A/N: I have exams for the next 3 weeks or so. So I won't be uploading for a while.
Disclaimer: Pandora Hearts doesn't belong to me
Chapter 4 – The Key and The Lock
Oz's POV
I wake up in the morning. The sunlight can't even find its way down here. I was taken here last night by a bunch of people. And it was not a dream. The fact that I am here right now proves that what happened yesterday was a reality. I can't stop thinking about Gil and Elliot. Suddenly I hear a knock on the door.
"Oz… Dinner is ready…" I hear a voice of a girl I never heard before.
I open the door and find a figure of a girl around my age with white bob-style hair and silver eyes. "Okay, I will be there in a few minutes." I answer her.
"Then I will be waiting in the dining room, Oz." The girl says to me.
Lunch? So I was asleep for the whole day. I must be very tired. I take a quick bath and change my clothes. I am planning to go to the dining room when I realize that I don't know where exactly the dining room is… I ask around for directions but everyone seems to be busy. Then I stumble upon a boy who seems younger than me. He doesn't look like he is busy, so I decide to ask him for directions. "Excuse me, may I ask something?" I ask him.
"Oh, sure. What do you want to ask, mister?" he replies
"Umm… Where is the dining room?" I ask him
"Oh, from here, you go straight ahead. Turn left and you will see doors. Go through the 5th one and ask the man in the counter for more information. You should say which dining room you want to eat in. There are a lot of dining rooms here. It's because there are a lot of people living here, too many to be contained just in one room… You must be new here, right?" The boy explains and asks me a question.
"Yes, I'm new here… Thank you for your explanation. Then I'll be going." I answer him.
"My name is Phillip West, it's nice to meet you, mister." The boy says.
"Nice to meet you too, Phillip. My name is Oz. See you later." I say to him while walking toward the room in his description.
Dining Room
"Excuse me, sir. What room are you going to eat in?" The man in the counter asks to me.
"Umm… I was only told to come here. I wasn't told which room I should be eating in." I answer him.
"Then, let me ask the officials, please wait a moment, sir." The man says while going into the room.
Not too long he comes out from the room and says to me "You are Mr. Oz, aren't you? You are in the 4th dining room, please proceed through this door." the man points his hand at one of the door. I immediately get into the room because I'm sure I am late.
"You're so slow, how can you make a lady wait this long." Sharon says to me with a quite angry tone.
"A-Ah… I'm terribly sorry. I was trying to find the dining room but I ended up getting lost." I say to her, hoping that se will forgive me.
"Now, come here you manservant, I will teach you the proper way around here!" The brown-haired girl says to me "My name is Alice, remember that well, manservant!"
"O-Okay." I answer her.
"Now, now, it is pretty normal that he got lost during his first day here, this place is huge after all." Fang says defending me.
"Well, you heard the man, now please stop quarreling and lets enjoy the food." A girl with pink hair and pink eyes says to Alice and Sharon.
"Alright, fine! Lottie!" Sharon says to her.
They calm down after she said that, so I simply sit down in an empty chair to eat when suddenly Lottie screams, " What the heck are you doing! That's Master Glen's seat don't you dare touching it!" I am completely shocked by her statement.
"Glen? Isn't that the name of our King? Why is he here?" I ask them, but based on their expression, I can tell that I asked a stupid question. I mean… there isn't only one person with the name Glen.
"Yes" Fang says to me "He was the king, he used to be the king but now it's different. But in our hearts, he is still our King, forever…"
"But he was still the King yesterday…" I say with confusion in my mind.
"What do you mean? The current King is Jack. And he has reign the kingdom for the last 9 years…Oz…" Alice says
Huh? I never heard this before. Why is everyone acting strange, or am I the strange one here? My mind is distracted with thought when suddenly the door creaked open revealing a tall figure with black hair. It's King Glen, or Glen who used to be a king.
"Hello there, are you new here? Welcome. Please make yourself at home…" Glen gives me a warm welcome.
"O-Oh, okay. M-My name is Oz… Nice to meet you, sir…" I answer him nervously.
"There is no need to be nervous, Oz. Just call me Glen." Glen says to me.
"Okay, Glen." I say to him.
