"Sebastian,my son, I am so sorry. I know what your former mate means to you." the king said sympathetically.
"I miss him terribly but I'm thankful that he and I are still in contact. I love him still and should he completely disappear from my life, well, I'm certain I could never recover. If you don't mind father, I would rather hear about why you wanted to see me."
"Of course, straight to business. Your mother and I have decided that the time has come to pass the throne to you. You have learned all there is for me to teach on the subject and now you must find your way to become a great king."
"I'm not sure I have the heart for such a task, I believed Ciel would be at my side when this happened. No devil in- I am not sure of my capability without him." A massive hand was suddenly resting on his shoulder.
"You are just as capable now as ever. If you would feel better, Ciel doesn't need to be there, seeing him with your subjects may be painful."
"No. My children and Ciel will be there. I will be seeing them all a bit later. The children have been a lot closer to home since their mother left. Apparently he's down here again. He's met with an old friend I hear. They plan to visit Germany and Austria, this friend of his is originally from the area."
"I see. What can I do?"
"Sadly nothing. Cynna saw them together the other day and it seemed like they were...close."
"I doubt that it was of that nature. He dissolved your bond to get to know himself and experience the world. I see no reason to look at it as anything aside from friendship. You mentioned his friend is from there, could he be guiding Ciel-"
"Whatever it is, my only wish is for his happiness, if he has replaced me, then so be it, just as long as he is treated well, I shall do my best to accept it. Though I hoped that he and I would be together eternally. "Sebastian lowered himself onto the chair behind him. "I go over the situation again and again, I still don't understand where it all when wrong."
"Son, sometimes, things just happen. Time has a way of doing one of two things...pulling mate together or pushing them apart. You have demonlings, there will always be feelings for each other and that does not mean that you did anything wrong."
"How do you and Mother stay so close, in all my years I've never known a time that Mother has asked to end your bondage. I can't help but feel that I am to blame for my Ciel's unhappiness."
"Every relationship is different Sebastian, what has worked for us for centuries, may not work for you. One day, who knows, perhaps he will return to you. One thing is certain, no matter how old your demonlings are, you will always be connected through them. The fact that you leave your door open to him speaks volumes."
"He can only see his family on the castle grounds, that is where the doorway was open, how can I not allow the visits to continue, and how, father, can I be expected to treat the mother of my children with such disrespect when he came to me in the calm tone to ask for his freedom?"
"He has softened your heart. So many others would quickly cut former mates from their lives without a second thought." The king shook his head.
"Ciel is different, after everything he went through to give me children, and raising them as we did I-He will always be my heart. I know I will never again call him mine and share a home with him, but he will be there for our children and myself as I will be for him. He always has been, and forever will be, one hell of a mother. He's gone so far as to order Mey-Rin, Bard, Finny and Tanaka to remain with me. They miss him terribly."
"Certainly, they are very close, it would only make sense. I would expect nothing less from the most loyal servants the royal family has ever known." Sebastian stood with a sigh.
"Please excuse me, Ciel should be arriving shortly. Thank you for comforting me, father.."
"Of course, what sort of Father would I be if I could not offer my son consolation at a time like this?" The devil rose, embracing his youngest son. Sebastian allowed his father to give him an extra squeeze before he left to make his way up to his own castle, which connected to his father's from above.
What could life possibly be without you, Ciel, after all these years, so many difficulties and so much joy. My heart breaks each time you leave. To see you without my ring on your finger, to never say I love you it's all too much for my heart. Yet I somehow found the strength to pull everything together and pretend to be alright for the sake of our family. Sebastian thought to himself, he followed the faint voces to the sitting room.
"Mom, when dad gets home, there's something I need to tell all of you." Rachel said from beyond the door. For a moment, his heart leapt as Ciel's voice joined their daughter's in conversation. He opened the door, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Good afternoon dear ones, Ciel." The former earl stood from his chair to greet the older demon.
"I hope you don't mind, I got here a bit earlier than expected." He said, it was easy to see that he was in good spirits, which raised Sebastian's as well.
"Not at all. How have you been?" Ciel continued, remaining still, the older demon however had already crossed the floor and was now directly in front of him.
"I can't rightly complain, yourself?"
"I've been good, I wanted to thank you, for still allowing me to visit with my family. I know that it's not easy for you."
"The door to this castle will always be open to you. Should you ever need it, it will forever be your home. May I?" Sebastian knelt down, holding out his arms to Ciel, who smiled and wrapped his arms around him.
