December 10th Who | Avalynn and Mikino When | December 10th Where | Mikino's Private Rooms What | Forgoing their usual walk in exchange for a discussion
Ava would have been much more content to simply indulge in the evening walk they had allowed to become habit. She would have enjoyed those quiet conversations and familiar atmosphere to the concerns she now had nudging at the back of her mind. Since the gala, she'd found herself ill at ease. There were certain actions that could not simply be ignored in the hopes that they were mere coincidences. She was not unintelligent, nor were the actions subtle. Of course, she did not ignore the possibility that she was seeing something that she would not have without her existing biases. It was the reason she'd requested a more private setting that evening. If they were to continue on the path currently set, honesty between the two of them was a necessity and she would look to that now.
Having entered his personal rooms would no doubt add fuel to the rumors that had stemmed from the gala, but it was a consequence she was willing to shoulder. Had their announcement taken place as had been expected, it would not have been quite as noteworthy, but that was just another piece to the puzzle she was currently working on. She was still uncertain as to whether or not she'd like the final outcome, but she supposed that was to be expected given the circumstance.
Having taken a seat when he had offered her one, she'd taken a moment to organize her thoughts. It was not a topic that could claim any sort of casualness, which made it slightly more difficult to breech. "We've discussed our intentions several times by this point, and I regret directing us back to it once again," she started, offering him an apologetic smile. There was only so many times one could say the same things and still maintain the integrity of the words when first spoken. "but I have to admit that recently there have been some things causing me to doubt."
She would not be surprised if he did feel some exasperation when she continued, knowing her continued situation with the Queen. "I do not want to make assumptions, which is why I'm even bringing it up, but I find it hard to ignore the Queen's recent appreciation for the colors of the Alcaeyn house." No matter what had changed since her coronation, the sight of her in such still created the same suggestions. More importantly, Ava would not believe that Mikino had not shared his intention to announce their engagement during the gala with the woman. Having her show up dressed as such was a not so subtle slap in the face. A part of her was glad that the announcement had not been made. She would not have wished for such a thing to be public and she had to admit that despite what she may have thought of the woman, she had still expected more from her.