Chapter Text

Shine Bright Like A Diamond

1, Elysian.

Elysian (adj.) beautiful or creative; divinely inspired; peaceful and perfect (Origin: Greek)

…

Hazel and Nico shared two main aspects of their father: Hazel got the wealth, and Nico could control the death. But to a certain degree, their powers overlapped. When Hazel learned how to control the Mist, she also got a bit ability to grab the shadow too, and Nico’s more than willing to help her to learn it. She still couldn’t shadow travel though, but at least now the daughter of Pluto could open and close a small space in the shadow, and she liked to call it a convenient storage because she could store something inside that space and grab them whenever she wanted.

For Nico, Hazel tried to teach him some of her powers too, but except controlling the ground – a skill that he already knew since he was ten, so it hardly can count – he still can’t learn anything else from her. Well, at least that’s what both of them thought before Reyna suggested Nico to try to do some magic with a small stone, and somehow he turned it into a diamond.

“Wow,” Hazel breathed out when she examined the shining jewel. “It’s beautiful and so pure, it’s easily worth thousand dollars. And because it’s a stone before, I’m pretty sure it’s not cursed.”

Reyna was giving him a proud smile with a thumbs-up and suddenly Nico felt like a small child that just got praised by a big sister – or even a mother, but he’s not sure should he tell the female praetor that or not.

“I still don’t know how did I do that,” Nico shook his head, still looking so bewildered. “Maybe it’s just beginner’s luck or a one-time case.”

“Oh, don’t underestimate yourself that much, you silly,” Hazel giggled when she gave her brother the tiny stone. “You should keep it, that’s the first thing you could do that related to my domain of power.”

“I wonder if that might be the only thing I could do in your domain of power,” Nico dryly replied, but he took the stone nonetheless. “Maybe it’s because of the stone itself.”

“It’s just a regular stone that I picked up on the street,” Reyna shrugged. “Pretty sure it’s not the reason.”

“Well, to be honest, I have the ability to summon valuable treasures under the ground, but not turning something else into them. Your new ability is kind of interesting. You should practice it some more.” Hazel gave him an encouraging smile and Nico nodded back at her, smiling a little bit. He felt better now and sure, why shouldn’t he try? It didn’t hurt to learn something new once in a while.

…

It turned out that Nico actually could transform stones into diamonds, or some other precious gems, for that matter. But diamonds were the easiest to turn into and he practiced to change the stone’s colour too – he liked black, but unfortunately, it’s the hardest shade of colour of a diamond for him to do. He accidentally turned some stones into obsidian and garnet when he tried to do that, and so far he only succeeded with one stone, but he still felt happy about that small victory for a whole day.

Nico wanted to keep it a secret, and he did it well. It’s tempting to tell Jason about that at first, but Nico told himself that he should practice until he’s truly good at it before demonstrating his new ability to his friend. After all, this new skill was cool, but it’s pretty useless when it came to fighting though. After Hazel told him about the small shadow storage that she liked, Nico thought about using the shadow realm as a form of storage and tried to think about some useful stuff it could do when in a fight. He asked Percy to help him and when he managed to command a shadow to swallow a whole whirlpool that the other demigod summoned, Percy looked like an extremely accurate imitation of a goldfish and that made him so pleased with himself.

The diamond-transforming skill was nice, but still, Nico didn’t know what could he actually do with that, and that one of the reasons why he hadn’t told anyone yet.

***

Katie Gardner, a daughter of Demeter who was in charge of watering the plants outside the Demeter’s cabin and on the strawberry field this week, found a secretive Ghost King was sitting next to their field, doing something that looked pretty weird with a lot of stones in front of him and a small pile of… wait, were those gemstones?

“Nico, what are you doing here?” She coughed slightly and cleared her throat when she approached him. Nico didn’t seem to startle by that, so he already knew she’s coming or he’s just not the scaredy-cat type. Even though, he hastily gathered all the stones in front of him and covered them with both of his hands.

“Hi, Katie. I was just… sightseeing, I guess.”

When he’s caught off guard, his lying skills were terrible though.

