After Miss McLean's fall into the marsh, the fishing expedition that Lieutenant Jackson had proposed the night before fell through. Nico was relieved. He disliked fishing, especially on hot afternoons. It was nearly October, why was it so warm out? The sun was blinding.
Nico decided to go for walk and explore the grounds of Skye Castle. The castle was surrounded by its famous rose gardens, which featured roses in every size and color growing around small marble temples to different classical gods. A round building made from yellow ochre served as a temple to Apollo. It had a domed ceiling and a portico which resembled a sunburst.

Nico stopped there to rest and get out of the sun. From his seat, he could see that beyond the rose garden there was a small pond shaded by rocky cliffs and willow trees. He thought that it would be pleasant to take a walk by this pond.

Upon closer inspection, Nico noticed that carved into the grayish-white stone of the cliffs were windows and doors, marking it out as a sort of dwelling. Stone steps lead up to its entrance.

The cliffs were overgrown with yellow roses. These roses were in full bloom and smelt slightly of lemon.

Nico reached out to pick some, thinking that Hazel might like a bouquet.
"Janet has kilted her green kirtle
a little above her knee," a male voice sang, "And she has braided her yellow hair little above her breast,"
Nico stopped to listen. The voice was low, sweet, and lilting with a thick northern accent. Normally, a human voice would have disturbed the stillness of nature but this song blended in with the chirping of the birds, the whistling of the wind through the trees, and the babbling of the waterfall which tumbled down the cliffs into the pond.
"And she's away to Carterhaugh as fast as she can go. When she came to carterhaugh, Tam Lin was at the well,
and there she found his steed standing,
but he was away himself."
A/N Tam Lin is a British folk ballad originating from the English/Scottish border area. It was originally written in a thick dialect (I did my best to translate the lyrics into something which made sense) but my personal favorite version is the one recorded by Anaïs Mitchell which is the first one I listened to.)

https://youtu.be/c3yTEUnyYDA

The singer, a tall young man with a head of golden curls pulled back into a loose queue and a scruffy blond beard, stepped out of the cottage and continued with his song.
"Four and twenty ladies fair, were playing at the ball. And out then came fair Janet, the flower of them all. And four and twenty ladies fair were, playing at the chess. And out then came fair Janet, as green as any glass."
The young man wore an old leather frock coat, decades out of fashion. It might have been a smart garment thirty or forty years earlier but had since become tattered and roughly patched up over the years.

His blue eyes sparkled from beneath the brim of his straw hat and his mouth curled into a smile as bright and dazzling as the sun. Nico blushed; this stranger was quite an Adonis.

The young man put the stem of a clay pipe in his mouth and lit the bulb then sat down on the ground to mend some hunting traps.
"What are you doing?" he shouted when he noticed Nico plucking a rose.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Nico sulked.
"What makes you think you can take things which don't belong to you?"
"There are hundreds of roses here. What are two or three? And who are you to tell me that I can't take some if I wish to."
"This is my home and I tend these roses for my own enjoyment, not so some little brat could steal them."
Nico could not tell which aggravated  him more: this stranger's insolence or that fact that he had called him a little brat.
"This land belongs to the Duke of Olympus and I am a guest in his home. I am free to go where I please. What are you, some poacher?"
"Will Solace, hermit of Skye Castle, friend and confidant to His Grace, the Duke of Olympus."
Solace smirked and swept a sarcastic bow.

A/N  Here comes the OTP. Ladies and Gentlemen. Here comes the OTP. The moment you're been waiting for. Here comes the OTP. The pride of Rick Riordan. Here comes the OTP. Solangelo!

Nico was aware of a fashion for seemingly uncultivated Neoclassical style gardens dotted with follies and grottos. Sometimes eccentric people would be hired to live in these structures as novelties and curiosities and sometimes give sage advice to passers by.
"Nico Di Angelo," he mumbled, "Of Styx Abbey."
"Who were you picking the roses for?" Solace, irritating ass that he was, enquired, "Some young lady?"
"My sister."
"Well, give them to her with my compliments but don't take anymore."

https://youtu.be/07DaQ2_7W3c

Nico returned to the south lawn of Skye Castle where the rest of his companions had gathered. Hazel sat at a table with Miss Chase, and Lady Thalia sipping lemonade while watching Lord Skye, Lieutenant Jackson, and Dona Reyna shoot at targets with pistols.

Nico walked over to the refreshment table to grab himself a glass of lemonade. Walking in this heat had made his mouth as dry as dust so he ended up drinking several. The glasses of lemonade were arranged by around a pyramid of rose and violet macaroons.

"I picked these for you," he said to Hazel, handing her the bouquet of yellow roses.
"Thank you," Hazel replied, "They're lovely."
"Like the young lady herself," added Zhang, the Grace family's Chinese servant, who was bringing in a tiered tray of queen cakes.

Hazel blushed and modestly lowered her eyes. Nico noticed that she had a radiant grin on her lips.
Miss Chase got up from her seat and walked over to where Lord Skye, Lieutenant Jackson, and Dona Reyna were practicing their marksmanship.
"May I try?" She asked Lieutenant Jackson.
Her long, slender fingers curled around the handle of the pistol as Lieutenant Jackson handed it over to her. Jackson helped her adjust her posture and position and this close contact must have been Miss Chase's aim all along, Nico supposed.
"Shameless flirt," he scoffed.
Miss Chase pulled the trigger but was startled by the recoil and let out a shriek. The bullet grazed the bottom of target.
Lord Skye laughed.
"She's a better shot than you, Jackson," he mocked.

Lady Thalia ordered that dinner would be served out on the south lawn. Dinner consisted of beef stew, potato pudding, cream of asparagus, and beetroot pancakes, all made from the night before's leftovers.

Nico simply picked at his food and thought about Will Solace and how the hermit's beauty and insolence had frustrated and intrigued him.