No Matter How Difficult It May Be

Nicholas had a brooding look on his face.

"Are you, really?" He questioned carefully, his piercing gaze seeing right through her.

Sophia gulped nervously. She kept quiet.

As if to make things worse, a love ballad played, filling the air with passion and mystique as couples began pairing up to waltz. Sophia cursed under her breath. What horrible timing.

Nicholas, in an attempt to lighten the mood - and let the other girls take a hint as to not ask him if he'd like to waltz with them, which he certainly did not nor would he ever - he extended his arm, before asking her if she'd like to dance.

To Sophia, it was a sweet gesture, and truth be told, he didn't do it solely to steer clear of the pests that were the countless girls trying to score a seat on the throne, or gain the title of princess consort whilst at it.

Sophia stared blankly at the extended arm, more so, the offer itself.

She kept her cool, whilst a million Sophia's ran around, wreaking havoc in her mind, screaming and shrieking. Of course, the real Sophia would never have done something so terribly rash in real life, that would've been catastrophic.

Had this been anyone else asking, she'd have declined in a minute, she couldn't fathom why he was one of the only exceptions, considering, when it came to dancing - waltzing especially, she despised it to her very core.

She got herself together as she smirked, answering, "Of course."

Her evening gown swished in the wind as she took his extended arm, ignoring the multiple ladies glaring at her, having managed to score a dance with the bachelor of the night, and the most good-looking one of all, for that matter. It was a subtle sign to tell the other male royals trying to pursue Sophia to shove it, and Sophia was happy to tell them to.

The two moved to the dance floor which was located smack in the middle of the ballroom. The both of them glanced at each other before getting into waltzing position.

Seconds later, on the dance floor, they waltzed, with the whole entire world watching, the words 'the whole entire world' meaning the other royals in the ballroom.

'Duchess Sophia and Prince Nicholas? What an odd pair if I do say so myself,' one royal whispered to her fellow countess friend.

Her friend whispered back, 'But they do go famously with each other don't they?'

'Just look at them,' she said, smiling whilst gesturing to the two acquaintances dancing in the chandelier light.

She wasn't mistaken, they did go along well, and to say they didn't seem as if they were in a separate different world, dancing on their own cloud, having the best of times whilst remaining unaware of everyone else but themselves, wouldn't be an understatement.

Their eyes were locked in each other's.

Breaking the awfully awkward - yet somehow lovey-dovey - silence, Nicholas remarked, "For a novice, you're not bad at waltzing."

Sophia rolled her eyes.

"You're not so bad yourself," she replied, not bothering to ask how or why he knew she was a novice when it came to waltzing in the first place. She rather enjoy the moment.

"I suppose you're wondering if I'm to give my assent for that deal you proposed earlier?" Sophia asked straightforwardly.

Nicholas nodded silently, disregarding the girls winking and batting their eyelashes at him from behind Sophia. The audacity of some people was astonishing. The lengths they'd go to obtain whatever they wanted or desired were endless.

How he was sick of getting the attention of ladies and being the subject of their conversations where they'd talk about him in ways that made him uneasy even whilst thinking of the mere thought, how no one would see him for who he really was just because all they saw him as was some chance to make it big. All of it was sickening.

"So... do we have an accord?" Nicholas asked, hoping for Sophia to answer soon as to not leave him in suspense far longer than actually needed.

The fate of something he found important to him was at stake, hanging on a loose thread.

He'd almost stopped waltzing just to obtain an answer from the duchess. He was that serious.

Sophia thought her options over, it was either letting Emilia reign or her keeping up a ruse with him.

No doubt, the latter was far more tempting than the former option. She'd have done anything to stop Emilia in her tracks.

She shut her eyes, inhaling sharply.

"I suppose we do," she answered breathlessly.

Nicholas was at the brink of smiling, stopping himself before he did so. The mere fact that she agreed meant so much to him. She just didn't know how - or why.

Keeping a calm and collected composure, acting as if this didn't mean much to him, he answered, "That's great," seeming slightly insincere.

Sophia eyed him before she scoffed, mumbling something before tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and looking away, averting his gaze.

It was only minutes later that the music changed into a song with a quicker rhythm and tempo.

The couples on the dance floor separated, before placing a hand against each others'.

"For this to work, we must act madly in love," Nicholas reminded her gently, even whilst his dulcet tone said otherwise.

"No matter how difficult it may be," Sophia added, making Nicholas laugh softly in the process.

They danced the night away, seeming to have an extremely enjoyable time. Sophia was all smiles, the same went for Nicholas.

Having all that fun, they hadn't noticed their pictures being taken by a journalist undercover in the royal ball, looking for the next major scoop which she had just found.

'They told me to find a scoop.'

'Looks like I've finally found the right one,' she muttered.

'Cheers to the newest front-page headline,' she said next.

"They're going to love this," she smirked.