Sorry for the super late update. School and life decided to just start throwing problems my way and it kinda piled up. And...may have gone through a creative dry spell, but I think my creativity has returned. Hopefully I get to update again soon.
The bonfire was a bit much, in Nico's opinion. But Hazel had looked at him with such hopeful eyes that he had a hard time turning her down. Even if he didn't think a celebration for his arrival was necessary.
"It isn't just about your arrival," Hazel argued as she walked arm in arm with Nico towards the bonfire, behind her group of friends. "It's about us being reunited!"
"Damn, how am I supposed to ditch it now?" Nico teased lightly. Hazel was a sweetheart, and he knew if she really wanted him to be there, he'd stay. Even if he didn't know her friends nearly as well as she did. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. But tomorrow-"
"We can start figuring out what to do about Calypso and how to get Will and Reyna off the island," Hazel finished for him as she rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. Just try to enjoy tonight, okay?"
"Fine," Nico conceded as he let Hazel drag him to a spot near her friends. He saw Percy wave at him so he smiled slightly and waved back.
A few moments later, Hazel's laugh drew his attention and Nico realized that she had leaned away from him to talk to Frank, who looked slightly flustered.
'Gotta remember to "talk" to him later,' Nico thought amusedly as he noticed the faint blush on his sister's face.
The son of Hades didn't say much as he watched the seven demigods interact with one another, noticing that they all appeared to be on good terms with one another. Grover and Juniper were there too, the latter of whom seemed to be trying to coax the first into talking without much success.
"Quit being such a downer!" Leo exclaimed as he clamped a hand onto Nico's shoulder, startling the Italian more than he'd like to admit. "Tonight is a celebration!"
"I'm not being a downer," Nico argued. Hazel rolled her eyes and nudged him lightly.
"You kinda are, Bro."
"No, I'm not."
"You kinda are," Jason teased. Nico sighed, but fell silent again. And Leo was having none of it.
"Alright, you asked for it!" Leo shouted as he stood up. The girls all groaned in unison as the other guys began to laugh, all of them seemingly realizing something while Nico remained oblivious.
[Leo]: Yo! Listen up, it's the Song of the Seven!
Don't ya tell me no
I can do anything that I want
"Come on, guys. Don't act like you don't love this song," Leo whined when his singing was met with blank stares. Jason looked around the campfire for a second before he shrugged and joined in.
[Jason]: Yeah, well I'm the Son of the King
So there's nothing for you to flaunt
As they sang, or rapped, as it were, Nico noticed a satyr, cloud nymph, and a little hybrid that resembled the two of them joined the bonfire. The satyr and nymph watched the group of teens in amusement while the kid clapped his hands to the rhythm of the song, albeit slightly off-beat.
Hazel looked at Nico for a moment and smiled before she started to sing as well, along with Piper and Annabeth. Percy remained silent, but one could see by the way his head bobbed along that he was having a good time.
[All the 7 minus Percy]:
Seven Half-Bloods
Shall Answer the Call
To Storm or Fire
The World Must Fall
An Oath to Keep
With A Final Breath
And Foes Bear Arms
To the Doors of Death
Yeah, it's the Big 7!
[Annabeth]: Good grief, these boys are dumb
They always make a fuss
[Hazel]: I find jewels all the time
So are they really precious?
Nico laughed at his sister, his smile growing wider as she smiled back. Her new friends might be a bit strange, but Nico could see why Hazel seemed to like them so much. He envied the way they had fun with such ease, even with the challenges they had yet to face.
[Frank]: As a duck, I saw a hunter
Who was a total barbarian
[Piper]: And this is why
I'm a vegetarian
The seven demigods got up and began to dance around the bonfire in a very exaggerated and very ridiculous way. Imagine the way the dwarves danced in the movie.
"What even is this?" Nico laughed despite himself.
"Better get used to it because this is how they always are," the cloud nymph replied. She smiled warmly at the demigod. "I'm Mellie."
"And I'm cold," the satyr beside her groaned. He glanced up at Nico before he spoke again. "Name's Hedge, and our kid here is Chuck."
"Excuse him, he's not a fan of cold weather," Mellie stated before she turned to address Hedge. "And I told you, the Winds have seemed very agitated lately. We don't know how long this will last so you'll have to deal with it for the time being."
"Yeah, yeah," Hedge muttered, leaning in closer to the bonfire.
[All the 7 minus Percy]: Seven Half-Bloods
Shall Answer the Call
To Storm or Fire
The World Must Fall
An Oath to Keep
With A Final Breath
And Foes Bear Arms
To the Doors of Death
Yeah, it's the Big 7!
