He was about her age, with dark eyes and messy black hair. He wore a silver skull ring, a chain for a belt, and a black T-shirt with skull designs. At his side hung a pure-black sword.

The boy locked eyes with Hazel and seemed to read her whole life. "You're different," he said. "A child of Pluto. You remember your past."

"Yes," Hazel said. "And you're alive." She didn't know how she could tell, but he was just different. One look at him and Hazel knew he wasn't dead.

The boy studied her like he was reading a menu, deciding whether or not to order. "I'm Nico di Angelo," he said, and Hazel's heart did an acrobatic flip inside her chest. "I came looking for my sister. Death has gone missing, so I thought…I thought I could bring her back and no one would notice."

"Back to life?" Hazel asked. Bianca had mentioned that Nico had tried to bring her back, but she hadn't said whether you could bring people back or not. "Is that possible?"

"It should have been." Nico sighed. "But she's gone. She chose to be reborn into a new life. I'm too late."

"I'm sorry." Hazel hesitated, but then she simply blurted out, "I've met your sister."

Nico gasped. "What? You've met Bianca?"

Hazel nodded. "Yes. She has left you some messages. I promised her I would tell you if I ever had the chance."

Nico seemed unable to speak for a moment. And then he said, "I'm willing to hear what you have to say. But first, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Nico took a deep breath. "Like I said, Death has gone missing. For now, if a dead person leaves the Underworld, no one will notice. The dead can come back to life. I came here to offer my sister this chance. I was too late for her, but I'm not too late for you." He held out his hand. "You're my sister too. You deserve another chance. Would you like to come with me?"

Bianca's words came into Hazel's mind. You are going to have your recompense. And there it was: a reward, another chance to make things right, to correct all her mistakes. She couldn't waste it.

Hazel took Nico's hand. He squeezed it. "You ready, sister?" her brother asked.

Hazel breathed once, twice. "I am, brother." And she left the Underworld behind. Hazel was determined to make her second life better than the first one.

—

A/N: Hey guys! I loved writing this! But I want your opinion. Perhaps I can write something about Nico and Hazel's relationship before Percy's arrival at Camp Jupiter. What do you think? *hugs*