"Of course, just because we're not married doesn't mean we're strangers. I told you, I'll always have love for you."
"It's always good to see you, Ciel." He whispered.
"It's nice to be here. I'm happy that we can still be friends."
"Mom, Dad, it's good to see you two hugging, it reminds me of when we were small. I know we should be grateful that you still get along, it's just difficult to know that it's not the same anymore." Kate said.
'I know, it takes time, dear ones. Let's hear Rachel's news."Ciel said, shifting the conversation back to his daughter.
"What news do you bring, Rachel?" Sebastian released Ciel, but the two remained close.
"Well, it's not just my news, Sisters, come stand with me." She reached out her hands, Kate and Angel joined her.
"Mom, dad, you know that My sisters and I have traveled together, we've been hoping to live our dream of being on stage..." She paused, her deep blue eyes shining with excitement, reminding her parents of times long passed, when the Michaelis children were small and would run to their parents to tell them of their latest accomplishments.
Ciel sat in the library, lazily leafing through his favorite book while his mate spent some much needed time with his children.
"Mommy, Mommy, It is me, your Rachel baby. Guess what I did!" Ciel lowered his book to look at her. Her tiny fangs were visible and her eyes sparkled with excitement, eager to tell her mother the news.
In her hand, she carried a piece of paper, which she held out in front of her.
"Oh Mommy, I did it, I am so very smart. I made a word on the paper, it is my most favorite word ever!" Ciel took the object. He was touched by the message that greeted him. There in front of him, in a mixture of backward and squiggly letters, was the single word 'Mommy'
"I did it all by myself this time, are you so proud of me?" She asked bouncing on her feet. Ciel reached down and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm always proud of you. You're getting better with your writing"
"Yes, soon I will do it and it will look lots better, then I will make one for Daddy." Ciel sighed as he was pulled from the memory by Rachel's voice.
"We've decided to do it together and make our own music, and we'll be performing on stage next week. We'd be so happy if you both came. We'll make you so proud." Ciel grinned. In some ways, they would always be his little demonlings.
"I wouldn't miss it for anything." Ciel replied, feeling happy for his daughters while his sons gathered around them to congratulate the girls.
"Dad, you're coming right?" Kate asked hopefully, she brushed her long black hair away from her face and stood before them.
"Of course, how can I refuse such an invitation, Ciel, just think, our daughters...the newest celebrities." Sebastian said proudly.
"Naturally they have the talent, more so than any of the others I've seen."
"You have to say that, you're our parents." Angelina sighed.
"That's not true, we don't have to, there's no rule in parenting that says mothers and fathers have to, is there Sebastian?"
"Definately not. In all my years of parenting, I've never heard of such a rule. I honestly find such parenting to be potentially damaging."
"How so?" Rowan asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Well, if for example, your Uncle Mordred were to take the stage and begin to sing or attempt acting and he was not talented in theater, if your grandparents told him he did in fact do well and he preformed for an audience under the impression that he was able to pull it off the people would shout at him, throw things and he would be throughly embarrassed by it. The failure could be with him for years, possibly the rest of his life. There for as your parents, it would be a terrible act to encourage you if there was no talent... Naturally since you are part of the Michaelis Family, you have all the talent in the world."
"Your father being who he is, it's not surprising."
"Thank you Ciel, however, with your strength and-"
"Tell me again why this doesn't work?" Vincent gestured to his parents, his siblings shrugged.
"Temorary insanity, that' my thought, just look at them."Rowan shook his head.
"Insanity?" Evian inquired.
"Yes, somewhere along the line, we made them crazy with our antics and it's now surfacing."
"Interesting theory, brother. I suppose the same principle is true for the time you and brother Vincent-"
"That was a something else entirely, Evian, and anyway, dad wa able to repair the tapestry." The Siblings chuckled.
"Anyway dad, how are Grandfather and Grandmother?"
"very well, retiring actually."
"You're going to be the new Devil then, congratulations Sebastian, I'm happy for you."Ciel hugged him once more.
"You'll all be there I hope?"
"This is wonderful brothers and sisters, dad's perfect for the job." The Michaelis siblings cheered.
"And you Ciel, will you join us, it wouldn't feel right without you."
"I'll be there, if you think you want me to be." Ciel said, he mentally kicked himself. He would have to delay his own announcement, which had been his reason for visiting. Now, more than ever, his family had to come first.