At Your Service- A Royalty Solangelo AU

Chapter 49

CW: Mentions of anxiety, anxiety attack

Nico was seven years old when he realized that loving other people could be weaponized- especially by his mind. With a warlord father that was seldom near the house, he learned quickly that things in life for him were impermanent. Matters were only made worse when Hazel and Bianca were away from home with the queen, leaving him alone in a castle that became haunted when there was no one else around. And in those haunted walls, it became quite easy for his mind to run wild with fantasies- those of his family leaving home to never return. How easy it was to slip into those nightmares- an overturned carriage, a robbery on the rode, the wrong slip of a blade in battle- how challenging it was to escape them. 

Nico was seven years old when his sisters came home from a short night trip to see old friends in the countryside of Aruma only to find their little brother curled in a corner, shaking as his little body struggled in broken breaths to get the oxygen they needed. Without second thought, they had crowded around him, rubbing his back and coaching him until he regained his normal breathing pattern. As he came down from the panic that caught in his throat and trapped his mind, Hazel and Bianca sat patiently, both taking turns absentmindedly braiding his hair in the quiet while he struggled to regain his thoughts. It was that, he believes, that truly got him through it all. The simple gesture that showed him they were his siblings before any other title, and would not let him sit alone to suffer. 

Nico was seven years old when he learned that losing people he loved was his worst nightmare. 

So maybe that's why after Will's departure from Aruma, Nico had decided in his emotionally foolish state to invite both leaders of the Nebo state to join him as they finalized war plans. In his head, this was the perfect way to keep himself from spiraling as when the room was filled with people he cared about, he could not feel as isolated. But instead, he sat kicking himself as his biggest migraine decided to open up the morning with a stunning, all-out showcase of his dramatics. 

"Gods, Octavian, what on earth compelled you to ask that of him?" Reyna hissed as she tugged especially tight on a strand of Nico's hair that she had been curling around her fingers, causing him to flinch slightly. 

The man in question simply leveled a sneer at the woman from his perch across the room. "And tell me, oh wise one, why is it that whenever something occurs between the King here and I, that you automatically assume it is my fault?" 

"Because you, on multiple accounts, have tried to encourage him into some sort of contract! First, you wanted to buy the Aruman state, then you wanted to buy into the Aruman council, and now you want marriage!?" She shrieked. 

"Oh gods forbid a man has his goals in life, Rain."

"You tried to force his hand in every one of these contracts!" she cried, ignoring the mispronunciation of her name.

"Aren't you the fun one? Where is the enjoyment in any of it if there's not something on the line? I seem to remember you to be quite the gambler. Or was that your sister? Always liked her more anyways."

"Keep my sister out of the conversation," she snapped bitterly, yanking at Nico's hair again. "How am I supposed to trust you when all roads from a terrible disaster lead back to you? Tell me, what is so great about you that you place yourself above morals every chance you get?"

"Because," Octavian drawled, crossing the room in a few strides to stand directly in front of her. Nico rolled out of the way to another side of the bed where he could watch with interest. "The law of morals changes consistently depending on which book or constitution you seek the definition from. If I were to ask you where your beliefs stood versus those of Olympia, your answers would be on two opposite ends of the spectrum.