'I'm not going to give up on us.'
'I'll fight for you because I love you.'
'I'll fight for you because I need you.'
'I'll fight for you because I'm not giving up on you.'
'For as long as I love you, I have a reason to fight and carry on.'
The words Nico said to me have been imprinted in my mind. It's like I can still hear his voice when I think about what he said when we were talking. It makes me extremely happy when Nico said that he was going to fight for me. The only thing is, what is Nico going to do? I mean, he has to get through my father if we have any chance of being together. 'Please Nico, whatever you do, just don't stop fighting for me. My heart belongs to you and only you. You're the only one who holds the key to my heart and it remains forever yours.' I laid down on my bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Dream
I found myself standing on the beach, under the moonlight. The moon was rising just over the horizon and it was a beautiful sight. Looking over the horizon, I felt calm and peaceful. As I was enjoying the soft sand and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, I felt arms make their way around my waist. Knowing who it is, I leaned back and pressed my back against the persons chest and laid my head on their shoulder.
"You seem very relaxed baby girl. For a daughter of Zeus, you seem to really love the beach, or more specifically the view." Nico said to me as I felt his warmth breath on my neck and it sent shivers down my spine. I could feel Nico smile because of my reaction to him. I turned around and placed my arms around Nico's neck while Nico placed his hands back on my waist, pulling me closer to him where we are close enough to kiss.
"You know I love coming to the beach at night, especially when I'm with you. Wherever I am, as long as you're there beside me, everything is just perfect. I love you Nico, forever and always. My heart belongs to you and only you, you know that right? I would I never do anything to hurt you." I told Nico honestly.
"I know Ela and I love you to. You're the only one who has ever made me feel this way and I don't ever plan on letting you go. No matter what happens throughout our lives, I'll always fight to be with you and always stay by your side, this I swear." I felt tears begin to form in my eyes and I buried my head in Nico's chest. Nico placed a kiss on my forehead before placing his fingers under my chin and bringing up my face so I could look him in the eyes. I could see the love in his eyes and it made me so happy. We begun to lean in and our lips had clashed together, resulting in a slow and passionate kiss. Nico brought me even closer to him, if that was even possible, and tilted his head, making the kiss more deeper and passionate. We pulled away after a few minutes, breathless, and Nico placed his forehead on mine. In a voice full of raw passion, Nico whispered to me,
"Forever I am yours." And we kissed once more on the beach, under the moonlight.
End of dream
I woke up with a smile on my face. 'Oh, how I wish that dream would become a reality.' I thought to myself. I got out of bed and got ready for the day. Just as I was about to leave, there was a knock on the door. I walked over to the door and when I answered, I saw Percy standing there with a beautiful red rose in his hand.
"Percy, what's this?" I asked with confusion heard in my voice. Percy sighed and said,
"You're father, he sent this rose this morning and a letter demanded me to give this to you since we're now 'together.' Your father is really demanding and forceful, I don't get why he just can't accept you and Nico being together. I mean, you two are perfect for each other and you're really happy being with him, everyone but your father can see that. Anyway, here's the rose." I thanked Percy for the rose and placed it on my bed.
"I gotta go Ela, I have sword training and I know you want to spend time with Nico. Look, whenever you need something, don't hesitate to ask alright. You're like my sister and I care about you. And don't worry, we'll find a way for your father to approve of Nico and let you guys be together. Everything will turn out alright. Bye Ela."
"Thank you Percy, you know I'll come to you if I ever need anything. Goodbye Percy." Percy left in the direction of the sword arena and I made my way to the Hades cabin. When I got to the Hades cabin, I was about to knock on the door when I suddenly heard voices coming from the inside. I placed my ear to the door and from what I can hear, Nico is talking to his father.
Nico's POV
I made a prayer to my dad and within a few seconds, there was a flash of light and standing in front of me was my father. I bowed my head in respect and father said,
"Rise my son and tell me what the problem is. Whatever it is, I'm here for you."
"Father, I don't know if you know, but there's this girl and her name is Ela Santos and her and I are together. I love her so much and she loves me just as much. The problem is, well, her father doesn't approve of me because you're my father and he's forcing her to be with her best friend who is Percy. Ela and Percy both told me that they only see each other best friends and they have more of a brother-sister relationship, but Ela's father doesn't care. He's forcing them to be together because he wants the best for Ela and apparently I'm not the best even though I make her happy." I noticed a look of rage on fathers face.
