Ezra watched her go, wondering if she had even noticed the conversation. Surely the look she gave him would have been more venomous if she had. His mouth curled very faintly. Perhaps she did not know, then? Oh, that would be amusing, when she found out. He would be able to rub it in her face that, if only she had been paying attention, she could have perhaps prevented this.
Allian indeed didn't hear any of the conversation, nor did she even remember there being any chatter over lunch. It was a meal with the generals after all. The most they usually spoke about was the front lines, or their favorite moments that they had witnessed. Smoothing her dress out, she continued on her way to the kitchens, taking the staircase down two steps at a time. She could smell the scent of cooking food even when she was just at the bottom of the steps, a promising sign that there were at least people there that could make her something if they didn't let her make anything herself.
He shook his head, getting up from the table and heading out to the gardens to pace and think for a while. He needed to clear his head, or something, after that conversation. He hated that he was now on her suitor list. Hated that her father thought this would be such a good match and a wonderful idea.
(Should we do a timeskip or do you have another encounter you want to happen?)
(mm pribably a timeskip lol)
(Do you have any suggestions on when to next?)
(ahahhhhh no?)
(Hmmmm ok I'll try to think of something, might not respond until tomorrow though)
(alright! Thanks!)
Allian had been in a fury when she found out that her father added Ezra to her list of suitors. She didn't leave her room for the entire day, only slinking out to eat after she was sure that the other men had all gone to bed. Even after that, she ignored Ezra for the entire day afterward, and only bothered to finally show up at breakfast two days later, claiming that she had a stomach bug to make up for her disappearance. Much to her anger, she was seated next to Ezra again as a plate was set in front of her, but she refused to look at him as she put food on her plate, not even considering starting a conversation with the infuriating idiot next to her.
Ezra, for his part, didn't make any effort to seek her out or speak with her; when she sat beside him, he didn't look at her, simply ate his food as if there was nothing wrong, as if this didn't piss him off beyond anything else. He didn't want this, didn't want her, but he damn well wasn't going to say that to the king.
Her father was away having breakfast with some foreign politicians, leading the meal to be deadly silent, even if she knew she should start some conversation. If she wasn't walking a thin line for the crown, she wanted to yell at him, but seeing as she didn't want that to become rumor, she kept her mouth shut, hoping he could feel the seething rage she felt. Staying quiet could only help her in the long run, she assumed.
He continued to eat, the only sound the occasional scrape of his fork against his plate. He just wanted to get through the meal and leave; he had no interest in conversing with her about anything at all.
Allian wasn't going to strike up conversation, so she stayed silent as well, picking at her plate of food. She kept her eyes on her plate, not even bothering to look at him. If he wanted to talk, he would have to start first. Tapping her fingers against the table, she wished breakfast would go by faster. Instead of drag on painfully slowly.
He cleared his throat, but did not speak, nor did he look at her. He had no wish to do so, and merely continued to eat, fork sliding across his plate.
"What did you say to my father to put your name on my suitor list?" Allian finally ask when she got sick of the silence, thankful that the other generals were swept up in their own conversation, "I assume this is your twisted way of making sure you're around me enough to piss me off?" She didn't look at him, and barely veiled the anger behind her words. Barely picking at the remaining food on her plate, she was about ready to leave the table, but she had to ask. If only to find a way to get back to him about his decision.
He scoffed. "No. He did that all on his own. Blabbered on about how you and I were childhood friends and it was basically a done deal." He retorted, not looking at her as he stabbed at his food with the fork. "I had nothing to do with it. Trust me when I say I would rather die than marry you."
She hissed in annoyance at the idea that her father had arranged this all. He still thought they were friends? That had been their downfall. “Trust me, if I wouldn’t get in trouble for doing so, I would willingly kill you so I didn’t have to marry you.” Allian slid her plate away from her, grabbing her drink and taking a sip to give herself something to do. “But sadly, my father would be disappointed to hear that his favorite general was gone. And I would never win the crown without being married to someone first.”
He scoffed softly. "Trust me, the feeling is mutual." he replied, sneering faintly and looking away from her. He took a bite from his food, shaking his head to himself. "I would never marry you. Not if you were the last person on earth."
Allian was glad at least they could agree on something, even if it was the fact that they would never marry each other. Since she knew her father though, she was sure that they really wouldn't have a choice if he decided they were good for each other. "Now we just have to convince my father that," She added, scowling at him, "Because you didn't do that well enough when he brought it up."
"I did not want to lose my position or offend him." he said, rolling his eyes and continuing to eat, stabbing at his food savagely with his fork. "Because unlike some people, my position is one that I had to earn, rather than one guaranteed to me simply by virtue of being born."
“I’m sorry, I didn’t exactly have the choice to be born a princess,” She shot back, sipping at her drink, “I didn’t choose this just to spite you, Ezra.” Allian didn’t look over at him rolling her eyes. Sometimes- no, most of the time- Ezra’s comments were enough to piss her off.
"This news is shocking and upsetting." he said dryly, shaking his head and taking a sip of his own drink. "I was rather under the impression that you did everything to upset me."
Allian shrugged and set her drink to the side, knowing that they were both content with being rude to each other. “Oh I do many things just to upset you. Just not that. You’re really easy to upset, all I have to do is bring up the past and you’re a little ball of anger.”
"I beg your pardon, but I do believe you are the little ball of anger here. You are, after all, quite tiny and stunted in your growth." he replied, voice a mockery of politeness.