AN: Note that I'm not going to doing every individual episode, only those that I deem important for this story. And the chapter won't always be one that episode like I did for chapter one and two. So it may be short for the episode, but not the chapter entirely. But there are two episodes in here.

This is now the beta'd after since I posted the original on my birthday which was the 14th of Dec. And so here is the newly beta'd version of this chapter. I was told there's a good possibility of getting my beta'd version on last Wednesday, alas I didn't get it till yesterday. Two days won't hurt anyone. Though at least you got to read it last Sunday and now that I had caught the flu make take me a bit longer to get chapter four, which I will get there eventually.

Enjoy! :)

~NicoDiAngeloLover7

Perseus Jackson - Arthur

Nico di Angelo - Merlin

Piper McLean - Guinevere

Annabeth Chase - Morgana

Poseidon - Uther

Hestia - Gaius

Nimueh(She's very briefly mention)

Jason - Lancelot

Hero's Sacrifice

Nico hurried through the crowded halls. He had overheard one of King Bayard's servants mutter about a poisoned goblet meant for the Prince of Camelot. So if that goblet reached Percy, then there was not going to be a future king anymore. He ducked and weaved, getting closer and closer to the servant, but a sudden buzz hit his ears.

Don't do it... a deep, gruff voice growled in his head. You know what will happen. Do you want to risk that?

Nico ignored the voice. He knew that if he didn't stop the servant, then this was going to be on him. He would stop it. No matter the cost.

The servant girl handed the cup over to Prince Percy and watched intently.

"No!" Nico shouted which made Percy slacken his grip and almost drop the silver goblet. He walked over and stood in front of Percy.

The King of Camelot narrowed his eyes. "What is the meaning of this? Perseus, control your servant. "

Percy sighed slightly. "What is wrong with you? You are in middle of the Royal Court!"

"Sire, that goblet is poisoned. You can't drink it!" Nico whispered, but King heard Nico. "Poisoned? How dare you make such allegations in my court!

"Because I-" Nico faltered a second. "I- I just know!"

"You just know," Poseidon sneered. Then he raised his voice for everyone to hear. "Then why don't you who claim that this cup is poisoned prove your point?" He glared down at Nico, his stormy gray eyes clashing like an ocean storm. "Drink it, and we will see if you are right."

Nico paused. He looked between the prince and the cup, a little uncertain. What if he was wrong? What if... No. He trusted his ears. And if this was the only way to prove that the goblet was poisoned and save Percy's life, then so be it.

"Fine," Nico hissed, taking the goblet from Percy with determination. Raising the glass, he nodded to the King. "May my point be proven to you with ease." And he drank all the liquid in one breath.

The wine burned down his throat, the alcohol and poison searing everything on its way down. Pain erupted all over his body, his head splitting in two. Screaming, he fell to the ground. The King rose to his feet as his Aunt ran to his side.

Percy leapt over the table and dropped to his knees, scooping up his servant in his arms. "Nico! Nico!"

Black spots appeared in Nico's vision, and then he lost consciousness.

Percy carried his servant to Hestia's lab, while she trailed behind. If anyone could save Nico, she could.

After he laid the boy tenderly on the cot, Hestia immediately went to work. She muttered to herself, closely inspecting her nephew and the silver goblet that was handed to her.

Hestia's face became grave. "Oh, dear. Not good; not good at all."

"What is it? What's wrong with him?" Percy asked frantically.

"Nico has definitely been poisoned. Luckily there is an antidote. However a part of the antidote is only found in one place."

"Where is that?"

"There are caves deep underground in the Forest of Baloch. Few survive the venomous creatures that guard the place. Their venom has no cure. But if Nico doesn't get the antidote, he will die."

Percy's expression hardened. He didn't know what it was about this boy, but he knew he had to save him. "I leave immediately."

Hestia didn't protest, although she wanted to. The Prince was just as stubborn as her nephew. Once he made up his mind, there was no stopping him. She pulled out a book and showed him a picture of the plant she required.

"I only need the leaves of the Mortaeus flower. But bring it all if you can."

Percy nodded and made his way out. No one stopped him reaching the stables, grabbing his horse, and racing out the kingdom.

Percy eased his horse to a trot when he reached the forest. He dismounted when he saw a woman in rags that looked familiar. Ignoring the thought, he asked the woman about the Mortaeus flower. She agreed to lead him to the flower in exchange for escorting her out of the forest.

Percy warily followed the woman to a cave and through a tunnel. He didn't completely trust her; there was something off about the woman.

