Marken felt her soft skin in his hand, and he instinctively wrapped his fingers around her own, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his own. His face turned red for the briefest of moments when he realized what he had done, allowing her hand to slip out of his. He felt larger compared to her, more assertive. But, considering her reactions, he also felt a need to be protective.

"My first kiss wasn't exactly my choice. Call it a surprise birthday present." He remembered some random nobleman's daughter kissing him, he'd been shocked, everyone had been. He didn't see much more of her later, she seemed to avoid him from then on, and now Marken simply didn't see her at all. "I did like you, three days ago, before you threatened my life and tried to steal from my family..." At this point, his tone held no accusing words, just simple truth.

Suddenly, her face was buried in his chest. Without thinking, Marken pulled his arms around her, in what he guessed was his attempt at a comforting embrace. "It'll be fine..." He honestly didn't know what else to do, so instead he just held her to him until she wanted to pull herself away.

Marken was honestly surprised that she didn't try to jerk herself out of his arms, but didn't question it. He liked the feeling of her form in his, some he attributed to hormones, though that wasn't too far from the true reason he guessed. It just felt nice to hold her, to be comforting for her. He saw Ellanors reaction to his words and hold, how she calmed down somewhat in his arms, and he pulled her tighter to him in response, to try his best to ease her tension.

When she looked at him, so vulnerable in his arms, he realized just how much this actually meant to her. It made him feel bad, considering what he was forcing her to go through. However, it was better, in Markens opinion, than a dungeon or something similar or worse, she would live. And not only would she live, she would live unharmed in his home, and after she left. That much, he did vow to stick to. "No, I don't hate you. I don't like your actions, but I don't hate you." He emphasized the last word, to make sure that she knew that it was her actions, not herself, that had put her here. He still felt the attraction to her that he had felt three days ago, preferring to imagine that she was someone who'd shown an interest in him as more than a rich boy.

When she started to lean up to him, Marken took that as a sign that... She was ready. He gently moved a hand to cup the back of her head, leaned his own down, and pressed his lips to hers. His other arm curved around to pull her waist to his, keeping her secure in his grasp. The first thing he felt was how soft her lips were, how he could just taste the faint aftertaste of the sweet tea she had enjoyed minutes ago. He kept his lips pressed to hers, though didn't try anything further than that, his grip on her soft enough that she could easily pull away when she wanted to.

The feeling was incredible, Marken hadn't expected her to be so... Receptive to it. He assumed she would be as uncooperative as possible, though with the way Ellanor leaned into his kiss more, that was clearly a mistaken thought. He was strangely calm as they kissed, having more control over himself than someone might expect, though internally, he was a wreck. His first kiss had been completely unexpected, and it was nothing like this at all, a mere peck on his lips. This though, was long, Marken thoroughly enjoying every moment of it. Atleast he remembered to breath, soft breathes coming in and out of his nose to allow the kiss to last longer.

When she pulled back, Marken took this time to catch his own breath. Breathing softly through his nose only went so far, though he wasn't the gasping wreck that it looked like Ellanor had turned into. What he wasn't expecting, however, was her to push her lips to his a second time. His eyes went wide for a moment at it, before closing again. His hand entangled itself into her hair, pulling her lips to his more tightly. It was clear to him that she was enjoying this, to some extent, and so he was determined to enjoy the act too. This second kiss lasted much longer, before Ellanor finally decided to pull back from his lips again, a light pop sounded as their sealed lips broke apart. He looked into her eyes for a moment, his face void of all emotion save simple surprise and... Disappointment? Marken was disappointed, yes, that the kiss between the two of them was broken, however it couldn't last forever. However, a small smile then lit his face up, as he looked straight down at Ellanor.

He allowed her to pull away, his arms coming to lay at his side as he sat down in his own seat, still looking at Ellanor. She certainly had surprised him with her eagerness to kiss, once their lips had actually locked. Maybe he'd misjudged the girl? If this was supposed to be done frequently though, Marken certainly had no issues with that. He would happily press his lips to Ellanors again, and enjoy the feeling of the sparks that seemed to fly between them. her question brought him out of his reverie, and he smiled more widely to it.

