Disclaimer:: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus or its characters. They are the property of Rick Riorden, and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Leo, Jason and Piper weren't the only ones willing to help the Prince and his blacksmith to find time together; they had a slew of others in on it. Annabeth, who worked in the archives, had come up with some very elaborate and sneaky plans. And somehow they even got Hazel and Rachel, maids who worked in the castle, helping to cover for the young Prince. It was never for very long, and usually in some junk filled storage room, but over the next month Nico and Percy managed to see each other almost every day. Those stolen moments and hurried kisses were the lights in Nico's life. He had never been happier. Sure they had some close calls; no plan was foolproof especially with Luke on a rampage, expecting the Guards to know where he was at all times. There was the time Percy had to bury himself in the hay when they met up at the stables; the stable master Frank nearly pissed himself when the Lieutenant of the Guard came in looking for the Prince. And the poor man stood frozen with his eyes on the ground while Luke lectured Nico on the impropriety of his behavior. Nico kept his eyes glued on the angry soldier before him, else his eyes drifted over to where he knew his love was hiding half naked in the hay. Biting his lip to keep from smirking at the sight of Percy's tunic and vest laying discarded behind Frank, he tried to rush his Guard out. He remembered the time Hazel and Rachel had caught sight of him sneaking in through the kitchen; after snickering about his disheveled appearance and pointing out the buttons on his fancy rumpled shirt were uneven they slipped him some bread and rushed him to his room through the servant's stairway.

Nico wasn't sure if he should be worried about how many of the villagers were willing to help Percy go against the King. He spent many hours worrying if it was a sign their people weren't loyal to their ruler. Wondering what it would mean if their enemies approached. Did it suggest someone may have assisted the pirates in his original kidnapping? Would they betray their royal family in times of war? Without loyal subjects a King was just a man sitting in a big chair. Nico shook these thoughts away. Percy had told him a hundred times it was not a lack of loyalty for the King; it was a sign of their loyalty to the Prince. It was proof of their belief in true love. In a world where so many people spent their lives being told love wasn't real it gave them hope to see two people willing to throw it all away to be together. The people in the village were willing and excited to help because they wanted their Prince to be happy. Percy had risked him life when he went after Nico, and the young man had brought their Prince home safely. That earned him the respect and admiration of all the people. Nico tried not to let his fear and doubts cloud their time together; it wasn't until he was alone at night he allowed himself time to worry. Will caused him the most worry; the young blond always let Nico slip away easily, excepting any flimsy excuse the young prince offered upon his return and denying that Nico had left his sight when Luke asked. He was part of the Royal Guard, his loyalty should be absolute. Nico was sure the young Guard knew exactly where Nico was going when he disappeared. Just as he was sure Luke knew too. The older man was trying his hardest to catch them together. He followed Nico around like a dog, and when he lost sight he scoured the village until he was found. He was constantly interrogating the Guard and villagers on Nico's movements.

And even so, his last thought before drifting off to sleep every night was of his beloved Percy. He held onto the memory of those lips pressed against his own, the feel of his hands gently mapping out of inch of his torso. Every night he fell asleep aching to have those strong arms wrapped around him again.

"Snap out of it!" Luke scolded.

Nico snapped back to attention, his mind had been drifting off to Percy again while he was supposed to be training. He looked up at the sword pointed at his chest and clinked. He was in the middle of a match.

"Sorry, Lieutenant Luke."

"If this was a real fight you would be dead!"

"If this was a real fight it would have been able to hold my interest." Nico snapped back. Swinging his sword up and over and flicking it in just the way to force the older man to drop his own. The older man picked up his sword with a glare.

"Again." He growled, taking a starting stance. Nico smirked and twirled his sword before taking his own stance. Luke was angry and embarrassed; Nico was going to take pleasure in embarrassing him further.

Under normal circumstances Luke would easily be the better swordsman but Prince Nico knew when he got upset he got sloppy. Know your opponent, Percy had told him. Soon the courtyard was filled with the sounds of clashing metal and a small crowd had gathered. Luke was stronger, but Nico was faster. The young prince managed to parry every blow the older man threw his way but the brute force was taking its toll on the smaller man's aching arms. Nico felt the moment it went from being a trainer trying to prove a point to his trainee to something much more dangerous. The older man had a dark glint in his eyes and an angry scowl on his face. The young Prince knew he had to end this fight soon but the only way to disarm the Lieutenant would be to get close. Nico adjusted his stance and used his pauldren to lead into Luke's reach; the older man's sword connected with the Prince's shoulder with a clang and a sharp pain jumped from shoulder to elbow. With a quick dip Luke's sword fell low and Nico spun in close and used his now aching elbow to connect with Luke's hand then chest. The older man yelped in surprise and how sword fell. Nico took the opportunity to step back so he was against Luke's chest before sweeping his leg out and dropping the older man on his back. With one more pivot Nico now faced his Guardsman and brought the tip of his sword to his fallen opponent's throat.

Laying in the dirt, sweaty and red with anger, the Lieutenant growled, "How did you do that! I'm the best swordsman in the kingdom!"

Nico left out a soft snort as he smirked with arrogance to the man below him, sword still pressed against the soft skin beneath his chin, "No, you are the best swordsman in the Guard. The best swordsman with noble blood who wished to serve. That leaves another 80% of the kingdom for potential swordsman to be better then you. You need to drop this conceit and remember your place." Nico punctuated his point by slapping the bottom of Luke's chin with the flat of his sword.

With a final smirk Nico spun and sheathed his sword before turning away and stalked back into the castle. He kept his chin up and back straight, ignoring the burn in his shoulder. He could feel the joint slipping further out of place as his eyes began to water in pain. Still, he couldn't help but smile at the look of shock on Luke's face as he lay there in the dirt. He couldn't wait to tell Percy all about it. At the thought of his beautiful beloved his body filled with warmth and the pain seemed much more manageable. He felt like he was walking on air as he made his way to see Apollo, the castle healer and apothecary, so the man could take a look at his shoulder.