The Prince and the Pea- Solangelo

The Stranger at the Door

Nico POV

Don't get me wrong, I love my family (well, most of them), but they can get really protective of our reputation. Bianca got married to Prince Grover almost a year ago for it, though they were definitely more friends than romantic interests. He was nice, but I knew Bia would have preferred to not get married at all. Next was my turn to get engaged, but I was being a little stubborn. They've been sending all the princesses in the nearby area to the castle to see if we got along, but there were multiple problems with this. 

Firstly, I don't like girls. I've told them this, but they all tend to ignore it and change the subject except for Bianca and Hazel, who both support me. Secondly, the girls are all terrified of me because apparently my family gives off "death vibes" whatever that means. And finally, I don't want to get married. Not to anyone. I've never been in love before and I want to wait until I do. Hazel was able to be with Prince Frank, her boyfriend, out of love, so why can't I? 

It was dinnertime and we were all sitting around the dinning table with my step-grandmother, Demeter, visiting. The atmosphere was tense, as it always was when she visited. You see, my dad basically kidnapped Persephone (with her permission) from Demeter, and she never partially liked him after that. Suddenly, the silence was interrupted by faint knocking. I was eager to get out of the tension so I went to answer it, despite the servants already moving to do just that. However, I was not expecting to see the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. He had blond hair, soaked from the rain, bright blue eyes, tanned skin, freckles...and was shivering. I couldn't let someone like that suffer! I instantly opened the door wider to let him in. "Hey, you okay?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes...thank you," He glanced up, looking at the crown Persephone insisted we wear at meals. "Your majesty." He bowed at me. "You must be Prince Niccolo, pleasure to meet you. I'm Prince William of Sunaline." Even with his ripped clothes, bruises, and soaked hair, I was not surprised that he was a prince. I mean, have you seen him?! 

"Your majesty." I bowed. "Please, call me Nico. If you don't mind me asking, why were you out in the rain?" I turned to a nearby servant and asked for a towel to be brought by. 

"Call me Will, then. And...as you probably know, my kingdom has an oracle, Lady Rachel, and she told me that my happiness depends on if spent all of the Winter in the Underworld. I was planning on staying at a nearby village for the next few months, but they kicked me out saying I'm an imposter and that I'm not actually the prince, so this was the only location I thought I would have some luck." He told me, very clearly hoping I believed him. The servant came back with a towel, which I handed to the Sunaline Prince instantly. 

"...and why are your clothes ripped and you have bruises?" I asked hesitantly, hoping it's not a sensitive topic. 

"Well, turns out citizens can get very violent if they think someone is impersonating a prince." He told me, smiling a little, despite his words. 

"The-they j-just...they did this?!" I almost shouted. He looked at me confused. 

"...yeah...? I mean, I kinda get why. They probably thought I was just trying to get free stuff." 

"B-but...you don't deserve this..." I said quietly. He raised an eyebrow. 

"Oh yeah? How do you know what I deserve?" I looked away to hide my blush. 

"My family's eating dinner right now. I would normally ask you to eat with us, but since you just come out of a storm, I would suggest a bath." I said, ignoring the question. He chuckled a little, which sounded like the sweetest music to me. 

"You sure it's no problem? Me staying here?" He asked. 

"Of course not. Stay as long as you'd like, if they have a problem with it, I'll find a solution. Jason, can you bring him to the baths? Clean him up, will you?" I asked my best friend, who was also my servant. Jason nodded and gestured for Will to follow him, which he did with a thank you cast to me. 

I returned to my family dinner, which still had awkward tension in the air. "That was Prince William from Sunaline." I announced. "Lady Rachel told him that he needed to spend the Winter in this kingdom and I offered him to stay here." Demeter looked like she was going to protest but Hazel interrupted. 

"That sounds great, brother. I'm sure we'll be happy to have him." She gave me a knowing look, which I ignored.