Shoot an Arrow Through His Heart

Hades Wins the World Record for Holding a Grudge

CHAPTER SUMMARY

The wedding of Hades di Angelo and Persephone Levesque.

BEGINNING NOTES

Word Count: 3494
Content Warning: Violence (mild)

This one went way over 3K, but I'm wrapping up a lot of loose ends, so it was kind of unavoidable.

So, a few announcements before I get into the story:

1. Sorry for the massive delay, between college, a full-time job, moving states, and a million other things, this kinda fell to the wayside.
2. I've been working on my online portfolio, set to go up sometime this month. The domain will be themelodyrose.com, but it's not live just yet.
3. I'm starting to write my next fic (besides the BBC Merlin one; updates soon but that one's going to be slow). It's basically a 1940's spy thriller taking place in Italy, but beyond that would spoil the fun so I'll leave it there. I don't know when it's going up, but in the next few weeks, I promise.

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ONE:
4. Remember how I said I'm putting up my website/online portfolio? Well, I need reviews/testimonials from you guys saying that I'm a decent writer. So, if you like my work, please comment any compliments you have on me as a WRITER, not this particular story.

It's been a wild ride, guys. Thanks for sticking with me until the end.

And all the characters are owned by Rick Riordan.

Credits at the end.

Nico tugged at his collar for the millionth time. He hated collared shirts. If it were up to him, he'd spend every day in black t-shirts with obscure band logos and memes printed on the front. But Papà had insisted he come to the wedding in a tuxedo, and Nico thought it was best to just humor him. After all, it was his father's special day.

There was a knock on his door. "Come in!" Nico called.

Hazel opened the door. "Oh my god, you look amazing!" she gushed.

"I'd better. This thing is strangling me," Nico complained. "You look beautiful, Hazel."

He wasn't lying. She was in a simple, cream-colored dress that fell just past her knees and matching flats. She was wearing the set of sapphire jewelry--earrings, necklace, bracelet--Nico had gotten her for her birthday (they were her birthstone). Her hair was pulled back into a bun on the top of her head, with just a few curls framing her face. She looked like a princess from a fairytale.

"Are you ready to go? Hades seems really stressed," Hazel said.

"Yeah, sorry," Nico said. "Tell him I'll be down in two seconds."

Hazel left him alone, standing in front of his mirror once again. There was this uncomfortable feeling he couldn't shake, and it had nothing to do with the tux. He found himself sitting on his bed, a picture of Mamma in his hand. He'd made his peace with the wedding--Papà deserved to be happy, after all--but still...

His door opened again; Bianca never bothered to knock. She was wearing an emerald green dress, the skirt cut in an angle so one half ended above the knee, and the other ended halfway down her lower leg. She'd curled her hair and pulled it back with two diamond clips. Her lips were Marilyn Monroe red.

She sat next to Nico on the bed without a word. She stared at the picture of Mamma from over his shoulder. "I feel the same way, you know," she said at last.

"You do? You've always seemed cool with it," Nico replied.

"I'm good at pretending. I even convinced myself." She reached for the picture. Nico let her take it. "Maybe that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I ran 'cause I couldn't cope." She put the picture down on her lap. "The day he told us, I spent the night crying on the stairs."