Fall Into You

18

oh, it hurts enough to kill me

Nicollette felt ridiculous. She was forced into one of those elegant ballgowns, one she'd never be caught wearing on her own. Well, this one wasn't that bad, she supposed. Since it was a simple dinner with the Sutcliffe family, it was just a simple baby blue colored dress. It wasn't big or puffy, and actually fit her form well because it wasn't one handed down from Maria.

It wasn't the worst, so she couldn't complain too much. That being said, she did think it was a little over the top to get her hair and makeup done like she was a Barbie doll just to go to a dinner with the royal family.

They were invited to dinner every so often, a way for her parents and the King and Queen to converse as friends and nothing more. No duties, no ranks - just friends. 

Nicollette smoothed her hands down the front of the silky dress, looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair was curled, and Malia - thankfully - left it with a simple yet elegant look since she knew the blonde didn't like to be dolled up often.

She glanced at the diamond necklace that Tobias had gifted her. She thought about wearing it, but quickly shook the thought from her head, knowing that was a ridiculous thought.

Truthfully, Nicollette was still on the fence. She knew she'd basically agreed to court Tobias, but was that really what she wanted? She did it in a spur-of-the-moment thing, to rid herself of the gross feelings she'd felt when her father mentioned that Matthias's family was meeting with Candice's.

It was a childish thought, she realized. In no way, shape, or form would Matthias ever marry a girl like Candice, right? The man didn't believe in love, let alone marriage, vowing to be single for the rest of his life. Why would he marry a stuck-up princess who was pretty much the female version of Ryker Olivander?

Surely, her father was just guessing. He didn't actually know why the Sutcliffes were meeting with the Gilcrests; it was just his own personal assumption. This meant that the meeting might not have been about marriage, and she knew that even if it was - Matthias wouldn't agree. Right?

Right?

Besides, what did it matter to Nicollette anyway? Matthias was... Matthias. She was stupid to agree that the necklace was a courting gift when she knew she didn't want to be with Tobias. Whether Matthias married Candice or not didn't matter, and she wouldn't allow his decisions to affect who she ended up with.

That was it. She was going to go find Tobias the moment she could. She was going to politely turn him down, give the necklace back, and apologize for leading him on and giving the wrong impression.

Even as she walked out of her home with her mother and over to the palace where they'd meet her father and the Sutcliffe family, she thought about what she was going to say. She felt bad because Tobias was a nice guy. He had been kind, going out of his way to travel all the way to Aradia just to speak with her. He was respectful as well, especially for a prince.

She fidgeted with her hands as she entered the dining room. She didn't understand the butterflies in her stomach, or why she was so anxious for a dinner she'd had often. It wasn't any different, except she was more dressed up than usual.

It took all but two seconds for her to notice that Matthias was absent. It wasn't unlike him to skip these - he used to do it often to hang out with Zacharias. However, it was unusual to see the Queen's sister Trudy present.

Trudy had never really liked the Terilows. Well, she never liked the friendship that the older couples had. She thought that Nicollette's father was an amazing right-hand man, that he did his job well. She thought that her mother was an amazing help around the palace, knowing different skills and doing anything the Queen requested. However, she never approved of the friendship between the four, and she never accepted Nicollette.