Countless times, she fought against those rising feelings, told herself over and over that there was nothing between her and the fae man other than friendship. At first, everything had been so easy. She'd gone from fearing him to wondering about him in a matter of hours after their first encounter, but it hadn't gone any further than the ever-familiar intrigue as she took those first steps into a world that she'd always been told was not a reality that she would ever need to concern herself with. Magic and mythical beings, immortality and near god-like strength or speed, none of it was possible. Period. Then, in those very first hours of a new day, when the stars still flecked a blue-black sky and the moon's sterling light bathed the still stirring city of Sacrosanct, everything changed. She went from living an ordinary life in an ordinary world to discovering that the very world she had lived in all along was anything but normal, ordinary, or mortal... or simple. Those days of waking up, seeking that dream of becoming a world-renowned photographer by daylight beside those small detours of making friends and living this one and only life she had to the brightest and fullest that she could, and finding her bed to drift away into that realm of slumber until the sun would rise and she would wake up yet again to resume that endless pursuit of everything she'd thought she would ever want... they suddenly became much more complicated that she might have ever expected. Little did she know that the days ahead of her would rock the young woman to her very core, to the point of hardly recognizing herself amidst the torrent of thoughts and feelings that would come to overwhelm her, sweep her away into something â€" or rather, someone â€" that she would never be able to turn away from.

Her heart ached for him in more ways than she could even begin to describe even if she so wanted to â€" and how she suddenly found herself wanting that very relief. It had gotten to that point of where she couldn't stop thinking about him, the way that he could make her heart flutter wildly within her chest, how his touch could electrify her very soul and set fire to her skin with the gentlest of caresses, those passionate kisses that they'd shared which would always leave her gasping as she silently wished with the same fierce desperation of a starved soul crying for nourishment that they meant something, anything at all. She wanted to pour those cascading emotions out to the fae man that sat across the small polished mahogany table from her, wanted to feel that weight on her heart lift as she confessed everything to him like she was nothing more than a sinner pleading for the blessings of a priest. She wanted to tell Dorian how Andras made her feel, how he gave her that sense of quiet bliss and torturous agony all in one singular look or touch, how she didn't want to love him for the knowing that there was no true future for the adoration that was so deeply rooted into every part of her and yet she couldn't help but find that she loved him more and more, wanted him more painfully than the moment before. As she sat there, those crashing waves beating against her heart, body, and soul with little to no mercy as they ripped through her like level five hurricane, she could feel that control she was hardly able to cling onto slowly beginning to slip, those already worn strings that held her together and from breaking down entirely in front of Dorian fraying ever further until she was genuinely frightened that she wouldn't be able to stop the tears once they started to spill from those bright baby blues that betrayed the heartache so terribly infused with the oceans-deep love she hadn't been able to keep herself from falling into.

Like he'd read her mind, seen that the blue-eyed blonde was so dangerously close to surrendering those final threads of strength that she had, felt that knot that was twisting ever-tauter in her heart and her throat as every beat of her heart became more and more painful, he reaches out for her. It was the touch of his hand gently resting over her own that brings Beylani's baby blue gaze to meet those silver depths of his so soft and gentle as he gave her that warm simper. Accented words are kind and gentle in their tone, and they offer her that comfort they'd been on the brink of begging for as they brought her to her knees before the fae king. She knew that the consolation taming those storm-ridden turrets would only last a little while, but it was what she had needed to keep herself together. Or, at least save her from looking like she could break down any second. For a moment, she found herself feeling guilty. Surely, Dorian had enough on his plate to worry about. With the upcoming wedding that was likely going to be larger than she could even begin to imagine, the people that counted on him as a leader, she practically felt smaller than a mouse then. The last thing the fae man needed was some lovesick young woman crumbling in front of him as she sought some sort of temporary comfort from the ache those feelings were so capable of making her cave beneath. He continues to smile easily at her though as he move his hand away from hers, Beylani offering him a gentle, grateful smile of her own."Thank you, Dorian. I think... I really just needed to hear those words", she says softly, her voice nearly cracking beneath the weight of those emotions that shifted from a raging sea into calm, lapping waves for the time being.

