At Your Service- A Royalty Solangelo AU

Chapter 12

TW: Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is DV. Stay safe y'all. 

Will watched the space where the prince had stood moments before for awhile, trying to remember what his presence felt like. When he couldn't sense anything anymore, he turned and headed in the opposite direction, down the winding trail towards the thick lining of the forest. 

A familiar figure loomed at the edge of the trees, posted watchfully in the gleam of the moonlight. As Will approached General Castellan, his smile seemed to glow in the moonlight hauntingly.  

"Luke, how goes it back in Hele?"

"Oh keep your voice down, William. Why don't you just announce to all guards here who you truly are?"

Will rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut. 

"So, you have something for me?" 

"I'm close to getting something. I think I may find you an ally within the palace, but give me time," The grimace from Luke reminded him how much the general hated his pleas for time. He was always asking for more time, but why shouldn't he when the impending war was beginning to sound meaningless to him?

"Next meeting, you better have a name for me so help me gods, Solace." 

"I know, I know, Castellan, I just need more-"

"TIME. Yes, I know you need more time.  2 weeks, Prince William. That is all you have left. Get me something so I don't have to paint their throne room red myself."

Before he could respond, as always, Luke was gone. Blended into the night with nearly as much ease, but not as much grace, as the prince had done earlier. Shuddering, he turned back up to the palace where all his problems and solutions lingered. He passed through the guards who shot him questioning looks, none of which he decided to answer. Winding through the halls with more speed than before, he made it to the split of the hallways. He desperately wanted to turn to go to the prince, to see him again and get more answers, but his feet took him elsewhere, leading him back to the door to the servants chambers which loomed much more threateningly before. As if the weight of task that lay before him was personified in this opening. He shuddered at the thought, before turning the cool metal knob. 

The wooden door to his room opened with a soft groan, and Will cringed hoping it hadn't woken up Paolo. To his luck, it had not woken him up. He was already awake and waiting for him in the center of the room. Offering him a fake smile, he attempted to read the man in front of him who stood with his arms crossed and an off-putting expression on his face. 

Watchful eyes fell upon him like a vulture as he moved about the room, collecting discarded items of clothing that he was much too lazy to take care of in the morning. He was trying to buy himself time, to stall until the sharp gaze fall off of him and let him breathe for a moment. So he busied himself with the small case beside his bed where a few trinkets he had collected during his stay were hastily crammed. Crouched over, the bed to his side blocked most of the sound from the room, and he could slip into his thoughts. 

He picked up a dried rose from the bottom of the case, taken on one of his many walks through the gardens. It's thorns were sharp, pricking his hands slightly as he turned the flower over in his hands. The rustling motion shook free one of the crimson petals, and his eyes traced its fall from grace into his lap. When his fingers grazed the fallen petal, it was velvet under his hand, and he picked it up to look at its intricate design. 

The same dark red colour on this pattern was the same that lay on a stone in the garden. He shuddered at the thought, now knowing the backstory behind the fabled flower. His mind wandered back to the delicate hands that laid the plant on the white marble, how in that moment all they knew was gentleness. Tracing a finger over the rest of the dried blossom, he tried to imagine a world in which the gorgeous flower could remind him of anything other than death. Maybe in another life they would become his favorite, maybe they could-

"You were out late," Paolo noted gruffly, causing Will to startle. He dropped the flower back into the case, not having heard the man sneak up behind him. Quickly kicking the case under his bed, he stood up and spun around to face him. 

"I'm sorry, I did not realize that you were in charge of me," He bit out, a little meaner than he had intended, and the expression on the other man's face showed he had picked up on the tone as well. 

"What did you say to me?" 

"I didn't mean it like that, I just had a late night," Will rambled, taking a step back and looking desperately for any escape from the brewing argument. 

Paolo glared at him "With the Prince?" 

Will froze, anchored to his spot. "Wh-what?"

"I saw you in the garden with him, so don't try to lie to me," he snarled. "What were you doing with him?"

"I'm his servant Paolo, I quite literally am at his disposal any time of the day." 

"Not at midnight Will! Don't you remember what he did to me? He could easily do the same to you!" Paolo shouted angrily, causing Will to remember the conversation he had with Nico. 

"What he did to you?" Will asked quietly.

"Yes, what he did to me. You saw the scars yourself, you know he's dangerous. Unstable." 

He narrowed his eyes, pointing at the man across from him. "Don't you dare start with me on dangerous" 

Paolo laughed coldly "And what do you mean by that?"

"You killed his sister Paolo! You killed her in cold blood and ran like a coward," He growled, watching the way his words slowly registered in his mind. Will was backed against a wall now, footsteps carrying him to the very limits of the room, but he couldn't help but feel like Paolo was getting too close to him. 

"How did you know about that?" The question was quiet. Threatening. 

"After you lied to me, I confronted the prince for you. I was ready to fight him Paolo, I was ready to fight him for you!" Will breathed out incredulously. "But it seems I had made a mistake, I followed the wrong trail, and he was quite happy to lead me back to the proper path. He told me everything."

"And you really believe him!? After everything I did for you, everything I told you, and you believe a heartless royal? We-" He said motioning between them "-are cut from the same cloth, and it is nothing  like Nico's." 

Will shook his head, tearing his hands from Paolo's "I don't believe you"

Desperately, Paolo reached out to grab his hands, eyes pleading. "We are the same, Will. You have to believe me on this one. Come with me, I'll prove it to you. I'll go get that Prince to squeal, to show you that he is a liar." 

"You are the liar here Paolo. What reason do I have to believe you?"

The mans eyes narrowed at this, and in a flash he had Will by the collar of his shirt against the wall. "WHY WOULD I LIE TO YOU? THE ONLY LIAR HERE IS YOU, GOING AROUND HAVING AN AFFAIR IN THE GARDENS WITH THE PRINCE!"

"What?" Will laughed incredulously, voice strained from the lack of air.

"I saw you tonight with him. You hugged him."

"So?" 

"So?" Paolo mimicked him, pressing his fist harder against Will's neck. His hands grappled aimlessly at the pressure on his neck, but it did not help. "You are mine, you got that? Mine and no one else's."

Will shook his head, managing two syllables. "We're done." 

The words quickly reached Paolo whose face contorted in anger. Last thing he felt was a fist connecting with the side of his head before he crumpled to the ground.