Marken frowned when she crawled out of his lap, curious to Ella's intent when she poured and drank another glass of alcohol. Suddenly, she dropped her outfit around herself, the dress and corset falling to the ground before his eyes. He wasn't given a warning to her stripping down to the barely concealing chemise. He barely had time to contemplate the reasons why she would do this, alcohol addling his mind as it was, he was still a man in the end. When she turned around, however, the reason became apparent when the chemise was undone and the scars were made visible. His mouth open to say something, he closed it again at the sight. What she'd gone through... A hand fell to his chin as he considered it for a moment before sighing, standing up to walk towards her. A hand reached out to touch her back, tracing along one of the winglike scars. "Ella... I'm not going to lie and say they make you beautiful or something, I doubt you want to hear that and I doubt you ever wanted them to start with. However..." His hand trailed around until both met around her waist, and he pulled her in close. "I can say that you're a very strong woman for having gone through whatever you did. They're part of you, and I don't love you any less for them."

Ella felt her eyes water & her body tense as Marken came to her. He didn't offer her any sugary words or excuses, but he still told her that he thought she was strong, & he didn't look repulsed by her. It was more than Ella could have asked for. "I wasn't strong at all, my love," Ella finally admitted, her voice cracking. She was starting to feel more dizzy from the alcohol diluting her blood, probably to dangerous levels, but the woman knew she couldn't leave him without an explanation. "I was a terrified, pathetic girl," she mumbled, "& my step-sisters enjoyed setting me up to get in trouble... a lot. My teacher wasn't one for letting troublemakers get off easy."

He shook his head as he held her, feeling bad that she was reliving all of her memories, even in her drunken state. He wasn't nearly as intoxicated as her, though it didn't really matter. His chin nuzzled into her shoulder, his arms holding her tight as she explained more about her childhood. It wasn't anything Marken truly wished to hear, but it was important to her that he did, clearly. "You're strong now, aren't you? You got through what they did to you. It's all in the past now, you're here for me." He gave her a smile, giving her a kiss on the neck to try and drag her out of the melancholic mood. "Come on, let's get away from this horrible topic, alright?"

Relief flooded Ella as Marken began to urge her away from reliving her memories & insisted they should change the subject. She agreed with her fiance full-heartedly, turning to face him as she pulled her chemise back on correctly. Moving to the sofa, she didn't bother to redress, but wrapped the blanket around her shoulders & sat down on the side. She was trying to think of something to say, at least without needing more alcohol. "Tell me about your childhood," Ella finally announced, curling her body up inside her blanket, "What were you like when you were little? Were you quiet, or a little brat?"

He walked over to sit next to Ella, thinking on her question as he sat away. Close enough to reach out and touch her, if he wanted to, or for her to come to him, but enough to give her some space. She was in a vulnerable state right now, with the alcohol and her own state of undress, and Marken didn't want to feel like he was pushing her. If she wanted to curl up against him, he had left the option more than available, but he wouldn't make her do it. "My childhood, hmm?" He had thought for a moment and finally came up with some kind of response. "I was a, ah... Disappointing lad. My father expected me to be much more athletic than I turned out to be. He played sports as a teen, did more than read books. I tried to stay out from other peoples feet, and it showed.

"A smarter boy isn't necessarily inferior," Ella mumbled, moving to curl up beside Marken, "I bet your grades more exemplary than anyone else. & do you know how long it's been since a man has been able to keep up with me in conversation? If you ask me, cleverness is more formidable than physical prowess. You know how to turn an opponent's strength against them." Gently grasping one of Marken's hands, she gently ran her fingers over it & studied the lines on his fingers. He wasn't a soldier, but they were a little calloused, & also stronger than her own. It wasn't like Marken was unfit, or particularly weak. His strengths just so happened to not be physical. "After all," Ella murmured, "These hands protected me just fine earlier. There is no one else that I want beside me in a fight but you..."

When she moved over to curl up against him, Marken gave a smile and wrapped his arm around her. "Perhaps, but fathers want their children to follow in their footsteps, or outshine them. It's strange, I've had different perspectives. Nobility, the rich, they want their children to be stronger, athletic, but the poorer wish for their children to gain intelligence. No one's satisfied with what they have, they always want their line to do something different. I can understand that for some, but others... I don't know." He shook his head, smiling at her. "I'm glad for the vote of confidence, but I'd rather not get into fights at all, if it's all the same to you Ella." He chuckled to himself, stroking his hair affectionately. "I think I've decided that you're staying in my bed every night now, instead of going to sleep separately and waking up together."

