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He loved to touch the prince. He loved to run his fingers through silky hair and to slide his hands over expensive fabric that was just as soft. He loved the prickle of stubble against his cheek, the puffs of breath against his lips.
He loved the prince.
Lips sealed over Nico’s, a gentle press paired with a delicate hand under Nico’s chin, putting him at the perfect angle to receive whatever he was given.
“We’ll be late for tea if you keep me here any longer,” Prince William of Solace whispered, even as he pressed Nico further into the dark corner where they were hidden.
“My deepest apologies, your highness,” Nico replied, his hands sliding down the pale blue of Will’s shirt to rest at his waist.
Will’s mouth hovered just beneath Nico’s ear. “What will people think when they see the Lady Levesque without accompaniment?”
“Hazel can take care of herself,” Nico grumbled, his breath hitching just at the anticipation of Will’s lips trailing down the side of his neck.
“That must leave you free to take care of me, then,” Will said, a smile in his voice as he connected himself to Nico’s throat.
Nico fought back a groan. “Anything for you, your highness.”
“Anything?” Will hummed. “Perhaps you’ll remember to use my name when we’re alone.”
“Yes, your-- Oh,” he moaned, his hands clenching at Will’s shirt as Will’s teeth scraped against his skin. “Will.”
“Was that really so hard?”
Nico could barely manage a hum in response, his eyes fluttering shut and dulling his senses, blocking out anything that wasn’t Will Will Will.
And the sound of hard-soled shoes clicking on the floor, coming their way.
“Will,” Nico said again, urgent as he shoved the prince back by his shoulders. From the look in his eyes, Will must have heard the same sound a second later, and they both scrambled to make themselves presentable, smoothing wrinkles from their clothes and straightening their hair. Nico dove for Will’s discarded jacket, abandoned on the ground a few feet away, and forced it on his arms.
“Thank you again,” Will said, overly loud and especially princely, “for helping to remove my, uh, jacket. Because of the bug!”
Nico took a deep breath, thankful that he was still standing behind Will so as to hide the roll of his eyes. “Of course, your highness. The one downside to throwing a garden party is the increased risk of bees where one might not want them.”
Will glanced over his shoulder and grinned in the way that Nico knew was his appreciation for improving upon his lie. Nico allowed himself a second to smile back before he put an appropriate amount of distance between them, just as a figure poked their head around the corner.
“I should have known.”
Will beamed, and spun in the direction of the voice. “Lady Levesque!” They started toward each other, stopping only once Will could rest his hands on her shoulders and press a kiss to her cheek. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”
Hazel smiled as she nodded her head politely. “You as well, your highness. Though I had expected we would meet again over tea.” She was already dressed for the event, having changed out of her travel clothes while Nico ran off to find Will.
“How did you know where to find us?” Nico asked.
She scoffed. “When my chaperone goes missing, I know to look for the prince, first. And if that fails, I usually have luck searching in the darkest corners I can find.”
Nico let out a huff, but didn’t argue. She was right, after all.
“I suppose we should get to tea before anyone else comes looking,” Will pointed out, and offered his arm to Hazel. His eyes met Nico’s, sparkling. “I expect you’ll be joining us?”
“The lady can’t be out of my sight, per the orders of the crown,” Nico replied, only a hint of sarcasm. “I go where she goes.”
Will smiled, holding out his free hand. “Then let’s be off.”
Rather than accepting, Nico clasped his hands together behind his back and squared his shoulders, wiping any and all emotion from his face. He nodded his head to Will, barely a dip of his chin, and replied, “After you, your highness.”
He didn’t look up to see the way Will’s smile stopped reaching his eyes - he’d seen it once before, and it had been enough to know he didn’t wish to see it again. There wasn’t anything that could be done about it, not when the highest title Nico would ever hold was knight, and Will could settle for no less than royal blood.
He kept his distance, staying a few paces back - as he should - as Will and Hazel spent the walk back to the garden catching up.
The first letter Nico received from the kingdom of Solace arrived shortly after his first introduction to Prince Will. It was written in such fanciful script, filled with words he’d never been taught, and it scared Nico to his core. He’d never received a letter in his life, not that he could remember, outside of the practice letters he and Bianca had sent to each other as children, when Bianca had been teaching him how to read off of shopping lists she’d stolen from the kitchen.