"Woohoo! It's been way too long since we've sung that!" Leo exclaimed happily, staring at the night sky. The stars were beautiful and the moon was full.
"We literally sang it two days ago," Piper deadpanned.
Leo sighed but said nothing, waving off the daughter of Aphrodite's comment. Singing always seemed to make him feel better, and took his mind off of… other things.
"Either way, this little one needs to go to bed. This was a lot of fun though," Mellie said as she scooped up Chuck into her arms. "Goodnight, everyone."
She waved to the demigods, as did Hedge, reluctantly, before they walked away from the fire.
Nico glanced around to see if anyone besides the 7 demigods and himself were around, but the only other person he saw was Juniper, who seemed to be looking for something. Grover didn't seem to be around, so perhaps she was looking for him.
Before he could ask, however, Leo threw a twig at him, barely missing Nico's head. When the son of Hades turned around to look at the Latino, Leo smirked.
"Tell us a story. It's gotta be a true one though."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because you're good at it," Leo said with a shrug, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Leave the poor guy alone. He's had a long day," Frank smiled sheepishly at the dark-haired teen. "Sorry, Hazel's told us some stories you apparently used to tell her, and they all sound pretty interesting."
Nico glared at his sister, who smiled innocently and pointed at herself as if to ask 'who, me?'
"Yeah, but luckily, we don't need him to tell us a story. We've already got one," Annabeth stated firmly. When curious eyes turned to look at her, she elaborated. "The story of how he escaped. The story that's yet to be told, the one about our victory in our quest to defeat Calypso."
"They'll tell the story of tonight," Jason raised an imaginary glass with a grin. Percy followed suit, as did the others. Nico sighed and raised one as well after being nudged rather harshly by his sister. "Raise a glass to freedom."
Nico glanced at Piper, who had a fond smile on her face. She may have been in a foul mood since he'd first shown up, but it seemed like Jason was good at getting her to relax. Or maybe it was just Leo and his antics that made her so grumpy. Either one seemed plausible.
"I may not live to see our glory. Oh, who am I kidding, of course I will," Leo smirked, ignoring the way his friends rolled their eyes at him. "But I've seen wonders great and small."
"Because if the prince here can escape the Queen's wrath," Annabeth winked at Nico before continuing. "There's hope for our side after all."
"Maybe, but that's for the Fates to decide."
Nico may not have visibility startled, but he was as shook as the others when he realized the Grover had somehow managed to appear behind them without anyone noticing. Juniper trailed behind him, her forehead wrinkled as she stared at the melancholy satyr with concern.
His shoulders drooped, and he had a distant look in his eyes.
"Aw, come on, delivery boy. Cheer up," Leo joked with a grin that quickly turned into a grimace as Percy elbowed him sharply. "What?"
"Delivery boy?" Nico asked. Hazel frowned at Leo before explaining.
"He tends to do a lot of errands for Chiron, including delivering supplies and weapons around the island, and he's even gone to neighboring islands to help. Grover's the only one with permanent access to our boats," Hazel explained before shooting a dirty look at Leo. "And some people have started calling him 'delivery boy' even if he doesn't like it."
"It's fine," Grover said after a moment of awkward silence. "I don't mind. It's getting kinda late, so I'm gonna get some sleep."
"Grover…"Juniper trailed off as she watched the satyr walk away. She shared a worried look with Percy, who nodded before taking off after his friend. Annabeth patted the nymph's shoulder comfortingly.
"I'm sure he's fine," Annabeth said as reassuringly as she could. In truth, her and the other demigods had all noticed Grover had been acting off for a while now, but no one was able to get any information out of him, not even Percy or Juniper. Annabeth was afraid of what this meant, but she dared not voice her opinion out loud. Not until she had more information. "Mellie was right, though. We should all get some sleep."
"Good idea," Frank agreed earnestly. He turned to Hazel with a blush on his face before hugging her quickly. "G'night guys."
"Night," Hazel replied with a soft smile before she grabbed her brother's arm and began to pull him towards their cabin.
"Uh, goodnight, all," Nico waved at the other demigods awkwardly. He sighed in relief as he saw the cabin. He had enough social interaction for the day.
Or so he thought. But as they entered the building, Hazel plopped down on her bed and stared at him eagerly.
"What?" Nico asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"Now that it's just the two of us, will you tell me a story?" Hazel asked excitedly. Nico rolled his eyes; he probably should've seen that coming.
"Really?"
"It's been ages since we've gotten to talk. And I loved your stories when we were younger," Hazel gave him puppy-dog eyes that always softened the older teen. He sighed reluctantly and sat across from her on his bed.
