It was not simple.
True to his word, Nico had taken him to the castle infirmary where they found a nurse who was doing paperwork at the time. After listening to Nico explain everything that had happened in the forest, the nurse took one look at Will and immediately sent him out to shower, claiming that he was absolutely filthy. Not that Will was offended, he was still covered in all the dirt and grime from being half buried.
Will took about 15 minutes in the shower- okay maybe 45, but it was only because he couldnt find the shampoo among the hundreds of bottles in the shower and he couldn't remember the last time he had hot water. He got himself cleaned up, only to realize when he got out, that his clothes were missing. He draped the towel around his shoulders to hide his body before going confront Nico about them. According to the prince, he thought that Will's clothes were not suitable for him to wear any more, so he was going to lend Will some of his own clothes.
It took about half an hour of searching through Nico's excessively large closet ((He was very surprised to find that Nico actually had some good shoes)) and about 50 wardrobe changes to find clothes that fit him. To Will's frustration, they were going to go back to the infirmary when his stomach betrayed him by grumbling. The traitor. Nico had obviously heard it and ushered him to the dining hall, telling Will to help himself to the variety of food spread out on the dining table. Will recognized some of the fruit, some chicken, the potatoes and...the potatoes. Everything else he had never seen or had always been too expensive for him to buy.
After about another 20 minutes of eating ((Plus another 10 minutes because Nico insisted that the thing called lasagna was to die for. It was delicious.)) Will realized that an hour had already come and gone. He hadn't even gotten to see the doctor yet. Not to mention the castle was an absolute maze of twists and turns. He would've been completely lost if it wasn't for Nico guiding him through the endless halls. There would be no escaping this place.
Finally, Nico took him back to the infirmary. The nurse gave him a once over and led Will over to a private room. Nico had tried to follow but the nurse pulled him aside, saying he needed to talk to him. Will couldn't hear their conversation that well but he managed to catch the words 'filthy' ((Maybe he should've taken a longer shower)) 'peasant' and 'riff-raff'. Will heard Nico reply in a hushed manner, talking quickly and gesticulating wildly. Nico turned his head slightly to look at Will, doing a double take when he realized he and the nurse were being watched. The prince laughed nervously and grabbed the nurse by the arm, dragging him out of Will's sight.
Will sighed and hopped up onto the examination table, swinging his legs. He wasn't surprised that the nurse was thinking like that. After all, he was just a random town kid that Nico found in the woods. Will couldn't think of a reason as to why Nico would've brought him here, to a royal doctor when one of the physicians from the village could have done a good enough job of taking care of him. It would have even been less work on Nico's part.
Before Will could ponder further as to why Nico had brought him here, the doctor came in. He was an old man, chapped lips pressed together in a stern line and a pair of thin wiry framed glasses were perched on the bridge of his nose. He peered at Will over the top of them, hurriedly scribbling something down on his notepad before speaking.
"Name." His voice was raspy, the question sounding more like an order. It made Will uneasy. He shifted nervously on the examination table, the paper underneath him crinkling horribly loud.
"Will." He replied, beginning to swing his legs again. The look the doctor gave him made him stop and sit absolutely still.
"Full. Name." He said in a tone that made Will flinch.
"William Solace." He replied, his hands starting to grip the edge of the table tightly. The doctor scribbled something down before beginning a very awkward checkup.
Will felt as if he was a horse being looked at by a potential buyer. This guy was seriously starting to creep him out and no, Will wasn't scared of doctors. This 'doctor' kept pulling Will's eyelids and lips back with gloved hands, poking his chest and limbs with some strange looking metal tools and let's not even mention how he kept trying to choke Will with the tongue depressor. He also kept muttering comments about Will's state of physical health under his breath and while Will couldn't hear exactly what he was saying, none of it sounded very flattering.
Finally once the geezer finished whatever the hell he was doing, he started to treat the injuries that Will had come here for in the first place. He wetted a cloth with some antibacterial fluid and pressed it firmly onto the cuts on Will's head and hands, not batting an eye at how Will flinched or hissed in pain. He spread a salve on the back of Will's head, which eased the pain greatly. He also wrapped Will's hands in bandages, although if he asked Will, they were a bit tight. The doctor, of course, didn't ask Will. Once he finished with wrapping his hands, he practically pushed Will out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him.
Will scowled at the door and grumbled to himself about how he could've done a better job himself. He flexed his hands and winced. The bandages were way too tight. He sighed and began unwrapping them when he was interrupted by a voice.
"What are you doing?" Will looked up from his hands to be greeted with the sight of Nico peeking shyly around the corner of the wall. The sight brought a smile to Will's face before he went back to unwrapping the bandages.
