[Sofia] smoke and mirrors - Kat

Nikodim sat, dressed up in his grandest robes, family medallions proclaiming his noble titles adorning his chest. His hair was carefully styled, the longer top portion slicked back and kept out of his face by potions and products. He arrived at the family home of his very good friend Katerina, to propose marriage. He knew that Kat's parents had told her she would be meeting a suitor today, but he had insisted they not tell her who was coming. He wanted it to be a surprise. For his plan to work Niko needed her fight and indignation. He needed her to act like she always had when faced with a suitor who she was likely to despise. They needed that touch of reality for his plan to succeed.

Kat's parents had left the room, heading out to coax Katerina into meeting him in the study. He had managed to convince them that the two should have a few moments of privacy, to talk honestly to one another. He suspected their initial reticence was just as much to do with propriety as it was to keep their daughter from actually speaking her mind to a very rich, very well-connected suitor. But they eventually caved and Katerina would be here any moment.

As Niko was planning what to say to his friend, the door swung open and Kat herself walked in, her face carefully schooled to blankness although Niko could see the exasperation and annoyance laying just below the surface. Often were the time he had made similar faces. While her parents could see him, he walked to Katerina knelt down on one knee, kissing her hand as he did so. "Greetings, Katerina," he said in his low, warm voice. He watched as her parents slowly and reluctantly closed the door. He waited until he heard the latch click and their quiet footsteps before letting his formal mask drop.

He gave Kat his best boyish grin, all mischief, and said, "I hate these formal robes. I look like a statue and feel like a right ass. Sorry for the drama. I wanted to make sure you treated this meeting like any other." He let go of her hand, holding both of his up in supplication, saying quietly, "Before you yell at me, I would like to say that I am here as a suitor, but I think you will like my terms as they don't actually involve us having to get married."

"Um, Kat? I'd like to explain, but could you help me up? It's hard as hell to move in these brocade-covered garments and I don't think I can do it on my own..."

Katerina didn’t want to meet another prospective suitor. It wasn’t her fault that Emeryk wasn’t able to hold up his end of the deal, and had embarrassed her and her family in the process, although she wouldn’t ever admit to her own embarrassment. As much as she wished she could gripe and complain about why her parents were asking – which as really passive aggressively telling – her to go meet this new prospective suitor that had shown up, and be nice about it, she knew why. And, while she usually made the process about as miserable as she could for her parents (because if she was going to suffer, so were they) she didn’t have the energy to outright refuse, not today. Still, she made it clear that she was far from pleased as they made their way down to the study, shooting them an impertinent glance before sliding behind her mask of propriety, ready to face her guest.

As she passed over the threshold, Kat was fairly certain she’d never felt quite that murderous before. Nikodim. Her new suitor was Nikodim. It had to be a joke, it had to be, she decided as she curtseyed and beamed at him with a saccharine sweetness that she’d practiced at least a hundred times before “Nikodim, what a pleasant surprise.” It most certainly was not a pleasant surprise she thought sardonically, as she silently began counting the seconds until her parents left the room and the door closed. 45 seconds had ticked by before they were alone, and Kat had never been more grateful.

As Nikodim broke out into his usual grin Katerina felt a small sense of relief, but still regarded him skeptically with slightly narrowed eyes and a raised eyebrow, although a small smirk was tugging at the edge of her mouth. After a moment, and hearing him out Katerina looked more skeptical than before, but she had visibly relaxed, because despite the incredibly bizarre turn of events, he hadn’t befriended her with other intentions, at least she didn’t think so “You do look a little…frumpy…” she suggested, keeping her voice low, a slight lilt of laugher tinting her words “but if I’m not going to yell at you –because believe me – I have half a mind to do just that, you should start explaining.” She warned, though quickly chuckling as he admitted to needing help getting up.

Offering him her hand, Kat tugged and helped him to his feet with a small grunt. She could see where he might have struggled, and was kind of surprised that he’d managed to make it all the way there. Still, not wanting to pass up on the opportunity, she prodded him gently “are you sure it’s your clothes and not your old age?” As skeptical as she might have been, she wanted to make sure he knew that she wasn’t truly angry with him. 

