I Ain't No Damn Night Light
"Winbrose dreams, crushed," Clarisse mumbled.
"What's Winbrose?" Sophia asked, bewildered.
Clarisse answered nonchalantly, "You and Nicholas' ship name."
Sophia laughed.
"Aren't we a tad bit old for ship names?" She asked, smiling as she rolled her eyes.
Clarisse pouted, "No one's too old for ship names," she reasoned.
She heard Sophia mumble, "But there's nothing between me and Nicholas to ship."
Clarisse frowned.
"You're not actually serious, are you?" She asked Sophia in utter disbelief.
"Don't tell me you aren't…"
She stopped herself.
Sophia was staring at her blankly.
"Aren't what?"
"Romantically involved with each other, or courting?" Sophia asked.
Clarisse hoped to get a yes as an answer.
Sophia stayed silent. She hadn't discussed this with Nicholas yet.
She pursed her lips.
"No, we're not," she said, much to Clarisse's discontent.
Clarisse asked desperately, "And the possibility of the two of you courting or being actually involved with one another?"
Sophia knew she'd have to be truthful.
"The possibility of that is little to none," she told Clarisse.
'But I can't say that for certain,' she mumbled inaudibly.
Clarisse inwardly groaned. It's been hours since she'd made that bet with Louis and it seemed that he'd be getting whatever he wanted if it turned out that Sophia and Nicholas weren't actually courting.
Of course, it was too quick to assume anything, but one could always hope.
Sophia placed a hand on Clarisse's shoulder.
"Moving on to other topics that don't involve me, myself, and I," she said.
"What'd you do during the dinner dance?" She asked Clarisse.
Clarisse recalled the dinner dance.
"The usual," she answered.
"Chatting with a couple of other royals, so-so," she elucidated.
Sophia asked mischievously, "During the entire dinner dance, did no one, and I mean no one at all, manage to catch your eye?"
Clarisse scoffed.
"The last thing I'm looking for is someone to marry or love," she responded with. If she'd wanted someone to marry or court, she'd have stayed in Samar.
Sophia faced Clarisse.
Her tone hushed, she told Clarisse an observation of hers.
"For as long as you've been here in Beldovia, you've never once talked about your own kingdom."
If there was a word to describe someone shrinking down whilst standing, it could be perfectly used to describe what Clarisse just did.
"That's because there's nothing to talk about," Clarisse said, her tone just as hushed as Sophia's.
Sophia knew something was up.
"And you're absolutely certain about that?" She asked, questioning it further.
Her gaze softened and she told her friend, "You know you could always talk to me."
"I may not know the right thing to say most of the time, but if you need someone to listen to you every once in a while, I'm here," Sophia said supportively.
She hadn't known what was going on with Samar at the time, but, as Clarisse did for her all the years they've been friends, she intended to be as supportive as she possibly could when it came to anything Clarisse was facing.
She wasn't usually this emotionally open. But, she was changing, for the better - in this case.
Clarisse smiled appreciatively at Sophia.
Even though Sophia wasn't the best when it came to feelings, or dealing with them, it was nice knowing there was someone out there she could go to when she had no one else to talk to, or no one else who could understand what she was going through.
Of course, she had Louis, but he wasn't one to talk to when it came to arranged marriages or anything of the sort, really. He'd never had to deal with the possibility of all that, with his abdication and all.
"You mean that?" She asked Sophia, seeking validation.
Sophia nodded instantly.
"Definitely."
Clarisse's small smile turned into a huge grin.
"You're the best," she whispered.
Sophia chuckled.
"You deserve the best," she retorted.
Clarisse looked at Sophia in awe.
Sophia had never once told her anything this sweet. Somehow, she was becoming more supportive and compassionate than usual.
Sophia noticed the look Clarrise was giving her.
"What is it, something on my face?" Sophia asked inquisitively.
Clarisse shook her head.
"Not that," she reassured.
"Just… I don't know, really."
"There's a warmth about you, this afternoon, especially," Clarisse noticed.
Sophia was dreadfully exhausted after the dinner dance and her… sort of date with Nicholas, what Clarisse said had a grain of truth in it. Sophia was radiating some kind of positive warmth. She was, per se, glowing.
Sophia looked confused.
"What do you mean warmth?" She asked Clarisse.
Clarisse chuckled.
"You're glowing," she told Sophia.
"Like… some sort of night light," she said, her hands gesturing the shape of an actual night light, something that made Sophia more irritated.
Sophia narrowed her eyes, as confused as ever.
"There is no warmth about me," she insisted quite unconvincingly.
"And for one, I ain't no damn night light," she told Clarisse.
"Quit dodging the topic of what's actually going on in Samar. You know you're going to have to tell me eventually," she told Clarisse.
"Wait, how do you-"
Clarisse laughed softly. She was being ridiculous. Sophia was extremely intelligent. She'd momentarily forgot.
"Why did you think I offered to be there for you when you needed it?" Sophia asked, succeeding in changing topics.
"It doesn't take a genius to realize you came to Beldovia not only to visit me, which is all in all, extremely sweet, but with other motives. Took me a short while to realize you were escaping something, I just didn't know what," Sophia admitted.
Clarisse stayed silent. Sophia realized she was right. Clarisse was indeed hiding something.
"Must be serious, if you won't tell me," Sophia said.
Clarisse looked at Sophia guiltily.
"Promise me you won't see me in any other way or pity me," she requested.
Sophia nodded slowly.
"Of course," she promised.
Clarisse nodded.
"Then let's talk," Clarisse said.
"My quarters, or yours?" Sophia asked.
Clarisse looked around, as if suspicious someone was following her and Sophia.
"Mine."