"So let me get this straight, just because I'm your father, Ela's father won't let you two be together and she is forced to be with Percy?"
"That's about right."
"Who is Ela's father? I'm sure all he would want is for his daughter to be happy and if you make her happy then there shouldn't be a problem."
"Well, her father is one of your brothers in fact, or more specifically, Zeus. Father, I don't know what to do for Zeus to approve of me." Father had a look of shock on his face, but the. It turned to a look of determination.
"Look Nico, you love Ela right? More than anything in the world?"
"I do, I would give up anything and everything to be with her."
"Then fight for her. Do whatever you can to make sure you don't lose her. And if you need me for anything, don't hesitate to ask me, I'm on your side Nico. What you have with Ela is special and you should hold onto it and never let it go. Prove to Zeus that you would do anything and everything in your power to protect Ela and and make her happy. Just don't stop fighting for her. Prove Zeus wrong and convince him that you're the only one that makes Ela as happy as you do. Now I gotta go, someone is here to see you." Before I could say anything, father flashed out and there was a knock on the door.
End of POV
After I heard the conversation between Nico and his father, I knocked on the door and Nico answered after a few seconds. Nico saw that it was me and he invited me in. I entered the cabin and we both made our way to Nico's bed. I sat down on the bed and Nico sat in front of me, laying his head down on my lap and I ran my fingers through his soft black hair. Nico let out a contented sigh while a smile made it's way to my face. No words were said, but the silence said enough. It was moments like this with Nico that I enjoy the most. We were just enjoying each other's company until there was a banging on the door and it was slammed open. Standing there looking furious was my father, Zeus. When he saw Nico and I together, he stormed over to the bed, grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Nico. He started dragging me out of the cabin and before we left, he yelled out to Nico,
"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING SON OF HADES!" As father was dragging me away, I looked at Nico with hurt in my eyes and saw the same look in his eyes. Before father and I were out of sight, I saw Nico mouth the words,
"I'm not giving up on you, I'll find a way to be with you. I love you." I smiled at his words and before I knew it, Nico had disappeared from my sight. 'Please Nico, fight for me and do what you must to bring me back home, back to you. I love you Nico.' Was my last thought before I noticed that I was no longer at camp. Father had let go of my arm and when I looked around, I saw I was in a bedroom. There was a big wardrobe, a few cupboards and when I looked at the bed, it was a queen sized bed.
"Where are we?" I asked while I was looking around the room.
"We're in Olympus and this is a room I had made up for you. I brought you here because this is where you will be staying from now on. You're no longer going to camp and you most definitely won't be seeing that Di Angelo kid. He's nothing but trouble Ela and you won't be seeing him, I forbid it." I looked at father with rage in my eyes.
"You can't do that!"
"I can and I will. And besides, you're not going to be here alone. Percy's going to be here with you, I mean, you two are together after all." Just as father said that, there was a flash of light and standing beside me was Percy. He had a look of confusion on his face and before we could say anything, father flashed out, leaving Percy and I alone. I went over to the door and when I went to turn the doorknob, it wouldn't turn. 'Great, it's locked and there is no way to open it.' I walked over to the bed and sat down, placing my head in my hands. I heard Percy walk over and I felt when he sat on the bed.
"Ela, why are we here and why can't we leave?" I looked up at Percy and in reply I said,
"Father had this place set up for me because he had forbidden me from seeing Nico and that means that I can no longer be at camp. So he brought me here where I would he staying. As for you, since you and I are 'together' that means you have to be here to. I'm sorry Percy, I never meant for you to be dragged into this." I once again placed my head in my hands and let a few tears flow from my eyes. Percy placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me into a hug.
"Don't be sorry Ela, none of this is your fault. We'll find a way out of this and get back to camp, get you back to Nico.
Meanwhile in the throne room
Zeus' POV
I was sitting on my throne, enjoying the silence when suddenly, Aphrodite flashed in on her throne and when she saw me, she glared at me. All I did was glare right back.
"Why would you forbid Ela from seeing Nico? Can't you see how much she loves Nico? How much he makes her happy? Don't you realise how much you're hurting her?" Aphrodite said as her voice was getting higher and higher with each question that was asked.
