His Royal Majesty

Dorian Ellington-Aragona

The King of Italy

That terribly dubious look his lover so afforded him in those moments that followed that mention of those items still stored within his Palace so readily saw the Monarch attempt to correct his very sentence. Dorian wholly quick to insist that any furniture or any other item of value that had been secured within his Palace home was, surely, being attended to in a regular fashion and that Sebastian, in turn, need surely not fret for its loneliness or otherwise state of disrepair. His lovers distress over the last items they had discovered within the Palace basement had not been easily forgotten, it seemed, by either of them and yet Dorian was near assured Sebastian remained decidedly wary of his words even now. The Monarch quick to attempt to dissuade his lover from thinking to much upon such things even despite that very look he was afforded. Dorian, instead, so readily keen to shift that conversation back to the very mention of the glorious golden piano! How utterly delightful he so found such a consideration. Dorian quite unable to prevent his gaze from lingering upon that instrument with a clear and distinct awe. The Monarch nothing short of enraptured with that glorious colourand too the very image of Sebastian so seated at just such an object. That very image so turning with clear pleasure within his mind. His husband, he was assured, would look nothing short of splendid before such a piano as that. Sebastian's near soft insistence that, perhaps, it might be possible to have just such an instrument made for them so seemed to prompt that look of delight to the Fae Kings features all over again. Dorian wholly quick to insist that such an idea was nothing short of.....pleasurable in every sense. Sebastian's very promise to see to the acquisition of such a thing only further brightening that grin upon the Monarch's features.

"It will look splendid."

Any further considerations upon just such a topic however were abruptly ended by the arrival of Her Majesty herself. The well-aged Monarch, tiny though she was, so sweeping with confidence into the room. How very aged she was! Dorian assured he had known well of her human, mortal condition and yet how very surprising it was to see all at once. Her Majesty, for all her age, so hardly appearing terribly frail in any sense all the same as she moved to greet them both in turn before those seats were taken once more. It was, Dorian had decided, a wholly curious thing to watch another Monarch interact. Her Majesty so wasting little time in asking after Sebastian's estates and family, her words so affording her pleasure in their union and yet too- so vieling within them a concern, of sorts, for those historical lands his husband owned and her fear that such lands might, somehow, fall to the command of Italy. How very direct a being she was! Yet, by that same token, Dorian so hardly found he blamed Her Majesty in any true sense. England, like Italy, was proud of its lands and its heritage. That Her Majesty did not seek to lose those lands to foreign hands was not a misguided notion. Any good Monarch, surely, inclined to display an interest in such politics. Dorian so inclined to think of her in turn as a rather astute being even if her manner had been more direct then he had surely anticipated. She could hardly be faulted for caring for her country or those beings of merit whom resided within it. His marriage to Sebastian had, after all, so solidied a near permanent bond between their countries. That they should be on agreeable terms was wholly important.

Dorian's gaze so shifted between Her Majesty and his own husband then as Sebastian spoke of those homes and too- of the college he had attended that they so had plans to visit later. That conversation shifting again to that very question that, more often than not, so seemed to be continually brought to their attention. That manner of children. How very much the world had changed of late. How very modern those ways of thinking and yet, for all those years that had passed some things, it seemed, did not change. That they should be married more then a year without any indication of an heir, despite their shared gender, so seemed to be a topic that neither the politics nor the papers nr the public in general so ever seemed to trie of asking! Even when they very notion of how they might produce such a child remained to be seen. Sebastian, in that moment, so hardly seemed flustered by that very question. His husband so moving to provide that wholly diplomatic answer. One that would, so hopefully, placate Her Majesty's very questions upon that topic. Dorian in turn moved to offer his own words as his gaze shifted from his husband to the Queen again with that very explanation of their own immortal lifespan. The monarch so gently clearing his throat before placing that cup of tea back upon the table. That very gesture so seeming to prompt a near flutter of panic within his own husband as that heartbeat danced upon his finger. Dorian wholly determined to choose those words with care. Her Majesty's opinion, after all, mattered a very great deal to Sebastian. The idea of children however was not one they had dismissed entirely and yet one that they were surely not yet ready to commit to. After all, was it really so terrible they might simply enjoy being married to one another for some years before children? Was Italy truly so badly in need of an heir? Could they simply not be allowed to merely enjoy one another? How very much those very ...pressures of royalty pressed upon them still! Even within this modern day and age.