"That felt perfect..." The words came out shakily, as a surprise to Marken. He thought he had more control of himself than that, not expecting himself to be nervous as well. No, that wasn't nervousness, but what was it? "However... Two kisses won't be nearly enough preparation, I don't think. Not if we're to look so..." He came to a loss for words as he spoke, not quite sure how to finish his sentence. "Passionate. No, we'll need to do that again..." The last words he uttered sounded more like a request, than an actual statement. Marken leaned back into his seat, waiting for Ellanor say something to him.

He grinned to her words, glad that she was onboard with the idea of kissing again. It was an activity he could find himself enjoying greatly, almost as much as he enjoyed his wine. However, it would take quite the session to surpass a good glass of wine, with the way it simply flowed over your tongue. "Yes, I think I will quite enjoy our time together in public then, if this is one of the things that we're going to be doing in it."

He took his glass of tea and sipped at it for a moment, listening to her words as his grin faded to a light smile. "I think I'll be taking up enough of it. You're free to roam when I don't need to speak to you, of course certain areas are off limits." He would take a long drink of his tea, before looking at her with a wider smile. "My study included." He'd been preparing for this, for the three days they had been here. She wanted to rob him of information, and that task would be much harder. Documents weren't where they normally were now, and given the size of his palace, he honestly doubted she could search the entire thing to find them.

Sitting back into his seat, he suddenly took on a much more neutral face. "So, how are we supposed to practice if you're over there?" He watched her, carefully keeping the grin off his face that he wanted to have there. He doubted she would take him as seriously if he kept it on.

He laughed to her words, a smile coming to his lips again. "Of course you haven't, which is why I'm going to enjoy this so much. Do you understand how tiring it is to deal with fifty women ready to throw themselves at you in the single-minded hope of living in the luxury that I do? It's asinine. You, I'll be able to deal with. The physical feelings are wonderful, but I'll be glad when we have moments like this, where we can talk like normal people instead of being fawned over like a prize." He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back fully into his seat, putting down his now empty glass in front of him.

"I will expect you to be ready to satisfy these demands in public, considering we're supposed to be playing the part of two in love to the point where we can barely pull away from each other. However, behind closed doors, I won't force you to do things you don't want to do, as I've already stated." He suddenly kicked his legs up, all sense of nobility lost in a moment of pure relaxation.

Her next question took him off guard, and he thought about it for a moment. "You will stay in the palace, unless circumstances dictate otherwise. Wouldn't look quite right if my soon to be bride didn't stay in her grooms own home, especially considering my rank." He nodded to himself after speaking, affirming the words to himself. Besides, he didn't quite want to see her gone. He did enjoy her company, even if she wasn't here to be productive to him.

"You'll be sleeping i-" He was cut off by the voice of an attendant, "Yes, she's quite correct." He listened to her speak again, annoyed that she had shown up so suddenly. Hopefully, though, she hadn't heard too much about his earlier words, or their plan was already foiled. "I intended to tell him today, so that we could get the wedding planned as soon as possible." Her words did make sense, though that would likely only hurt Ellanors side of events. If they eloped, she wouldn't have to act as his wife at all, or very little, whereas stuck in the palace, she would be forced to cling to him, and him her. The thought made him smile.

The background check was an issue. He hadn't thought of it, but decided that it would be fine. The girl almost certainly had a 'legitimate' backstory for occasions such as this, and if that didn't work, he could always pull some strings, being one step below total authority in the kingdom. "Could you bring us a small bottle of wine? Nothing stronger than a dinner wine. Then you're dismissed." He would wait for the woman to do as asked, nodding when she left. He didn't necessarily enjoy being interrupted. He took the cap off the deep purple bottle, pouring himself a half full glass, before offering another to Ellanor.

"I imagine this'll help calm your nerves some?" It was clear that she was worried now, and as much as Marken enjoyed watching her squirm, he didn't like it, especially not when there was a legitimate reason behind it. "But yes, she is right. You'll be close enough to me, and in a guarded area of the palace as well." The last words were a statement, just to let her know that sneaking around wouldn't be the wisest idea. He, however, didn't say anything to directly dissuade her.

