The Golden Prince | Solangelo Royal AU

Chapter XII: Old "Friend"

I rarely use 3rd person omniscient but I'm doing it for this chapter.

Percy stood there, staring at the boy. Annabeth recognized him. She said it was Luke. Luke Castellan. But he disappeared...

Oh.

Oh.

"It is you," Percy said quietly. Luke looked at Percy. "Indeed, Perseus," Luke said. "Percy," Percy said. "Whatever."

Luke looked around at all the familiar faces. He noticed Will wasn't there. He knew about Bianca and Jason, as the Peace Mafia killed them. "Did I miss something? I do not see Prince William," Luke asked. "He's dead," Nico said, wanting the hide the Golden Prince's true identity from Luke. Luke seemed like an enemy to Nico, which he obviously was.

"Oh, that must be so sad. I knew you were close to him," Luke said with fake pity.

A man pushed his way through the circle of princes and princesses. It was King Hermes. "Son?" he asked in disbelief. "Oh hello, father," Luke said. "How- what- why?" Hermes asked. Luke looked at Hermes, looking partially confused, but also amused. "Which question should I answer?" he asked. "Why? Why did you leave to be with these... these monsters?" Hermes asked. "They promised me a beller life. And that's what they gave me," said Luke. "My son..." "I'm not your son anymore. Connor and Travis are," Like said before Hermes could finish his sentence.

"So we're not your brothers?" asked another person. It was Prince Connor. Connor hadn't seen Luke in a while. He and Travis were sad when he disappeared, but now Connor felt betrayed. Betrayed that his own brother joined the kingdoms' recently decided enemies.

Luke looked at Connor. "No. Not anymore," he said. Connor looked disappointed. So did Travis. He looked away from Luke. Connor stared Tuke down for a few more seconds, then did the same.

"You... wow. You've changed," Will said. "And you know how I used to be?" asked Luke.

Will looked at Luke in the eye. "Yeah, I do," he said. The two stared each other down for a few seconds, Will narrowing his eyes. Luke then said, "And how do you know that?" "I knew you," Will answered. "And how did you know me?" Luke asked. "We were... friends at one point," Will said. "Wait- what?" Luke looked confused. Then a look of realization crossed his face. His eyes widened. "You... you're... oh my gods," he said in disbelief. "Ka-Kayla. Austin. Nico. Did you know this?" "We all did," said Leo suddenly. "All of you?" Luke asked. All the princes and princesses nodded.

Luke put his face in his hands. "You were dead. You were dead!" He exclaimed. "No, I wasn't," Will said. Luke looked up at them then at the other Peace Mafia members. "Whatever. It was in the past. This is now, and I'm not a part of the royalty anymore. I'm a Peace Mafia member. And I must do this," he said. He quickly pulled out a sword and pointed the tip at Will. "NO!" Nico shouted. He tried running towards Will, but the rest of the Mafia members held everyone back. Will still had his arrow pointed at Luke. "I can't let you win," Luke said. He seemed reluctant to do anything to Will, but he didn't back down. Will closed his eyes for a second. "If that's what you think, then I'm sorry. I truly am," he said. Then he let the arrow fly.

Luke fell to the ground. Will immediately looked guilty. He kneeled down beside Luke. "I'm sorry. You left me no choice," said Will. Luke said nothing as the light went out of his eyes. Will inhaled shakily. He exhaled, then got up. He stared at the other Mafia members, who were still holding the princes and princesses back. "Let them go, or you'll meet the same fate," he said. One by one, each member slowly let the one they were restraining go. The royal guards of the Sun Kingdom seized them and forced them into the castle, where they would be taken to the dungeons.

Nico suddenly ran up to Will. They stared at each other for a moment. Nico looked down. "I- I know I've been ignoring you for most of your time here but... I'm glad you didn't die. Now and when you went missing," he said. Will was tempted to grab Nico's hand, but he didn't. Instead, he looked away also and said, "Thanks I guess." "Er- you're welcome," Nico said.

The two looked back at each other for a moment, then Nico walked away. Will watched him walk away, then sighed. He looked back at the area where the battle was held. The ground was littered with dead bodies. At least most are the dead Peace Mafia members. Will thought. He glanced at Luke's dead body then walked over to King Hermes.

"You can keep Luke's body if you want it," Will said. "I- Okay. I'll decide if I want to," Hermes said. Will nodded and walked away. He walked around the grounds, trying to see if he recognized any of the dead people. He saw one of his soldiers. He touched the soldier and transported him to the Golden Kingdom, where the soldier would soon enough receive a proper burial.

He watched some people grieve for their dead friends— all soldiers, no princes or princesses died. He looked back at his own soldiers. "You may go back now. The battle is over," Will said. "But sir, what if more attack? We can't leave you here," said one soldier. "I'll be fine. I can protect myself. And I can always call you back. Now go, you need some rest," Will said. The same soldier looked as if he was about to protest, but as his comrades disappeared, he did too.

In the meantime, Austin was kneeling by Micheal Yew. He had some injuries, but he wasn't dead. Austin was waiting for Lee Fletcher to come and heal Micheal. When Lee came, he took Micheal to the healers' room in the castle. Austin stared after them, then scanned the battlefield. He saw no soldiers he was particularly close to, but he still knew all of them deserved funerals, no matter how long it took.

Kayla saw Will staring at Nico. She noticed he had the same look in his eyes as Nico did a few days ago. I wonder... she thought.

I think they may be in love with each other.