A/N: Hello cupcakes :D
Here the promised Special, also up on AO3, which I start liking more than by now, even though the website almost killed me yesterday with being down for maintnance and then not showing any of my works anymore (Seriously, I almost had a heart attack until I read it would only be temporary. It's all fine now, thank the gods).

Enjoy :)

-Tári

Special: Shadows of the Past

Nico placed a kiss on the top of Percy's head as they sat huddled together in front of the fireplace, Percy between his legs with his back against Nico's chest, the blue blanket wrapped tightly around them.

His husband turned his head slightly towards him, throwing him a sweet smile and snuggling back against him affectionately.

"I can't believe it has been one year already." His prince muttered and Nico wrapped his arms around him tightly, finding that he couldn't agree more.

An entire year had passed ever since that one fateful day the curse had been lifted, the day he had died, the day the love of his life had come back for him and broke the curse with loving him back.

He grinned to himself and nuzzled his face against Percy's neck, who chuckled and turned his head again, wordlessly asking for a kiss.
Nico instantly complied, pressing their lips together gently.

What a wonderful year it had been.
Percy truly was the most amazing person in the world.

"I love you." The dark-haired whispered against his lips and Nico smiled, giving him another peck. "I love you more."

They heard steps outside the door and looked around, wondering faintly who that might be.

The staff generally left them alone when they retreated to this room after a tedious day.

And it certainly had been, given they had first finished all the preparation for the oncoming celebration (Clarisse, one of the maids and the toughest girl Nico had ever encountered, was having a baby, much to the delight of her boyfriend Chris, who could barely wait and loved to tell everybody how many times he had felt the baby kicking or moving in general) and then spent the rest of the day outside in the snow with a few other members of the staff, as well as Jason and Leo, who had come over from their shop in the village.

There came a knock on the door and Hazel stood in the door, looking rather nervous and bewildered.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but there's somebody at the door who wishes to see you." She muttered and Nico blinked, sharing a surprised look with Percy as they got up.

"Who is it?" He asked, but Hazel shook her head. "I have no idea. He didn't say his name and I have never seen him here before. Frank is with him."

Nico exchanged another glance with Percy, seeing him as puzzled as Nico felt.
They never got any visitors that didn't give their names.

Then again, they didn't get that many visitors, anyways - mainly because the surrounding villages found their master-servant relationship weird, since he wasn't ordering his staff around much (Why would he? They never did what he told them to, anyways).

But even if there were visitors, there were never any coming this late.
It was already turning dark, after all.

Strange. Very strange.

.

They left the room to meet the mysterious stranger, the halls brightly lit as usual.

It truly was astounding how much the castle had changed ever since Percy had shown up.
It actually seemed even brighter than before Nico's life had been hell and he had still been a happy, oblivious child.
Then again, that had been a very long time ago, so it could be he was just imagining things.

As they neared the door and his eyes fell on the stranger, his bewilderment grew.
He had never seen this man before.

Percy seemed to have had, however, for he froze next to him, staring at the visitor in disbelief.

Then his lips split into a wide smile and he rushed forward.

"Chiron! Sir! It's so good to see you again!" He exclaimed loudly, his eyes sparkling with excitement and surprise and joy.

The man laughed quietly, looking at Percy bemused and watching him bounce up and down in front of him.

"Percy. I see you haven't changed one bit ever since the last time we have met. Please don't ask me to train with you, though. I feel I truly am too old for that by now." He said quietly and Nico awoke from his stupor.

Chiron. Training.

That's right.

He remembered.

Percy had told him back when Nico had given him the training room that there had been this old man in his village, training him and giving him that sword of his that he still cherished. (In fact, he still talked about the man every now and then when they sparred, but Nico tended to focus more on Percy's movements than his words in those times, since getting distracted could literally cost him some limbs).

He looked the man up and down.

He truly looked old, that was for certain. His hair and beard was greying heavily, only a few dark strands left every here and there. His stance was dignified and proud, though, and Nico didn't doubt for a second that the man wasn't as frail as he seemed.
He was fairly certain he could still put up a good fight, not to mention spar just fine.
He had trained Percy, after all, and Percy had been the first in forever to stand his ground against Nico's sword fighting skills.

The man met his gaze as they stood in front of each other and Nico could swear he saw something in them that didn't make any sense.

Recognition? Realization? Guilt?

He didn't know what to make of it.

Nevertheless, he held out his hand. "Good evening, sir. You must be the man Percy keeps telling me about whenever we train." He greeted politely, again breaking all the rules as to how a king should be acting towards outsiders, but he couldn't care less.
The man blinked mildly surprised, but shook his hand nevertheless and Nico's assumption of the man's strength solidified as he felt the firm, strong grip.

"Good evening, Your Majesty. It is a pleasure as well as an honor to meet you. I am Percy's former trainer." He introduced himself with a little bow, showing that he did know his place, even though Nico apparently didn't care much about it.

Nico nodded quietly and their handshake ended, the man instantly leaning back onto his walking stick that Nico only now noticed.
He also noticed they were still standing in the hallway, Hazel and Frank standing next to him with uncertain expressions.

He cleared his throat. "Do come in then and have a seat. Hazel, please prepare some tea for our guest. Frank, can you tell the others to prepare a little something to eat?" He announced, gesturing for the man to come in.

He didn't dare to offer Chiron any help or make it seem as if he might need any.
Something told him the man wouldn't appreciate it whatsoever.