"You know exactly why I forbid Ela from seeing Nico. He's Hades son and is nothing but trouble. Look, Ela's happiness is important to me, but how can I accept her being with that Di Angelo kid. She needs someone who would always be there for her and bring a smile to her face each and everyday. I want what's best for her and I don't think Nico is the one for her."
"So you forced her to be with Percy, her best friend who only sees her as his sister. Look Zeus, you say her happiness is important to you, why can't you see that Nico makes her happy? I've seen the way he acts when he is with Ela and it's very different from how he usually is. He changed without even realising it, all because of Ela. All he wants is to be with her because he loves her. What would be have to do just so you would let him be with your daughter?"
"I want him to prove me wrong. I want him to convince me that he is the one for Ela. I want him to fight for Ela. If he does these things, that I would approve of their relationship and allow them to be together. He claims to love Ela, he needs to prove to me that he would do anything and everything in his power to protect Ela and make her happy. Until then, she's with Percy and she stays here." Aphrodite didn't say anything else, she just flashed out of the throne room. I sat in my throne, rubbing my temples to ease the tension, and sighed. 'Prove me wrong Nico Di Angelo. Prove to me that you truly love my daughter.'
Back at camp
Nico's POV
After Ela was dragged away, all I felt was anger and pain, especially pain in my heart. I could feel my body start to shake and the ground below me began to shake. I could feel power coursing through my veins and I know it's a matter of time before the ground starts to cracks and cause a massive fissure in the ground. But I was too angry and hurt at the moment to care. The ground began to crack and all I did was scream out in frustration. Cracks among cracks started appearing in the ground and I could hear campers scream out in pain from falling into the cracks. I heard galloping and when I looked to the door, I saw Chiron standing there.
"Nico, you need to calm down, people are getting hurt. Please, stop all of this." I heard Chiron tell me, but it sounded so far away. Using a lot of power leaves me feeling drained and you know what they say, with great power comes great need to sleep and that's what I did. I felt so weak and black spots started appearing in my vision. I heard Chiron yelling out to me, but I couldn't make out the words. Darkness began to take over and I welcomed it.
A few hours later
My eyes began to flutter open and all I could see was a bright light. I closed my eyes due to the brightness and after a few seconds, I had adjusted to to he light and opened my eyes fully opened. I looked around and saw I was in the infirmary. I looked beside me and saw a cup full of nectar and a few ambrosia squares beside the cup. I drank the nectar and had a few ambrosia squares and begun to feel better and not so drained. I saw up on the bed and just before I could stand up, I saw a bright flash of light and standing before me was Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. When she saw me, she gave me a look of sympathy. 'Of cause, Aphrodite would know what's happening when it comes to someone's love life.'
"My Lady, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to help you get Ela back. Look, I tried to talk to Zeus and convince him that you're the one for Ela, but he wouldn't listen." I looked at Aphrodite in shock when I heard that even she tried to convince Zeus and I said,
"Why would you do that?"
"My dear Nico, even you deserve happiness, whether you're a son of Hades or not. Anyway, Zeus wouldn't listen and he said that for you and Ela to be together, you have to prove him wrong and convince him that you're the best for Ela. Prove to him that you truly love Ela and would do anything and everything in your power to protect her and make her happy. Until you do that, she is forced to stay in a room in Olympus with Percy since they are, more like forced are, together."
"How am I suppose to prove to Zeus that I truly love Ela. I know in my heart that I do and I would give up anything and everything to be with her. All I want is to make her happy and to always be there for her. She makes me feel things I have never felt before. I feel warmth in my heart whenever she is around and just the mere sight of her has my heart beating fast. Just by being in the same room as me would bring a smile to my face. I would even place my life on the line for her and die for her. She lights up my dark world. And she is too important to me to lose. I'm not giving up on her, on us." I said with full honesty. I looked at Aphrodite and she had a smile on her face.
"You truly love her Nico, I can tell from the love in your voice as you spoke about her. Listen,vim going to do what I can to help you. Ela and Percy are in a locked room that is in a pretty secluded place in Olympus. Find the room and you'll find them. I'll do what I can to make sure Zeus doesn't go to the room and try and keep him distracted so you can free Ela and Percy. Now, I must go before Zeus finds out I'm here. Goodbye and good luck young hero." I covered my eyes as Aphrodite flashed out. With determination in my eyes, I left the infirmary, left the camp and made my way to Mount Olympus.
'Don't worry Ela, we'll be together soon.'