Dorian was loath to command of Sebastian in any sense. No part of the Monarch took any such pleasure in very near forcing that truth from his husband. It was, simply, not within his nature to do such a thing of the man he adored most within the world and yet, tonight, the Fae King so refused to relent even despite his internal distress over breaking the protocols of what was both private and polite. Not with their marriage so veritably at stake. Sebastian's actions tonight, along with Isabella's appearance, had provoked far more than one potent question to the surface. Questions that Dorian was assured could not go unanswered lest his own imagination take those answers to places they did not belong. How utterly reluctant he was to think ill of Sebastian in any sense, indeed, his own mind had so hardly conjured anything near as....tragic as that true story so proved to be. That very anger and too- the hurt that had come with it were quick to fall to the wayside in the way of his husbands distinctly British lyrics filling that space. Sebastian's distress, it seemed, the Monarch was capable of handling- until those tears appeared. Silent though they were. Dorian was utterly incapable of allowing Sebastian to cry! His own resolve all but crumbled as he crossed that space between them to gently pull the vampire agianst himself. The fashion in which Sebastian flinched was hardly missed and yet Dorian failed to release his hold. Sebastian's frame, at last, easing into his own as the vampire near boldly attempted to suppress those sobs.

Dorian so hardly knew what he had anticipated of that tale and yet the near tragic efforts of Isabella to sustain Sebastian's hunger and too- Sebastian's efforts to appease his lover had ended with disastrous results from the both. Isabella had...lost her very life and Sebastian had so forever been entrapped within the guilt of it. How well the Monarch knew his husband and too- how well he knew that such a tragic death would more than likely be a veritable stain upon the vampire's soul for near all eternity. It was simply....Sebastian's nature to shoulder the blame of any situation. His lover was so often content to heap guilt upon himself near regardless of the situation. A trait Dorian had long since come to suspect had been carried over and further amplified from his human years. Sebastian cared about those around him. Sometimes that very care so proving to be to his own determinant as had been proven so painfully true. God, but he so hated to think of how long this very thing had burdened his lover. Dorian, even now, inclined to remember that night within the car in which Sebastian had made it clear he could hardly hope to sustain himself on Dorian alone. His husband, right from the beginning, so having strove to protect him.

Sebastian's feeding habits would always be a near....displeasing part of their marriage and yet Dorian was nothing if not realistic in his understanding of those vampiric needs and too- his simple....trust in Sebastian was unflinching. Isabella, it seemed, had not been so entirely trusting and yet Dorian found himself near unable to think too terribly ill of a woman who had died for Sebastian's welfare. She had loved Sebastian too. That very notion alone settling within the Monarch as his hand lifted to wipe those tears from Sebastian's cheek. That gesture was entirely gentle before he uttered those quiet words. His husband's equally soft insistence that he was 'fine' was so entirely....Sebstian in every sense that Dorian felt a simper threaten to touch his lips. How very British. Dorian was certain, in that moment, that Sebastian was not fine and yet, for tonight, he so little need to distress his companion further by questioning that ambiguous phrase. Dorian, at last, stepped back from his husband then, his gaze meeting his lovers' own as he strove to offer Sebastian that insistence that Isabella had surely played her part in that tragedy too. It would be disrespectful, he was sure, to attempt to absolve Sebastian of all blame in that incident and yet the vampire so surely did not deserve to shoulder the outcome of that tragedy alone.

The near tight press of Sebastian's lips all but assured the Fae King his husband hardly believed him and yet the vampire made no effort to argue. Dorian, in turn, allowed those words to fall to the wayside for tonight. They had a lifetime together, did they not? Sometime, some day, this very conversation would surely resurface. Then, perhaps, he might work once more to assist Sebastian in making peace with that death. Even if the vampire would never truly forgive himself entirely. It was that very notion of Sebastian's guilt however that prompted Dorian to consider what else he knew of Isabella, or at least, what he had come to discover of her in those moments in which her ghost had persisted. How Dorian knew so entirely of ehr emotions he was hardly certain and yet the Monarch remained nothing if not absolutely certain that, despite that rage caused by Serafina, Isabella did not resent Sebastian. Not at all. That love had surrounded her. Even in death. Why he chose to offer those words to Sebastian he hardly knew. Dorian putting aside his own....conflicted feelings upon his lovers ex-wife to at least attempt to assuage Sebastian's worry.

A soft breath left the vampires lips before Sebastian insisted he knew Isabella did not hate him and that rather, it would be easier to accept if she had. The vampire assured he had let her own when she had needed him most. How few words he could offer to comfort his companion on this! Dorian was unable to deny that, to some extent, Sebastian's worries were surely true and yet, Isabella had known, from the beginning, just what she had been asking for from her lover.

"I am sorry I cannot fix this for you, Mon Cher, but if you cannot find peace in what happened, perhaps you can find it in the knowledge that she seems to be peaceful now. Would she truly want you to hold all this guilt yourself?"

If Sebastian would not believe himself not totally responsible for Isabella's death then perhaps he might be convinced to find some peace in it for her. Any further thoughts Dorian so had on the matter were abruptly halted by his husband's inquiry as to whether he was alright. Dorian, this time, allowing a faint simper to find his lips as he nodded.

"Yes, I am quite. Brennan killed that....whatever it was before it could strike me."

Dorian's features frowned ever so slightly at the memory of that very creature. The tattered ruins of the room around them became all the more clear once more as Dorian sighed softly again.

"I think, if you have no objections, that we should retire to bed for the evening. This has been an unpleasant evening altogether."

The Monarch's head shook lightly, as if such an evening could be wiped from it entirely and yet.....but a single thought still remained. Dorian's hand lifted, his hand running through his hand again.

"Did you....wish to discuss Alfonso?"

Oh how he found himself hoping Sebastian did not.

Dorian Aragona