Hysteria

Chapter XIII

Infatuation.

Elias looked like a prince.

His father had obviously tailored his outfit for him, with beautiful gold detailing contrasting to deep, rich purple of his coat. His hair had been styled, choosing not to wear a wig, his fluffy white laced cravat matching the lace of his sleeves. He wore black breeches, white socks showing off his strong calves, just the slightest bit of makeup giving him an almost mystically beautiful look.

Upon first laying his eyes on him, Valì almost couldn't breathe, sure his heart had stopped. Elias looked like royalty, his perfect posture forwarding that idea, and truth be told, he doubted he'd ever seen such a work of art.

Valì looked like a marble statue. When Elias had arrived to his little apartment, Valì had been nowhere near ready to go over to the Falkenrath estate, dressed in only his black dress trousers at the time, looking like a greek god chiseled from gleaming, milky stone by the hands and instruments of a bygone with incomparable expertise. Even with minor 'imperfections', such as bruising from when they'd both fallen and he'd hurt his rib, and scars here and there, he still looked like the closest thing to perfection Elias ever seen.

"Oh—Elias, you... you look rather dashing," Valì found himself almost stuttering, heart hammering against his ribs as he leaned against the kitchen counter. His dinner was in the middle of being cooked, and the man had very obviously lost track of time. "Sorry, I— I'll grab a shirt, can you watch this for me? I'll only be a minute."

Elias almost felt the need to cover his eyes, and yet, he was unable to even advert them. Christ, Valì looked like a god. "Uh— yes, of course. I apologize, it's my fault for coming in unannounced." He stuttered, stumbling into the kitchen, finally managing to look away.

Valì took far longer than he'd said he would, disappearing upstairs and not coming down until he was completely dressed, with well-fitting white trousers, a grey waistcoat and a white cravat. To top it off, a dark blue, almost black, ever so elegant and intricately-decorated tailcoat, one which fit him so, so beautifully...

"How's my dinner?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he snatched a beautiful, silk top hat from the stand.

"How could you afford that?" Elias asked, completely ignoring Valì's question as he stared, gaping, at the straight-sided top hat which sat upon his pale blond hair.

"Family heirloom. Was my grandfathers, originally. We took it from my dad when we came to Vienna. Now me and my brother share it." He shrugged, making his way back into the kitchen for his food. "Thank god my grandfather chose a silk over a beaver pelt."

"It's beautiful... and in such good shape, too, it must've cost your grandfather a fortune."

"You'll have to ask him yourself," he managed through a mouthful of roast, stuffing his face just as fast as he could. "I'll bring you around the shop again sometime, introduce you to Marius too. Reintroduce you to my grandfather— as a friend, this time." He'd finished off his dinner in what seemed like record time, cleaning his face and making sure his tie was straight in a small mirror before he nodded to Elias. "Off we go, then."

Snow had settled on the slippery streets of Vienna, still falling as they both shuffled onto a small hackney carriage. Elias had barely been on the vehicle when the driver had snapped the reins, horses practically jumping back into action. The poor man stumbled, heart in his throat, and was sure that Valì's firm hand reaching out and grasping the front of his shirt was the only thing to keep him on the carriage.

The ride was fairly long, almost an hour. It brought them across the Danube canal, up to the northwest, just into the vienna woods.

The Falkenrath estate was one of the most beautiful pieces of land in all of Austria, Valì was sure. With a river running through one corner of the lot, and towering trees covering most of the land, taking a stroll through their yard was almost a magical experience, the peace of the woods and the sounds of nature filling the crisp, cool air. It was almost the complete opposite of the busy city that was Vienna.