"It certainly seems to be less trouble," Ella admitted, her cheeks feeling warm & her eyes feeling heavier, "I don't think we've spent a night in separate beds up until recently, correct? I rather like being close to you in my sleep" The last thing she wanted right now was to be sleeping alone, especially after the events of that day. & then, there was the matter of both of them sleeping alone for the past few days; Ella didn't like it, but she felt clingy at the moment, & didn't want to leave Marken's side for more than a few minutes. "Speaking of bed," the woman finally yawned, "Should we go, soon? It's getting harder... to keep myself awake."

"I don't know... I'm pretty comfortable here, and you've already got a blanket. We could just sprawl out." He smiled to her, not denying the idea of going to bed, but rather moving to the bed. "How about it?" He yawned after he spoke, stretching out his arms. In his current position, it'd be hard to get to sleep, but he was more than capable of sprawling out, though she'd be laying practically on top of him.

"Mnnnn, I'm sure that old woman would love to lock me into a convent if she found us in here," Ella mumbled, dragging herself from the sofa, "At least in bed, we can lock her out for a while." Still stumbling a bit, Ella carefully pulled Marken off of the sofa & took him back to his room. To be perfectly honest, she couldn't wait to curl up in bed with him & sink into the bedsheets with him. She also wanted to be more bold in bed, but she was too drunk, & they were too unmarried for that.

"She doesn't hold much sway over a marriage that's soon to happen, does she?" He sighed as she got up and drug him up alongside her, grumbling all the way. "I suppose you're right though, the bed is much better. I just didn't want to get up, I was so comfortable." He gave a sigh, walking into his room alongside Ella, before starting to pull off his clothes. Soon enough, he was in his underclothes, though it was still more covering than Ellas outfit. "To bed, then?" He asked the question, though didn't really expect a denial, instead crawling into the sheet and keeping them raised for Ella to slide in beside him. Perhaps they were too drunk and unmarried for anything bold, but for now this was nice enough.

Ella didn't reply to her fiancé with a single word, though honestly, it didn't seem like she needed to. Her movements were slow & sluggish now, & her body felt a bit like it was shutting down. Ella knew then that she shouldn't have annihilated Marken's alcohol stash then, but earlier, it was quite a welcomed diversion to her depression & worry. Shaking that from her mind, Ella climbed into bed in just her chemise still, too drunk & tired to give a damn about her modesty. She moved close to Marken & cuddled next to him under the sheets. Thor warm bodies cuddled together in the near darkness together.

He slept soundly with Ella curled up comfortably against him underneath his arm. The events of the day before had exhausted him, and he quickly fell asleep despite them, the alcohol aiding in that. Soon enough he awoke, for once not to the angry gaze of the governess or something similar, instead by the light streaming in through the windows. The alcohol had worn off overnight, but left him with a staggering headache. Marken did drink a great deal, but only light wines and the like, not stronger alcohols and never more than a glass on occasion. Yawning, he moved to sit up, stretching out his arms. He was very comfortable in bed now, and laid back down to enjoy it while he could, sighing with contentment.

Marken's stirring roused Ella from her sleep, a soft, barely audible groan escaping her lips as his warmth left her. Thankfully, his warmth quickly returned, & wrapped around her. Ella kept her eyes shut against the annoying brightness of the morning sun, feeling the dull throb of a headache moving in to take the place of her previous drunkeness. At least Marken knew she wasn't really a lady of high class, because se certainly didn't drink like one the night before. Come to think of it, part of the night was a haze after. Damn it, she had started stripping. Ella forced her eyes open & sat up in bed, groaning again as a wave of nausea & dizziness overtook her. It took all of her mental strength not to let out a stream of curses, especially when she realized she was only in her chemise, & Marken was in his underwear. "Marken, what did we do last night?" she groaned, "When we got back here. I remember talking, & then you asked me about scars, &... it gets really fuzzy after that."

When she began stirring, Marken gave a sigh of disappointment. They both had to get up and face the day, but he didn't want to just yet. They both had hangovers, and it'd be torture to lay in the bed with splitting nausea and headaches without doing something to try and relieve them. Scratching the back of his neck, Marken stretched out his arms with a yawn. Her question caught him off guard, as he tried to recall the night before. He hadn't had as much to drink as her, but his own memory was hazy too, though not nearly as bad as Ella's. "Um... I asked about your childhood, and so you pulled off your dress and corset to show me your scars. It got a bit hazy, but you never redressed yourself and we went to bed." Sighing, he began to pull himself out of bed, looking around for a pitcher of water.