"That doctor of yours wrapped the bandages too tight. My blood circulation is going to be cut off and then my hands are going to turn purple and then they are going to need to be amputated. Which is a shame really, because I like my hands and they're quite useful, you know. You'd think a royal doctor would actually be a competent one." Will ranted, having wrapped his hands up properly during the the span of his speech. He turned to Nico, seeing the prince's lips twitch slightly. Will took that as a victory before bowing extravagantly.
"I'd like to extend my gratitude, your highness, for your wonderful hospitality. I expect that I'll be leaving now?" He asked trying to sound as gracious as possible. He looked up to see Nico scowling at him. The prince opened his mouth to yell at Will, probably for referring to him as royalty when he specifically asked him not to, when he caught sight of Will's teasing grin. It only caused his scowl to deepen.
"Idiot." He grumbled, turning heel and walking straight out of the room. Will grinned at the space where he had been before realizing that Nico was his only way out.
"Hey wait up!" He called, scrambling to catch up with him, falling into stride beside Nico when he did. They walked in an uncomfortable silence. For some reason Will was desperate to break it, so he spoke the first thing that came to mind.
"So, what were you doing in the woods?" Nico turned to look at him, surprise evident in his features. He slowly turned back to look ahead of them before speaking.
"My father and I had gotten into a fight. I was angry and I usually vent my anger by riding my horse as far away from the castle as possible." He replied curtly, causing Will to furrow his eyebrows.
"All the time? Isn't there someone you could talk to? A servant or something? A friend?" He asked. Nico remained silent for a long time and again, an awkward silence descended upon them. Will decided to feign interest in the old paintings that hung on the gray walls and while Will wasn't entirely certain, he was pretty sure most of them were symbolising death.
"I-" Will quickly tore his gaze away from the paintings to look at the boy beside him. Nico was looking at the ground seemingly troubled before taking a deep breath. "I've never really been good at the whole friends thing. You probably know about Bianca?" He asked, looking towards Will, his eyes strangely vulnerable. Will in fact, did know about Bianca. The young princess died of an illness the same year his dad did. He didn't say that though, instead opting for a silent nod, as it would have led to an entirely different can of worms being opened.
Nico turned to look straight ahead, continuing his story. "After Bianca died, it was one bad thing after another, I started to withdraw from things I liked to do. I blamed others for a lot of things and I kept pushing everyone away. It wasn't until about a year ago that some of the people I kept trying to push away showed me how much they cared about me. They showed me how they would be there for me and..." Nico paused, scrunching his face up as if he was trying to find the right words. "They...accepted me, for who I was."
Will had the urge to hug the younger boy, but figured that might not be welcome at the moment, so he smiled at him instead. Genuinely.
"They sound like great friends to have Nico. I'm glad it worked out." He replied. Nico looked up at him with a small smile.
"They are, they really are...it's just..." Nico trailed off before sighing. "I don't get to see them much. They're royalty in other kingdoms you see, so I only get to see them at balls or important meetings and such. So I dont get to talk to them much. Nor do I have any friends in the castle, or this kingdom for that matter. Does that answer your question?" He asked, although not unkindly. Will's smile disappeared and he opened his mouth to reply but just then they arrived at the castle doors. They stepped outside, both boys instinctively shivering once they were hit with the cold winter air, both reluctant to say goodbye.
"I could drop you off at your house.." Nico offered quietly. Though the offer made Will feel warm on the inside, he couldn't accept. That would be like asking Nico to deliver him to his death. So he politely shook his head and declined, trying to look indifferent.
"No, I'll be able to make it back on my own. Thank you though." He caught the way Nico's face fell and swallowed thickly, suddenly glad he had impulse control otherwise who knew what he would be agreeing to, just so that he could see this kid happy.
"Okay then...goodbye..." Nico said trailing off, a slight questioning tone im his voice. Will suddenly realized that Nico hadn't even known his name the entire time. He smiled and pulled the prince into a tight hug.
"Will Solace." He replied before releasing a stiff and by the looks of it, shell shocked Nico. He chuckled slightly at the boy's expression before speaking again. "And you're wrong by the way. You do have a friend in this kingdom." Nico looked up at him in confusion.
"I do? Who?" He asked, causing Will to roll his eyes and punch his shoulder lightly.
"Me of course." He replied, his smile growing as he watched Nico's eyes widen. "See you later Neeks!" He called before Nico could reply, turning around and waving bye over his shoulder. Once he was a good few feet away, he looked over his shoulder to see Nico still standing there in shock, his hand raised in a stiff wave. Will smiled at him before turning around and walking back into the forest, his head held high.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Huzzah! I finally updated, praise the Lord.
Sorry about the wait my dear readers, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon!
It'll be in a certain prince's point of view😉