At Your Service- A Royalty Solangelo AU

Chapter 25

TW: Discussions of Death, VERY UNHEALTHY coping mechanisms (TW applies to the Nico POV of this chapter)

To say that he was beginning to get used to waking up in the hospital wing was an understatement. It took no more than a couple moments once his eyes fluttered open for them to recognize the pristine white curtain that surrounded him on all sides and the faint clamour of metal tools in the background. 

Back to square one it seems. 

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he slowly let his feet touch the ground. A shock of coolness sent his body into shivers, but slowly he put more pressure into the planted feet until most of his weight was supported by them. With one final push off of the bed, he stood waveringly on his feet, like a sailor on trying to stand on his sea legs. 

He had been changed out of the laced suit that he was wearing before at the coronation, back into the light chiton that hung on his frame which saved him the worry of wasting time to find clothing before stepping out. When the curtain screeched open, the heads of many people on the far side of the infirmary whipped around to look at him. From a distance he could make out their faces, Percy and Annabeth, the Regent, and-

His heart stopped when it landed on the face of the Prince whose gaze was the only one not on him. Even from the distance, he could see the redness of his face which only further solidified the growing pit in his stomach that something was wrong. He looked so broken, and Will only found himself wanting to fix it. One step in front of the other, he pushed further out of the curtained room just to be intercepted by Kayla. 

She grabbed a fistful of the fabric on his clothing and shoved him back behind the curtains. 

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" She hissed angrily at him.

"Going to check on the Prince?" 

She scoffed as she continued to check him over. "That, my friend, is none of your business. The royal family requests privacy at this time, and the medical occurrences of other people are none of your concern."

He rolled his eyes in response, swatting her hand away. "Stop that. I am fine."

"Oh you are now?" 

"Yes. Don't get me wrong, but I really don't want to spend any longer in the infirmary than I have to. At least, not as a patient."

Kayla visually scanned him over one last time before sighing. "Fine. I will let you go. Honestly, having you out of the hospital wing makes my job a hell of a lot easier to do." 

He stepped out of the curtains behind her, stealing another glance at the crowd around a far bed. "So, what about those lessons? I was thinking I could help out around here today." 

"Not smooth, William. I know you just want to see what's going on over there."

He feigned hurt. "You wound me, Kayla. I just want to practice the art of healing." 

"Some other time, William. Now please go, I have too much on my plate as it is." 

If it weren't for the seriousness in her tone, he would have put up more of a fight. However, he had never seen the healer so broken, so defeated, so he swallowed his pride and left the hospital wing with a nod. 

With the frenzy of people in the surrounding hallways, he realized how little he wanted to do civilization for the day, especially if he couldn't talk to the one person he truly wanted to. That is how he found himself on the outskirts of the palace grounds, tending quietly to the equestrian stables. At least there, he could pretend that he was back home, and that none of it was truly real.