Entry Seven, Page Nine
Last night, I managed to get away. I told the little one I had a very important meeting to attend to, and when she asked me if she could join, I told her I was terribly sorry, but she couldn't. Because, in fact, there was no meeting that night. Instead, I went to a ball, where I could see the original Cassidy. At first on my arrival, I couldn't see her, nor find her... (text too faded to read) …...talking to a man I've never seen before. His hair pitch black, his eyes a strange midnight blue. I heard her call him Servius, and he in return called her "my lady." Conversation passed when I finally heard her say, "Care to dance?" Embarrassment had passed his face... (text too faded to read) …...3-4 paced song faded into something fast, and as I watched Servius slow down, Cassidy said something... (texy too faded to read) …..her beautiful blue dress, how good they danced... (text too faded to read) …...as the man caressed her face in his hands, and kissed her lips with knowing and passion. I tried to ignore the feeling of anger as I walked myself out. ….. (the ending paragraph was so hard to read, it was pretty much useless) - Glen (Revis) Baskerville

Cassidy slid the journal into Servius' hands, the page bookmarked that she wanted him to read, her face was red and it was certainly clear that she had been crying. She walked away from him, not uttering a single word and going off to find Oz and Gilbert.
Servius looked down at the journal she had slid into his hands. He narrowed his eyes, then looked up at Cassidy to see her face before she stalked away. "My lady?" he called questioningly, stumbling out of the chair he was sitting in. He followed her, matching her pace easily.
"Entry seven, Page nine" were the only words she said before moving more quickly. She sharply turned a corner and was gone.
"What do you..." he let the sentence trail off, stopping in the middle of the hallway, watching her walk away. He glanced down at the journal in his hands, then up at her back that was becoming smaller and smaller. He swallowed, took a deep breath, opened the journal to that page, and began reading.

The moment Cassidy saw Gilbert, she hugged him, sighing. She released all of her secrets from that night onto him, giving him every little detail before letting go of him.

Gilbert patted her back, unsure if the gesture was right or not. He listened without interrupting, nodding in places she paused at to show he was listening. He looked down at her when she let him go, waiting to see if there was more.

She finished her tale and looked up for his reaction.

"So..." he muttered nervously. "The journal you gave him...?"

She nodded. "it's all in his head and he doesn't realize it..." she sighed. "He's being possessed by memories of the past.."

He raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head slightly. "Are you sure he's being completely possessed?"

She nodded. "everything that happened last night was a repeat of one of his memories."

Gilbert took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest. "I see..." was all he said.

She sighed. "I know... I can't do much about it but I hope he realizes that all of it's in his head and he should focus on things more important like-" Oz ran into the room, cutting Cassidy off. "Alice has gone missing!"

Gilbert looked up as Oz cut Cassidy off. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure she didn't just wander off into town to get meat?"

Oz shook his head. "Gil, I know she's gone, normally, if she leaves, she puts a note somewhere in her room, there's no note!" Cassidy winced. "Did anyone see her after the Ball?" Oz shook his head. "I left her alone for a moment and when I came back, she was gone and I haven't seen her since."

Servius came around the corner, looking to Cassidy, the journal, then Oz and Gilbert. Seeing the looked on their faces, he dropped everything that he was going to tell his lady. "Did something... happen?"

Gilbert shook his head out of annoyance, rubbing his temple with his hand. "Oz, are you sure you're positive?"

Oz nodded. "Yes! She's gone!" Cassidy winced a little and looked away. "Alice..." She sighed. "Let's move, fast!" She ran out of the room and Oz blinked before following. "Wait up!"

"Oz!" Gilbert shouted, running to catch up.

Servius looked around frantically, unsure at what to do. "Should I follow...?" he asked to no one, narrowing his eyes at the journal. He bit his lip a little, set the journal down gently, and ran off to follow Cassidy, Oz, and Gilbert.

