You moved quickly, dressing yourself with equal velocity, tearing down the hallway towards Ciel's office, trying not to run.

Something about what he said before he left indicated you should be on your best behaviour. Your pace slowed as you looked trough the adjacent windows, and you began to realise why Ciel had been dressed so nicely.

An incredibly ornate carriage was parked outside the manor. Whoever was here was rich. You wouldn't be leaving on any errand. Whatever importance the day was to bring had come to you. You inhaled as you approached the doorway to Ciel's study. Exhaling, you turned the handle, and stepped inside. You held your breath in astonishment, frozen in place.

A hand fell on your shoulder. You glanced up, angry at the man who seemed to be avoiding responding to your subtle attempts at recognition ever chance he got. He still gave you no visible sign. No nod, no smile, nothing, as he addressed you, using your full name.

"{Y/FN/LN}, may I present Her Majesty, Queen Victoria." You remained stunned into silence as she smiled at you. Hadn't this woman tried to kill your mother? Then again, in your father's letter, it did say she didn't want you harmed. Even so, why would she be here, knowing exactly where to find you? Sebastian squeezed your shoulder. You hoped he'd finally done something helpful, but that wasn't the case. He whispered. "It's customary to bow before the sovereign, {Y/N}."

Her Majesty rose as you stepped into the room, and following the worst and perhaps most masculine courtesy in a half-century, she nodded and beckoned you toward her. You were afraid, you had no idea what was going on, but you did what she asked. She was the Queen. She extended a hand, and you went to shake it, but instead were met with an action which surprised you almost as much as the ones which made you so happy the night before.

She hugged you. You finally were able to breathe again. She let you go almost at once.

"I've waited long enough to meet you, my child."

You couldn't believe this. This whole time, you were certain no one knew of your whereabouts, especially not The Queen herself! Where was she when you were kidnapped? Where was she when your father was killed? Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Ciel, sitting in a chair by the window, not at his desk. Two other men were there as well, both with white hair and equally white outfits. It appeared one of them had downed the entire pot of Earl Grey, drinking it all by himself, entitled, like it was his to take in the first place. You sensed it was permissible to speak, now that you had been spoken to. If it wasn't for the fact that it was the most powerful person in the nation, maybe even the world, who was talking to you, you'd have ignored that particularly infuriating custom. You could talk whenever you damn well pleased.

"Your...Majesty...I...I...you know me?"

She smiled as she sat back down. "Of course I do. You're my great-granddaughter, are you not?"

"Yes!" Your voice came out too high. "Of course I am. I just don't understand." How much did she know? What could you ask her?

"Well, I can't help you unless you be a little more specific, dear. What is it that you don't understand?"

Everything certainly wouldn't be specific, but that was about it. You thought carefully before responding. There was so much you needed to know, and you didn't want to ruin your chance and ask something you could figure out later on your own. "What exactly do I mean to you? That is, why did you come here, and if it relates to me, why now?"

"Good question." She replied. "I'm sure you, my boy, could help an old woman atone for the mistakes of her younger years?"

Ciel smiled as she turned to him. "Gladly, Your Majesty." Sebastian prompted you to sit down, and he remained behind you. You were too confused to devote all your anger to his evasiveness at that moment. "It's bittersweet, the way this all came together, but I'm eager to ensure we rid ourselves of this matter for good." You were still speechless as you listened.

"Typically, our organisation never requires intervention from the sovereign. We exist, as we have for scores of years, in the shadows, and direct contact is reserved for times of emergency. We do not desire, nor need to be so black and white, so transparent in communication, for it works against us. The more forthright an underground society is, the less power it wields." You noticed letters beside both the Queen and Ciel. Each broken seal bore the Phantomhive crest, the words Potentia Regere spelled out in Latin. It was a mistranslation. Latin wasn't an incredibly difficult language, but it wasn't easy to implement properly all the time when most people didn't speak it anymore. Ciel's family certainly didn't seem to be the sort to devote any time to conversing in a tongue now predominantly Ecclesiastical in usage. You understood what it meant anyway, the family motto. The power to rule. That meant alone. Any truly powerful force requires a degree of sovereignty in and of itself. "That being said, there exists between us an unspoken rule that as long as our individual liberties still work in favor of the Empire, we can enjoy them to the fullest. Yet, if any one of us takes too great of an advantage of their freedom, they ruin the opportunity for the rest of us to enjoy ours." He paused, looking once at the Queen, then back to you. "One family, more so one member of a family like mine, has directly been working against all of us, and they need to be taken out once and for all." You realised what he meant before. Those men weren't the end of this. Someone else had almost gotten away with what they'd done, and apparently they'd done so before. Your pasts were connected. Ciel seemed genuinely enthralled, but a part of him seemed disheartened that his goals had come to fruition, like he wished he had more time. You knew what it meant for him now that it had come to pass. He'd have his revenge soon, and then Sebastian would have his soul.

"We know who it is, at long last."

__________________________

{A/N added way after this was completed. ԅ(¯﹃¯ԅ)}: SO I recently discovered a few things about this work that might be a tad confusing to some readers. This chapter contains one of them, while the other comes up a few times before and I think once after.

1. I originally thought the Arisocrats of Evil was a sort of 'secret society' made up of specific noblemen/families that served the crown in one semi-nefarious but simultaneously respectable way, not just the exclusive inner circle of the Phantomhives. (Honestly is it just that Vincent was like aight BET you know what would be super spooky and dope? If we named ourselves the Aristocrats of Evil. Definitely dark and cool and I'm 24 and love that shit. Yeahhhh.(ﾞ ｀-´)/(ﾞ ｀-´)/(ﾞ ｀-´)/)  So, yeah I was a bit mislead. As a result of said confusion on my end, the 'organization' I'm referring to here is what I thought to be akin to something like the Skull and Bones Society or Hellfire Club, so...secret creepy society for rich and/or influential people. Therefore, what you read above will be based on that. A lot more figures will be included than just the Phantomhives in their illicit service for the Queen. Hopefully this helps clarify some things.

2. I kinda forgot that I made the reader fifteen at the start of the book, so she's depicted more maturely than what would probably have been better reserved for an older character, like...when she has sex with Sebastian. HOWEVER, I feel like if someone is many thousands of years old and can take the form of anyone of any age should he so desire, it makes it a little more okay. He could be 16 if he wanted to. (≧∇≦) I also referred to Ciel as a bit older earlier in this (I called him 'a man' just like I did Sebastian), and want to apologize. Though, the show/manga does a good job of making him seem older too, and that's definitely apparent in some of the relationship ideas fans have, and the general way he's treated throughout the series. (As far as the love scene goes, If all else fails, you can go with the "it was a different time!" Approach, since its the Victorian Era, after all, and the rules of engagement and marriage and all that were different than they are today.)

OKAY sooo, I think that's it. I know I dont always have to go in and meticulously clarify everything I do - I'm sure people can figure out this stuff on their own- but it helps me know that I've put it out there somehow. I'll gladly answer any questions, too. Interacting with people who read my stuff is important to me. I like to be accessible and personable.

With that, I take my leave.
Again, thank you so much for all the love on this! I'm very grateful.

(♡˙︶˙♡)
~ Britt