Author: TippierCoffee

Disclaimer: I do not own — nor do I claim the rights to — the Percy Jackson universe or any of its characters. All credit goes to rightful owner, Mr. Rick Riordan.

Hope.

Will rushed into the ballroom the next day, excited to speak to the Crown Prince again. Considering everything he'd been through at home, he'd been quite lucky. He wanted to thank his fairy so badly, maybe by making her a small present or something, but he wasn't really sure what fairies wanted. Maybe a new dress? He could do that. Wait. He didn't have her measurements.

He let out a sigh before the ballroom doors, catching one of the guards' attention. "What's wrong, Miss?"

Will looked up and shook his head, waving his hands in front of him. Nothing is wrong, I will just never be able to show my gratitude. That's all.

The guard quirked his eyebrows, but said nothing else when he opened the door for Will to enter. It was even more vibrant than the other nights, if possible. Will looked around for a familiar head of black hair with a gleaming silver crown on top of it.

He caught sight of the silver crown almost immediately, and his entire body seemed to soar with happiness. His face broke into the same smile it always did whenever he saw Crown Prince Nico. He fixed his gaze on the silver crown and stepped ahead without paying attention. Then, he walked straight into someone.

"Ow. Watch where you're going, Broad!"

The voice sounded too familiar, and before Will knew of it, he stood face to face with Autumn. Her yellow-to-red dress glittered in the light, and she looked as extravagant as she obviously felt. For a moment, he froze, completely paralysed. His breath got stuck in his chest, and his heart sat in his throat. His nerves were buzzing, and he was quite sure his eyes were bulging.

Autumn looked sceptically at him. "Well?" she squinted her eyes. "Have we met before?"

Will shook his head and avoided her eyes, then, Crown Prince Nico's voice rang in the ballroom, catching the attention of the nearest bachelorettes.

"Willow!" he sounded mighty chipper, and Will cursed himself for choosing such a transparent name.

Sure, it might have been his imagination, but he could have sworn Autumn's eyes widened in recognition. She didn't get to say anything before Crown Prince Nico was at their side, catching a hold of Will's hand and dragging him along without a word.

They didn't go to the gazebo this time. Instead, Crown Prince Nico danced with him twice to the chipper waltz music, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Why so rigid?"

Will looked over his shoulder, trying to see if he could catch sight of Autumn, or Summer, or Lilith, but the crowd was thick around them, alive with laughter and chatter.

Will sent a pleading look to Crown Prince Nico, desperate to enjoy the dance, but even more desperate to get away.

Nico scowled, his eyes upset, but he seemed to get the message nonetheless. He led Will to the thrones where the drawing pad and the gel pen from yesterday sat on his throne. The King and Queen were nowhere to be seen.

"They went to dance," Crown Prince Nico commented. "Come on," he grabbed Will's hand, "I want to show you my favourite place in the castle."

Will gave him a wobbly smile, which probably looked unsure, but he followed regardless, more than happy to get away from the ballroom.

They passed through the crowd, and Will caught sight of three black-haired individuals talking together in hushed tones. A mother and her two daughters. Will suddenly found himself pulling Crown Prince Nico along towards the general direction the Crown Prince had started.

"Willow?" there was confusion in voice.

Will pulled him along without though until they made it outside the ballroom, and then he tried to look for an escape. He remembered approximately how many windows he'd passed on his way here, and he recalled where the hidden maze cubicle was. His chest was constricted, and he became aware of how roughly he was wheezing, his vocal chords coming to show, but he didn't care right now.

"What's wrong, Willow?" Crown Prince Nico walked in front of him.

Will was about to tell him, but couldn't make himself throw the fairy's gift way so easily, so instead he shook his head, tears running down his face.

Crown Prince Nico contemplated for a while, then he gently pulled at Will. "Come. Let's get you away from here."

Will nodded, not sure how he deserved to be treated so well and gently, by a Crown Prince nonetheless.

Crown Prince Nico wore white today. Will randomly noticed that. White with golden edges and a slick, black, silk-looking vest. His crown seemed brighter too, somehow. Like the white from the fabric had sneaked its way into the silver of the crown.

He pulled Will upstairs and through a hall full of paintings. They all depicted Kings and Queens and Royal families. Generations upon generations of them. The walls were muted dust-red, and the linoleum floor was marble white with a few golden specks in the design. It made the room brighten under the chandelier lights, and Will randomly wondered how much the electric bill was for this place with all these bright chandeliers hanging in the ceiling.

