Chapter Ten: Entrez la Reine

Ciel stormed back into the Phantomhive manor, flinging his coat at Sebastian. Rachel and Vincent trailed behind him.

"Well, I think that went pretty well," Rachel said brightly.

"Yes, we don't have to hide from them anymore," Vincent commented thoughtfully. "They took the news much better than I thought they would."

"If you choose to ignore the fact that both Lizzie and Edward fainted and Lord Midford nearly had a stroke," Ciel seethed.

"I do feel bad that we scared them so," Rachel said with a slight blush. "But I would have been more concerned had they not been shocked."

"We wouldn't have had to shock them so, if we never went over there in the first place." Ciel muttered.

"You can hardly say telling the Midfords was a mistake," Vincent argued.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Ciel retorted. Vincent looked confused.

"Well, I don't think so. They would be awfully upset if we told others before them," Vincent said. Ciel frowned.

"Others? Who exactly would we be telling?" he asked. Vincent looked even more confused.

"Well… people, I guess. You don't expect us to go on pretending we're dead forever, do you?" Vincent asked.

"I wasn't planning otherwise!" Ciel cried, shocked at his father's implication. Vincent frowned a bit.

"We're not really going to stay locked up forever, Ciel."

"Because I'm sure two dead aristocrats reentering the world will blow over nicely," the boy snarled. Vincent was about to reply, but was cut off by Rachel.

"Well, you and Elizabeth seem to be quite close now!" she exclaimed. Since her return, Rachel has extended her title. She was a mother, wife and now a peacekeeper. Sebastian had been quietly observing the family bicker amongst themselves, but at the lady's words, his placid expression faltered.

"We have always been close," Ciel said. Sebastian's eye twitched.

"I believe that has something to do with the fact that Lady Elizabeth is constantly asking to see you," the butler said delicately. "In fact, were it not for her efforts, I fear you two would never see each other at all." Ciel glared daggers at the demon.

"Ciel!" Rachel cried in dismay. "Is that true? Have you never gone to see Elizabeth of your own accord?" Ciel cringed.

"Um… running the company keeps me very busy. I'm afraid I don't have much time for other matters," Ciel explained.

"All the more reason why I should take over again," Vincent interjected hopefully. This time both Ciel and Rachel glared at him.

"No, Vincent, we've already agreed to let Ciel do that. But darling," she rounded on Ciel. "Elizabeth is not 'another matter,' she is family! She is your fianceé, remember?" Sebastian and Ciel exchanged a fleeting glance.

"I know," Ciel said in defeat. Rachel sighed.

"Well, it was lovely to see them again. I do hope we can meet with them soon," she said.

"Yes, perhaps another day," Ciel said hurriedly, desperate to change the subject. "But as this day is almost over, perhaps we should eat now?"

"That sounds like a splendid idea," Rachel agreed.

"Yes, I'm famished," Vincent added. Ciel ignored him.

"Sebastian, make sure that dinner is prepared soon," Ciel said.

"As you wish, my lord," the demon replied with a nod of his head.

A movement from the corner of his eye caught Sebastian's attention. He whipped his head around towards the window, but even his demonic eyes could only make out the garden shrouded in shadow.

Probably just the wind, or perhaps an animal, he thought to himself. However, he was about to go out and check just in case when Ciel called for him.

"Sebastian! Get over here this instant," the earl ordered. Sebastian suppressed a sigh but left to do his master's bidding.

None of them noticed one of the shadows detach itself from a tree and sprint off into the night.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Welcome back, sir Grey," one of the guards bowed. Earl Charles Grey nodded stiffly before striding past the man into the next room. Upon seeing his benefactor, he sank into a deep bow.

"My lady," he said quietly.

"Rise, Earl Grey. What news do you have for me?" Queen Victoria asked from her perch on her throne.

"The Phantomhives seem to be doing well. Lord Ciel is still quite hostile towards them, but when I last saw them they were returning from the Midfords' manor. If you don't mind my saying so, I believe it's safe to say the Midfords are now aware of the Phantomhives'... return," Earl Grey reported. The queen sighed.

"Oh dear. That could become problematic," the queen murmured. "Have they shown any signs of remembering?"

"No, Your Highness," Earl Grey replied. "But if they continue to reintegrate themselves into society like this, it could prove a problem."

"Yes," the queen agreed distractedly. "Indeed it could."

Noticing the queen's lack of attention, Charles offered, "Perhaps I should investigate what exactly the Midfords know?"

"Yes!" the queen said in relief. "Please do."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." With that, the butler strode quickly out of the room.

