Chapter 4
Nico De Angelo
When Achlys heard Hades was her father, she was...nervous. Does this mean he watches over me? Does this mean he can see what a worthless pest I am? Can he see...the scars I've inflicted on myself? Oh My Gods, what if he can! He'll probably disown me in a few days, oh I know he will! Why must I be So fucking stupid!?
Achlys was jittery and alarmingly nervous. She walked through the forest patting her thigh. Her ADHD was kicked in on overdrive. She was walking and walking until she stopped. She took a deep breath. She scanned the area throughly, before she noticed a path.
It was covered by a bunch of autumn leaves, but bits of black and gray peeked up from the leaves. She continued the path slowly, watching as the cobble stone path turn from stones to bones, little chipped pieces of bone following up the path.
What she found at the end of the path shocked the shit out of her, leaving her standing agape. It was a cabin. It was tall and sturdy, and had thick pillars made of steel and bones. It had pomegranates bushes all around, with dead bells everywhere. The walls of the home were made of wood, with little ingravements on them.
She walked up the steps slowly, taking everything in. She looked at the door. It was...shining? No, something on it was shining, but vines were covering it up. Achlys touched the vines, and snatched her hand back as the vines recoiled, hissing violently.
That was weird...but this whole day's been weird! thought Achlys. She looked at glowing object and stared at it in recognition and shock. She remembered these things from the tour that was given to her by Chiron the Centaur.
~*~Flashback~*~
Once everything was cleared up and calmed down, Chiron gave them a tour of the camp. He led them through the camp. They noticed there were different types of cabin's. There were twelve, lined up in the shape of a 'U'. They had big, brass number's on them, telling which one was which.
One and two looked like his-and-her mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin One was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. It's polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that at different angles, lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. This one caught Ajax's attention quickly. "The great Zeus." whispered Ajax. He seemed to be in awe. "Indeed. Number two is Hera's." Smiled Chiron.
Hera's was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks. "They're beautiful." grinned Ajax. Achlys nodded and Zoranna did nothing. She was still nervous from earlier. Achlys looked as if she wanted to rip her limb from limb, and throw her in Tartarus. It frightened her, so she won't say or do anything to her sister, not until she deemed it safe.
Achlys scanned the houses and noticed something. "Where's Hades cabin." Chiron looked at her with sympathy. "Hades holds no home here. You'll stay in the Hermes cabin while you stay here." Achlys bit back a snappish reply. It wasn't Chiron's fault her father held no home here.
"Why do all the cabins look so empty?" asked Zoranna quietly. She looked up through her bangs to see Ajax and Achlys glaring daggers at her, still mad at her from earlier. She looked down again, a lone tear sliding down her face.
Chiron patted her back gingerly and said, "Because several of them are. No one ever stays in one or two." Zoranna nodded lightly shuffling closer to the Centaur, mooching off his heat. Chiron smiled at this sentiment and patted her head.
"So, each cabin is like a mascot for a god?" suggested Ajax. Chiron nodded as he spoke, "Correct. Children stay in their parents cabin when they are claimed." There was one cabin in-particular that caught the attention of Zoranna.
It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were a rough gray stone, studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean. Zoranna shuffled closer to the house, liking the vibe of ocean it gave off.
"That's the house Percy lives. His father is Poseidon." Zoranna's eyes widened and she stared at the house again. "Cool." was Zoranna's sophisticated response.
Once the tour was over, Chiron led them over to the Hermes cabin. "You mentor's are different, so listen. Achlys your mentor is-" "Yeah, yeah I know, she's already introduced herself." Chiron smiled in amusement as he looked at Achlys irritated face.
"Ajax, your mentor is myself." Ajax smiled and nodded. He didn't know what to expect from Chiron. "And Zoranna, your mentor is Annabeth." Her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at Chiron. He smiled and said, "Come on, we'll go meet her" he turned to Ajax and Achlys "you guys can go explore if you want, or you can stay here and make friends, your choice. Come, Zoranna." Chiron led their sister away to find her mentor.
"I'm staying here. What are you doing?" questioned Ajax, but he was to late, for before he finish his sentence, she was off.
