A/N: This is inspired by another Cinderella take on Solangelo, so please read and review!
Prologue: Not so long ago, in a not so faraway land, there was a handsome prince. Okay, so, he wasn't a prince, but he played one everyday with his sister. Bianca was the princess of their little apartment of a castle, Mama was the queen, and Ever since his father left, Nico was the prince. He would have sword fights and ask for maiden's hands- even though they totally had cooties- and end up saving the day by dinner time. But that was years ago. That was before Mama had a heart attack, before his father had shown up, before Bianca got sick, and before he moved to a slightly farther-away land. That was before all that.
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"NICO!" Nico bolted awake at the sound of his name, scrambling out of bed before he could get beat again. Ever since his father left- again- his life had went to total crap with his step mother. Persephone was beautiful, with long silky hair and a gorgeous body, but never judge a book by it's cover- Nico had learned that the hard way. She was lazy, rude, demanding, cruel, and terrifyingly mean. She had beat Nico on many occasions, many times helped by her twin daughters. Drew was more passionate about hurting Nico than Hazel, who seemed more scared of him than he was of her- the worst Hazel had ever done was yell at him, for which she'd apologize after. Drew was short for Drusilla, but she wouldn't be caught dead being called that, and Hazel went by her middle name because she didn't like how mean Anastasia sounded. But Nico never dared to call Persephone Mom. No, that was crossing a personal line- she wasn't a mother to him, and she never would be. She would always be ma'am to him, and he would always be 'boy' to her.
As Nico rushed to get dressed he thought of all the homework he'd have to copy because he'd been doing Drew's. Hazel did her own, but often asked him questions or got his help- not that he was in their grade. No, quite the opposite really- he was in eighth while the girls were in tenth, so he was ahead of his class technically, but he never said anything. He just took the A's like he took the beatings- silently and soon to be forgotten and replaced with another.
He ran down stairs and laid Drew's math on the table before preparing the breakfasts. He had to get it just right, and he had to get it done fast. After the eggs were scrambled and the bread was toasted and buttered he raced down the hall to put the plates in the girls' rooms. Drew first, then Persephone, and lastly Hazel, who always thanked him and gave him her toast.
"You don't have to this for me," she whispered, handing him the bread. He inhaled it in seconds and shook his head.
"But I have to for them." He shrugged and nodded in thanks before going back to the kitchen to clean up. He grabbed his bag and ran out the door before he could be reprimanded yet again. Darting down the street, he skidded to a stop at the bus stop and sighed in relief- he'd have a few extra minutes to do his work before school. He managed to finish his math and get halfway through his history before Percy approached him.
"Hey, how are you always here early?" he asked, helping him up. Nico shrugged and collected his stuff as Annabeth and Piper walked to the stop together.
"Hey guys," he greeted in a small voice. He bit his lip nervously and prayed his friends didn't notice it was busted. To his extreme bad luck, Annabeth noticed, and questioned, the movement.
"Something up, Neeks?" she asked, stepping closer. He quickly shook his head and backed away, looking down as he normally did around people. Piper put a hand on his shoulder to turn him towards her and he sucked in a breath, containing the cry of pain from the bruise she'd disturbed. Catching the outburst, she tugged down the collar of his shirt and saw the purple mass on his arm. She gasped and motioned for Annabeth to come forward. They inspected him head to toe and saw the other beatings on his chest and back.
"Nico Di Angelo!" Percy shouted angrily. Nico turned away as the bus approached, getting on silently. He sat in the last seat and waved at Jason and Leo as he passed, ignoring Hazel's boyfriend Frank and smiling at Leo's girlfriend Calypso. Percy and Annabeth sat together and talked like they normally did, pecking each other on the lips as the both of them were terrified of PDA. Piper, on the other hand, kissed Jason full on the moth while sitting down next to his sister Thalia. How she was so brave, Nico didn't know.
"Hey, did you hear about the dance this Friday?" Jason asked, turning over the back of his seat to see Nico. He shook his head and Jason rolled his eyes. "Well, the school is holding a black-and-white ball this Friday, and it ends at midnight. You coming?" Nico shrugged and looked out the window, dreaming of the day his heart's wishes would come true. Maybe at the dance, he thought hopefully. Maybe I'll find my Prince Charming at the dance. His mind still wandered as he walked into school.