CHAPTER 1
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NICO AND THE UGLY BIRD
I am not Rick Riordan nor do I claim any of the characters. Yes the quotes and some of the storyline is from the book itself. But please take note, that I am NOT Rick and I am in no affiliate with him or the publishing company. Enjoy! xx
Nico smiled and chased his sister as she ran around the marble column trying to avoid her brother since they were playing tag. Mother and Father watched with a smile as they laughed in heaps of giggle. Nico felt like he could live like this forever. Food every night served at a grand hotel snuggled between his parents with Bianca holding him. Even if his father Hades can be sometimes mean, Nico loved him. His mother Maria Di Angelo was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known. And Bianca is the best sister in the world to him, even if they quarreled once in a while. No one can compare to his family.
Finally, Nico caught Bianca by her shirt and they both collapsed in fits of laughter. "Let's play again!" Nico giggled as he poked Bianca in the back. Bianca threw a mischievous grin and tickled her 6 year old brother. She was only 8 years old, but she was more mature than most children her age. Nico laughed even more and kicked her sister off. They stopped for a moment to watch their parents talk a bit about someone named Zeus and a place called the Underworld. They lost interesting and began to play again.
Nico and Bianca ran around a bit more filling the hotel hallway with their laughter. Their mother later stood up and said something about going to go collect her purse and she went upstairs. Right after their mother went upstairs; they stopped playing sensing something wrong and their father tensed up. A heartbeat later a wall of black energy filled the open air surrounding Nico and his sister and the hotel exploded. Seconds after that, the black wall disappeared and Nico found himself watching his father hold his mother. Something was wrong though, his mother wasn't moving and father looked like he lost something like a special toy. Wasn't mother going to wake up? Nico thought. Bianca was just as surprised as him, but something like hurt has flashed across her pretty features.
Too busy gazing upon their parents; they did not hear a flutter of wings and someone coming up from behind them. Hades began to yell and shook his fist at the sky, "Zeus! I will crush you for this! I will bring her back!" Nico and Bianca jumped and swiveled around facing an ugly bird when they heard a voice came in response to their father, "My lord, you cannot. You of all immortals must respect the laws of death."
Death, Nico thought. What does that mean? Nico turned back around continued to gaze at his mother's broken form. Her face has lost her beautiful color and her black dress was scorching. Nico wanted to step up and shake his mother awake, but his father's expression was full of rage keeping Nico back. Finally, after seeming like hours which was really a few seconds later, his father's expression calm down, but his voice was full of pain, "Take them. Wash their memories clean in the Lethe and bring them to the Lotus Hotel. Zeus will not harm them there."
Nico did not get to catch what the ugly bird responded, but he did knew that he was later grabbed by his waist in one of the bird's feet and Bianca in the other. They screamed out their father's name as they were carried off, but their father did not turn around.
They arrived next to a river in a cold damped place. Nico had his eyes closed while they soared over the world, so he had no idea where they were or how they got here really. The ugly bird dropped them on the ground and they landed with a thump. Nico began to shake in fear and Bianca drew her arms protectively around him. "It's okay," she whispered. "Our mother is a in a beautiful place called Heaven." The ugly bird laughed, "Heaven? Child, has your father told you anything? There is no place called Heaven. Just a place called the Underworld. Oh, your mother is here alright. But she is in no state to respond to you, children."
"You mean…all of what daddy said wasn't myth?" Nico questioned with large widen eyes. The ugly bird shook its hairless head and smirked, "Now. Why won't you take a bath in this nice river here and I will take you to see your father later?"
Nodding quickly - eager to get out of this dark scary place, Nico took a step forward breaking free of his sister's embrace, but Bianca held him back. "How do we know you're not lying?" Bianca questioned. The ugly bird said nothing but merely roughly pushed Bianca and Nico straight into the river.
Nico gasped sending several gulps of water into his lung – and it tasted disgusting. His vision became blurry and his struggles were feeble against the current. A few moments later however his limbs became light and his mind went blank. He forgot everything except his name and his sister. Before he was getting to the point of losing those, he was abruptly pulled out of the water next to his sister. Nico and Bianca spluttered out river water and came back to full strength. "How do you feel?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Nico lifted his gaze meeting a lawyer, "Who are you?" The lawyer did not reply but grabbed Nico and his sister by the hand and hoist them up. Nico's vision blurred a bit while trying to regain balance, but the effort was too much and he blacked out.
Whoo. I had fun writing that! Any who, why not review and tell me what you think? The more reviews, the more likely I will update quicker. Thanks guys and have a lovely day! xx