"Fine," Nico paused as he thought of what story he was going to tell.
"Make it a love story!" Hazel exclaimed. Nico huffed but complied, knowing it was just easier to go along with what she wanted.
"Once there was a prince. That prince wasn't me," Nico clarified, silently willing his face not to blush. "And he fell in love. It wasn't easy for him. But anyone could see that Will-, I mean, the other prince- was charming… the only one for me."
"I thought the first prince wasn't you," Hazel smirked smugly, ignoring the glare her brother shot her. "He is pretty handsome. Not like Frank, but in a dorky kind of way. And he's tall."
"He is pretty dorky," Nico conceded. "There's nobody like him, nobody at all."
"Tell me more please."
"He was so stubborn. There was no way I'd be able to resist," Nico sighed happily as he thought of the blond healer. He'd tried resisting their relationship at first, for fear of being hurt or hurting their friendship. But slowly, little by little, Will chipped at Nico's walls, the ones he'd put up when his sister Bianca died all those years ago.
And when those walls were gone, Nico didn't have the heart to turn away Will. How could he, when the son of Apollo was so wonderful?
[Nico]: Someday ago, Will did come by.
And said we'd meet again.
Hazel leaned forward eagerly, laying on the bed with her elbows propping herself up. She loved her brother's singing voice. It was soft, but powerful. It always made her feel safe.
And away from our castle we'll go.
To be happy and free forever, I know.
Hazel yawned sleepily, thinking about how mushy her brother could be sometimes. She laid down on the bed fully, crossing her arms underneath her head as a makeshift pillow.
Someday when spring is here
We'll find our love allowed
And the birds will sing
And wedding bells will ring
Some day our dreams will be a reality.
"Works every time," Nico smiled fondly at Hazel. Singing soft, lullaby-like songs always made the younger demigod go right to sleep. He gently lifted the covers and pulled them over her, tucking her in. He'd never admit it to her, but Nico had missed telling Hazel stories.
The reason he began to tell stories in the first place was because of Calypso. Nico hated seeing his younger sister so stressed out, and wanted to distract her from her worries. It seemed to work for the most part, but it wasn't until Hazel was gone that Nico realized that the stories were helping him as well. Coming up with wild and far-fetched tales gave him something to do besides chores, and something to look forward to at the end of every day.
Nico was drawn from his thoughts when he heard a strange chime coming from the wall across from his and Hazel's beds. Nico looked up and saw a cuckoo clock he hadn't noticed before. It was pitch black with white bone-shaped numbers. A little wooden grim reaper came out of a black window above the numbers, with a reaper in its hand, and began to chase a satyr as the clock chimed eleven o'clock.
'I'll have to remember to get rid of that stupid thing in the morning,' Nico thought to himself as he laid down in the bed beside Hazel's. Despite the nap he'd taken earlier, he was still exhausted. So it was no surprise that he fell right to sleep.
A shadowy figure, completely covered by a black cloak, made his way to the shore. He paced around the beach, trying to forget the concerned looks on his friends' faces from dinner. It wasn't like he wanted to worry the people he cared about. But it couldn't be helped.
As he spotted the dock, he noticed a hazel-colored rowboat and had to choke back tears as he remembered how sick Hazel got whenever she was on the water. Like during patrols.
One time, she'd sneezed rather loudly, startling the demigods around her. For the rest of the day, they'd called her 'Sneezy'. She wasn't very happy about it, but her mood lifted once she caught sight of the shore.
"Doubt she'd be very happy if she saw me right now," the figure whispered to himself sadly. "I doubt any of them would be happy."
He shook himself slightly. He had no time to think about the possible consequences of his betrayal. There was too much at stake.
Looking up at the starry night sky, he took a seat on the sand, sighing sadly.
He heard something in the distance and turned his head frantically to see who it was. He sighed with relief for a moment when he saw it was just a demigod, but stiffened back up when he saw the serious expression on his friend's face.
'This won't end well,' he thought glumly, mentally preparing himself for the coming conversation, which he expected would be pretty one-sided.
'Gods forgive me. But I must do this. For her.'
AN: Anyone notice the Hamilton reference? Also….I sort of turned A Silly Song into something that sounds like it's supposed to be a rap but that wasn't my original intention. Guess I incorporated more Hamilton than Snow White into this chapter but idc because I liked how it turned out. Kinda. A Silly Song wasn't my favorite to rewrite but I really tried. Someday came out pretty good though, in my opinion. Either way, I hope you enjoyed it!
- Kitkat Out!