"The Ambassador"

Prologue: Ciel

Written by Second Wind

Private Infirmary

Special Care Ward

Private Estate of Arch Angel Raphael

Holy Realm

Christian Kingdom

Time: Post Metamorphosis

Raphael watched over the 'New Addition' to the infirmary's occupants with a critical eye. The latest meeting with Raguel was quite revealing as well as disturbing.

Lord Uriel, along with Raguel and Several other eldest members of the Ethics Committee have been stuck inside the large conference room, hotly debating over how to 'remove' or at the least 'disable' the memory blocks Lucifer had somehow placed over then-Stolas' himself, and over his cinematic records.

It was simply impossible that Lucifer had foreseen the Metamorphosis happening in Stolas' future in the first place, and removed the memories Lucifer did not want outsiders to see from the raven prince's memory bank. This was more so, since this procedure would have had to be completed before Stolas went to answer Ciel Phantomhive's summoning.

Unless the newly reborn-and-renamed angel woke up and recovered enough to start answering difficult questions coherently, Raphael and the Ethics Committee only had the recent memories of the prince himself, plus the orally-given statements (or a testimony) which the prince had prided Undertaker with prior to the Metamorphosis.

There were reasons for which Undertaker had to ask Stolas to 'supply the finer details by himself' prior to the Metamorphosis, for the demon's cinematic records had skipped too many details. As an angel, Raphael only had the abilities and authorities to examine whatever memories that were already in the records, instead of the actual minute-to-minute memories of Stolas himself.

It was clear that only Lucifer himself had access to these blocked memories, and the arch angels had no authorities with which to force Lucifer to divulge these details. If there was anyone who could do it, it was Metatron or God Almighty, but so far, the creator of the world offered neither the words of advice nor any insight.

It did not help that the ongoing animosity in between heaven and hell prevented even Metatron himself from travelling to the Underworld to 'have a chat' with Lucifer, for the Satan – the ultimate ruler of all Underworld religious kingdoms much in the way Metatron was but only in much stronger and larger scale – would not permit such an intrusion from heaven.

Raphael sighed as he monitored the slightly labored breathing of the rather thin, youthful-looking figure. Soon after this angel had awoken, he fell ill from sheer exhaustion. It has been an uphill battle to stabilize not only his breathing, but also other vital signs, and his digestive system. It was also frustrating for Raphael because he had to call on Camael to help stabilize this angel's soul, for healing the broken-hearted and damaged souls were Camael's areas of expertise.

Ciel's mop of sky-blue hair was practically plastered to his head due to the sweat he was releasing. Raphael made a mental note to have it washed again soon. It should be able to grow out the slightly unruly bangs in the months and years to come. Raphael could already picture this reborn angel in a fully-matured man's body, but could not help releasing yet another sigh when considering the mountain of work that still needed to be done in the process.

For this creature to even exist – as he is right this moment – after the kind of history he has had – was not just miraculous', but it was due to a series of small miracles. – Or what 'seemed' to be miracles.

Both heaven and hell had debts to pay to this particular creature and even the in-between death gods had a few embarrassing offenses against him. Even after balancing out the score, though, the God Almighty gave one last 'challenge' to Stolas in the form of Metamorphosis. Stolas came out victorious for the angels, but he was far from 'stable'.

If someone was to supply Ciel with a fully-detailed witness account of the events involving Asmodeus' capture and exile, Ciel maybe pulled toward the darker path. Raphael knew Ciel was bound to find out, and was determined to talk this out with the former demon lord himself.

Raphael was startled out of his musings by the entrance of none other than Camael. Since the two healers had been working closely in collaboration for some time now, Camael wasted no time as he greeted Raphael with a light bow and scanned the utterly-breathtaking beauty of the former raven prince's new soul. Raphael watched as Camael sent a powerful energy current into Ciel's body in order to assist its continuous effort to complete the rest of its soul's merging process.

The former prince's soul – in its current form – was really like the earth down below, with Stolas' dried, heavily cracked soil as the base over which the former Earl of Phantomhive's powerful blue, deep water filling every fissure and overflowing to form powerful currents in places. Raphael watched as the bi-colored sphere turned and turned, then sent another powerful current of energy in order to assist the angel's defective heart to stabilize itself.

Planning ahead, Raphael began creating a list of guidelines for the newly-reborn angel to follow in the days and years to come. First order of which included a request form to the authorities, requesting that Ciel be assigned to Raphael personally, both as a study subject and as a possible student or an apprentice if so the angel desired.

