(The portrait of Nico, his mother and Bianca Nico has in his room ^)

Dinner was... Insane. The colorful fruits and vegetables was laid themselves on the plates of the tables were so mind boggling. I've never really seen a fruit before. Hazel was holding a round red one before she bit into it, jumping at the loud crunch sound it made as her teeth took a chunck from it. The inside was white and liquid dripped from the spot Hazel had bit into. Her face lit up and she smiled as she chewed, offering the fruit to me. I hesitantly copied her actions, hearing the same crunch getting a mouthful of juice and a hard crunchy.. Meat of the fruit? I don't know.

"Oh wow," My eyes widen and I swallowed the chunk of fruit in my mouth after having at chew for a bit. "That's fucking delicious."

I heard Persephone clear her throat, a sign that she heard my choice of words. I in return gave her a look that told her I didn't care what she thought and that I could use my language however I'd like. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her own food. Hazel was already shoveling green orbs into her mouth that came in groups on a vine. I plucked one from her plate, popping it into my own mouth and freezing. Damn. What the hell was all of this and why am I only finding out about it now? I ignored the weird looks I am definitely getting and shoveled more of whatever I didn't recognize onto my plate and chowed down.

I didn't bother paying any mind to what our families were discussing and after we ate my family and I got ready to return home. After a short goodbye to Will and watching from a distance as Hazel said goodbye to Will's siblings, I couldn't help but grin at the unease look the two gave me every time they looked up to see me watching. Then we left. It wasn't until later that I found out Will and his family were now coming here. Wonderful.

After seeing how large and open Will's room was, I started to see my own room differently. I was definitely not going to ask for a bigger room, it was unnecessary, but I couldn't help but feel jealous. Will's kingdom was so large yet so close when it came to who knew who yet my kingdom is tiny compared to Will's and I didn't even remember our head chief's name. It was disappointing to think about yet what could I do about it? I fell asleep the moment I fell into my bed, relief filling my body at the familiar coolness the air of my kingdom held and the calming silence the roads were filled with. Will's kingdom might be all sunshine and rainbows compared to mine, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

When Will's family arrived, it was the most amusing thing to see them try and get into the castle. We made sure to get bigger candles to assist them while they tried to navigate through the darkness. So this is how Will's kingdom felt seeing us stumble and get startled by everything around us while we were in thier kingdom. It felt good to see Will walk into a wall.

I sat on my throne to my father's right while Hazel was to Persephone's left and of course the king and queen were directly next to each other. We all waited in patient silence as the royal family tried their best to arrive to our thrones, which weren't as well lit as the rest of the room. Even the "well lit" spots were hard to navigate through for them. It was the best we could do for them. I twirled my dagger, the point touching my leg and I spun the handle around as I smirked in satisfaction seeing the sharp blade unable to pierce through my clothing.

Our head guard, Bellona and her daughter (who was also my very good friend) Reyna introduced the family. Reyna looked at Will, then at me, smirked and winked. She was messing with me. I pointed my dagger at her in a threatening way but she just chuckled. Rude girl. She should know not to mess with the prince of this kingdom, even if she knows I love her (as an older sister) too much to do anymore then playfully threaten her.

My father told me to show Will around and I did. Will got lost in the darkness if the hallways, multiple times. The hallway leading to my room wasn't the most lit area in the house, yet I knew it like the back of my hand so there was never a reason to have light her. So instead of making him follow my voice, which has aggravated him to an amusing level, I took his wrist and led him my hand. Huh. His skin was really warm. Interesting.

I pulled him into my room and shut the door, making it seem more eerie. The room was pitch black, both the color of the room and the amount of darkness that claimed multiple places within the small area. My room was about the size of a average kitchen while Will's was the size of a large sitting room with the dining room combined. On every wall there were two torches that covered claimed each side of it, giving the room more of a glow yet didn't provide a lot of lighting. I didn't mind. Again, I know this castle like the back of my hand. It didn't matter if I was blindfolded. Mostly because of how dark the castle was already, it wouldn't make a  difference. I led Will to my bed (let his legs spread and said- oh lord I'm going to hell) and sat him down so he didn't fall and/or break anything.

"How do you live like this?" His voice held slight disbelief.

"Live like what?" I shrugged, plopping down next to him.

"Like.. Like a bat! A mole! Whatever creature that hangs out in the dark! How?"

I raised my eyebrow at his question, chuckling bitterly. "You say this as if I chose to live in the darkness. And even if I did, I wouldn't regret it. How do you live in that heat?"

Will was silent, glancing around the room. I was sure he was only doing it to get his mind off the tension that formed in the air once my words left my mouth. He really couldn't see anything in my room. I sighed, running my hand across my sheets and found my way to my bedside table. Running my hands over every object they came in contact to, I searched for something using only my knowledge of what my items felt like to identify them.

My mother's old watch. Bianca's necklace that I took and hide from her when we were little as a joke. She never found it and now never will. A picture frame of my family, just my mother, Bianca and I when I was little. The picture was painted, od course, but a skilled artist made it small enough to fit in this small frame for my father to put in his room. It used to be both of my parent's room of course. During the rage my father went through after my mother died when I was six, I took it and hid it in my room. He had forgotten about it after all these years.

I let my hand linger on the picture, remembering what it looked like as I ran my fingers over the glass that protected it. My mother lovingly looking down at me as I squirmed restlessly to be let down from my place on her lap and Bianca begging for me and her to continue playing. At least that's what I remembered my mother describing when I asked her why Bianca and I looked so distressed. I missed her. I missed her and Bianca so much. But at least I had Hazel now.

"Nico?" Will's voice snapped me out of my daze. "You okay? You're pretty quiet.."

I looked up, realizing I was clutching the picture with tears rolling silently down my face. I sighed, gently placing the fragile (it was fragile in my eyes) portrait down and sat back on the bed. I wiped my face with my sleeve, suddenly thankful that my room was so dark. "Yes," I said finally. "I'm perfectly fine."