The Sun Also Rises

His lovers explanation of that woman within the picture was met with a ready look of intrigue, Dorian frowning slightly at the idea that she had once been revered as a 'sex symbol' and more than that, that such a phrase had been coined for her alone. His silver gaze continued to linger upon that somewhat grainy black and white image of the woman before him, this notion of stage names and real names a new idea to the man and yet one that was not wholly difficult to work out. Marilyn, after all, seemed to have a far more excitable sound to it then Norma. A name even Dorian recognised as well-aged and yet even he could hardly deny the attractiveness of the woman, the Fae King truly finding himself intrigued as to what she had done that made her 'brilliant' as Sebastian so stated. Such thoughts however, were forgotten as Matteo so offered some further explanation for that book as a whole. The elder Fae having committed to such an undertaking over five centuries to present such a thing to him now, Dorian truly taken aback by such a gesture as this and yet he hardly queried the notions behind it further. It was, after all, distinctly improper to speculate of the reasons behind any gift. Matteo attempting to assure him that it had merely been a work completed in the spare time garnered over nearly two thousand years of life and yet still- it seemed so very much more than that. The Monarch dismissed such thoughts for now, setting that book aside to be enjoyed later on, inquiring instead as to whether or not the Frenchman might be inclined to stay for that celebratory dinner. Dorian hardly surprised when such an offer was turned down. How pleasant it might have been to have kept the man's company a little longer and yet he had hardly anticipated any less. Dorian having very near mastered so shielding that disappointment that came each time Matteo so disappeared.

"It was good to see you too. I will see you again in a few days then."

As too just why the man was returning and what indeed he had seen in those last few moments Dorian hardly knew, Matteo turning then to Sebastian to afford the vampire his own goodbye, the Fae King entirely oblivious to those uttered words and, in that moment- to the sudden shift within his lovers demeanour to one of perhaps intense contemplation as he pondered those wholly ambiguous words he had been left with. Dorian, instead, moving to make use of their newfound privacy by simply allowing his lips to brush against his companions own once more, fingers entwining with the vampires as he did- the pair having but one more occasion to attend before they might finally be left in peace. That weak simper that so adorned his lover's features and too those almost distractedly spoken words were hardly missed, Dorian pausing in that moment to allow the silver of his gaze to settle upon the navy of his consorts own. It was, perhaps, due to the sheer amount of time he so spent with the man that he had come to recognise just when something was not quite right, Sebastian seeming distracted, in a sense, if not slightly bewildered over whatever it was that seemed to have taken hold of his thoughts. The Fae King, for now, merely choosing to lead the way to that dining hall and offer his lover that privacy of thought in that hopes that, surely, by the time they reached that room he might have resolved such internal conflict. Dorian hardly wishing to pry upon every thought his lover had even if such a curious look upon the other man's features had inclined him to worry in turn.

That dining hall hardly took terribly long to reach, the doormen whom stood either side of those towering double doors bowing readily at their approach before stepping forward to swing the doors open and admit the pair entrance. The previously empty room he had so displayed to the vampire but one night prior had been transformed into a veritable hub of activity. The entire room had been decorated from floor to ceiling in the red and gold that so represented Naples and yet too- were the very colours used for the New Year itself. Those banners had been hung from the wall to match the red and gold table cloth and too the multitude of flowers that adorned the room in all manner of bright colours. Every chandelier above was lit, every torch about the room casting its own soft glow over that impending feast in a manner truly exquisite. The table itself was veritably buried beneath that array of food, Dorian spying roasted pheasant and chicken and lamb and pork along with bowls of salads and vegetables and what he was quite assured was arguala pesto, cabonara pasta and pasta salad done in several traditional Italian styles. The silver of his gaze too- spying those traditional figs in their leaves resting in a bowl within the centre. He could not, in that moment, even despite that worry over his lover that so afflicted him- prevent the warm simper that found its way to his features at the sight of this. His home just as he had once recalled it and so filled with life once more, his hand tightening briefly upon Sebastian own at that simple touch of emotion before he moved to lead the man within. Those already seated at the table, those high born ladies and their suitors, Benito and several other higher order servants along with several knights rose readily from their seats to bow as Dorian and Sebastian passed. The Monarch so taking his own place at the head of the table, that seat to his right reserved for Sebastian alone, the simple wave of his hand assuring the room they were permitted to sit and begin as Dorian took his own seat.