~*~Flashback~*~
So here she is now, at the front door of Hades cabin. There was a number 13 on the door. She looked down at the doorknob. Her hand grasped it, and turned it slowly. As she walked in, her face took a look of awe. Her eyes meet Gray walls with Crimson and Black swirls.
It had four beds, that were covered in black satin sheets. It had three bookshelves with books tightly packed on to each shelf. A small nightstand stood on one side of each bed, with one, tiny lamp. One of the beds was rumpled, so she knew someone lived here. A sibling maybe She thought smiling. She walked further into the house, loving the homey feeling in it.
The living area had black leather couches, and a large maple table, polished to perfection. A large flat screen TV sat in front of the furniture. She walked back to the bedrooms. She sat on one of the sheets and rubbed her hand against it.
She flopped back and shut her eyes. Hopelessness. She thought. She opened her eyes and looked at the one of the bookshelves. She got up and walked to it. She rubbed her hands across the spines of the books. Her hand hovered one. It was a grimoire. It had a dark brown, leather cover...but it had a lock on it.
She pulled it out and went back to the bed she was sitting on. She crossed her legs Indian style, and looked at the lock. She reached down into her bra and pulled out some wires. She looked closer at the lock. It was basic. A simple four-pin double crick-twister.
Achlys bent the wires into the right shapes and lid them into the lock. With fast fingers, the wires clicked into the right places and the lock flipped over. Easy. She opened it up...but it was blank. She smiled lightly, and ran her fingers over the raggedy pages. She scanned over the room and pouted. She couldn't be a pen.
Then she looked down and felt stupid. There was a pen latched on to the side. She plucked it off the side, and began to think. Ideas raced across her eyes. Then her face grew a smile, as she found what she was looking for in her head.
She began jotting down the words of the song her mother made for her:
(Verse 1)
You are the hole in my head.
You are the space in my bed.
You are the silence in between.
What I thought, What I said.
You are the night-time fear.
You are the morning when it's clear.
When it's over, You will start.
You're my head, You're my heart.
(Chorus)
No Light, No Light in you bright blue eyes.
I never knew daylight could be so violent.
A revelation in the light of day.
You can't choose what stays and what fades away.
And I'll do anything, to make you stay~
No Light, No Light
(No Light)
Tell me what you want me to say.
(Verse 2)
Through the crowds eyes crying out at me.
In your place were a thousand other faces.
I was disappearing in plain sight.
Heaven help me, I need to make it right.
(Hook)
You want a revelation.
You want to get it right.
But, that's a conversation I just can't have tonight.
You want a revelation, some kind of resolution.
You want a revelation.
(Chorus)
Would you leave me, if I told you what I've done?
And would you leave me, if I told you what I've become?
'Cause it's so easy~ to say it to a crowd.
But it's so hard, my love.
To say it to you, my love~~
(Chorus)
No Light, No Light
(No Light)
Tell me what you want me to say.
(Hook)
Tell me what you want me to say.
(Florence & The Machine: No Light, No Light)
the time she was done writing, Achlys was in tears."Mommy! I need you! Please come home!" choked Achlys. Tears fell down her cheeks freely as she sobbed loudly. A cold wave of air warped around her, making her cry harder. She began to gag on her choked sobs.
"Who are you?! Why are you here?!" growled a deep voice. Achlys squeaked and looked up at the intruder. He had black hair that was messed up. His cold black eyes stared her down, and his snarl deepened and his chest let out growls. He wore a plain gray polo, black skinnies, and gray sneakers. Achlys was quick to speak before things got out of hand.
"I'm Achlys, Daughter of Hades. And you are?" The boys eyes widened, and he gaped at her. Achlys furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and continued to stare at him, expectantly. When the boy had got a hold of himself he stuttered, "I-I'm Nico De Angelo, Son of Hades." For a while they just stared at each other in disbelief.
