La Douleur Exquise: a Percico Story

Chapter Eight

N i c o

The girl spoke, fingers laced into the hand of the small boy beside her, "It's okay. It's okay."

Her voice was gentle, soothing the teary-eyes of her brother.

"I don't like being by ourselfs," he replied with a sniffle. When he was upset, small speech errors such as this often slipped out, so the girl didn't correct him. He was so young, and looked up to his sister like a mother now. Her name was Bianca di Angelo. //

She and her younger brother, Nico, had been dazed as a lawyer came to their aid. "Your parents aren't here. I'm sorry kid," the sharp-dressed man had conveyed sadly to Bianca.

Orphans, homeless ones at that. The words had echoed in Nico's mind forever before he realized; he and his sister were alone. He wasn't sure what to think, however, as neither him nor Bianca had any recollection of what had happened to cause their parents' deaths. He didn't remember what their lives were like before the event either. His small mind of a child's capacity clambered at any grasp of reality, but it was hopeless. This situation felt as though his only hope at normality was to go along with whatever Bianca, ergo this lawyer, said.

After much discussion, it was revealed that Bianca and Nico had a trust fund, and were being brought to Washington D.C. to attend boarding school. "It's what your parents wanted," the lawyer had told them seriously. He had always checked up on them at boarding school, made sure they were alright. This man had helped her, as well as Nico, to start over, and the two were very grateful.

But now, the lawyer had come to retrieve them yet again.

As they stood minuscule in comparison to the thousands of gaudy, fluorescent lights on the large building, Nico muttered in awe. "I bet this place has tons of cards somewhere, maybe even ones with 800 damage or more!" Bianca rolled her eyes playfully; Mythomagic may have been keeping Nico happy, but she was sure suffering under the game's rule over him.

The casino's colorful lights reflected off of the lawyers glasses. "You two will be staying at this hotel. I'm sure you will find it to be more than satisfactory; kids love it!" he nodded, trying to sound convincing. "I'm sure it'll be fun, at least for him." Bianca remarked, smirking at her brother who was still in awe of the lights and thought of more Mythomagic cards to collect.

The older girl approached him, expecting to see excitement in his eyes as he faced the bright lights of their new lodging accommodations. Instead, she found tears. Nico sniffled as his sister took his hand. //

Bianca had tried to remain calm all this time for her brother's sake, and for her own attempt at staying sane, but now as Nico cried, she knew she must try harder. It all depended on her and, as difficult as it had been so far, she knew that this was how it must be.

"I'll protect you." Bianca said with a smile, squeezing her brothers hand.

Nico nodded, opening the doors and taking a step inside the Lotus Hotel and Casino. "We'll protect each other."

•~•~•~•

Nico smiled to himself as he sauntered away, steering himself toward the dining pavilion. He couldn't believe how relaxed Percy was about everything Nico had done, and that Percy wanted to continue speaking with him. He really was a good guy, which made Nico like him even more. Oh Gods.

Seating himself at a table, the boy had a flashback of sorts, concerning his departed sister, Bianca. Thoughts of her came sporadically, but were welcomed sincerely when they occurred. Nico remembered when he had blamed Percy for Bianca's untimely death; he had held the grudge for so long, yet Percy always forgave him.