24 Proposals a la King

Sophia elegantly glided down the staircase, her sleeveless rose gold spaghetti strap party dress swaying. The carpet muffled the clicking sound of her matching rose gold stilettos.

Thankfully, no one had come yet, the ballroom was empty, whilst the only people there were Clarisse and Louis. Julia hadn't yet arrived. Knowing her, she'd make a grand entrance, seeing as it was her birthday, not that everyone else knew.

"With that outfit of yours, you're going to outshine Julia," Clarisse said truthfully, praising Sophia's outfit choice.

Oh, what Juliette would've done once she found out Sophia chose her outfit without her professional guidance and expertise, she would have had a field day.

Louis chuckled.

"Good luck explaining why you decided to choose your outfit yourself, Juliette's going to be outraged."

Sophia stifled a grimace. Indeed, she had some major explaining to do once the dinner dance was finished.

She made a mental note to dodge Juliette, and to be on her best behavior during the entire dinner dance, as Julia would want.

"When's Julia arriving?" She asked Louis, who was most likely to know.

Louis answered, "I'm not sure, she never specified."

"But, it's almost definite that she's going to make a grand entrance," Louis said with a chuckle.

"Classic Julia," Sophia added, not paying attention to the guests arriving to the gathering. Specifically, a posse of men coming her, and Clarisse's way.

Clarisse tried to warn Sophia, "Incoming."

Sophia absentmindedly waved her off.

Louis hadn't noticed it either, having gone somewhere else to check out the dinner dance's preparations before Julia arrived.

Sophia sighed, knowing she'd have to find a way to stick to the ruse's rules whilst not seeming… alone.

Someone tapped her shoulder. She whipped around, ever so secretly hoping it was the man who wasn't here.

She was visibly disappointed, if only she knew things would be taken to the next level incredibly soon.

With the ballroom more crowded than before, and all guests and foreign dignitaries accounted for already in the vicinity, except for Julia, of course.

One man in particular, had the incredible audacity to…

"Ms Windsor," he called, much to Sophia's dismay.

She wanted to correct him, 'It's your grace to you, your majesty.'

Yes, it was a king asking. A young one. He was about her age, and he'd come to ask her an important question, to him at the very least.

He'd come to Beldovia for her beauty, her charms, her intelligence throughout the entirety of the kingdom. Not that he knew the slightest bit of Sophia's… unique personality.

Since Sophia didn't reply, he repeated, "Ms Windsor."

Clarisse grimaced. This wasn't ending well and she knew it.

But, she chose to stand down.

She laughed, mumbling, 'But beware, beneath that angelic face of hers, lies evil.'

The king hadn't found that out yet, so, he got down one knee before popping the question, "Ms Windsor, will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the whole world whilst also being my queen?"

Sophia smiled, giving him the wrong impression. After all, it was what Beldovia needed, a respectable marriage. He was a king, and thus, he'd learnt of everything required to rule. Not to mention, his kingdom was more powerful than both Beldovia, Sanguis and Samar combined.

The king's face lit up, "I take it you accept my offer?"

Sophia snorted, wholly disregarding his title and the power he held. She was not going to be forced into marriage by a man she didn't know. He was insane if he thought he stood a chance.

"Quite the opposite," she said with a scoff.

The king furrowed his brows. He'd never been let down before. He couldn't fathom things.

And Sophia added - quite unhelpfully, "The day I marry you, or even consider the thought of it, is the day hell freezes over."

The king snarled, resorting to one thing he had learnt how to solve problems with, violence.

He lunged, and Sophia was ready to attack back before someone grabbed him by the arm.

"Hurt her, a single hair on her head, and I will end you," a man said loud enough for only the monarch to hear, not letting his hand go.

The king paid him no heed, before attempting to escape his grip and attack Sophia for her ill-mannered reply to his proposal.

"Is that a threat?" he demanded the man.

The man nearly smiled in an evil, psychotic manner.

"Sure is."

The cracking of bones was heard throughout the ballroom, causing the king to yelp in pain and agony. It took a little more give before he collapsed onto the ground, cradling his broken hand, disregarding everyone else in the room. Everyone gasped in shock, some taking steps back from the trio.

The man looked down at the weak king before crouching down to whisper something into his ear.

"Certainly is a threat. Hurt her again and simply wait and see what happens to you next, your majesty."

The man stood up, his face bearing no emotion.

Sophia resisted the urge to slap him. What did he think she was, some damsel-in-distress?

The crowd surrounding the three figures - Sophia, the man and the king - dissolved, returning to what they were originally doing.

Julia was disappointed once she realized her entrance had gone unnoticed, but her frown dissipated as soon as she saw what was hounding all the attention. He had come after all.

"Nicholas," she breathed.

Without any context as to what happened between the three, she carefully watched them from a distance.

Nicholas had gotten up on his feet by then, leaving Sophia without an answer as to why he returned when he had important matters he hadn't yet completed.

Louis and Clarisse watched, close to Julia. They too were just as astounded as Sophia was.

"And what exactly brings you back here? What about those confidential matters you had to attend to?" Sophia asked Nicholas, truly shocked.

Nicholas looked away.

"I dealt with those matters in my own way," he told Sophia.

"Besides, it's Julia's birthday today, which is reason to return," he said, acknowledging Julia who was watching them from afar, before mumbling to himself, 'And reason to see a certain someone again.'