Inappropriate as it was, Nico had abandoned his duties and taken off across the grounds, barely remembering to knock before he burst into Hazel’s chambers.
“Help,” he’d managed, struggling to catch his breath and shoving the letter into Hazel’s hands. “I think something’s wrong.”
Hazel, reading his concern, had taken the letter and opened it quickly. He’d watched as her eyes grew wide and her cheeks began to darken, until finally she peeled her eyes away from the page and used one hand to fan at her face.
“What is it?” Nico had demanded, more sure now than ever that something had gone terribly, horribly wrong. That his brief introduction to the prince had offended his highness so much that the kingdom of Erebos would soon be under siege due to his actions.
Hazel’s mouth had twisted, like she couldn’t find the words. “Prince William wrote to let you know that he appreciated your quick wit and dry humor,” she had informed him, “and he added that your complexion resembles that of an angel. He wants to know if…” She’d lifted the letter again, reading the quote directly: “...every citizen of Angelos shares in your beauty?”
Nico was sure he hadn’t stopped blushing since.
After getting over her initial shock, Hazel had quickly become ecstatic that Nico had caught the eye of a prince, and sat herself down at her desk to start penning Nico’s reply on his behalf. He had tried to stop her, but was easily persuaded against doing so once he was reminded that she had the better penmanship and the larger vocabulary.
“I wouldn’t have the first idea of what to say,” Nico had mumbled, insecure as he joined her at the desk.
“Speak from the heart,” Hazel had assured him, and she’d taken the liberty of editing his word choice as she went.
Nearly two years after the exchange of their first letters, their correspondence remained healthy, and sometimes so frequent that Nico received another letter before he had the chance to respond to the last. Even now, at the Bloom - Queen Demeter’s annual garden party to celebrate the start of spring - their correspondence hadn’t changed. If anything, their letters traveled back and forth even faster, only needing to span the length of a building rather than across countries.
Nico answered the door to his and Hazel’s chambers at the sound of a knock, and accepted the letter handed to him by one of the queen’s couriers. It was addressed to Hazel, but he could recognize the golden wax seal by touch alone. Still, he brought the envelope to where his cousin was lounging on a couch, a book in her hands.
“This came for you,” he said, rudely holding it over the pages, forcing her to acknowledge him. With a sigh, she set her book in her lap and accepted the letter, ripping the envelope open. The letter inside was folded, and Nico recognized his own name in elegant script written on the outside. Hazel handed it to him, already reaching for her book again.
Nico felt his chest warm as he held the expensive paper in his hands, his eyes tracing over the letter that started with My Beloved and ended with Yours always, Will. Everything in between, however--
He thrust the letter back into Hazel’s hands before she could get back to reading, and dropped down beside her on the couch.
“Honestly, Nico, it’s been two years,” she complained lightheartedly, but she accepted the letter nonetheless. “My Beloved: even though only hours have passed since our last meeting, my heart aches to know that you are so close, and yet out of reach. I have never more anticipated a day in my life than I long for tomorrow, when I might see you again. Please accept this invitation for the Lady Levesque and yourself to join me for breakfast in the morning. If my eyes do not feast upon you soon, I fear they may starve, and I will waste away into nothing without you. Yours always, Will.
“I swear, he grows more dramatic with every breath,” Hazel commented as she re-folded the letter and handed it back to him. She knew that he kept every letter Will had ever sent him, tucked away in the bottom of his trunk in the knight’s quarters. (It was not information that Nico had offered up freely, but something she had happened to dig for, rather literally.)
“Drama is no reason to decline a breakfast invitation,” Nico replied, his leg beginning to bounce with nerves. He, too, felt like he might not survive the night knowing that Will was just out of reach. “You will accept it, right? Hazel, please?”
Hazel took a breath. “I will, for tomorrow,” she answered, and shifted on the couch to face him. “However, I cannot arrange my entire schedule for this week around your whims, Nico. The Bloom is where I should find someone of my own, and if this rumor that I’m being courted by a prince is still circulating, then I will never find a love match.”
“To be courted by a prince makes you even more desirable to every bachelor at the Bloom,” Nico pointed out. “After breakfast, I’m sure you’ll receive plenty of invitations from potential suitors, just because they’ve seen you with Will.”