“You was sightseeing with a bunch of stones?” Katie raised one eyebrow, half-amused and half-disbelieved. “Your choice of companion’s pretty weird.”

“So you saw that?” He sighed, but not moving his hands. “How much did you see, exactly?”

“… What do you mean by that?” Katie was confused a little bit. “I just saw like two piles of stones, but one of them was shining and glinting a little bit and the stones in that pile were suspiciously like gems, but that’s all.”

Nico just wordlessly stared at her, and Katie blinked but didn’t break their eye-contact. Nico’s intimidating, but for some reasons, she and most of Demeter’s kids weren’t afraid of him. Maybe it’s because their mother was his godly grandmother after all, so it made her be his aunt… No, it’s still too weird, let’s not think about that.

After ten seconds, Nico sighed again and took back his hands, revealing two piles of stones just as Katie saw before. She squinted at the smaller pile, and yes, they did look like gemstones. “Those shiny things are pretty.”

“It’s because they’re precious gems,” Nico shrugged and Katie’s eyes widened at that. “I made them.”

Her eyes just got bigger. “You summoned them?”

“No, I’m not Hazel,” he pouted, and Katie found herself suppressed a small laugh because now she understood why some campers said he’s actually pretty cute when he’s not trying to be terrifying. That action was so adorable. “I told you, I made them.”

“Made?” She tilted her head to the left side, looking confused. “As in… you created them?”

“Yeah,” Nico nodded. “I was practicing my new skill. Apparently, I could turn normal stones into diamonds or some other gems, and I’m still exploring the limit of that skill. So far it just seems cool, but I think when it comes to battles it’s pretty useless though.”

Katie inhaled, then exhaled deeply. Sitting in front of her was a boy that just claimed that he could turn stones into precious jewels, but he said that skill was just cool and pretty useless. Oh dear, that cinnamon roll was cute when he’s slow. No surprise that not only Will but actually a lot of other campers were having a crush on him now.

She sat down next to him and waved a hand over the pile of gems. “May I?”

“Sure, go ahead.” He nodded, and she took one of the gems to examine. It was a small transparent blue diamond, and it was so pure and beautiful that even though Katie wasn’t a gemstone expert, she still could tell that tiny thing could be worth at least $10,000. Basically, Nico possessed thousands of dollars in his hand right now and he could actually make more. Even a money-printing machine wasn’t as precious as him.

Then she suddenly remembered the story about Hazel’s cursed jewels and hastily dropped the gemstone. “Sorry, is it–”

“It’s not cursed if that’s the thing you’re worried about,” Nico reassured her, and Katie let out a sigh of relief. “I turned it into a diamond from a regular stone, so it’s harmless.”

The girl let out a relieved sigh, taking another gemstone. This one was shining brightly under the sunlight with a captivating yellow-green glow, and when she moved it around her fingers, the colour changed from a yellowish green to a pinkish orange, and it’s mesmerizing to observe. “What’s this one?”

“I don’t know,” Nico scratched the back of his head, looking slightly shy when a faint shade of blush appeared on his cheeks. “I just thought the colour’s nice, so I corrected and adjusted its shape and aspects until I was satisfied.”

“Wow,” Katie breathed out, didn’t know what to say. For a boy that claimed he only discovered this skill recently and mostly self-taught, he’s pretty talented when he could create something like that. It might even be a whole new kind of gemstone and it could be worth thousands, even millions of dollars.

“What do you do with those gemstones?” Katie asked. Based on what he told her and the way he normally acted, she doubted that Nico had thought about selling them for money. And it’s not like he needed money either, that boy’s father was literally the God of Wealth and he’s fond of his only living son, so she wouldn’t be surprised if Nico tells her that Hades already gave him a huge amount of money as allowance.

“I keep the successful ones inside a box in my cabin,” Nico blinked. “And I threw away the failed ones, there’s meaningless to keep them anyway, I don’t want to store a huge bunch of stones.”

“… The failed ones?” The Demeter’s daughter blinked, all the gemstones she could see here was beautiful and they looked precious.

