This is a transition chapter of sorts. I thought about adding Break's perspective, but it just didn't seem to fit with the flow of these scenes.

This will probably have an AUish ending, since I'm (likely) going to finish uploading this before the manga is done.

Time can be a prison.

Sharon gets ready for the coming-of-age ceremony for Oz Vessalius. Her grandmother has asked her to go in place of her mother. She's glad to be of use, but also glad for the chance to attend a party.

For the first time in years, she's a girl again. She squeals over the frilly dress and huffs when Break makes fun of her. "Perhaps," he says, taking the lollipop from his mouth, "you'll find a pretty boy to play with. Someone younger?"

She glares. "We're not there for me to ogle young men."

"Oh, why not have a little fun? You're fourteen now, correct?"

She gives an exasperated sigh and hangs the dress so it won't wrinkle. If any more years had passed, she wouldn't be able to go as herself. This is a rare opportunity. But not the way Break sees it. "We will only stay to congratulate him, correct?"

Break's smile is understanding. "Yes, milady." He's sitting on the couch in her room, which has replaced the toy boxes of her childhood. "But, if it helps, he's rather handsome."

She glares at him again, this time sidelong. Ever since their misunderstanding, when she was daydreaming of Break and he thought she was staring at a young man, he has teased her about liking boys. It's better than the truth, so she lets him.

With a wave, she shoos him out of the room, not letting him in again until she's fully dressed. It's a child's dress, she thinks. Not very different from what she often wears everyday, though with perhaps a few more frills. It's not a dress for impressing gentlemen. Or knights.

Next time, she promises herself, I shall wear a dress that shows a little more shoulder and a little more chest, though I probably still won't have much to show off. And I shall wear it under the moonlight and I shall ask Break to dance with me and I will remember that moment in his arms forever.

He only holds her when they dance.

She calls Break back in (he's waiting in the hall for her) and twirls prettily in her dress across the room. The full skirt swirls around her as she gracefully drops into a chair. "My hair?" she says, fluttering her lashes.

He smiles, and she closes her eyes before he can see the effect he has on her. One year together, and there have been no more "tests", no more danger, no more risks. Only teasing and moments she steals from him. Like this. Hands running through her hair, she tries not to shiver from the delight of his touch.

It helps that he's efficient, despite also being gentle. "Nothing fancy, milady," he says as he pulls the hair from her face into its usual style.

"Well, I am only thirteen." She thinks of Reim's comment all those years ago, about looking younger than she was, and she's glad of it. It will make things easier. Sighing, she says, "Will Oscar be there?"

Finished, he steps back. "To introduce your lies? Of course."

"You think my hands will be tainted?" she says. He's not the only one who can tease.

He doesn't answer. "Are you ready?"

My mother fell ill yesterday, she rehearses silently. And I may not stay because I am two years shy of my own coming-of-age. She tries to ignore the sting of that thought. "Yes."

She leads the way as they descend the stairs. As they pass through the entryway, she catches a glimpse of them both in the mirror. Break appears to be a man in his mid-twenties. His back is still strong and straight. There's still a spring in his step. At times, he jokes that he's just an old man but Sharon wonders if he says that to remind himself that time has no meaning for him.

Or her. Sharon looks no different than when she was thirteen. Looking quickly away, she focuses on her current assignment.

After the night of Oz's coming-of-age, time no longer feels like a prison. Time is a death sentence they must race to beat.

.

.

.

She catches Break coughing in the hall. Racing toward him, he waves her away. "I found him," he says and wipes the blood from his mouth. The spots are more numerous. "Gilbert." He sets his jaw and closes his eye. She tries to stay calm as he fights against another cough. He swallows and she prays it's not blood.

"You met a Chain along the way?"

"Barma," he says, hoarse.

"Duke Barma set his Chain on you?"

"No, just some illusions." He takes a deep breath. "Gil was crying in the woods." He swallows again and begins walking to the place where she knows he keeps extra shirts. "I offered to teach him the fine art of using others and he accepted."

Tears form in her eyes. "Do you think the Nightrays will accept him?"

"Of course they will. They already have his brother. Why not make it a set?" But she can tell in his tone that he likes Oz's servant, Gil. Former servant, she corrects herself, remembering he was now lost to the Abyss. "This is very important," he says, acting as if he isn't dying. "When he is old enough, Duke Nightray will send him to contract with Raven, the house Chain, and that will be our means of rescue for poor Oz Vessalius."

She tries to smile at his clever plan and the focus she can sense under his mocking tone. Instead, she nods and wipes her eyes. He sees it. She knows it annoys him and excuses herself. "It's a good plan," she whispers.

"We shall see," he says, and ducks into a room with his clean shirt.

One day, she tells herself, I shall stay calm. Even as he's dying, I'll remain calm. Because then, she thinks, I shall truly be a woman, and his equal.

.

.

.

Ten years have passed. Sharon is now twenty-four. Gil, the boy Break met is a full-grown man. The mansion where Oz disappeared is overgrown with weeds and ivy. Break revels in it, even insisting on taking tea there.

As the years pass, his wildness grows. He is strange, the other members of Pandora say. Only Reim, herself, and now Gil, associate with him outside of Pandora.

He's not strange, she thinks. He's desperate. Time is running out. She doesn't know how much time he has, nor does he allow her to see the effect Mad Hatter has on him when he can help it. He wears a scarf now that he can easily change, and easily hide. Thankfully, he hasn't had much reason to use his Chain these past ten years. They do not bring in illegal contractors and Barma hasn't allowed Break near him in years.

Life has been quiet. Sharon's glad. Even as she watches Break crunch his lollipop instead of savoring it as he once did, even when she has to scold him when he's too hard on Gil. (Why does Gil irritate him at times? She doesn't know.) Even in these moments when she can tell his nerves are strained with impatience, she's glad. Because she has been useful. They are here on private Rainsworth business, not Pandora's. Her name has allowed them resources Break may not have had otherwise.

She's glad.

But now, all the needed pieces are together. They move to begin their attempt to free Oz and the sky cracks behind them. For the first time, Break grabs Sharon's arm. Shocked at the contact, she's even more shocked when he pulls her against him, turning her so that anything that might rush through will hit him first. His face shows a focus she's never seen. And fear.

In that brief moment, the man she knows exists within Xerxes Break re-appears.

But it's only Oz Vessalius lying on the floor. Her breath catches. Oz. The Key to Pandora is right in front of them.

And from that time, the pace quickens.