Beylani herself didn't quite understand how it was that many people today had gone from counting so heavily on livestock for survival and development to believing that using them as a source of food or using the very things that they could provide as a means of creating other resources was wrong and that humans should find other means of surviving and thriving, but it was certainly something that had risen to quite the force. While the young woman was all for treating all creatures justly and well up until it came time to utilize what they were bred for, she also entirely understood why such thoughts and opinions these days that drove many individuals to swear off eating animals or using their by-products might be more than a sort of culture shock for the man. How lost and confused he must have been when he first realized how drastically the world was now compared to what it was before. Silver eyes widen once more at the blue-eyed blonde's words, his expression all but speaking of how surprised and perhaps almost flabbergasted he might be about this information before the man folds his arms over his chest in a nearly cross manner, that disbelief coating his accented words heavily before he seemed determined to return things to a more pleasant note, the conversation flowing effortlessly on to the matter of her part-time occupation, though it hardly went on for long when the honey-blonde woman returned to their table, inquiring on what they would chose to have for lunch. When she places her order and Ellie turns her attention to Dorian, the fae man seeming almost flustered on what he might want, before the sudden appearance has her gaze shifting in surprise to the man that materialized from nothing, though she was hardly the only one alarmed by his sudden presence. Ellie herself turning at those smoothly spoken words, only seeming to jump ever so slightly in turn before nodding to both of the men and casting Beylani that cheeky smile of hers only to turn and make her way towards the kitchen to deliver the order.

It was almost a reassurance of some sort when Dorian is also seemingly surprised by this man the blue-eyed blonde had not seen before, and yet there was a curiosity in her gaze when that unknown name rolls easily over the fae man's tongue. Matteo? She tries to think for a moment if perhaps her companion had shared this name with her at the tea party that seemed like so long ago, when things were not quite as simple as they'd been when she first came to live here in Sacrosanct and yet they were hardly as intricate and conflicting â€" if not truly torturous â€" than they were now. Finding nothing, she watches the exchange between the two men in polite silence, unable to keep her eyes from shifting to Matteo's ears and easily noticing that he was also fae. For fae being rather rare to encounter, they seem to be the only beings I run into so often. As they speak of Alexander, Beylani entirely uncertain of what it was that the newest fae man meant by "riding into history", though she was hardly certain of anything these days as to what others were capable of as she tried to forget her less than pleasant brush with Frost and, she knows that it has nothing to do with her nor was it any of her business, so she simply shifts her gaze casually between the two men. It's when Dorian seems to overcome whatever bafflement had previously flickered across his features that he turns to introduce her to his father. What does one call the father of a king? Her eyes widen for a moment then, hardly able to reach anything close to an understanding of just how... young Matteo looked, before those refined and smoothly spoken words are offered to her. She dips her head politely, thinking of little else that she might need to do before offering him a warm smile."The pleasure is mine", she replies politely.

Should she have used his name? A title? She was truly at a loss for what she should call him, if even using his name alone would be considered rude or proper and so she hoped that perhaps her words would be acceptable if not at least satisfactory. She can feel that warmth threatening to color fair-skinned cheeks once more as those silver eyes of the elder fae seem to linger over her. She wasn't entirely sure what he'd called her when that foreign language slips effortlessly into his string of words, but all the same it sounded pleasant, and Dorian so far only seeming mildly nervous about something rather than astonished. So, it had to be fair, whatever he'd called her, right? Dorian's words towards Matteo's interruption of his introductions has Beylani giving him a fond look, an ever so subtle flicker of amusement finding her baby blue depths as she imagines how she would have said something similar to her mother or father had they interrupted her practice of manners they'd instilled in her. She glances back to Matteo now to see that pleasant smile resting easily over his handsome features, his expression otherwise unreadable as he seems to study her. His answer to Dorian's question as the young woman's eyes widening in surprise, and yet still she remains silent despite her timid curiosity. Visions of her!? Perhaps he had her confused with another... although she highly doubted it. She can feel her heart beginning to beat a little faster, though for what reason she does not quite know, only that there was something about Matteo that had her suddenly so... shy in his presence. When those smooth words reach out to her again, this time with her full name that she hadn't even shared with Dorian or Andras, she is almost stricken into speechlessness. She is quiet for a moment despite that small yet gentle smile that dances across her lips."I do. I mean, yes, I do", she answers softly yet truthfully, baby blue eyes only looking away from Matteo as Ellie returns with the food that she and Dorian had ordered before giving them each a smile and turning to tend to another table of customers. She does not move to lift her fork though, despite the tantalizing smell of the freshly cooked food, knowing without question that she did not wish to be rude in front of her friend's father.