[b]Ella watched Marken leave helplessly, feeling like it was her fault that he left without a word. As the king looked over the body with his guards, the queen let out a small sigh and began to lead Ella inside, giving a frown when the guards began to point their swords at Ella again. Ella wanted to call out to Marken to call him back, to call for help, but she didn't feel like she had the right to ask for his help now. She probably destroyed him by taking Ariana's side.

"Move aside," the queen said to the guards, "The assassin, the very woman who tried to kill me, tried to kidnap and kill Princess Ellanor. What more proof do you need that she isn't guilty?"

An uneasy silence fell over the room before the king ultimately raised his hand, calling off the guards. Ella was dragged from the stable by the older woman promptly, her gaze directed to the ground with every step closer to Marken's private rooms. She was terrified to face Marken again. He'd killed that woman, and wasn't sorry at all. Even worse, she got angry at him for protecting her, for protecting himself.

"You'll get past this," the queen murmured softly to Ella as they neared the large door that would lead Ella to her fiancé, "Marken has never killed anyone before, and you probably felt bad for the girl for whatever sad reason she had to do her job. But Marken did his duty as your future husband, and you are not at fault for an assassin's actions. as long as the two of you don't make the mistake of blaming each other for tonight, you both will heal."

Ella gave the woman a numb, quiet nod before she went into the private rooms herself, and heard a lock behind her as the queen locked the doors behind her. Either she didn't want the two of them to leave before they made up, or Ella wasn't completely off the hook yet. Sighing, Ella quietly walked through the dark rooms to find Marken, seeing a light at the bottom of one of the doors. Ella let her fingers slowly slide down the cool, wooden door before balling up her fist. She brought her hand down against the door a few times and knocked it, too nervous to go inside herself.

"M-marken?" Ella called softly, saying nothing else. She moved back from the door and kept her gaze towards the floor. She stayed rooted in that spot, unmoving while she waited for her fiancé’s response. Honestly, she half-hoped he was asleep and wouldn't come to the door.[/b]