"I had forgotten, in all these years, how grand it looked. I had forgotten too- even how this food smelled."

His words were wholly soft and for Sebastian alone, that soft simper pulling at his own lips once more as he regarded the man beside him, unable yet again to prevent that slight tinge of emotion that seemed to afflict him at so seeing his court alive again. Ah, but how it might fill him with some sense of hope that it might be restored as it once had been entirely! It took barely a moment for those servants to appear at their sides with plate in hand, asking just which foods the Monarch and too, Sebastian, might wish to have. Royalty, after all, was evidently not expected to go about the trouble of fetching their own food, those servants bustling about to collect exactly what was requested of them before returning to place those plates before the pair once more. Nothing short of a pitcher of wine placed appearing in turn, Dorian's eyes rising slightly, the man assured that this much wine was perhaps not wholly required. Another servant stepping forward to pour each of them a goblet all the same, that red wine placed before them before Dorian moved to wave the servant away with a word of thanks, picking up his cutlery now. It was with no small amount of reservation and too- ready suspicion- that the Monarch so carefully cut into hat first piece of meat, lifting it gingerly to his lips. Relief flooding him a moment later at that entirely pleasant taste.

"It is safe Mon Cher, it is real."

He paused then, assuring his companion it was entirely as pleasant to eat as it surely smelled. That dining table, while normally sat at by Dorian alone was, on those nights of celebration, veritably filled with people and conversation. The Monarch assured a very great deal of it was no doubt about Sebastian and himself, several ladies glancing in his direction only for Dorian to look up and send them into fits of giggling like children. One woman, in particular, making quite the effort to engage Sebastian in a discussion of England that Dorian was assured was for the sole purpose of reporting to the other ladies and yet for this evening he found he hardly minded. His gaze instead lingering several times upon his lover. Sebastian seeming still entirely lost in thought as that worry so gripped at Dorian once more, turning with a distinct discomfort within him. He was loath to pry at his companions thoughts and yet was not this the very role of a boyfriend? Surely he, if anyone, might be allowed to inquire as to these things? Surely his consort had not considered something so terrible it could not be shared? Dorian finding then that his own thoughts did little save distress himself further. Those words leaving his lips at last, softly spoke to Sebastian alone, one hand reaching forward to rest lightly on the vampires arm and so draw his attention.

"Bastian? Are you quite alright? You have had a truly unusual expression most of this evening and it is beginning to worry me. If you do not like the food it is perfectly alright, you don't have to eat it, Mon Cher. I was quite surprised you chose that at all. It is very...traditional. So much so even I dislike it."

He gestured then, briefly, to that pigs trotter Sebastian had pushed to the very edge of his plate and away from that far better food. Dorian suspecting the man had simply agreed not knowing entirely what the dish had been when offered its name, a soft simper tugging at his own lips once more before an entirely different thought so seemed to strike him. His brow knotting together slightly at that realisation that perhaps should have struck him far earlier then it had now. A sigh falling from his lips at last.

"What did he tell you?"

Surely if anyone was to blame for this it most certainly had to be Matteo. Dorian so foolishly having failed to consider both the elder Fae's enjoyment of those often unusual words and his own lovers capabilities for worry over all manner of things. The two ideals a distinctly poor match, a distinct discomfort settling within the Monarch now and yet it was so cast aside in this effort to reassure that single being whom meant so distinctly more than anyone ever had.

"If you do not wish to say I will not ask after it but whatever it is love, I should not let it turn within your mind to harshly. If it is so I have learned anything from Matteo it is, firstly, that he takes enjoyment from saying curious things and secondly that it is so the future is ever-changing. It has many possibilities. Sometimes he sees only one- that is, what might be if one path is followed."

He paused for but a moment then, allowing his lover to so consider this before continuing gently once more.

"He may merely have told you of one future. A possibility, not a set truth. He may also merely have had no vision at all and is simply talking. He is an infuriating being at times. He told my Mother I was to be a girl. That was incorrect- mostly."

That teasing simper tugged at his lips, even Dorian unable to prevent that soft chuckle that rose within him at his sexuality so having confused the future. There was, of course, every chance that Matteo had spoken the truth in whatever Sebastian had been told off and yet too, there was just as much chance such a thing was a simple possibility in a plethora of others. 'Sometimes', 'may' and 'might' hardly words of certainty and yet in this he could afford his lover little else.

Dorian Aragona