Suddenly he heard a voice inside his head, Percy... it's a trap. It almost stopped him dead in his tracks for it almost sounded like Nico. But he was on his deathbed back in Camelot. He brushed the thought aside; it was only his imagination.

It didn't take too long for Percy to realize he shouldn't have lowered his guard even in the slightest. The woman turned out to be a sorceress who was trying to kill him. He jumped across a cavern and barely grabbed onto a ledge. The sorceress left him to die in the dark. He heard several things begin to crawl up the wall and he tried to reach the flower that was hanging just a little way away. Percy almost lost his on the wall when a glowing blue orb suddenly appeared before him. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to get the flower and managed to grab hold. He gently put it away for journey back to Camelot.

The orb displayed his path as he climbed up and out. It disappeared at the exit.

"Good riddance," he muttered. Then he found his horse and galloped back to his kingdom in hopes that Nico's condition hadn't gotten any worse.

The knights were under orders to arrest the prince as soon as Poseidon had found out that his son had left. Percy had come to him earlier to tell him he was going to save his servant and had directly disobeyed him after he had forbidden Percy to leave. The King huffed in aggravation as he paced around the empty throne room, waiting for his son to return.

Percy arrived at the kingdom and took an alternative route since he didn't want to be caught before he got the flower to Hestia. He was almost caught three times before he reached Hestia's lab.

"I've got it, Hestia," Percy announced, walking through the door, and his eyes went straight to Nico who was still lying on the cot. His skin was paler than he'd ever seen and he almost looked... dare he say it… dead. His hand shook as he retrieved the flower from his pocket and handed it to the healer. He didn't notice that Piper was there before she excused herself to check up on Lady Annabeth.

"Prince Perseus." Hestia's wavering voice shook Percy out of his roaming thoughts. "Your father is looking for you. I'm preparing the potion for Nico as quick as I can, but I don't wish you to be in more trouble than you are."

Percy nodded as he took another glance at Nico but stayed put. He'd deal with his father after he knew for sure that Nico was healing. He didn't notice Hestia whispering in a hushed tone while holding a wooden bowl. Hestia grinned with satisfaction and told the Prince to hold her nephew's nose as she poured the antidote down Nico's throat.

Nico laid still for a moment before his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, looking in all directions wildly until he fell out of the cot. And then he passed out.

Percy lifted Nico back into the cot. "What just happened?"

"He must have thought he was still dreaming. His fever should be broken so hopefully he will be aware next time he awakens. He'll be asleep for a while, Sire," Hestia responded as she felt Nico's forehead. She smirked slyly as she watched the Prince stare down at Nico. She'd known Percy all his life and she knew he was beginning to feel affection towards her nephew. It wasn't too long later that Percy finally left and she was alone until Piper returned.

Piper sat by the bed, her eyes slowly drifting shut as she patted her friend's forehead with a damp cloth. She had just returned from checking on Lady Annabeth and she was worried about Nico, even if the alchemist had said that his fever was broken and he was going to be okay. She couldn't shake the fear that something was going to go wrong, that something bad was going to happen, and that Nico would die because of it. It was an unfounded fear, and she knew she was being overly paranoid, but the fear was difficult to shake.

Her thoughts dashed from her mind when she heard a small moan from her patient, his eyes fluttering open ever so slightly before focusing on her.

"Where...?" Nico started to say, already trying to lift himself up.

"Nico!" Piper cried, hugging him closely and kissing him in a flurry of joy and relief. Nico froze, his weakness from the fever not allowing him to pull away and the suddenness of it all making his mind go blank. By the time she pulled away, she was scowling at him. "You idiotic, pigheaded, downright annoying, selfless hero!" she scolded. "You shouldn't have done that! You almost died!"

"Uh... Huh..." Nico said slowly. "I kind of feel like it."

Guards escorted Percy into the dungeon and locked him in a cell. His father waited until the guards had left before he started to lecture Percy, "You disobeyed me. I gave you a direct order!"

Percy's anger ignited. "Of course I did. I was not going to let Nico die. Not after he sacrificed his life to save mine. He did what a prince would; he was willing to sacrifice his life to save mine. I couldn't have let him die knowing that I had the power to do something about it."

"That boy is only a servant. You are a Prince. His life is not worth yours."

"Servant or not, that's the second time he's saved my life. Don't you think he deserves clemency? I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

Poseidon pondered his son's words briefly. "It doesn't matter. You disobeyed. You'll be released in a week." The King left.

Percy sighed in aggravation. "You had better not die on me, Nico."

Once the week passed, Percy stopped by to see how Nico was doing.

