Why That-
"Duchess from Beldovia and prince from Sanguis lovey-dovey throughout the welcome ball," Sophia read from her tablet whilst sipping a cup of Darjeeling tea, keeping it comfy in a silk robe, her hair tied up in an extremely messy bun that suited her.
"Tabloids," she grumbled, annoyed whilst scrolling down the daily Beldovia tabloids to find a picture of her and Nicholas mid-waltz.
Undoubtedly, they looked amazing, and from pictures alone, it was safe to say they had a blast.
"Well someone looks comfortable after last night's events," a voice said, disrupting her from her grumbling.
Sophia nearly bashed her head against the royal dining room's marble countertop, realizing what she had done, or had to do.
She hadn't contemplated explaining to her brother how she did a complete 180. From speaking ill of Nicholas and calling him an 'indecent windbag' to waltzing with him in a ball when he knew she despised waltzing or dancing in general ever since she was in leading strings. This was about to get dirty.
"Lou!" She exclaimed, turning around to face her brother who was about to take a seat.
"Morning, Soph," he greeted, taking a seat right across her.
"Morning," Sophia managed to say in reply.
Louis eyed the tabloid, finally taking notice.
It reminded him of something he'd wanted to question his sister about.
"You and Nicholas waltzing in the ball," he said aloud, remembering seeing them do said activity the other day.
Sophia bit her lip.
"So…" Louis started.
"What was it about him being an indecent windbag yesterday?" He asked next, brow raised.
His tone sounded curious with a sprinkle of overprotectiveness in the mix. Something Sophia found odd.
"I had a change of heart, Lou, 'is all," Sophia answered blankly, her answer halfway between a question and an actual response.
Louis blinked in surprise.
"Wow," he said, "You're usually a better liar than that."
Sophia scoffed.
"What's causing you to think I'm lying?" She asked, taking his remark as a personal affront.
Louis laughed softly.
"I'm merely kidding, Soph," he smiled.
"Although… you did dance with him all night, Soph," Louis chuckled, knowing grandmere would have a kick out of that.
"And don't you think that picture in the tabloid's evidence enough," Louis answered, his eyes fixated on the very same photo Sophia was previously looking at.
"That's not…" Sophia sputtered, her voice filled with mixed emotions.
Rendered speechless, she scoffed, having nothing to say.
"As I said before, change of heart," she pouted, sulking.
She braced herself for what she was about to say next, "And… if I'm being completely frank, he's not that dreadful once you get to know him."
She recoiled at her own words, finding them unbelievable.
It had been merely a day since they'd met, and here she was, taking back what she had said, something she - not surprisingly - did infrequently.
Louis stared at his sister, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
He noticed, wide-eyed, "It's been a day and he's already making you do things you don't do often."
"You must really like him," he said, hiding his cheshire grin with his beverage.
"Don't be foolish brother," Sophia said, looking up from the tabloid she was reading.
"We're merely… dallying around," she added.
"Dallying around isn't what I'd use to describe what you and Nicholas did last night," Louis said amusingly.
"Louis!" Sophia exclaimed, glaring at her brother.
"Alright alright," Louis said.
"You're dallying around," he said unwillingly.
Sophia gave him a dirty look before getting up and straightening her robe.
"And where are you going? Off to see Nicholas?" Louis teased.
Sophia scoffed.
"Of course not," she answered.
"I'm actually off to visit Clarisse who's staying in the guest wing," she answered, eyes narrowed.
"See you, brother," she said before leaving, her face now reddened as she quickly made her way to her quarters before visiting Clarisse's.
_
Sophia shut her quarter's doors - after making sure no one was in hearing distance from her quarters, of course - and took a deep breath.
"It's been one day," Sophia said.
"One," she enunciated.
"How am I supposed to keep up this ruse," Sophia said, her back sliding against the door as she gently fell to her quarter's carpet.
"How," she repeated.
"I can't keep a secret from Louis for so long," she said, biting her lip.
"I'm toast," she said, closing her eyes.
"Why did I agree to it in the first place, I should've declined or thought of it further," she said incredulously.
Distressed, she changed into more suitable clothing before she made her way to Clarisse's. When it came to advise, there were three people she'd come to. One was her brother, one was grandmere, and the third was, you guessed it, Clarisse.
Coming to her best friend seemed to be a reasonable thing to do, she thought, before she stopped in her tracks upon hearing footsteps nearing towards her.
She turned around to see Nicholas nearby.
She glared at him and his handsome face.
"You."
"Me," he answered, nearing her.
"I assume you've seen the tabloid headlines," she sighed.
"I have," he answered vaguely.
"I had to lie to Louis pretending I had some change of heart and suddenly decided to waltz with you," Sophia said.
"Well, that's the downside of keeping up this ruse, something you could have considered carefully before agreeing," Nicholas said truthfully.
Sophia nodded, knowing he had a point.
"Speaking of this ruse," he started.
"We should put some…" Nicholas didn't manage to continue.
Sophia continued for him, "Rules in place?"
He nodded.
"So this doesn't end in chaos and disaster, yes," Nicholas added.
Sophia agreed, "Right."
She walked away, leaving Nicholas incredibly muddled.
He took her by the arm, causing her to stop and face him.
"And about the rules?" He asked, wondering why she was leaving so soon.
Sophia looked at him, answering nonchalantly, "Let's continue that conversation right after I visit a friend. I won't be too long."
"Don't miss me too much," she said absentmindedly before she pried herself out of his grasp and made her way to Clarisse's.
Nicholas was left puzzled and upset.
"Why that-"