It appeared as though the past was catching up to Raphael, and this was something he was looking for an opportunity to resolve. It looked like God Almighty had finally given Raphael that chance, and he intended to tread the path carefully – and as gently as possible – for the sake of both Ciel and himself.

It took some time, discussions, and paperwork, but at the end of the first week, Raphael was able to arrange a place for Ciel to live and recuperate from at his own pace. Many of what passed for conservative party in the Ethics Committee and the legal department were enraged that a creature like Ciel was being allowed to live in close contact with Raphael, but the other arch angels all supported the idea knowing Ciel's condition and significance.

During the second week of his life as an angel, Ciel was finally able to get up and walk around the infirmary's courtyard. He found that he was able to tolerate most beverages which he had been served, but was told to stay clear of 'ambrosia', or the food for the divine which was what angels generally consumed in place of cooked meals.

This was Raphael's most significant discovery in aiding Ciel's recovery, since he could not at first figure out why Ciel's body was refusing nutrients. When he had some actual 'food' prepared for Ciel – which consisted mostly of crushed or grated fruits with some milk – Ciel's body kept demanding more and more, to the point where Raphael worried the young man will end up overeating.

Realizing that the Phantomhive earl's half of the body and the soul was a child – and all human children loved sweet food – Raphael made a point to have fruits and grains as the main ingredient in Ciel's food, and the angel's recovery rate had doubled.

After another week, Ciel was finally allowed to actually leave the infirmary and into his new residence. Ciel was most surprised to find that it was situated practically next door to the infirmary's rehabilitation facility, but the wide square-shaped park separated the facility from Ciel's residence. Raphael watched as Ciel kept looking around at everything he saw, quietly memorizing the interior of the small cottage-like building.

Raphael knew that this must be a serious downgrading from both the child earl's point of view, and the former demon prince's point of view, but the angel did not seem to care.

The building had two above-ground floors with a small basement. The walls were mostly off-white with pale gray smooth stone floors at the entrance, and the rest were light brown wood flooring. On the first floor were Adrian's room, the living room, and the staircase which led to the basement storage room and up to the 2nd floor.

The kitchen was rather small but functional, with pale green stone tiled flooring. Ciel spotted stoves and an oven, which he sensed must have been installed just for his sake, since angels typically did not need to 'cook' anything.

"I really like it, my lord. Thank you so very much for arranging this place for me." Ciel said, smiling with satisfaction. Raphael nodded, and beckoned over the angel 'Adrian' who had been assigned to Ciel since the day one as caretaker.

"Ciel, I am assigning Adrian as your nurse and as a housekeeper. He seems quite fond of you, and you two do get along very well. He will be living with you on the first floor and commuting to the infirmary for progress reports on you." Raphael said as matter-of-factly as he could, and saw Ciel regard the slightly-blushing angel silently.

Both Raphael and Adrian, by now, were used to this 'delayed response' from Ciel, since the angel was still not at the point where he could form a single thought at once, but rather two separate thoughts with two separate set of feelings and emotions on everything he encountered. Then, after about thirty seconds, Ciel seemed to come to some internal decision and smiled genuinely toward Adrian, offering a hand to shake. Adrian took the offered hand with delight and the two shook hands firmly.

"Well, I am delighted to be working with you, Adrian." Ceil said in a way of greeting, and the younger angel smiled. Raphael released a breath he had been holding, and guided Ciel up the stairs and into the second floor, which consisted of two bedrooms, a spacious bathroom with a circular bathtub, a study, and another room with a wide terrace.

"Adrian has a set of treatment schedules I have issued for you, as well as physical exercise menu and training curriculum. Please do follow them to the letter until you are stabilized enough to not only leave your residence, but to leave this infirmary entirely. You will also need a lot of sunbathing, and the backyard and the terrace of this building are designed specifically for that purpose. Please feel free to use either of them according to your mood."

"Yes, thank you." Ciel replied almost immediately, meaning both 'Phantomhive earl' and 'the raven prince' were in agreement. Raphael smiled at the thought. "I also noticed," Ciel continued, and Raphael turned around to face the young angel, then saw that the man's eyes were now mostly silvery pale blue, indicating the former raven prince was the primary speaker. Raphael nodded to let him go on. "…that, this place is designed to let the wind move in, out, and throughout the entire building freely. It reminds me of the places I have seen the holy people of some Eastern Europe and Asia had. It was something about the structure allowing the 'energy in the air' to travel through without disturbing its natural flow. Does that make any sense to you?"