He walked into Hestia's apartment and heard Nico call out from his room, "Aunt Hestia, where did you put that letter I wrote?"

Hestia was hovering over the table and reading a book. "It's in here, Nico."

Nico walked out of his room wrapped in a blanket and realized someone else was in the room. "Percy! What are you doing here?"

Percy rolled his eyes before answering, "I came to check up on you. And I thought you said Hestia was a family friend!"

"Oh, he's a family friend all right," the woman said with a chuckle. "And he's my cute little nephew."

"Aunt Hestia!" Nico wailed, embarrassed.

Percy tried not to laugh. "So, you lied the first time we met?"

"You almost ran me over! I wasn't going to trust you with who I was," Nico grumbled. He picked up the bowl Hestia had started on, mixing the herbs carefully, and avoided meeting the Prince's eyes. "Could have been lying and trying to get me to lower my guard."

"Oh, you!" Hestia giggled, patting Nico shoulder. "Trust me, Percy, Nico was just being shy."

"Was not!" Nico shot back, a little too quickly.

This made the old woman laugh. "Whatever you say, Nico."

"I hate you so much." Sitting down the bowl of herbs, Nico asked again, "So where did you put the letter I wrote this morning?"

Hestia picked up the bowl of herbs that Nico had abandoned. "It's on the table where you left it earlier."

"Letter? To who?" Percy asked.

"None of your concern," Nico snapped. Percy raised an eyebrow. "It's personal," Nico grumbled and stumbled over to the table and grabbed his letter before almost falling. "Guess I'm not completely better. I'll see you in the morning." With that Nico left to his room.

"Don't worry about him; he'll be back to normal by tomorrow morning. He's just upset that Piper kissed him and he really couldn't do anything about it."

Percy suddenly felt annoyed. "What? Why?"

"He only wants to be friends with her."

"Why did he kiss Piper!?" Percy shouted in disbelief.

Nico's door swung open to reveal Nico propping himself up with one arm onto the frame as he growled, "Don't you dare say another word to him, Aunt Hestia! Percy, just leave before you become any more of a nosy prat. And don't accuse me of something you don't understand." Nico glared coldly at the two before him, anger flashing in his dark eyes. "I'll see you both in the morning."

As the door slammed shut behind the angry servant, Percy ran a hand through his hair in frustration. This was all getting stupid. What did Nico even see in Piper anyway? Sure they were both servants, and he had no reason to be angry, but the fact that Nico would ever kiss her sent Percy's anger on overdrive. And the nerve of him to walk out? What did he have to be angry about?

"The nerve of him," Percy growled, taking a step towards the door to follow after his servant.

"Wait." Percy stopped, feeling the healer's hand on his shoulder. The hand was warm, but the grip was cold and stern.

"Young man," Hestia said sternly, dragging him away from the door towards a few chairs. "You are turning a lizard into a dragon. Calm down."

"How am I?" Percy snapped, shoving her hand off his arm and sitting down. "What do you know? You have no idea how I'm feeling!"

Hestia smiled kindly, a hint of teasing in her lips but a stern look in her eyes. "On the contrary, you are jealous of Nico and Piper's kiss. You're angry, and you don't understand what is going on."

Percy stared at her. "How do you know that?" he asked after a slight pause.

She placed a hands on his shoulder, ruffled his hair just a bit, and chuckled, "It's time you stopped rushing into battle and used that thick head instead, Prince Jackson. You might actually learn something that way."

"Like what?" Percy's hands were clutching the edge of the chair. "What good would that do me?"

"You would have known that Nico was mad because you falsely accused him."

"I didn't accuse him of anything," Percy burst.

"You said he kissed Piper. If you had actually listened, you would have known that she kissed him, not the other way around. That is the main reason he is angry and you just fueled it," Hestia explained.

Percy's fingers twitched. Hestia was right, he decided; he had just assumed. No wonder Nico had gotten so upset.

An Old Friend

Nico put a hand to his forehead to sooth the headache that had formed from listening to the Prince rant on and on. He just needed a moment to find some peace and quiet. He walked around to stall for time. Once he returned, he knew Percy would yell about his disappearance. So he enjoyed the moment while he still could.

Lost in his thoughts, Nico was caught off guard when someone knocked into him and he tumbled to the ground and almost landed on the sword attached to his side. Immediately his hand flew to the hilt of his sword. His eyes almost bugged out of his eyes when he saw who it was.

A knight wearing familiar armor had his jaw wide open as he stared at Nico in disbelief.

"Oh great, here it comes," Nico muttered to himself as he stood back onto his feet.

