Author's Notes.
This was a short story I wrote during English class. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pandora Hearts.
There's an old saying here: They say that if you stay out past midnight, he will find you. But he'll only show up if all the cats in the village are locked up indoors.
No one really knows why.
And on one hot summer's night, an orphan by the name of Oz, was going to test this theory.
The energetic blonde looked looked over his shoulder to see his companions running up to him. Hopefully they had succeeded in their mission.
"Did you do it?" Oz shouted, he didn't even wait for the other boys to take a breath.
"We think so." One of the boys replied. He was a lot taller than the other boy beside him.
"I did most of it! Me!" The smaller boy announced loudly.
"Of course you did, Philippe," Oz said as he ruffled the younger boy's hair playfully, "You did find them all, right, James?" He added as his emerald eyes looked up at the other boy.
"Think so. There's probably some at the orphanage though." The taller boy, James, replied.
"Then we better get back! Come on!" Oz yelled with enthusiasm and ran off through the village.
James and Philippe sighed lightly. Their legs were tired from all the work they had done, but they knew that Oz wasn't going to stop.
The three boys burst through the Orphanage's doors and were greeted by the face of one of their carers who took charge of the Orphanage ever since the last carer had abandoned them.
His sharp, blue, eyes looked over their faces slowly.
"In a hurry?" He asked and walked around them to close the door.
"Yes!" Philippe yelled with excitement, "We're trying to bri-" Before the young boy could finish his words, both Oz and James covered his mouth and began dragging him away.
"We just wanted to make it back home in time for dinner!" Oz said with a wide smile, "Bye, Elliot!" He added before disappearing around a corner, dragging Philippe along with him.
Elliot watched the three go with a raised eyebrow and shook his head slightly. He then turned back to the window he had been cleaning and yelped when he saw a figure standing on the other side. But when he blinked, the stranger was gone.
Oz, James and Philippe ran through the hallways and gathered every cat they could find and stored them in their bedroom. They never really knew how many cats the Orphanage owned until they had gathered all eighty-five of them.
"Okay!" Oz yelled, clapping his hands together, "Now we have to shut all the windows and cat-flaps." He stated loudly.
"Why?" Philippe asked, raising a hand.
"Because that's the only way to summon him." Oz replied loudly.
But before they could go ahead with their devious plans, the dinner bell rang.
"Darn!" Oz yelled. He then walked closer to the other boys and began whispering, "Here's the plan: While we're eating, James has to choke and we use that distraction." He stated with a small smile.
"Use it for what?" Philippe whispered after a moment of silence.
Oz narrowed his eyes at the younger boy, "Change of plan: You'll choke at the dinner table." He said darkly.
The three boys sat at the large dinner table together and ate their meal in disappointment.
How were they supposed to choke on... soup?
Oz smiled to himself as a thought crossed his mind. He fiendishly reached his arm over the table to grab the jug of juice and "accidentally" knocked James' soup bowl over.
The hot contents poured over the orphan and Oz tried to hide the smile on his lips.
"What happened?!" Elliot's voice yelled after the room erupted in James' cries.
Oz grabbed Philippe's arm and dragged him out of the dining room.
They ran though the Orphanage and closed all the windows and cat-flaps, and then released the felines from their bedroom.
Oz smiled to himself as he watched the 'cat-tsunami' pour from his room.
"And now we play the waiting game." He whispered darkly to himself.
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door. Oz felt his heart jump from fright and excitement.
He carefully made his way to the stairway and sat down on one of the middle steps. His emerald eyes peered through the railed banister and he saw Elliot's valet, Leo, answer the door.
"Elliot!" Leo yelled in his oddly feminine voice, "He's here." He said.
Oz's eyes widened as he watched a man step into the hallway and his emerald eyes caught the sight of golden ones.
Oz yelped loudly when a hand touched his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Philippe's voice asked.
Oz sighed loudly and peered back through the banister. But there was no one there anymore.
"He's here." Oz whispered to the younger boy and made his way downstairs.
Philippe followed eagerly and held Oz's hand tightly, "Already? But the sun hasn't gone down yet." He whispered in a tiny voice.
Oz ignored the younger boy and made his way to Elliot's office. The two listened intently to the muffled voices on the other side, but they couldn't understand anything that was being said.
Oz leant closer to the door, but tripped and it fell open. He landed inside the office and everyone looked down at him in surprise.
"It's you!" Oz yelled as he pointed a finger at the golden-eyed stranger sitting in the corner of the room.
"Who?" Elliot asked with annoyance and rolled his eyes.
"I made him come here tonight! I'm sorry!" Oz said frantically and stood up.
The golden-eyed man looked at the other men in the room, "What exactly did you do?" He asked slowly.
"I... I locked up all the cats in the village!" Oz cried.
Elliot and Leo shared a confused look.
"Oz, this is Gilbert. He's the new town's sherif." Elliot stated with a large sigh.
"What? ...Sherif?" Oz repeated slowly.
"Yes. I arrived this afternoon." Gilbert said and stood up from his chair. He held a hand out to Oz and the younger boy shook it nervously.
"I'm...Oz.." He replied slowly.
"I know," Gilbert said and withdrew his hand, "Elliot was telling me all about you." He explained simply.
"Yes," Elliot muttered, "Well if that's all, Mister Gilbert." He said speaking louder this time.
"Yes. Thank you for your time," Gilbert said and walked over to the door, "I'll let myself out." He added and then left.
"You should leave too, Oz," Elliot said and leant back his chair, "We'll discuss the cat-matter tomorrow." He added.
Oz nodded and darted from the room, grabbing the hiding Philippe as he went.
Leo walked over to the door and closed it gently.
"Why the hell would someone lock up the cats in the village?" Elliot asked with a frown.
"He was probably trying to bring about the old saying." Leo replied as he began to take various books from the bookshelf in the corner of the room.
"You mean... No. Why would he do that?" Elliot questioned nervously.
"Curiousity," Leo answered simply and looked over at his master, "Don't look so frightened, Elliot. It's just an old story." He said lightly.
Elliot nodded and nervously muttered a "You're right," in response.
But they were both oblivious to the man looking at them through the window.