“Yeah, like that one,” Nico took out a small gemstone from the pile and handed it to her. It was a tiny one with a darker shade of blood red that was close to purple. He explained, “I don’t like the color, it’s dull, and the quality of the gemstone’s structure isn’t good either. To be honest, I can fix it, but I prefer to start creating a new one.”

Katie wordlessly stared at the dark red stone in her hand. That’s Nico’s definition of a failure? He must have a high standard because it was pretty to her, and even though it didn’t shine as bright as some other gems, the mysterious beauty it possessed was still worth thousands of dollars if it was in right hands. A jewels seller would never reject that one, and if Nico was telling her the truth about throwing away his failed gemstones, he literally threw away a huge amount of money without thinking twice.

Well… being the son of the God of Wealth can make you have different perspectives about money and properties, apparently.

“Do you like any of them?” Nico suddenly asked and Katie looked at him, seeming confused. “You can take anything that you like, I don’t mind.”

Now she gasped loudly and didn’t even blink when she stared at the son of Hades. “Really?”

“Really,” he smiled, and Katie silently reminded herself that she still needed to breathe. For a second, she truly understood why Will Solace and some other campers said that Nico’s an angel, just like his last name, because the boy possessed a heavenly smile that lit his entire face up in an angelic aura, making him look ethereal and breath-taking. “I can create them, remember? And Hazel told me that most of the girls like those shiny things, so I guess if you’re one of them, you could take any gemstone that you like. Just… promise me that you don’t tell anyone, especially the Stoll brothers, okay?”

“Not tell the Stoll brothers, got it,” Katie grinned when she took a green one from the pile, examining it carefully. “But… can I at least tell one or two of my friends? They’re all good secret keepers, and I promise that we won’t tell anyone else. It’s just… you can’t expect me to keep that a secret forever, your new power is amazing!”

Nico seemed hesitated for a moment, and Katie’s worried if she pushed her luck too far, but then he nodded. “Fine, I know you’re not the nosy type or a gossip girl, so I guess it’s okay if you want to tell your close friends. But please don’t spread the news, I don’t want to be stared at like an outcast again. Things just start to be peaceful recently and I don’t want to lose it.”

“I understand,” she nodded at Nico, feeling a strange wave of relief mixed with a little bit guilt swept over her body. “I promise. And I’ll take that one, thank you.”

“You’re sure you don’t want anything else?” He asked, and she shook her head.

“No, just one is enough. This has the most beautiful shade of green and looks like a small leaf, and it’s perfect for me. Thank you for this, I truly appreciate your generosity.”

“Don’t mention it, just remember to keep your promise,” He grinned at her, collecting all the gemstones and putting them in his jacket’s pocket. “I think I need to go now, and you also should come back to your work. See you later.”

“See you later, Nico.”

…

Katie barely can hold her excitement when she’s back to her cabin, the green gemstone was inside her jeans’ pocket, and she carefully thought who could she share the story with. At first, she thought about her best friend, but as much as she loved Miranda, her sibling wasn’t exactly a perfect secret keeper. She promised that she wouldn’t tell the Stoll brothers, and even if Nico didn’t make her, she still won’t do that – who knows what would they do if they find out Nico’s new power?

She needed to tell someone about this wonderful story, but that someone had to be a good person that knew how to keep a promise and some secrets. And it’s better if that someone was sort of liking Nico… Katie grinned, now she knew exactly who could she share her story with.

…

The head counselor of the Apollo cabin was working in the infirmary when Katie found him. The hospital wing in the Camp wasn’t crowded today, just some kids with dislocated ankles or shoulders that happened when something’s gone wrong in training, along with some superficial burns from the lava walls climbing. Those didn’t require the skills of the head medic of Camp, so Katie could talk to Will freely.

“Hey, Will, do you have some moments?” She asked when the blond was putting on a bandage for a ten-year-old child from Aphrodite cabin.

“Sure, do you need anything?” Will nodded while giving the kid a small square of ambrosia. “Here, eat it and you’ll feel better.”

When the kid munched on the ambrosia, Katie winked at Will. “Nothing, but I have an interesting story that requires somewhere more private, can I borrow you a few minutes?”

