I Sighed as I dropped my bag. I was moving what little stuff I had into my new cabin; the Hades cabin. Nico was nowhere to be seen which Percy said not to worry about and that he was probably just training. I wasn't so sure but right then, where was hiding wasn't my biggest concern. I remembered the scar on the pavilion floor, and thought about what that meant for me. It meant a number of things. For starters it meant that Nico wasn't to be messed with. If he could rip apart solid marble, there was no doubt in my mind that he could take me out. Secondly it meant that I was powerful, and so far I had no idea how to use that power. As if life wasn't already confusing.
"So this is the Hades cabin, where you'll be living while you're at camp." Percy said. His eyes kept darting around the room, and he kept shuffling his feet. I got the idea that there was something that he wasn't telling me. I got that feeling from a lot of people around camp. And it wasn't just because of the strange looks and funny expressions every one gave me. Where ever I went people whispered stuff like "it's her" "she's the one" and "when will they tell her?".
"Hey, Percy… What is it that everyone keeps whispering about me?" Well we have a winner for most blunt question asker of the year. I had thought about trying to be sneaky and weasel it out of some random camper, but when it came down to it all, I just wanted a straight answer some whispered gossip I might hear in the girls' room.
"It's nothing really. Trust me-"
"He's lying through his teeth." Nico said entering the room. Well it was appearing then entering. He was leaning casually against my dresser closely observing his finger nails. "Really Percy, you'd think that after having been in the same place yourself five years ago, that you'd give her break and tell her." He said walking over to stand beside Percy.
"We don't even know-"
"Daughter of death" Nico said, adding air quotation marks "Those were the words correct? Of course that could mean ANYTHING Percy! Maybe it's Annabeth or hey, how about you! You could be the prophecy kid again, you would just love that! Maybe you could manage to get this sister killed too while you're at it!" He said in a rage. I had no idea where it was coming from but the way Nico said it made me shiver; especially the part about getting "this sister" killed.
"Nico you know I didn't-"
"Save her? Stop her? I know it all Percy and she's still dead. So just leave." Nico said turning away from Percy. "GET OUT PERCY!" He shouted when Percy just stood there staring at Nico's back.
"Nico don't-"
"GET OUT!" This time when Nico said it the floor shook and I could practically here the power in his voice. Percy could too and left, leaving me alone with Nico.
I was about to say something when Nico collapsed on his bead. His hands were clasped over his face and he was silent, but I could see the tears. I barely knew him but I swear I could feel his pain, and I wanted to go and comfort him so badly. But I hardly knew him and from what I'd just seen I wasn't sure if he would thank me or yell at me to get out too. I took my chances and walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. I reached over and placed my hand on his back.
"I- Are you okay?" I said leaning down to look at his face. He moved away is hands and what I saw scared me. He looked so sad, but above all hurt.
"No, but that doesn't matter." He said wiping the tears from his face onto his sleeve. When I looked at his face again, it was as if he had wiped away all feeling.
"Yes it does." I was surprised by the fierceness of my voice, the certainty. "What's wrong? How can I help?" I said reaching down and grabbing his hand in both of mine.
"It's a long story that I don't care to tell." He said shaking his head as if shaking away the pain. "It's in the past and doesn't make a difference."
"What did you mean, "Maybe you could manage to get this sister killed too"" I asked him. His face got that look on it again and I almost regretted having asking the question except for the fact that I needed answers.
"It's a long story-"
"And we have all night" I said giving him my most stubborn look.
He laughed at that, and then got a more serious look on his face. "I had a sister, a long time ago, just three years actually but it seems like a hundred. Her name-" he broke off to take a shuddering breath "her name was Bianca. She went on a quest with Percy. Before they left I told him to take care of her, make sure she came back safe. But she died. And he let her. I know it wasn't his fault, but he could have saved her. He's save Annabeth hundreds of times, but when my sister sacrificed herself for him and the other people on the quest, he stood there and watched her run to her death." He looked at me with those eyes filled with pain and I felt terrible, for him and his lost sister; my sister. "I just- I don't want to lose another sister. When I heard about you I knew I needed to find you; bring you to camp. My – our – dad had been acting strangely, even for him. And he was extra nervous around Persephone, doing all these things for her for no reason. I think he thought that she knew about you and wanted to hurt you. So I had my suspicions. All my mortal relatives are dead but you. Now I have you."
That was a lot to tell a girl. That she was your only family and you didn't want to lose her, it was surprising to say the least. "I- umm- thanks. I don't really have any family either. And it's nice to have someone care that much about me. So yeah, thanks." I said. It was super lame compared to him having just poured out his heart to me, but it was the best I could come up with.
"So about the whole daughter of death thing-"
"Stop, please. I don't think I even want to know any more. Let's get some sleep." I said. It sent shiver down my spine when he said the words daughter of death. It was as if they were more than just words; as if they would come true.
After putting away what little stuff I had, Nico declared lights-out and we both went to sleep and the torches of green flame inside the cabin went out at his words. I lay in my new bed thinking; about my new life and my new brother. It was a lot to taking in and I was still up when Nico said "I know you're still awake."
"Yeah I've been thinking, and I have a lot of questions."
"Shoot." He replied sounding a lot better than he had earlier that evening.
"Well, for starters what's our dad like?" I was scared of this question. It had been ringing in my head ever since I found out about being a daughter of Hades.
"He's not… loving, if that's what you're thinking. But it's always been different with me. He's always saying how he wishes Bianca had lived though. So maybe he'll like you better." Nico said. I hadn't expected a loving father. I'd never had one and Hades didn't bring to mind the loving father image anyway. So Nico's words didn't change much, but they gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, he would be better than my old family; just maybe.