The queen sat back with a sigh. If only the Phantomhives hadn't escaped their confinement.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What has happened?" The queen demanded as soon as the guard showed up in her throne room. She had a bad feeling about this. The guard's lack of uniform indicated that he had been working underground on -

"I-it would ap-p-ppear that t-the Phantomhives e-es-s-scaped, Your Highness," the guard stammered. The queen narrowed her eyes.

"And how, exactly, did this happen?" Her tone was light, but her eyes held no mercy for the man cowering before her.

"I-I don't know, exactly, Your Highness," he gasped. "T-the alarm just sounded and w-we can't find them anywhere -" A sword suddenly impaled itself in the man's back.

"Well, you are quite useless, aren't you?" Charles Grey murmured. "If you can't even do your job properly, what use are you to her Majesty?" The dead man's body slumped face forward into the growing pool of blood. Earl Grey bowed.

"I apologize for the mess, Your Highness. I will clean it up right away," the butler said demurely.

"You do that," the queen said, suddenly tired. Charles bowed and was about to walk out of the room when he paused.

"If I may," Charles Grey asked cautiously. "Do not misunderstand me, Your Majesty, I am not doubting your wisdom, but why exactly were the Phantomhives locked up for so long?" The Queen studied him for a few moments, nearly making the butler squirm in discomfort. Then she smiled.

"I trust you with helping me run the country. Why should I not trust you with this as well?" She turned her head and called into the shadows, "Ash!"

"Yes, my lady?" The mysterious butler that had been plaguing the Double Charles' appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Show Earl Grey," the queen commanded. Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Are you certain, Your Highness?" he asked. "Earl Grey is trustworthy?" The man in question ground his teeth silently. The nerve of him!

"Yes. As one of my butlers, he is more than trustworthy," Queen Victoria replied simply. Ash smiled politely and stepped forward. A soft white glow briefly enveloped his figure before fading to reveal Ash with a pair of beautiful white wings.

Early Grey unabashedly gaped. Ash was…

"An angel?" Charles choked out. "Y-you're really…?" Ash's smile widened.

"Yes," he said pleasantly. He seemed amused by the human butler's distress. "I am. And I am here to rid this country of the unclean, the unnecessary, the unwanted. Your Queen has the same ideas as myself and has graciously allowed me to carry out the necessary tasks." His smile dimmed. "Unfortunately, not all agree with our ideals. The Phantomhives, for instance, did not like what they perceived as a crime against humanity." Early Grey's eyes widened.

"So… they knew?" he asked. Ash inclined his head.

"Yes. We presented our ideas to Vincent Phantomhive, the head of the clan at the time, but he refused to cooperate. And so, he had to be eliminated. His wife too had to be taken care of. She was a Phantomhive, even if only by marriage, and so could not be left alone in case she decided to investigate her husband's disappearance," the angel explained coldly.

"But they have escaped! Shouldn't we be out there tracking them down?" Charles asked worriedly.

"I have already taken care of that," Ash said smoothly. "Vincent Phantomhive's memories were wiped, and his wife knew nothing of what he saw."

"How did you manage that?" Charles asked suspiciously. "While herbs exist that have the ability to alter a person's memory, they are highly unreliable and tend to either work too well or not at all. What makes you so sure that the Phantomhives don't know what's going on?"

"You would not understand my methods," the angel replied maddeningly. "And on the off chance my methods were not entirely successful, the Phantomhives have been held captive since I performed the memory wipe. At least, until now." Earl Grey's eyes narrowed.

"And the child? Ciel Phantomhive takes after his father. What is to stop him from investigating his parents' disappearance and subsequent return?"

"The boy will not be a problem," Ash said with finality. Charles fumed. Such arrogance! He turned to the queen, deciding to ignore the angel for now.

"Shall we eliminate them all, Your Majesty?" Earl Grey asked. "While I have faith in sir Ash's… competence," he ground out. "I still think it would be safest to take out all the Phantomhives at once. No loose ends, see." Queen Victoria tapped her chin thoughtfully, then shook her head.

"No. We will leave them be for now. Observe them and report back to me at regular intervals. This may turn out in our favor."


AN: For those of you who have only watched the first two seasons of the anime (*cough* Purplegummibear3 *cough*), Charles Grey does indeed exist in the Kuroshitsuji universe. He is one of the Queen's butlers and a member of her Private Secretarial Officers. There are two Charles, this one and Charles Phipps - together, they're codenamed the "Double Charles." If you don't mind spoilers, it's all on the Kuroshitsuji wiki page.