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Milani had been set agog by Gregoir's advances and even more flattering utterances. That he thought so highly of her beauty caused a blush to pool in her otherwise creamy cheeks. No one in Prudence would ever be so brazen with their words, so the feeling that his remarks brought on was entirely new. How could this be the brother to cool, duty-bound Demetri that she'd grown so warm to when they were polar opposites?

She mentioned the late heir's name, and melancholy set in Gregoir's features, and she knew instantly that she'd said something wrong. The countess watched in minor regret as he retreated from the hall, wishing fervently that she'd held her tongue. With nothing that she could possibly due to alleviate the tension that wrapped tightly within her own body, Milani wrote off the entire instance as being handled in a proper fashion, and there was little that she could have done to alter the conclusion of their brief exchange. Not only that, but Gregoir might not even have a recollection of the events passed with how utterly inebriated he was.

Milani perked up at Danae, though she failed to completely mask her revulsion from the sight of blood at the table. She'd not met the princess before, and the impression she was left with was staunchly different than what she'd expected. When Danae asked to whom she was addressing Milani was left wondering how she couldn't know of the golden boy of the kingdom's fiance. Surely she was only doing this to follow formal etiquette, and to address Cat Gavini. "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you; I'm the Countess De Winters, and this is the Princess Cat Gavini of Lust."

With that, a quiet sigh escaped her parted lips, and she turned to Cat with a small smile. "Thank you." She couldn't add why exactly she felt gratitude towards the flighty princess of Lust. (Or so she'd heard) But, even with their kingdoms at war, she'd come to Milani's aid, and the countess marked it as something of notable character. While the assistance in the rather awkward situation hadn't been required, Cat's offering was not something she'd likely forget.

"Have you broken your fast yet? Or might you join me for the meal?"

As she spoke her invitation though, another came to join them, this time the very one she'd fought to avoid during the past day. His tone was cordial when he made his presence known, at least she could say that of the rake. But she nearly lost all control when he asked her reasoning for being placed Veritas' safe haven. Luckily, her hands had been beneath the table, and she sought bunching her skirt in her fists as a way to ventilate her anger. How could he play the ingnorant fiance? Why wouldn't he want his future bride to be safe from all impending attacks? The cad! The incessant fool of an heir!

She raised a finely arced eyebrow as she rounded her sapphire gaze on what was the form of her future husband, and was only slightly taken aback by how odd it would be to stare into the face that she'd almost looked forward to see and now only think of the unadulterated loathing that would come to being married to it's brother. Gods alive, how they looked alike. If she hadn't known better, if she'd not just come out of her clothes for mourning the very image, Milani might have been swayed to believe she was once again staring at Demetri, and that all that had transgressed in the past few months was simply a cruel joke.

A memory flooded her, and for a moment she thought it her own as she stared grudgingly up to Nikolai's face. How different her meeting with him had been to that of her meeting with Demetri. Both had been incredibly shy, she had been flushed in the face enough that he had asked if she liked tomatos, because her face sort of resembled one. It had been a small joke to lighten their moods, and shortly after they grew to be more at ease with each other's company. Him lightly teasing her had given her hope that laughter wouldn't fade into nothing but mere echoes, and it was then she accepted her fate as the future queen of Prudence. But the memory had been from Demetri's stand point, it'd shown him staring into the mirror before they met at the wicker table; it'd shown him smiling down the hallways after they parted ways. How odd that she'd channel something so private from his brother. Within a few seconds she was back, and Milani deliberated on the possibility that Demetri was in fact still alive. An evanescant hope, but there all the same.

But Demetri would have never asked about why her presence was there. No, this was most assuredly his younger brother - the failure of the kingdom, and apparently a fiance! The very idea that her parents thought him a suitable companion bruised her ego, stripped her to the core of any sense of pride that she may have acquired before. "Don't play coy with me, Nikolai Bascov." Her tone had gone from grateful with Cat to an icy tempest when speaking to her intended, not even bothering to give him the due respect that was protocol for an heir.

Where had she gotten this backbone? Had she not been whittling away as the fret consumed her just ten minutes before? She swallowed, deciding it'd be best that she not dwell on that and have her cow before him, not when she needed her opinions to be made lucid. He wouldn't be able to make expectations of her being the quiet, dutiful, obedient bride if she made it clear of what she thought of their pairing. "You know very well why I am stationed here instead of at home." It was much too dangerous as the future queen for her to not to seek the protection Veritas' plane could offer.