Raphael raised his eyebrows, showing his appreciation toward the former prince's depth of knowledge. "Yes, indeed it does, Ciel. You were exactly correct. The placement of the windows, doors, and even the direction which the building faces, are closely calculated to maximize one's healing powers as well as comfort. Therefore, this is not a 'permanent' residence for you, but a place for healing."

"Oh. I see." Ciel nodded, satisfied. Raphael then left the two angels to take care of the moving-in process, and returned to work.

Ciel's Residence

Private Land of Arch Angel Raphael

Holy Realm

Christian Kingdom

Once the great healer has left the building, Ciel found himself alone with Adrian who was bustling about getting everything ready to make the place 'truly livable' for his charge. Ciel resisted the urge to chuckle, watching this smaller angel busily arrange Ciel's bedroom and clothes – although there really were very little – along with the necessary linens.

Ciel moved himself to the kitchen, where he arranged the few dishware and cutlery that he had been given in their respective designated places. He figured out how to work the oven and the stoves, and was brewing tea by the time Adrian came wandering in search of the 'master of the house'.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" Ciel offered the mixed herb tea which he favored in the special care ward, and saw the angel nod with a smile. He wondered if anyone ever succeeded in extinguishing that angel's smile, and found himself remembering Finnian the gardener. Ciel wondered briefly if he could maybe ask after the boy and the rest of the former Phantomhive servants to whoever is 'guiding' them. He then briefly imagined what their reactions would be to his current form and status.

A chuckle escaped him just before the thoughts of Matilda and also of Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive entered his conscious mind, making Ciel groan with the flood of memories that his conscious mind could not yet follow through adequately. It made his head ache as though a thousand splinters suddenly embedded themselves into his brain. He heard his former 'young master' Ciel cry out in pain similar to the one he himself was experiencing.

"Breathe slowly, sir Ciel. Breathe SLOWLY." Adrian's voice came from behind him, and Ciel spun around, startled out of his reverie. The angel smiled apologetically, placed his hands on Ciel's back and moved them up and down in a well-practiced circle. "In. Out. In. Out. In synch with me, now, please."

Adrian wasn't letting go, and Ciel reluctantly began to follow. The breathing exercise, along with Adrian's healing touch took effect almost immediately, and Ciel was able to calm himself down in a matter of minutes.

"I apologize, Adrian. Just …too many memories, too fast. The same deal as always." Ciel apologized with his face buried in his hands, and saw the other angel nod from the meager gaps in between his fingers.

"Please voice any concern you have over whatever has just disturbed you, but only after you have gathered your thoughts. As my master has said, these things take time." Adrian said, and left Ciel alone to deal with it. Ciel released another deep breath, and decided it wise to sit out in the sun for awhile.

Ciel was sunning his massive wings for no more than an hour when a green messenger bird flew up to him, carrying a message from lord Raguel's secretary, saying: "Your trial will be held within 2 days. Please have anything you would like to say ready – preferably in written form."

"Trial? What trial?" Ciel wondered aloud, thinking back to everything he was told by Raphael since the day he woke up. "…nothing rings a bell with me."

Ciel was trying to recall anything Undertaker had said to him prior to the Metamorphosis when Adrian came out with a glass of lemonade for him. Ciel wasted no time asking the angel about it.

"I think this might be about that 'mock' trial, as the master called it in secret. They still need to hold a trial of sort for you, to hear about what you think you stand for, and what you would like to accomplish in this second chance at life. I think you should write to lord Raguel's office and ask about this." Adrian commented as he set down the beverage within Ciel's easy reach and put down the silver tray atop the small table by the terrace door.

Adrian began massaging and stretching Ciel's wings in order to let blood and other fluids throughout the entire wings. Ciel groaned in honest pleasure-pains as the muscles slowly loosened beneath Adrian's expert fingers.

"Thank you so much. These wings are awfully heavy. Much heavier than the ones I used to have." Ciel grumbled. He groaned again when Adrian touched a tender spot.

"For a single pair, these are really huge wings. I have never personally seen anything like these in my life. These feel most like multi-paired wings. You will need to build up a lot more back muscles to support these during flight. Lots more." Adrian emphasized the 'lots', making Ciel groan for a different reason.

In the end, Ciel wrote a reply to the original sender of the message, then asking in another piece of paper whether or not it was what they were looking for. The reply came almost immediately, saying only one word: "Yes."

