Title: The Eye of Misfortune

Summary: He became this nightmare, this monster of a man… all because of he was born with the wrong eye color.

Author's Note: Okay, I've had this idea for FOREVER, but it was only recently when I began to write it, and I loved it from beginning to end. Will you, too?

Inspired By: Night of the Hunter by 30 Seconds to Mars

I was born of the womb of a poisonous man
Beaten and broken and chased from the land
But I rise up above it, high up above it and see

Vincent had always burdened his older brother, Gil, with his presence right from the beginning. At a very tender age, their parents sold them away to a freak show, all because of his Eye of Misfortune. No matter how discontented he was, Gil didn't have the heart to ever leave his little brother behind. He was the only one he had.

Then they met Jack Vessalius.

I was hung from a tree made of tongues of the weak
The branches, the bones of the liars and thieves

As the two small boys ran amuck around Jack's manor, they had to be grateful for even making it alive that long. Vincent could still hear the voice of the evil man at the freak show, telling him and his brother how they were absolutely worthless, how they were no better than the people locked up in Reveille's prisons… all because of the eye.

It all led back to the eye.

Jack would always hear the screams in the middle of the night; constant night terrors dwelled in the little boy's mind.

Rise up above it, high up above it and see

Jack was indeed their savior. Although they were technically servants, the third son of the noble family treated them as his own sons. None of them would ever forget the time they spent together… almost like a real family.

Pray to your god, open your heart

Vincent didn't want to believe in any higher power.

Gilbert never thought about it much.

The small blonde boy would see a church, look up towards the sky, and wonder, Where are you? Where were you when we needed you the most?

But somewhere, deep in his little heart, he knew there was something out there—because he still had Gil, right by his side this whole time.

Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark

Blood. Darkness.

That's all the small, blonde, heterochromatic boy could see. Gil's body lied right next to his feet, which nearly scared him to death. He remembered the words of Miranda Barma… he had to get out of this horrible place. And he had just the power to do it.

Cover your eyes, the devil's inside

Falling into the Abyss was a feeling unlike any other. It was as if he could feel everything he had known burn and crash into the ground. Once he came face-to-face with the Will of the Abyss, he just laughed. And laughed.

It was none other than Alice, the girl he had tortured in revenge for the constant ridicule.

She was just like everyone else, aside from Gilbert and Jack.

She didn't understand the pain that came with his curse.

So he just laughed.

One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge

It was so many years later when he came across his beacon of hope.

A great skeleton-like Chain stood before young Vincent; he was in pure awe.

"What's your name?" he asked, like a child would ask a new, friendly stranger.

"Demios," it replied with a twisted smile. The smile was hard to distinguish, but Vincent Nightray knew for a fact it was there. He could feel a special bond with the Chain. He didn't truly care about the consequences of the Contract; he just wanted someone to understand his pain.

One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh

He had killed Fred Nightray.

The first heir to the dukedom now lay dead before his feet, decapitated.

It was another moment in his life he could never forget. The beginning of an era of terror- the Head Hunter. Pandora, and eventually the citizens of Reveille all began to call this Chain, "Queen of Hearts". In his eyes, it was a condescending name. Demios had so much more potential than a silly nursery rhyme reference.

Blessed by a bitch from a bastard's seed
Pleasure to meet you, but better to bleed

All the while, he continued to smile at his adoptive parents, Duke and Duchess Nightray.

He never really knew if they actually cared about him or Gilbert, because the other children didn't. Except for Elliot. Elliot was the only one who ever seemed to even notice their existence.

Rise, I'll rise, I'll rise

He really wanted the young boy to grow up happily. But not every fairy tale has a happy ending.

Skinned her alive, ripped her apart
Scattered her ashes, buried her heart
Rise up above it, high up above it and see

One by one, the Nightrays died off. Granted, it wasn't completely his doing, but he started it all. And he was damn proud of it.

He made sure that his servant, Echo, didn't understand his power. Draining her of all life was as easy as taking candy away from a small, defenseless child.

But Echo wasn't defenseless.

Somewhere within, inside the Echo of Noise, she knew exactly what was going on.

Pray to your god, open your heart
Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark
Cover your eyes, the devil's inside

He had become the most feared name of all of Pandora, and no one even realized that the famous "Queen of Hearts" was walking amongst them, going completely unnoticed. It was a sweet victory, indeed.

To them, he was simply known as the Dormouse. A Chain that merely had the power to knock people into a deep sleep, he appeared to be not much of a threat to anyone or anything. Oh, but they were all sadly mistaken.

He was the very threat to their existence.

It was sick and twisted, and yet, he slept perfectly well at night.

He was their worst nightmare.

One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh

The corpses.

The blood.

Oh, how he loved them so. Payback for everything everyone had brought upon him. All the isolation, the agony, the pain. It was his turn to return just that.

Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart

The night of Oz Vessalius' second coming-of-age ceremony would change his life forever.

He knew that he would eventually lose Elliot, but losing him… in such a selfish manner… it wasn't like him at all.

'I'm sorry, Leo'- the last words he heard from his baby brother; he wasn't sure whether to sympathize for the poor boys, laugh at the sheer pity of it all, or fume up in unadulterated rage over the fact that all he thought about at his last seconds was the one person who had set him up to all this.

Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart
Honest to God I'll break your heart
Tear you to pieces and rip you apart

His new mission? Obtain the servant boy.

It was a little too easy. He had figured out his whole charade, everything that he had been hiding. And at the end of it all, Vincent knew for a fact that the boy, Leo Baskerville, could help him obtain his one goal.

One night of the hunter
One day I will get revenge
One night to remember
One day it'll all just end, oh

Whether his testament to Leo was true or false, he knew that he was only doing all of this for Gilbert, and Gilbert alone. It all led back to his big brother, the one who had protected him all of his life. Gil knew Vincent's secret betrayal now, and maybe that was for the best. He was tired of hiding from the one person he ever truly loved.

He would gladly give his life for Gilbert Nightray.