leave me alone

The amount of bodies that crowded the giant room was more than enough to make Nicollette's nerves skyrocket through the room. She felt like a child, following her mother around the room like a tiny puppy dog who lost its way home. Instead of paying any mind to anyone else in the room, she just stood by her mother and watched as her mother talked with other adults who stood around.

This wasn't her scene. She wasn't the type to go to fancy gatherings, making small talk with anyone and everyone until it ended. She felt completely out of place as if she should and could be anywhere except in the room she currently stood in.

Nicollette didn't even understand why she was here in the first place. She didn't understand why she was getting invited to any of the royal gatherings when she was the opposite of that. She was poor, didn't have a job, and didn't have a family that was related to royalty. Some would consider her an honorary member, yes, but that meant nothing. Honorary was only a term used to describe it, it didn't mean anything in the important factors.

She didn't want this life. She didn't want to dress up every day to sit around while everyone around her bragged about their wealth. She didn't care about the palaces and mansions, the loads of money wasted on horses and carriages. She didn't care about any of that.

Sure, she'd thought about what she'd do if she were put in the position, but didn't everyone? Everyone gave thought to what their life would be like if they were blessed with such titles, and Nicollette wasn't any different. However, when she did give thought to the idea, she didn't think what most would assume. She thought about how she'd help everyone, how her money and wealth and title would go to good.

"Nic!" A familiar voice exclaimed, and the blonde looked to see one of her friends heading her way.

Maria Sutcliffe. She was the princess of Aradia, sister to none other than Matthias Sutcliffe himself.

Despite the two being related, one wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at them. They didn't really look too much alike besides a similar feature or mannerism here and there, and their personalities were complete opposites. She was much more bearable than Matthias, and Nicollette found herself enjoying the girl's presence more than she ever thought she would.

"I didn't think you'd actually show up," Maria commented as she met up with the blonde. Alayna Fernsby, a close friend of Maria's, stood behind Maria with a shy look on her face, seeming to look just as nervous as Nicollette felt. 

"I don't think I had much of a choice," Nicollette responded in a low tone, one where her mother couldn't hear her. She motioned to the older woman who was in the middle of a conversation with a Lady from a nearby Kingdom, her focus completely away from her daughter.

"I guess that makes sense," Maria said. "I always thought you'd be caught dead before coming to something like this. Although I will say, seeing you here has definitely caused my mood to turn a little upside down."

"What is the point of this anyway?" Nicollette began to ask, rubbing her hands together nervously. "What, we just sit and chat about how perfect we are living in our own perfect little  worlds?"

Maria laughed, a loud laugh that caused a few people standing nearby to glance their way. She didn't care though, and instead clapped her hands together happily. This caused Alayna to let out a fit of giggles as well, covering her hand with her mouth out of habit.

"I knew you'd make this evening much easier to get through," Maria told the girl.

Nicollette didn't understand what she said that was so funny, but then she realized that it did sound like a joke and Maria didn't understand how serious it was. She just smiled in return, not wanting to seem rude.

"Anyway, you won't guess who tried flirting with me, again." Maria quickly changed the subject.

"Who on Earth would that be?" Nicollette sarcastically asked, already knowing the answer. Nine times out of ten, when Maria brought up someone flirting with her it was always Ryker.

This was the same Ryker who bullied Nicollette as if his life depended on it, treating her like the dirt on the bottom of his shoe. It disgusted Nicollette at the thought of him getting lovey-dovey with one of her friends, but at the same time, she wasn't shocked since it's been going on since he'd met the girl.

Not to mention Maria was a Princess, meaning she was higher ranked than he was. Of course he was going to warm up to her and be as flirtatious as possible. Anyone higher than him he treated like a God, whereas anyone lower than him...

Everyone knows how that goes.

"Ryker. Like can you believe it?" Maria asked, rolling her eyes. "The man doesn't know how to take a hint."

Nicollette just politely smiled, staying silent as Maria ranted. She knew how much Ryker bothered the girl, and it wasn't a shock to see her go on and on about how annoying he was.

