Elrick—er, Prince Elliot, much like regular Elliot and Ellen, is smarter than he gives himself credit for.
There are times when I make the most of thinking too much.
In this case, thinking too much about them being out on that balcony without food and drinks while talking. I know I benefit from water if talking for a long time, but then, this is a story. It's not a terribly important detail, and it's the sort of thing stories will gloss over all the time.
By addressing it, however, I got to do something else, too.
Honestly, a great deal of my writing can be summed up as "how do I justify addressing this thing that I couldn't help thinking about."