Hazel’s attention dropped back to her book. “I suspect Will should be searching for a match of his own, as well.”
Nico’s stomach turned. He knew it was true - there was no point in denying it. More engagements came out of the Bloom every year than any other event, and the prince had already been a bachelor for far too long. Whether he wanted to or not, Will would have to find someone to marry soon. Nico never allowed himself to linger on the thought for long.
“I suppose so,” he replied, and quickly stood from the couch. “I’ll leave you to--”
“Nico.” Hazel jumped up after him, a hand wrapping around his elbow before he could get far. “I don’t say these things just to hurt you. I want you to be prepared. I know how deeply you feel for him, and I don’t want to see this relationship tear you apart.”
Nico bit the inside of his cheek. “You can say it,” he told her, and tried for a smile. “It was stupid of me to fall in love with a prince.”
“Oh, Nico.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, tucking her head under his chin. He buried his face in the curls she’d let run wild. “Love makes a fool of us all.”
Nico snorted. “If we’re all fools, then I must be the royal jester.”
Hazel giggled. “No, I believe that would be Will.”
The prince’s rooms were finer than any other place at the Bloom, not that they’d been invited inside when breakfast was already set up for them on the balcony that overlooked the gardens. Will greeted Hazel with a kiss on the back of her hand before pulling out her chair at the table. With numerous witnesses on all sides - servers ready to bring out their plates and any number of people in the gardens that might be trying to catch a glimpse of the prince - Nico didn’t dare step out of line.
Will was already seated at the table before he met Nico’s eye. “Aren’t you going to join us?” he asked, even though he knew that Nico couldn’t move without invitation.
“I’m only here as the lady’s guard,” Nico answered plainly, keeping up appearances. “Please, pretend I’m not here.”
There was a sparkle in Will’s eye as he replied, “You ask me to do the impossible. Tell me, when do you eat, if not when the lady eats?”
“When my schedule allows.”
Will turned to Hazel. “Lady Levesque, does your knight’s schedule allow him to join us for breakfast?”
Hazel was much worse at keeping up the act, giggling behind her hand and already having rolled her eyes more than once at their antics. “Of course it does.”
Will shot a grin at Nico, one that clearly said, I win. He gestured to the open seat across from him at the square table, where a third place setting was already laid out. Nico wondered in the back of his mind if there had been any point in arguing from the beginning.
As soon as Nico sat, plates were brought out and glasses were filled. Servers left only once they were dismissed, and Will didn’t speak until they were once again alone on the balcony.
“How did you sleep last night, Lady Levesque?” Will asked before taking his first bite.
“Pleasantly,” Hazel answered. “The weather here is perfect, both day and night. And yourself?”
Will smiled politely. “As well as one can in an unfamiliar place--” His eyes slid to Nico, “--all alone.”
Nico felt his heart thump harder in his chest, and jumped in his seat when he felt something brush his ankle. He calmed himself when the pressure increased, an expensive shoe hooking around the back of Nico’s leg. Below the table, he relaxed to Will’s touch, but where others might see, he remained stiff as he silently ate his breakfast.
Nico should have taken the opportunity to rest when Hazel accepted an invitation to tea with some of the other ladies attending the Bloom. Instead, he went off to release some of his pent-up energy from breakfast, taking himself as far from the royal quarters as he could.
The knights’ training grounds were empty, all of the queen’s men positioned as guards throughout the gardens. Nico had all of the freedom he needed to hack away at bales of hay with his sword.
He’d worked up a sweat by the time he heard footsteps entering the arena, and raised his guard as he continued his attacks.
“I was wondering if I’d see you around this year,” a familiar voice called out, halting Nico’s swing. He turned to see Jason, Duke of Olympus - though he preferred his title as head of the king’s knights - approaching with a smile on his face. “I thought your wealthy suitor might have finally stolen you away.”
Nico sheathed his sword. “I doubt there will be any stealing, your grace.”
Jason shoved at his shoulder. “Don’t call me that. And don’t think so little of yourself! I’ve never heard of someone being courted for nearly two years - it must be a good sign.”
Nico kicked his toe into the dirt. “Or he’s enjoying playing with me like a toy.”
Jason’s eyes lit up. “Oh, he? Finally, a scrap of information! Maybe I’ll even learn his name in five years’ time!”