"Well..." started Nico "has everybody shunned you yet?" Achlys just stared at him for a second before saying, "No~~...I don't think so. But who gives a flying fuck what anybody else thinks. I mean, I've been rejected by society my whole life. It doesn't really bother me if someone starts shit with me. I've learned to ignore it." Nico just stared at her before a grin almost ate his face. "I like you. You're smart. And quiet. Didn't even know you were here for a while."
She just shrugged, not really worrying about. Nico looked down at her hands curiously, noticing the grimoire immediately. "...You write?" Achlys looked down, blushing. Strange enough, she was rather comfortable around him. Must be a sibling thing. We do have the same father after all. thought Achlys confidingly.
"Yea, but this is the song my mom wrote for me." Nico nodded, and looked at her strangely. "Well, write something. I want to read some poetry." grinned Nico as he flopped down on her bed. Achlys raised a brow, but did what he said anyway. She was also thirsting for poetic words.
Noise that disrupts the predetermined harmony.
A sharp, piercing look of the eyes.
It snuck in.
Hearts, no different from when we used to dream in the garage.
That's right, no tomorrow will be the same as today.
I drive wildly and sensitively.
A singing heart, a playing beat.
Certain proof that you alive.
You gain some, then lose some.
Let's move through time, even on nights of crying secret tears.
It's all right here.
It all is.
That's right, I should still be able to go by myself.
An untarnished light pierces the moonless night.
Right now, my life is screaming that this moment will go on forever.
See, deep in my heart there's always an image of you.
Simply embrace the truth that should be upheld, and go.
Even if you should be swallowed by the rough waves of the daily grind.
We'll still be right here, still dreaming on.
I can always here them; the voices of my unknown friends of the dead.
My only choice in life is to go on, amid the wind and whispering voices, into the city as if casting loneliness.
The way of life I believe in.
Achlys smiled, scanning the paper once more, looking for flaws in her work. "You done yet or what." said Nico impatiently. Achlys smirked while saying, "Yeah, I am actually." Nico held out his hands, one opened, and waiting for the book, the other hand-held a piece of paper.
Achlys raised a brow while she stared at the paper. "It's one of my own works. Hope you like it." said Nico sheepishly. Achlys smiled at him and grabbed the paper and began to read:
Pain that won't heal, sadness you feel.
Scars that just refuse to fade from memory.
Sometime's the burden's too much for one to bear.
Don't give up on me, please don't turn me away.
I'll hold your hand in mine.
Will I lose my hold on you someday?
Will your smile fade in a flood of tears?
Or can I keep the fears at bay?
Echoing, distant voices wither into silence.
But there is one thing that will never age.
My love for you is timeless.
Pain that won't heal, sadness you feel.
Smiles with hearts' bitterness replaced.
"I'll never smile again." "I'll never let love in."
Don't ever say such things to me.
A future we cannot see.
All happenings find meaning in the unseen journey.
In time, the clouds will clear away, so just stay, please stay with me.
Who are we, to pass through you?
That answer will find her someday.
When Achlys finished, she looked up to see her brother staring at her. "I really like your poem Achlys. It was about your life...wasn't it. How it was hard working with people so unlike yourself. How you tried to morph yourself into something your not. How pain people put you through because you were different felt."
Achlys nodded solemnly. He was right. How shitty her life was. How her siblings were no help. Zoranna's outburt earlier proved how ignorantly stupis she was. She, personally, thought Zorranna was just a really really really light blond. "Yours was great as well" started Achlys "But, I know what it means." Nico's eyes widened in panic. "No more cutting Nico. If I can stop, you can too. Instead of letting people get to you, counter attack them with some of your own hurtful words. It's rather fun, if you ask me."
Nico relaxed as he realized she wasn't teh one to judge. Nico was scared to speak, because he felt like he was on the verge to cry. "...How do I stop?" grunted Nico weakly. Achlys smiled, and began to tell Nico some good ways to quit cutting, and also began to take every sharp and pointy thing out of the cabin.
"I love you, Nico. Your my brother. And if Hades can put up with shit from the whole world, then we can handle just a little shit from some dumbfucks. Alright?" grinned Achlys. She held her fist out. "Bump it...you know you want to!" Nico laughed and bumped her fist. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. thought Achlys as she began to bond some more with her new brother.