Nikodim's quiet grunt echoes Kat's as they managed to haul him up off the floor. He scrunched his face up in mock consternation, flapping his arms up and down so he jingled and clanked from the metals attached to his person. He wanted to see her smile, to show her that he was still just Niko. "Don't remind me," he said, making a face. "I had my birthday in December. My foster father use to complain about how his bones ached more each birthday and my foster mother would tell him to quit griping because birthdays are better than the alternative." The burly Russian smiled fondly at the memory of the only parents he had ever known.

He shook himself from the past, looking at Kat with that little glint of mischief in his ice-blue eyes. "I have been thinking, and we seem to both suffer from opposite sides of the same coin," he told her, his voice low so her parents wouldn't hear him. "We're both hounded because we are unwed. Neither of us are interested in marriage to someone we don't like. I'm lucky. No one can force me to marry but a number of mothers with eligible daughters are looking to make my life a living hell."

The large man motioned to Kat as he continued, "Your parents could force a socially acceptable but miserable arrangement on you. I like you, Katerina. I don't want to see that. So, I think maybe we can come to a kind of compromise." His smile got wide again. "How about we get engaged with no plan to get married? I'll claim your hand to give you time to find another man who would please you and in the meantime no one can force me to dance non-stop with every terrified young lady at every single party I attend."

Katerina had to bite her lip to keep herself from giggling too loudly at Niko’s antics, her anger temporarily forgotten. She had to hand it to him, he could make her laugh, even when she was feeling mildly murderous, apparently. She dipped her head in a casual sign of acknowledgement, offering him a smile “Happy Birthday, sounds like I owe you a present” she joked lightly as she listened to the rest of his tale “that is a fair point, I suppose” she said as she rolled the thought around in her head for a few moments, enjoying its simplicity.

When she noticed the mischief in his face, the witch narrowed her eyes suspiciously her initial feelings partially reawakened. Though, she was happy to let him speak this time, willing to at least hear him out. He was certainly not wrong, they both were hounded by prospective matches, who they had no interest in whatsoever. Kat nodded again, not trusting herself to speak just yet, though her agreement was already clear on her face. Though she couldn’t stop the brief smirk that crossed her features as she tried to picture the numerous girls that had been all but shoved in his direction, and all she could picture was a mad horde of horridly overdressed and bejeweled women and their daughters lurking around every corner.

Though his next point, while also true, was a thought that made her shudder, an equally unpleasant expression fixing itself on her face. Some of the names she had heard her parents discussing when they thought she couldn’t hear them were enough to make her skin crawl. So, when Niko finished explaining his idea, Kat was eager to agree, but took a moment to mull it over, running through the details inside her own mind. It was a rather genius idea, but two things caught her attention in particular, first that if she agreed to his proposal, both literal and figurative,  Niko would be essentially sacrificing his own happiness for her, and she had concerns with making it seem real enough. With her brow furrowed in thought, the dark haired witch spoke, keeping her voice low to ensure that nobody would hear her except for Niko “First of all yes.” She told him, not wanting to leave him waiting for her answer “But, I don’t know if I could ask you to give up your own chance for happiness in order to give me a better chance at mine.” She finished, giving him a stern look “While honorable, that isn’t fair in the slightest” she told him, her tone indignant.

Friends, particularly those from the same circles didn’t come easily, and Katerina wasn’t keen on letting this one dissolve just because he might have felt honor bound to look out for her.  “Not to mention” she began, a smile beginning to find its way onto her face in response to his own, despite her reticence “how would we make everyone believe it? I mean, really believe it?” Not that Kat didn’t understand the concept, but making their ‘engagement’ convincing was going to be tricky with the way people were always watching, expecting things, and spreading gossip.     

Nikodim's smile was broad when Kat agreed to his scheme. He didn't think she would say no. He had seen the look that crossed her face when Niko mentioned her possible suitors. His smile didn't disappear as she voiced some valid concerns. Of course he first worry would be for the large Russian's own happiness, which only made him more certain that he was doing the right thing. Kat deserved every chance at a happy ending he could give her.