Alice glared at the man who had kidnapped her. "I wish you were damned to the deepest parts of the abyss!" The man laughed rather harshly. "Well that's not a nice thing to say to your soon to be contractor. She glared at him with a slight smirk. "Eh... I'm already contracted to Oz... and you can't break the contract without sending us to the Abyss.."

The man laughed more. "On the contrary, dear Alice, I can." he tapped the desk with a cane, still staying within the shadowy area of the room. "that beautiful piece of office furniture you are laying on is something I picked up while traveling. it's called the writing desk." Her eyes narrowed a little. "What does it do?" she asked, her voice blunt and emotionless. He smiled. "It can erase and rewrite an contract to be just the way the user wants~!" Alice blinked. "So... it can fix my contract with Oz?" He smirked. "Better, it can sign you up for a contract with yours truly." She glared at him and growled. "You wouldn't dare." He laughed. "Surely you jest, because I would, do, and will dare..." A small smirk could be seen on his face.

"You Monster!" Alice snapped at him, squirming to be free of the ropes that bonded her, if Seaweed head hadn't limited her abilities, she'd be beating that guy up right now. He laughed. "I think of myself as more of a... collector..." He grinned more and stepped into the light. The man was tall and very regular looking, he'd easily blend in a crowd. "you asked me who I am... well I'll tell you... my name is Lance Harvey... and I'm the Contract Collector..."

Servius watched and followed as Cassidy lead the group into town square, ignoring Oz and his objections on where they should turn or where they should look. The four of them; himself, Cassidy, Gilbert, and Oz were on a mission of sorts. "I can't believe that stupid rabbit," Gilbert muttered numerous times, which earned him a smack on the back of the head each time by Oz.

Cassidy Sighed. " it's time we split up, going into twos. I'll go with Gilbert, Oz, you go with Servius." Oz nodded and looked at Servius. "You ready, Servy?"

His eyes widened slightly when he realized she acknowledged him. He looked over at Oz, and nodded. "Yes, my lady."

Cassidy sighed and took Gilbert's hand walking away; Oz, running down the street, nearly forgot about Servius.

"O-Oz?" Servius called, running to him to catch up. "You need to slow down! We can't get separated." Oz nodded and slowed a little.

Cassidy kept silent as she walked with Gilbert, holding his hand and focusing on every face she saw. every time she didn't spot Alice, she'd squeeze his hand a little harder. Gilbert glanced down at their hands, then over to her face. "You really care about that rabbit, don't you?"

Oz looked up at Servius. "So, why'd you do it?" He looked down at Oz, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Cassidy silently nodded. "She's my sister... she might not be my flesh and blood, but I still made a promise... and I love her nearly half to death..." Gilbert nodded, staring straight ahead as he thought about the question that's been on the tip of his tongue all morning.

Oz blinked. "Why did you do what you did at the Ball...?" Servius narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing on their feet. "It... ah... It felt like the right thing to do," he told him. "It usually does... right?"

She glanced around and then noticed he was a little uneasy. "Speak your mind..." He let out a sigh, scratching the back of his head. "It's not really... that important."

Oz nodded. "mhmm." he looked around a little. Servius looked down at Oz, a bit worries about what the boy might do. "Is something wrong?"

Cassidy smiled sadly. "Go ahead and say it now..." He let out another sigh. "It's just about you and Servius, really."

Oz shook his head and started to pick up pace. 'We've gotta find her...' were his only thoughts. Servius matched his pace effortlessly, glancing down the alleys and looking for anything that was long, flowing, and red.

She nodded. "go ahead and speak..." Gilbert looked down at her, and said, "How do you feel about him?"

Oz suddenly picked up speed, running now, and looking around has he ran, trying to find a glimpse of the crimson color of her diamond patterned jacket or even maybe the dark brown color of her hair, something to go after. "O-Oz... perhaps you should slow down..." Servius said beside him, glancing over to the blonde nervously.

Cassidy Shrugged. "I feel as I always have, human form or no human form. Servius is a knight... like me, he protects... and right now, old emotions are brewing and he's distracted..." He nodded, looking straight ahead. "But... haven't you seen the way he looks at you?"

