After getting scolded by his sister, Nico went back into the dining hall. Will had just finished when Nico walked in, so they went to the library. Neither one of them talked as they made their way down. Nico was excited to go back the library that he hadn't seen in years. Will thought about starting a conversation, but didn't know what to start with.

They reached the library doors, the guards opening them for the two princes. They entered, thanking the guards.

"Any books you're looking for," Nico asked Will.

Will started to recall all the books his father told him to read so he knew the country better. "The History of Hades Kingdom by Thoth. My father said it was a thrilling book."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Okay, any other book? One that you might actually find entertaining."

Will was about to defend himself, but then he saw how Nico was looking at him. It was the 'don't-even-try-lying' look. "Do you know any good fiction books?"

"Of course I do. Follow me."

Nico lead him to the back of the library where all the fiction books were. Hundreds of books lined the wall. It reminded the young prince of the times before he was kicked out. Oh, the joy these books brought him.

"Wow," Will mumble. "This is way more than I have a home."

Nico cracked a smile. "What kind do you like?"

"Fantasy adventure."

Nico thought of all the fantasy adventure books that every person should read. He knew where almost all of them were, so he went off to find them, telling Will he could look around. Twenty minutes later, Nico had a stack of books for Will that would occupy him for his stay.

"Let's see... " Nico said, trying to pick where to start. He held up the first Harry Potter book. Will said he'd read all of them at least three times. "How about this?" He pointed to the box set of all the Narnia books, which Will had read before. It when on like this for a while, before Nico finally said, "What have you not read?!"

Will thought about it, replying with, "Dragons. I haven't read too many things with dragons."

Nico turned around to the bookshelves again, returning with four books. The first was blue, the second red, the third one back, and the final one green. Nico picked up the first one, reading the back out loud.

"Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes the is merely a farm boy -- until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save -- or destroy -- the empire."

Nico waited for a response. The response that Will had was taking the book as well as the others.

"They sound good. I'll start reading them tonight, but can you help me find that other book? My dad gave that book to me as homework."

Nico nodded, leading the other prince to the area he thought it would be. They both started looking, but struggled for over forty minutes before taking a break. While they looked, they made small talk. Then Will asked Nico a serious question that he's wanted the answer to all day.

"Does your sister like me? I don't mean like like me, but is she warming up to me at all?"

Nico sighed, beginning to explain. "Bianca is doing her best to be nice, but she's still mad about the whole arranged marriage thing. Especially because she's never dated or fallen in love and now it's being forced upon her. My parents aren't helping with it either; she feels uncomfortable in situations she's forced into, like all the dates my father's setup. Does that make any sense?"

Will nodded. "I'm not too happy about the arranged marriage either. I didn't even know about it till two weeks ago."

Nico chuckled. "Neither did she. The second she found out she came to me to make sure I was going to be home."

The last part perked Will's ears up. Why wouldn't Nico be home? He was the prince after all and the castle was his home. He knew the prince was usually off on foreign affairs, but it didn't make any sense.

"Why wouldn't you be home?" Will asked.

"My father always has me running around for him," Nico said, using the same old lies. "I'm away a lot."

"Is that why you were working at the inn?" Will asked, regretting as soon as he spoke. Nico tried to hide his shock; he didn't think Will would bring it up, but, of course, he did.

"That was just a little experiment I was doing on my free time. I wanted to know what life was like for the commoners of the kingdom."

On the inside, Nico was panicking. No one had asked him this question without knowing about his secret. If Will were to somehow figure out he was gay... he tried not to think about it. It was too soon to tell what his reaction would be.

Luckily for Nico, Will went with it, not knowing what else to think. "Alright, makes sense, I guess. What else do you have planned for today?"

Nico smirked. "Ever heard of a game called Mythomagic."

🌞❤️💀

Nico and Will were playing the card game in Nico's room. They had started the game right after lunch. Nico taught Will how to play. Nico shocked himself, realizing he still know how to play. Now they were on their third game, and Will had yet to win.

"How?" Will questioned, looking at Nico's cards. "That guy was dead. How can he come back?"

"I had the Asclepius card," Nico said. "Asclepius can revive any monster or person I want within the first round their dead."

Will huffed, annoyed at the boy in front of him. "This is no fair. This is my first time playing."

"I'm going easy on you."

"Why do I feel like you're lying?"

Nico let out a laugh, amused at the frustration Will was having. Will threw down the cards, giving up. After playing for so long, the game got boring.

"Come on," Nico said standing up. "Let's go get some snacks from the kitchens."

Will stood up, following the young boy.