Her Majesty remained near silent throughout his own offered words. That subtle nod of her head all she seemed fit to afford him with in return and yet Dorian remained assured she was hardly displeased with his own answer. Sebastian's own nod of agreement hardly missed. His husband so terribly good at supporting his words whenever he might offer them. If was, after all, so surely their very roles to support one another and offer that very view of a united front. His words seeming to have satisfied Her Majesty for now. Sebastian appearing to relax but a little more- at least until the Queen so declared she wished to speak of another manner that weighed upon her. Dorian so biding her to continue with that polite dip of his own head. That matter of titles, that very thing Sebastian had so long sought, so readily offered before them then. That such a gift might be offered after so very long was nothing short of delightful. Dorian near struggling, in that moment, to maintain that wholly needed decorum as his husbands ardent blue gaze so fell upon him at Her Majesty's insistence it was by his permission alone Sebastian might have those titles returned. The Monarch incapable of preventing that simper from finding his features. How long Sebastian had waited! How terrible a being he would be to deny it of him! Dorian so readily affording that permission before turning to his husband with that congratulations upon his lips. That very delight upon Sebastian's own features, restrained though it was, so hardly missed. Dorian so forcing himself to remain within his very seat despite that desire to embrace his lover then. Her Majesty, at last, so allowing that warm smile to find her own lips as she rose. Dorian so moving to stand hurriedly in turn as that custom dictated.

It has been a pleasure to spend this time with you both today. We will organise the ceremony for the return of those titles and have your office notified. England will gladly handle these celebrations as our gift to you. I must attend a meeting with the Prime Minister but you are welcome to visit other areas of the Palace. I hope you will enjoy your time in England Your Majesty, Your Highness.

"Thank you. It has been a pleasure to meet you in turn."

Her own head dipped politely once more. Dorian so returning that very gesture as those doorman hurried to open that far door and see the elderly woman out of it before the manservant stepped through behind her. Those doors softly closed. Sebastian and himself once more left alone within that opulent room. So finally! Dorian moved readily then to lean towards his husband, his lips pressed softly to Sebastian's cheek in that sweet, stolen kiss. The simper upon his own lips nothing short of bright as he regarded him.

"Your English Queen is very astute, for her age, but I found her agreeable. I am thrilled for you, Mon Cher, that your titles are returned. You must call Giles and Elain later- they shall desire to hear it."

That manservant and his family, after all, were very near akin to Sebastian's family in turn. Giles and his wife no doubt aware of Sebastian's hope for the return of those honours. That simper upon the Monarch's features hardly faltering.
"We too- shall have to celebrate this. When we return home."

How very impish that look so became in that moment! Dorian chuckling softly as his hand reached to take his husbands own now that they were alone within that room once more and so free from the gaze of any whom might look with any judgement upon those soft touches.

"Do you think you might show me the rest of this Palace? Or at least, wherever we might be allowed to go? I should like to see these thrones you speak of too. Perhaps it shall inspire me for ideas for our own."

As if that very palace had not so already inspired him as it was! Dorian assured Caserta was in desperate need of that renovation if it so hoped to rival the glory of Buckingham. Dorian's mind so positively filled with ideas already. His silver gaze turned back toward his husband then.

"I had hoped, perhaps, that we would not be so...plagued as we have been with questions of when we plan to start a family of our own. I think we might need to make some sort of statement to the media at large when we return to Italy. Not to dismiss the idea of course, but in the very least, to make it clear it is not in our immediate plans. The world, I think, is slow to embrace the idea of our immortality and yet I am by no means ready to share you yet, not even with a child. I quote enjoy being ...selfish with you."

It was, perhaps, a decidedly un-royal admittance and yet so alone in that room there was surely no other to hear it. Dorian so allowing that warm simper to remain upon his lips as he gestured toward that door that lead, he presumed, further into that Palace.

"Come then, let us see what else Buckingham has to offer. I shall pretend not to be as awed by it as I am."