They passed about five hundred windows before they took a right-turn down a narrower hallway with wooden designs on the walls and floor. The hall led to a black-painted wooden door. It looked sturdy, so Will guessed it was either oak or mahogany.

Crown Prince Nico opened the door for him, all polite, and bowed his head slightly while gesturing inside the room. Will smiled at him, his heart rate significantly more normal by now, and went inside. He stopped in his tracks.

Inside was a massive library, with rows and rows of shelves, full of books. The educational section in here took up most of the place, divided into world history by years, and world customs by alphabetical order, and world politics by the same system as customs. It had books on linguistics, and religions, and mythologies, and traditions. There were sections with fiction books as well, of course. Most of them were old classics. And other rows had shelf, upon shelf, upon shelf stuffed with various encyclopaedias.

Will wondered how often these books were studied, and if all of them were required.

His eyes settled on an entire book case full of medical texts. The one next to it had just as many articles, and Will was quite sure he'd died and gone to the heavens. He fingered the spine of one of the newest anatomical books. It had updated information about what they now had found out about the human body. The medical books were part of a larger biological system. It started with animals, glided over to humans, and then to food and plant items, over to geography. It had a system that made so much sense, and seemed to be put together to make seamless transitions between the subjects.

"Do you like it?" Crown Prince Nico asked behind him.

Will turned with a big smile plastered on his face, his step-family all but forgotten. He reached out for the drawing pad and gel pen, and the Crown Prince handed it to him.

He started scribbling away with ferocious enthusiasm.

If I like it? I LOVE it! I've never seen so many books in my life. And all these medical texts!

Crown Prince Nico chuckled lowly. "You like medical texts?"

Yes! I always wanted to be a doctor.

"That's a good aspiration." He sounded so sincere when he said that, and Will deflated, eyeing a dark green leather sofa by a wall.

He jutted his head towards it and started walking, the Crown Prince close behind him. They sat down together, Will scribbling away on the drawing pad while Crown Prince Nico waited patiently.

The scribbling was the only noise in here, and it seemed drowned-out in the muffled acoustics. Almost as if all the book shelves absorbed the sound and swallowed it.

When he was done, he showed the paper to Crown Prince Nico, ashamed of its reality.

I can't do it though. My step-family doesn't even let me go to school, so I can never hope to get such a prestigious job. The only reason I know the basics is because I get time to read in their library when they're all gone. If my parents knew this is what their good intentions got me, they would be devastated. When I find them, I will never tell them. They would just blame themselves when they tried to do what was best for me.

Crown Prince Nico handed the drawing pad back to him. "That should be impossible," he muttered. "All registered citizens should go to school."

Will scribbled.

It's because my step-family got me from a worker's house. The orphanage figured I'd gotten too old for anyone to want to adopt me, so they gave me to a work house. That's where my step-mum got me from, and that's why they can get away with not sending me to school. I'm a worker already.

"That's terrible." He seemed genuinely upset on Will's behalf, and Will wanted to hug him and give him a big kiss on the cheek.

Crown Prince Nico was so gentle and understanding. Not anything like the rumours. People in the city used to say he was moody, and brooding, and rude, and closed off. They used to say he gave off a creepy vibe, that his eyes seemed sharp with knowledge he shouldn't have. That he looked as intimidating as his father.

Crown Prince Nico did not look intimidating, in Will's opinion. Especially not as intimidating as his father. And sure, Crown Prince Nico might have a vast knowledge, but he needed to, since h was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom. But he was truly a kind person. Understanding and strong. He'd already been through so much tragedy at a young age. Losing his mother, then his sister, then his uncle and aunt. So many loses in such a short lifetime was bound to make someone brooding.

"Could your parents really not keep you?" he wondered out loud.

Will's fingers already buzzed with tenderness from all the writing he did.

They tried. They really did. For six years, they struggled through every day, trying to get jobs everywhere, but no one hired them. They lived in collectives, trying to keep me fed. Some collectives had a good system with feeding children below 12, and elderly above 65 first, whereas other collectives had a first-come-first-serve system.

It was so tough on them. They didn't want me to live like that. They wanted me to be able to get an education, without having to starve through the day, and without having to rely on hand-me-down clothes. They wanted me to be able to get into the best schools, because they love me. They cried when they handed me over to the orphanage. I was 6.5 years-old, and the orphanage handed me over to the worker house when I was 8. I heard most orphanages wait till 12, but I guess they figured no one wanted me, or maybe there was money under the table.

