It was with vastly more relief then Dorian truly cared to admit that he found those gilded halls just as he remembered them to be. A part of the Monarch had feared perhaps, that upon his own release from that palace that many of his staff might have fled in turn, leaving his home in a state of disrepair and utterly unliveable. It was, Dorian suspected, not the case with every room, the Fae King so assured they would be shown only the rooms that were functional. The man dreading to consider those others hidden away behind those closed doors and yet perhaps Sebastian and himself might explore them later once his court had so recovered from the shock of his return. Benito, as always, was in fine form. The aged Fae seeming to relish the chance to do something, sending those servants off in a flurry while all-too eager to tell Dorian himself just what he had missed these past months and all that was occurring. He could not fault the man to terribly much, he supposed. After several centuries of having nothing to plan or organise the man now had the world at his disposal and was seemingly more determined than even Dorian himself to so bring them into the modern age. It was, indeed, only that introduction of Sebastian that seemed to destabilize the advisor in any sense. Benito so entirely taken off guard that he seemed to struggle for several moments to find even those words he had uttered a thousand times over to any guest that had ever graced that entrance hall. That small, subtle shift in Sebastian however had hardly gone unnoticed, the vampire seeming momentarily uncertain, Dorian so afforded little chance to assuage the man's concerns before Benito so evidently recovered enough to offer Sebastian his hand and an equally warm greeting. The advisor overcoming his shock to return to that state of decorum. Dorians own lip quirking slightly upward at the pleasant exchange.

It was, however, that very realisation that he was required to step beyond the threshold of his own home that seemed to see a ready spike in his anxiety, Dorian glancing downward to eye his own feet so braced against the doorway with but a single glance given to the outside he was terribly reluctant to leave. That soft nod from his consort so seemed to catch his attention, that silent request to come to Sebastian's side hardly missed and yet how his nerves were shaken! If that door closed behind him again he was entirely assured he could not take it. Not when he had seen what existed outside. The single and only consolation was, perhaps, that were he to become entrapped once more it would at least be with Sebastian. Yet too- it was the vampires promise that such a thing would not happen that so seemed to inspire even that small slither of courage. It was with no small measure of anxiousness that Dorian so reluctantly stepped forward, the man turning near instantly to eye those doors once more, relief at their still open state seeing his entire form relax, losing so much of the tension that had afflicted it since their arrival. It was only then that Dorian found himself inclined to do as Benito seemed to desire and have him return to his place upon that higher level, his head nodded every now and then to his advisors words and yet he could hardly help that soft simper that so touched his features as his gaze flickered back to his lover, watching as Sebastian seemed to examine every pillar and wall and floor that they passed. How easy it was to forget that what was so familiar to himself was so entirely new to the vampire. Dorian so seeking to remind himself to take his lover for a walk in the least through those halls and allow him to explore them before they were admitted to his own apartments and for a moment at least- left alone.

It was with gentle ease then, that Dorian so sought to coax his lover down and onto the couch beside him, the Fae King merely seeking something familiar then before very near collapsing into it. His emotions entirely frazzled far beyond that façade of composure he had worn so readily until this point and in that veritable whirlwind of greeting they had been subject to, that soft chuckle that fell from his lovers lips perhaps the most glorious sound he had heard all evening though he hardly chose to voice it then. Instead, Dorian merely found himself leaning against Sebastian and too that couch in near equal measure before allowing that simper to touch his features by way of response, his silver gaze flicked briefly to that rather ridiculous tray of tea. The Monarch, this time, unable to prevent the chuckle that rose to his lips- pausing as he did to so consider how best to explain such 'overzealousness' to his lover.

"They are a bit excited I fear. We have not had a guest in centuries and it is important to them that they assure you are comfortable. In my time too it was considered impolite for a servant to address a royal guest directly, even to ask him his tea preference. You may find too that some will not meet your gaze, this was also considered offensive for a servant of a certain level to look directly at a superior. It is a foolish notion entirely but you shall have to be patient with them. When they come to collect the tray later they will observe which tea you drank and they will make it that way from now on. So you should choose your tea wisely, Mon Cher."

