(Ooo low blow Ezra 😂)
She scowled at him when he brought up her height, sharply replying, “I would watch your words, General Wayland. Getting the future Queen on your bad side will not bode well for your career. Or for any future careers you take up when you’re forced out of the military.”
He had to know that her height was a sensitive topic. She hated being called short, desperately wishing she was taller every day. If she was tall, people would listen to her, they wouldn’t think of her as a child. Including this dolt infront of her.
“I take back my wishing of a good day, I hope yours is as horrible as you are.”
Allie adjusted the books once more, lifted the front of her dress an inch off the ground and started up the stairs, hoping with every ounce of her being that Ezra wouldn’t follow her.
(akshdh I thought of it and was like "I have to" lmao)
"If you become queen at all, your highness." Was the only reply Ezra made, watching her go without another word, mouth twisted faintly. He still was not quite sure what had triggered the meltdown of their friendship, but at this point, he didn't really care. He and Allian would never be friends or even friendly again.
(ooo I have an idea for part of the story if you're up to hear it?)
Allie scowled at the stairs as she headed up them, remembering fully why she hated the general. He was rude, and was never eager to mend their friendship. Not that she wanted to mend their friendship now anyway. There was no need for the arrogant male in her life, not even as a possible husband. It would be nice to have someone that was out commanding troops though, then she would be allowed to rule on her own, without the pressure of having to bear children or deal with a husband.
She focused on those thoughts as she reached her room, slipping inside and setting the books down on her desk, pushing papers out of the way to do so. Her room was large but welcoming, with many things having importance to her. Her bed was pushed against the wall opposite to the door, walled by large windows on either side. Off of one side of her room was a balcony, overlooking the palace gardens. On the other sat her closet and attached washroom, everything she could need. Nearest to the door, there sat a large oak desk, stacked with papers and books, pencils and haphazard scraps of paper tacked to the wall behind it holding constant reminders.
Allie sighed as she finally set the books down, rolling her shoulders and making her way to her bed, where she promptly sat down. It was for no more than a minute she sat there, working herself out of frustration. Then, much calmer, she got up and walked to her desk, sitting down to work on the projects she had been given control over so she could learn more about how to rule.
(ooh yes please!)
Ezra snorted faintly, shaking his head and beginning to walk away again, aimless and not caring where he went, just that he wanted to walk, get out all of this strange, anxious energy that had surfaced at being back in the palace again.
(Timeskip?)
(First, I suppose I should ask, is Ezra the type to ever get jealous? And also, timeskip sounds good, any specifics to when or does dinner work? When everyone would meet again?)
(hmmmm maybe? It kinda depends. If you mean like, if someone else were flirting with Allian? Not really, unless they were engaged or married already, in which case yes, jealousy. Dinner works fine!)
(So like let’s say Allian is desperate for someone to ‘date’ and Ezra jokingly suggests (insert best friend from military). Then he finds out she actually takes said friend on as a suitor, and she rubs it into his face that she found someone…would that invoke any jealousy? Also I’ll get my response up in the morning)
(dghskbdjfhg actually uh. that's his ex who is also dead, so I don't think that would work? If you meant the person he joined the military with lmao (or unless you want Allian dating a corpse lmao) but like. another friend could work if you want haha. But that would probably invoke some jealousy/anger. Alright!)
(Lmao thats uhh. that may not work then lol. Would her being with someone he's at least close to in the military work then lol? Or would he not be jealous?)
TimeSkip: Dinner
Allian was quite sick of being cooped up in her room by the time dinner rolled around. She had successfully gone through all of her papers, chosen an outfit for dinner, and had even read a good portion of several of her books before one of the servants called her down to dinner.
As usual, she was one of the last to dinner, dressed in a soft pink flowy dress, nothing too fancy, but not too casual either. She smiled as she entered, happy to be out of her room even if she had to be in the company of the generals for the time being.
"Good evening," She said calmly, smiling as she looked around the men. One returned her smile fully, General Thur. The rest she wasn't sure if they were real.
(that would probably work!)
Ezra gave a faint smile, only enough to qualify as one so he wouldn't be conspicuous, but he wasn't able to hide the faint sardonic twist to his lip. When the generals were told to sit down, he sat, sighing very faintly as he settled into his chair. All of the generals were in uniform, the only difference between them their ages, faces, and what medals hung on their chests.
The king smiled as he saw his daughter enter, taking up the spot at the head of the table while she sat directly to his right. With a simple nod of his head, food was brought to the table and the General's were sitting.
Allian usually didn't mind her place at the table, but it had been arranged so Ezra sat across from her, and the oldest general sat on to the right of her, looping around the table from oldest to youngest. She hid a frown at the seating, smoothing her dress and silently filling her plate of food, leaving conversation to her father.
"It's nice to see you all here," The King spoke, his voice full of the usual commanding tone, "I hope to only take your time for a few days as we deal with our friends to the North. But talk of that can wait for later, how are you all? I"m genuinely curious."
Ezra was quiet, letting the older generals answer before he did. "I am well, your majesty." He replied, staying formal and polite as he spoke, not wanting to sound too at ease or disrespectful of the king. He did his best to ignore Allian, which proved to be difficult when she was placed directly across from him.
The king seemed satisfied with the answers from the Generals, motioning to the food, "Small talk can wait I suppose. Let's eat."
Allian had successfully avoided making eye contact with Ezra so far, keeping her eyes anywhere but him, but she knew it wouldn't be long before she accidentally got a glimpse of him. That would be the end of her polite and calm expressions. Until then though, she was determined to act perfectly nice, talk to the Generals, answer whatever questions they asked her.