"I'm flattered you would be concerned for my own prospects," he told her, his voice low but full of warmth. "I can safely say I highly doubt a few years of a sham engagement will be a problem. I have a freedom you don't and if there was anyone I wanted..." Demi's face flashed before Niko's eyes and his chest felt a little tight. He cleared his throat, burying that particular hurt as deep as he could. The woman he loved could never be his wife; that was a fact as immutable as the flow of the world. "If there was anyone I could have married, I have had plenty of time to do so. I have reconciled the fact that I will be a bachelor all my days."

Niko hummed thoughtfully, stroking his chin and pacing a little as he considered her second question. "Well, we don't need to pretend to be madly in love. We've been seen together enough at functions that a casual engagement would not be out of the question." He flashed her another smile. "I am getting older, as you so tactfully pointed out. A young wife to give me children before it's too late." He looked at Kat, a slight blush on his cheeks. "I have a bit of a -ah- reputation with women, so I doubt the gossips would have trouble believing that I managed to seduce a young and impressionable girl. And once offered, any parent would be happy to add my families to theirs, especially since children or no, my spouse stands to inherit a lucrative mining business and several estates. Technically, you'd be a princess. I am a prince, you know, though the title is just a formality. We don't actually rule over anything."

At his obvious pause, Kat found herself frowning slightly, but thought better than to say anything about it in particular. Instead she flashed him a soft smile “Well, if you’re sure. But I think you’re selling yourself short” she said, hoping to cheer him up a bit more. They hadn’t known each other for a terribly long time, and it appeared as though the circumstances of their relationship would be changing again if and when they went through with Nikodim’s plan, but it wasn’t hard for Kat to want the best for her friend, especially considering what he would be doing for her.

The witch listened, considering his words as she watched him pace. He was right, they’d been seen together enough that an engagement wouldn’t be completely unexpected for them, she supposed as she nodded slightly in agreement. His next few points gave her cause to raise her eyebrows in silent amusement “young, yes” she agreed quietly “but impressionable?” she laughed and shot him a knowing look. She knew in comparison to him, and the other men who had been her suitors in the past she was young and impressionable, but being part of pureblooded society Kat had been sheltered from some things, and pushed into others, which meant that she fancied herself (whether it was true or not) to be more knowledgeable than most her age.

That fact didn’t stop her from blushing in return, ever so slightly, and she told herself it was a sympathetic reaction. The thought of having to produce children as part of her marriage to an older suitor was not something new, but the thought of it becoming part of her future, where people would enquire about it, even if she and Niko were only pretending gave the witch more pause than she had anticipated it would as it became part of her ‘reality.’ “If nothing else, at least there is plenty of gossip to back everything up” she offered before adding “I would assume too, that the prospect of that inheritance and that title were what ultimately got my parents so excited, no?” Kat was incredibly grateful that any titles she might be temporarily inheriting were not tied to any actual duties, considering that Nikolai still showed no signs of acting on his responsibilities as oldest son and heir to take over the family casino business, and that meant it was likely to fall on her shoulders. And while Kat relished the chance to show her parents, and their associates that she was as capable as their other business partners, she didn’t relish the thought of the actual work that that would take. 

Niko flashed Kat a greatful smile. "You flatter me," he replied. "Perhaps I'll find someone eventually. I suppose it's never too late as long as I'm breathing." He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "For now, though, I am committed to this course. I would not see you sold off to the highest bidder, not if I can stop it." He cared for his young friend. Niko wanted to give her this chance at happiness.

He almost commented on her blush, but he kept quiet. This would not be easy for either of them. Let her be unafraid to show emotion with him. They would need each other to lean on as they went through with this madness. "Small blessings, I suppose," Niko agreed, nodding. "It would not be unreasonable for me to take an interest in a young woman." He flashed her an amused smile. "Maybe this will put to rest the rumors I prefer the company of men in my bed nowadays." He chuckled. "Seems when nothing interesting is happening, society must make things up."

The burly Russian felt a little embarrassed that he'd used his wealth and status to bring about this situation but only a little. He hated doing things like this, bringing attention to his position in society, but Kat's happiness was well worth it. "It is a not-insignificant sum. Besides gaining ties to some of the oldest wizarding families in Western Europe, even if half my bloodline was wiped out when the Czars fell."