The rest is history. I got adopted by my awful step-family and they treat me like trash.

You can NEVER tell anyone. Especially not my parents if you one day see them, or hear of them. They must not know.

Crown Prince Nico handed the drawing pad back to Will, his eyes broken and glazed over. He seemed to contemplate for a while, then he spoke up.

"I never knew we had it so bad with the worker houses, orphanages, and collectives." He crossed his arms, and leaned back, his eyes on the floor. "Sure, we've heard there is a problem, and we are aware of it, but I, personally, did not know it was that bad. I must talk to my father about this information, without giving out your name, of course. I would never want to betray this trust you put in me so willingly and honestly."

Will felt a pang of guilt penetrate his heart, because Crown Prince Nico was praising him so highly for his honesty, and yet, here he was, lying to his face. He wanted to tell Crown Prince Nico he was not a female. Since he had been honest about everything but that, he wanted to let Crown Prince Nico know that as well. But he couldn't break his promise to the fairy, and it ate him up inside.

Crown Prince Nico knew of his true childhood story, but he did not know Will.

Will took a deep breath and bend his head down, prying the necklace out from below his clothes. The simple leather cord with the sun pendant on it, and engravings on the backside. A light will always shine, it said. An heirloom from someone in his family, and the last thing he had left from his parents.

He handed it to Crown Prince Nico very carefully, and the Crown Prince cupped it in his hands. It was probably really cheap compared to all these crown jewels the Crown Prince was surrounded by on an almost daily basis, but Will didn't care. He started scribbling, his right wrist hurting.

This necklace was the last thing they gave me before they gave me up for adoption. I'm hoping to leave my step-family once I turn 18 so I can search for my family. The necklace might become helpful then.

Crown Prince Nico turned it in his hands, carefully and delicately. He read the engraving at the back and smiled.

"I'm sure you find them some day, and—"

Will put a hand on his shoulder and started scribbling.

I'm sure you'll find your sister, as well.

Crown Prince Nico smiled with tears in his eyes. He cleared his throat, but his usually crisp voice was still groggy. "Thanks."

They sat for a while, the scent of paper and ink around them, and the heat of the library, making Will tired. He wouldn't mind taking a nap in here, or staying until morning. It was so nice and comfortable. Without thinking much of it, he put his head on Crown Prince Nico's shoulder. Crown Prince Nico still held the necklace in his hands, the cord twined around his slender fingers.

"You know," he said. "If you want to, you could stay here. Become my betrothed." Will sat up straight, and Crown Prince Nico looked at him with tender eyes. "I know it's a lot to ask, since you'll have to take on the title Queen, but I'll let you read medicine to your heart's content. Persephone is known as the florist Queen. You would be known as the medic Queen. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? And most importantly, you'll get away from that awful family who took you in. You'll be given all the services available to aid in the search for your parents, too. If you want to, of course. You don't have to."

Will sat, flabbergasted, not sure how to react to that. He had daydreamed about escaping. He'd even made a secret calendar counting down the days till his eighteenth birthday where they couldn't legally keep him there, worker or not. Yet here sat this stranger, who happened to be a Crown Prince, who Will had danced and communicated with for three days, offering him a way out if he wanted it. All he had to do was take it, but, he couldn't. Could he? If he did, Crown Prince Nico would find out he wasn't actually a girl. He'd probably get really mad and disappointed, since he threw this ball to find himself a Queen, and somehow, 'Willow' was now that Queen, and Will had no idea what to do.

He had to tell the Crown Prince. Had to apologise for lying and wasting his time. He had to make this all better. Maybe he could help the Crown Prince choose someone nice, and tell him who to stay away from.

He opened his mouth, sure his fairy might get disappointed in him, but he couldn't keep this a secret. Especially not now.

The clock struck midnight before Will got to say a word, and he panicked, contemplating blurting something out, but he knew that would likely end them in a discussion, and if it did that… he wouldn't make it home.

He shoved the drawing pad and gel pen to Crown Prince Nico and bolted out, his brain already wired to find the exit from here. He knew approximately how many windows they had passed, and how they'd gotten here from the ballroom, and how the ballroom connected to the front, and how the front connected to the gardens.

He ran as fast as he could, forgetting his beloved necklace in his hurry.

Criticism and/or advice on improvement is always welcome and highly appreciated.

~*~TippierCoffee~*~