Ezra pointedly kept his gaze from meeting Allian's, or even really looking at her for too long. He didn't want to look at her for long, it would ruin the careful composure of his face. He ate quietly, eyes flickering around from the king to the rest of the generals and back, occasionally participating in the conversation.
It was almost torture to act so nice around Ezra, Allian decided. There were only so many jokes and smiles she could pass around, especially as the conversation switched to her coronation and the lack of even one suitor.
"I'm not looking for someone to marry," She admitted, when asked why there was no one she was interested in, "I want to learn how to rule before I learn how to act like a wife."
The king and several generals chuckled at that, one piping in, "There's only so much ruling you can do without your advisor's approval of their leader. I suppose a husband would help convince them that you're fit to rule. What type of husband are you looking for?"
She gave a polite but small smile and shrugged, picking at the remaining scraps of food on her plate, "I'm not quite sure. Someone who won't be mad holding a slightly lower position of power than me, maybe someone who won't worry about the time I spend working on the kingdom. Really anyone who will respect me and who has decent manners, maybe a nice face."
The king nodded at this, giving an approving smile. "Now, we just have to find someone like that." The generals laughed, and he turned to look at Ezra, jokingly motioning to him, "Maybe our very own general here, or one of his officers."
Ezra's eyebrows jumped faintly when the king motioned to him, and he inclined his head to the king. "Whatever your majesty finds best." He replied, not looking at Allian even as his smile twitched at the idea of becoming her suitor, or, gods forbid, marrying her. "If you would like a list of officers close in age to your daughter, I can of course prepare that for you." He added after a moment, doing his best to be respectful and polite.
Allian fake gaged at her father's suggestion for her to marry Ezra, though she did so discreetly. No need to show just how much she disliked his presence. She would rather swallow glass than marry him. Even marrying one of his officers would be frustrating, but then again, anyone would work but him.
"If you have free time, that would be greatly appreciated," The king spoke, ignoring his daughter's silence. He smiled at Ezra, not once catching onto the idea that the two loathed each other.
She stayed ever silent, only looking up from her plate when she heard the telltale noise of the servants bringing in the dessert. Even if she never wanted to look at her former friend again, his presence was no more than a bother with the mention of desserts. She had always been a sucker for sweets, a fact that Ezra would know all too well, and now was no exception.
Ezra dipped his head faintly. "Then I shall do that." He replied with a tight smile, raking his hands through his hair for a moment and then returning to the food. The dessert was being served, and while Ezra had never had quite as big a sweet tooth as Allian, he still had one.
Her eyes lit up as a large plate of brownies was set in between her and Ezra, one of her favorite comfort foods and exactly what she could use at the moment. Without hesitation, she reached for one, not bothering with the mannerisms of asking for them to be slid closer to her.
"Maybe you could put your own name on the list, you and Allian used to be close friends at one time, am I correct? Maybe a former friendship could lead to a good relationship," The king continued, shrugging as he turned back, starting yet another different path of small talk among the Generals. He paid no attention to his daughter's interest in the brownies before her, or how she mistakenly looked over the brownies to Ezra when she forgot he was there.
Ezra nearly choked at the king's words, breaking into a coughing fit to cover it up. "I, uh, am not sure that that's a good idea. I'll be so busy with my…duties…that pursuing a relationship or courtship is not something I should be, ah, doing right now." He accidentally made eye contact with Allian, and quickly looked away, clearing his throat hard. He grabbed his own brownie and then took a big bite of the brownie.
The king laughed and shook his head, looking to all of the Generals, "I appreciate your desire to continue leading, but I don't think a break in your leading will be that detrimental. You have someone you trust enough to take your place, I'd assume, and if not, another General can take over your position for the timebeing." The king reached for a brownie of his own placing it on his plate as he continued, "It's not every day you get offered the chance to up your position of power. At the very least, just put your name on that list of eligible males, and get it to me tomorrow if you can."
Allian looked away almost as quickly as she made eye contact with Ezra, cursing herself internally for even thinking that her father would avoid the topic of her marriage while at dinner. She would rather choke on a brownie than fake a functioning relationship with Ezra, or really any man for that manner. A quiet, but audible sigh of relief escaped her as she was assured that they didn't have to pretend to be in a relationship, but it came with the idea that her father could very well just choose him as a suitor once he looked at the list of names.
Ezra sighed very faintly. "Look, i– yes sir." He said, looking down at his plate and taking a deep breath. "If that's what you believe to be best." He ran a hand through his dark hair, a very faint frown dashing over his face for a moment. "Thank you for the… consideration." He really didn't know what else to say; it wasn't like he wanted this.
The king seemed satisfied with his answer, continuing on with the dinner with a nod. He didn't seem concerned about the pressure he had put up to Ezra, nor did he seem to really care.
Allian was much less satisfied though. She ate her brownie in silence though, not once piping in about how little she wanted to even be around Ezra, or marry him. By the time dinner ended, she was ready to leave. At the quickest possible exit, she took her leave, curtseying politely and leaving as the other men continued talking. She wasn't going to bed right away, rather just wandered around the castle. Anything other than staying in that room.
Ezra participated in the conversation, trying not to be awkward, but also not saying anything about how very little he wanted to marry Allian. He would rather gargle acid than marry her. Or even have to pretend to have a relationship with her, either. He didn't want to be around her if he couldn't help it. He scoffed under his breath, shaking his head a little bit.