He heard Percy let out a relieved sigh and had the impression he had had the right intuition.

Chiron's eyes glinted with amusement as he entered, letting Nico and Percy lead the way to the room they had occupied earlier.

.

They sat the man down in the most comfortable arm chair, moving it closer to the fire before dragging the table over and getting everything ready.

Chiron watched them with what seemed like bemusement, as if it surprised him they did this themselves, instead of getting some staff to do it for them, but at the same time wasn't surprised at all.

As soon as they were all seated and Hazel and Frank brought tea and some sandwiches, there was silence in the room, Chiron gazing at the flames in the fireplace thoughtfully.

Percy shifted slightly and Nico watched him amused. He seemed to be bustling with curiosity.
He wanted to take his hand, inwardly craving the physical contact they usually had at this time of the day, but he knew that would be inappropriate, so he didn't.

Instead, he turned to look at the old man again. "So, to what do I owe the honor of meeting your acquaintance, sir?" He asked calmly, noticing Percy shuffle some more and lean forward, seemingly eager to find out as well.

He was so adorable.

Chiron sighed and looked down at his hands folded in his lap for a long moment, seemingly contemplating something.

Nico had the distinct expression this was not something minor. In fact, he had the nagging suspicion this was about something really big and rather unpleasant.
His intuition proved right once more when Chiron's expression turned grave as he looked up to meet their eyes.

"I have come to apologize. To apologize, and to confess to you what I should have done one year ago. Instead, I left like a coward, hoping to avoid all of this like the fool I was."

There was silence in the room as he finished and Nico and Percy exchanged confused glances.

What?

Nico frowned. "I fear I do not understand, sir."

Chiron sighed. He suddenly looked even older than before, almost ancient now. His gaze fixed itself on the fire, painful memories playing behind his dark, sunken eyes.

"One year ago, a man came here. A man who seemed as old and weak as me, but was as strong as a young warrior, skilled as the old sword masters, cunning as a fox and as evil as the devil."

A shiver ran down Nico's back and he felt his pulse quickening, a sick feeling surging through his stomach as he remembered the man with the golden eyes that had tried his best to kill them all for reasons Nico had never found out.

Percy stiffened next to him, apparently going through a similar turmoil of emotions.

Chiron sighed heavily, taking in their now guarded expressions with a pained smile. "I take it you know who I am talking about."

Nico sat up straighter, watching the man intently. "I take it you know who he was?"

Chiron pursed his lips, looking at a point far away. "Of course I do. He was my father."

For a moment, utter silence filled the room as the information slowly sickered in.

Then Percy jumped up, his expression disturbed, confused, angry and unbelieving, while Nico just sat there, blinking rapidly as he tried to make sense of it all.

This...couldn't be.

"What?! This must be a joke! How could he..." Percy exclaimed, gesturing wildly and staring at Chiron as if he was expecting him to laugh and say 'April Fool' or something.

He didn't.
Instead, he sighed pained, as if he had expected all of this.

Nico tugged on Percy's shirt, getting him to sit back down. "Percy, calm down. But sir, I do have to admit I am confused. I do not wish to appear rude, but I had the impression the man in question was too...please do not take this the wrong way, but the man seemed younger. Too young to be your father, sir." He explained hesitantly, not wishing to hurt the man's pride or feelings, but he did look ancient, while Kronos had looked old, but not that old.

To his surprise, Chiron chuckled. Though it was without a trace of humor. "Indeed. If he had been as old as he had looked, that would be correct, Your Majesty. But I can ensure you, he was a lot older than that, and he truly was my father. I am ashamed to admit it, but such is life. One cannot choose their family."

Nico found himself sympathizing with the old man for some reason, even though he knew he shouldn't trust him one bit, given that he was the apparent son of the maniac man who had tried to slaughter them and almost succeeded before getting killed by them instead.

What if he was out for revenge?
But he didn't look like it. And Nico knew the family-part only all too well, still resenting his father for leaving them behind the way he had done.

Though his father hadn't gone psycho and tried to kill a bunch of people for apparent fun.

Percy looked crestfallen.
Nico could only guess what his prince was thinking.
This was the man he had practically looked up to, worshipped even. The man who had taken him in and taught him how to fight with a sword, exactly what Percy had always dreamed of.
And now he turned out to be related to the one man who had tried his hardest to kill him (and succeeded in killing Nico).

Nico knew it must be hard on him right now.

He fixed his attention back on the man. "Alright. May I inquire why you have come here to inform us of this?" He asked calmly, even though his insides were still in turmoil.

Could they trust this man?
Well, even if he did try something, Nico knew Hazel and Frank weren't far away and would alert the entire castle at the first notice of dispute, so there was that.

And Nico was confident he could stay his ground long enough to protect Percy and himself if it came down on it until his staff would come rushing in (In times like this it was good to know they had his back unconditionally and would never betray him. He knew not many kings could claim that).

Chiron looked down at the cup of tea. "As I have stated, I wish to apologize. I know it is not much and nothing will ever excuse the doings of that man, nor my own doings, but-..."

"What do you mean, 'your doings'?" Percy cut in instantly, frowning confused.

Nico also wondered what that was about, watching as Chiron sighed deeply and took a sip of the tea. "This is...a long story. Going back a long, long, very long time." He said quietly, looking older by the moment.

Nico leaned back in his seat, looking over at Percy, who looked towards him quizzically.