Auditorium

Supreme Court Building,

Department of Justice

Christian Kingdom

2 Days Later – The day of the trial

The air of the auditorium was filled with the voices of the excited attendees. The circular dorm-shaped building had a total of 10 levels, all of which were separated only by the golden handrails beneath which ornate balcony-like seating areas adorned with designs of holy plants such as basil, bay leaves, olives, corn flowers among grape vines snaking their way in a seemingly endless pattern.

This level of excitement in this place was seldom seen for very good reasons. The fact that the special seats – made of wooden 'throne-like' seats at the center of the square-shaped stage were filled by none other than the four greatest arch angels of all time: Raguel, Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel.

If this was not telling enough, sitting in the seats just behind these four angels were Camael and Rasiel. But the one whom all the attendees and the audience members came to see was the decidedly eye-catching, blue-winged angel: Ciel. The usual standard infirmary patient's attire was replaced by a simple white garment most often seen in ceremonies or sacred rituals in which the receiver of the blessing wore. The 'other' occasion for this particular garment to see the light of day was during a funeral, or an execution, which happened extremely rare here in the holy realm.

However, this occasion was none of the above 'unless you counted the time when demons got thrown into the fiery, sulfur-filled pits of hell.' The accused thought as he shifted in his place, a stone floored space where he was being made to kneel. His knees ached already due to the fact that he had been waiting for close to an hour. His rope-bound arms and hands – though 'only for show', as Adrian let on – had been secured just as tightly as they usually were in the actual honest trial of an angel who is suspected to have committed a terrible crime.

Still not used to making much movement in his new body, Ciel's arms ached from being bound behind his back. Furthermore, the posture he was made to keep restricted his breathing ability. Ciel struggled with his mounting panic, because with such panic came loads of memories that still kept returning to him at the most unexpected and inopportune moments. What was more, the fact that he now looked about 19 to 20 years old for humans and looked very thin, he both appeared and felt 'frail' or 'fragile'.

Whenever Ciel had his mental guard down and accidentally looked at his reflection, it always triggered those darkest days when he, as the former demon prince, had spent in Lucifer's chambers. The other day, the memories of his captivity as one of King Solomon's slave demons came to haunt him and made him stay inside the house for two whole days. However, every time this happened, the child earl in him kept voicing his support. Ciel quickly learned never to act tough or reject his other half's assistance whenever it was offered.

In front of him, Raguel brought his gavel down to start the next part of this legendary trial proceeding. An angel in attire of a high-ranking legal counsel stood and began reading out a very long list of offenses by 'Prince Stolas' which had been committed before being pardoned by the Almighty.

At first, Ciel winced as each one of his offense was brought to light, and cast his gaze downward whenever someone expressed their displeasure or fury toward him. The 'young master' in him soon forced him to actually start facing these angels who are expressing anger by looking up, and looking for them. 'We might need to know them later.' - The thought entered their shared conscious mind.

As the reading of offenses went on, it dawned on Ciel that the offenses being read out were restricted to those he could actually recall by accessing both his own and 'the young master's' memory bank. He knew there should have been far more than what he was hearing, especially those pertaining to the events that had occurred in Lucifer's private quarters. He made a mental note to ask Raguel about this even as he kept listening.

Then, at long last, a list of 'contributions' he has made was read out, drawing the 'ahhh' and 'ohhhh' from the impressed crowd, Then a list of offenses committed 'against' the former demon prince and the last of the Phantomhives was read out, to the bewilderment of the attendees. Raguel then formally that the information presented to this court were true, and then sat down to let the chief of arch angel to have the floor.

"It is my duty to the Almighty to give you the verdict of this final judgment, Ciel. Please stand." Uriel said, watching as Ciel got to his feet unsteadily. Uriel graciously waited until Ciel's feet steadied themselves on the marble slab.

There was a clear sign of worry in Ciel's eyes and an overall air of discomfort that came from the residual 'hostility' which he kept sensing from the other angels in attendance. He saw from the corner of his eye that Camael was closely observing the crowd rather than Ciel. This made Ciel realize that the arch angel must be trying to find the ones that directed hostile thoughts toward Ciel. He was brought back to reality when he heard Uriel speak.

"Do you have anything to say, to tell us, before I speak further?" The great angel asked and Ciel nodded. "Then, by all means, speak your mind." He said, gesturing Ciel to speak up. Ciel swallowed and cleared his throat before he collected himself – and his turbulent thoughts.

