[b]Ella tensed up from head to toe as Marken dragged her against him again and held her, shocked by his response. She'd expected the prince to become defensive or to disregard her worries, but he'd taken her seriously and was comforting her. Reaching out, Ella clung to Marken as she continued to cry, though her tears were more directed towards happiness now. 

After a few minutes, Ella's tears finally dried and she leaned back, giving Marken a small smile, just to let him know that she was feeling better. She was still shocked that he was so worried for her, but she didn't want him to think that his efforts didn't do anything.

"Sorry," Ella mumbled lightly, "I'm supposed to be comforting you right now, not throwing a tantrum. I guess King George's letter affected me more than I originally thought. I'd always assumed he was as loyal to me as I was to him; he always told me that he thought of me as a daughter. It was entirely naive of me, but it was what drove me on all these years. And he just... threw me away."

Ella leaned in closer to Marken once more and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her cheeks red as she looked up at Marken again. How was she to know that Marken wouldn't toss her aside as her own king had? He was surprisingly sweet at odd times.

"T-thank you..." Ella said quietly, her smile a bit more confident.[/b]