He really wondered what all of this was about.
What was Chiron talking about?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt certain that he must have known Kronos before that one fateful day.
He remembered thinking there was something familiar about him, but still couldn't tell why or how.

Did this maybe even have something to do with Bianca?

His insides turned and he pushed the thought firmly out of his mind.

There was no way.

"We have time. Please, tell us your story." He said quietly, taking a sip of his own tea and reaching out for Percy's hand with his other one.

If this was going to take some time, and if this man was the son of the man who had almost killed him (well, killed him but he had kind of survived, he guessed?), then he couldn't care less what he'd think of them.
Percy instantly grasped his hand, holding it tight and Nico wished they were still sitting huddled together in front of the fireplace right about now.

Chiron didn't seem perturbed in the slightest by their open display of affection, instead clearing his throat and shuffling as if to get into a better position, his expression strained and thoughtful as if he was still trying to make up his mind about where to start.

Nico didn't know what to expect other than that this was going to take quite a while.
He also didn't know whether he really wanted to know.

But he couldn't deny he wanted to find out more about Kronos, why he had apparently looked younger than he was, why he come here, who he had been in the first place.
Why he had wanted to kill him in particular.

He just hoped Chiron would be able to answer all of those questions, else this was going to be one waste of time.

It wasn't.

.

Long, long time ago, all the kingdoms were united in one big kingdom, led by Kronos.

This went well for a while - if one ignored the fact that he was keeping all his children locked up in the dungeon out of fear of corruption.

He had lots of children, eleven, in fact (at least from the queen. He had plenty of other children with other women as well, but they had no claim on the crown, so he generally didn't even acknowledge their existence).

Kronos didn't hate them or anything, he couldn't care less about them, in fact, but he feared they could overthrow him, so he kept them out of reach of anything that could help them gain any power.
So he locked them up, keeping them away from the outside world, refusing to give them any tuition, nor too much food or anything in general, so they would grow into dumb, dependent adults he could command around at will, like his staff.

But even the staff had a better life. The kids lived worse than slaves.

His wife obviously wasn't very happy about this, not understanding the sudden paranoia her husband had developed.
So, when she found out she was pregnant with their twelfth child, she didn't tell him instantly, instead acting ill and keeping out of his way.
She almost made it through, but he found out close towards the end of her third trimester and locked her up, furious with her for keeping the news of the coming baby from him and thinking she wished to betray him.

In her despair for her child, she pleaded to her midwife to help her, to take the child with her and raise it as her own instead of giving it up to that horrible man she had married.
Her midwife was an old, frail lady, but she was smart, too, and together they made a plan.

When she gave birth to a healthy little boy, the midwife hid him under her gown and brought out a bundle filled with rags and parts of a pig, all covered in blood, so when Kronos came to demand the child, the midwife ran from the room in terror, clutching the bundle while the real baby was safely hidden beneath her billowing dress, hoping against hope it wouldn't make a sound, instead wailing loudly about it being stillborn.

The mother joined in the wailing and weeping and Kronos only took a quick look at the blood-covered bundle, believing their lies and allowing the midwife to leave, not even punishing the mother or killing the midwife for possible witchcraft, since he hadn't wanted another child in the first place.

This is how the little boy managed to grow up outside the castle as a fairly normal boy, though he always knew who he was and what his destiny was: He would free his brothers and sisters and overthrow the monster that was his father.

So in early age he already studied and learned much more than children twice his age, getting all the knowledge he could muster.

When he was old enough to be able to work, he immediately went to the castle and, due to his charisma and strong will, instantly got hired.

He did his work fast and efficiently, but not because the pay was good or because he wanted to impress anybody - as soon as nobody was looking, he would sneak down into the dungeons and try make contact with his siblings, sneaking in some food and giving them brief lessons in the most basic things so they developed an independent mind of their own and began rebelling.

Soon, the twelve began scheming together and one night, the boy stole the keys and freed them, before confronting his father.

.

Chiron paused here, taking a sip of his tea and looking at Nico and Percy, both gazing at him, transfixed.

He decided he wouldn't go into too much detail, since this was just so they had a bit of background information.

.

The twelve managed to overthrow their father, banishing him from the kingdom to never return, and the youngest wanted to take over rulership instead.
The other kids were somewhat fine with that, except two brothers, who wanted the rulership for themselves instead.
This obviously led to a dispute, and they ended up splitting the kingdom into three smaller kingdoms.

One of them was this one, led by Nico's father.

The other two were led by the youngest and another brother, but that wasn't important.
What was important, though, was that Kronos had never truly left.

Instead, he had taken to roaming the kingdoms, looking for a way to get back to power, spreading fake rumors and hate, causing dispute everywhere.

But the other two kingdoms soon noticed and banished him once more, making this his last chance to take over.

He came here with Chiron, (who was the child with one of his many mistresses he had had, though none of them had been with him willingly) with the excuse that he wished to lead a normal life now and apparently wished Chiron to get him into a position to teach youngsters to sword fight as well, since that's what Chiron had done up to then in various places, often kingdoms.

Here, however, Chiron didn't aim to work in the castle, instead settling for the village, which caused a heavy argument with his father.
That was when Chiron found out his father had not changed whatsoever and had only accompanied him here to get closer to the castle, to find any form of weakness he could use to gain power.

Their ways parted and while Chiron stayed in the village, his father began working in the castle, ignoring how this was much beneath his status and pride for the sake of the throne.

The other staff didn't pay him much mind, since they were all grieving for the loss of their queen, who had died of an apparent illness.

