I Don't Want To Smile

Chapter 3

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.