Maria wasn't usually the type to talk a lot, nor was she the type to act so upbeat and happy about things. But when it came to Nicollette, she was able to act like her younger self - the version of her she always wanted to be.

Or that's how Maria had put it. She constantly spoke about how Nicollette let her be herself, and it made her dim world a little bit brighter.

Nicollette didn't understand how, but she didn't wanna depress Maria more by telling her that she wasn't that much of a mood enhancer. She was more the opposite - so it seemed - and you could ask the majority of the people in the palace.

Before Maria could get very far in her rant about the annoying Duke of Sandria, they were interrupted. Alayna was the first to notice the new person standing in their tiny circle, a man she'd only seen once or twice and only really knew of because of her brother.

Of course, Atlas Fernsby hadn't said many nice things about Tobias Avington, but it wasn't anything personal. He'd just gotten a weird feeling that something was off about him and couldn't put his finger on it - something nobody else really seemed to notice.

"Excuse me, ladies, I'm sorry to interrupt." Tobias apologized, placing a hand over his chest. He glanced away from Maria and Alayna to Nicollette, a look covering his face that didn't go unnoticed by the two.

Maria and Alayna shared a look before Alayna decided to speak up. "We need to go say hello to the other guests. Right, Maria?"

Maria hesitated for a moment before smiling. "Right! I almost forgot."

Nicollette began to say something but before she could the other two had already walked away. They were deep in the crowd of people surrounding them before her attention was back to Tobias, who had already been sneaking a glance at her.

"I forgot to introduce myself," Tobias spoke with red cheeks. "I'm Tobias Avington, Prince of Caldoria."

Nicollette, not having realized he was a prince, looked at him with shock. Not because she was impressed, but because he'd willingly come up to her and introduced himself nicely. He'd had the complete opposite attitude any other Prince had to her, almost kinder than any other royal member.

Realizing she had to respond, she spoke the first thing that came to mind. "Is- is that supposed to impress me?" She'd asked with a raised brow, catching him off guard.

"No, of course- of course not." He quickly shook his head, "I was just- just introducing myself is all."

Noticing the flustered reaction, she let out a small sigh. He didn't come across as mean, but that didn't mean she was going to let her guard down so easily. So instead she nodded, forcing herself to smile a small smile. "Nicollette Terilow, nobody important." She introduced.

Tobias reached out and grabbed her hand, kissing the top of it over the glove she wore. "It's a real pleasure, Nicollette." He told her.

Nicollette's cheeks began to burn a crimson red, her palms growing sweaty under the silk gloves that covered her hands. She smiled - a genuine one - bowing slightly to greet him. "A pleasure," She agreed politely.

"So what's a lovely woman like yourself attending one of these?" Tobias asked, letting go of her hand.

"My parents are very close with the Sutcliffe's, meaning they'd like us to attend some of these events as guests," Nicollette responded, her eyes on his as they spoke.

Tobias was attractive, Nicollette couldn't deny that. He had light-colored eyes that matched his complexion perfectly, and light hair that fell across his forehead perfectly. He was good-looking, for sure.

"Guests?" Tobias' smile fell only slightly, causing the girl herself to frown. Thinking this was the moment he realized she wasn't anyone of importance - as she stated in her introduction - she prepped herself to hear the worst of the worst.

Although it never came.

"That's odd. Before coming over here I was informed you were nothing but the help. A servant, if you will." Tobias explained, his brows pushing together in thought.

Nicollette looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked.

His eyes then glanced over to the left, in the direction where Matthias stood. He was in between none other than Ryker and Zacharias, the three watching their interaction closely. She knew they couldn't hear anything due to the chatter echoing through the giant room, but they were watching their every movement to try and get the gist of what was happening.

She didn't like that.

As soon as both she and Tobias looked over to the three, they looked around as if they weren't looking at all. This just made her blood boil more, wishing more than anything she could walk over and slap all three of them in the face.