Kronos tried to get close to his son - the king – and even contemplated murdering him, but the king was so miserable and desperate that he locked himself in his room most of the time, out of Kronos' reach.

Then, one day, the king just left.

Kronos couldn't believe his luck.

Now there were only two children left, after all.
They couldn't possibly run the kingdom...or so he had thought.

Chiron told them about the conversations his father had had with him then, rambling about how the staff and villages apparently found the kids perfectly capable of handling the responsibility.
How he had begun scheming and planning and trying to spread rumors as he had done before, but was met with blank stares and over-protective staff.

Chiron himself had already begun trying to stop his father, make him see reason, but to no avail.

After an especially bad argument between them, Kronos had left, calling his henchmen together whom he had managed to get under his control with empty promises of wealth and power.

.

And Chiron told them of the horrible day he had went after his father, holding him up in front of the castle where he had wished to kill the young prince – Nico di Angelo – while his sister was out in town.

He told them how he had confronted his father, how he had stood in his way, unwilling to step aside and let him harm the prince who was inside the castle at that time.

And he told them how his father had raised his weapon against him, his own son, cursing him and fighting him, wounding him badly in the end, causing Chiron to lose consciousness.

It was a miracle his father hadn't killed him.

Instead, he had dumped him into the bushes and went to kill the prince, but was unable to do so, for Nico had already left in a hurry to try save his sister, who had been attacked by Kronos' henchmen in the meantime.

.

Nico jumped up from his seat, his face pale, his eyes wild and his limbs trembling with horror, shock, and blind hot fury. "That was him! Bianca's death…is his fault?!"

Chiron couldn't blame him.

He just sat there, watching Nico staring at him with what could only be identified as hatred and guilt, as if Nico wished it had been Bianca Chiron had saved, not him.
Percy had gotten up as well, holding onto Nico's shoulders, holding him back, keeping him from pulling out his sword and cutting Chiron to pieces.

Chiron wouldn't have stopped him.

"Yes. He had it all planned out to eliminate both of you that day and take over the throne with everything else in chaos. But because I interfered, the prince – you – were able to escape just in time without even meaning to, and Kronos was forced to leave the castle and flee into the woods to wait for another chance to kill you." He explained, never breaking eye contact with Nico, who muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like a series of curses Chiron didn't even want to hear.

Then there was defiance in his gaze. "If you think I'm going to be grateful or some sort of-…"

Chiron instantly held up his hands. "I do not possess such arrogance, I ensure you. I didn't know at the time that he had targeted both of you. If I had known of his plans to send his men after the the princess, I might have been able to prevent it. But I didn't know, Your Majesty. I only found out when I awoke in one of your very own sick beds, your very own medic tending to my wounds. She had found me bleeding to death in the bushes and thought I must have been a messenger or something along those lines and had taken it upon herself to save me. It is thanks to her and he son that I was able to keep my legs, as well as my life." He explained quietly, remembering the two people that had saved his life.

She and her son had helped him get back on his feet and taken care of him even though they were mourning the loss of the future queen as much as the rest of the castle and even though they had had no idea whether he might not even have been in on the killing himself.

Nico still stood, his expression defiant and his stature showing he was more than willing to throw himself at Chiron, but Percy still held him back, whispering something under his breath ever so quietly.
But Chiron wasn't even trying to make out any words, instead waiting to see what would happen.

Nico glowered at him, but didn't move, didn't attack.

It took a few minutes, then his nose twitched with apparent annoyance and he sat back down, still glaring daggers at Chiron.

"Go on." He ordered coldly, though Chiron saw him taking Percy's hand again and watched how they exchanged gentle squeezes, as if to communicate that everything was going to be ok.

He didn't mind the openly displayed physical contact.
In fact, it showed him that Nico wasn't dangerous or violent.
He was just upset and hurt, which was understandable, given he had just found out who had been responsible for his sister's murder.

So Chiron took a deep breath and continued on his story.

How he had stayed in the castle for a while, not permitted to leave until he managed to walk again.

How he had made it his goal to protect Nico by all means, leading to him tracking down all of the henchmen responsible for Bianca's death.

He told them how he had killed them all one by one, trying to get to his father, to avenge Bianca and all the others his father had harmed and killed and slaughtered, and those who had been left behind to mourn bitterly, like the two healers that had saved his life.

.

It took him a year to track them all down, but all the while Kronos had managed to evade him, keeping his head low, so when Chiron had killed the last one of his men, he had lost all connections to Kronos, thus losing his trail.

And so, Chiron had been forced to give up for the time being, returning to the village.
He had played with the thought of telling Nico about what had happened, but had decided against it because the 14-year old had had enough trouble trying to keep the kingdom running by himself, a bitter, mourning child in a world full of adults.

Chiron hadn't wanted to add to that burden, especially since he had had no idea where his father was, and he didn't think it wise to tell Nico something that might make him up and leave at a moment's notice for a chance of revenge.

To this, Nico grunted, but otherwisely didn't say a word, so Chiron told them how he had found 10-year old Percy and taken it upon himself to training him after seeing him demolishing the worst dummies he had ever seen.

.

That was how the years had passed, with him keeping one eye on Percy, the other eye on the castle, waiting for any sign his father was returning.

He had been about to let his guard down, thinking the danger must have passed, when everything had happened at once.

It had been a completely unrelated journey to a neighboring village to meet with an old friend of his that had led him to go by the castle, just to witness the strangest thing in his entire life.