"My lord Uriel, and to all my fellow angels, I swear that I will continue to do my very best, to meet the expectation of the Almighty and of my new peers, if I am in fact allowed to continue as I am today. As for what made me return to life – to survive through the Metamorphosis, it was my ultimate desire - to live to love, and to love to live." Ciel finished and cast his eyes downward. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Uriel smile and nod in approval.

"By the power vested in me by God Almighty, with confirmation and full agreement of the Celestrial Scribe Metatron, I hereby declare thee, angel Ciel, free of sins committed by either of your former selves." Uriel declared, then took a look at Raguel who drew his saber out of the ornate sheathe which was attached to his belt and briskly approached Ciel with it.

The blade of the angel's holy saber shone brightly despite it being indoors and the sunlight only filtered through tiny windows. The angel's serious expression coupled with the blade offered little comfort to Ciel, and it was downright frightening to the former demon's half.

But when he actually saw Raguel stand inches away from him and felt his strong hand grab (more like 'yank') Ciel's bound arms, a strange sense of calm came to him. It had nothing to do with the words of assurance that Ciel had been given beforehand. It was a sense of calm that came with total acceptance. It felt like cold spring water quietly seeping into his heart, and further down to reach his frayed nerves.

Raguel waited until Ciel raised his head and faced him straight. The angel of order and justice kept staring down at him and 'through' him, knowing Ciel's inner struggles. Raguel waited further, until all the distracting emotions – worry, fear, doubt, and a whole lot of guilt – left Ciel's simmering silver-blue orbs. Once 'acceptance' was all that was left in Ciel's eyes, Raguel wasted no time bringing down the saber in a single powerful swing, to cut through the tight bindings on Ciel.

Ciel gasped as he felt the saber cut through the ropes, and the force with which the blade was delivered made his body jerk once. Ciel shakily took a breath he was holding, and began to breathe as though he had just finished running. With that, Uriel brought the trial to a close and guards came to help Ciel out of the auditorium. Still rubbing his sore arms, Ciel followed the guards toward the room where he had left all his clothes and other personal items. He then noticed for the first time that his entire body was trembling slightly.

"It happens to everyone, believe me." A voice – slightly familiar – filtered through his busy mind and Ciel turned to see one of Raphael's aids in the infirmary hurrying to catch up with them. Ciel nodded in acknowledgment. "In a moment, you will probably have a strong urge to either drop to sleep or start crying. Eithe way, I suggest you 'follow' the urge and not try to contain it."

"But, I…" Ciel tried to protest, ten found his breath- and words – sounded shaky. Shocked, Ciel tried to compose himself, though to no avail. Ciel knew he had lost it when he felt a painful knot forming in his throat and it expanded to fill his entire chest.

"Do not fight it. Let it out. You have to - in order to embrace your new self. You are feeling what any soul feels when it truly recognized their freedom from Hell. I shall leave you to it." The angel said and disappeared through the door, leaving Ciel to his emotions.

Ciel had no idea how long he had been in that small changing room, but he realized he must have been not only crying himself to a holy mess, but had also exhausted himself enough to fall asleep. He had realized this, because when he came to, he was back in his bed inside his own cottage with one of Raphael's aids from the infirmary – different one this time – monitoring his progress. Adrian was also nearby with an undisguised worry on his adorable face.

"Good afternoon, Ciel. It has been a day and …a half since your trial has concluded. I suggest you stay in bed awhile longer, and then to bathe in holy water, before replenishing your strength with food." The angel commented once he saw Ciel's bewildered look upon realizing the passage of time, and the fact that he had embarrassed himself after the trial.

"I will get the water warmed up for you, Sir Ciel!" Adrian said and happily hurried off to the bathroom. Ciel couldn't help smiling after the younger one.

"This urge to release emotions comes to everyone after such events, like my colleague has told you. There was no need to panic, and since you were declared free of sins, there really is no need for it. Although, I believe lord Camael is arranging for counseling sessions later on." The healer added for Ciel's benefit.

Ciel nodded and got out of bed to see that all the chaffing marks and the welts which had been caused by the tight ropes have disappeared from his arms and wrists. His knees also felt just fine, and above all, he felt a whole lot 'lighter' in spirit. 'You had better take this guy's advice.' The child earl in him said, and Ciel nodded.

End of Prologue - Continue on to Chapter 1

*I apologize if any grammar errors had escaped my attention. Please review~!