Two Odd Princes ~ A Solangelo AU ~

Chapter 13

Saturday, the day of the ball, had finally arrived. The palace was in chaos. People were running around, trying to put the final preparations of things, and the kitchens were as busy as ever. Other servants were cleaning the guest rooms for the third time that week, wanting to please the higher ups that would be staying the night.

Meanwhile, the guest that had already shown up were getting ready. Most the girls had gathered in Bianca's room to prepare. Queen Persephone was in there as well, making sure everyone was on task and doing what they should be.

The boys, on the other hand, were able to mess around for a while before the queen checked up on them. When she walked into Nico's room and saw all four of the boys playing games, she scolded them, telling them they needed to get ready. They did as they were told because they didn't want to upset the queen more than she was already.

When the party started, most the guest were in the ball room waiting to the royal families to be announced. The first people to be introduced were the princes and princesses from other kingdoms and their dates. Then King Hades and Queen Persephone came down the stairs, calling everyone's attention to them. The next to come down was Hazel, wearing a beautiful red and golden dress. Nico came down next in a black tuxedo with red tie. Bianca was last one to come down, causing everyone to gasp as her dress. The dress was long and red with shimmering golden sparkles the faded out near the waist.

The royal family stood next to one another other. The kids smiled as the king and queen welcomed everyone, wishing them to all have a good time. Once they had finished talking, they all went to talk to the guest. Many people went to talk to Nico, all of them happy to see his after so long.

"My, Prince Nico, you've grown," one woman pointed out, hugging him in the process. Nico didn't recognize the person at all.

"What have you been up to young boy? Running around chasing skirts," a man teased before talking to someone else. Nico hated when people teased him like that. If only they knew he preferred men.

After an hour or so of talking to guest, he went to the long table that was set out with snacks and drinks. He picked up a glass of wine, taking a sip of it. As he was in the middle of swallowing it, someone came up behind him, placing their hand on his shoulder roughly. Nico jumped, seeing it was Jason.

"What are you doing," he asked.

Nico coughed on his drink. "Choking, thanks to you."

"Sorry. Piper sent me over her to set her some punch. When was the last time you checked up on your sisters?"

Nico mentally face palmed himself. He and Bianca were supposed to take turns watching Hazel till they made the announcement. Then Hazel was with Nico the rest of the time.

Setting his glass down, Nico tried to make his way through the crowd of people to find his sisters. About five minutes into his search, a pair of small arms wrapped around his waist. He already knew it was Hazel due to all the giggles he was hearing. A few seconds later, Bianca appeared, already looking tired from the people she had to talk to.

"There you are," Bianca said. Nico was unsure if she was talking him or to Hazel, but didn't say anything. "Dad's about call everyone to dinner and make the announcement. Let's go sit now."

This was the last thing Nico wanted to do. When it was time for dinner, which meant that he was going to be forced to sit next to his father because of the way their seats were arranged. The king and queen sat in the middle, with the daughters of the queen, or, in this case, step daughters, were sat to the right of the queen and the sons to the left of the king. Nico, being the only son of Hades, would have to sit next to him, both of them putting on a show. Luckily for both of them, it wasn't required for them to speak to one another.