Nico felt himself flush, and crossed his arms over his chest. He doubted Will would even remember his name after so long. “Yes, congratulations. I’m being courted by a man - that should narrow it down by about half of the world’s population.”
“And he’s wealthy,” Jason added, and Nico cursed his past self for ever mentioning that he’d received a courting gift the last time he’d met Jason. “And he makes you feel weak in the knees.”
Nico set a hand on his sword. “I’ll weaken your knees,” he threatened.
Jason grinned, holding his hands up in surrender. “Hey, now, how would it make your suitor feel to hear you flirting with me?”
Nico pulled his sword.
“Alright,” Jason replied, unsheathing his own, “but only because I know you can’t beat me.”
Nico laid back on the dirt, staring up at a blue sky that reminded him of Will’s eyes, exhausted after rounds and rounds of sparring that always ended in a tie. Jason flopped down beside him a moment later, his breathing just as heavy and his clothes clinging to him with sweat.
“So,” he said, “if your suitor won’t ask for your hand, I think you should ask for his. If you feel so strongly about him.”
Nico tried to melt into the ground. When that didn’t work, he replied, “I don’t believe his father will allow it.”
“If it’s an issue of his son being the man, then I think he’d better man up and propose--”
Nico’s head rolled toward Jason, the look on his face enough to have Jason faltering. He sat up. “Oh. He doesn’t approve. Is it… personal?”
Nico looked back up at the sky. “I don’t believe he knows about me at all.”
Jason exhaled like the breath had been punched out of him. “Oh, Nico.”
“I don’t want to talk about this,” Nico said, and pushed himself up.
“Maybe I can help,” Jason offered, jumping to his feet as Nico started to walk away. “There’s authority in my name - maybe his father will see reason if I talk to him.”
Nico whipped around to face him. “I don’t want help. It’s going to end, likely sooner than later, and I want to move on. It’s easier when the most I hear from him is a letter every few weeks, but now, he’s--”
“He’s here? At the Bloom?” Jason cut in.
Nico’s heart jumped into his throat - if he didn’t watch himself, Jason would find out within minutes, and soon the entire country would know about Nico’s secret suitor. “I have to leave,” he insisted, an argument about cleaning up and changing for that evening’s events on the tip of his tongue in case he was pressed, but Jason let him go without argument. It didn’t make him feel any better about running off.
Nico kept his distance from Will for as long as he could, afraid that Will would be able to read his hurt feelings on his face, which would only cause even more pain for the both of them. Instead, Nico kept his head down when everyone gathered for dinner, and stayed on the outskirts of the garden until Hazel was ready to be escorted back to their rooms.
He listened as Hazel spoke of Lord Frank of Mars, whom she’d been introduced to
after tea, and who had invited her to join him for dinner that evening. When a letter addressed to Hazel came later that night, Nico brought it to her with numb hands, terrified that the letter inside would actually be addressed to him. He breathed a sigh of relief when she proudly announced, “It’s for me!” and took it off to her room to read in private.
In the morning, Nico escorted Hazel to Lord Frank’s patio for breakfast and chaperoned from a distance, eating only a small plate of finger foods that was brought out to him by one of the servers. It made him feel lighter to see Hazel enjoying herself, rather than putting on a front just to allow Nico a few moments with Will - not that she didn’t like the prince, but she certainly had more fondness for this lord.
He led Hazel’s through the day’s scheduled events feeling… happy. There was no weight pressing down on his shoulders, no guilt of abandoning his duties for a brief rendezvous that would lead him nowhere. He loved Will, and he knew there was a part of him that always would, but being without him… It wasn’t the end of the world.
That afternoon brought the annual archery competition, where Hazel insisted on a front row seat, dragging Nico into the seat beside her. She jumped from her chair and waved a hand when Lord Frank joined the line of competitors. Nico could see his blinding smile from across the field, and he quickly jogged toward them.
“I wanted to wish you luck in this afternoon’s contest,” Hazel told him, and held out a silk handkerchief. “I hope this will bring you favor.”
Lord Frank smiled, and kissed the back of her hand as he accepted the gift. “Thank you, my lady. I hope you’ll join me for dinner again this evening, regardless of today’s results.”
“Of course,” Hazel answered, then leaned closer to whisper, “but I know you’ll win.”
