𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄// 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐔

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟓// 𝐀 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Will didn't want to accept that this was happening, but he knew that there was no use fighting his fate.

The carriage ride back to the palace was a blur. During the banquet, Will had tried to eat, but the second the fork neared his mouth his stomach would lurch. He ended up cutting his food into smaller and smaller pieces, while Apollo and Lee watched with concern. During the whole ordeal, Jalgan refused to stop touching him, despite Will vocalizing his discomfort in hushed tones. Jalgan's hand was always on his lower back, or his leg. Will's terror had turned to anger; it was taking everything in his power not to break the bastard's neck. Not making a scene be damned.

The tittering of the nobility grated on him. Their joy made him angry, though he knew he shouldn't feel such a way toward them; they were most likely in blissful ignorance of the situation, and didn't know all the details. Or maybe they were faking their merriment, fearing Jalgan's wrath if they didn't act happy. Will's face throbbed at the memory of Jalgan hitting him.

Perseus and Annabeth had warned him that soldiers were in the crowd, pointing them out in whispers as they sat next to him. Jason remained at Will's side like a faithful bodyguard should, standing behind Will's chair and tossing glares at Jalgan when he wasn't looking.

Will's emotions were a tangled mess. He had nearly started dissocating during the ceremony, barely managing to keep himself grounded. Even now, he was still trying to ground himself-- counting every person at the table, tapping his utensils on the plate.

Nico kept his distance, just as Will had asked, though once in a while their eyes would meet from across the table, and Will would feel a rush of warmth in his chest. He studied the way Nico's silver sash accented his pale skin, how his hair fell into his eyes...

Will blinked, realizing he was staring, and directed his attention back to Jalgan; the last thing he wanted to do was have Jalgan realize that he still had feelings for Nico. Never mind the fact that Nico's and Will's relationship had become very, very complicated. Will had been desperately trying to act as though he was over Nico, trying to trick Jalgan, but he had a feeling that it wasn't working. 

After the banquet, the newlywed couple was paraded to the dancing hall, where the celebrations were soon in full swing. Will clenched his teeth as he was forced to dance with Jalgan; at least Jalgan had the decency to keep his hands to himself. He was glad to then dance with Perseus, Lee, even Queen Levesque; being surrounded by his friends made everything a bit easier.

Despite desperate attempts to keep away, Jalgan was there, either stealing him away for yet another dance or staying close by when Will danced with another. At last, someone offered to dance with Jalgan, and Will made a beeline for the other side of the room.

Able to breathe a bit easier, Will swiped a goblet from the serving table and hid in the shadow of a pillar, taking little sips of wine, focusing on the tart taste as yet another way to ground himself. He saw Queen Levesque and Nico waltzing far away from the rest of the crowd, in deep conversation, Nico looking strangely nervous. The man dancing with Jalgan seemed determined to keep him distracted, spinning them around and around. He seemed to be peppering Jalgan with questions, though Will couldn't decipher them from here.

The dance ended, and the crowd applauded. Queen Levesque was talking to one of her guards. Nico was nowhere in sight. Before Jalgan could walk to Will, yet another person asked him to dance. Jalgan gave a visible sigh, then took the girl's hand and led her as the music swelled.

The celebrations continued. It soon became dark out, the moon shining brightly. Will stubbornly hid behind the pillar, enduring people congratulating him left and right. He managed to fully ground himself, and he studied the room with a keen eye, trying to find the soldiers the Jacksons had pointed out.