i won't say anything at all

It had been a few weeks since the ball. Nicollette hadn't really seen anyone, still hurt over the harsh words that Matthias' aunt had said to her.

She'd come out to see Tobias every so often, but that was mostly because she felt pressured to by her mother. According to Estella, it was rude and not ladylike to stop talking to someone you'd been courting. It would not only make Nicollette look bad, but also the entire Terilow family and the kingdom.

And obviously, the Kingdom was most important.

Nicollette sat at her vanity, brushing her hair. Well, she was more so pulling the brush through the same section of her hair, her mind somewhere else.

You're nothing but a cheap girl who needs to learn her place.

Why did she even care what that old hag thought? Nicollette knew she didn't want to steal Matthias from Candice. Sure, she'd realized she felt... something for the boy, but that didn't mean she was actively trying to seduce him. Even if Nicollette were to admit such an... outlandish thought out loud, she'd never intentionally do anything to ruin another person's happiness. It just wasn't who she was, whether they saw her that way or not.

Nicollette sighed as she set her brush down on the vanity. She ran a hand through her soft hair, biting back the few tears that burned her eyes. "He's just a boy, I'll get over it," She muttered to herself, sliding from the chair. 

She walked over to her window, pulling the curtains aside to look out at the stables. She could see Charles tending to his duties, not bothering to even glance in her direction toward her house. They still hadn't talked or made up, the two avoiding each other at all costs. It was weird to everyone in both the Terilow and the Sutcliffe residences, because they all knew that Charles and Nicollette had been close.

But only a few people knew about what had actually happened. Matthias knew all the details, and he hadn't said anything. Even when Ryker and Zacharias asked about it, he just said he didn't know anything, lying for Nicollette.

A few knocks on the door had Nicollette shutting the curtain. "Yeah?" She asked softly, her voice almost too quiet for Malia to hear on the other side of the door.

"Prince Tobias is here to see you, Miss Terilow."

 "Of course he is," She murmured to herself. "Yeah, alright. Coming." 

She waited until she heard Malia's footsteps fade before beginning to get ready. She didn't really try; instead just shoved a cardigan on her shoulders and shoes on her feet. She pulled her hair from the collar of her sweater before leaving the bedroom, taking the longest time she could manage to get down the stairs and into the foyer, where Tobias would be waiting for her.

Her hands were shoved in her pockets, and she didn't bother to bow to him as she approached. Neither of her parents was around - which she didn't really mind because then that meant she could get away with not being so polite and proper. 

"Nicollette," Tobias said, bowing softly once he noticed her approach.

"Hey," She casually said, glancing around the empty living room before looking back at him. "What- what are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you. I haven't seen you in a while," He said with a small smile. "I hope that's okay."

It wasn't.

"Yeah- yeah, no, that's okay." She nodded quickly, swallowing.

"Good, good," Tobias said. "Shall we go for a walk?"

No.

"Sure," She breathed out. "We can, yeah."

He held his arm out, and as much as Nicollette wanted to change her mind and go back up to the isolation of her bedroom, she didn't. She hesitated before reaching out and linking her arm with his, letting him lead her out of the sanctuary of her house.

The sun was blinding as they walked down the porch and onto the trail in the residence. Nicollette was silent. She didn't know what to say, and even if she did, she didn't feel like talking. She avoided looking anywhere but at her feet, not wanting to accidentally make eye contact with Charles in the stables or to catch sight of Matthias with Candice.

Even if he wasn't with Candice. Even if he was with Ryker or Zacharias or even if he was just by himself, Nicollette knew she couldn't handle seeing him. His aunt's words echoed in her mind over and over again like a scratched CD, and she knew that seeing him and looking into those ocean eyes would only make her hurt more.

"I'd like to see you more, Nicollette," Tobias said, finally breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Nicollette asked.

She glanced over at him as he led her through the garden, the sounds of crickets and bees surrounding them. They walked through it before exiting, continuing to just make their rounds around the residence.

"Just as it sounds." Tobias simply said. "I'd like to see you more. I think we're getting along well, and I do quite enjoy your presence. I'm thinking of coming to visit every weekend." 

"Every weekend?" Nicollette asked, finally looking over at him. "That's... a lot of traveling for you."

"But it can be worth it," He said. 

Nicollette didn't say anything. It already took a lot of convincing herself to see him whenever he came to town unannounced. And now, she was going to have to do it more often on top of everything else going on in her life.

Before she could muster out an excuse, Tobias pulled something from his pocket with his right hand. She watched as he cleared his throat, holding a velvet box the color of an ugly green color. He flipped it open with his thumb, a giant diamond ring sitting in the middle.

Oh shit.

"It's a diamond," Tobias stated, although Nicollette knew that from the moment the sunlight glinted against it. "Yours if you want it."

The proposal was short and sweet. Something Nicollette had always thought she'd wanted. It was even out of character for Tobias to propose in such a... nonchalant way. But he had, and she hadn't even realized she'd stopped walking until he turned to face her, letting go of her arm.

But as he stood in front of her, holding a diamond ring in his hands that was worth more than anything she owned - she didn't feel what she thought she'd feel when she eventually found the person she wanted to be with for the rest of her life.

Her first thought was to decline. To say no, to say that this has already gone farther than she wanted it to. That he wasn't who she wanted, and that deep down, she knew he knew this too. 

