At Your Service- A Royalty Solangelo AU

Chapter 2

It was dark when the Prince finally returned to his chambers, but this time rather than being followed in by a flurry of guards, he entered alone. Something about his entry set off alarm bells in Will's head, the way that his eyes darted around the room, the slight redness of his face as though he had just finished crying. Uneasiness still settled in the room when Will saw him, a strange anxiety that grappled at his throat, but he suppressed it. At this point, he was still sitting on the stool, afraid that any movement he made would set off some sort of invisible trap, and he really did not want to screw up this early. 

"Oh, you're still here," He had finally gotten noticed, but when he looked up, the Prince's back was to him, hunched over work at the desk. From where Will sat, he could see the slight disheveled nature of the man, his hair ruffled and posture incredibly rigid.

"Well you said that I could stay here," He walked over and stood behind Nico to see what he was working on, getting a glimpse of a graphite drawing before he was slammed violently against the wall. 

"What were you doing?" The brunette seethed, and Will began to register the feeling of cool metal against his neck. A knife. Great. 

"N-nothing I just wanted to talk to you." 

"Look at me," Will brought his gaze up to meet the Prince's eyes. What should have been warmth in the brown was a shocking coldness, no space of compassion what so ever, "I don't want anything to do with you. I don't need a companion, especially not a Hele one. So leave me the fuck alone." 

Before he could respond, the man turned on his heel and strode away, returning once more to the desk to work. Will stood, panting against the wall after holding his breath, feeling the slight twinge of pain where the blade had just barely nicked his skin. The prince seemed unbothered, as though he had not just threatened someone's life. But his words lingered in Will's mind, igniting a spark of anger that refused to be extinguished.

"Am I excused, your majesty?" He spat, voice bitter. 

"I think I made that very clear. Talk to General Percy Jackson, he may pity you." 

With that, Will left the room, not caring to bow to the asshole he now had to serve. When he had first laid eyes on the Prince, there was that glimmer of malice in his eyes, but he seemed so normal. Now, Will understood that malice to be madness, deep-rooted anger that made him dangerous to be around. He had no complaints leaving the room of that manic, hopefully to not see him for awhile. 

To his luck, Jackson was outside the room as if awaiting his dismissal. Without a word, he led Will back down the series of winding halls to a smaller room which had a similar layout to the one he was just in. 

"Your roommate has not returned from his services yet, so you are free to shower and change into whatever you like," He explained, then with a semblance of a smile he added, "Welcome to the Aruman kingdom." 

_____

The shower was the nicest thing about the palace since he had arrived. Standing in the steady stream of water, he basked in the heat, already missing his old life. It was always so warm at home, coming here was like a permanent winter. 

He scrubbed at the dirt that had come to coat his body during the journey, adding a strange matte finish to his usual glow, and watched the dust spiral down the drain. His fingers picked at the skin underneath his nails where most of the dirt had collected, not stopping until the skin was raw and his fingers were crinkled from the water.

It took a lot of effort to pry himself from the shower, but finally he stepped out. The cold air hit him almost immediately, causing his skin to raise in goosebumps. He shivered, searching around the pristine marble room for clothing but came up empty. All that sat available to him was a plain towel folded neatly on a ledge near the door.