tampered | Log; Ongoing

Log; Ongoing

When; Dec. 20th
Rating; G, sweet sugar G
Characters; Tianzi [

phantom_earl]
Summary; Having asked Sebastian to keep it a secret she would be coming to visit (hush hush!), the Empress gets a chance after the City has settled down a bit.
Log;

As promised, she had had an escort. Really! Xing-ke had work, and she felt bad for having to ask, but- Just taking her some where real quick- real quick- That was okay, right? Mm, it was. (And if she were a bit more honest, rather, a bit more selfish, she would admit that she wished he didn't have to work, because while she had things to do- school, helping, friends... she did miss Xing-ke, when he wasn't there all the time. But- she was an adult. She knew they needed money, and unlike in Luo Yang, people didn't come running with food any time she felt hungry.)

So though she knocked on the door alone, was seen in alone, (thanked Sebastian a few times, too, he really was a nice butler!), she had kept her promise. And keeping promises, well- She knew those were important, because he'd taught her they were, and he'd kept his.

Which allowed the young girl, when she followed Sebastian's directions and knocked on the study door, to smile just a bit more before she poked her head in. It had been a while, since she mentioned to the butler wanting to visit, (and asking Ciel not to be told, so it would be a surprise!), but with everything having happened, that horrible thing- This was her first change, since things had settled.

"Ciel?"

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Deeply intent on his investigation, Ciel could barely focus on the study material in front of him. It had little to do with lack of interest in the subject, but rather, he kept wondering if the murders would resume and if he would be able to catch the culprit in time. It seemed the victims that had been murdered thus far had not come back to life like other citizens have been known to.

That in itself was a mystery, perhaps pertaining to some involvement with the deities. Whatever the cause, it was unusual and he was nowhere near coming to a conclusion.

Gnawing childishly on the edge of his pen, he barely noticed the door opening until the soft voice had accompanied it. Ciel's head snapped up, eyes slightly wide as he gazed at the Empress.

"...Tianzi."

"H-" She jumped a bit, almost surprised herself, surprising him, and smiled a bit wider, tiptoeing in and shutting the door gently behind her.

"Hello, Ciel." He said Tianzi- Which was nice. Her friends... called her that. And here, she had friends, in this place, so- No matter how bad it got, she would always remember that.

"I'm sorry I didn't call ahead, but- I wanted it to be a surprise- I hope that's okay-" Noticing the papers on his desk, she blushed just slightly- Oh, she probably should have, he was in the middle of something-

"If you're busy, though, I can come back later..."

Ciel made a quick move to stack the papers and clear his desk, feeling a bit flustered and being caught off guard. He was normally one to have all events prepared as well as tea and snacks for his guests.

Setting the documents away, he attempted to disarm the young empress with a slight smile, shaking his head.

"I was merely studying. You weren't interrupting anything important. In fact, I could use the interruption about now."

"Really?" She smiled, obviously relieved, coming to stand before his desk, idly looking at the documents, but not too intently so as to seem nosy.

"Something for... school, like that?" Head cocked quizically, fingers intertwined behind her back, a small package within them, idly rolling back on her slippered heels.

"I do wish to continue my studies even if I am here," he answered, giving the papers a second glance before rising from the chair. He wasn't sure how to entertain the Empress at the moment, but it wouldn't be befitting of himself to carry on awkwardly.

Motioning towards the door, he nevertheless held onto his smile. "Would Tianzi be interested in any snacks?"

"Mm- I didn't really get a chance to learn much, before... I mean-" She twirled quickly, long robes swishing a bit, to make sure he didn't see the package just yet- carefully wrapped oh so neatly, and bow tied as prettily as she could manage. Admittedly, she probably overused the tape.

"In Luoyang, when the Eunuchs ran things... I just had to say what the wanted... I didn't really get the same kind of education some of the people here have... school... and all..." Thinking she might be rambling, she nodded abruptly.

"So, that's why I'm learning things here, and-" Another quick not, that sent her hair bobbing about her face, "Please!"

Ciel didn't mind her rambling as he always thought her to be one of the few people whom he actually enjoyed conversing with. There was something insightful and pure about her that lent to her skills as a ruler.

