"Cassie, you have been missed," she said, smiling. I couldn't quite determine if her smile was just friendly, or if there was more behind it.
"I'm glad to hear it," I said. "Well, what I mean is, I'm glad that I'm, you know, well, I'm glad people care." I chuckled nervously. Please don't kill me.
"Of course. We are excited for you to return to the palace," she told me.
I felt someone approaching, and I turned my head just in time to see Nikolas walking up to us.
"Prince Nikolas," Queen Klara said, nodding her head.
"Queen Klara," he said, his voice cold. He's probably mad about the Esmerelda thing. Is he going to confront her about it? Right here, right now?
Queen Klara shot Princess Calista a look, who grimaced. "Knyaz Nikolai," she said. She continued to say something in Russian.
"Your gratitude is duly noted," he said in response.
She clenched her jaw. "You are very generous," she drawled. "Dinner was quite lovely. I was a little surprised, what with the rising prices of produce here in Nikoto. It was kind of the palace to secure such a lovely meal, regardless."
Nikolas narrowed his eyes slightly. "Well, fortunately in Nikoto we all save quite a pretty penny on gasoline, so we and our citizens our able to allot some of those savings towards food."
"Indeed. It's important that the basic needs of gasoline are met before food," she said.
"Yet, if I am not mistaken, it does seem that every country in the collegiate comes crawling to us for gasoline," he answered coolly.
"And we are grateful for Nikoto's oil fields," Queen Klara interjected. "As I am sure that our produce is enjoyed here as well. That is the beauty of collaboration, is it not? We are better able to tend to each other's needs."
"Yes. I suppose you are quite clever in your dealings with other countries," Prince Nikolas said, looking Queen Klara dead in the eyes.
I, for one, felt uncomfortable. I glanced at Coleman, who looked at me and rose his eyebrows up and down.
Queen Klara looked at Nikolas carefully. "I find diplomacy to be the best course of action."
"Prince Nikolas!" Duarte, our savior of the moment, jumped into the conversation. "I'd like to thank you and your good parents for inviting me this year to the Winter Ball. The dining hall is incredible!"
"I am glad to hear that," Nikolas said, softening just the tiniest bit.
"I'm sure glad you're here," I told Duarte, smiling at him. Boy, was I grateful for the subject change.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"You seem tense," I told Nikolas as he was escorting me back to my room.
"Am I?" he asked. When he looked at me, his eyes seemed tired. Sad, even.
"Yes. More tense than you've been the last couple of weeks." We stopped in front of my door—the hall was empty. Prince Coleman turned out to be the only other person staying in my hallway, and he wasn't there.
"I suppose, having to interact with so many people, to have so many discussions with the Nikotan nobility about politics—it's quite tiring. It feels like I work harder during the ball itself than any other time of year."
I leaned my back against the door of my room and looked at Nikolas, my poor Nik, who just seemed so tired of it all.
"And I am sorry that you have been...I am sorry for the way that the Nikotan nobility treat you. They should have shown more civility to you. It frustrates me that they were so cold," he said.
"It's okay," I shrugged. "I'm not here to impress them, you know? I'm here for you."
He was quiet a second. "Yes. But I...I just feel...all your interactions with my advisors and nobility, except for Anastaysia, your interactions have been negative, I fear. You are not ignorant, I know. I am sure that the way they look at you and treat you...it must be tiring."
I too was thoughtful for a moment. "I mean, yeah. It doesn't feel good. But it is what it is. I mean, even when I was still a maid, the servants then weren't a big fan of me. It was different, but...I don't know." I reached for Nikolas's hand, and took it in my own. "Remember at the Autumn Festival ball when I met Marstella?"
"I remember somewhat," he said.
"Well, I felt so stressed because everyone said I was just like her, that I was this ladder-climbing heart-breaker. And for a moment, I thought that maybe they were right. And you know what you said to me?"
"I suppose I said that they were wrong," he answered.
"Yes, you did. But you also said how they didn't really know me, and how you did. You actually knew me, and you didn't see that in me." I squeezed his hand. "All these people here, they don't even know me. So...so why should I let them bother me, anyhow. You know me, don't you? You know me, and you like me. I mean, you like me as a person, that is."
"I do," he said, and he brushed his thumb against my hand. "Very much so."
I wasn't looking at him, I felt too bashful to do so, but suddenly, I made a resolve of what we were to do the next day. I forced myself to look up at him into his eyes.
"Nikolas," I said. "When you invited me to the Winter Ball, it wasn't really for a political reason or anything, you know? It was just an impulsive decision, wasn't it? You invited me because you just wanted to have one ball, one ball of all your balls, where you just, I don't know, you just went with someone because you felt like it! Not for politics or anything." I let go of his hand and grabbed his shoulders. "So you know what? Tomorrow, let's just have fun. Just enjoy yourself, Nikolas. For one day, you don't need to address everyone's needs and concerns. Give yourself one day, one ball. Don't talk about politics if you don't want to, don't worry about everyone. They can talk to you another time. Let's just enjoy ourselves. Let's just dance in our beautiful clothes and laugh and smile and have a good time, okay?! Let's not worry about all the politics and the implications and all that!"
His eyes were a little wide, and they seemed to hold a sense of wonder at the idea, and finally he slipped into a smile. He grabbed my hands that were grasping his shoulders, and held them out in front of him and clasped them together, holding them like a promise. "Okay," he said simply, that sweet smile on his face, his eyes soft.
And of all the moments we'd shared, of all the times he'd looked at me with his soulful eyes or held my hands or had done a hundred other things, that was the exact moment that I realized I was in love with him.
To read up to chapter 52, join my patreon! https://www.patreon.com/klafroth
But seriously, so much has happened since this chapter.
