Ciel had stayed for such a long time at the border of his nation that he was beginning to become a little bit sick. Sebastian cheekily asked if it was homesickness, but Ciel had snapped back that he was getting sick of the ocean weather. Speaking of Sebastian, he had strict punishment for ignoring Ciel's calls earlier, although he did not specify where it was that he went, only that it was "somewhere so deep that I could not hear your voice, Young Master" as he had put. Ciel scoffed and offered his services to the hotel they were staying at. The old man and his young daughter had eagerly shoved most of the house-cleaning tasks to him. Ciel smirked as he watched Sebastian offering fresh towels to every suite. At the same time, it helped him focus on the business he had right now. After strangely meeting with the Undertaker in the waters, Ciel wandered around, soaked to the bone, until finally Sebastian had answered his call and whisked him away to this hotel. And now that he was here, he had spent his time ensuring that his underground society had enough contacts. Going through his lists, he had to cross a few out; namely those who met their demise. Even though he was away from his estate, there were still piles of work to do.
Right after lunch, Sebastian had delivered a small tray filled with letters, setting them all on the small desk (that is mahogany). Ciel had worked his way through them from the top, but now he rummaged around, spreading the papers and envelopes around. His concentration was wearing down and he set himself to work with only the most important ones. From the depths of the pile, his eye caught on one that had a very important red wax seal on it and he yanked it out. The delicate lettering on the front, coupled with the royal insignia told him that it was a letter from the Queen herself. He sliced it open with a penknife, a movement that was ingrained into the ridges of his fingertips. The envelope spat out two long strips of paper. When Ciel turned them over, they featured bright colours and information about an exposition. Ciel opened the envelope wider to see if there were any other contents, but all that it gave were the tickets. The young earl thought it suspicious for these tickets to come without any briefing. No such "please clear out this place of bandits" or "something strange has been happening". He sighed and supposed that he was going to an exposition for whatever reason now. Perhaps a break would be a good idea.
He checked the place and time of the exposition, brow furrowing when he discovered that it was in Paris. He didn't like going overseas that often. He took out a heavy agenda from the drawer, opening it up to today's date. Glancing from the ticket to the agenda, he scribbled in the date, four days from now. If he started immediately, he would arrive in Paris in about three days, which left one day to get settled in. For whatever reason, the Queen seemed intent on luring him further and further away from his estate. He was sure that it was purely accidental though. Shoving the rest of the letters aside, he rested his head on the hard wood, examining the tickets lazily. Sunshine streamed through the window behind him, a rare occurrence in this place, and warmed his body. He would call for Sebastian after a quick nap and have him prepare for yet another voyage.
Ciel seemed to be feeling better in the Paris air. Either that or he just had to impress the French. Sebastian had been quick to set up all the necessary preparations to be done for the trip overseas and packing up all of Ciel's things. Ciel, still feeling a bit under the weather, stayed inside the ship for most of the ride and settling in a nearby hotel, didn't get much work done. Sebastian had asked if he was well prepared for the exposition coming up, and Ciel brushed him off lightly, stating that the Queen was there. Still, Sebastian was not entirely convinced after spotting the boy nodding off with glazed eyes.
"Young Master, it wouldn't do yourself well to strain your body. After all, you need to present yourself in a fine matter during the exhibition." He commented. "The Queen might be worried that her favourite dog is sick."
"I'm fine, Sebastian. Go and prepare me some tea. Earl Grey." Came the response.
Sebastian bowed, said his usual line and set off to carry out the order. Adding in a bit of chamomile, he served it to the young master.
"Earl Grey, perhaps to remind you of home back on the island, Young Master. I added in a bit of medicinal herb, which will help clear your head."
Ciel gave him a glare, but drank the tea without complaint. The chamomile had done its work and now he was feeling a bit sleepier. Finally, he told Sebastian that he was going to have a quick nap on the sofa nearby. Sebastian took a quilt from the closet and laid it over the young boy. After staying a while to make sure that Ciel had drifted off to a comfortable sleep, he whispered to himself.
"I suppose children naturally do get homesick."
Although Ciel said he was going to have a quick nap, Sebastian figured that forgetting to wake his master up would be the best choice to make.
Clairvaux tried going on with daily life in Hell: gathering materials from her servants, giving them orders and forging items. However now she was stuck with a moping child in the corner of her forge, curled up into a ball. Her attempts at conversation were met with mute responses or listless moans. Somehow her forge went from full and busy to a little bit lonely. She slid plate after plate of whatever meal had been cooked over, and she could hear the girl's stomach growling, but in the end, Clairvaux had to recollect the food left untouched.
"So, what're you gonna do from now on?" Clairvaux asked softly, "You know you can't stay here, right? The demons'll get pretty angry…"
Silence. Clairvaux sat there, spinning at the wheel. Through the restless sound of the wooden machine, she could hear quiet sobbing. Clairvaux chose to stay silent. The girl didn't look like she wanted to be comforted right now. Still, she let her presence stay in the same room.
"I want to go home…" came a pitiful whimper, "I wa-want to-to go home now…I don't want…to-to-to leave…behi-behind…"
Her emotional state was in such a mess that words were replaced with wails and sobbing. Clairvaux, who didn't know how to take care of someone so human, simply continued on spinning.
