Nico's POV:
The darkness in his dream had slowly been growing bigger and bigger, threatening to completely overcome him.
And then the light appeared, small and distant but there nevertheless, and the darkness retreated, if just a little.
And then something or someone had broken through the barrier that kept Nico in his dreaming state.
His eyelids twitched, and it was like his entire body was aflame with hope, burning through the darkness, leaving only little wisps.
He strained to open his eyes, but the barrier was back, weak but there.
The hope, finally there after so long, disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving Nico empty and despairing.
He retreated into the depths of his mind, feeling like freedom was unreachable.
He was numb. Maybe he had overreacted a bit, but it was hardly his fault. He'd been lost in the dark with no way to escape the nightmares for so long that the little ray of sunny hope and intense joy had lifted his spirits. He'd dared to think he'd be free. The crushing disappointment broke everything good and light left in him.
Will's POV:
The boy's eyes twitched, but nothing happened. Will felt both intense relief and bitter disappointment.
He didn't know why the kiss hadn't worked. Was he not the one to break the curse? But it had worked, a little. Maybe he had to truly kiss him, and not just peck his lips. Maybe.
He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to break the curse today. There was just this tugging at his consciousness, something he'd maybe read or just a part of the curse, urging him on.
(I might make it the ghosts. Maybe maybe not. I dunno)
Or maybe it was his own feelings, the urge to wake the poor boy and his desire to learn more about all that had happened to him and the castle.
Will took a deep breath and stepped closer to the smaller boy who lay in a cursed sleep.
And he bend down and kissed him. Properly, not like before. He was still hesitant, and it wasn't long, but it was a kiss nonetheless.
And Will knew, somehow, that it was going to wake the sleeping boy.
Nico's POV:
He was retreating to the deepest corners of his mind when the light appeared again. And this time, it only grew, bigger and bigger, and clearing a way through the darkness, a way back to the light, a way to wake up, finally.
He wanted to laugh with joy, but he only opened his eyes.
The light felt like it was blinding him, but it didn't matter. He was awake.
Awake. He'd always dreamt, in his dreaming state, that he'd wake up one day. But now that he was, what would happen?
When his eyes finally adjusted, he realized first that he was in his room, and everything was old, so old.
The second thing he noticed was that there was a boy watching him, a boy with golden hair and eyes almost like Percy's.
And Nico should have been happy, overjoyed, should've thanked the boy, should've done something. But all he did was cry.
He cried for Bianca, and his mother, and he cried for Percy's death, which he'd dreamed of so long ago. The death had haunted him for years afterwards, even the happier dreams tainted with grief.
He'd loved Percy, although he'd never told a soul.
He cried for Zöe and all the others that Bianca and Percy had known who'd died. He cried for all those years of horror and dreams that, in the end, were nothing more than dreams.
He cried and cried, and then he slowly stopped. The boy, the golden boy, was still watching him, his eyes shining with his own unshed tears.
"Wh-who a-are you?" He asked, his voice sounding strange to his ears after years of nothing.
The boy smiled. "Prince William, son of the magnificent Apollo, ruler of the biggest kingdom in the land. But you can just call me Will. My dad makes me introduce myself like that. He's a bit self centered."
"Oh." Nico said. He'd heard of Apollo, but not of his kingdom, or his son.
"And you are?" The golden boy, Will, asked.
For a terrifying second, his mind went absolutely blank.
"Prince Nico, son of Hades. He ruled this castle." He told Will.
Will looked surprised, and he couldn't think why.
"You're Nico? I had a dream about you!" The golden haired boy exclaimed.
Nico's gaze snapped up from the floor. "You what?" He asked, sounding incredulous.
"I had a dream. About, um, you and... Bianca." Will told him, hesitating on his sisters name.
"Oh." He didn't mean to be rude, but the thought of Bianca's death stirred those feeling of absolute despair again. Will looked apologetic. (Apollo-getic) "I'm sorry if that upsets you. Did-did she die before you, uh, fell into a cursed sleep?"
Nico nodded. "Yeah, she, uh, you know, on my eleventh birthday. I didn't know the details at the time. But I, uh, I dreamed about her. I blamed P-Percy at the time, but it wasn't his fault."
Will was quiet for a minute. "Who's Percy? His name sounds familiar."
Nico turned slightly red. "Percy was one of my sisters friends. I was always jealous because she had friends, even though every knew she was a bit crazy. She could see ghosts. I was normal, I guess, normal as I could be. Anyways,
I was jealous, so I often hung around her and the others, Zöe, Thalia, Grover, and Percy. But when she, uh, d-died, I hadn't been with her, but they had been. I- I was sad and in denial, so, in a fit of rage, I told them to leave. I banished them. What happened then, I don't know."
Ugh I'm on the bus and I'm bored.
"Oh." Will was quiet. Nico hoped he wouldn't say sorry. After Bianca's death, too many people had told him they were sorry.
"So, does that mean everyone you used to know is dead?" Will said instead. Nico nodded.
And then everything caught up with him. He'd told a complete stranger parts of his life, even about banishing Percy. He'd never told anyone about Percy. They'd just assumed he ran away.
A feeling of panic overtook him, and he stood up, legs wobbly. He wanted to run, run far away from this golden haired  boy who'd saved him.
He looked at Will, who was watching him, looking worried. "Nico? What's wrong?  I'm sorry about bringing up Bianca."
And then Nico remembered that Will was the one who'd reminded him of Bianca. Will, who had somehow known.
He looked at Will when the fear in his eyes, and then he ran.
His panic made up for years of lying still.
He remembered the castle, remembered the shortcuts and secret passages and hidden rooms and the best exits.
He ran, to escape Will, to escape the castle that had so many memories, memories of happiness that brought horrible nostalgia.
And then he was free.