She nodded. "What about them? He doesn't know how he feels and I refuse to mess with it. Society will look down upon me and I don't wish for that..." Gilbert nodded yet again. "I can understand that."

Oz was to determined to find Alice to ever slow down any time soon. "No... we have to find her.." he said, picking up pace. he was now sprinting. "She's calling me... Alice!" he called out her name and disappeared into an alleyway. "Oz!" Servius screamed, hissing under his breath. He followed him down the alley, but when that alley ended and he came to the other side of the street, which was filled with people, Oz was nowhere to be seen. "Damn it!" he said, looking up and down the street, but in the back of his mind, he knew it was too late. There was still no sign of Oz's blonde head.

She sighed, letting go of his hand. "I've worked so hard to get to where I am now, all of that work was all for her... I can't ruin it now... not in that way..." Gilbert looked at her with a confused expression. "What way?"

Oz ran through the streets, far away from Servius now. "Alice! Alice, where are you?! Alice!" he could hear her, calling his name. 'Oz! Oz, oh please come quickly! Hurry Oz! I'm so scared!' He smiled a little, following the direction in which he heard her. "I'm coming, Alice..." he sped up and then ran into someone's arm, flipping over it and landing on his back on the ground. "Ouch..." he was about to stand when that person grabbed him by the tie and dragged him into a building.

She shook her head. "I can't have rumors spreading like wild fires... if I'm going to have a relationship, it has to be with someone who's not a chain... Someone with a good title, but loves me for who I am and I love them..." her hand's grip tightened a little as she took his hand again. "I see," was all he said. He returned the grip on her hand, somewhat comforting her.

Servius stood in front of the alleys entrance for a moment, staring straight ahead but not really seeing what was in front of him. 'I lost Oz...' he thought, holding his breath. 'What will my lady think of me when she finds that out...?' He let go of the breath he was holding, biting the inside of his cheek. "My lady..." he whispered, turning on his heel to run back inside the alley and to the other side of the street where he was moments before.

Cassidy smiled, looking into Gil's eyes. "You're so nice, you know that?" She kissed his cheek. "I feel like I could say anything when I'm with you, y'know?" Gilbert laughed a little, ignoring the heat that came over his face. "You're welcome. I think. And it's no problem, really. Oz does the same thing all the time." As Gilbert opened his mouth to say something else, he was cut off by a familiar voice. "My lady!" the voice called out, sounding worried and close. Then, Servius appeared out of Cassidy's shadow, glancing around nervously in case anyone happened to witness that.

Cassidy chuckled at Gil's nervous glances. "We're in the capital, do you think anyone cares? they've witnessed worse..." She turned to Servius. "Yes, Servius? what is it? did you find Alice?" He glanced down at their feet, feeling Gilbert's and Cassidy's stare bore into him. "Well... no, not exactly... You see, ah... Oz, he... he ran off."

Cassidy blinked and then smirked a little. "Show us where... If he ran off, he probably knows where she is..." Servius nodded, turning back to the alley where he and Oz ran through minutes ago. "Through here..." he whispered, guiding them down the alley and out onto the other side of the street. "I looked up and down the street," he began to explain. "Since his hair is so bright, especially in the sun, I figured I'd be able to see him... but I looked over and over. I wasn't able to find him." Servius looked over to Gilbert, whose face was like stone and his eyes giving off that rage. "The last time you saw him?" Gil muttered through a clenched jaw. Servius shook his head, indicating where they were standing. "I saw him here as I ran to him. Then he just... disappeared."

Cassidy nodded and took off in the same direction, stopping when she reached the place Oz was nabbed at. "Hmm... this doesn't look good..." she mumbled. The two followed her, looking down at the spot in which she stopped in front of. "What do you mean?" they both said in unison.

She looked up. "Oz has been Kidnapped..." the worried look in her eyes said it all. they were definitely in way over their heads in this situation. They'd need some help... And they'd have to get it before it was too late...