the Crown of Edom {Solangelo Prince AU}

11. Laws Can Be Changed

   Will made Nico tea in the morning.

Nico had always been one to sleep in, when he could sleep, that is, yet he didn't mind waking up early when Will slipped from his body, his eyes struggling adjust to the light from the rising sun filtering onto the floor.

As Will made tea, ignorant of the fact that Nico was awake, he hummed the melody to a foreign rhythm. Nico turned over, the white blanket covering his waist, his head propped up on his hand.

Watching Will, he realized how fucked he was. His stomach sunk. He was totally infatuated with the boy. Not only was homosexuality illegal, a royal could only be involved with other royals.

Even if Hazel could agree to working on the homosexuality law, he doubt she would be open to more change. Homosexuality was legal in a few other kingdoms, but every kingdom was the same when it came to the royal marriage law—royal blood and commoner blood did not mix.

But Will was gorgeous. Even if this small affair happened only this once, it was bound to remain in Nico's head forever.

Will turns, his eyebrows raising in surprise. "I thought you were still sleeping. How do you feel?"

Nico sat up, wincing. "Sore. But good."

Will sat down next to him in the bed, the light catching on his face, making him appear golden. He handed the prince the cup. They sat in silence, unsure of what was going to happened. Nico had grown used to Will's face going expressionless when he was thinking, so much so that it became an expression.

"I wish I could see into your mind," Nico whispers. "You shut down too quick."

"I believe your influence has made me impulsive," Will softly chuckles, his eyes staring off at the wall.

"Well your influence has made me anxious," Nico smirks. "I didn't care much for rules before you."

"I am afraid we have blurred together," Will whispers, turning back to face Nico.

Nico slides his hand onto Will's leg. "Don't shut down on me, okay? You don't have to be so regal and reserved."

Will gulps. "That is all I've ever been," he takes a deep breath. "This is forbidden. Not how a king should act, and not how I should act."

"You don't have to follow their rules all of the time," Nico leans back. "Why do you feel as though you need to?"

"Rules are the only thing that holds us together," Will sighs. "The only thing that bring sense into a senseless world. Why do you feel as though you need to break them?"

"Breaking rules are the only way to feel free in a controlled world," Nico sips his cup. "I don't look for reason, I suppose. I chase feelings as soon as they hit me, and then I suffer from consequences."

"I do not, but I bare the weight of unhappiness," Will interlocks his fingers into Nico's. He looks at their finger and lets out a shallow breath. "My mother was ill. She chased feelings, too. Sometimes she would spend all of our money on impulse. Then, she would cry all night because of it."

Nico's heart began to ache. "Was? Is she better now?"

He shook his head slowly. "She chased the wrong feeling," he slowly lets out. "I had found her covered in her own blood. The only thing she could say was 'I regret it.' Father wasn't home. The kids were still asleep. I didn't know how to stop it."

Nico slides his arm around Will's torso. "You were just a kid. You couldn't have known."

"I feared my father would blame me. He told me he didn't, that the damage she had done to herself was irreversible," Will's eyes become cloudy. "But I stayed with her until the light went out. Her eyes..."