Persephone awoke in a daze, opening her eyes to the sound of arguing.
"Nico! Come on, move it! You've been sitting out here for the past two days; I told you, when she wakes up I'll come get you! You don't have to be her freaking shadow!" That was Ginny's voice.
"I want to know when she wakes up as soon as she wakes up!" That was Nico's voice. Persephone felt her face heat up when the memory suddenly rushed back; of Nico catching her in his arms and picking her up like a princess.
Suddenly, a rack of coughing hit her, and Persephone sat up, coughing harshly as her throat healed itself of the remaining pain of being choked half to death twice.
Immediately, Ginny shot into the doorway, followed closely by Nico, both of them wearing surprised looks at her sudden consciousness. Ginny grabbed a glass of water from a table and brought it to her.
Persephone accepted the glass gratefully, taking a long deep drink to stop her from hacking up a lung. Finally, she let out a long sigh as she handed the glass back. "Thanks, I needed that!" she said, her voice slightly husky as she lay back on the pillows.
Ginny put the glass down and carefully felt Persephone's forehead. "No more signs of fever," she said improvingly, "Alright then, you don't need me here for life-support anymore! As soon as you're ready, I have a new set of clothes for you in the closet! Bye!"
Ginny stood and, after shooting Nico a teasingly suspicious look, headed out the door with a wide smirk on her face as she closed the door behind her.
Persephone rubbed her throat gingerly, trying to look anywhere but at the boy who'd saved her life as the awkward tension in the room got thicker. "I'm glad you're alright," he said, trying to break the ice.
"Yeah well, my mom always said I'm too awesome to die," said Persephone, smiling sadly at the memory of her mother disappearing in that flash of gold light. "I'm sorry…. About your mother, I mean," he said as she glanced over at him.
Persephone nodded, furiously blinking back tears; there was no way in hell that she would let herself look like a stupid damsel in distress in front of Nico after he'd just saved her life and obviously been worrying about her for several days now.
Nico suddenly held up something; the Minotaur's horn. "Ginny thought you may as well keep it; it's a trophy, after all. You defeated the Minotaur," he explained.
"You helped me!" said Persephone, confused. Nico smiled ruefully. "I've got enough trophies, and besides, you dealt the killing blow, remember?" Persephone nodded slowly; that memory was slightly foggy since she'd passed out right after.
Nico placed the horn on the table and turned toward the door. "Well, I'll let you get changed!" he said, pulling the door open slowly.
"N-Nico!"
Nico turned back to see Persephone blushing slightly. "Well, um, thanks, you know; for saving me and all," she stammered, not looking him in the eye. Nico grinned and gave her a two-fingered salute. "The pleasure was all mine!" he said before he closed the door.
/\/\/\/\
Persephone opened the closet to find some very old fashioned Greek armor and a teal blue shirt that said 'CAMP HALF-BLOOD' on the front inside with a pair of jeans. Persephone pulled out the shirt and changed into it and the jeans. She examined herself ruefully in the mirror before she spotted what was missing; Riptide, her lethal hairclip, was on the table next to the Minotaur's horn.
Picking up the clip, she carefully clipped her bangs out of her face with it and examined herself again. This time, she looked much better; the clip seemed to know how to make her look better. Smiling, Persephone turned and, after grabbing the Minotaur horn, opened the door to find Nico waiting patiently in the hall in a chair that looked like it had been moved there just for him to wait.
"Ready for the tour?" he asked with a wide grin at her new outfit. "Sure," Persephone said with a grin, and together they left the Big House and let Persephone get her first glimpse of Camp Half-Blood.
/\/\/\/\
A/N: So much PersephoneXNico, so little time! Hope you enjoyed; I know I did! Please review or vote for this story in my profile poll to make me update faster. Laters people!
-Wind