Ciel stepped out of the carriage and looked around. The surrounding area was like nothing he had seen before, he couldn't possibly have imagined it in his strangest dream. He noticed a large door which seemed to glow softly and the faint sound of screams emitted from it. He looked to Sebastian.
"What is this place?"He moved closer to his mate.
"Fear not my love, This is the Gate Keeper's territory. When humans souls are collected and brought to Hell, they come here, you'll notice that endless line up there, We'll be moving closer inn just a moment, but it's the line of judgment, You are either given life as a demon, or you're sent to eternal punishment which is different for everyone, and for some it's simply being in an eternal line. You can't even begin to imagine how torturous that can be."
"Come my family, I shall show you everything." The king said motioning for them to follow. Sebastian and Ciel followed close behind the king and queen.
"Centuries ago, it was the job of the king to judge a soul and find the proper placement for them. A most tiring job in deed if I do say so myself." The devil chuckled in his deep voice.
"My great grandfather often said that it was quite possibly one of the worst tasks he could think of. As king there are many unpleasant chores to be done. Any questions so far Ciel?"
"What exactly is the Gate Keeper, you told me what it does but-"
"No one truly knows, he hides in the shadows, you only ever hear his voice. It was my father that claimed to be the only one to ever see it, he refused to describe it, claiming it too terrible even for his eyes to behold. My Mother however never believed him and still doesn't to this day."
"What are your thoughts on it then?" Ciel pressed much to the king's delight.
"It is refreshing to see the younger generation show such interest. I had, before your arrival lost hope in the young ones. Thank you. I understand you play chess?" The king asked with a great deal of interest.
"That's right."Ciel replied, the King grinned showing off his rows of razor teeth.
"Tell me, would you perhaps like to play sometime, we could get to know each other a bit better. From what you have showed me, I have such high hopes for you Ciel Michaelis, you having once been human and now given the crown have much to prove to our kind. I have no doubt that you will make the royal family proud and prove that our Sebastian has chosen well." Ann turned her head to give Ciel an encouraging smile.
"Don't worry dear, that just means that my mate likes you quite a bit, it is a high honor to be invited to know the king on such a personal level." She explained. Ciel followed them closer to the doors where he could now see the endless line of people waiting He could see the fear in many of the faces. Many trembled in their place, unaware of the date awaiting them.
"The only one with the power to overturn the Gate Keeper's decision is our family. We alone have the ability to pardon a soul from the horrors contained within that door. Ciel, as of today you too share this power and once it is announced that Sebastian has taken a mate, you must understand that it is entirely possible that you will be receiving requests that must be responded to. You can deny or accept them based on the information that will be passed to you and will be doing a great service to our subjects."
"I don't know if I'm ready for all that, I've only just-"
"Sebastian will help you, you will need to learn to work together as mates to make difficult choices. This is only a small part of what is expected of you as mate to a prince of hell." The king explained.
"Father, I require nothing more from Ciel as my mate than to be who he is, I cannot place all this responsibility on his shoulders so quickly. He and I will need to learn to talk about difficult situations and work through them a bit more than we do now. This is largely my doing. I don't wish to burden my treasure with everything I must do. Thought I learned from you and Mother as I grew into the demon I am today, I cannot simply throw him into the tasks we have taken years to understand. As Mordred and I were given clear instruction and our paths in life were well defined by your teachings, my Ciel did not have such an advantage."Sebastian replied, Ciel was grateful to him for stepping in.
"Very good my son, you made it a point to guard him and as for fair treatment as well as defending your position in your bondage." The devil praised.
"Marriage, Father, I've explained this, Ciel is not my prisoner in anyway. Should he ever feel this way. I will have failed him and be undeserving of holding the title of his mate." Ciel took hold of Sebastian's hand, leaning his head against his arm. Sebastian looked at his mate with concern.
"Are you alright?" He asked, Ciel smiled faintly.
"Fine, I'm just...I'm happy to have you, that's all."the young demon replied. Despite having second thoughts about the marriage to his former butler, Ciel felt lucky to have such a love as the one he felt from Sebastian. Before he realized it, they were standing directly beside the souls and could hear a voice coming from somewhere close by. The speaker called out names, laughing as he did so, unnerving Ciel. He himself had caused suffering in his life but he never found humor in the pain felt by others.
"I don't understand, what's so funny about what he's doing?" Ciel asked tightening his grip on his mate.
'nothing at all. The Gate Keeper is...a bit off. I myself don't care for it."The older demon admitted. "Stay close to me dear one and I will make sure it does not bother you."
"It's already bothering me." Ciel replied.
"Barnabas Rupert Goodwin, step forward." The giggling voice called. Ciel watched as a tall figure stepped out of line and walked toward the door.
"What's happening?" Ciel asked watching the man stand in front of the door.
"Judgment is about to be passed on this soul, this is the way of the gate keeper." Sebastian explained, kneeling down and allowing Ciel to lean against him.
"Yes...Mr. Barnabas Rupert Goodwin, born September eighteenth 1809 died May twenty-third 1895, age eighty-six. Killed in a fire which you started in your place of business to collect benefits from the loss... this is easy enough, you are far to old to be a demon and much too wrinkled to be dinner. I'm afraid I prefer meals that have not yet passed their prime." The voice howled with laughter. The door opened slowly before the man and flames were now visible.
"I'm afraid you'll have to step inside, but don't worry, we have some just lovely accommodations for you, I'm sure you'll find your eternal torment an absolute scream." Another burst of laughter reached Ciel's ears. It took a moment for the voice to call out again.
"Father, I realize that Ciel must learn these things,however as I mentioned this is quite a lot to take in." Sebastian said noticing how much the situation bothered Ciel.
"Of course, if you need to take your new mate home, we can resume another time." The king said.
"Come Ciel, let us go home and take our minds off of the experience." Ciel nodded and the two began their walk back to the carriage.
"Let's see who we have here..." Ciel heard the voice chuckle as they walked. "Ah yes...the reaper warned me about this lot, step forth Mr. Tanaka, and bring your part with you."