A pang of alarm runs through her as Basch takes to his knees before her, and though her expression remains nonchalantly neutral, Ashe needs to work to quell the worry inside her that he is on the verge of taking this all back. She's no closer to understanding or even knowing her mind on the matter, but she knows enough to know that's the last thing she wants to hear.

Then he speaks, and she sits, listening, all the breath knocked from her lungs as he lays it all out for her, doubling down instead of taking back the things he told her last night before the matter's left in her hands.

"Have I been so blind?" Ashe asks quietly, her gaze shifting from the hands she's clasped in her lap to him, lips pursing into a thin line. "I've held your heart and only come to know it because you've told me."

Her heart hurts, aching with longing, and unsure of whether seeking to quell that longing is the wisest choice. His making his feelings clear has done much to aid her understanding of her own, but she still feels all at sea. This isn't the kind of thing a princess gets to choose for herself ordinarily, but then, none of this is anything a princess usually has to endure.

"And...you want this? Not out of obligation or to protect me, but because you wish to be companions?"