(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.
Allian sighed with relief as she was sure no one else from dinner left, slowing her walk until she was just ambling along, taking in the sights of the castle she so loved.
Ezra eventually excused himself from the dinner. As he left, he unbuttoned his jacket to reveal the white shirt underneath. He let out a breath, shaking his head a little bit. He hated the idea of having to court Allian, and also hated the idea of volunteering any of his officers for such a thing. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.
She took in the sights out of the large windows, looking out over the garden. The sun had already set, and the faintest twinkling stars captured her attention. No piece of her mind strayed to the topic of marriage, or the danger of having Ezra around the castle for so long. She was focused fully on the stars, easily tracing out constellations in her mind that she had memorized long ago.
Ezra started walking, unsure where he was going, just knowing that he needed to clear his head. "Marriage! To her! Never." he mumbled to himself, shaking his head and frowning, raking his fingers through his hair and ruining the careful combing that he had done earlier, leaving the strands of hair sticking up all over the place.
Allian had ended up near the library, the large windows giving her plenty of room to admire the sky. As much as the stars took her mind off of Ezra, slowly her thoughts pulled back to him. She wrinkled her nose at the idea of marrying him. Her father may have thought their relationship was still strong, but she knew it was far from that. The only thing that could bring her to marrying him was being forced to, whether it was due to war or just simply the lack of any other suitors. All she could hope is that it never happened.
Ezra sighed very faintly as he walked along, wandering aimlessly through the halls. They weren't very brightly lit, but it was lit enough that he could see where he was going. The familiar halls brought back so many memories, but he wasn't sure he liked that. Not when Allian was in so many.
The halls of the palace held numerous memories of playing with Ezra, and yet, most of those memories, she couldn't or wouldn't remember. She sighed as she looked out the window, forcing herself to think of something happier, less downbeating than marriage. Allian wracked her brain for ideas, smiling gently when she remembered how she had always loved looking to the stars. The dark had always scared her as a child, but the stars to her were mesmerising. They still were.
Ezra kept wandering, looking tired as he wandered the halls, which were mostly empty of other people. He hoped he could leave soon; he didn't like being here for multiple reasons. Some were Allian. Others were his family. His uncle had disowned him just before he chose to go into the military; his mother didn't care, and his father had never been in the picture anyways. His parents were married, sure, he was no bastard, but he hadn't seen his dad since he was five years old. His parents hadn't divorced, but they certainly weren't together, not in any real sense of the word.
Eventually, Allian sighed, pulling away from the window as she straightened out her dress. It was getting late, and even if the halls were silent, she was sure someone would stumble upon her eventually. She wanted to be far away from here when that happened. Smoothing out the skirt of her dress, she looked once more out the large windows, then started away from the library. Not one part of her wanted to go to her room already, but it was the only safe place in this place, other than a childhood hiding place.
His parents were… complicated, to say the least. Just complicated. He sighed, raking his fingers through his hair and shaking his head, still wandering through the halls. In the morning he wanted to spar, needing to get out all of his excess energy.
She started the walk back to her room quietly, keeping her eyes out for anyone. Allian wasn't trying to avoid people, she was just trying to avoid specific people, like Ezra. Seeing him in the halls would lead to conversation, most likely one that would lead them to remember just how bad their relationship was, and how much they hated each other. She took back halls as she walked, knowing well that it wouldn't help her stay away from Ezra any more than the main halls would.
He kept roaming the halls, mind wandering just as much as his feet were in those hallways. He sighed very faintly, frowning just a little bit, wrapped up in his thoughts.
(Sorry for the wait…studying for finals and an ACT)
Allian continued on her way, pausing every time she heard footsteps. Most of the time, it ended up being a servant doing their job in the palace, but as she paused once more for footsteps, she wasn't as sure. These footsteps seemed heavier, and as she turned the corner to get to the stairs, she figured out why. They didn't belong to any servant, instead, they belonged to the one person she didn't want to see. Ezra.
(it's fine! Oof good luck with those)
Ezra startled faintly when he saw her, and he frowned a little. "Your highness." He greeted coldly, eyes narrowing a little bit at her. He tried not to seem too very grumpy about her presence. He didn't want to cause a fight, even if just seeing her made him want to.
"General," She replied, scowling at the ground as she greeted him with a nod of her head. Allian knew saying anything wrong would lead them to fight, and that was the last thing she wanted, especially in the halls of the palace. "How was your dinner?" She looked up at him as she spoke, cold anger in her eyes.