Will looked mildly surprised at that, but he still nodded and called his sister Kayla to take over his current work. He gestured at the closed door of the supply room and then at the outside of the infirmary, “Which place do you prefer to have that secret conversation?”

“Either is fine,” Katie shrugged. “Just don’t want anyone to eavesdrop on us.”

“You make me feel so curious now,” Will laughed, walking at the outside door’s direction. “I need some fresh air, would you mind taking a walk?”

“Sounds great,” she agreed and followed him. They chatted amicably, exchanging some non-important stuff before their feet got them to the side of the forest. There’s nobody here and it’s so quiet but in a good, serene way, and Will turned his head at her.

“So, what’s the secret that you want to tell me?”

Katie grinned at the blond, a hint of mischievousness glinted her eyes, “Will, do you know your potential boyfriend could turn stones into diamonds?”

The tips of Will’s ears immediately reddened. “Nico is not… wait, what?!”

Caught you, she thought to herself victoriously. It’s not like Will’s gigantic crush on Nico di Angelo was a secret at Camp anymore, it’s so obvious to almost everyone but Nico (Katie honestly didn’t know that’s lucky for Will or not), but teasing the blond was so fun and seeing him turned bright red whenever someone mentioned his crush was kind of interesting.

“So you admit that you want him to be your boyfriend.” She smirked. They would look cute together, people said that opposites attract each other like magnets after all.

Will coughed, trying to look less flustered when he scowled. “That’s not the point. What did you just say?”

There’s no way he heard right what did Katie just tell him. His potential boy–… okay, at this moment Nico was still his crush, but that’s not the point either – his crush can turn a stone into a diamond? Will knew Nico possessed a wide range of powers, and he both admired and a little bit scared of the son of Hades’ impressive but terrifying skills, but that can’t stop him from liking that boy a lot. But as far as he knew, Nico’s powers had a strong connection with the death, and diamonds fell into his Roman sister’s realm of powers more.

“I’m saying that you should never let the Stoll brothers know that little fact if you don’t want them to steal your cinnamon roll of darkness, but yeah, I saw it by my eyes, he could turn stones into diamonds,” Katie blew out a stray hair in front of her face, grinning brightly when pulling out the inner of her pocket and giving him a small stone. “I caught him was practicing that skill when I walked to the strawberry fields to water them, and he told me that he learned that skill recently and made me promise to tell only one or two people, they also need to keep it as a secret too. Since my best friend’s sadly not a good keeper, you’re lucky when I choose you to share that story with.”

Will took the small gemstone from her hand and scrutinized it carefully. He breathed out in awe after one minute. “Wow, this is beautiful. He seriously created that?”

“Well, to be honest, he didn’t demonstrate it to me, but I think there’s no reason for him to lie to me,” Katie shrugged. “And it’s not like I need some concrete proof anyway, I just accidentally found out his secret after all. And I got a pretty gemstone from it so I don’t complain.”

Will gave the stone back to her, his face was back to normal, but the crease between his eyebrows got deeper a little bit. “Thanks for sharing that with me, I appreciate it, but what do you expect me to do with it?”

“… Seriously?” Katie stared at the blond, resisting the urge to face-palm. “Well, I don’t expect you to do anything, you just need to keep it a secret. And as far as almost this entire camp know, you’re having a crush on Nico so I think sharing a story about him with you can make you feel, I don’t know, happy?”

“… Actually, I’m feeling more confused than ever, but anyway that’s a great information,” Will grinned at her. “I’ll think about what can I do with that afterward, thank you.”

“You owe me this one,” Katie smirked. “Can I ask for a small favour?”

“Sure, if I can help you,” Will nodded. “What are you thinking of?”

“I wonder if you can give me a vial of nectar,” she looked quite thoughtfully. “I know it has great healing ability on people and I think it might work with plants, too. We have some poorly developing herbs in our garden, and I’m almost hopeless in finding a way to treat them. Just a small amount, I know that liquid is precious after all, but I really want to save those herbs.”

“Ah, it’s alright,” the head counselor of Apollo cabin smiled at Katie. “I’ll put some in a vial and give it to you when we’re back to the infirmary, deal?”

“Deal.”

***