Chapter 25: Her Majesty's impurity

The ship sailed grandly forwards.

"Her majesty arrived in Paris three days ago, and should be viewing the exposition now. I'm sure the hotel will be heavily guarded, so… young master…"

"What?"

"Your mind is elsewhere, isn't it?"

"I'm wondering where Lily could have went."

"She's already in Paris, my lord. She will help us get inside, as Lily speaks fluent French."

"And you do not?"

"I do, but I have to protect you. But that's not all that's troubling you. What else is there?"

"Lau said that the queen was 'trying to plunge Europe-no, the world- into war."

"Is that why you desire an audience with her?"

"No"

"Was your heart moved by Abberline's death?"

"No. This is because they were all my pawns. But that pawn ignored my orders and just kept sticking his nose in. The same goes for Lau. Without a grasp of your pawn's motives and strategies, you can't play the game. That's all."

Lily stood waiting for them, waving in front of the Eiffel tower. It was interesting to say which one Sebastian noticed first. She ran into his arms.

"Hey, how have you two been?" She asked, smiling. "I hope your trip was pleasant?"

"Yes, quite. The weather did us a favour." Ciel said, adjusting his hat. Two men walked past.

"Are you certain?" One asked.

"Yes, they say there's a stuffed angel at the Palace of Wonders!" The other said. Lily's eyes narrowed. All three were thinking the same thing.

"Now that's something I must see!"

"A stuffed Angel?" Ciel asked.

"Shall we go have a look?" Lily asked. "The Palace of Wonders is just down this way." She said, pointing to the left.

"You certainly took the opportunity of exploring around." Sebastian noted as they walked.

"I've never been outside of England." Lily said, holding his hand.

"Don't worry. I'll take you all around the world sometime. After all, we do have almost forever."

"Yes that does sound good" She smiled. They walked in where a crowd gathered in front of a glass case. It wasn't a human angel like Angela. It was a monkey with wings.

"You've got to be kidding me. That's the stuffed angel?" Lily asked.

"What a bore" Ciel said as they pushed their way to the front. "Let's be on our way." He turned around, and Sebastian followed. The monkey's red eyes followed them. Lily shivered.

"Are you cold?" He asked as he put his arm around her.

"No, that monkey… I can't help but shake the feeling it might be alive…" The crash of shattering glass made them all duck, Sebastian keeping a firm grip on Lily and Ciel as the monkey flew through the hall, breaking all the lamps, plunging everything into darkness.

"This is…!" Sebastian, who could see in the dark as well as if it was day, grabbed Ciel's hand.

"Calm yourself, young master." He said.

"You've lived in the darkness." Lily said. "A little dimness shouldn't put you out in the least."

"Please evacuate and leave this to us." Sebastian said.

"It's time to grill meat. I'm not sure it's something you want to see." Lily said. Ciel nodded and ran out the door. He saw Angela standing by the waterfall and ran the other way. At the top, he ran into the room and slammed the door behind him and tried to catch his breath.

"Goodness gracious, you're in a hurry" A woman's voice said. He turned around to see a figure in a black dress with a black veil.

"You're…"

"Ciel… it's been a long time."

"Your majesty…" A slamming made him stagger sideways. The cable car began to run up the Eiffel tower.

"Look at the view from up here." She said. "As she faces the next century, Europe is on the verge of change. However… there's a stain down there. There's stagnation over there. There's uncleanness right there." She said and pointed at Ciel. "The entire slate must be wiped clean. There cannot be any creation without destruction. In order for the new century to be pure, I cleansed the houses that have taken on all that is negative in our nation… The house of Phantomhive and of Blackwell-Middleford."

Sebastian and Lily walked out. Sebastian held the slightly burned monkey in his hand by the scruff, the fur singed black.

"Really… such bad taste." A white feather fluttered down from the sky. He reached up and grabbed it. He and Lily looked at each other, and then looked up at the building.

The queen walked up the flights of stairs, singing London Bridge to herself. He followed her onto the highest top of the Eiffel tower.

"May I ask you something?" Ciel asked.

"What is it?" The veiled queen turned towards him.

"You didn't just kill them, you made it beastly. You nearly killed one of my extended family too… Why?"

"Mind your language, Ciel. I cleansed them."

"That's what you call cleansing? Demeaning the dead?"

"Demeaning?"

"That's right!"

"Demeaning… I just wanted to pay what tribute I could to the Phantomhives…they were so helpful… they showed me so much loyalty." She said, and bowed her head.

"What?"

Suddenly, the wind blew the veil clean off her face, showing not an old woman, but a crying girl not much older than Ciel himself. Laughter sounded behind him, and Ciel turned around to see Ash, sitting on the top of one of the decorations.

"Surprised? She's all but aglow with youth, isn't she?" He asked.

"Ash!"

"The loss of her husband ended her majesty's days of happiness. In her grief over his death, she tried to end her own life. I joined his body with her own, so she might live with the man she loved forever."

"I can tell my husband is pleased with my work." She said. "His body twinges inside me. Twinge… twinge… the twinge of life. The joy of truly becoming one with the one you love… I felt that if I gave the Phantomhives that same joy, it would not be a ghastly death after all…"

"The queen and her husband firmly intend to lead England to a world of perfect light. That aim has purged them of their impurities, transforming her majesty into the chaste girl you see before you. What a lofty aim! She is a worthy master for an angel."

"Angel? Don't tell me you're…"

"Ash… at least let Ciel fall to your blade. Ash's blade is a thing of beauty."

"I shall draw my sword against the beauty of thy wisdom, and I shall punish the beast within thee. I shall bring thee down to the pit. May an immaculate heaven greet thee, Ciel Phantomhive." He lunged. At the last minute, Sebastian seized Ciel and jumped past, and Lily met ash's blow with her own sword.

"Your precious sword is meaningless if you can't land a blow." He said. He turned to look at Lily.

"You… so you really are a demon…" Ash said. The queen turned to look at Lily.

"Lilyanne… Lilyanne Blackwell-Middleford. You don't go by that name anymore though, do you? Once you were as lovely as the flower you were named after. Now you shine with impurity. What happened?"

"What happened? You were what happened. You destroyed almost everything I had to live for." She said, glaring down at the queen.

"Don't talk that way to her majesty you filthy ifrit." Ash spat

"Filthy… how interesting the way you call me that. Do I not possess full and total control of the fire you two love so much?" She asked, laughing a cold maniacal laugh, her eyes glowing the demon red color. "You say fire is a pure thing, but is it really? Is the thing standing behind you, your majesty, really pure? Did you know that fire was first given to humans by a helpful ifrit demon that held a contract with one of those souls? Did you know that fire has never been a pure thing? And above all that you used fire to kill. Killing something of equal life as you, no matter using whatever, makes a human impure, as well as any other being."

"You lie" Ash said.

"Do I? Killing is usually described as ending a creature's life earlier than it should end, isn't it? No matter what you use to kill, killing is still killing. You can use fancy words like purification and cleansing, but it's really murder in the heart. You, Ash Landers, are no exception. Neither are you, your majesty. It doesn't matter what your opinions are. What you did to the Phantomhives was something disgusting. It doesn't matter what you think you did, what matters is the reality! You killed people in cold heart. That's something a demon does, your highness, the pinnacle of impurity. Do you think you can achieve this perfect world by murder?"

"That's enough!" Ash yelled as the queen began to cry. "You die first!"

"Going to kill me like you killed Catherine? With that very same blade?" She asked. Sebastian froze.

He stared at Ash.

"Sebastian, may I present the killer you've been looking for." Lily said, gesturing to Ash, a triumphant smile on her face.