He was just outside the castle grounds, watching Nico converse with an old woman, when the old woman suddenly transformed into what seemed to be a young and beautiful lady, and next moment everything had turned light and dark at the same time.

Chiron hadn't been able to tell his left from his right, but he had been incapable of looking away all the same, watching transfixed how people inside the castle grounds had become mere shadows of their former selves, their bodies disappearing into puddles on the ground, while the castle was becoming dark and eerie like the prince.

And then Chiron had seen his father among the people.

As it turned out, his father had chosen that very day to infiltrate the castle once more, with every intention of killing the prince that night.
Chiron had no idea how long he had been in the area again already, or for how long he had had this planned out already.
All he had known back then was that he was not going to let his father ruin any more lives.

So he had rushed in there, even with the curse being set.
He had crossed the gateway, instantly feeling as if his soul was getting ripped off his body – or maybe the other way around – but he hadn't stopped until he had reached his father, a howling wreck that had tried to flee with running into the wrong direction.

Then he had grabbed him and dragged him back towards the entrance, fighting against every fiber of his own body, wishing so badly he was faster so they could make it.

His wish had been granted.

Somehow, they had made it past the gateway, but it came at a high price.
The witch Hecate found them lying on the ground in front of the castle, half affected by the curse.

Half affected, because their souls had been enhanced and strengthened as those of the rest of the staff, turning them what could be considered immortal – but they were still capable of leaving the grounds, still capable of living an utterly normal life unlike the rest of the staff.

Chiron had been less affected for he had never worked in the castle.

Kronos on the other hand had never truly been fired and had been close to knocked out from the power of the curse on him.

.

"So that's where he got those time-controlling powers from." Nico muttered quietly, his anger seemingly finally subsiding slightly, making space for a thoughtful expression.

Chiron nodded. "The witch herself hadn't noticed that little fact, otherwisely she would have probably never let us live. She cursed us to never find the castle again, thinking we were mere servants that had tried to run for it and were meant to be punished for our betrayal."

"Never find the castle again?" Percy asked perplexed.

Chiron nodded. "Yes, we could wander around right in front of the gate and still never find it, unless we were shown a direct way to it by somebody or something that had been there before." He explained and watched Percy and Nico exchange a meaningful glance.

"The mirror." They both said and Chiron frowned, but decided not to ask what they meant by that.

Instead, he told them how his father had noticed his special powers the very moment the witch Hecate had disappeared, instantly turning on Chiron and slowing down time around them to make his grand escape, swearing he'd be back and if it was the last thing he would do.

Chiron also told them he himself didn't have any special powers.

It was probably because he had never been part of the staff.
It also didn't really matter to him. Never had. Never would.

All he had cared about was that this horrible man that called himself his father would never be able to find Nico, never be able to harm him, never be able to take the throne.

.

"Until you heard of Percy disappearing and rumors spreading about a demonic castle and a zombie master." Nico summed up and Chiron nodded.

"I knew in an instant he would be here, but there was nothing I could do to help, because I couldn't find the way, after all. So I journeyed through the forests aimlessly, trying to find something that would be of help, but there was simply no chance. I travelled to the surrounding villages in the hope of finding just one person who had been to the castle before, but in vain. And by the time I had come back, Luke had already put everything in motion to get rid of Percy's parents and suddenly, Percy had been back, just to then disappear, with everyone else gone to exorcise Nico. I knew time was running out, so I rushed to the last part of the forest closest to the castle I could remember. I just knew my father must have something to do with all this and I knew that if Percy had been back, that was one person that could lead him there. And for the second time in my life, I just wished to be faster, just a bit faster so I could make it."

And for the second time in his life, his wish had been granted.

"You were the archer!" Nico suddenly exclaimed, looking at him wide-eyed.

Percy gaped at him, equally surprised.

Chiron nodded quietly. "I was. The moment I saw you fighting on the roof and the blood he had spilled, I knew I could and would not let this go on any further. So I went up on that roof and I shot him in a futile attempt to save you kids." He explained, closing his eyes at the memory.

One couldn't choose their family.

Still, it had been horrible to shoot arrows at his own father, even if he had been a horrible person.

He had fled the castle right after the curse had been lifted and he had been certain Nico and Percy would be fine, unable to reveal his identity to them, nor the role he had played in the entire story.

When he looked up, he found Percy and Nico exchanging glances again, but nobody said anything for a long moment.

Chiron sighed and looked at the fire once more.

.

"And this is it, Your Majesty. I do not ask for forgiveness. All I ask for is the chance to apologize for what has happened, for what he has done and the sorrow he has caused, as well as for my mistakes." The old man said after a long moment of silence and Nico looked at him, trying to sort out how he felt about this man.

He had saved his life.

But he had let Bianca die. His father had been the one to kill her. Maybe not directly, but he had given the order, at the very least.

Chiron hadn't had anything to do with that, though.
It hadn't been any of his business, but he had still come and tried to stop Kronos from killing Nico, ultimately saving his life and almost losing his own.

Still, Bianca had died.

Then again, Chiron had probably saved his life a second time when he had dragged Kronos out of the castle grounds, else Nico might have been stuck with him here and then he was fairly certain the evil monster of a man would have killed him sooner or later, not caring whether it would lift the curse or not, as long as he had the throne.

So this made Chiron a good guy, right?

One couldn't choose his family, after all.

Blaming him for Bianca's death was as reasonable as Percy blaming Nico for the departure of his coward father.

