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.
“Ezra I will break your kneecaps if you call me tiny again,” She threatened in a calm voice, not entirely joking, “My anger is perfect for my size, you’re the one that gets all whiny when you’re angry and it makes you come across as a tiny little ball of anger.” Allian didn’t look at him, only glanced around at the table, hoping the last few people would finish eating so she could leave.
He snorted. "And how will you do that? I don't think you can even reach my kneecaps." he retorted, shaking his head at her and putting down all his utensils. He was done eating, and was preparing to leave the table.
Allian glared at him and had to stop herself from grabbing her fork to stab him. "Watch your words, General," She said, "Or both your kneecaps and your title will be gone." She smoothed out the skirt of her dress as she tried not to murder her former friend. He may be a general now, but she had no issues using her position to get back at him for backhand comments about her height.
He wiped his mouth off with his napkin, almost disturbingly calm. "I see. You'll exchange my title as general to give me a title as king, yes? As tedious as marriage to you would be, perhaps I could accomplish some good with a throne." a smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth.
Screw stabbing him, Allian was going to gut him right at the table. Her eyes snapped to him and it was all she could to not yell at him. Instead, she found herself snorting, hiding her anger with another layer of petty words, "You could only dream of being a king. Your title inflates your ego now, I can't imagine how big your head would be if you were king." She looked over at him, wanting to smack the smirk off his face, "I was thinking you could become a florist that way your fragile attitude will be around fragile flowers."
Ezra rolled his eyes. "I could only dream? My dear Allian, I believe you are the one that dreams of having me there, else why would you care so much about me being on your mile long list of potential suitors?" he squashed the urge to just laugh at her; his mood kept flopping from amusement to anger and back again.
She wanted to yell that her father wasn’t going to give her a say in her suitors, and that he was leaning towards Ezra simply because of his position and their former friendship. But she didn’t. Allian just rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, “You’re the one that got yourself on that list in the first place. I think you’re dreaming of getting chosen so you’re not lonely anymore.” She looked over at him, glaring and watching as finally the other generals finished eating. Without wanting to stay a minute longer she stood from her seat and smiled falsely at Ezra before walking out, not caring in the least if it was considered rude.
Ezra rolled his eyes, watching her go. "You're the reason he put me there." was all he said, shaking his head. For a moment, he sat in silence, then got up and headed out the door himself. He headed towards his room, silent and a little pissed off about that conversation.
Allian didn't head towards her room, instead going towards the garden. She didn't want to deal with possibly running into Ezra at all. It wasn't likely that he would come to the gardens, so it seemed safe enough. As long as she watched for him, she figured it was a safe place to relax.
Ezra sat down on his bed, still silently fuming about all of this. He did not want to be king. He just wanted to go back to the front and throw himself into his job, and his inability to do that was Allian's fault.
She sat down on one of the benches in the garden with a huff, smoothing out her dress to give herself something to do. Ezra was a pain in her ass. And there was little she could do to convince her father to take him off of her suitor list. At the very least, she could marry him then send him off to do who knew what. It wasn't a very positive thought, but it was something.
Allian scowled as she imagined actually marrying Ezra. He was a good candidate when it came to his position, but nothing more than that was good. Though he was a good person to argue with when she needed to get her anger out.
He ran a hand down his face, letting out a short, quick huff. The more he had to hang out in the palace, the less he wanted to be there, and the more he wanted to be back at the front instead. It was awful here.
She shuddered as she really thought over the idea of marrying him. Allian would have to kiss him at the wedding, and she would have to look happy to be married to him. That sounded like torture on its own, and adding onto the idea that she would be with him until one of them died? Having the pressure to bear children? She would rather gouge out her own eyes than do that.
With a huff, she stood, breaking herself out of the rampant thoughts. It was bad enough imaging it, there had to be some way to stop it entirely. She didn't have a plan in the slightest, but she could at least try to find someone with one. If anything, maybe she could work with Ezra…they had a mutual interest in getting rid of the other.
He grabbed a book, sitting down and opening it and beginning to read. At least he could do this, if nothing else. He really didn't want to dwell upon the idea of marriage to Allian. That sounded like torture, in all versions of the idea.
Allian started back into the palace, finding herself heading towards Ezra's room before she could really think over her ideas. It was a half thought-through plan to get rid of the one person she couldn't stand, but it was more than she had before. Stopping in front of his closed door, she hesitated before knocking. Quickly, she put her annoyance on her face, showing that she didn't want to speak to him and yet she was going to.