He had not, truly, considered just how ridiculous certain nuances of his life surely were until it was so he was given to experience the outside world and how much it had changed for the better. At least in his own opinion. The manner of his servant's was older even then Sebastian's own, Dorian seeking to offer some explanation for any behaviours that might have, in turn, so confused the vampire. Even this slight insight perhaps, affording Sebastian some knowledge of just why Dorian in turn had been so stunned to see Elaine and Giles hug him that day. For all the politeness of Dorian's own staff not one had so much as touched the King since his return. They were distant- as they had been taught to be and while he was certainly fond of them and they of him in turn it was, or at least, it had been, improper for any sign of affection between master and staff to exist in his time. Such thoughts were dismissed as one hand reached then to take that offered pastry, biting softly into it in turn. Ah, but it was real! That grin returned readily to his features then, no small amount of pride so swelling within the Fae at the realisation that this was hardly crafted from magic, Dorian utterly unable to hide both his surprise and subsequent pleasure as he finished that treat, eyeing the plate a moment before reaching for a slightly elongated pastry with a lightly crisped and sugared outside, offering it to Sebastian now.

"If I am given to remember correctly, this one I feel you might like."

This pastry was notably warmer than the others, heated quite on purpose to assure that buttery sweet outside was warm and yet that melted chocolate so hidden in the centre would remain equally as heated and glorious. This chocolate, Dorian was assured, would be of the more modern type as opposed to that early treacle-like substance his court had begun to experiment with before their entombment. The Fae entirely aware of his lovers like of it. Sebastian so forever content to pilfer any chocolate Dorian himself so managed to gather at home. The man reaching to take another treat for himself before so allowing the silver of his gaze to find the blue of Sebastian own.

"I must apologise too you to, Bastian. I did not so mean to cause you any discomfort by announcing you as my Consort so readily. I had so intended to wait at least a little and yet I could not bring myself to so refer to you as anything else then what you are to me. I should be ashamed if I did. They would find out before the night was out I am assured regardless and too- I did not want Benito to attempt to send you to another room."

To have Sebastian treated, even by mistake, as a servant of any kind was a slight Dorian so refused to allow and yet too he had hardly intended to bring about any insecurity in his lover all the same, a small sense of guilt tugging at him before there was the softest of knocks at the door. Dorian's soft response to come in saw that door open just enough to admit a rather tiny man with glasses so thick it was a wonder he could see at all. The diminutive warlock stooped over and aged beyond all reason, carrying a bag that was nearly bigger then he was as Dorian allowed a sigh to escape his lips, his words a whisper to Sebastian alone before he spoke more loudly then- to the little man shuffling towards them.

"This one I shall apologise for in advance. Geoffrey, we are fine, we do not require your services. No, no Geoffrey do not- oh for goodness sake."

Geoffrey had grown even deafer, it would seem, since he had last been in the presence of the physician. Dorian sighing with defeat once more before resigning himself to this evident fate as the little man so opened his bag, fumbling through what looked more like a tool box with its terrifying array of medieval medical instruments before selecting a small looking glass. It was with a diligent care and a series of unintelligible mumblings that the little man moved about, taking Dorians hand and arm and wrist, examining his eyes and ears before scowling slightly. His Majesty is too thin. A handful of barely, vervain and betony mixed, boiled and drunk is what you need. Any objection Dorian may have been content to offer was silenced by the little man moving then to Sebastian, taking the vampire's wrist in turn before evidently attempting to search for a pulse, Dorian so struggling to keep a straight face at Geoffrey's evident confusion. The little warlock trying with his other wrist before at last reaching to Sebastian's neck only to fail again in his search. Not one to be outdone however the man so simply seemed to act as if he had made several conclusions. This one needs more sun, twice a day he should walk in the gardens, but not so much as to tax himself, then he should rest. He is not as lively as he should be.

Dorian Aragona