#( FALLESTO ; REINHARD 04 )

[violetueur-archive]

@fallesto​​

Continued from: HERE

THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME, AS HEAD OF THIS HOUSE, THAT HE HAD HELD A BALL.

He never thought, anyone would come to it. He never thought anyone would even open the invitations that held his seal upon them, but the lady - his lady. Had insisted that such a thing would be good. That people did love him, perhaps not the nobles and the higher archy of the kingdom, who still deemed him a failure and a threat. Who still looked upon him as a weapon for the kingdom and council of lords to use against there enemies whenever they saw fit, no – they had not invited them.

It was the poor people. From the districts that had been forgotten by everyone, further as well to those in the villages who were ignored and he offered financial aid and protection to. To the poor who made up the entire population of the land, who felt like they were secondary in everything in this world, but not to him, never to him, and to her? Her charitable and large heart, to do good for people who had less.

NOTHING WAS MORE PLEASING.

As he stood within the ball room. The layer of dust that was here before, how untouched it was for so long, it had taken so much effort and time to clean, and she insisted he not cheat and do it all himself and use his devine pleasing of cleaning to do it on his own, that she, her two small maids and the staff would do it with him, naturally and put in a hard days effort of work and time and it was, impressive. It was very impressive to see what – working as a team? Leaning on others and asking for support from - friends, could do as well.

As he stood at the side of the room and held her card in his hand.

So many had come and he had made there outfits for them and asked for no payment or anything in return, he insisted! As he watched the mixture of colors and the sounds? Of music? More than that, laughter? Something that had been missing from this place for so long and of? Happiness and joy. People were, happy, very happy and it was enough for him to just stand and watch as he glanced down at her card for the moment and then back up at her standing before him – she wore the gown he had made her? Purple silk like her hair, he thought she would have hated it that he kept spoiling her.

“My lady? Your card is already full!”

As he turned, it over to her and let her see, the endless amount of names, that lacked family names and honorifics, but still it pleased him that so many wished to dace with the person who had made it all possible as he had scrippled his name, right at the bottom, to be last.

“I cannot –” As he glanced down and smiled a little bit, that of course, he would be last and he would not, he could not cut ahead of so many who had requested the honor and the right to hold her hand and dance with her on the ballroom floor.

“I will –” As bashful eyes glanced down for a moment and a smile crept up his face. “I will dance with you, after you have done so with ll your admires.”

ALL OF THIS, WAS FOR HIM IT WAS THE LEAST HE DESERVED.

She had never been involved with something like this, but Nicolette had heard people speak of such things in her time here— especially those of higher standing. Spoiled as she tended to be, she hadn’t much interest for such grandeur, as Reinhard provided every bit of pampering she could possibly want. She was the lady of the house, but not one involved in high society, nor did she plan to be. The people that ruled this kingdom were too corrupt and selfish for her to involve herself with, and she had slowly been pulling Reinhard towards her side more, so that he might break from the chains they attempted to place on him. The rules and the laws, were nothing more than a leash, and they no longer held the right to hold it. 

Reinhard was his own person first, but he was also her knight.

Still, she often recalled how sad his eyes had looked, and how wistful his voice had become, when she’d first awoken within that room and complimented his home— he’d told her that he wished other people would come to see it. In all her time here... no one ever had, unless it was to demand his help with something. It made her angry, but it broke her heart, too. He had convinced himself it was impossible, that everyone but her viewed him as a monster, and she would’ve been inclined to believe it... if she hadn’t seen the way the people he saved looked at him. How fondly they spoke of him in the poorer areas, things she had overheard when visiting them in the hopes to provide some assistance of her own.

His reputation had already been so fragile, and Nicolette had long made it her goal to raise it up, even as she had begun to feel someone else trying to tear it down. Some unknown, faceless adversary, that she was directly fighting against. Well... fuck them! All they had succeeded in was making the people that already feared him, hate him— people in power. The ones who controlled this kingdom and looked out for themselves. They weren’t the ones she was trying to win over, anyway. The people that truly mattered were the ones he already focused so much energy on, and she’d known within her heart that they could see that. She had decided to prove it to him. All of it... had certainly been a lot of work, but to see the look on Reinhard’s face as he watched his empty estate become filled with people that looked up to him, people that did not fear him— nothing could be worth more, than that.

She played her part well, the refined lady of the house, and greeted people as they arrived. Still, she could only hold out for so long, before her own selfishness won out and she had to excuse herself to locate the person she really wanted to see. He had not been hard to spot, tall stature and crimson hair quite noticeable, but more than anything... Reinhard always shined the brightest, to her. Even in a crowd, her eyes would be drawn to him, just as her heart was. As she neared him, Nicolette couldn’t help the way she nervously tried to fix her hair and smooth her hands over the bodice of the gown he’d made for her. She could not forget the way her heart had raced, when he’d shown it to her. 

❝ Oh, already? Geez that was fast... ❞ She eyed the card in his hands with a look of amusement that faded just a bit, as she searched for his name. It took her a lot longer to find... all the way at the bottom, much to her disappointment. ❝ Oh... I wanted to dance with you first. ❞ She pouted a bit, as he responded that he couldn’t. Nicolette resisted the urge to insist he do it anyway, watching with held breath as he turned his eyes away almost shyly. Such a demure reaction, that she desperately tried not to read too much into, even as her cheeks grew warm. Wishful thinking, she thought, but her heart still skipped a beat. ❝ I—I hardly think they’re MY admirers... ❞ She protested, though she certainly wanted him to be. ❝ But fine... you better not try and get out of it. I didn’t... get this dressed up for nothing, you know? ❞

❝ You look very handsome, by the way. I can hardly believe you’re not being swarmed by beautiful women... ❞