"I imagine she came in to clean, and found us here instead. This palace is so massive, how is one supposed to know where people are at all times?" He defended the servant to an extent, to the point where she was atleast partially justified in what she did. He was glad that she was drinking the wine, it would help calm her down. There wasn't much alcohol in it, a weaker wine intended to be served at dinners for taste, being too early in the day for Marken to enjoy a stronger wine. Certainly not infront of Ellanor either, who he was certain would exploit it.

When she put down her glass, he was confused slightly. He heard her misstep in words, his eyes narrowing at them just slightly. "I'm sure." He didn't push the point, instead finishing off his glass of wine easily, while continuing to appraise Ellanor. So, she had cleaned, and given the context from before, she had likely done far more than something simple, like her own room. No, she had probably served as a maid, perhaps? Again, he felt bad for the girl. She didn't seem to have had things going for her, being forced to be his wife, for the time being, sharing her first kiss with him...

"If there's something wrong, don't hesitate to tell me. I'm going to try and make your experience here tolerable, considering it's going to be horrible enough for you in public, beneath the loving exterior..." His tone was soft and gentle, like it was earlier when he tried to comfort her.

"I do not intend to treat you badly, however..." He thought how to place his words correctly, to keep from insulting her. "You were ready to break into tears at the thought of sharing your first kiss with me, and you'll be expected to do so much more than that in public. I was imagining you would resent this internally. I figured the least I could do was make your life behind closed doors better Ellan- Ella." He had to correct himself in speaking her name, considering her preference. She was right, he decided, Ellanor didn't fit one so young.

Her next words caught him completely off guard, there being no context to justify them in the least. "A mistress? Where did I give you the impression that I intended to take one? Wait..." He smiled widely, looking at Ella with a different look in his eyes. "Would you be jealous if I had another woman to share my bed with? Despite the fact you're obviously so against it?" So, she did want to look at this as a relationship then. Perhaps he would be cheating in her eyes if he took up a mistress, not that he intended to. Still, it would be fun to tease her with that. He poured her a second glass of wine, holding it out to her. "Come, drink, relax. It'll be good for your nerves."

He noticed the look of anger in her eyes, and decided not to push the teasing any further. His tone had conveyed it as a joke, or atleast that's what he thought it sounded like, but she had clearly taken it much more personally than that. "I suppose that fits as well..." His voice sounded almost chastised. Marken was clearly more perceptive than Ella liked to give him credit for, noticing and putting together things much more quickly than she expected him to.

He finished his own second glass of wine, setting it down on the table and looking at Ella curiously. "Not going to finish a second glass? This is dinner wine, meant for the taste, if getting drunk is what you're afraid of." His tone was neutral, no teasing in it now. As fun as it was, if she would respond with only anger to it, than it simply wasn't entertaining. He wanted to draw out a flustered reaction, embarrassment, not anger.

Instead, he watched Ella curiously. He knew he would be forced to talk to his father about this sooner or later today, but he wanted to hold it back for as long as possible, so he would continue talking to Ella instead. She made decent conversation, if he was keeping himself from angering her that was.

"Drink as much as you want, wine is meant to be enjoyed, not pushed away." It was clear by his tone that Marken enjoyed wine, though his opinion on other alcohols was left unstated. He was about to pour himself yet another glass before deciding against it. Two glasses was more than enough to enjoy for now, especially with the meeting coming soon with his father. He wouldn't make a good impression if he showed up intoxicated.

He was honestly getting tired of how erratic her emotions were. They were simply making her act so irrationally to anything he did. Her reaction to a mere joke was anger, she seemed to become provoked at any words he uttered. Yes, being wound up in her current situation was acceptable, but Marken still found it quite irritating.

"Yes, you will be. He'll want to meet you, and it will give us more, ahem, practice for acting in public. He'll probably want to see a kiss, or something close, from us..." He said the words with trepidation. A kiss behind closed doors was one thing, in front of his own father was another though. Perhaps he should have that third glass of wine after all...