But then nasty words echoed through her mind, causing her head to spin and her heart to ache.

Don't ruin his future because you're selfish.

"Yes," Nicollette said quickly, the word barely a whisper. Her stomach churned as she spoke, and as Tobias smiled in relief. 

"Yeah?" He asked, pulling the ring from its spot in the box.

"Okay," She said, confirming even though that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Tears burned in her eyes as he slowly slid the ring onto her left ring finger. She glanced at how the ring looked on her finger, noticing that it was just a little too big and a little too bulky. 

"I'm glad I came today, Nicollette," Tobias said as he linked his arm with hers, leading her back toward her house. "I can't wait to tell everyone."

"W-what?" She asked softly.

"Well- you'd like to tell everyone, right?" Tobias said.

"I- I guess so," She mumbled out, looking away. 

"I guess we should start by telling your parents," Tobias said as they approached the house. "Are they home? Maybe I can-"

"Or we can wait." Nicollette quickly cut him off. "I mean- what's the rush? With there already being one big wedding in Aradia, shouldn't we wait to tell everyone?"

Tobias thought about it for a moment before nodding. "You've a brilliant mind, Nicollette. We'll wait."

"Thank you," She breathed out in relief, wringing her hands together nervously.

"I'll see you this weekend then, Nicollette." He bowed softly. He then leaned in, and Nicollette's heart raced.

Just as she prepared to shove him away, his lips landed on her cheek instead of her lips, like she thought they would, her heart relaxing.

She watched with wide eyes as he turned and made his way to his carriage, her fingers restless. The ring on her finger felt heavy - and she knew she wouldn't be wearing it when she was on her own in her room.

Nicollette stayed glued to her spot on the porch. The breeze filtered through her messy hair, her eyes watching as the carriage pulled out of the Sutcliffe manor and down the pathway leading to the Kingdom. She continued to stare even after she couldn't see him anymore, her mind a whirlwind. She knew she should be happy, a prince had just proposed to her - a nice prince who'd been nothing but kind. But in the back of her head, her heart was screaming that this was the biggest mistake. That she was making the wrong decisions - choosing the wrong person.

She was going to marry Tobias Avington. 

"Nicollette," A soft voice spoke.

She turned to see Brielle standing there, with Benjamin at her side. She quickly hid her hands behind her back, almost acting as if a child were caught in the cookie jar.

"Benjamin, Brielle, hey." She greeted, her blue eyes flickering between the siblings. "What are you doing in town?"

"We just wanted to come by and see you," Benjamin softly said.

"You're kind of the talk right now, running out of the ball like that." Brielle bluntly said, a sympathetic look on her face. "I know it's been a few weeks since that happened, but since you haven't been physically seen at any event afterward... people are talking."

Right. When Matthias' aunt had said horrible, vile things to her. When she'd run out, ran into Atlas and begged him to take her home. Somehow, Tobias hadn't really asked. He knew something was wrong, and Nicollette knew that he knew, but he didn't push, and she did appreciate that. But that didn't mean the others wouldn't question it, especially someone as blunt and straightforward as Brielle.

"Look, I appreciat-"

"We're not coming here to force you to talk," Benjamin quickly cut in, interrupting her. "As much as we're curious, we're not the type of friends to sit and push someone to talk about something they don't want to. We know what that's like, and that's not our character."

Friends.

Nicollette was very caught off guard. By the fact that not only had Brielle and Benjamin shown up unannounced. By the fact that they had brought up what had happened at the ball, which seemed like forever ago when in reality it had only been a few weeks. By the fact that even though they were honest about wanting to know what had happened, they knew Nicollette didn't want to talk about it, and so they hadn't come to force her to tell them, but instead to check on her. 

By the fact that they'd just called her their friend.

"So..." Brielle spoke, bringing Nicollette out of her thoughts. "You gonna invite us in or just stand there?"

"Bri," Benjamin softly scolded, causing the other girl to look at him.

"What? It's quite sunny out for how cold it's been, and I burn easily." Brielle argued.

"So? That doesn't mean-"

As the two began to bicker, Nicollette swiftly pulled her hands from behind her back. She slipped off the ring on her left ring finger, shoving it in her hoodie pocket so the two didn't see. "Yeah, yeah." She quickly said, causing the two siblings to stop speaking. "You guys can come in. My parents aren't here, but Malia's lingering around somewhere if you don't mind."

"Oh, we don't mind at all," Benjamin wiggled his eyebrows, nudging Brielle. He walked past her as she swatted her hand in his direction, but by the time she'd reacted he'd already stalked past Nicollette and into the house.

Brielle's cheeks burned a bright red, and she sighed in frustration as Nicollette raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to hear about it. He's an annoying little shit."

She quickly scurried past the blonde and into the house as well, leaving Nicollette outside for a moment longer by herself.

Although she was curious about Benjamin's comment, her mind was already too full to even grasp what he was hinting at. She pulled the giant diamond ring from her pocket, staring at it. The sunlight glinted in it, casting little lights along her cheeks. She breathed in deeply as she looked up and around to make sure nobody had seen before shoving her hand back into her pocket.

What had she just done?

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Short n sweet chapter. Anyways yeah rip to #natthias