Oooh! For him to saunter in and act as though nothing was afoot! For him to just shrug off the fact that she'd already been promised to the better half of the twins, and that she'd be okay with getting what was left over after Demetri perished at the hands of an assassin! Perhaps those rumors of him being an invalid were true? Sure it was quite common in twins, one to have everything be fully functional while the other was left with but a few nuts and bolts and no materials for them to hold fast. She sincerely hoped this wasn't true. For all his faults, please let him have some sort of wits about him. The gods had to at least grant her this.

Milani tossed the napkin that had been daintily placed in her lap onto the empty plate before her and she turned to the princess of Lust with an apologetic expression. "I'm terribly sorry." She said in a rush, already the notions of being sick rumbled within her. "I know that I have just extended an invitation for us to share a meal," Sapphire orbs strayed to Nikolai for a second before she continued, "but I fear that the present company has caused my appetite to desert me."

With that, she stood and bowed her head to Cat and glared openly at Nikolai. If she could have shot daggers from her eyes, she'd have posted him to the wall with the blades. "I bid you adeiu. Hopefully we might postpone this meal for another time."

Her feet couldn't carry her from the hall fast enough, and she fled to her rooms in a hurry, hoping to beat the wrenching sobs that revertabrated in her chest.

Milani had stormed out of the room with a cloud of infuriation hovering over her. The air in the dining hall had become intolerable, and she nearly suffocated from his overbearing presence. Chest heaving, Milani fled to her bedrooms with a haste that wasn't even close to being dignified, but she'd ceased to care about formalities and appearances for now. Now, she just needed as much space between her and the heir to Prudence as possible.

Sobs burst from her as soon as she closed the doors behind her. How could he be so heartless, how could he think so low of her to think she didn't deserve the protection that was offered to the others who were of lesser rank than herself?

It was a few hours before she calmed down, and her usual senses of propriety returned to her, making the blue haired woman the epitome grace, eloquence and decorum once again. She was a lady of Prudence after all, and would soon be the first lady of her kingdom. Soon enough, she'd be married to the detestable lout of a man, who had even gone through enough lengths to suggest that she shouldn't seek refuge in Veritas' kingdom. As if her life weren't important to their kingdom.

Oh! The very thought of her cool exchange with Nikolai caused another bout of anger to boil within her chest.

Best not dwell upon it. You're going to make yourself sick again. Already the toils of an upset stomach rumbled through her. The countess exhaled deeply as her thoughts coaxed her to relax, hoping to quell her ailing nerves.

She sighed, and trailed a fingernail over the top of a vanilla envelope, the queen's intricate script spelling out Nikolai's name with fancy loops, instead of what he really deserved - a clumsy scrawl

He'd been so brash that he didn't deserve a letter from his mother (she had done well to mask her disliking of her son) and Milani certainly wouldn't resort to being a delivery girl. The a**! Had it been Demetri, she'd have gladly passed along the news to him. But the young countess would do the younger brother no favors. Not when he'd made his opinions of her character - not to mention their forthcoming union - lucid in the way of being apathetic towards her well being.

Duty required her to do what had been bade. But the pride that swelled with her ire wouldn't allow for her to bring the letter to Nikolai at dinner, where they would inevitably meet again. With resolve that she didn't quite understand where the courage originated, Milani left the envelope, still sealed, at the edge of her bed and headed to dinner.

She took a seat at the far end of the table, not wishing to attract the attentions of those in her own kingdom for a second time today. Veritas stepped in, a slight gimp to his walk - indubitably due to his age.

His voice was quiet, but somehow he spoke above the crowd, and she listened intently until he mentioned her name and Nikolai's in the same breath. A hot flash rushed to the top layer of her flesh, burning her from the inside out with embarrassment. It was bad enough that she had to marry the poor excuse of a paltry man; she didn't feel the need to have it announced to the whole world.

Slowly, the ocean hued orbs slid over the crowd, and if Nikolai's caught hers, he'd likely feel the daggers from the narrowed slits. Yes. She was going to make it perfectly clear that she detested this whole arrangement. After all, she was not a toy to be used and then passed around, and Nikolai had given no indication of adjusting that attitude when it came to her. b*****d.