𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Moral choice. Nothing is properly considered either good, or bad, aside from those things that are within our own power to control, and the only thing fully in our power to control is our own volition.
Esmerelda's attempts of...
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▬▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER NINE ▬▬▬▬▬
THE NEXT DAY WAS NOTHING different. The questers were still out, but that was to be expected. Esmerelda had grown closer to her new sister along with Nico, though the two couldn't seem to tolerate each other much. Lou Ellen didn't find Nico's hyperactivity cute like her elder sister did and Nico didn't like Lou Ellen because she said 'Mythomagic' was a little kid's game.
It was disappointing because Esmerelda was hoping they'd get along. Nevertheless, she still enjoyed her stay at camp. Good things must come to an end though, and she would have to return to Hogwarts soon. She really didn't want to go back there.
Just two days before she would be forced back to school, she was shaken awake in her slumber. She nearly shot out of bed from alarm if it hadn't been for the whispered voice, "Essie?"
It was Nico.
Slowly, she sat up (careful of the top bunk) and rubbed her eyes. When she could see clearer, she saw that Nico had a troubled expression on his face. "Nico? What's wrong? What time is it?"
"5:14," he answered.
"What are you doing up? What's wrong?"
"I couldn't sleep. Can we play Mythomagic?" Oh my gods. She mentally facepalmed. "Nico..." She trailed off, her voice falling into a whine. "Please?" He shook her arm. "Please, I've been so bored."
"How long have you been awake?" She asked suspiciously.
He shrugged. "Dunno, a couple of hours. Now can we play?"
"Nico," she said carefully. "You haven't been sleeping well lately. Why is that?"
He avoided her eyes and stayed quiet.
"Nico," she prompted in a gentle voice. "Have you... have you been having dreams?"
He finally answered after a few seconds of silence. "Sometimes, yeah..."
Her heart stopped. This couldn't be happening. Not to Nico. "Can you tell me what they're like?" She asked, trying to mask the urgency in her voice. "Like, are you in some sort of dark pit? Is there a man's voice speaking to you?"
He gave her a confused look and shook his head. "No? It's not dark. It's like I'm in some sort of cave... But there is a man, I can't see him though... He's too blurry. He talks to me about stuff."
Esmerelda furrowed her brows. That definitely didn't sound anything similar to the dreams she would have of Kronos. While she was relieved that it wasn't him, Nico's answer only made her more lost. Who was the man speaking to Nico?
"What sort of stuff?" She asked.
He frowned. "I dunno, just stuff! Can we play Mythomagic now?"
"But—" "—Pleeeeaaase?" He begged, giving her a look.
She sighed heavily. She would just have to question him at a later time. "Alright... Get your cards."
He let out a quiet cheer, mindful of the other sleeping inhabitants, and went to grab his precious card collection.
Already knowing she was about to lose, she crossed her legs together and scooted back to give Nico some space as he slid onto her bed, his beloved cards in hand. Since she didn't own any cards, he would give her some but she had a sneaking suspicion that he was purposely giving her the weaker ones. Whenever she'd bring it up, he'd grin and tell her that he was just a more superior player.
That grin pretty much told her that yes, he was giving her the weaker cards. This time though, he was generous enough to give her at least one stronger card. At least now she had two, since he gifted her with the holofoil Hecate card.
"You are such a cheater," she grumbled after losing the eighth time in a row.
He gave her a mischievous grin that reminded her way too much of the Hermes kids.
"You're just a sore loser." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Her brow twitch. "Brat," she scowled. "I should've won! You said Hades had 4000 attack points!"
"Yes, but," she rolled her eyes. Of course, there was always a 'but'. "He has 5000 if the opponent attacks first. And you attacked first, meaning Hades now has 5000. So, I win!"
Esmerelda let out an annoyed groan, resting her head in her hands. All these rules were driving her crazy. Nico snickered at her moping state before his eyes were drawn to something on the wall.
