"Jem,"

The boy opened his eyes to find Will hovering over him.

"Will?" he yawned and reached for his pocket watch, which hung from his bedpost by his head. It was far too early. Jem hadn't slept in, so why was Will here? "Are you alright?"

Will nodded. "I'm fine. But I've had a thought."

Jem stifled a yawn as Will sat down on the end of the bed.

"Sebastian isn't a shadowhunter. He's a warlock."

Jem, who hadn't even sat up and had merely turned to give Will the illusion he was listening, opened his eyes wide and pushed himself onto his elbows. "That could be true."

"Of course, or I wouldn't have told you. It makes sense, you know. Those red eyes, those are his warlock's mark." Will said, leaning forward eagerly, his elbows on his knees.

"It would explain how he could move so fast, and do so much in so little time." Jem nodded, the new theory obliterating the tired fog in his mind. "Will, I think you're right."

"What do we do?" Will wondered aloud.

"At this very moment, nothing." Jem said, sleep aching to envelop him once again. He lay back down and heard his voice start to slur with a willingness to sleep. "We will see what we can do in the morning..."

"But Jem!"

"Goodnight, Will. Go to sleep, or you'll be no use in the morning anyway. Sleep well."

Will grumbled ambiguously, clearly frustrated Jem refused to set to work immediately. He wished Jem a good night and went back to his own bedchamber with his mind whirring until his brain finally slowed into submission and, finally, sleep.

The next morning, Will was exhausted at breakfast. Twice, Jem had to nudge him waken when he fell asleep at the table. Ciel and Sebastian walked in and sat down, Ciel nodding a good morning before becoming engrossed in a newspaper. He seemed to be searching for something, Will thought, but he was too tired to begin speculating what that might be. As neither of the Branwells had yet arrived, nor Jessamine, Agatha was yet to serve their morning meal. Jem was beginning to wish they would hurry, his stomach groaning with hunger. In an attempt to distract himself, and to satisfy his curiosity, he turned to Ciel.

"What did her majesty wish to talk to you about?" he asked, then added hastily, "If you're permitted to tell us, of course."

"Oh, yes, I suppose so." Ciel conceded, putting down his newspaper. "Well, her majesty said..."

However, just then, Charlotte came into the room, followed by her husband Henry, looking decidedly less worried than his wife. Charlotte interrupted Ciel swiftly without knowledge she was doing so, and Jem wished suddenly that she had walked in just a little later. Despite his growing hunger, Jem thought breakfast could wait. Unfortunately, it looked as if Ciel's story would have to.

"Will and Jem, I have just received notice of a mission you have to go on tonight." She said, sitting down.

"What might that be?" Jem asked, elbowing Will to wake him up. His head, which had been resting on his hand, jerked up violently.

"Yes, I agree." He nodded and Jem shook his head, laughing.

"Pay attention. It's about a mission we are being sent on this evening."

Will sat up. "Sorry. Go on, Charlotte."

"There's been some unusual activity regarding mundanes and some kind of...underground substance peddling. The mundanes are acting peculiar after taking this particular drug, though why is unknown to us yet."

"And why does that concern us?" Will asked with a yawn. "That seems more like a problem for mundane law enforcers..."

"Policemen." Ciel put in helpfully – or perhaps merely pedantically.

"...to deal with." Will finished.

"Well this is where it gets unusual; it seems that the users of this drug appear...controlled after a dosage." Charlotte explained. "Almost as if they were being influenced by an outside force. A magical force."

"Warlocks?" Jem asked, looking intrigued.

"That's your job; to find out what is causing the problem and rectify it."

Will and Jem nodded.

"Oh, Ciel. What did the Queen say, by the way?" Jem asked, turning to the boy.

"In short, what Mrs Branwell said." He shrugged. "It seems we are working on the same dilemma."

"This is such an odd coincidence." Jem said as the three boys sat in the library.

Ciel had already begun copying out runes and printing the names of them underneath methodically. He was actually rather enjoying it. It was far less demanding than most tasks he had to complete. Really quite therapeutic. Charlotte still hadn't appeared to tutor Will and Jem, and Ciel had already worked his way through the runes from 'abundance' to 'creation'.

"Not really." Ciel said, looking up and laying down his quill. "Not as much as you might think. This is not the first time underground drug trade has concerned her majesty due to its effect on the public. The human world and your world overlap far more than you could possibly understand."

"What do you mean?" Will asked.

"Well, of course, to humans, tales of demons and the like are simply stories. Angels are from the Bible, protecting from on high, not their human descendents sent to earth to rid the world of demons. It isn't something they understand, and it is hard to comprehend if you haven't seen it yourself."

"But you do." Will said. "You accepted..." he waved an encompassing hand around the room, down to the Codex in front of Ciel, declaring in print the existence of demons. "...this, without question." He went on. "Why?"

"Well, I am the Queen's watchdog." Ciel said simply. "I've been exposed to unusual news before. I am not easily shocked."

"Have you encountered demons before?" Will asked with fake nonchalance, and Jem shot him a look. "Or magic? Warlocks?"

"Have you encountered a reaper?" Ciel replied, neatly avoiding Will's question.

"No." Will answered, surprised. "What is a reaper?"

"There you go. You just found out about something you have never heard of before, but you weren't unduly put out. And, as it happens, there might be a reaper I could introduce you to. But not now. We have more pressing business to attend to currently."

Charlotte entered then, bundles of parchment and books under her arms.

"Will, Jem, let us begin. We haven't much time if you have a mission later. You will be researching ancient faerie politics."

The two boys groaned loudly.

"There's no point in complaining." Charlotte said briskly. "It has to be done. Now let us work swiftly. You need to prepare for this evening."

"We should probably plan for this mission." Will said, driving a blade into the throwing knife target to test its sharpness.

"We should probably prepare for every mission, and yet here we are." Jem smirked. "When have we ever prepared for anything?"

"Never." Will agreed. "But we should probably start, especially now. I doubt the Queen would be pleased if we got her little spy killed."

"Does that count as treason?"

"I don't know, and I have no desire to find out."

"It probably doesn't." a voice said behind them, and the two boys turned to see Ciel in the doorway. "Plenty of people wish to kill me, and it's usually Sebastian, not her majesty, who they have to answer to. Besides, if my death was a mistake, the worst you could be accused of is negligence, so I wouldn't concern yourselves overly."

Sebastian appeared and followed his master into the room, hovering in the doorway as Ciel came and sat by Will and Jem.

"What do you think is the cause of the strangeness in the effect of these drugs?"

"Faeries, almost certainly." Jem said instantly.

"Substances and products treated by the Fey often have unusual side effects, including a certain uninhibitedness." Will explained.

"And you should know." Jem smirked, and Will flung him a puzzled look. "Ah, I didn't expect you to remember."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh," Jem turned to Ciel with a look of wicked enjoyment. "Will found grand love under the influence of faerie drugs."

"Did I?" Will asked, interestedly. "What was she like?"

"Tall," Jem said. "Willowy. Yes, you really branched out with this one."

"It was a tree, wasn't it?" Will sighed glumly, and Jem nodded, laughing. "Ah well, I will always pine for her."

"I'm afraid it seems you're barking up the wrong tree, there." Ciel added, and Sebastian cast him a look. Ciel did not make jokes. Yes, the tides were definitely changing.