He felt Percy's hand squeezing his gently and looked around at him, taking in his worried, soft gaze quietly for a moment.

Then he came to a decision.

"I shall accept your apology. You are correct, one cannot choose their family and it would be wrong to blame you for something that you had no partake in." He stated and watched Chiron blink surprised for a splint second before composing himself again and nodding curtly.

"Thank you very much, your Majesty. That is more than I could have wished for. You are very wise for your age."

Nico looked over at Percy, thinking to himself that it was all because Percy was with him.

Without Percy, he would have never found happiness.

He would have been miserable, and he would have never forgiven anybody, not others, not Chiron, not himself.

And thus, he leaned over and kissed the love of his life, uncaring whether Chiron saw or not.
Percy made a surprised sound, but kissed back nevertheless, his lips so seductively soft.

Reluctantly, he pulled back and looked towards their guest, who merely poured himself another cup of tea, apparently unfazed by the scene playing in front of him.

He noticed Nico's gaze and his lips twitched. "I shall be taking my leave in a moment, Your Majesty." He announced as if he expected Nico to wish to kick him out now his story had been told.

Nico could immediately feel Percy tense up beside him, his head turning towards the window, looking at the darkness outside.

"If you wish, I shall have a room prepared for you and you may stay the night." He said calmly, seeing Percy look around at him mildly surprised out of the corner of his eye.

Chiron seemed surprised as well.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "In return, how about you and I have a little sparring session tomorrow? I would like to see if you can best me. Percy is the only opponent in forever who comes close and he always insisted you were better than him, so I can't deny I'm curious."

Percy chuckled next to him, hiding his face in his hands, while Chiron still seemed surprised.

Then he smiled as well, a defeated sigh escaping his lips.

"Well, in that case there is no way I could possibly refuse. I just hope I can live up to your standards, Your majesty."

Nico didn't doubt him for a second. He was more than certain that Chiron held a lot more power than his appearance might let on.

.

When Nico and Percy finally went to bed that night, Percy wasn't feeling tired whatsoever.

"Nico?"

"Hm?" He hummed, his arms around Percy, his eyes closed.

Percy always enjoyed watching him falling asleep or waking up.

He looked so angelic, the shadows that still haunted him by times finally leaving his face.

"Are you ok?" He asked quietly, knowing that Nico was only acting so relaxed and peaceful, what with all Chiron had told them.

Nico opened one lazy eye, mustering him.
Then he sighed and tugged him closer.

"Sleep, my love." He ordered and buried his nose in Percy's hair.

Percy inwardly rolled his eyes and moved to place a kiss on Nico's collarbone in front of him.

"You know you can talk to me about everything, right?"

Nico chuckled ever so quietly. "I know."

"Then don't always keep everything to yourself. You always do that. Talk to me. Now." He ordered, nibbling on Nico's cool skin and feeling him shiver in response.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Fine." Nico sighed in defeat and Percy waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Just as he was about to ask whether Nico had fallen asleep, Nico shifted slightly, holding Percy tightly pressed against him as if to prevent him from moving, from looking at Nico.

"She was all I had left…" He started quietly and Percy had to force himself not to freeze or hold his breath as he realized Nico was actually going to talk.

About Bianca.

The one topic he had always avoided.

"Bianca and I, we were always close, always together. We would talk about anything and everything and be there for each other. After mother had died, we were there for each other. When our 'father' left us behind to fend for ourselves, we were there for each other, somehow making it work. The staff helped, of course, but it was mainly the two of us. It was always just the two of us. And I loved her, I really did. And I know she loved me. But sometimes…sometimes we just argued…so bad…" His voice turned to a mere whisper towards the end and Percy had to strain his ears to hear what he said, feeling his grip on him tighten.

"She wasn't happy. She didn't want to be queen. She didn't even want to be a princess. All she wanted to be was a normal kid, have a normal life. She had always wanted that. Even with mom and dad still around. Sometimes, she would sneak out of the castle with me, dressed like ordinary people and spend the day running around with normal other kids our age. After my dad had left, she still did it by times, but she wanted to do it alone. She wanted to do everything alone all of a sudden. I don't know why or how it had happened, what I had done wrong to make her push me away like that. And we would argue, I would yell at her for leaving like that, for being no better than our father. And she would yell right back at me for being such a little kid and that she wanted to have her own life for once. Whenever we fought, it would be about that. I hated it. I really did. And I wanted it to stop. I tried to follow her, tried to be a part of her life because I was just so scared she was going to…going to really leave like our father had…" Nico admitted meekly, his hands fisting the back of Percy's shirt.

He began stroking up and down his husband's back, trying to comfort him quietly while waiting for him to continue.

He could only picture all too well how Nico must have felt, even though he himself had never been in a situation like this.
Just thinking about it felt horrible and painful and sad.

And not for the first time, Percy wished there could have been something – anything – he could have done, anyone could have done, to prevent the pain Nico had had to go through, to help him master it now.

But all he could do was stay quiet and listen.

