He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought -
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

Elliot opened his eyes as his body was assaulted by icy water. He sat up slowly, allowing the cold to pull his mind from its foggy haze. 'The shower water must have run cold when I was passed out,' he thought. 'I wonder why Leo hasn't come looking for me.'

Elliot ran his hand through his hair and pulled it back to find it covered in sticky red blood. The events of his previous battle came rushing to his mind. He stood quickly, backing in alarm to the far wall of the shower. But as he surveyed the area, he found no trace of the Jabberwocky, or the sword he'd used to repel the monster. Elliot quickly washed all remnants of blood from his hair and left the bathroom. He numbly dressed himself, unable to comprehend the battle as reality or just another dream. 'I need to see Leo.' The boy always seemed to have a calming effect on Elliot. Leo was the only one who could drag him back from the twisted nonsense of his life to face the real world.

As he made his way down the dimly lit hallway, Elliot caught sight of his shadow on the wall and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. The black mirror image seemed to have returned to normal but the memory of its transformation made him tremble. He quickened his pace; practically running to the piano room, where he assumed his servant would be.

Elliot pushed open the Oakwood door, and in finding the room empty, paused to catch his breath. When his breathing returned to normal, the silver-haired boy crossed the room to place his hand on the shining grand piano. He noticed that the sheet music on the piano ledge had been flipped through. Leo had been playing "Lacie." 'Funny, the song usually drove Leo crazy after hearing it for endless hours while we were composing it.' he thought. Goosebumps rose on Elliot's arms as he remembered where "Lacie" had come from. The melody was always playing in the background of his dreams, always dancing on the tip of his unconscious mind. Sometimes he'd wake from a nightmare only to have the song playing torturously and incessantly in his head. He and Leo had spent nearly two months perfecting the notes; writing and re-writing the song until it matched the haunting melody in his head. Finally, when he'd managed to write the perfected song on paper, its tantalizing tune mercifully disappeared from his head. When Leo asked him what they would call the piece, Elliot automatically answered "Lacie."

"Who is Lacie?" Leo questioned.

"I don't know," Elliot had replied. "It just fits."

A small glint of light caught Elliot's eye and pulled him from his thoughts. It was Leo's glasses, perched next to his pile of sheet music. His last words to the boy flashed through his mind. "You should take off your glasses sometimes; it's easier to tell what you're thinking that way." He blushed and shook his head. "What am I thinking? I need to go find Leo."

He turned around to come face to face with the dark-haired servant. He jumped in surprise, then felt relief wash over him in recognizing the boy's familiar blank expression. Before he realized what he was doing, Elliot reached out and pulled the boy into a tight hug. Leo remained stiff for a moment, then Elliot felt his hand creep around him and hug back. They stood in an awkward, silent embrace for several minutes before he noticed Leo shaking in his arms. He pulled the scrawny boy closer, inhaling his sweet, minty scent.

"No…" the words came out in a weak protest from Leo as he struggled to lean away from his master.

Elliot pulled the boy back, holding him at arm's length and staring into Leo's teary brown eyes.

"Please, Elliot…" the boy struggled to speak. "Please, go away."

"Why?" the silver-haired boy grasped Leo's shoulders tightly, as if he would pull away any moment.

The boy was crying harder now. "Elliot, go! Leave me alone…Go away, go away!" he sobbed.

"Look…Leo, I'm sorry about what I said earlier," Elliot began. "You're the only one I can and have ever told my dreams to…You're the only one I can really trust," he admitted.

Leo stepped back, causing his master to drop his arms. "Please," Leo begged, but he could already feel the strings he'd broken for only a minute begin to wind their haze around his mind and body. His expression turned from grief-stricken to blank and emotionless as he stepped closer to the taller boy.

Elliot was looking at the floor and shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Leo…" he looked up. Violet eyes met a dazed brown. "I…"

Leo stepped foreword, drawing a dagger from his belt. In the grace of one swift movement, he plunged the weapon into his beloved master.

Violet eyes widened in shock, as the pale boy staggered backwards from the attack.

Leo felt Doldrum release her grip on the strings. As the haze cleared his mind, and his limbs loosened, reality struck and he realized what he'd just done. "Elliot!" he screamed. He caught the boy's terror and pain filled eyes just as his master fell to the hardwood floor. Blood rapidly stained the boy's white, button up shirt and pooled onto the floor.

Leo dropped his dagger and stared at his shaky, bloodied hands before letting out another tortured cry. "ELLIOT!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or the poem used in here. Credit for the poem goes to Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland.

The procrastination bunnies strike again! Yes, I know it has been frickin FOREVER since I've updated this story, but for once I had a reason! I have never read the Pandora Hearts manga series (only watched the anime which was awesome,) but I recently found that my story is very similar to what actually happens in the manga. I was afraid people would think I was copying the original storyline, so I discontinued the fanfiction. However, I kept getting favorite alerts and story reviews asking me to continue so I decided what the hell! I'm just SO genius that I may have predicted the story on my own! (Actually, I really don't know what happens so if anyone knows, please send me a message and let me know!) The only problem is, I had this chapter and another half already written, but I don't really remember where I was going from that point. But I will try to work on it ASAP!

Thank you all for your comments, reviews, favorites etc. I only continued this story because your enthusiasm kept me going! Please continue to help lift my spirits with your wonderful thoughts and help me finish the story!