There pictures tacked on it. A lot of pictures, most of them included Esmerelda. There were pictures of her surrounded by a large group of kids of various ages. Some of them had her features, black hair and deep green eyes. Others were blonde with pitch black eyes, or red hair with bright blue eyes. Other pictures had her with an Asian boy. He was either scowling, trying to shove the camera away, or turning his face to the side. There were a few pictures where his face was clearer, and there were even fewer pictures of him smiling. He seemed to only smile when Esmerelda was with him and he was unaware of the picture being taken.
He crawled towards the pictures, curious.
"Who are they?" He asked.
Esmerelda looked up from her hands and stiffened, before her face fell. It made Nico feel bad for asking, because it was clearly a touchy subject for her. Before he could take the question back, she spoke up.
"They are my siblings," she answered softly, gesturing to the picture of the different-featured children.
His eyes widened. "Whoa. That's a lot of siblings."
"Half-siblings, I mean," she chuckled. "They are the other children of Hecate."
"Oh. Where are they?" He couldn't help but ask.
"They are..." She trailed off. "Gone. They, um, they betrayed the camp."
He frowned. "Betrayed...?"
She nodded. "You see Nico, there's a war going on at the moment. Some demigods left to join the Titan Army, they're the bad guys."
"So your siblings..."
"Yeah, they're the bad guys." She said with a bitter smile. "All of them. Gone. All that's left is me and Lou Ellen, who arrived to camp when you and your sister did"
"What about him?" He pointed at the Asian boy. "Who's he? Is your boyfriend?"
She blushed, startled from the question. "Wha—n-no! No! Ethan and I are just friends! He's the first friend I made here in camp and he saved me from being eaten by a hellhound when I arrived. We're not dating. We're just friends." She explained hastily, her heart pounding. She couldn't believe he had just asked that.
"Where's he at? And who's his... godly parent..." His voice quieted down in mid-question when he noticed her eyes beginning to water. He had done it now. Eyes widening, he quickly said, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to—"
"—No," she said in a heavy voice, reaching up to wipe the stray tears. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—I'm sorry. Ethan's just... He's gone too. He betrayed the camp as well. When he told me what he was planning we just... we had a falling out. A bad one. We yelled at each other. I said that I hated him. That was the last I ever saw of him."
He felt saddened to hear that too. Esmerelda was nice to him, she didn't deserve to be betrayed by everyone who was close to her. "I'm sorry," he said, genuinely meaning it. "I shouldn't have asked so much..."
She managed to give him a smile. "It's okay, Nico. You were just curious. What about you, though? Did you have any friends back at your old school? Before you came to camp?"
He shook his head. "No. Bianca and I stuck together when we were at Westover. None of the other kids played Mythomagic and I didn't wanna play with the big kids."
"Oh, but what about before you guys went to Westover? Surely you had a friend, right?" She asked.
He frowned, looking down at her bed sheets. "I... don't know."
It was her turn to frown. "You don't know?"
"I can't remember," he clarified. "I dunno. It's confusing. Before we went to Westover, Bianca and I stayed at this hotel in Las Vegas—you know, the big city with all the lights and stuff? I can't really remember what happened there..."
"Las... Vegas..." She repeated quietly. Hadn't Percy told her something about Las Vegas in that quest he, Grover, and Annabeth went on two years ago? They were stuck at some hotel... "What was the name of the place?"
He hummed thoughtfully. "Umm, Lotus something."
She snapped her neck towards him. "You mean Lotus Hotel and Casino?!"
He beamed. "Yeah! That's the place!"
Esmerelda turned white. The Lotus Hotel and Casino was a dangerous place. According to Percy anyone who entered would never want to leave because of all the addictive games, the luxury, and the unlimited money. Those inside were trapped and never aged while time basically accelerated in the outside world.
She looked back at Nico. How long had he and Bianca been there? How old were they supposed to be?
"Nico," she whispered. "What year were you born?"
He blinked at her. Then his expression turned to one of discomfort. "I... don't know." Oh shit, she thought.
