Fall Into You

5

ever since you, nothing is the same

Three knocks at the door brought Nicollette out of the book she'd been reading. If she had to be honest, she wasn't paying any attention to it the way she hoped she could. She wanted to get her mind off of things, and no matter what she did - nothing worked. She continued to think about the mess of the lunch event, and how she was scolded for leaving without officially talking to anyone.

Her father told her she needed to get used to this, and no matter what excuse Nicollette tried to spit out - he waved it away. He told her there was no excuse, that it wasn't a good look on the Terilow name, but she could care less about what the royals thought of her.

She wanted out. She wanted to just pack her bags and run away, so much so that she was tempted to ask Charles about it the other day when she had just finished crying in his chest. But she knew it wasn't realistic, and without money or any sort of help - they were fresh out of luck.

Ignoring the knocks at the door, she was hoping they'd go away and she wouldn't have to deal with anyone just yet. She'd managed to stay confined to her room the last few days, only leaving for specific things that she just couldn't ignore. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it forever, but she'd hold out as long as she could hoping that she'd be able to do it for at least a little bit longer.

However, all hope diminished as whoever stood on the other side of the door knocked again. It was much louder than before, more frantic as if they were trying to get in as quickly as possible.

She rolled her eyes with a groan, leaning her head back against the wall. She'd been sitting comfortably on the window nook, and although she was upset about being unable to read much, she was enjoying the view of the beautiful sunny day. It was at least one good thing out of the dozen bad things that seem to be happening lately.

The person knocked again, only irritating Nicollette. "Coming!" She loudly shouted, tossing her book to the side. She scooted off of the nook and walked over to the bedroom door, hesitating before throwing the door open.

Malia stood on the other side, her eyes nervous as she had been waiting for Nicollette's answer. Although she was irritated that Malia had been tending to her a lot lately, she knew it was no fault of Malia's. The servant was simply doing as she was told, and Nicollette couldn't blame her for that. She was just as stuck here as Nicollette was herself.

"What is it?" Nicollette softly asked, holding onto the doorknob as if she were ready to shut it at any given moment.

"I have been given orders to get you ready," Malia softly explained, her cheeks turning pink.

"Ready?" Nicollette questioned, her grip on the doorknob tightening. "Get ready for what?"

"Why, you haven't heard?" She asked, her brows pushing together in confusion.

"No, what's going on?" Nicollette asked, pushing some of her messy hair out of her face.

"Tobias Avington has traveled here to see you, Nicollette."

++

Tobias Avington, Prince of Caldoria. Charming, sweet, and everything in between. Why would he be here to see Nicollette of all people? Especially after the embarrassment that was the other day, she couldn't even begin to think of a reason as to why he'd travel so far.

Nicollette stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching as her mother laughed at something Tobias said.

"Nicollette I'm going to get in so much trouble if you don't get back up the stairs and get dressed this instant-" Malia called out after the girl.