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Knock... knock... knock...
Hazel sighed, pushing herself up off her bed and heading to the door.
“Frank,” gasped the daughter of Pluto, a huge smile spreading across Hazel’s face as she took in who exactly was standing in front of her. Hazel threw herself at Frank, giggling as he picked her up and spun her around before setting Hazel back down on the ground.
“I thought you were needed in New Rome for the time being,” stated Hazel as she grabbed her boyfriend’s hand and pulled him into Cabin Thirteen.
“I was, but Reyna is covering for me,” explained Frank as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Hazel’s cheek. “You are so beautiful,” murmured Frank softly.
“Well, I do think you are mighty dashing yourself,” replied Hazel as she leaned in and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to Frank’s lips.
Frank turned a bright red, rubbing his neck with a shy smile.
Hazel grinned. Deciding to have mercy on Frank, she changed the topic. “So what brought you to cabin thirteen?”
“I can’t just want to come visit my girlfriend,” teased Frank, with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, you can,” purred Hazel, stepping closer, “but you looked far too serious and concerned for just visiting little old me.”
“Alright, you got me,” said Frank, hands held up in surrender. “I stopped by to check on our Percy, and he told me about an issue at the border of the camp. Apparently, there are a large number of corrupted ancestral spirits hanging out around one of the border sections,” explained Frank.
“Why did Percy tell you that, though?” Hazel asked, tilting her head.
“I told him I was going to visit you, and he asked me to mention it to Nico while I was with you,” explained Frank while glancing around the cabin. “Speaking of Nico, where is he?”
“The Underworld. Dad needed him for something,” replied Hazel with a snort.
“Something?”
“The talk,” elaborated Hazel, with a Cheshire smile. The daughter of Pluto’s eyes lit up, glinting in a way that spelled trouble as she continued her sentence. “I do believe Will and Apollo are done there too.”
The daughter of Pluto laughed at Frank’s look of horror.
“I am kidding, Frankie Bear. Nico is helping organize the judgment line.”
“That’s not funny, Haz,” gasped Frank, giving his girlfriend a wounded look. “I do believe you just scared a couple of years of my life off me!”
“Aww, my poor love. Don’t worry, I will protect you from the lord of the dead,” promised Hazel. The demigod’s tone was sweet and slightly teasing, but her eyes shone with protectiveness.
Frank shook his head in fake disappointment.
“I have to speak with my dad in a moment, but I was thinking we could do a date night?” Frank asked, his tone hopeful and happy.
“Hmm, I suppose I could fit you into my schedule,” agreed Hazel after a moment of pretending to think. “You better bring some good tea to share.”
“Oh, I have lots of tea to tell you,” promised Frank. The son of Mars leaned closer to Hazel and whispered, “Especially about Octavian.”
Hazel snorted before shoving Frank away.
“Go speak with your dad,” commanded the demigod.
Frank gave his girlfriend a mock salute before heading to the door and exiting the cabin.
Hazel let out a soft exhale as the door closed behind Frank. She bit her lip as she walked over to her dresser and picked up spatha, her sword. Hazel paused, weighing her options. She could deal with the spirits. She wasn’t necessarily qualified, but she was so sick of everyone being protective of her. She was a daughter of Pluto and powerful in her own right. Surely, Nico didn’t have to do everything.
Hazel nodded to herself, mind made up. She carefully grabbed the sword and headed towards the door to exit cabin thirteen. Just a quick fix, and she would be back before anyone even noticed Hazel had left.
Or at least that was the plan.
—————
Hazel shivered slightly as she was hit with a blast of cold air. The closer she got to the area where the spirits were, the colder the temperature was. Hazel could even see her own breath as she continued to walk. Once she felt as if she was being watched, the daughter of Pluto knew she had found the corrupted spirits.
As if on cue, a swarm of spirits began to emerge from the trees. The spirits appeared like dark shadows, almost like the dementors from Azkaban that appeared in that movie Percy had made Hazel watch. They were creepy and dark, and their eyes glowed a sickly yellow, like the type one sees in someone with liver failure.
Hazel’s whole body shuddered as the spirits drew closer and closer. If the demigod had been anyone else, her life force would have been drained severely by now, but as luck would have it, Hazel was a child of Pluto. The souls could not drain her energy nor feed on her life force.
But they could attack her, and attack they did. Hazel yelped as the spirits dove straight at her. She attempted to stab them with her sword, spatha, but it simply passed through the being. Cursing, the daughter of Pluto swung the sword again. Much to her dismay, it did nothing, and she was forced backwards, falling on her butt and tumbling a ways. Hazel’s vision tinted dark for a moment, and when she lifted her head, all she could see was the spirits hurtling straight for her. The demigod's eyes snapped shut, and she raised her hands, bracing herself for the upcoming attack.
When nothing happened, Hazel opened her eyes. Her heart rate sped up as she took note of her surroundings. The corrupted spirits were fleeing, and an angry and concerned Nico was storming towards her. He must have sent them to the Underworld for Father to deal with, rationalized Hazel.
“Hazel,” gasped Nico as he finally reached his sister. Gently, he pulled her up from the ground and into a tight embrace.
“Are you alright?” asked Nico, pulling back to scan his younger yet also older sister for injuries.
