Steal the Stars [REWRITING]

Nicole - Idiot

I was an idiot.

Leo was dying, and it was all my fault. If he survived, he'd never forgive me. Not that I deserved forgiveness. I didn't, especially if tonight's actions were taken into account. Because I was why Leo wasn't about to leave the palace, I was why he might be dead. I couldn't hear anything beyond the door. I just hoped that, if he was able, he'd gotten away.

But I knew Leo. I knew he was stupidly loyal, and that even though he shouldn't have been, he was probably still outside that door.

"Do you hear me? Are you even listening to me?" my father snapped. "This is your problem, Nicole. You've never listened to a word I've said, and look where it got you." He gestured vaguely at me, but I got the point. I was standing in a pool of my own blood, glass in my arms and grime and rock from the tower most likely in my hands, while having as good as killed Leo.

I nodded blankly. I didn't hear him. I had gone into auto-pilot, barely aware of him or anything else in the room.

He pointed towards the jewels, in their glass case, lit up slightly as light from the moon bounced off the shattered glass of the window. They were pretty much the only thing in the room that still looked mildly put together and intact.

"Take them, then," he said.

I stepped forward. I was crying, now, tears rolling faster than I could wipe them away. I hated him and his plans, but most of all, I hated myself. I'd let myself get trapped up here, let myself listen to him, let myself take whatever he threw at me, let myself let him use Leo to get to me.

I took a shaky breath, unsheathing my daggers. He watched me calmly, but I knew one misstep and I'd be on the floor while he raged. It'd happened again and again, and I was stupid enough to let it keep happening. If I could just do one thing right, one thing, it wouldn't. But I couldn't. Ever.

"Stop crying," he snapped, "you know I can't stand that. Can't you just get through one thing, one day, one task, without acting like a baby? This is why no one wants you around, Nicole. No one likes someone who cries all the time."

"I know," I whispered. "I'm sorry." I wiped at my eyes again, blood from my hands mixing with tears.

"Take them." He took another step towards me, and I shrank back.

I gripped my daggers. They were already slick with my blood and my hands shook, making them difficult to hang onto. I dropped one, the clang echoing throughout the room. I dropped to my knees to grab it back, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Stupid girl," my father snarled. He yanked me back up by my hair and I cried out. "Stop that. Are you trying to draw attention?"

"No," I choked out. "I'm sorry."

He rolled his eyes. "Just get on with it."

I stepped back towards the case, looking for some sort of escape. The room looked like it'd been built as a giant platform that the jewels case sat on, and it looked like every part was supposed to go up and down–probably controlled by the lever in the corner. The whole room was supposed to sink down, except for one tiny corner, near the lever and the door.

I didn't even know if I was right. Knowing me, I wasn't. It was just some stupid idea that my father wouldn't like, that I would be betting my life on–and worse, Leo's. But I knew my father, and I knew that as soon as he had what he wanted, I would become expendable. More importantly, Leo would be.

My father watched me as I lifted one of my daggers and shattered the glass. Nothing happened, which seemed to surprise him. Most likely, he'd figured there'd be traps, and it was better to send me than himself. He didn't know Annabelle had removed those an hour before, and that he hadn't even needed me in the first place. Right now, I would have to consider that a good thing. If he hadn't been expecting traps, Leo and I would be dead.