After the healer had retreated and told him to rest, it took a while for Nico to fall asleep. Once he did, however, the same nightmare he had been having the nights before afflicted him. Already accustomed to what was happening, the boy patiently waited for what he was witnessing to end.
He didn't even bother to analyse anything else that might be of importance during the vision.
Hours later, the brown-haired boy awoke to sunlight streaming in behind the drawn curtains of the window next to the middle-aged woman's office. Dawn was here.
He got a better look at his surroundings. Many beds lined his vision, each connected to a machine that glowed with a subtle, yet ethereal verdant glow. From what he could count, there were at least twenty of these beds propped right up against the walls.
Nico carefully began examining his limbs. To his relief, he found the swelling on his face had decreased… it didn't hurt as much anymore to move any of his facial muscles. Rolling up his sleeves, he found that blackish-blue bruises still covered his forearm.
However, he noted it looked a lot better than before he had gotten some sleep, which was a pleasant surprise.
Doing the same to his stomach and chest - careful to not mess with any of the wires connected to his body - Nico received an overall evaluation of his current state.
'It's honestly not as bad as I thought.' the boy mused internally. Slowly sitting up, Nico gritted his teeth as he remembered the haughty noble's actions.
With his weaker frame, he was already at a disadvantage to his peers, but now with injuries that would take a minimum of a day to heal, he was even further behind. How someone could go to the lengths that Lucas did to make sure any half-blood was shunned baffled the brown-haired boy.
Unless there was a deeper reason he was unaware of, for example, a childhood trauma, Nico really couldn't see why the heir of the Stanburg Family would do such a horrible thing just because he wanted to.
Then there was also the matter that Lucas's family enslaved half-bloods and used them as cannon fodder.
'Truly despicable.'
Nico closed his eyes and waited until the aches of his body died down to a manageable level. He steadily inhaled and exhaled, trying to getting as much air into his body to speed up his recovery.
The boy began meditating. If not to help dull the pain, then he at least wanted something to pass the time. And what better way than to increase his proficiency in meditation?
Nico could at least become better than his peers in that field.
With that thought spurring him on, the boy poured all his concentration into the task at hand.
Several hours later, a loud commotion broke Nico out of his meditative state.
"I'm telling you we are his friends! We had nothing to do with the beating." An offended voice streamed into the brown-haired boy's ears.
"And I'm telling you, young man, that your friend is not to see any visitors now." Nico recognised the healer's stern voice. His brows arched as he understood what was happening. Sure enough, once he had opened his eyes, he found the middle-aged woman at the door refusing to let Henry and… - was that Leon? - in.
Nico showed an amused smile. He wanted to see how things played out a little longer before intervening.
"Surely you can make an exception for his friends, can't you?" Henry pulled his hair in frustration. The stubbornness of the healer infuriated him.
"Sorry, no can do. I want nothing to happen to my patient, especially now that he's on the mend and showing good progress." The middle-aged woman had an expressionless look plastered on her face.
No matter how many times Henry pleaded, she refused to budge, stating that Nico needed to rest.
The raven-haired boy heaved an exasperated sigh. He couldn't deal with this woman. Looking at the burly figure beside him, his shoulders dropped in resignation.
'I'm sorry, Leon.' Henry thought, depressed.
The day before, when they had found that Nico had been gone for a while and hadn't returned, he and the half-blood were worried. After much deliberation, they eventually searched for him.
They couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that something bad had happened to the brown-haired boy.
So after scouring the whole Camp and finding nothing, the duo, defeated, went to have their dinner - where Lucas had constantly sent smug looks in their direction - much to Henry's confusion. The nagging feeling in their stomachs became stronger.
Eventually, when they had finished their meal and retreated to their hut in depressed silence, they found William waiting for them in front of their cabin. There, the instructor had informed them of what had happened to Nico.
The duo were outraged and demanded to see if their friend was alright. Leon's eyes had shook as his shoulders trembled violently. To Henry, it had looked like the burly half-blood would break after what he had just heard.
William had calmly notified the duo that they could visit their injured friend after training the next morning. So, here they were trying to get a sign if Nico was okay, only to be stopped by a stubborn nurse.
Henry clenched his teeth in frustration.
Nico chuckled silently to himself after watching what had transpired. A seed of warmth bloomed in his chest. "Miss, it's okay. They can come in and see me." he called out.
Turning around, the healer gazed deeply at her patient before releasing an inaudible sigh. She motioned the two noisy trainees in with a scathing look, warning them not to be too loud.
Henry had his mouth open in surprise as he walked to Nico's bed. "How much did you see?" he asked, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Most of it." the brown-haired boy replied with a smirk. His lips twitched as he desperately tried to resist the urge to laugh.
The raven-haired boy sighed, looking at Nico's injuries. He gritted his teeth for the second time in as many minutes. Henry knew more than most what a difference in status meant.
Just because he was a peasant, others had always treated him like trash. The scum of the earth.
A person from a common background… and of no significant importance.
Henry despised those who viewed themselves as something greater, just because of their luck in being born more privileged. He shifted his gaze to the half-blood, before another sigh escaped his lips.
Leon stood completely still, like a statue. His eyes trembled as he teared up. His trance-like state broke after he clenched his large fists. The redhead's knuckles soon became white.
Why did he always bring misfortune to those around him? Those who were kind enough to help him had always suffered in return, because of the goodwill they showed. Now, gazing at the latest victim who had suffered one hell of a beating because he refused to shun him, Leon's shoulders trembled.
The weight of his burden had increased a notch.
"I-I'm sorry." the burly half-blood's voice cracked. Leon clenched his fists tighter.
Nico's head snapped toward his fiery-haired companion. He knit his brows in worry after carefully scrutinising the half-blood's profile. He found all the signs of self-blame written on the burly youth's features.
The brown-haired boy sighed internally.
"It's fine, really. It's not your fault, rather we need to make Lucas and his arrogance pay." Nico smiled reassuringly, trying to comfort Leon. His supportiveness caused the redhead's fists to relax.
Silently, two streams of tears flowed down Leon's cheeks.
A portion of the blame he felt scattered into the wind.