“I’m fine,” replied Hazel, her body still shivering lightly. “What are you doing here?”
“Percy, IM me about the corrupted ancestral spirits,” explained Nico in a rushed and slightly Italian-accented tone. “What are you doing here?” Nico asked, tone stern.
“I thought I could help,” admitted Hazel. She winced at the look that crossed Nico’s face. Here we go, lecture time, thought the daughter of Pluto sarcastically. It was rather pointless. Hazel knew that she had made an unwise decision, and well, she wouldn’t do it again, so lesson learned.
“We are going to the cabin,” declared Nico. He ignored Hazel’s surprised expression and snapped his fingers. The shadows swallowed the two before dropping them in cabin thirteen.
“Gosh, Nico. A warning would be nice next time,” snapped Hazel. As she shook off the lingering coldness that came with shadow travel, she turned to give her brother a sharp, disapproving look.
“Well, you not risking your safety would also be nice, but I guess we can’t have everything we want.” Nico replied. The Nico’s face was stern and pale, paler than usual. His eyes were dark, dark with a mixture of frustration and concern. Hazel felt bad; she really did, but she couldn't go back and rewind time to change her actions. She wasn’t even sure she would if given the opportunity. How was she ever going to grow without challenges?
“Nico—“
“No, save it,” said Nico with a raised hand. The demigod took a seat on his bed, crooking a finger at Hazel.
“Nico!”
“Don’t make me count to three,” declared Nico. “You won’t like the consequences if I do,” warned Nico. The Ghost King's eyes reflected his words. They showed determination and honesty.
Hazel stomped her foot angrily as she marched over to Nico. She elegantly, yet showing full annoyance, laid herself across Nico’s lap.
“Happy?” She asked coolly.
“No, I am not happy, Hazel,” retorted Nico. “I am never happy to see my sister in danger, and I am most certainly never happy when I am disciplining someone.”
Hazel winced, guilt gnawing at her insides. Her heart constricted painfully at Nico’s words, and her brother’s tone grew soft by the end of his sentence. She knew he took no pleasure in spanking her. Hazel felt Nico was rather like their dad in matters of discipline, firm yet caring. Never overly strict. The way the gods and demigods approached discipline was so very different from her upbringing. It was done out of love and was never overly harsh.
“I am sorry, Neeks.” Hazel said softly. “It was not my goal to be reckless. I just wanted to be seen like you. No one comes to me for problems that need to be resolved. They view me as weak or in need of protection. It’s not fair,” lamented Hazel.
“No,” agrees Nico, “it’s not fair, but you risking your safety isn’t fair either. Not to me, not to Dad, to Frank, to Percy, to Leo. Not to the people who love you,” declared Nico, eyes misting over. “It isn’t worth your life.”
“I know,” replied Hazel, tears rolling down her face.
“Good, let’s make sure of that,” declared Nico in an ominous tone. Or, well, not ominous, since Hazel knew what was coming, and smack. Just as she thought.
Nico’s hand came crashing down on her butt. Once, then twice, and then a third time. There was no pattern to the swats nor any lecturing either. She knew what she did wrong, and so did Nico. Words weren’t really needed; I thought Hazel would have appreciated the distraction. As it stood, there was nothing for her to focus on but the very growing sting on her butt. It was as if each swat took her mind back to her early choices, questioning the thoughts that had led to her reckless choice.
Nico was careful not to land too hard as he swatted as he spanked his sister. He wanted to teach her a lesson, not injure her. His hand, which had moved to Hazel’s lower back to hold her in place, tightened as Hazel let out her first whimper. Then another. Nico didn’t slow down his spanks nor speed them up. He just placed one right after the other in a slow pattern. It allowed Hazel to feel the individual sting of each swat individually and collectively. Harsh, but necessary. Each swat represented a person whose heart had been broken. Hazel had been injured or died, and the collective pain was a reminder of the value of Hazel’s life.
Hazel let out her first sob as the pain tipped past the bearable point. She cried and hissed and whined as the sting began to burn. Hazel threw back a hand, glad when Nico understood that she wanted comfort.
“No more risking your life, Haz,” declared Nico in a stern tone, voice slightly watery.
“Okay—oww!” Hazel kicked her legs as Nico’s pace picked up and he began to target her sit-spots and thighs. “I—oww—understand! Neeks, please!”
Nico landed one last swat, emphasizing his words and the overall lesson before stopping. Nico squeezed Hazel’s hand reassuringly while patting her back. Gently, the son of Hades helped Hazel to stand along with him so he could pull her into a hug.
“Shh, you are alright now. I have you, Goldie.”
“Nicoooo,” whined Hazel, pulling away to glare at her brother. “You know I hate that nickname,” said Hazel in a childish tone.
“Nah, you love it,” replied Nico resolutely. “In fact, I think I should make some more nicknames for you.”
“You suck.” Hazel responded, though her eyes shone with a happiness that could not be hidden, not even by her mock glare nor whiny tone. “I am going to make you watch Frank and me kiss,” declared Hazel with a self-satisfied smile as she turned to exit the cabin and find Frank.
“Hey, no kissing boys, young lady,” replied Nico.
Hazel simply stuck her tongue out at Nico before closing the door.
“Hey, I meant it. “Hazel!—shouted Nico as he ran after his sister. No kissing was happening. Not on his watch.