Daughter of Thanatos (discontinued)

Chapter 2: A day in the life of Mr. Darkness

Nico held her in the princess carry as he walked her unconscious body to the infirmary, not once faltering in his steps or strength. His pace quickened as he felt her aura fading. A buzz in his ears alerting him that she was dying. And whoever this new mystery girl was, he knew it was because of him that she was in this state. Will, Nico's boyfriend, had already taken off towards the building and begun preparing a cot for her. Nico knew that whoever she was, he couldn't let her die. He just couldn't. Nico knew he had seen the girl in his arms before. Her purple eyes and oddly colored hair were familiar to someone he had known from some time ago, he just couldn't place it. He couldn't place her. But he knew that the white streaks in her hair were from holding up the weight of the world, which he also had no clue how he knew. But with hair as dark as hers, that had to be the cause. She was dressed in all black, except for a purple shirt peeking out from under her hoodie. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail and tucked under a fraying black beanie. Why she had her hair styled like this he had no clue. But the hat was slipping off of her head, and towards the ground. Percy and Jason, who had brought her here, were running to catch up to Nico's fast strides. As they made it, Percy plucked the hat from her head and stopped. Nico had a feeling it was important. But this girls life mattered more. He made it to the room Will had set up for her before his strength gave out and she fell from his grasp, thankfully onto the bed. He stepped back as Will moved closer to her. His boyfriend was the best in the Apollo cabin and Nico knew if anyone could save her it would be him. But the ringing in his ears had gotten louder, which was a bad sign. Will was struggling to pull her hoodie over her head so he could look for wounds, and a silent question passed between the males. Silently, he walked over and held her upright as Will removed her hoodie, almost pulling her shirt off with it. If Nico hadn't caught it and readjusted, pulling it back down to its proper place. He was nothing if not respectful. Will examined her arms and found blood going from her wrists to her shoulders along with the deep red stain on the back of her shirt. He whispered quickly, "Please forgive me," before pulling out a knife, rolling her over to her stomach and cutting the back of her shirt. The bloody cloth fell away and revealed two stumps pushing their way through her skin. He rushed over to one of the cabinets and pulled out some gauze, nectar, and water. Whatever was coming out of her back couldn't be healed, by nectar or otherwise. It seemed important that whatever it was fully erupted, and didn't heal over. But it would definitely need to be cleaned. Will used the now damp cloth to clan away some of the blood. "Nico, can you hold her up again. I need to clean her arms, but I can't lay her on her back." He nodded and moved over to help. While will was working on her arms, Nico held the back of her shirt closed. Most people didn't appreciate being examined while they were unconscious and unable to speak. He poured nectar onto the cloth, wiping away the blood and healing the wound simultaneously. Soon enough, she was as healed as they could get her. Will bandaged her arms and made sure Nico was the one to sit with her as she rested. The ghost King was left to guard the mysterious girl with the mysterious ailment while Will went to get the story about her from Percy and Jason. Instead of laying her in an uncomfortable position, he sat on the cot with her and held her on her side, her head resting in his lap. The ringing in his ears had faded, which he was deeply grateful for. Her skin was the same pale olive his had been before his near death experience in the bronze jar and she was clearly Italian. Could he have met her there? No. He thought, that was over seventy years ago. There's no way she's that old. He pondered the question for five more minutes before the buzzing dimmed to almost silence and she started snoring. Smiling, he brushed some of her hair out of her face. The gesture was thoughtless and felt somewhat normal. He definitely knew her from somewhere. Maybe it was that one time he visited Venice on the quest to defeat the earth mother and save the world. Nico's curiosity was killing him. He was going to ask her when she woke up.
***
Nico sat with the snoring woman until Will came back with dinner. He had already scraped an offering off of both of their plates for the gods, and a he got extra incase the mystery girl woke up. The things forcing their way through her skin. Nico had summoned a skeleton to fetch him water and gauze and he cleaned the blood every hour or so. The stumps were about a foot and a half long and currently resembled the wings on a bird skeleton. She now had a severe fever and nightmares. As Will and Nico ate the pizza he brought, they discussed her and her ailment. "She'll be fine. Don't worry Nico."
"I'm not worried. It's just I feel like I know her from somewhere."
"Maybe Italy?"
"Maybe." Nico finished the conversation by taking a very large bite of his pizza and the girl quieting. The silence in the room became overwhelming and they both panicked. Then her eyes shot open, the brilliant purple irises seemingly focusing on something far away. "Why did you leave me..." Her voice grew weaker as she spoke, pain reaching her as her face contorted and  she screamed and passed out yet again. As she drifted back into unconsciousness she whispered once again. "Why Nico?" Will stared at him as he stared at her. Memories began flowing into his brain. Memories of the hotel. Of his time there. He remembered her. She was from Italy. And she was in the lotus hotel with her. Violet. His best friend. They were like family. She was the same age as him and they played Mythlomagic together. He remembered how she was the one to introduce him to it. She collected almost every figurine. She was fifteen and her parents had stuck her in the lotus hotel for their protection like his had. She was like him. Maybe even another child of Hades. He remembered her favorite cards as well. Thanatos. The personification of death. Nico was pulled from his memories by Will calling his name. Nico shook his head and let out a shaky breath. "I know her," he tried to hide the emotions he felt, but his voice betrayed him. "Will, this is my best friend. Of roughly fifty years." 
***
All Violet could see was black. She wanted to open her eyes, but it was as hard as prying a penny superglued to cement from said cement. To put it simply, she couldn't. So stuck in hopefully temporarily blindness, she tried something different. She tried moving her hand. And it worked. Bringing her arm up and in the direction of her face, she hit someone. Removing g her hand from the stranger she reached for her face yet again. This time actually managing to complete her task successfully. She rubbed the crust out of one eye before reaching up and doing the same to the other. She could see again. And the first person she saw was him. Nico Di Angelo. The boy of her dreams- quite literally- and the one who left her. He was the blurry boy of memories past. He was the key to regaining them all. And he was the one she had accidentally touched while waking up. The son of Hades, a demigod like Percy and Jason. And his fate was undetermined. He would end up in Elysum if he was normal. But he was the ghost King. Her ghost King. Her best friend of fifty plus years trapped in that cursed hotel. She smiled and stood up before turning and giving him a gigantic hug.