Hey guys! I'm so excited to have published this chapter because this is the 50th part! Woo hoo! Thanks everyone for all the support, votes and comments! Enjoy!

Nico stared after the shiny black car, watching it's wheels kick up dust, making him cough a bit.

The ten year old wasn't in the best of moods, he'd just been dropped off at what was called an orphanage.

He was angry, he didn't want to be left here.

He turned around to look at the weird woman who was talking to him, but he wasn't paying any attention. He was looking around the yard, at the children his age running around and laughing.

How can they-he stopped mid thought as his eye caught something.

Something beautiful.

A girl, around his age, with mesmerizing brown hair in a long braid going down her skinny back. She was skinny, but not dangerously skinny, and no where near fat.

She wore a normal summer dress with pink, green and purple flowers on it.

She danced about, laughing with a few of the other kids.

Her chocolate brown eyes met hers, making him freeze.

Her lips curved up into a smile, and he couldn't help but smile a bit back.

"Nico? Nico!" The woman said, snapping her fingers in front of the young boy's face.

He shook his head. "What?" He asked, anger tracing his tone.

"You can stay here while I get a room sorted for you."

He nodded, keeping his eyes on the girl.

The woman left, and he sat on a nearby couch.

He looked around at the kids, sticking out like a sore thumb with his black shirt and black jeans.

The pretty girl from before was all of a sudden standing in front of him, a smile on her face.

"Hi." She said, her eyes sparkling beautifully. Nico almost forgot how to speak.

"H-hi." He said, and almost slapped himself for stammering in front of this beautiful girl that had just spoken to him.

"What's your name?" The girl asked, sitting next to Nico.

"Nico. What's yours?" He said it a bit more smoothly this time, much to his relief.

"Reyna. Do you want to be my friend?" She asked.

Reyna.

It sounded and suited her perfectly.

"Okay." He replied, a bit shocked. He'd asked her to be his friend. Nico had never had any friends, besides his sister, Bianca. Bianca had died a couple of years ago, she ran away and was never found.

Nico found himself smiling at Reyna, and she got up and held out her hand to him.

"Comin'?" She asked.

He looked at her for a bit, then grabbed her hand. They ran past the sandpit, the painting and out the front gate.

The two ran across the green grass that was dotted with small purple flowers. Their hands were still together, but she didn't pull away and he didn't mind.

Nico stopped, bent down and picked one of the purple flowers.

He looked at Reyna and put it in her hair. The young boy thought he should say something, so he thought of those soppy movies.

"A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl." He finally said and she giggled and kissed him on the cheek. They looked at each other for a bit, until she took his hand again and they took off running again.

"Where are we going?" Nico shouted as they ran down the field, and then he saw a big tree ahead of them.

"My favourite spot and only place I like here." She said, as they slowed to a walk and Reyna touched the beautiful willow tree.

"Hey." Nico heard her whisper to it, and he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the lowest branch shook as if in a waving gesture.

He stared at the tree in awe, it was absolutely stunning. Wow, big words, Nico. It's leaves were orange as a, well, orange, some were as red as the sunset.

"Come on, Nico!" She yelled. Nico looked up in surprise to see her sitting on the thickest branch, a few metres above the ground.

He looked at the tree, then at Reyna.

"Coming." He murmured and began to climb.

When Nico reached the branch where Reyna now sat, he sucked in a breath.

The view was amazing. Breathtaking.

From here, they could see all the empty fields, with cows dotted here and there. The sun was setting, and beautiful rays of sunlight poured over the grass, and turned the clouds a brilliant pink and purple.

He glanced sideways at Reyna, how the rays from the sun glittered through her hair and made her eyes sparkle.

She turned her head to look at Nico, a smile on her face, showing her perfectly white teeth.

And for the two of them, that moment was perfect.

-

Two months later, with Reyna and Nico becoming the best of friends, an older lady came to the orphanage.

It was a rainy, dark afternoon, so Reyna and Nico were upstairs watching a movie with the other kids.

Then Reyna was called downstairs.

She got up and went downstairs to see an old lady with grey hair standing by the door. For some reason, the woman looked strange and screamed the word, danger! At her and she was a bit afraid.

"Reyna, this is Juno, a lovely lady who is going to take you to a nice home." The lady smiled at her, but Reyna didn't smile back.

"I'm staying." She said firmly.

"Ooh, a feisty one, eh?" The old lady said.

"I'm staying." She said again, louder.

"Now now Reyna, no need to be rude. You'll be taken to a nice home, where you can be loved." Mrs Fryberg, the daycare lady, said kindly.

Reyna looked at her and stayed where she stood.

She heard the stairs creak behind her and saw Nico standing on the stairs.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"This kind old lady has decided to adopt Reyna."

Nico's face went white, no colour at all in his face.

He ran down the stairs and put his arms around Reyna protectively.

"You're not taking her. She's staying here, with me." He said.

"Nico." Mrs Fryberg said irratibly.

"Come on, Reyna." The old lady called.

"No!" Nico shouted as Mrs Fryberg pulled him off of Reyna.

"You're not taking her!" He shouted again, trying to grab for Reyna.

But it was no use.

Reyna gave him one last look, one full of sadness beyond repair, one that said good bye.

And that was last time he saw her.

A few years later...

Reyna was now Praetor of New Rome, and had no memory of the boy she had fallen in love with at the age of ten. No memory of the orphanage, nothing.

But there was still a part of her that felt like something was missing, and she couldn't quite place it. She knew something had been taken from her.

So Reyna turned turned cold, and never loved again.

But when a black haired Italian boy with olive skin came rocking up at the borders of Camp Jupiter, the whole world seemed to stop as they ran to each other and kissed, and she knew, the hole inside her had been filled.

Hey guys! Sorry it was late, been busy! Next will be Percabeth :)