The Black Coral (Percico/Pernico)

Chapter One: The Prince of Italy

"Nico, you will get a beautiful wife to serve as queen," the king told his son.

The two were in the throne room of their castle, which sat in the heart of the kingdom in which the di Angelos ruled. Nico was seated upon his father's throne as the King of Italy paced back and forth, to and fro, in front of his son, dictating Nico's future for him as he did ever since Nico could understand him. Racked with unpleasant boredom, Nico rested his elbow on the armrest of the throne, leaning his cheekbone on the heel of his hand.

He had a small table that a servant had received for him placed before him, and lie upon it a piece of parchment, which was now covered in absentminded doodles he made with his feather quill and ink. He was not paying a single shred of attention to his father, for his thoughts had been whisked away to what lie undiscovered across the ocean.

"She will be gentle, delicate, clean, cautious, kind, and obedient. She must be a natural-born leader, but know when to keep quiet when she needs to. Nico, are you listening?"

"What?" Prince Nico was ripped back into reality, apart from his daydreams and ink doodles on the parchment that sat before him.

"Nico, as the future king of Italy, you must be attentive," the king snapped.

"Must I be king?" Nico sighed, absentmindedly caressing the edges of the soft vanes of the feather on his quill with his index finger and thumb. "There must be a thousand men out there who would murder others for this position."

"That is exactly why we do not want them to serve as king, son," King Hades replied, sighing in exasperation. "Our kingdom believes in peace, unless war is forced upon us."

Nico nodded understandingly, but he was not interested. He knew that his father would arrange a marriage for him, because they have gone through many a princess, and he had not a liking for any of them.

"Nico, we have discussed this issue multiple times, you will become king, and you will get married to a princess, whether you like it or not." King Hades got fed up with Nico's playing with his quill, so he confiscated it out of his son's hand and placed it on an armrest of his wife's throne.

Nico resisted the urge to groan; that would only get him slapped. Instead, he nodded respectfully. "May I be excused?" he asked.

"Very well, just be sure to come down for dinner," his father agreed reluctantly.

"Of course, Father."

Nico nodded his head again and got himself down from the throne. He moved the table slightly so he could get out, and gracefully walked out of the room and to the staircase before looking around to see if his father was looking, which he was not. Instead of going up to his room, the prince slipped around the corner and toward the front entrance, which led to the village.

He ran all the way downhill, through the unsanitary village and down to the docks, where cargo ships were loading and unloading. He watched the waves gently rise and fall in the distance, a seagull calling to another in the clear sky, where sat a couple of fluffy white clouds, which reminded Nico of sheep.

He took off his shoes and socks and pulled up his pant legs, setting his feet up to his ankles in the harbor. The water sloshing gently against the prince's ankles emitted an aroma much more pure than the foul-smelling village, which was filled with feces and other unpleasant things Nico would rather not think about.

He kicked his bare feet around in the water as he inhaled the salty air, wishing he could explore what was beyond what his eyes, or even the high-powered telescope perched in the window of his room could see. The world wasn't flat, no, it was a round object containing many terrains and seas, filled with unexplored lands, waters, and adventures, if only Nico could see it. But no, he had to rule stupid Italy with a stupid wife by his side.