Nico tried to keep his expression neutral as Lord Frank ran off and Hazel reclaimed her seat, but something must have shown on his face from the way Hazel smacked his arm. “Now you know how I’ve felt for two years.”
Nico rolled his eyes. “I’m happy for you,” he said, his words sincere even if his tone didn’t quite convey his intention.
He sat back and watched the competition, happy for an excuse to turn his brain off for a few moments, though dropping his guard meant that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a tap on his shoulder. A folded slip of paper was pressed into his hand by one of the queen’s couriers, who disappeared a second later.
Nico frowned down at his own name written on the outside of the folded scrap, and flipped it open to find only two words.
“Meet me,” Hazel read over his shoulder, though that Nico had managed well enough on his own. “That’s very unlike him,” she commented.
“It is,” Nico replied. “Do you think… Is something wrong? There’s no time or place - does that mean now?”
Hazel didn’t miss a beat: “Well, I’m staying here.”
“But what if--”
“I’m in a crowd full of people,” she cut in. “If anyone tries anything inappropriate, I’ll scream.” Her eyes went dreamy, drifting off toward the line of competitors. “And Frank will come to my rescue, and he’ll insist on being wed before the end of the Bloom.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself,” Nico told her. “I’ll return as fast as I can. Please make sure someone is able to chaperone if I can’t make it back by the end of the contest.”
Hazel waved him off. “I won’t do anything that will cause you to lose your job.”
He supposed that was as good as he was going to get, so Nico took off.
He wasn’t sure where to look first - would Will try to sneak him into his quarters with the other guests occupied by the competition? Should he search the darkest corners first, starting out at the furthest edges of the property and moving inward?
Nico made it to the open center of the garden, hedges and flowers towering on every side, before he found Will, pacing between flower beds and chewing on his thumb nail. Nico had been right - something was wrong.
As soon as Will saw him, he reached out for Nico’s hand, pulling him off somewhere secluded, despite the fact that the gardens were abandoned in favor of the archery range. Will led him into the hedge maze, only around the first few turns to keep them from getting lost, and to ensure that they wouldn’t be overheard.
“What is it, your highness?” Nico asked, trying for a smile to lighten the mood. He grabbed into the front of Will’s jacket. “You couldn’t wait to sweep me away with another letter this evening? Or is it a sonnet, this time? Or perhaps it’s a song, since you asked me to meet--”
“I’m engaged,” Will cut in, his voice hard as though trying to keep it from wavering. His expression was harsh, possibly angry, though probably just that he was trying not to cry.
Nico’s hands tightened on Will’s coat, not yet willing to give him up despite how hard he’d tried. “What?”
“We--” Will started, voice trembling. He stopped, cleared his throat, and tried again. “We can’t see each other anymore. My father has decided that a marriage to Duke Paolo of Montes would strengthen our political ties with Queen Hebe. He informed me over breakfast this morning that our wedding will take place at the end of the month.”
Nico shook his head. “No, I-- No.”
“Nico, it’s not up to--”
“Did you tell your father about me?” Nico asked.
Will shook his head. “I couldn’t.”
Nico tugged on his jacket. “You could have.”
“I couldn’t,” Will insisted, sounding defeated. “He didn’t give me the chance.”
“If you loved me,” Nico shouted, shoving Will away with all of his might, causing the prince to stumble backwards, “you would have told him that you can’t marry someone else!”
Will charged forward as soon as he regained his footing. “You don’t get to decide whether or not I love you,” he replied, fury in his eyes.
Nico tried to shove at him again, but Will grabbed his wrists. “How can you love me if you’ll so easily marry someone else?”
“It’s not up to me!” Will cried out. “I love you! What will it take for you to believe me?”
Before Nico had a chance to answer, Will pulled him into a kiss.
“I love you,” Will spoke into his mouth. “I love you, I love you.”
Nico tasted salt on Will’s lips, the last thought that processed before he heard the sound of a throat clearing. Nico broke them apart and threw himself in between Will and the intruder the way he’d been trained to, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
The other man was tall, with brown skin and an unamused look on his face, as though Nico was a pathetic defense to the crown.
“Such disrespect,” the man said, his voice heavily accented in a way that Nico couldn’t recognize. His eyes slid past Nico, landing on Will. “On the day of our engagement.”