She took a deep breath before looking back at Tobias. "Listen, I'm really sorry but I've got to go. I-I've just remembered something. I'm sorry to leave like this."

Tobias looked at her in confusion, his head tilting to the side for a moment. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, thank you." Nicollette was quick to respond. She picked part of her dress up to keep from tripping on it before making her way over to the three boys who'd been watching her.

Almost as soon as she arrived she stopped and dropped her dress, realizing she hadn't even thought about what she wanted to say.

Finally, she spoke. "You're a real jerk, you know that? I expect it from him-" She stopped, motioning to Ryker. "But you? That's a new low."

Matthias looked at her with no emotion, seeming to not care about her comment. Ryker took this as an opportunity to speak up, with of course nothing good to say.

"You have no right to talk to us like that," He spat. "You're nothing but a no-good peasant who should be honored to even be called a servant. You shouldn't be here and you know that, so what's the point of trying to fit in? We all see you for what you truly are. Scum."

Nicollette felt tears sting at her eyes, hurt by the things he said. Of course, Ryker was the type of guy to say horrible things to her all the time, so she should be used to it. However, this was different. She'd never felt so... offended by something so small.

She shouldn't let it get to her, and she knew that. But instead of defending herself as one would, she just grabbed the bottom half of her dress again and ran out of the giant room, hoping nobody would notice.

It didn't take long for her to flee the giant palace and make her way into the field in the direction of the stables. She knew that's where her best friend would be, and she knew he was someone she could talk to about her feelings without feeling judged.

"Nicollette, wait!" Someone called out from behind her. She stopped in her spot, her breathing heavy as she turned around.

Matthias jogged after her, seeming to take no effort at all to catch up to where she stood. He stopped when he was only a few feet away from her, his eyes carefully watching her face as if he were waiting to see what she'd say.

But she didn't.

She stood there in silence, catching her breath as she watched him, waiting for him to say what was so important to him that he had to stop her from leaving the gathering.

"Look, Lettie, I-"

"Don't!" Nicollette exclaimed, cutting him off. "Don't you dare call me that."

"What Ryker said, it was wrong and-"

"And what?" She cut him off again, causing his mouth to shut quickly. "What, you tell- you tell him that? Or are you telling me that?"

Matthias stayed silent, giving Nicollette her answer.

"That's what I thought," She muttered. "Save your statements, your fake little nice guy act. You know, I don't even know why you came after me or why I bothered to stop when you called my name. You- you're confusing. One second you hate me the next you're acting sort of decent, and this has been years of this! I understand you hate me because I'm not royalty like you, but not all people are like that. I'm not a joke nor a game."

"I never said you were, Lettie," Matthias mumbled.

"Yeah well, actions speak louder than words. You think I wanted to go to that stupid gathering? You think I wanted to sit and watch as everyone who didn't understand why I was there looked down on me?" Nicollette let out a laugh, one that came out forced. "Leave me alone, that's what you're good at."

Without letting Matthias attempt to explain himself any longer, Nicollette turned and walked away. She left him standing in the middle of the field, her focus back to the stables where her best friend would be working.

It didn't take long for her to arrive, her feet hurting due to the heels her mother had forced her to wear that day. She walked in to see him in the middle of tending to the horses, his attention focused on the task at hand.

At the sound of someone entering, he was quick to turn to see who it was. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him, the brush in his hand falling to the ground as he made his way toward Nicollette.

"Nic, what-"

He was quickly cut off by the girl grabbing onto him, her arms snaking around his waist as she pressed her face against his chest. She began to cry, her frustrations coming to light as he hugged her back without question.

Charles didn't ask what was going on. He wanted to know, sure, but he cared more for Nicollette's well-being than figuring out what was making her cry. So he held her, rubbing her back soothingly as her tears soaked his t-shirt.

"It'll be okay, it's okay." He soothed her, pressing his cheek to the top of her head in their embrace. "It's going to be okay."

++

Sort of an icky end, whoopsie!