With no hesitation was he almost knocked back to the ground, pinned by the knight in a crushing hug. The suddenness almost made him jerk away, but he refrained from doing so.

"Prince Niccolo! Where have you been? Why are you here? King Hades has been trying to contact you for months!"

Nico pushed on Jason's arms to get him to release him. "Jason! First, you need to shut up. Second, I told you to never call me by my real name. Third, I already informed you on why I departed. I came to Camelot because my Aunt Hestia lives here. Fourth, I sent a letter to Father a few weeks back. I've informed him in the contents all that has occurred since I left with Mother. Now you answer me this, Jase. Why are you in Camelot?"

Jason's mouth snapped shut from Nico's first comment. "After you left, I tried searching for you, and after that, I realized the King must have sent you away and I decided to attempt to join the Knights of Camelot."

Nico pondered the knight's words. "Well you should fit in just fine, like you did back home." He grinned and added, "Especially because of who trained you."

"You haven't changed a bit, Nico," Jason chuckled. "And what makes you so certain? I know I'm already a knight, but that was of your kingdom. I'm positive it's different in Camelot."

"Prince Perseus is in charge of the knights here. I've fought against him; you should last longer against him than most," Nico informed his friend.

Jason laughed. "You actually know the Prince! How much damage did you do to him when you sparred? Besides you always despised the royals that visited us. What did you do this time?"

Nico huffed. "I didn't do anything to him. I had no choice but to get along with him. "

Jason rolled his eyes, clearly disbelieving.

"Fine, I saved his life," Nico grumbled.

"Only you would say that like it's a burden," Jason chuckled. "There's more to it, isn't there, Nico?"

Nico sighed. "Do you remember Kilgharrah?"

"Yeah. What about him?"

"There's supposedly a prophecy about me and Arthur. Father always hinted that something big was written about me. I'm apparently supposed to guide him to when he becomes the Once and Future King and return magic back to our realm."

Jason's eyes widened. "You never have it easy, do you?"

Nico smirked. "What gave you the first clue?"

"The first moment I met your sorry arse," Jason replied sarcastically.

"Also whose arse saved yours on multiple occasions?" Nico retorted.

"Whatever, Nico. Now, show me Camelot."

Nico's gazed turned into a glare. "Do not be surprised how I'm treated in this city. This is not Algarthia. Do not give away your heritage for it can be used against you, and your royal blood makes no difference. We have always been allies of Camelot, so remember your oath."

"Yes, sire." Jason did a slight bow.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Knock off the 'sire' crap. They do not realize who I am and I intend to keep it that way until Father says otherwise. Understood?"

"Of course, si- Nico," Jason corrected himself.

"Better. Now let's go see Hestia before you meet up with the royal prat," Nico announced in a cheerful tone.

Jason placed a hand on Nico's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Only you could call the Prince a prat and get away with it."

Nico and Jason strolled into the room, coming to a stop before the healer who was swooped over a wooden table.

Without looking up, she said, "The Prince has been looking all over for you, Nico. You better prepare yourself for when he catches you."

"That can wait for later and besides Percy will survive," Nico brushed off his aunt's comment.

"Are you so sure, young man? You know how that man can be." Hestia finally stood up and her next comment disappeared when she saw the knight. "Jason? Is that really you? I haven't seen you in a long time."

Jason grinned and hugged the healer. "It's quite a while, Hestia. But I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, although I prefer my kingdom. I'm not going to let Nico out of my sight for a while."

Hestia laughed. "I imagine so. Though he can be quite troublesome at times."

"I know better than most how he can be." Jason ruffled Nico's hair. Nico slapped his hand away and scowled. Jason continued, "I spoke with his father and he wanted me to find his son and he hoped that Nico was in Camelot since you live here. He wanted confirmation of Nico's whereabouts because the King is journeying to Camelot and wishes to see him."

Nico took a step back. "What? Are you serious, Jason? Dad is coming here?"

The knight simply nodded.

Nico let out a bright grin at the prospect of seeing his father. It had been almost a year since he'd left his kingdom and family.

The grin on Nico's face had not faded overnight. The Prince of Camelot noticed Nico's great mood straight off.

"What has you in such high spirits?" Percy asked suspiciously.

"I just received some good news. Which one of which includes you."

Percy rolled his eyes. "And what is this supposedly good news?"

"I ran into a Knight of Algarthia, and he wishes to join the Knights of Camelot," Nico said with a smirk. He had a good idea of what Percy's reaction would be.

Percy stopped suddenly in his tracks before turning on his servant and shouting, "What?"

"Percy, close your mouth; you're gonna get a fly caught in your throat," Nico said immediately.

