every king had a story, of ancient glory,sweetly told

In all that the Monarch had so anticipated from this curious evening, he had so hardly expected to see Nadya arrive upon their doorstep with a child in tow! This was entirely unexpected in every fashion. Dorian moved to rise from his chair as Charles entered the room to introduce the pair a few moments after they had been shown inside, the child softly uttering her name in the manservants wake. Maeve. The Monarch's silver gaze slid ready from Nadya, the woman appearing much as he remembered her, and down toward that blonde haired child at her side. The girl was decidedly...angelic in appearance with her white blonde hair and curious violet eyes. Indeed, had the girl not been so notably Fae Dorian would have been near assured she was the child of Nadya and Frost himself! So presuming, of course, the pair still remained together after all this time. Aiden, he was sure, had intimated as such. His curiosity of the child's appearance however was short lived and so quickly gave way to those manners that had been near ingrained within him since his own childhood. Dorian quickly offered a greeting to both Nadya and Maeve. The young girl readily returned it as she smiled near shyly from Nadya's side- only to be coaxed further forward by the young Were woman whose hands came to rest upon her shoulders. How curious this night was proving to be. What on earth could this be about? Sebastian, it seemed, readily shared his sentiments. The vampire querying Nadya on whether or not everything was alright.

Such prompting, it seemed, was all Nadya required to offer at least some indication of why she had come, vague though it remained. The young woman was quick to insist she needed their assistance, that Maeve was alone and without a proper guardian and that she had so already come to discover the perils that came with their veritable misfortune of being born a Fae. Their rarity as a species so tended to make them a distinct target for vampires and hunters alike. The child so apparently already having suffered an attack. Dorian, in that moment, unable to hide that concern that found his features for the girl. No child, after all, should live in fear for their lives and indeed Dorian understood decidedly well that...struggle of so being forced to grow up away from one's own kind. His own half siblings, after all, had all been decidedly human. Matteo the single and only Fae influence within his life for centuries! Yet- even despite such things, just why Nadya had brought the child to them Dorian so hardly knew. Did she seek to present them with a sweet child in the hopes it might coax from them some....charitable donation? That ready confusion of sorts managed to find its way to the Monarch's features as Nadya spoke highly of the girls gifts as a dancer. Such a thing so hardly difficult to believe. Fae, after all, were naturally light upon their feet. The child before him was the very epitome of their species.

Maeve was all-too eager to assure them of Nadya's own talents as a dance teacher before she seemed to find curiosity in his and Sebastian's own species. The young girl proclaiming him to be Fae, like herself and too- recognising Sebastian's decidedly vampiric state of being. Dorian's head nodded readily in response to her assumptions as Sebastian too insisted she was correct. Dorian, in that moment, so furthering the simper upon his lips. His accented words offered towards the young girl then.

"Sebastian is my husband. It has been a long time since I have seen a Fae child like yourself. You have very unusual hair, it suits you very well."

Such words, he was certain, were entirely true. The young girl with the violet eyes, unusual though they were, was surely striking to behold and yet still that very manner of just what Nadya desired from them when it came to the girl remained to be seen. Dorian's gaze shifted to Nadya once more as Sebastian so suggested that there was little to learn when it came to being a Fae in the same fashion one might struggle as a Vampire or Were. The Monarch so merely offering that nod of his head in turn. Fae, certainly, had their own unique challenges and yet there was, perhaps, little to teach in that regard. Sebastian continued then, the vampire commenting upon their lack of involvement within the Fae community within the city- such a thing near necessary with their position in life- before suggesting that, perhaps, someone within Dorian's own court in Italy might be willing to take on the child- if that was, indeed, what Nadya sought. Dorian's own features frowned but slightly then in consideration as his husband's gaze fell upon him. The Monarch so considering that very thing before his head nodded.

"I fear, as Sebastian said, we are not well connected with the Fae community in the city. I could offer you the names of some other Fae whom you could reach out to you if you desire and yet beyond that, within this city, there is little we have to offer you. Of course, if you desired to send Maeve to Italy there would surely be several families among my own court whom would be delighted to take her in. Fae are not always so fortunate when it comes to having children of their own. Such a thing though would need to be done through the proper channels and authorities. If you like, I could perhaps see that the process is expedited through child services? Does Maeve speak Italian?"

It would, after all, be decidedly difficult for the child to integrate into an Italian family if she hardly spoke a word of the language and yet, perhaps she did? Dorian, in that moment, glanced near expectantly between Nadya and Maeve before another thought so seemed to cross his mind. The Monarch then shifted the bright silver of his gaze to Nadya once more. The vaguest hint of suspicion lingering within those slate hued depths.

"Unless....you merely seek some sort of charitable donation to help the child find a family?"

Money, after all, was so often what most people came to seek from them. Nadya, perhaps, merely indirectly seeking to ask them to fund some sort of...orphanage project she was involved with. Dorian, in that moment, seeking to reach the veritale crux of the matter.

dorian ellington-aragona