"B-But… Master Glen…That is so disrespectful for that boy to call you by name…" Lottie says to Glen with a full-of-respect voice.
"It's okay, Lottie. This boy holds a big value." Glen answers her. "He will be our key."
Key? What is he talking about? "Umm… Glen, do you mind explaining what do you mean by key?" I ask him nicely.
"I believe I have to do that. Listen closely, Oz… The current king, Jack is up to no good. He is planning to make use of chains to rule the world. If we don't stop him now, it will be too late. Now about yourself… Do you even know where are you right now?" Glen explains and asks me a question.
"I'm… I don't know…" I answer him
"The answer is simple. You are in the Baskerville resistance base. Here we rebel against king Jack and his corrupt ideals. But we don't only accept member of the Baskerville bloodline, we also accept others that are willing to lend us a hand. You do understand your situation, don't you?" He explains
"Yes, I do…" I say to him.
"Now… please make your decision, will you lend us a hand." Glen asks me, the whole room is in silence, I can feel tension in the air.
"Alright, Glen. I will l will lend you a hand. Can you explain to me what should I do?" I say to him
"Alright, first. I will tell you what you are." Glen says to me. "You are the key to Alice's soul's lock. If you release her lock, she will be able to control the chains. By doing so she can lead them back into the abyss. But to do so, you need to have the sacred items needed to perform the ritual. That item is currently at the hand of Jack. And he is also a key. So all he needs is Alice, that's why we have to protect her. Losing her means that what we have done until now is pointless. Do you understand?" Glen explains.
"Yes… I think I understand." I say
"Good then Alice will escort you back to your room." Glen concludes "You will have to wake up early in the morning tomorrow, so please rest well tonight. Goodnight, Oz."
"Alright, manservant. You better walk fast or I will make you do it!" Alice says in a playful tone
"A-Alright, Alice." I say while running following her fast moving body all the way to my room.
"Well then, goodnight, manservant." Alice says to me after arriving in my room. I am still catching my breath.
"Hah…G-Goodnight…hah… Alice…" I say to her while panting heavily. She just grins at me and walks away.
I simply rest for the night. All that explaining is making me tired.
Alice's POV
Oz… he seems nice, though he is a little weird. I wonder if he and I can be friends. I am not a human and he is a human. Can our friendship last…? Maybe he can cleanse away all my sadness and loneliness. I don't want to be a hindrance to everyone else… I'm afraid. I'm afraid that will happen again, I don't want to hurt anyone else ever again.
Lottie's POV
That newcomer boy today, he is weird, really. Jack has been the king for the last 9 years, that's impossible for him to say that Master Glen was still a king yesterday. I wonder why? Is it memory loss… but he remembered everything that happened to him yesterday. It can't be memory loss…
Fang's POV
That young man… he is kind of mysterious. Doug will probably say so once he saw him. I wonder when he and Lily will be back. I miss them…
Sharon's POV
I was drinking a cup of tea in my room when I hear a knock on my door. "Come in." I say. Then I see Glen coming in. "Good evening, Glen." I greet him
"Good evening, Sharon. I want to ask you something regarding today…may I? He asks me
"Okay, what do you want to ask me, Glen?" I ask him
"What do you think about Oz…?" He asks
"He is fine, I think. But he seems to be very relaxed. Most people will freak out once they hear that they will fight against a King with all his soldier and Knights included." I say to him.
The room fell silent. He seems to be thinking about something. "Oh… I see… Thank you for your time, Sharon."
He was about to left the room; I grab him by the hand and tell him "You should tell him the truth soon, you know. He will be shocked if he finally finds out by himself."
"He'll be fine… I think." He says and leaves the room.
Echo's POV
Vincent might be asleep now… I better prepare for tomorrow. "Echo…" suddenly I hear a voice coming from my back. It is Glen…
"Echo… I want to ask you a question. What do you think about Oz…?" Glen asks me.
"I think… he is weak." I answer him "I saw him running with Alice a few hours ago, and he is having trouble catching his breath…"
"I see… Then, I have a favor to ask you, Echo. Will you watch over him? I will really appreciate your help. Goodnight, Echo…" He says while walking away.
Phillip's POV
Oz seems nice. Maybe I can ask him to play with me tomorrow…