"You've all assembled very quickly, I must say I thought it would take longer, well done." Sebastian said as the Royal Guard stood before him.
"Alois, you seem to be taking this job seriously, I was not sure if you would."
"Of course I'm taking it seriously, being part of the guard is an honor, isn't that how you explained it to us?" The blonde boy replied.
"Indeed, everyone, please sit down, we have a lot to talk about and little time in which to do it. As soon as Ciel comes back, we shall begin. I must tell you that you will be recieving this information as we are, we have not yet looked through it and we will allow you to speak freely and ask any questions you may have at the end." The group sat down as Sebastian finished talking.
"Master Sebastian, is everything alright, you seem a bit... I am not sure of the word-"
"Sad?" Alois offered.
"It seems deeper than mere sadness, more than sorrow." Cynna said. Sebastian sighed.
"I suppose I could tell you that much at the very least. My father is dying." The group gasped sharply as their eyes widened.
"Ciel and I were asked to see him about urgent business and we were told. At the end of this meeting, you will be asked to make a decision, whatever you decide, no one will think differently of you, there will be no consequences." The group glanced at each other, it was strange that their future king would give the option to them.
"Sebastian, what exactly must we do?" A young dark haired demon asked with curiosity.
"All in time Naveen, once the children are in bed, Ciel will join us and everything will be explained." No sooner had he said this, the door opened softly and Ciel entered.
"Sorry, getting four little ones in bed can be difficult." He said sitting down next to his mate.
"Rowan giving you a hard time my love?" Ciel shook his head.
"Evian and his questions, he doesn't know what we're doing and naturally he had to try to get me to tell him."
"Now then, since all of us are here, we should get started. Thank you for being here on such short notice, I know it was difficult for come of you to get here and the Royal family appreciates the effort and dedication that each one of you show us, the loyalty in this group has never been matched by any of the previous guards to the king." Sebastian reached down to the floor and took hold of the sack containing the information.
"My mother gathered this information and passed it onto me in order to find what we need to save my father. Our mission, should you accept the offer will be to locate the ten stones of Hell and bring them back to my mother."
"Wait, those are just a legend, magic stones can't possibly exist can they?" Naveen asked.
"It is true, we can't be certain if they really are out there, it could be just a story which is why Ciel and I have decided that the choice should be yours. Whether or not we find anything, it will be a dangerous journey, even for a group of demons. I will ask now and at the end of this meeting. Is there anyone who would like to step down from this particular mission?" The room was silent and no one moved.
"Very well, we will continue. The ten stones of Hell are more like gems than actual stones, that much I recall from my mother's stories. Each one has a unique power, and when all ten are brought together, the finder can kill or grant life to the Devil. They will not be easy to find, they have remained hidden since the beginning and no one has ever succeeded in finding them all and many demons have died in the search. The legend tells of clues that will lead to each stone, it takes a special person to remove them from their locations. Each stone can be used to find the others, when they are close to each other, they glow deep red."
"So we could be gone a while, some of you will not be joining us, but rather staying to look after the children." Ciel said.
"You're going young Master?" Finny asked.
"Yes, it's going to be hard for me to leave them, but I have to, Sebastian needs me."
"Who's staying?" Naveen asked.
"It had to be someone who is very close to all four children so they can provide the best feedings. Finny, Tanaka and Cynna, the three of you have given feedings before and your love for the little ones is strong, that job is yours." Sebastian said.
"This leaves Mey-Rin, Bard, Alois, Naveen, Ciel and myself to go one this little adventure. That is not to say the rest of you do not love the children because I know you do, this decision was made on the grounds that they will know what to do. Now, what we need to do is make this trip as quickly as possible, mother has figured out the first one for us, we will leave early in the morning, once more does anyone wish to step down, I might mention that the king has forbidden this journey and so there could be consequences from him."
Again the room was still.
"The loyalty and bravery of this group is unmatched, I can never thank you enough for all that you have done. This I promise each of you, whatever the punishment, I will face it with you and I will never ask from you something that I myself will not do. In other words, should I ask you to fight, I will fight with you, if I myself would not do the task, I would not expect it from you." Sebastian said standing up with Ciel at his side. The guard slid off of their chairs and knelt on the floor in front of the future king.
"For those of you who would like to take the opportunity to sleep before we go, you may stay here tonight."
"Brother, what's happening?" Rachel whispered in the shadows.
"Mama and dad are leaving tomorrow."
"What, are you sure, mum and dad have never left us before." Rowan placed an arm around Rachel who had begun to sob quietly.
"There must be a reason for it, we didn't here everything, mommy loves us too much to just leave." Vincent told them. The door opened and the children rushed back to their rooms and jumped in bed just as Ciel and Sebastian stepped out followed by the guard.
"It's going to be alright Sebastian, we'll get through this together." Ciel promised as Sebastian held him close.
"I don't know what I would do without you Ciel, if I did not have you by my side, if you did not give me your love. I would not have the ability to get through these situations. You and our children give me the will to keep going. I appreciate the sacrifice you are making."
"I love you Sebastian, you do things like this when you love someone this much, sometimes you do dangerous things, and things that are very difficult, but It's worth it. I love you that much and I always will."
"I know all too well how it feels to care for someone so much. I would do anything for you, and for you to feel just as strongly amazes me. Thank you for your love Ciel, for all that you have given me and the understanding you have now. I could never ask for anything more."