Gilbert Nightray awoke in an unfamiliar chamber in unfamiliar clothes. His first feeling was shock at the misplacement of both his clothes and his body, which quickly transformed into alarm. Where was he anyway? How had he gotten here? But, most importantly, who was he? His small, fragile structure quivered as he lifted his legs up and swiftly forced them forward to sit upright. Up he flew and his bottom half halted, but his torso did not agree. It sprang to his legs and finally slammed into them giving him such a jolt, he went backwards. Luckily, before he went back where he started, he jammed his hands into the mattress, steadying himself with a painful whimper. He opened his eyes a little more to adjust them to the dark. He started seeing brief outlines and then he was easily able to tell what was in the room with him. A dresser leaned against the wall closest to him; a wardrobe nestled in the corner. He had one nightstand with a small candle on top of it the flame long flickered out. Also on the nightstand were a matchbook and a key. The window was right on top of the bed and it was wide and square. A sash was tied to the handle so Gilbert could reach it and pull it up. Which is exactly what he did next. He willed himself on his knees and pulled the sash toward the ceiling. A gust of wind blew in and the fresh scent of autumn greeted the room. The darkness outside was denser than that of inside, Gilbert couldn't see a thing. Small droplets of rain landed on his face and the faint sound of rain on pavement could be heard from below. He could tell he was high up, but how high up? He slumped back down to the bed and looked around some more. A chair was by the second window, which was at the back of the room and it faced the corner. It looked like a book was on the chair, waiting for its pages to be opened. Gilbert reached for the candle and quickly brought it to life. He walked towards the chair and pulled the book from it. It was large and very dusty. The binding was peeling and the sides of the pages were browning. He did not want to sit in the chair, so he struggled to bring the book back to the bed and set the candle on the nightstand again. The title read, "The Castle in the Sky." Gilbert, interested now, smiled and opened the big, dusty book on his lap. 'Long ago when there were still giants and whatnot roaming…'

Gilbert had fallen asleep reading the book and had accumulated some drool onto the pages. He awoke to an abrupt shaking, in which his head sprung up and shook around. "What?" he said, now conscious. "It's not good for you to fall asleep like that. You'll get a crick in your neck." A young girl about fifteen with reddish hair pulled Gilbert out of bed, much to his surprise, and helped him get dressed. "Who are you?" he asked her as she fished through his drawers. "You don't remember? From earlier?" She asked unhappily. "No… who am I? Where am I?" The servant snapped her fingers and smiled at him. "You are just suffering a bit of amnesia. That's okay! Hinahime will have to inform Master Vincent though." She threw some clothes on his bed. "Now you can still dress yourself, correct?"

After Gilbert was dressed, he and Hinahime made it downstairs for breakfast, where the whole royal family was. Gilbert was getting very nervous in front of this huge amount of people. His palms got sweaty. "Master Vincent," he heard Hinahime whisper, "Young Master is having a bit of an after effect from our little procedure." Vincent sighed and signaled for Echo. There, he and Echo pulled the young teen out of the dining hall and into the foyer.

"So you've got amnesia, eh?" Vincent inquired.

Gilbert nodded. "I see." Vincent responded. "We can fix that. Echo."

"Yes, Master?"

"Kiss him."

"Yes Master."

Echo kissed Gilbert gently on the lips and they both felt a slight shock. Suddenly realizing where he was, he pulled away. "What do you think you're doing?" He stepped away. "What's going to happen to me, Uncle Vincent?"

Vincent smiled. "We are approaching your fifteenth birthday. I think we start party-planning, no?" Echo nodded. Gilbert just stood there, frowning. He could not believe a servant just kissed him without regard of his stance or position. He wiped it off. For some reason it was a foul taste, one he wouldn't want to remember. Wiping the kiss off, he tasted a sweet drool, one that he remembered faintly. "Who is it from? What is this taste?" He thought long and hard but he could not place the delicious taste's owner. He kept this feeling in the back of his mind for whenever he needed it. Such a taste would be useful when he had to eat anything repulsive.

