[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/MrFrT8O.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/241224/2dff96a131a2215857bd81cacd3d277e.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Outside Eye of the Beholder[/sub][/cell][/row][/table]
[color=DBA73D]“Oh—no,”[/color] Nyla said, her smile soft, almost sympathetic, though it never reached her eyes. [color=DBA73D]“I wouldn’t expect you to remember me.”[/color]

She glanced at the dog at Thalia’s side, offering it a gentler smile than the one she’d given to the ex-noblewoman, then let her gaze climb back to study Thalia’s face. She’d only ever seen her from afar, always at a distance, always out of reach. Now, Nyla let herself partake in the privilege she’d been denied for years—absorbing the beauty that Flynn had so often laid his eyes upon.

Thalia was even more beautiful up close. Auburn waves framed her face with effortless grace—delicate feminine features, pale skin, and hazel eyes that offered a soft, unspoken invitation. She looked like someone who belonged in a portrait. 

So different from Nyla. So opposite, it had felt cruel each time Flynn flashed that charming smile Thalia's way.

It wasn’t hard to see why Flynn had almost chosen her. All that soft grace, those courtly features—she belonged in places Nyla never could. Despite the jealousy that had flared in her at the time, Flynn had made it clear of what was expected of him from the start of their relationship. But with every ball he was required to attend, and each dance he’d offered to Thalia first, the envy burned behind her ribs. Even now, a flicker of it sparked to life again.

[color=DBA73D]“You were…”[/color] she began, letting the pause stretch just long enough to be pointed, [color=DBA73D]“...[i]almost[/i] engaged to the Prince, weren’t you?”[/color] A brow arched with feigned innocence. [color=DBA73D]“What brings you to Dawnhaven?”[/color] she asked, tilting her head, her voice honeyed with genuine curiosity this time. [color=DBA73D]“Surely, a Lady such as yourself has better places to be than here?”[/color]

[color=DBA73D]“Still hoping to win the Prince’s favor?"[/color] Nyla laughed, light and effortless. As if the “joke” hadn’t been designed to cut—like there wasn’t something venomous coiled beneath her words.

[color=DBA73D]“It’s too bad what happened,”[/color] she continued, letting the forced smile fall from her lips. Her tone shifted, softer, threaded with true compassion—though, not for Thalia. [color=DBA73D]“...with the prophecy.”[/color]

Everyone in the capital had known who Thalia had [i]almost[/i] been. “The One” for Flynn, they’d said. Endorsed by the Queen herself. A perfect match made for public eyes. 

But the prophecy had rewritten all their stories—Thalia’s, Flynn’s, Amaya’s, Nyla’s.

She let a beat pass, just long enough to seem thoughtful, then added, more casually than she felt, [color=DBA73D]“I suppose it's good that he and the Princess seem to be getting along well now…”[/color]

The words tasted like ash in her mouth, but she said them anyway. Offered them like bait. Her blue eyes stayed fixed on Thalia’s face, watching. Waiting. Searching for a crack beneath the surface. The tiniest reaction, the slightest shift. 

Had she seen the royal couple together? Was she actually here for Flynn? What did she know? What was she willing to reveal?

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[Sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Thalia [@Qia][/sub]