The Cursed King

Loriel smiled sweetly and kissed Elise's forehead dotingly. "Of course. Thank you for the talk, Elise."

"I didn't do much…" Elise batted her eyes at her husband. She looked so adorable.

"You telling me about your own dream helped me," Loriel told her. "Now, you can go back to sleep."

"Hmmm..." Elise yawned softly and then closed her eyes. She went back to sleep, while Loriel rubbed her back gently..

After some time, Elise's breathing slowed down into a peaceful one as she fell back asleep. Loriel on the other hand couldn't do that.

Loriel's chest beat so loudly. When he thought Elise was already back to sleep, the man woke up very softly and rested his head on his elbow, to watch the sleeping beauty beside him sleep. 

He was wondering what exactly Elise saw in her dream. Was it even a dream? What if it was her memory that started to creep its way back into Elise's mind?

Gosh… Loriel really hoped it was nothing more than a dream, but something was telling him that this was Elise's memory.

A small fragment of what Elise's old life was.

Was Elise recovering her memory piece by piece? Based on Loriel's assessment of her tone and expression, Elise didn't give much more thought to it than anyone did to their dreams.

A mixture of both relief and longing was in his chest.

***

The big four fashion weeks were regarded with high esteem by people all over the world. From Milan, London, Paris to New York, they were all semi-annual events that showcased the wonderful and latest fashion collections to the buyers, press, and general public.

Loriel acquired tickets easily through his connections, aka Marc Sanderman, getting them for him and for Elise. 

It was one of the rare opportunities to actually attend this event and be at the forefront of the newest designs and so Loriel wanted Elise to enjoy it. Although, sometimes Loriel wondered if Elise was simply going with whatever he wanted to make him happy.

In the past, Elise would always smile and nod her head just to keep things pleasant at the palace… but this time, Elise also learned how to speak up more for herself. Loriel knew this for a fact.

"Are you enjoying yourself, honey?" Loriel asked.

Elise's gaze was at a brochure they've received from the attendants and she smiled brightly at Loriel. "Yes, I didn't think that there are all sorts of fashion collections we'd get to see. There's also both the women and men category. Maybe we'll get some for you?"

Loriel thought about it and then nodded. "I'll wear anything that you'd like me to wear." 

"Are you sure?" Elise looked up at him in surprise.

Loriel was always well-dressed in Elise's eyes and she knew that the man seemed to have very specific tastes and clothes catered to him. It was exciting though for Elise to have the opportunity to pick something out for him.

"Yes, I can also wear nothing if you'd like," Loriel whispered huskily into his wife's ears.

Elise's face heated up at the thought of seeing her husband's naked body. Elise already saw him naked and also in board shorts when they were at the penthouse… but it always felt like she was seeing him for the first time.

"Well, we can save that for another time." Elise coughed with the tips of her ears now bright pink. Gosh… she hoped nobody at the venue could read minds and see how dirty hers was at the moment.

Loriel smiled at that. He liked that his wife was being more forward about her desires now more than ever. 

"Of course." He winked.

Despite everything that happened yesterday, from Elise experiencing weakness when Loriel and her were about to get some gelato to Loriel remembering some events in the past because of the presence of other immortals in the same city… nothing would stop him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming here today!" The female voice of the emcee came from the curtains as the lights dimmed all around them.

Loriel blinked at the sound of the woman's voice. He couldn't forget this voice even if he tried.

"Oh, the show is starting!" Elise whispered to Loriel excitedly, not noticing her husband's reaction as she looked at the pamphlet on her lap. "According to the schedule, we have a world-renowned celebrity as an emcee. Please welcome… HILDE!!!"

The bright white lights all around them started changing and highlighting the catwalk instead. The platform was long and on both sides were the eager attendees and it was where both Elise and Loriel were seated to get the full view of the models.

A beautiful woman with blonde hair and pink highlights walked up on stage and clicked on her earpiece.

There was a twinkle in her eyes as she addressed the crowd and enjoyed the attention given to her.  Her iris were so special. She had round and beautiful light amber eyes which looked almost like golden. They were breathtaking. 

Hilde was completely comfortable on stage. She cast her glance around them and smiled sweetly, showing her row of pearly white teeth.

Elise stared up at the woman with a sense of awe. Not only did Hilde strut down with confidence, everyone around her was also caught up in reverie. It wasn't only her gorgeous appearance but the sheer amount of personality that commanded people to pay attention to her. 

"I want to begin today's event by welcoming everyone to the winter edition of Milan's Fashion Week… We have quite a crowd this time, so I'm happy to have all of you here."

Hilde's attention slightly drifted when she saw Loriel sitting at the forefront of the seats. Her lips curled up more into a smile as she engaged and gave a short speech to the crowd for a few more minutes until it reached the end. 

"And with these final words, I now declare Milan's Fashion Week officially opened!"

It was then met with a round of applause.