Nico’s blood ran cold.
“The kingdom of Solace will pay for this disrespect,” Paolo of Montes announced, letting that be the end of things as he turned to walk out of the maze.
Nico cried out, “Wait!”
Paolo stopped, barely glancing over his shoulder.
“Prince William has caused no disrespect to you,” Nico told him, stepping forward and shaking off Will’s hand as he tried to hold Nico back. “I have wronged you. I was not aware of your engagement to the prince, and I-- I refused to accept his rejection. I will accept whatever punishment you saw fit for the prince.”
Paolo sized him up. “And who are you to accept his punishment?”
“My name holds no value,” Nico replied, keeping his chin high. He lifted his hand from his sword. “Do as you see fit.”
He watched as Paolo’s eyes flickered over his shoulder - Nico knew that Will’s expression would give them both away. “I won’t strike you down here,” Paolo settled on after a moment. “This kind of disrespect must be used as an example. We shall duel.”
“Name the place,” Nico said, lightning fast, and watched as Paolo’s expression hardened. Nico exhaled silently, but didn’t let himself feel the relief of being quick on the draw - he could fight anywhere, but he’d won himself the chance to choose his weapon.
“The field outside this maze,” Paolo answered, “where the archers are competing. Dawn.” His eyes flickered to Nico’s hip. “And I assume we’ll be fighting with blades?”
“Swords,” Nico corrected, to ensure there wouldn’t be any tricks.
Paolo nodded. “Bring your second,” he said as he turned to leave once more, “and arrange your affairs.”
Nico couldn’t look at Will after the challenge. There was too much to do and he couldn’t risk the distraction. After Paolo left, Nico took off without another word, racing back to the archery competition.
He found Hazel exactly where he’d left her, the competition still ongoing. He tried not to alarm her as he quickly explained that something had happened, and he needed to lay low. He promised to explain further when she returned to their rooms that evening, and made her swear that she would take care of herself without him, and then he was off again.
Jason was exactly where Nico had expected him to be, sharpening blades in the knights’ armory.
“I’ve been challenged to a duel,” Nico told him before Jason could say hello, “and I need a second.”
Jason set the dagger in his hand aside. “When and where?”
“Tomorrow at dawn, in the field where they’re holding the archery competition. Bring a sword,” Nico instructed. “I have a few more things to sort out--”
“Wait.” Jason grabbed his arm, stopping Nico from running out. “What happened?”
Nico took a quick breath. “I kissed the love of my life in front of his new fiance.”
Jason squeezed his arm, his eyes sympathetic. “I’m sorry. Let me know if you need anything else before tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Nico said with a nod, and ran off once more, back to his and Hazel’s rooms.
He had to pack his things, not wanting to leave a mess for Hazel after the fact if things took a wrong turn. He was tempted to grab it all and run, just to know without a doubt that he would make it out alive, but he couldn’t. The things it would do to Hazel’s reputation that her knight abandoned her, or what Will would have to go through if Nico wasn’t around to take the fall - that wasn’t worth a life on the run to him.
Nico packed his things, and let himself rest to be sure he would be ready to fight, come morning.
He was the first to arrive at the field, long before the sun was due to rise. Nico sat in the grass, feeling the dew soaking into his pants and letting the dirt under his hands ground him. He knew he should have eaten before he left, or at least brought himself something to keep his energy up, but his stomach was so twisted that he thought anything he ate would come right back up.
Jason arrived next, joining him on the ground in something of a quiet meditation, like the two of them had simply come out to watch the sunrise in silence rather than fight for life and honor. They weren’t alone in the quiet for long - it seemed that word must have gotten out about the duel, likely by Paolo’s mouth, and a tired audience soon stumbled out to the field, leaving plenty of space between them and Nico.
The whispers and chatter were starting to grate on Nico’s nerves by the time the sky finally turned a pale gray, the vibrant orange not far behind. Nico rose to his feet, ready to greet his opponent whenever he chose to make himself known, and was nearly knocked flat when someone barreled into him.