"I followed her to the city and found out she had found herself a bunch of girls that seemed to dislike boys and never let any close to them. They would hang out together all day long, talking and running through the forest, training with bow and arrow as if they wanted to become huntresses instead of taking care of the housework. I didn't know what to make of it all, not because I really cared what they did, but that Bianca was part of it, wanting to become a…a huntress, and that she didn't like boys, apparently. I still remember how I hid behind a bunch of bushes, wondering if this meant she didn't like me because I was a boy. Wondered whether she'd still be with me if I had been her sister, not her brother. But I told myself it wasn't because of that and that everything was going to be ok, because she had always been there for me and I knew she loved me and that all of this was just her trying to have fun for a bit before coming back to the castle. And I felt a bit better. Until I overheard them talking. One of them, the leader, I guess, asked her whether she wanted to join them for real, live with them, even. I was shocked. Horrified. Devastated. Especially because she seemed to really consider it. That's when they found me in the bushes and dragged me out, apparently thinking I had been spying on them because I was a pervert or something – which was stupid, because I was merely thirteen, I didn't even really know the meaning of the word 'pervert' at the time." He muttered indignantly and Percy had to bite back a small chuckle.

The story wasn't funny, of course, but the way he seemed to be upset about being called a pervert certainly was.

"And Bianca…she was so…so angry. She stopped them from what felt like them trying to kill me, telling them I was her brother. The way she had said it just felt…it just felt as if she was so ashamed. Ashamed of having a brother. Ashamed of having me as her brother. And I was so hurt, I ended up pulling away from the two girls holding me and yelling that I heard she wanted to join them and that she was the worst sister ever for betraying me like that. Then I turned and ran back to the castle without looking back. I hid out in my room, hating the world while being scared beyond belief that she would really just leave me behind, leave me to fend for myself as our dad had left us to ourselves. But with every passing hour I also got angrier, because she wasn't coming back and I felt so hurt. I hated her. Even though I loved her, I still hated her. And I hated myself for hating her. She was all I had left and the most important person in my life, yet I couldn't help but hate her for making me feel so…unworthy. Unimportant. How could she just leave me behind like that? She was all I had left, yet she simply didn't care, pushing me away and hanging out with those stupid girls. And I hated the girls too, for taking her away from me." His voice was laced with pain and Percy knew that this was still bothering Nico, that he was still feeling the same resentment and hate deep inside him that he had felt for those girls, his sister and himself that he had felt all that time ago.

He continued stroking his back gently, feeling Nico shake his head slightly, his face still in Percy's hair.

"I was so scared she wouldn't come back that day. She did eventually come back, but by then I was even angrier that she had taken so long to come back that I couldn't even feel relieved at her coming back at all. In fact, I partly even wished she hadn't come back, because now it just felt as if she had simply not cared at all for how I might have been feeling about all this, instead spending her day having fun with her friends and forgetting about me until she had to remember she had a brother and a kingdom to take care of. Needless to say, we had the biggest argument ever. She yelled at me for being attentive and obnoxious, while I called her selfish, stupid and cruel. In the end, I threw it in her face that she could go join those dumb chicks she so wanted to be with instead of her little brother, that she was no bit better than dad, and left the room with a last 'I hate you'."

For a long moment, there was silence. Percy had no idea what to do or whether he should say something, but he had even less ideas as to what he could possibly say.

"We didn't talk until the next day and then it all just led to the same argument all over again until she left. I called after her that she didn't have to bother coming back and she said 'Fine, then I won't'. I thought that was going to be the worst moment in my life. I thought she would seriously leave and never come back. I wanted to run after her, hold her back, hug her and tell her I was sorry, that I didn't want to lose her as well. But I was too proud. So instead, I went up to the West Wing, which was my favorite place – always had been – and wasted my time there, trying to distract myself from the fact that my sister might have left for good. She hadn't gone into town to meet the girls, but to get some business done, so I still had a small hope she had just bluffed and was going to be home and everything was going to be fine somehow. As the hours passed, I got more restless, of course, and kept wondering what was going to happen if she truly didn't come back. It was horrible. I wanted to go on the balcony and look for a sign of the carriage, but couldn't make myself do it, so I stayed in the hallway instead and looked out of the big window. When I did see a carriage coming, I was so relieved. Really relieved. Even though I was still angry and upset, I was also just so happy she hadn't left me and I thought that we would really be able to make up. But then…"

Nico squeezed him slightly, his hands clutching Percy's shirt again and Percy closed his eyes as he guessed what must have happened next.

"…I saw the carriage stopping and I just…I just stood there, watching. I was confused. Then I wondered whether she might not have stopped to get out and leave, after all. And still, I just stood there uselessly, watching dark shapes appear around her as she exited the carriage. I couldn't see very well from the distance, so at first I assumed it must have been her friends. But then I realized that they were far bigger than Bianca and her friends didn't even know she was the future queen, so there was no way they would have stopped the royal carriage, you know? And that's when I started thinking something must be wrong and rushed out of the castle after seeing the first stranger rushing towards her." He explained, his voice barely audible, pain and guilt etched into every word.

Percy held him tightly, wishing he could do something to help Nico, to take his pain away.

It hadn't been Nico's fault, even though Percy knew his lover still blamed himself.

It had all been Kronos' doing and he would have had his way sooner or later, Percy knew that.

"When I got to her…it was already too late. They had hurt her so badly, Percy. She was bruised and beaten and bloody and weak. I held her in my arms, heard her ragged breathing…and I just knew she was going to die. I just knew it and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I cried and called out for help, told her to stay with me. But all she did was gaze up at me with wide eyes, telling me she was scared. Scared of dying. And I held her tight even though it hurt her and I told her she wasn't going to die, that everything was going to be fine. But she…she just looked at me and I saw her eyes just…they just…all the color just died in it. They just went pale and empty and her body went limb and her breathing stopped and I cried and said I was sorry, that I loved her and that I didn't mean a thing I had said, but she was already…she just…"

Nico was now almost crushing him, but Percy let him, wrapping his arms tightly around him as well and trying to find any words to soothe him.
There weren't any.

