For the majority of his life, Rafail had been groomed to the certainty that he would someday possess a suitable royal title earned through marriage to an appropriate royal lady, and return the Marikas family to the glory that they deserved through legacy. Thus far, this plan had not succeeded (if solely because both princesses had been inexplicably offended by his pursuit of other women, as if he could be expected to remain faithful to only one for the entirety of his years). In fact, it was looking less and less as if it would succeed, though Rafail was perfectly comfortable with his current position. He had been helping Elias in any manner he could, and if his closest friend were to take the throne, then all the glory the Marikas desired would be his by proxy. Who needed the real crown when one could title themselves 'prince' through the fortune of their friend's power?

Nonetheless, he still liked to pretend. Ever since he had moved into the palace, he had been enjoying the fantasy of monarch, albeit one with no substantial influence. The luxuries of the Marikas home had always been plentiful, and, in truth, not so far from the palace's similar lavishness, but there was a difference to the new abode that even Rafail could not deny out of familial honour, and he felt immensely pleased that he could call the place, in part, his for the time being. He had a comfortable chamber among the Xanthos quarters - they should have been Marikas quarters - and access to a sizeable staff, and an abundance of delicious food and sumptuous wines which the rest of the populace did not. He was happy in his indulgence, but more so still because he was close to Chara.

Rafail did not love the woman, but he cared for his relationship with her more than he did most, if partially due to its length. He could not recall when they had first flirted, nor when they had first slept with one another, but he knew he enjoyed the relations more than with most women, and, thus, she was more than a notch on his bedpost for once. Often, she had visited his quaint little province of Thesnia, and they had played King and Queen to one another in the bedroom, but now came the opportunity to expand the game further, and achieve a fantasy which Rafail had held for a long while now. He was going to fuck her in the royal palace, and she was going to adore it.

There had been another court meeting that day, but it had been nothing of interest, and Rafail's gaze had drifted across to his cousin more often than not. The wavering state of their kingdom was worrying, of course, as was the panic among the common masses, and the lack of food and well-organised taxes. Still, he did not require another court session to remind him of such facts, and he had drowned his disinterest in various goblets of thick wine before sauntering across to Chara, muttering some admiring comment about her stunning new gown which would look much more appealing once it was tossed carelessly on the floor of his temporary chambers. His flirtations had been easy, and came more smoothly with Chara than they did with most, so used was he to their back-and-forths that they seemed second nature. But his cousin had always liked things rough, and he had not wanted to waste time, so, once the nobles' discussions were complete, and he had dragged her away to a side corridor where they would be unseen by the rest of the court, Rafail had swept her bridal-style into his arms, and heaved her upstairs with a fluidity which implied this was not the first time they had acted as such.

The blonde-lord had deposited her with attention onto the large bed, so that the charade of harshness continued to appear real, but his actions were careful enough to prove his affection for her, and then placed hands on his hips as he stood over the lady, half-grinning. He had decorated his golden locks with a similarly bright circlet, as if to complete the illusion of royalty, a similar and yet more dainty one resting on a side-table as if awaiting Chara's claim to the jewellery.

"I, King Rafail of Athenia," he began, because they were in Athenia, rather than Thesnia, and they were in royal chambers, "have been searching for so long to find a perfect wife worthy of the title of Queen. As one can imagine, it is difficult to find anybody matching my own splendour, but, as fortune might have it, I have stumbled across you, the most beautiful woman in Athenia, if not Greece. Thus, I intend to make you mine, and I have no plans to take no for an answer. What say you?"