Making An Entrance Without Him

With Nicholas seeming off during the ball, Sophia was left to assume he didn't enjoy her company.

"What's with that look of yours, you alright?" Louis asked as he handed his sister a glass of bubbly. He'd come back alone, without his countess friend.

Clarisse was chatting with a couple of other royals, occupied at the moment.

Sophia took the glass without any hesitation. A lesson Nicholas would come to learn was to never try to separate a Windsor from her - or his - champagne.

"Nothing to worry yourself about, Lou," she answered nonchalantly, disregarding the kaleidoscope of butterflies in her stomach.

"Oh, really?" Louis asked expectantly as he handed Nicholas a glass of bubbly as well. One thing Emilia was particularly good at was choosing the right type of champagne for the occasion. Her chosen champagne for the night was on point.

Sophia blinked.

"Yes," she answered, taking a sip from her wine glass.

"Of course I'm alright," Sophia answered, waving Louis off.

"Besides, where's Clarisse?" Sophia asked curiously, wondering where her friend wandered off to.

"There," Louis gestured towards a small group of royals in the distance.

Sophia realized what Clarisse was up to.

There, in the distance, was Clarisse, along with Sheila and Kiara.

Their conversation had started rough, with Sheila and Kiara not knowing who Clarisse was and not realizing her being above them in terms of rank.

What the two viscountesses wanted to be a night where they'd - for once - be in the spotlight and dazzling had instead turned awry. They were left ashamed and humiliated by Clarisse, who they hadn't realized was a countess from a neighbouring kingdom.

Her kingdom, Samar, was the same kingdom Sanguis was at war with.

Nicholas wasn't fond of how his father was handling things, and Clarisse… safe to say her family life played a part in why she'd come to Beldovia.

Despite being able to enjoy all the perks of royalty in the mean time, royals down the line of succession like her were expected to be married off like she almost was.

What was disguised as some visit to her closest friend was actually an escape from her parents' expectations and wishes.

What wishes exactly?

Her parents weren't exactly modern. They relied heavily on their past laws and rules for their future.

And with that in mind, they were looking for an alliance that would unite Samar and another kingdom together. An advantage that they could use to beat Sanguis once and for all.

Had she stayed in Samar, she would've been forced to marry against her will. Unlike Sophia, who was given a choice, she'd be forced to, no matter what she'd do about it.

Aside from her and her family's blood relation, she wanted nothing to do with them.

Obviously, Sophia knew nothing about this, and frankly, Clarisse wanted to keep things that way.

Clarisse returned to Sophia, Louis and Nicholas in a pleasant mood.

"What's gotten you in such a good mood?" Sophia asked Clarisse curiously.

Clarisse fought back a smirk.

"Let's just say… two certain viscountesses have been put in their place, and I'd like to savour the moment," Clarisse explained.

Sophia gasped theatrically.

"As if you couldn't have gotten any cooler, Claire," she praised, duly impressed.

Clarisse grinned.

Sophia told Clarisse, "I am so glad I made an entrance at tonight's ball with you."

Clarisse was about to comment on her previous statement before Sophia did it herself.

"Don't!" She exclaimed, realizing her mistake in phrasing.

Next morning after the ball, with Sheila and Kiara gone - a huge burden now gone - everyone seemed in happier spirits. Of course, everyone but Emilia, who'd already begun missing her nieces dearly.

Clarisse decided to sleep in, having returned from the ball during the wee hours of the morning, whilst Louis was spending time with Julia, as per her request. Sophia may have been the current heir to the throne, but Louis was her absolute favorite grandchild.

Speaking of Sophia, she and Nicholas had decided to have high tea together.

Nicholas and Sophia took separate seats across from each other in a dining room far off the east wing.

Sophia took a cup of tea.

"And I thought Windsors loved their bubbly," Nicholas commented, noticing the absence of champagne in the dining room.

Sophia sighed.

"I've drunk my fair share of bubbly, so I'm laying off it for the meantime," she said whilst adding a cube of sugar to her tea cup. She had gotten tired of drinking champagne so she decided to stick to tea. Julia would be proud.

Nicholas acknowledged her.

"Right, moving on," he told her, having important news to share. News that related to the ruse.

He crossed his legs, holding his head up with his hand.

"I have confidential matters to attend to, so I'll be taking a leave," he told Sophia.

Sophia moved forward almost instantly.

"You're not leaving permanently are you?" She asked offhandedly.

She shrunk back once she realized her mistake - what she said.

"What about Julia?" She then asked, trying to do damage control.

"You planned this entire ruse and then suddenly decide to go poof?" Sophia asked, demanding answers.

Nicholas blinked in surprise. He definitely did not expect such a reaction from Sophia. What happened to the woman he'd met before?

His resolute gaze made her shudder, not that he'd noticed.

He reassured her, "I'll be gone for a week, if not a few days."

Sophia hid her relief.

She had a small stutter to her words.

"Oh… uh… that's… that's good to know," she said, now nervous.

Truth be told, she'd imploded.

She had never acted this way towards anyone. It was all so unfamiliar to her. And yet, she was over here, acting differently to a man she'd known for three days as of then.

"And why exactly are you leaving?" Sophia asked, not being subtle with her actions.

Nicholas answered in response, "As I said before, confidential," before he asked, "Why are you asking so many questions?"

A low chuckle emanated from his throat.

"Don't tell me you'd actually miss me?" He asked.

Sophia froze. She remained silent. She wished she could have melted into a pile of goo, or perhaps tea, which she rathered, or any other way to escape him and this embarrassing situation.

She stared at her cup of tea before she laid her resolute gaze on Nicholas.

"That's absurd, the entire idea is absurd. I'm just curious, 'is all, nothing else," she told Nicholas before she did a decent imitation of his voice when he'd told her the exact same words, "Perish the thought."