Being the Spoilt Princess

9: Truth is Beautiful

"Nicky?" I screech, as I notice his body covered in cobwebs crawling out in a rather undignified manner from where the fireplace should be. "What on earth are you doing? Do you not know how inappropriate it is to come into a lady's room at night, unannounced?" I spit angrily, dropping the candle with a harsh clang and running back to the safety of my bed, burying myself under the covers.

"I know, I know. I am very sorry to disturb you but I just had to see you. Why are you angry with me? Please, just tell me what is wrong." He asks, and I hear him stepping closer to the bed.

"No I shall not! Just go away!" I shout, but my voice is slightly muffled by the covers making me sound like a stroppy child.

"Please Trixie... I am sorry for whatever I did my love." Nicky pleads, causing me to go rigid.

Love? Love? How dare he call me his love! I am nothing of the kind! He has Flower, so why is he still harassing me? Just the thought of him trying to manipulate his way into my affections for some twisted, evil purpose incenses me beyond the point of fury, causing me to sit up and face him with barely contained violent anger.

"Your love? You want to talk about love? I am not your love Nikolaos!" I yell, standing up on the bed so that I am taller then him. "Apparently Princess Flower is but you never bothered to tell me!" I rage, spitting fury.

"Flower? You think I want Princess Flower?" Nicky asks before bursting into rambunctious laughter, which makes me even angrier. He thinks that now is a time for laughing at me, when I am clearly in an already fragile mental state? Moreover, how dare he look so perfect, so handsome, so desirable in the light of the silver moon? It is just not fair! Without another word, I leave the scoundrel to laugh as much as he wants, storming off the bed and hurdling towards the door, intent on hiring a boat – any boat - to take me back to Aswela myself.

I cannot be in Nikolaos' presence for a minute longer without crying. He is toxic, and poached my unwilling heart with little effort.

"Hey, hey Trixie, wait, please." Nikolaos utters as he reaches out to grab my bare arm, pulling me into him gently. "Darling, Princess Flower is nothing to me. She has nothing on you. Her father tried to arrange a union between us but I refused, as my heart has already been taken. If you didn't want me to, I would never talk to her again." He explains tenderly, causing my heart to start pounding faster.

"N-no, stop... please... you don't m-mean it." I plead, my fall tears falling as I break down in his arms.

"No my love, please don't cry!" Nicky pleads, his voice cracking, as he wipes my numerous and ugly tears. "I love you Bellatrix, how can you not know that? How can you not see how perfect you are?" He asks with his heart in his hand.

"I am not... n-no one loves me!" I wail, giving into my desire to be held by him.

He wraps his arms fiercely around me, a promise of safety, and guides us to sit down on the bed, just letting me cry.

"What happened to you?" He whispers after my sobs start to calm. "Who hurt you and made you so afraid of love?"

"I was fifteen when it began." I start with a sniffle. I do not know why but I just feel the need to get my past off my chest. I have never told anyone what really happened two years ago, and wrapped into Nicky's chest with his fingers softly strumming through my hair, I finally feel at peace to share the burden I have had to carry alone.

"I was young and naïve and desperate to fall in love, when I met... m-met Prince B-Briar, Princess Flower's older brother." Nicky's arms around me tighten as I mention his name. His reputation precedes him. "I was infatuated with him and soon thought we were in love, but my father said we had to wait until I was sixteen to begin officially courting. I started planning our children's names and everything." I sigh miserably, wishing I could go back in time and throttle fifteen year old me for being so empty-headed and whimsical. I had no idea how cruel the world really is.

"When my sixteenth birthday came around I was so excited, and my father allowed me to travel to Briar's kingdom alone – well with my maids of course. When I got there, I ran into Flower and I boasted to her about my relationship with her brother, as we have always hated each other. She simply smirked at me and took me to his bedroom, where I found... I found... I found..."

"Hey, please you do not have to go on." Nicky tells me, and I can hear the heartbreak in his voice for me, a testimony to just how much he cares, which makes me fall even deeper for him.

"No... I want to. I found him in... In bed with, with a maid... on my birthday which I had dreamed about for months." I reveal bitterly.

"That bastard... if I was there he would not be alive right now." Nicky growls protectively.

"It is ok Nicky... I am ok now. What was worse was he laughed at me when I started crying and told me I was stupid for letting him sleeping with another woman get between our relationship. I broke it off right then with him, and decided all men are pigs. He then told me he never really cared for me and only wanted me because he wanted an alignment between our countries. I had to leave straight away with my heart broken and tail between my legs, which was when I realised how stupid I was to give anyone the power to hurt me. That is why I vowed never to get married, and have written off of love."

"I am so sorry you had to go through that Trixie. You do not deserve anything of the sort, and if I ever see that imbecilic again I will make sure he never has children."

"Oh Nicky." I giggle, feeling lighter now then I have in years. "I am literally stepping on being eighteen now, and I cannot believe I let that jerk affect my life for so long. He made me become bitter, cynical and negative about the world, always moping around and being incredibly selfish. I was just so worried about being hurt again, and afraid of love, I put a mask on and pushed everyone away." I admit sadly.

"Oh Trixie, I promise not everyone is like that rat, some of us are actually nice, and you are not a bad person darling." Nicky tries to comfort me.

"No, I am. I know there are many things I need to work on, and that is only because of you. You make me want to be better." I whisper shyly, peering up at Nicky who has an adoring look on his face.

Edited