due to the nature of this story i actually had to do extensive research on some things because of what happens later. anyhow, the name of the hotel is a real hotel in Normandy, France. I deduced that most likely tamaki's french home was in a more countryside setting due to his mother's health. paris would be too busy i would think. the price is real but the upcharge isn't and this hotel actually accepts animals there. it's really nice there too.

anyway, if anyone has a more concrete answer to where in france tamaki lived then please let me know. as for now, the grantaine mansion will be located in normandy.

Tamaki got off the plane at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in France and stretched out his legs. He was happy to be back in France, his home country, but the circumstances surrounding it was pretty bleak. He had grabbed up Antoinette and his suitcase from the bag retrieval and yawned. The eight hour difference was horrific but he knew when he got into the limo that he could sleep on the way to the mansion as well as get straight to be when he got home. Home… he thought, feeling slightly giddy about the fact that he would get to see his mother again and be back where he belonged. Well, more where he belonged. He was missing his friends already and really hated to leave them without a proper explanation or goodbye but telling them he had been kicked out of the Suoh family was a little extreme, even for him. The only person to see him go was Shiga, who put in his cell phone number for Tamaki to call.

"I know I'm not supposed to be in contact with you or anything, but I don't care what that old hag says. It was nice to meet you and I hope all fares well. If you ever need me for anything, or even just to talk, call me."

Tamaki looked at his phone and sighed. His grandmother had taken him off of her plan and put him on a phone card. She said that when he got to France his mother could add him to her plan, so the minutes were enough to get him from Japan to France to home. Antoinette looked up at Tamaki, tail wagging and tongue hanging out. Although she wasn't from France, her mother was, and she was just happy to be wherever her owner wanted to be. Tamaki smiled at her and wrapped another loop of her leash on his hand.

"Come on, Antoinette, let's go home."

He walked out towards the entrance and looked at the signs the line of drivers were holding. He was looking for either his Japanese name or his French name. After searching down the line for a while he made a face and finally went up to a driver.

"Excuse me, monsieur," Tamaki said in perfect French. "Where is the driver for Grantaine?"

"Grantaine?" the man said, turning his head a little. "I haven't seen anyone with a sign for that surname."

"What about Suoh?"

"Not for that either. Let me ask the others." The man turned to the line and yelled out if anyone had seen someone for Grantaine or Suoh and they all responded with a 'no'. "I'm sorry, monsieur, but it looks like there is not anyone here for those names. Were you expecting someone? Perhaps you can call?"

"I guess that's what I'll have to do… Merci."

He walked to a seat and sat down on it, pondering what to do. His grandmother said that she would contact the Grantaine house and let them know he was coming… he looked at his phone for a moment and sighed, going through his contacts and dialing home. He waited for someone to pick up when it said the phone was disconnected. He made a face and called again. After several more times, he decided that something was terribly wrong and he needed to make sure everything was alright at the manor. He walked outside with Antoinette and hailed a taxi. He told him where he wanted to go and they sped off in the direction of the Grantaine Mansion.

When Tamaki got to the mansion he gaped at the condition of it. It was slightly overgrown and there was no bustle of people inside. The taxi hadn't sped off yet so he went back to it.

"Monsieur, tell me, why is this mansion looking like this?"

"That mansion has been without residence for a few years now. Most people come to look at the beauty of it…"

"Do you know where they went?"

"I'm afraid not. The last I heard was that the family was leaving but there was not an explanation as to why or where. Will you be needing me to wait on you, monsieur?"

"No… no… I need to think for a second. Thank you."

"If you need another taxi I'm afraid you'll have to call for one or walk to town first."

"I understand."

The taxi sped off and Tamaki looked at the house. He made a face and took Antoinette around the side where he knew there was a loose bar in the iron gate. He found the bar and wiggled it loose, the bottom half of it popping off. He pushed it to the side and after struggling for a moment, got through and into the courtyard. The grass was higher than he had ever seen it and the fountain was not running, the leftover water full of algae and dirt. The bushes that lined the path and were along the house were overgrown and the pesky vines the gardener hated to keep at bay had seemed to be unleashed and were already starting their tirade on the bottom half of the front column of the house. Tamaki could hardly believe what he was seeing. The house was truly abandoned.

Antoinette barked pulled at the leash to run around the yard. Tamaki unleashed her and let her have a bit of fun since she had been cooped up in a crate for twelve hours. As she played around the yard and discovered new smells, Tamaki tried the house one more time but to no avail. He went to the front steps and sat on them, putting his chin in his hands.