“You should have woken me when you left,” Hazel told him, voice fierce and arms tight around him. “What if I hadn’t woken up in time? What if--”
Her shoulders shook, and Nico squeezed her back. This was exactly why he hadn’t woken her, too afraid of the chance of saying goodbye. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and let his eyes travel over the gathered crowd in search of Paolo, ready to get this over with. Instead, his eyes landed on a figure wearing a hood, though even his cloak couldn’t perfectly hide his golden curls.
“Everything will be alright,” Nico whispered to Hazel, and started to pull away. He set his hands on her shoulders and met her eyes. “Keep in touch with Will in my stead. Please, Hazel.”
She shoved at his chest. “You’re not going to die.”
“Please,” he said again, needing to hear her say it.
“Fine,” Hazel snapped, and turned to march away, finding Will in his poor disguise and standing at his side.
Nico’s eyes didn’t stray from them until Jason spoke up: “He’s here.”
Nico turned. Paolo marched up with a full guard, dressed in expensive clothes, and not even carrying his own sword - as if he were a prince, rather than just some duke.
“Brave of you to show your face and take this beating,” Paolo said to him. “Would you like to tell our guests what has brought them out of bed so early this morning, or shall I?”
Nico stayed silent, not willing to waste whatever breath he had left on this man.
Paolo looked to the crowd, shedding his cloak and handing it off to one of his guard. “We stand before you this morning because this man--” He pointed a sharp figure in Nico’s direction, “--has shown the greatest disrespect to myself, to my people, and to my queen and country. My marriage to Prince William of Solace was arranged at this time yesterday, and before it could be formally announced, this man - born of no title and without any name of remark - made advances on my fiance without his consent.”
Jason’s hand wrapped around Nico’s arm, meeting his eye for confirmation. It was all out in the open now - there was no point in denying the wealthy suitor he’d fallen in love with. Jason, for his part, managed not to react outside of the slight widening of his eyes.
“To protect the honor of my country, and of the kingdom of Solace,” Paolo continued, now turned to face Nico, “I challenge you to a duel. You will find punishment worthy of your crime.”
Nico unsheathed his sword, then passed Jason the scabbard - it would only serve to slow him down, in the long run. “I accept your challenge,” he said, calm and low, for Paolo and nobody else to hear.
Paolo was handed a sword by one of his guard, and then they were off.
Nico had years of training with a sword - nearly two decades, since he’d started carrying a weapon shortly after he’d learned to wander the streets on his own. He was the best knight in Angelos, which had earned him a place in the king’s royal guard in the capital city of Erebus. He wouldn’t be allowed to serve as Hazel’s escort and chaperone if he wasn’t the best. He never would have caught Will’s eye if he wasn’t the best.
He’d been told over and over again that he was the best of the best, and had only ever found his match in Jason.
Paolo, though, was also quite good.
He didn’t seem happy about having to fight with blades - he’d likely been hoping to duel with pistols so that he could drop Nico with one quick shot - but he held his own well enough. Nico knew that if he’d been wearing armor over his plain pants and shirt, he would have been slowed down just enough that a few of Paolo’s hits would have been deadly, chainmail or not.
Speed was on Nico’s side. Evasion. Defense until his opponent was exhausted, and then he could deliver an incapacitating blow: one that would keep him alive, and keep him from being arrested for murdering a duke.
But Paolo wouldn’t tire. It was as though he’d been injected with the energy of ten men before the duel - no matter how many times he slashed and hacked, the hits kept coming. Even Nico was growing tired just from the endless parrying. It was a fight that couldn’t go on forever, so Nico started looking for openings. He shifted his tactic, no longer playing full defense but instead trying for jabs in between his parries, anything to land a blow.
One whack to the chest with the flat of Nico’s blade only served to make Paolo angrier, and he doubled down his efforts. Their swords clanged together harder, louder, and their labored breaths grew heavier as they were both forced to exert more power.
Paolo came down for an overhead strike, and Nico blocked with his own sword raised overhead, both hands on the hilt to fight back against Paolo’s greater size. He studied his openings in the few brief seconds of struggle. He could launch Paolo back after this hit, as long as he used enough force. It could loosen Paolo’s grip on his blade, or potentially send him falling flat on his back. Either could lead to a quick disarming, and Nico could be free from--
Something sharp crossed his stomach, and Nico’s entire body turned as cold as ice.
His sword dropped out of his hand, and Paolo placed a well-aimed kick on Nico’s chest, sending him back into the grass. Nico clutched at his stomach, at the sticky, stinging pain as he tried to grip the tatters of his shirt to press over the wound.
