Alaras wasn't listening to Reynell, not one bit. He'd recalled his comment from earlier in regards to Maes, and he wanted to pop the young man in the mouth, like an unruly child, no matter his actual age. He was so caught up in his own tale that he didn't seem to notice. Alaras was hunched over his cup, feeling it cool in his hands. The youngest girl pulled him away, and when he looked up, he could guess that it was because Basren had stepped inside the adjoining room. He sat up a little straighter, trying to wipe the frown from his expression.<br/><br/>“Oh, this is fine,” Alaras answered, far from picky when it came down to it. His troubled thoughts were what kept him from enjoying anything, but that was hardly something he could say out loud. He focused more on what Basren was saying, as he explained himself. Alaras shook his head.<br/><br/>“No need to apologize. I asked you to do me a favor. Of course he would have questions.” Alaras was relieved Sovele wasn't going to entertain the notion of a pairing with him, even if that meant he'd been digging for another reason. Sovele planning this from the beginning though? Once again, someone playing a cruel joke. Basren sounded worried that Alaras wouldn't go through with this, and he was giving him a way out that wouldn't involve Alaras rejecting the arrangement directly.<br/><br/>“No, I was just surprised. I hadn't thought of you as an option,” and he flinched, realizing how that sounded. “I didn't mean..” Alaras took a sip of his cup, looked like he had trouble swallowing, but then he leaned a little bit closer. “I wasn't aware you were an option for anyone, really.” The King was said to keep it that way, and Alaras wasn't sure why he was suddenly being consider, not unless it wasn't sudden at all, and he had already planned this for the Langlais family.<br/><br/>What would he do if they were paired? Feign that his health brought with it impotence, most likely. That seemed safest.<br/><br/>“I think that you will have to be patient with me. It has been a long time since I've considered..” He smiled, trying to seem encouraging. Basren seemed fragile enough in his confidence that he didn't want to add to his insecurities. At the same time, he couldn't be what Basren was expecting, either, but maybe he could fake it, for a time. This had been sprung upon them both, and Basren deserved the same right of refusal as he'd given to him. For all of his thoughts, the boy could be even more against the idea than he was. Their initial meeting hadn't exactly gone well, Alaras didn't think.<br/><br/>“If you have your sights on someone else, I can let this fade naturally,” Alaras offered, unable to stand in the way of his own desires, even if it would be convenient for his purpose. With time, if the two simply drifted and entertained other possibilities, the royal family would drop it, wouldn't they?