Percy had never felt so utterly useless.

Nico's body trembled slightly and Percy could feel him sobbing.
He pulled back slightly, much to Nico's dismay, who immediately tried to hide.

Hide his face, hide himself, hide within himself.

Percy cupped his face, stroking away the tears streaming down his face.

"It's ok, Nico." He whispered quietly.

"I don't…I…I don't know why I'm crying. I'm sorry. You must think me…" Nico started, looking embarrassed and ashamed of himself, but Percy didn't let him finish.

"I think you are the strongest man I have ever met." He said determinedly, but Nico only let out a doubtful snort.

"Strong men don't cry."

Percy kissed his wet eyes gently, stroking over his cheeks with his thumbs. "No, weak men who act strong don't cry, out of fear of appearing weak. Strong men cry, because they know emotions aren't a weakness and they have to let out the pain the same way everybody else does."

Nico bit his lip but didn't talk back, tears still running down his face.

Percy tugged him closer, now being the one pressing Nico against his chest and holding him tight.

"It's ok. Let it all out, Nico. I'm here for you." He said gently and felt Nico's arms snaking around him, his face nuzzling against his shirt, moistening the fabric.

.

It took a long time for Nico to speak up again, but Percy didn't mind whatsoever.

"I always wanted to find the men who had killed her, always wanted to track them down and murder them one by one for what they had done." He said bitterly, wiping the left-over tears away determinedly as he pulled back from Percy's embrace.

"I had search parties look for them, even looked for them myself, but I never found even as much as a trace. I really thought they had gotten away with it…all this time, I thought they might still be out there, living an undeserved happy life while my sister had been slaughtered for no reason."

Percy watched him as he gazed off into space, apparently lost in thought.

Then a bitter smile settled on his face. "But I guess I was wrong."

"Do you resent Chiron for killing them?" Percy couldn't help but ask.

Nico shook his head almost instantly. "No. I thought I would, but…no. I've never been much of a murderer and I have no idea whether I wouldn't even have ended up dead myself, so there's that. But more than that, I'm just...I'm kind of glad they didn't get away with it. It doesn't matter whether I got to them or he did. I just wanted them to pay for what they had done and they did, so it's ok."

Percy nodded quietly.

Nico looked at him oddly for a moment, then he leaned forward and gave him a peck on the lips. "I'm sorry. Too much doom and gloom, I know. I'm not the best with grudges and all that. Sorry if I'm scaring you." He whispered uncertainly, his arms snaking around Percy once more and tugging him closer.

"I'm not scared. And I'm glad you told me all of this. Nico, I don't blame you for wanting them dead. I would want them dead, too, if they had hurt my sister. Or you. You bet somebody hurts you they'll have my sword down their throat." He stated flatly, causing Nico to blink surprised before chuckling.

"That sounds painful."

"You bet it would be." Percy nodded seriously, leaning forward and placing another peck on Nico's lips.

"I love you. Thank you for telling me."

Nico smiled at him with that fond expression on his face that he only ever showed to Percy – something Percy was immensely proud of.

"I love you, too. And no, thank you, Percy, for listening."

"As I said, I'll always be there for you."

Nico smiled at him gently, giving him a peck on the nose. "Good that. Now, let's go to sleep."

Percy grinned and snuggled closer, rubbing his face against Nico's chest, his arms already back around Nico.

"That sounds like a great plan."

"Of course it does, I said it, after all."

Percy chuckled and bit Nico's nipple through the fabric of his shirt teasingly. "Cocky, are we now?"

Nico flinched and shifted, a hand placing itself on Percy's chin and moving his face upwards for a kiss.

"Yes."

They grinned at each other, then began exchanging more kisses, touching each other gently and enjoying the closeness.

This was so nice.

.

Hours later, Nico stroked a wild strand of dark hair out of Percy's sleeping face, gazing at him fondly.

"I love you." He whispered into the quiet, dark room.

Percy frowned in his sleep, shifting slightly and moving closer, sighing rather contently.

"Love you too…Nico…" He mumbled in his sleep, making Nico grin like a fool and place a soft kiss on the top of his head.

Then he snuggled closer to his prince, wrapping his arms around him gently.

And for the first time in a long time, he felt truly at peace.

He had felt peaceful before, already, what with Percy around and all, but now it felt as if everything was truly ok.

As if finding out the murderers of his sister hadn't escaped after all and had met their deserved end had allowed Nico to finally let go.
Let go of the resentment and pain he had been feeling whenever he had thought of his sister.

It was still painful to think of her, but less so, and different.
Maybe now, he would finally be able to focus on the good times with her whenever he thought of her, instead of remembering their last argument and his inability to help her, as well as his failure for letting her murderers escape.

And all of this was only possible because of Percy.

Because Percy had found him, had wormed his way into his heart, had saved him from himself, had broken the curse.
Because Percy loved him, because Percy was with him, because he saw something in Nico that Nico would probably never understand, but that was ok.

He placed another kiss on the top of his head, nuzzling his face against the wavy dark hair.

He loved falling asleep with Percy so close, loved the security Percy brought with him. Loved the way Percy was Percy and how he was just perfect that very way.

Smiling to himself, he slowly drifted off into sleep, looking forward to the rest of his life with Percy.

The End