After the breakfast, Vincent announced Gilbert's 15th birthday, the day of his coronation ceremony. There was moderate applause and then a brief silence. "His father would be proud," Vincent said sympathetically and then went on to invite the people to the party. Every noble family was to attend, except the Bezariuses, because they could not find the son. Gilbert wondered about this and spent many hours of his days wondering about the Bezarius boy. What he looked like, what his personality was like and he had eventually made a friend in his mind with this boy. Gil hoped they would find him soon because he couldn't wait to meet him. He was scheduled to meet all the nobility in the land as foretold.

Including Sharon Rainsworth and Break.

Planning to use the exact same tactic she had used on Oz years before, Sharon was about to make her mark and carry through with her and Break's impenetrable and foolproof plan. There was nothing stopping them from achieving Gilbert's memory.

They knew about his memory loss because a few months ago they visited the almost abandoned Bezarius palace. The only few left were Missus Kate, a few worried servant girls and Hachibei, a busboy who had more than once been removed from the place.

Missus Kate ran up to them frantically. "You two have been here before!!"

Sharon nodded her head.

"Do you remember seeing a young boy with black hair?"

Break and Sharon glanced at each other and then back at Kate.

"You mean he's gone?" Sharon implied.

The middle-aged woman shook a bit and then started crying. "Yes. Shortly after the Young Master disappeared, so did his closest servant, Gilbert. We searched for him high and low and soon enough everyone started leaving: some because they couldn't imagine going on without Oz, some in search parties for Gil, some because everyone else was leaving… it's horrible."

Sharon and Break nodded simultaneously. Then they bowed and started to leave, but Sharon whirled around.

"We will find this Gilbert, what was his last name?"

"Nightray."

Break stopped in his tracks and snapped his head back interested completely now.

"Who was the last one to visit him?"

Missus Kate thought for a minute. A look of realization occupied her face. "That's it! Vincent! Vincent… uh…. I think…. Nightray? No they can't both be…"

Break interrupted her. "As I thought. Come Sharon. Thank you, Kate." They rushed off to their carriage.

"Why the fast pace to get away, Break?" Sharon inquired.

"Do you remember what I told you about illegal contractors?" Break rushed.

"Yes."

"The Nightrays have been warding illegal contractors since who knows when. A long time ago there was a Young Master who was infatuated with a Bezarius. This wasn't horrible at first, but the problem was that one was a contractor. When he was finally dragged down to the abyss, the girl was so sad, she killed herself. Of course, both families blamed each other, so Nightrays and Bezariuses are sworn enemies. Because of this a Spell Caster placed a spell. The 20th heirs of the 20th generation of each family were to fall in love. If the families couldn't abide their differences before then, both sons would die after they had first had…um… you know… intercourse."

Sharon rolled her eyes and smiled. She knew how uncomfortable Break got when she teased him like this. "You mean sex."

Break blushed and tilted his eyes upward. "Y-yeah, that's exactly what I mean."

Sharon looked at Break seriously now and exhaled. She started straightening the wrinkles on her dress. She was intelligent enough to have deciphered the meaning of Break's explanatory speech. Why would he have been in such a rush? Why would he cringe at the mention of a Nightray and the child being so close to a Bezarius? Why would he care that he had gone missing? The answer was simple, really and even one who was not educated and wealthy could have figured it out.

"They are the 20th of the 20th, aren't they?" Sharon inquired.

"Yes. This is our dilemma. You area smart one, Sharon." Break smiled. "But there is a catch. Before Oz was born, the Bezariuses had befallen another curse. A Nightray had joined the Baskervilles, and because his hatred was so obscure, he placed a curse on the Bezariuses. The key to the Abyss is your first kiss." Break recited.

"MY first kiss?" Sharon asked unbelievably.

"No. It means something else. I wonder if it's Oz's first kiss. Or maybe it means that when he has his first kiss, he'll become the key to the abyss… I can't figure it out." Break explained.

The two had arrived at the palace somewhat earlier, and had been escorted to a waiting area. Now all they could do was watch and wait…