shoulders back !

“ things have become slightly more complicated now. ” slightly was putting it lightly. even if the police were looking into an intruder, she was still under a magnifying-glass. every movement monitored. “ it’s why getting out of here is my top priority. ” her expression was grim. “ i called chantal, she said she’s happy to host me in bordeaux. ” glad to have the opportunity to gloat, nicole was certain. “ all i need is your word that i’ll get across the border. ” ( &. @vrnvuld​ )

“ nat, do you have a moment ? ” she hasn’t slept. she hasn’t had time to rest nor has she wanted to slow down and be haunted by her own thoughts. “ it’s quite important. ” ( &. @nataliademarquis​ )

her brows knit together in worry when she spotted natalia in the room. she made a beeline to her daughter and hunched to speak directly into her ear. she didn't want people to eavesdrop. " i thought you'd be half across the country already. " her hand stroked natalia's back, and she rested her forehead against her daughter's head. things didn't always go as planned. it was such a shame that natalia was now stuck in london. " how are you feeling ? you must be exhausted. " ( &. @nataliademarquis​ )

“ no, i asked if someone had offered you one. ” nicole’s irritation knew no bounds. “ forget it. it doesn’t matter. ” clearly no one had. she could rest easy for now. she hissed in pain as he ended up tugging her hair. she grabbed the back of her head and kept her hair by her scalp. “ for god’s sake. ” the second she was free, she marched into his office. stomped would have been a more accurate way to put it. “ yes ! that is what i’m asking you to do. what do you expect me to do ? tell them i’m just as guilty as you are and get locked up in the cell next to yours ? no thank you. that can be avoided. you know it can. i want to know if you’ll let me live. ” she wanted to keep her life the way it was. she would not exchange her freedom for a clean conscience. she would not abandon the best things about life so he could feel like he wasn’t alone. “ if things begin to look dire, i’ll escape to france. i’ll start making preparations tomorrow. ”

it wasn’t exactly the answer she had hoped to hear. nicole’s jaw tightened. “ yes, but will it be proven in front of a judge ? ” the truth and a truth in a court room were two very different things. “ have you been offered a deal ? i’ve been wondering if they want to make you pay the full price or if they want as many people as possible trialed. ” both must have been tempting options for the legitimists. what frustrated her about the situation was that had she been given six months, she might have truly gone through with her threat and gotten rid of arthur — making natalia the lead figure could have made a difference ! she would have needed just a bit of extra time. but now... now she was stuck with arthur. tied to him. stuck on a sinking ship she could not steer. “ i want you to promise me that you won’t drag us down with you. ”

“ you could admit your defeat in front of her. i don’t think a sorry will have much of an effect. ” especially when the sincerity of it could be ( and would be ) questioned. “ you’re not imprisoned now, i think it’s a good sign. it’ll be alright. ” she hoped to make natalia worry even a little bit less about the future. “ i... ” she turned her head to look at the crowd instead of natalia. it was almost embarrassing to admit that her longest friendship was to someone she couldn’t trust one bit. “ i think if it comes down to saving his own skin, he’ll sacrifice us. ” nicole was as guilty as arthur — it wouldn’t be terribly unfair of him to let her pay the price too. he wouldn’t struggle to find a justification for selling her out. “ yes, chantal, ” nicole mused with a tight jaw. “ i’m sure she’d make arrangements for us. ”

she was so tired of babysitting. she was so tired of making her own worries the second most important thing. she was so tired to be tasked with making sure he didn’t make more mistakes. she could barely keep walking in her heels and with his weight pushing her down. she felt like she was carrying a boulder. “ i know. i know you do. they deserve it too. ” why did his quarters have to be on the other side of the massive building ? “ have you... been asked questions about natalia and i ? about our involvement ? ” at least she could expect honesty from him because of his current state.

“ come with me, ” nicole ordered him as she grabbed him by the arm. “ we need to talk while we can. ” while he was still able to comprehend her words. “ let’s go to your study, hmm ? ” it was better to keep him away from the party. ( &.  @arthurwindsorsr​ )

nicole burned with anger. that was it. she was done with his childish tantrums that had become more and more frequent as of late. “ is that a threat ? ” nicole asked. her tone was icy. she had not spent years by his side only to be sidelined for some new flaky ally who might or might not stab them in the back. she had not spent the past few years connecting with old friends and working late hours to ensure natalia’s win only for him to screw things up so close to the finish line. “ you’re delusional if you think you can beat me at this. ” they knew each others’ secrets. they knew the bits of information that would destroy them... nicole had a lot less to lose than arthur. “ if you’re going to be a disgusting pathetic little man, do not mention my daughter’s name. ” her hands itched to strangle him. “ it’s a little bit too late to pretend to care about her, arthur. ” she straightened her back and took a deep breath before glancing at her watch. “ apologise by sunday and i won’t make my own plans. ”

“ this has only ever been about natalia, ” nicole stated coldly. arthur was natalia’s golden ticket. there was no way natalia could have become the next-in-line any other way. “ you and your idiocy lost the throne. you could have taken it as a sign to step aside for good. let natalia have the spotlight, you’ll be able to do what you like doing: absolutely nothing. you can keep loitering around and bossing people around. ” his ungratefulness was carving a very large hole into her. “ and you don’t understand yours. either you promise me the position of lord speaker, or i will make sure that you’re not in a position to give it to anyone. ”

“ ultimatums aren’t ideal but sometimes they get the job done much better than hours of negotiations. ” and since time was of the essence in their case, nicole felt like it wouldn’t be a bad idea to be a bit forceful. “ sometimes people prefer you to make the difficult decision for them. some people just do not have the ability to make decisions. ” in nicole’s opinion, it was easy to make decisions. until you had made a decision, you couldn’t plan anything, and until you had planned something, you couldn’t accomplish anything. “ i think it helps. no matter where he is, he hurts the cause. it’s better that he’s far away from home. this way we can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t muck up in england. ” she sighed and stared at the bouquet at the center of the table. “ sometimes i think it would be easier if he didn’t exist. ” 

“ i am as calm as the situation requires me to be, ” she hissed at him. “ if we’re making sacrifices, how about you step down and campaign for natalia ? it will save me a few decades. not to mention how people like her much more than they like you, we might stand a better chance that way. do you want us to win or not ? ”

her eyes were nothing but two narrow slits on her face. “ perhaps i wouldn’t find it necessary if you had this under control. ” usually she knew better than to wound arthur’s very brittle pride. arthur could be so dashing, fun, and charming when he was in a good mood — then come hard times and he became unbearable. childish, unfair, and simply unbearable. there was nothing to gain from upsetting him... except for a brief moment of satisfaction. “ you did what ? ” her voice grew by a decibel. “ you promised that position to me. ”