"I believe you in that regard," He agreed, sitting forward in his chair as he met his eyes, "You do realize, even if you marry her, you would still be responsible for your duties as a general? It would only be another part of your everyday routine." The king didn't seem opposed to the idea of them marrying, but he seemed to want Ezra to be completely sure of his decision.
Ezra nodded slightly. "I am aware of that, and I am prepared to take on any new duties while still carrying out my old ones." he replied, looking steadily at the king. "Your daughter does not need me by her side at all times; she is a capable leader on her own." it was true, even if he hated to admit it.
The king sighed, but after a pause, he said, "Very well. If you're sure you can handle both your duties as a general and as Allian's husband, I see no reason you two can't marry. We can speak about the specifics of a wedding and such at a later date, after your marriage is officially announced. Until then. If you swear you will not harm my daughter, I will agree to the marriage." The king smiled slightly at Ezra, easing some of the tension in the room.
Ezra raised his eyebrows very faintly. "I swear that I would not harm your daughter." he replied. That was easy enough to do. He wouldn't harm Allian. Not physically, anyways, and while he certainly might be a dick sometimes, it didn't really constitute harm.
The king nodded again, a smile crossing his face as he met Ezra's eyes, "It'll be nice to have a son in law like you." He stood from his seat, walking over to Ezra while holding out a hand for him to shake, "I'll bring this up to Allian tomorrow…let me know if you change your mind at all."
He stood as well, returning the handshake with a quick smile. "Alright. Thank you, sir, and I'll let you know if anything changes." he didn't quite know what else to say, but maybe that didn't matter.
He smiled, then led the way towards the door, "I'll see you tonight then, for the planning session with the other generals. Bring some ideas of your strategies, and if you could, keep from bringing up talk of marriage to anyone." The king opened the door to his office and held it open for Itzal. It didn't seem like the king was going to accompany him as much as it looked like he was just being nice.
Ezra inclined his head in a small bow. "Of course, your majesty." he replied as he left the room. He headed back to his quarters, eyebrows drawing together as he walked. Had he really just done that? Now there really was no going back; he and Allian were betrothed, and there would be no way around it.
Allian had decided to wait by Ezra's room to press him for information when he got back. Being that he had taken much too long though, she had made a pit stop to the kitchens while waiting and had taken up her post again, sitting on the floor next to his door with a plate of cookies perched on her legs. She looked positively spaced out, eating cookies without even looking around to see if Ezra was even coming back.
Ezra looked down at her when he reached his room, staring. "Why are you sitting outside my door?" he arched an eyebrow at Allian, not very pleased to find her sitting outside of his door.
“Hm?” She hummed, staring ahead for a moment before she blinked and looked over at him. Allian set her half eaten treat down, looking up at him and scowling at his quizzical expression. “I told you before. I wasn’t allowed into the meeting, so I want to know what the outcome was.” She grabbed her plate, standing up. “I know you have a horrible memory, but I’m even surprised that you forgot that.”
"I didn't realize that that meant you would be sitting in front of my door like a creep." he replied, shaking his head at her and heading into his bedroom, not waiting to see if she would follow him. He knew she would. He didn't hold the door for her, not wanting to. They might be getting married, but that didn't mean that he was going to be a gentleman.
She rolled her eyes, following him into his room as if it didn't look strange for her to be doing so. "So? What did he say?" Atria questioned, walking to his desk and leaning against it. Gently, she set her plate down, watching him with faint annoyance. If he had screwed up the betrothal…things wouldn't play out as they had planned. All she could hope was that he had managed not to screw something as important as the betrothal up.
"He said we're getting married, Allian. What else were you expecting?" He arched an eyebrow at her, settling into his chair as he studied her. "Were you expecting an "absolutely not"?"
"With your attitude, yes I was, actually," She shot back, picking up a cookie and eating it between her words, "Did he give specifics? How long do I have to deal with you before you're gone?" If he had truly gotten a yes, then it couldn't be too much longer for them to have to deal with each other, but she still wanted a timeline. When they would marry, when Ezra would leave, when she would be coronated and when she would finally be able to rule without Ezra pissing her off.
He rolled his eyes, shrugging. "I don't know. He didn't give a wedding date or anything of the sort. So no, no specifics as to when I'll be able to leave this hellhole." he looked at her, the faintest sneer tugging at his mouth.
Allian huffed, "Wonderful." She scowled at him as she continued, "Did he tell you anything else? Besides agreeing that we could marry?" It would be frustrating not to know when they would be able to get away from each other, but there may have been something else her father mentioned that would clue her into when he would arrange things.
"Just that I wasn't to hurt you, and to let him know if I change my mind." he rolled his eyes again, looking up at the ceiling and sighing loudly. "Nothing that could hint at any kind of date, if that's what you're digging for. He did say he'd announce it soon, I think."
Her father was usually vague in dates, so the lack of a sure answer wasn’t surprising, but if he said he was announcing it soon, then at least there was hope that it would be soon. “Great,” Allian said, with only slightly less anger in her tone. Finishing off the cookie in her hand, she brushed her hands off on her dress and pushed the plate towards Ezra. The only thing left was a single cookie. “There. To celebrate you not screwing up, and the hope to finally get rid of you soon.” She said as she pushed away from his desk and headed to the door without another word.
Ezra took the cookie, inclining his head to her for just a moment. "Right back to you, darling." his tone was snide and just a little bit venomous, and he took a bite of the cookie as he watched her leave. "Close the door behind you."
Allian didn’t respond to Ezra, but she did as he asked, though purposely left the door open just a crack to piss him off. Then, before he could get frustrated at her, she walked off, heading towards her room to give herself time to think and plan out what she could for the wedding. Assuming that her father let her plan anything that was.
Ezra mumbled a curse, getting up and pushing the door the rest of the way shut, then sat back down. He didn't particularly care what the wedding was like; it was all a farce anyways, just so that he and Allian both got what they wanted. He did hope that proof of consummation wasn't going to be required. He really didn't want to sleep with her.
Knowing her father, a fair portion of the planning would be left in her hands if she asked for it, and Allian was planning on doing just that. She had never been excited to get married, but even so, she would have fun planning a wedding. It was going to be the only joy of the day after all. Marrying Ezra was an unfortunate price to pay to get what she wanted.
Allian got to her room and locked her door behind herself, going to her desk and starting to plan out what she could. She would have to wait to present her ideas until after her father had told her of the wedding officially, but that didn't mean she couldn't plan it out beforehand.
Ezra didn't particularly care about the wedding, so he grabbed his book and settled down to read again. He would take care of some paperwork and send off letters later, when he was in a better mood. He preferred to read to make the mood better, before making important decisions.
With free time for the rest of the day, Allian zoned out as she worked. Her father and the generals had another meeting later, but she wasn't required to go. It was one of the last ones before the generals would return back to their posts. Or all of them except Ezra. She frowned to herself at that thought but was quickly consoled with the idea that soon after that Ezra would be gone as well. For much longer than the other generals as well.