Worth the Fight- A Solangelo Royalty AU

II-Exceeding Expectations

WPOV- (Will's point of view)
I was walking aimlessly down the castle hallways when I heard my father call me for dinner over the intercom. I smiled and sprinted down to the stairs, placed myself on the railing and let myself slide down the staircase into the dining room. My father laughed as I jumped  off the rail, my mother tried to look stern while suppressing a smile.

"William! That is not how princes are expect  to act!" She scolded. I gave her a goofy smile as I took my seat.

"Well, it looks like I'm exceeding expectations, then." I joked.

My father smiled  and my mother gave me an exasperated sigh, but I could see her fighting a smirk.

"Yes, yes, now eat your food." She tutted.
We ate in peaceful silence for a bit until my father started to speak.

"So, William, I assume you've heard of the kingdom thief?" My father asked.

I looked up from my steak. My heart skipped a beat.

"Well, yeah, who hasn't? He's been stealing food from the local marketplace for what? Seven years now?"

I didn't tell him that I'd fantasized about meeting the thief since I was twelve. King Apollo nodded with a smile on his face.
"Yes, and we've finally caught him!" He exclaimed.

My eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? How?" I asked in awe.

"Some guards caught him in the woods, miles away from the marketplace he stole from. I have reports that he appeared no older than perhaps seventeen, so younger than your age. One guard told me he seemed utterly terrified of being alone in the dark. Another guard says he may have gotten hurt, when they caught him, but either way, he is caught."

My jaw dropped.

"Terrified? Hurt? The poor boy!" My mother pitied.

"Is he coming to the palace dungeon, then?" I asked frantically.

If that brave boy has gotten hurt, I have to heal him.

I had always admired his bravery as a child. It was common knowledge among the small kingdom that he always escaped his missions unscathed. My father nodded.

"Yes, the carriage should be arriving any second now."

Then, right on cue, the doorbell rang announcing his arrival. I jumped up from my seat and darted out of the foyer, and into the large driveway. I watched in awe as the carriage door opened and the guards carelessly hefted a small boy out. He appeared to be unconscious and I panicked when I saw the blood dripping from his jet black hair.

"Be careful with him! He's hurt!" I yelled.
They only shrugged and placed the boy in my arms. My heart surged. After one look at him, I saw how completely beautiful he was. He had skin that was likely usually tanned, but was pale with blood loss. The thought of blood pulled me back from my daydreams and I rushed him inside and into the castle's medic office.

I was only 19, but I had taken up the art of medicine and healing long ago, I think around age eight, so I had built up quite the doctor's office since then. It had just about every tool you could think of.

I carefully set him on a cot so that his stomach was down, then I untied his wrists, ankles, and took the gag out of his mouth.

After that, I inspected his head. My heart shattered as he winced and whimpered when I touched a tender spot, where the blood seemed to be coming from. He had a large, deep gash about as long as my index finger, running along from just above his ear, to just above his neck. I quickly got out everything I would need for stitching up the wound: gloves, needle, thread, bandages, and water to pour on his hair, so it would stay out of the way without my cutting it. I don't remember much after that because I went into full-out doctor-mode.

When I finished, I had started to put away my tools when the boy groaned and I rushed over to his side.

Please be okay. I prayed.

He eyes fluttered open slowly and he winced. He brought his hand up to his head and touched the bandages. He tried to push himself up but his arms gave away and he started to fall back on the cot. I caught him and gave him a warm smile. He gave me a bewildered look as I set him carefully back down on the bed.

(A/N Sorry this is so short, some of my chapters are like that. I can't really help it, but I'll try my best to make them at least 800 words. If they aren't I probably will just put in a really long authors note like this one until it is. Haha! Success!)

Remember:you are beautiful darling!

Word count: 817