"What am I going to do?" he said to no one in particular.

He looked at his phone and texted the phone card to see how many minutes he had left over. He was going to have an international call… He only had ten minutes left. He sighed and looked at the time. He did the calculation in his head and dialed the number.

"Moshi moshi, Suoh speaking?"

"Dad! It's me!"

"Tamaki?" Yuzuru said sleepily. "Why are you calling so early in the morning?"

"Isn't it about nine your time?"

Yuzuru yawned. "Yes, but it's the weekend. What's going on?"

"Grandmother sent me back to France."

"What do you mean?"

"Dad! Wake up! This is a serious matter and I only have ten minutes!" He looked at the call timer. "Less now!"

"Alright, calm down. Now, explain what's happening?"

"Did you know about Shiga?"

"Shiga?"

"Your other son! Shigarachi Hainata!"

There was silence and then Tamaki heard his father curse, the one thing Yuzuru hardly ever did.

"How do you know about him and did you say you were in France?"

"How… come you're acting like you don't know what happened?" Tamaki asked with skepticism.

"Because it looks like your grandmother did something without my consent. Tamaki, are you in France?"

"Yes. I was supposed to go back to mother's but there's no one here. Dad, where are they?"

"Your mother moved away as soon as you came here. She needed better treatment."

"Then where is she?"

"I don't know, son. I just know she moved."

"Well then what am I supposed to do?!"

"Calm down now, don't panic. I'll see what I can do. You'll have to come back to Japan I'm afraid."

Tamaki usually wasn't a grouchy person but jet lag, lack of information, and apparently being duped beyond comprehension was getting the better of him.

"Dad, I just got off of a twelve hour flight and have jet lag like you wouldn't believe. I can't go anywhere at the moment."

"That's alright, Tamaki. Just go to a hotel nearby and stay the night. Get some sleep, refresh your body. Text me the hotel you're staying at and the number so that I can call you later on the phone. What's the time difference again?"

"I'm eight hours behind you."

"Okay. I'll make a note to call you at a decent time. Don't worry, Tamaki, I'll figure something out."

He hung up and Tamaki growled at the wind, putting his face in his hands. Everything was continuing to fall apart.

"Bonjour, welcome to the Ferme Saint Simeon; do you have a reservation?" the concierge asked as Tamaki rolled his stuff in with Antoinette.

"No, but I don't mind paying extra for the last minute reservation…" he said, practically slumping on the counter. "What do you have available?"

"You are aware there is an extra charge for your dog?"

"Yes, I am."

The concierge looked through the computer and made a face.

"I'm sorry, monsieur, but the only thing that we have available at this time is a junior suite."

"A junior suite? That's fine." He said, pulling out his wallet. "How much?"

"How long will you be staying with us?"

"Just a night. I'm going back to Japan later today. This was an unexpected pit stop."

"Of course." The concierge typed in the computer. "It will be 850€ for the room and another 50€ for your pet. The total will be 1000€ with tax."

"Alright then." He said, sliding his credit card over.

The concierge swiped it on the computer and then frowned, swiping it again.

"I'm sorry, monsieur, but it looks like your card is declining."

"Oh, right! Um… do you take cash?"

The concierge lifted an eyebrow. "You have 1000€ in cash?"

"Yes…"

Tamaki put the credit card back in his wallet and pulled out two 500€ notes. The concierge took the notes and checked to make sure they were real and blinked a little.

"You must be a very rich man back in Japan." They said, putting the cash in the register.

I'm supposed to be a rich man in France too. he said in his head as the concierge gave him a key.

"Here you are and I forgot to ask what the reservation should be under."

"Tama- Rene… Rene Grantaine."

"Rene Grantaine?"

"Yes… and could you give me the number to the hotel? I'm expecting a phone call."

"All of the information is in the flier. Enjoy your stay, Monsieur Grantaine."

He nodded and took Antoinette up to the suite. He immediately took a shower, put on his pajamas, and fell asleep.

i'm pretty sure they don't take cash but i took liberties in some places. and we will find out why his dad had no idea about him going back to france. remember too, tamaki's real name is rene tamaki richard de grantaine-suoh. in france his family called him rene and in japan they called him tamaki.

just to be clear, things are not going to go well for our princely host. i'm taking it step by step because seeing someone like him, so prominent and rich, be stripped of everything is a process. there are a lot of things he doesn't understand about the world and he's about to find out full force what it means to be limited, or as he and the hosts would put it, a commoner. plus, his heritage plays a part and other things.