🌞❤️💀

Bianca stood in middle of a secluded area of the forest where she often went to relax. Pulling another arrow back, she released it, letting it fly to the tree in front of her. She smiled, seeing it had hit the center of the target again. Seeking more of a challenge, she took a few steps back and did the same thing again.

When she was down to her last ten arrows, she decided to take a quick walk then head back to the castle. The walk was peaceful; just letting the light breeze ruffle her hair, and the smell of freshly bloomed wild flowers hit her was all the princess wanted. The woods were her special place to go where no one could treat her like she was anything more than a girl; she wasn't considered a princess or anyone of a higher status. There she felt normal.

There was a rustle coming from the right, interrupting Bianca's peace. She stayed still, slowing reaching behind her for an arrow. Seconds later, a small rabbit hopped out of its hiding spot. Normally, she would've ignored it and continued her walk, but something was off. The rabbit had been moving like it was running from something, and the princess knew it wasn't her.

A twig snapped. Bianca, doing what any person in a horror movie wouldn't do, ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her back to the castle. Behind her, she could hear footsteps following her. Even though she shouldn't have, she looked over her shoulder.

A man dressed in dark clothing was just eight feet behind her. In one of his hands was a gleaming silver dagger. Seeing the weapon gave her the extra boast she needed, sprinting further ahead.

She broke through the trees, the castle now in view. Using up the rest of everything she had, she sprinted up the steep hill and tried to get a fighting advantage.

At the top of the hill, she turned to the man was just being to climb. She loaded her bow, letting the arrow hit the man's shoulder. He let out a cry of pain, falling to his knees. Bianca wasted no time darting back to safety.

"Princess," one of guards shouted when he saw her running. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Bianca paused, trying to regulate her breathing again. "Over there," she pointed toward the area that she had come from. "There's a man who tried to attack me. I shot him in the shoulder, so that should slow him down."

The guard immediately started to bark out orders. "You two take the princess inside and put the place under lock down. Inform the king right away. You five, come with me; the rest of you split into two groups. I want half of you here to defend the royal family and the others to patrol the area."

"Yes, sir!" they all shouted, scattering to do as they were told.

The two guards that were instructed to take me inside did as they were ordered. They were escorting her up the stairs and to her room when she saw Nico and Will with their arms full of snacks. Nico looked up, seeing his older sister who was supposed to be relaxing in the forest right now. He knew something was wrong.

"What happened?" Nico asked, concerned for his sister's safety.

"I was attacked," she told the boys. "The castle is going under lock down till the threat's gone. Both of you go to your rooms now."

Both Will and Nico protested.

"Like hell I'm leaving you," Nico told her. "You're my sister."

"Yeah," Will backed him up. "It wouldn't do anyone good if you end up dead."

"I don't need your help, Will," she told Will.

"Think about it," he said. "If I can protect you from this, it'll be one good story to tell our kids."

Bianca was taken back by his comment, but quickly recovered and started insulting him. Will, who was just trying to lighten the mood, coward in fear and tried to hide.

Nico pulled him by the sleeve, whispering in his ear, "That's the exact thing you don't do; especially if it's Bianca."

Bianca was the first to be escorted to her room, then Will, and finally Nico. Bianca refused to speak to Will after the comment he had made. He tried to apologize, but she would just turn away and not listen.

When Nico arrived at his room, he shut the door, locking it, and went to go find his sword. He hadn't touched his sword, or any other sword, in years. If he was lucky, he'd still be able to use it like he used to. After scavenging around his old room for twenty minutes, he found it under a floorboard beneath his bed.

Nico waited an hour, making sure there wasn't anyone to stop him, before running down the hall to Bianca's room. He already knew that Hazel would be in there; she was always taken to the eldest sibling when she was scared.

On the way there, he paused at Will's door. Should he? No, it would just create an even bigger problem. But what if something happened if he were alone? Before Nico knew what he was doing, he opened the door a little, before opening it all the way.

Nico was greeted by being shoved up against the wall and knife pressed to his neck. Will pulled away when he realized who it was, then locked the door.

"What are you doing?" Will practically shouted.

"Sneaking into Bianca's room. Wanna come?" Nico said casually, like this was a normal thing. Will rolled his eyes and wondered how he was able to remain calm during a time like this.

"Lead the way."

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This story has reached 1k guys!! YAY!

On other news, I'm writing a Jiper fan fic. I'll post that once Jason and Percy come in and a friend of mine might be proof reading it for me. I feel kind of bad for him cause it's gonna look like shit, but he offered to do it. I didn't ask him; he willingly volunteered. 

Lol.

Comment and vote if you want. I can't make you :)