Percy shot a glare at his servant. "What is his name, and supposedly where is this knight?"

"His name is Jason Grace and he's staying at Hestia's at the moment," Nico said, kind of shocked by Percy's enthusiasm.

Percy thought for a moment. "I've heard of Jason Grace before. Inform him to meet me at the training grounds. And if he's as good as people say, there is a strong likelihood that he'll become a Knight of Camelot. I've heard he's almost as good as Prince Niccolo of Algarthia, although it is curious why the Head Knight of Algarthia would want to become a Knight of Camelot."

Nico clenched his teeth, and his eyes narrowed. Percy just had to remind him of his kingdom. Though he really couldn't blame him, since Percy had no idea who he it was still a blow to the heart.

"So that's what made you so happy today?" Percy asked. "You're usually grumpy and insulting me."

"I was also informed that my father is coming to visit me. I haven't seen him in almost a year," Nico replied, his homesickness fading.

Percy glanced over his servant before he clapped him on his shoulder. "That's good news, Nico. But, I have some training to do, so send a message for Jason to meet me there in an hour."

Percy was studying Jason for a while after they finished their spar before he finally said, "You have a lot of skill, Jason. You're about as good as Nico."

Nico smirked. "You jus-"

"No, I didn't," Percy interrupted. "That was just a mere observation. You're not getting a compliment, di Angelo."

"Whatever you say, Percy."

Jason had a half smile on his face as he watched Nico and Percy argue. It was amusing. "If you two are done with your flirting, do I get to know when to train with you next?"

Percy's cheeks tinted pink, although Nico didn't notice since he was trying to keep himself from yelling at Jason. Not that his own bright red face said anything about his thoughts on the matter. Percy coughed and told Jason, "You will meet me here tomorrow morning and start your assessment as a Knight of Camelot. You both may go."

"What was that comment about, Jason?" Nico demanded as soon as they were out of earshot.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? Even a blind man could see it."

"See what?" Nico scoffed. "What are you talking about?"

"The way the Prince of Camelot acts around you," Jason elaborated.

"We always act like that."

"Well…" Jason smirked. "It looks like the Prince has a so called crush on you."

Nico's cheeks heated at his knight's words. "Don't be too sure about that; he's just an arrogant prat."

"You didn't deny if you liked him or not!" Jason sang.

Ignoring Jason's comment, they walked into Hestia's lab, and Nico's eye caught a letter that was sitting on the table. With Jason following did Nico open the letter and read its contents quickly.

Nico,

I planned to travel up to Camelot since I haven't seen you in a year and I have important matter to discuss with you. Unfortunately, I cannot leave at the moment and therefore require your presence here.

Your Father.

Nico stared at the letter in disbelief that he would be able to head back home, even though it was only for a short while. Nico looked at Jason, who was smiling. "You knew, didn't you?" he accused.

Jason didn't stop smiling. "Yes, Sire."

"Stop with the royal crap already," Nico admonished. "I'll send Father a letter. I cannot leave right away. Too much is happening right now."

"He'll understand, Nico. He always does," Jason comforted.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Nico muttered, grabbing a quill, ink, and paper. He wrote quickly.

Father,

I regret to inform you that I must postpone the trip for a month or two. It's not safe to travel with all that's happening here. I will make the journey as soon as possible.

Niccolo

Nico breathed deeply before asking Jason, "You have your raven, right?"

"Of course. Did you leave yours behind?"

"I could not bring him along. Such would be catch as an immediate sign that an Algarthian Royal or Knight was here. I couldn't afford to reveal myself."

Jason nodded. "I'll deliver it for you." He took Nico's letter, went to the open window, and summoned his raven. It flew down from the skies moments later and perched on the window sill. "Deliver this to King Hades of Algarthia, from his son, Prince Niccolo of Algarthia."

Nico clasped his hand on Jason's shoulder a few days later. "I told you that you'd become a Knight of Camelot. You were a Knight of Algarthia after all."

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, because being a Knight of Algarthia is such an amazing feat."

"Well it should be," Percy's voice rang from behind them. "Means you have skill. We hear all the time about the Algarthian Prince and his Knights. It's honorable that Camelot has a former Algarthian Knight."

"I did learn from the best," Jason agreed.

"The Prince of Algarthia, no doubt," Percy guessed. Nico smirked slightly behind Jason and Percy's back.

"Prince Niccolo easily beat me every time we fought," Jason admitted with a shrug.

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "I shall have to meet this Prince soon. Now, I expect to see you tomorrow at noon for training, Jason."