Paolo stepped over him, raising up his sword with the point aiming straight down at Nico’s chest. It didn’t feel real - Nico couldn’t look away.
“Stop!” a voice cried out, and then Paolo was gone, replaced by the yellow-orange sunrise overhead, and a thump that sounded somewhere off to the side.
“I won’t let you do this,” that same voice exclaimed, sounding almost like Will but more… terrified than he’d ever sounded before. “I love him!”
“There’s a knife!” another voice cried out - Jason, maybe, though the sounds of it were growing muffled. “He brought an unauthorized weapon!”
A shadow passed over Nico, though at first he thought it might have been an unusually long blink. Then his eyes came back into focus, and he recognized Hazel leaning over him, a golden crown of the sunrise behind her head. “You’re going to be fine, Nico,” she told him, sounding far away and… underwater. “Nico? Nico!”
“What’s happening?” Will appeared beside her, blurry and almost blending in with the sky. “He’s losing too much blood - you have to apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding. Nico, everything will be alright,” he said, and Nico felt a hand press against his cheek, so hot it was almost burning. “Nico? Stay awake, Nico, please stay awake. I love you, I-- I can’t lose you, darling, please don’t--”
Nico was cold. His body ached. His head was pounding. His hand felt like it was being crushed.
“Ow,” he wheezed, and his hand was squeezed tighter.
His eyes opened slowly just as a pair of lips pressed over his own, stopping him from asking where am I? or what happened?
“You’re okay,” a familiar voice whispered, a hand stroking through his hair, and then Will leaned back far enough that Nico’s eyes could bring him into focus.
He looked terrible - the worst Nico had ever seen him, and yet still so handsome. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale like he hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. His hair was tangled and frizzy, like it had gone unwashed for too long, and had a hand run through it a few too many times.
“Everything’s going to be okay from now on, darling,” Will told him, a thumb brushing across his cheek. “I’ll be here to take care of you now. You had me so scared, Nico - you don’t scare the people you love.”
“Sorry,” Nico muttered.
Will shushed him gently. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You were only trying to take care of me, and now I’m going to return the favor.”
“What happened?” Nico asked.
“You don’t need to worry about that right now,” Will told him, but Nico narrowed his eyes in what he hoped was a glare. “Paolo brought a knife, concealed in his clothing. He must have thought the duel wasn’t going to end in his favor, and slashed your stomach with the knife when he thought no one would notice.” Will set a hand lightly over Nico’s stomach. The skin was still tender - he must not have been out long. “Your friend Jason found the knife, and I pushed Paolo off of you while Hazel started tending to your wound. I’ve had him arrested for attempted murder.”
Nico hummed, feeling tiredness washing over him again. “What about your marriage?”
“I spoke to my father while the doctors were stitching you up,” Will answered. “He has approved of a new match for me, as long as both parties are amenable.” He pressed a kiss to Nico’s forehead. “But we can discuss that once you’re feeling better. I believe you should let yourself rest for now, and worry about yourself for a change.”
As much as Nico’s eyes were fighting to close, Nico didn’t let himself fall back to sleep. “Hazel,” he managed, and felt another squeeze of his hand.
“I’ll send for her,” Will promised. “She’ll be here when you wake up.”
Nico shook his head. “Now.”
Will’s hand slipped from his, and Nico tracked the sound of his footsteps across the room and through a doorway. He’d nearly dozed off by the time he heard the sound of quicker steps returning to the room, though he was jostled awake when Hazel draped herself over his form in the bed.
“You terrified all of us!” she exclaimed, leaning back to press a kiss to his head. “You can never do that again!”
Finally, Nico felt a bit of warmth returning to his body, making him feel a little more human again. He felt himself beginning to smile. “Love you.”
Hazel brushed a bit of hair from his face with a sigh. “I love you, too, dear brother.”
Nico let out a contented hum. “You’re like a sister to me, too,” he told her, and raised a tired arm to reach for her hand. “Would you come to my wedding?”
The same hand as before found its way into Nico’s free one, and he blinked his eyes open to find Will on the opposite side of the bed from Hazel. Will beamed, squeezing Nico’s hand. “I’ll take that as a yes.”