King of My Miserable Life

Chapter 8

"Here we go." Will opened the door of the bedroom, having led Percy across the castle and up a staircase. "Prince Nico's bedroom is right next door. Come inside." He stepped in so Percy could also enter, setting the bags down against the wall.

"This is...mine?" Percy looked around him in awe. "You're joking..."

"No, I'm not." Will scratched the back of his neck. He kept against the wall despite the room being huge, with a large four poster bed and at least three other doors. One wall was covered in windows, showing a perfect view of the snow falling. "Do you like it?"

"Are you insane? Of course, I do." Percy sat on the bed and smiled at how soft it was. "But do you think I could get new blankets? I hate the color red. Maybe blue?"

"Um...I'll run it by the king." Will fidgeted with anything near him. "Would you like to go on that tour now? So we can get back in time for Prince Nico to find you."

"Yeah, sure." Percy jumped off the bed. "But first, is there a thermostat in here or something? It's freezing."

Will reached behind him and tapped the white box that seemed to almost blend into the wall. "There. Heat is up. Set to about 70 degrees in here (21.1 in Celcius I think idk I'm bad at math)." He whistled. "It's gonna get pretty hot."

"70 degrees sounds amazing." Percy walked back over to Will. "Okay, tour time."

Will led him out of the room and down the hall, pointing out everything as they went. The chapel, the door to the throne room, the dungeons. As they were passing a hall and Will decided not to say anything about it, Percy stook his head down it to see what it was. Guards stood in front of one of the doors, machine guns in their hands and bulletproof vests over their uniforms.

"And over here is-..." Will trailed off as he noticed Percy wasn't next to him. He looked behind him to find Percy standing by that hallway, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Percy. Come here."

"What are those guards guarding?" Percy asked, jogging to catch up with the tan servant. "They look pretty serious."

"Those are the meeting rooms." Will explained. "The room they're guarding is where King Hades is talking to Prince Nico."

Percy glanced back towards the hallway but let Will lead him away. "Do you think Nico is alright?"

"King Hades would never kill him if that's what you're asking." Will kept his hands buried in his pockets. Every time they passed a window he'd gaze out it longingly, no doubt aching to be out in the sun instead of in the dust of the castle. "He's the heir. King Hades needs him alive, as horrible as that sounds."

"Well, I guess that's good." Percy sighed. "I just wish Nico had a better dad, you know?"

Will nodded. "I do know." He stared at the sun when they got to a large window, stared at the beautiful snow he so badly wanted to show the newly arrived Prince. "Things'll get better."

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Percy sat in the large bedroom, his dark hair wet from the shower. He sat with his back to the door so he could watch out the windows, the snow having started to fall in a whirlwind of wonder. Nico wasn't back yet and he had started to worry. What could be taking him so long? A simple talk didn't last hours, right?

"Percy." Will knocked on the door before coming in, his blond hair darkened with dirt. "It's lunchtime if you want to come eat with me and Annabeth."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Percy got up and headed over to Will. "Will? Is Annabeth...cool? She seemed to hate me."

"She doesn't hate you." Will led him out. "She's just...Annabeth. She'll warm up to you. Just give it time."

Percy sighed. "Willllllll... You're supposed to give me advice."

Will stopped walking, his eyes wide as he turned to look at Percy. "You like Annabeth? Relationship like?"

"Woah, no need to preach to the whole hallway here." Percy held his hands up in defeat.

"I'm sorry we're talking about my sister here." Will protested. "My very terrifying, library-loving sister."

"She likes reading?" Percy's eyes lit up. "Tell me more about her?"

Will looked at him as if he was crazy. "Why would I tell you everything? That'd take the whole point away from getting to know someone. Ask her yourself. Here, I'll start the conversation."

"Woah, Woah!" Percy ran after Will's retreating form. "Don't do that!"

Will ran down a staircase, the walls turning to stone as they entered a large part of the basement. "Too late, Percy."

"William!" Percy followed closely, following him through another hallway and into what looked to be a cafeteria. Other servants sat at the circular tables, eating food that barely looked edible. Will was heading for a table in the corner where Annabeth sat, reading a book in what looked to be a different language.

"Hey, Annie." Will greeted. He sat beside her, breathing heavily from the long run. "Percy here-"

"Was just wondering if, um...if you like swimming." Percy cut in, scratching the back of his neck as he tried to finish the lie. "Cause, um...I've been asking around to see if anyone knows a cool place to swim here and nobody does. Do...Do you?"

"A cool place to swim?" Annabeth raised her eyebrow. "Didn't Will show you the pool?"

"There's a pool?!" Percy perked up immediately. "Where?"

"Westside, second floor." Annabeth glared at Will before returning to her book. "Now, let's eat before we go back to work. King Hades should be back soon in time to yell at us before bed."

"King Hades sounds like a maniac," Percy muttered to himself.

"That's because he is." Annabeth agreed. "Just wait until you meet him."

Silently, Percy hoped he would never have to.