When she entered the room in which the three of them were kept, the place was so deadly quiet that she would've even have known it was occupied if she hadn't put them all there herself. That, of course, could mean one of three things: either they were all asleep, gagged, or so utterly bored that they were simply sitting there in silence.
The first two options, she didn't mind. The third, though... that would be a problem.
She was relieved, then, when her eyes fell upon them. They were just as she wanted them, awake and alert and waiting for her--not to mention a bit worse for the wear after having spent several days with Ciel. He could be a cruel master, she knew, and so she was disinclined to leave her pets with him for long; much as he seemed to have an affectionate streak for his sister (and how could he not? the girl was sweet as honey), his mercy didn't extend to anyone else placed under his care. Lysander and her darling cousins had no doubt been through some very rough treatment since she'd left them, and she was quite eager now to soothe their hurts away.
She walked to Lysander first. He was always the one that gave her the hardest time now, just as he'd been the one to give her the hardest time before; and so when she knelt down beside him and freed him from the miniature stocks he had been forced into some time last night (no doubt before her husband had returned to her bed, meaning the poor prince had been left that way for quite a while), she pulled him into her arms with a certain sense of triumph. His tears came almost immediately, and she didn't mind them; they were what she'd been hoping to find, after all: a sure sign of his defeat.
She shushed him quietly, cradling him against her as he sobbed into her breast, and she stroked his back for a few minutes before moving up to brush a strand of wet hair from his forehead. "What did he do to you, you poor sweet thing?" she asked softly, her thumb brushing over his cheek, and those icy blue eyes--eyes that had looked at her with such cold disgust and condemnation in the past--were filled with nothing but cautious, desperate hope and tears. He opened his mouth to answer her, but she shushed him again and cut him off. "No, no, it's alright. You don't have to tell me. I won't make you tell me, darling. He won't do it again, sweetheart, I promise; so long as I'm here, he isn't going to do that to you again."
This was a plan that had its flaws, of course. If there was one thing about it that she had to regret, it was that Hera doubted she'd ever be able to indulge in her boys with her husband instead of simply letting him borrow them once in a while. Because that was, in fact, a promise she intended to keep, if only because it was one that served her so well; she wasn't going to let Ciel hurt them in her presence, because that would ruin their illusion of her as their protector, and that was the great power she had over them right now.
She could always ask Ciel to temper himself, of course, but she rather doubted he'd comply; he was a headstrong one, after all, and more than a bit prone to fly into a rage if he didn't get what he wanted. And for all she was willing to stand up to him, standing up to him with this particular audience would involve something she was absolutely sure Ciel wasn't going to enjoy--and something she knew he wouldn't forgive her for doing to him, either.
If it came to that, she suspected, Ciel would probably end up locked in this room himself.
...though, now that she thought about it, that thought did have a certain appeal.
For now, though, she brushed the thought aside and smiled down at the man in her arms. "Are you okay now, my darling? Do you think you can sit on the bed for me? You can nap, if you'd like; I doubt you got much sleeping in that contraption, you poor thing." She stood, pulling him gently up with her, and when he rose to his full height, finally supporting his own weight, she felt a shiver of excitement run through her. He was so fucking tall, she marveled; that she had a man so much bigger than her so securely under her thumb was a delightful thought, indeed.
Dark Energy [2/?]
The first two options, she didn't mind. The third, though... that would be a problem.
She was relieved, then, when her eyes fell upon them. They were just as she wanted them, awake and alert and waiting for her--not to mention a bit worse for the wear after having spent several days with Ciel. He could be a cruel master, she knew, and so she was disinclined to leave her pets with him for long; much as he seemed to have an affectionate streak for his sister (and how could he not? the girl was sweet as honey), his mercy didn't extend to anyone else placed under his care. Lysander and her darling cousins had no doubt been through some very rough treatment since she'd left them, and she was quite eager now to soothe their hurts away.
She walked to Lysander first. He was always the one that gave her the hardest time now, just as he'd been the one to give her the hardest time before; and so when she knelt down beside him and freed him from the miniature stocks he had been forced into some time last night (no doubt before her husband had returned to her bed, meaning the poor prince had been left that way for quite a while), she pulled him into her arms with a certain sense of triumph. His tears came almost immediately, and she didn't mind them; they were what she'd been hoping to find, after all: a sure sign of his defeat.
She shushed him quietly, cradling him against her as he sobbed into her breast, and she stroked his back for a few minutes before moving up to brush a strand of wet hair from his forehead. "What did he do to you, you poor sweet thing?" she asked softly, her thumb brushing over his cheek, and those icy blue eyes--eyes that had looked at her with such cold disgust and condemnation in the past--were filled with nothing but cautious, desperate hope and tears. He opened his mouth to answer her, but she shushed him again and cut him off. "No, no, it's alright. You don't have to tell me. I won't make you tell me, darling. He won't do it again, sweetheart, I promise; so long as I'm here, he isn't going to do that to you again."
This was a plan that had its flaws, of course. If there was one thing about it that she had to regret, it was that Hera doubted she'd ever be able to indulge in her boys with her husband instead of simply letting him borrow them once in a while. Because that was, in fact, a promise she intended to keep, if only because it was one that served her so well; she wasn't going to let Ciel hurt them in her presence, because that would ruin their illusion of her as their protector, and that was the great power she had over them right now.
She could always ask Ciel to temper himself, of course, but she rather doubted he'd comply; he was a headstrong one, after all, and more than a bit prone to fly into a rage if he didn't get what he wanted. And for all she was willing to stand up to him, standing up to him with this particular audience would involve something she was absolutely sure Ciel wasn't going to enjoy--and something she knew he wouldn't forgive her for doing to him, either.
If it came to that, she suspected, Ciel would probably end up locked in this room himself.
...though, now that she thought about it, that thought did have a certain appeal.
For now, though, she brushed the thought aside and smiled down at the man in her arms. "Are you okay now, my darling? Do you think you can sit on the bed for me? You can nap, if you'd like; I doubt you got much sleeping in that contraption, you poor thing." She stood, pulling him gently up with her, and when he rose to his full height, finally supporting his own weight, she felt a shiver of excitement run through her. He was so fucking tall, she marveled; that she had a man so much bigger than her so securely under her thumb was a delightful thought, indeed.