He nodded along before approaching the door. "We will find something to fit your preferences for this evening. Would you like some treats native to your country? It's not an issue for Sebastian at all."

"Sebastian really is a good butler..." She murmured, nodding to herself- "I think... if Xing-ke was a butler... he might be like that. But- He's a General... though maybe he feels kind of like a butler... having to take care of me all the time..." The last part was whispered, a little embarassed of her own ineptitudes.

"Oh, but-" She laughed it off, a bright sound, and smiled. "I want to try things Ciel likes!"

What he liked ? Well, that was mostly relegated to sweets. He was sure the Empress wouldn't really mind indulging as well.

"Sebastian," he murmured, rather glad there aren't more like him -- or perhaps glad that if there are, they weren't present.

It was never a subject he had approached the demon with, but surely if there were more...could they have taken interest in human subjects as Sebastian had? That certainly left room for further speculation, but right now, Ciel had a guest to attend to.

"Ah, yes. Well, he does have his uses. Cake, for instance. Are you fond of it, Your Highness ?

"Mm!" She noticed a slight pause, but, she was never, had never really been, the type to think negative thoughts before positive ones, and so instead of thinking to those, she just assumed he was thinking about it for a moment.

"I've had it some times here, the um- Brittanian type cakes... they're kind of different, but they taste really good!" Not meant to so many foods not strictly traditional Chinese fare, she was wearing the expression of curiosity.

"Then it's settled," Ciel said enigmatically, gesturing to his guest area so that they may sit and dine together. There was an antique chess board nearby, which Ciel often liked to play with his guests if they were so inclined to. Perhaps one day he could teach the Empress.

"I will have Sebastian make you the most delicious of cakes from our side of the world," he continued.

Edited 2008-12-24 01:13 (UTC)

"Thank you-" She sat- tried to do it regally, but her excitement and happiness always shown through when she truly felt these things, sort of bouncing as she settled in to the seat, folding her hands in her lap.

"Have you been well, Ciel, besides studying?"

Aside from the usual influx of curses, there wasn't anything really unusual to speak of. The case of the murders was something he wanted to keep to himself rather than worry the Empress. She had enough things on her mind, considering what she had alluded about her own world.

"I've been as well as I could be in this place. Yourself, Tianzi?"

"Well, now that..." She got a bit of a sad look for a second, fingers curling in the silks, lip biting. It was horrible, listening to all of the screams in the night, seeing those poor people in the hospital, afterwards...

"Now that the last curse is over- It's been good. And the holiday coming... I've never celebrated Christmas before..." With that, she took out the box, proffering it with a small smile.

Ciel stared at the box in surprise, unsure how to react. It was rare to receive gifts from royalty, especially those he'd only known for a few months. To turn it down would be a disgrace to his own family, but still he felt rather guilty that he had nothing in return to offer the Empress.

..."Your Highness," he murmured in surprise, slowly taking the box from her fingers.

"I-" She smiled a little, embarrassed and shy- She'd never really given a gift before, at least, that hadn't been gifts of state, picked out by others and simply handed over by herself. But she'd read and heard about this holiday, and... it sounded nice, giving gifts to the people you liked.

"It's just something I saw I thought you would make use of... I thought it looked nice, and- they said Christmas, you gave gifts to your friends, and things like that, so-" The young Empress trailed off, instead trying to settle in her chair instead of leaning forward excitedly to see him find what was inside (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x132/moderninstinct/vintage_brooch1.jpg).

Ciel carefully unwrapped the box so as not to tear through the Empress's fine work. He was still surprised she had gone through all this trouble for him, rather than having someone else do it in her stead.

When he finally encountered the broach, his eyes lit up slightly, and he felt his own smile grow wide and become more genuine. "A fine selection. I shall cherish it."

Now that made her smile brighter, she leaned forward and watched, just bouncing only slightly in excitement.

"Really?" It was just blurted out in surprise, shock that she'd managed to do it right, the christmas thing.

"Of course," he confirmed then carefully set the gift aside. It was beautiful, and he meant what he had told her. Hopefully, he would be able to take it back with him, should he ever return to his world.

"Now, as for tea and snacks. Shall we?"

She smiled, nodding happily. If he liked it... then she'd done good. And friends- She really had made friends here, for sure.

"Mm!"

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Log; Ongoing

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