Ann sat down beside the bed, she gazed at her mate sorrowfully.
"Rhiannon, my beautiful Queen,please do not shed tears for me. I am undeserving of such a thing." The devil growled weakly.
"You mustn't think that my love, you are a great king and a wonderful father. I could see no one else in your position." Ann sobbed.
"Now,now Rhiannon, where is the smile I love so very much?"
"I fear it is forever."
"No Ann,you must be strong for our children they will look to you for guidance and understanding. Sebastian is to take the throne in a short time and Ciel at his side. Both are strong and together they are a force to be feared by all. They are also inexperienced and will no doubt turn to you."
"But our son and daughter need their father. You have had your differences with Ciel but I'm certain he too wishes you well." Ann felt the devil's massive hand take hers gently.
"They have a mother who loves them more than they know, I have no ill feeling toward Ciel I was the one to initiate the arguments between us. He simply fought for his beliefs and in going against me as he has, I have seen his true strength. It has been a comfort to me that I leave my family with someone who does not fear using his abilities to protect his loved ones. His loyalty lies with our son and by extension, the entire royal family." He coughed harshly.
"Ciel has extraordinary strength my love, but the fact remains that we would like for you to get well and remain king."
"Speaking of our son, where could our Sebastian be, I confess myself disappointed that he is not here. I would like to see him and Ciel before I die. I have much to tell them."
"I requested that they take your place in the peace signing. I can not say when they are to return home."
"I see, I hope they arrive soon,I have much to tell them and very little time in which to do it."
Sebastian, Ciel, I hope that you and your group return safely and quickly, the king's life is nearly spent.' Ann thought as she watched her mate slip back into unconsciousness.
"Now then, if we're all ready,let us begin the search. As I've been here before, I advise that Ciel stay close to me, Naveen, do you recall your way around?"Sebastian asked.
"I do. Should we meet up here then?"
"yes, be cautious but go as fast as you can. My father's time is short and we haven't any to waste." Sebastian said as they continued on their way through the maze of tunnels.
"So you've been down here before have you?" Ciel inquired.
"Yes, this place was built to accommodate the thousands of plague victims and it is also quite special. You see, once you find yourself in the center, if you know where to look, there is a gateway."
"To what?"
" has quite a few entries. I will point it out for you if we pass it. It's basically a quick escape for those of us who are injured badly or for young ones who are trapped and lost in the human world." Sebastian explained.
"I see. So then, if there's a lot of these gate ways, why the hell didn't we just use them in the first place?"
"Because if we had, we would risk missing one of the stones. If for some reason our calculations were wrong and then my father's life would end because we were unable to acquire the entire set of stones. Please understand my love." Ciel moved closer and took Sebastian's hand.
"Of course I understand. I promised you that I would help and I will, I'm sorry if I made you feel bad about it. Sebastian lifted his mate into his arms.
"My Ciel, you have no idea how much you being here with me means to me. I am grateful beyond words for your love and support." Ciel wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck,resting his head on his mate's chest.
"I'm sorry for the circumstance, but I suppose it's just one of the situations that we need to get through together and we will. I love you." Sebastian grinned.
"And I love you as well. More than can be imagined. You my love. Are amazing." Sebastian kissed Ciel lovingly.
"We better get going then. Where do we go from here?"
"Straight ahead and to the left. We will then be able to access the older tunnels. I have a strong feeling that if the stone is here, that's where it will be. When we get there,I want you to stay in the walkway. Those tunnels can be dangerous and I don't want you hurt."
"I doubt it could hurt me, I'm not human anymore." Ciel reminded him.
"Yes, I'm aware of that. Still although you would heal almost immediately, it would cause great sadness for me to see anything happen to you."Ciel sighed
"You must've been sad a lot then." He said quietly.
"You're here Ciel, that makes me happy, though it is true that I have been during the times you were nearly lost to me. You must always remember your promise to me, never go where I cannot bring you back home. That would destroy me."
"I haven't forgotten,you're stuck with me forever."
"Good, I wouldn't want to lose you."
"You never will."
"I shall hold you to that."
"I know." Ciel glanced around but found only the countless skeletons surrounding them.
"How could they just throw all these people down here?" Ciel asked.
"Too many were dying Ciel, they couldn't keep up with the growing number of dead bodies and they had to put them somewhere."
"I suppose, so all of them died because of the plague did they?"
"Well, the vast majority did. Other illnesses came along and claimed victims of their own." Ciel glanced around and although he wouldn't say it out loud, he was concerned that they would be unable find it in time, it could have been placed in countless hiding spots. He was sure to look carefully among the skulls and other bones but saw nothing to indicate the presence of the stone.
Sebastian, though he managed to keep his calm demeanor, was worried and Ciel could sense his fear.
"It's alright." The young demon assured him.
"What is?"
"You're afraid aren't you, it's alright, he's your father it's normal to feel like that."
"Thank you for comforting me in this time of despair." Sebastian reached out and took Ciel's hand, Ciel moved closer to him.
Ciel felt as though they had been walking for hours and still they continued their journey. Ciel had begun to notice the number of skeletons was rapidly increasing the further toward the center they got.
Ciel, I'm terribly sorry, it seems we shall never find this stone. I have brought you down here for nothing."
"We had to try Sebastian, we just -"Ciel stopped at the sound of someone walking around the tunnel, the clatter of bones hitting the floor and being moved about carelessly.
"what's Naveen doing?" Ciel asked confused.
"It's not Naveen," Sebastian stepped in front of Ciel, his eyes glowing in the dark.
"Sebastian, what's wrong?"Ciel glanced around but saw nothing.
"Just stay back Ciel, I will handle this." Ciel could hear his mate getting ready for a fight.