Those Reddened Cheeks of Hers
Nicholas glared at Sophia.
"I don't sound like that," he said in an attempt to convince himself.
'Do I?' A voice in his head asked.
He shook his head.
"Point is, I leave this noon," he told Sophia.
"I just thought to tell you out of the respect I have for you," he said truthfully.
Sophia's cheeks visibly reddened.
'Why'd you have to make everything so sentimental?' She mumbled under her breath.
'Your looks don't help either,' she added, admitting Nicholas was… well, handsome, not that it needed to be said to be known.
She was lucky Nicholas didn't manage to hear what she'd just said. Ego-wise, the only difference she and Nicholas had was that she was open about the fact that she had an ego. He, on the other hand, didn't. It was a good quality of his, being modest, at the very least, compared to hers.
Hearing something that praiseful would've done nothing but feed into his ego.
Nicholas took a sip of his chosen beverage, enjoying the time he had left before he was to leave.
_
"Are you sure you have to leave?" Julia asked Nicholas.
Nicholas frowned, "Julia, it's non-negotiable."
"I'm to return to Sanguis for important business," Nicholas reminded her.
"As the king requested," he added.
Julia sighed, "He's still your father, Nicholas."
'And yet he doesn't act the part,' Nicholas mumbled.
Julia reasoned with Nicholas, "Give him a chance."
She corrected herself.
"I'm sorry, I meant I implore you to give him another chance," she ordered.
Nicholas blinked in surprise. Why did Julia desperately want him to leave all of a sudden? What happened to the same woman who'd asked him to come and visit her kingdom? Something was up, not that he'd realized it, yet.
"Julia… please," he nearly seemed desperate whilst he asked himself one question.
Were all the ladies in the Windsor family this bold? Was it some kind of genetic?
He thought to himself as he gave Julia an embrace who in turn shot him a look after the both of them separated.
He realized it wouldn't have been too illogical as he boarded his ride to Sanguis.
_
"So, Nick's leaving for a while?" Clarisse asked Sophia, seeking validation.
Sophia nodded slowly as if just hearing that piece of information herself.
"Got that right," she confirmed.
"And he didn't tell you why?" Clarisse asked next.
Sophia nodded. She, for one, respected the sanctity of privacy.
"And you're perfectly okay with it?" Clarisse asked, emphasising the word 'perfectly'.
Sophia nodded once more, unfocused as to what Clarisse was saying.
It'd been a couple of hours since Nicholas had left, and weirdly, she felt as if there was some hole in her chest.
What she first thought was her feeling a bit down after yesterday's ball then turned to a shocking realization.
Of course, she was in denial, since she didn't believe in feelings of affection, or to put it frankly, missing someone in general.
'This can't be happening, this isn't possible,' Sophia told herself.
'He's just left,' she reminded herself.
'What's this suffering I'm feeling for?' She asked to no one in particular.
'Why am I the one feeling down,' she wondered.
She scoffed to herself, gaining Clarisse's attention.
'Men,' she mumbled.
She came to, seeing Clarisse staring at her.
"You sure you're okay, you've been spacing out a lot lately," Clarisse asked.
"I'm peachy," Sophia answered, discombobulated.
"You sure this has nothing to do with Nicholas' absence?" Clarisse asked.
A part of Sophia wanted to ask, 'Does it seem that obvious?'
But, she kept the urge to herself. Her ego simply wouldn't allow it. Besides, he'd been gone for only a few hours. If this was how she'd act when he'd been gone for hours, she could only imagine how she'd act if this went on for days. Would she have gone crazy? That was a question only she could answer.
She wondered if she was on crack, but digressed.
"Of course not, Claire," Sophia answered, slightly annoyed by Clarisse's persistent interest in Nicholas. She'd kept up the habit of asking her on and on about her and Nicholas to the point it was getting difficult to keep their ruse a secret. Sophia momentarily thought of renegotiating the ruse's rules, only to realize it was better off with Clarisse not knowing the true story unless duly necessary.
"You know, with your persistent interest in Nicholas, one might think it's you that's interested in him, not me," Sophia said cunningly.
"You charmed by his striking looks?" Sophia asked, a sly smile curving up from the corners of her mouth.
Clarisse merely chuckled.
"Soph, you and I both know that idea is preposterous," she admitted, stating the obvious truth.
"Besides, I'd never steal your man," Clarisse said, playfully nudging Sophia in the shoulder.
Sophia groaned, "He's not my man, he's free to parade around with any other girl. We're not romantically linked or anything."
That was the truth, they hadn't got to the dating part of their ruse, that was practically unrealistic if they got along so well that they started dating within the first week they'd met. Julia would've undoubtedly suspected something was up, and it only increased the chances of their ruse being exposed.
Sophia made a mental note to discuss things over with Nicholas once he returned.
"Besides, he's got better things to do than hang around with me," Sophia added, being brutally honest.
No matter how spontaneous - and occasionally immature - she was, she knew better than to disregard royal duties for trivial matters such as love and affection. As she had been taught, it was the kingdom that was put first on a pedestal, then your personal lives second.
Being a royal meant bearing that burden. Royalty wasn't all fun and games to most high-ranking royals, and what some would say was the worst part about it was that, the one thing that they weren't able to decide was…
That they were born into it. They had no choice, whatsoever.