Raven, Abducted
Warning: abuse including implied rape of a minor, OOC, AU, tons of angst and fluff
A/N: Sorry it's been a while (and embarrassingly right after I got reviews mentioning my quick updates)! Thank you for following and reviewing and such nnnsnugglesyou-
Chapter XIX: Conspicuous
Oz trudged up the stairs toward the library, his mind elsewhere entirely. His first instinct wasn't to find Alice, though; he needed some space to breathe. Why did this still affect him so much? Every time he thought he'd moved on from this...
It was just like his father to show up unannounced, not to see him, but for business. He treated this wedding like a business transaction between the Vessalius' and the Baskervilles. He was just here to make sure his transaction completed itself. How dare he even speak to Alice?
And then...
What if he were to break that transaction, so to speak?
"You're marrying Alice... but you don't want to."
What even gave Sharon that impression? ...Was it Gil? Or his complete lack of will to plan the wedding?
"Thank you, Oz."
He felt his cheeks heat up; he could almost still feel the weight of Gil's forehead on his upper back just beneath the edge of his collar. It was frustrating, why did his head have to be filled with all these words that weren't his?
Having not even noticed that he had paused in his trek to the library, he jumped in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hand quickly retracted when he did so.
"Um, master, is there... something I can do for you?"
Steeling his expression, Oz turned to face his concerned servant. "Ah! Sorry, Gil. Did you need something?" he replied reflexively. Unsurprisingly, Gil looked skeptical at the cheerful tone.
"I called for you a few times already," he said dully, disappointed by his response. Oz deployed his normally brilliant, impermeable mask and smiled a little, giving a response Gil might deem sufficient.
"I'm just a little tired. We haven't eaten anyway."
Unexpectedly, Gil seemed a bit aggravated when he responded, "Don't do that."
It startled him enough that his mask slipped just a little.
"You don't have to tell me what it is, but don't... don't pretend like that," he said, raising his voice just a little, but then added quietly, "I won't think any less of you, master."
That title again. Oz let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, then leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He closed his eyes, lest he reveal more of his emotions than he already had.
"Can't you just call me Oz?"
Is it the same reason you can barely look me in the eye? Shamed, beaten, trained to think of yourself as little more than the dirt on my shoe.
"Does it really bother you that much?"
Yes.
But instead, he shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him either way.
It suddenly hit him with surprising force just what sort of life his now personal servant used to have until only a short time ago. His problems didn't seem to compare in the least. And he felt irresponsible. What if that shithead Nightray would threaten violence if he dared disrespect him in that way? It made his blood curdle to think about. But there was still so much he didn't know. It seemed as good a time as any to present an opportunity.
He opened his eyes, avoiding concerned ones in favor of a streak of light on the dense green carpet.
"Uh, Gil, if you ever... you know, want to talk about... before... I'd be willing to listen," he said carefully, his eyes flickering to Gil's to gauge his reaction with feigned disinterest. It was a longshot; Gil hadn't volunteered the information before and this was a blatant request for personal, possibly haunting or humiliating, personal details.
But Gil searched him with those gold eyes he could easily sink into and said, "Okay."
The blond blinked, surprised, unsure of what to say for a moment. But Gil went on.
"I'd be willing to listen to your story as well," he said shyly, with a small smile. Oz had to glance away to quell the burning sensation erupting across his cheekbones.
"I should get to Alice," he blurted out, before realizing that was the worst possible thing he could've said. It was awkward, his timing was awful. They both knew it, but to voice it so thoughtlessly when Gil seemed to finally be opening up to him... To make it worse, the raven knew he felt awkward and thus felt so himself. A bit of guilt etched its way into his features which further fueled Oz's shame at his own stupidity. "I mean..."
"It's okay, master. I mean... I'm okay. She's..." Gil trailed off, piquing his interest. Oz wondered if he imagined the way those golden irises dulled despite the light illuminating the hallway.
"She's...?"
"...probably waiting for you, that's all." His voice sounded small and distant as he fidgeted with the edge of his sleeve. Somehow, he didn't think that was what the raven had first intended to say. But he didn't have the guts to ask. "I should go start dinner. Would you like something now?"
"Yeah," Oz replied to the first statement, mindlessly. When he noticed Gil looking at him expectantly, he processed the second question, "I mean no, I'll wait."
The raven smiled and nodded before turning and advancing down the landing. A thought occurred to him as he sobered up from his pathetic, brain-dead state.
"Wait, Gil, don't leave the house!" he yelled. The other turned halfway and nodded and Oz watched him until he descended around the corner on the staircase, embarrassed at the extent of his own concern. Taking out his pocket-watch, he clicked his tongue. Gil had an hour to spare before he normally began preparing dinner. It was funny, really, that as much as he wanted to spend time with Alice, he was sorely tempted to seek out that spot by the window in the kitchen and watch the garden... or more probably a certain servant...
There was no point in denying that he was attached now. But was it worth trusting someone to that degree?
Did he ever really have a choice?
Running a hand through his hair, he realized he had yet to vacate his spot in the middle of the hallway and quickly set off in search of his fiancee.
Oz awoke abruptly the next morning to a shriek. The door between his room and Gil's room had been left open due to his insatiable paranoia, and immediately his thoughts jumped to the worst case situation. But those (and admittedly, his racing heart) were quickly settled by the second voice he heard.
"Ah, get off! What are you doing?"
"Sizing up my competition."
"Competition for what?"
"You've been hogging Oz all to yourself lately! And you're not even that cute."
"I-" a pause before the voice decreased in volume to a pleading whisper thick with exasperation, "Hey, you're going to wake him up, you know!"
"It's too late for that," he interjected, delighting in Gil's squeak at his presence at the door.
"M-master, this isn't-"
Gil looked positively distraught and still dazed by the rude awakening, with Alice astride him with her knees on either side of his torso. She had her hands on her hips as she stared down at him. There was really no way to misinterpret the situation, but it was always fun to tease Gil.
Stalking into the room, he feigned offense, narrowing his eyes disapprovingly. "Is Gilbert trying indecent things with my fiancee?"
"I am not!"
Eyeing the two down the bridge of his nose, taking in Gil's scandalized state and the red cheeks and his expression of pure confusion and shame at being called out by his master, and then Alice who crossed her arms across her chest as if this were an everyday occurrence... he snorted, which was quickly followed by bouts of laughter that had him grasping his stomach as his muscles grew fatigued.
Gil scowled, "Will you please get off me, Alice?"
There was a hint of irritation in his tone. Either toward him or the girl in his lap or more than likely both.
"I'm – ha, sorry, Gil, I don't – mean to – laugh at you," he said between bouts of giggles.
Alice huffed. "This is getting boring anyway. I want breakfast!"
"There's nothing stopping you from getting breakfast…" Gil grumbled, sighing.
She jumped up and Gil groaned before rolling over to sitting, obviously sore in the spot she landed on. It reminded Oz of two siblings and it made him miss Ada quite a bit (not that he was ever mean to Ada).
"How did you even get in here, anyway?" Gil asked while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Oz leaned up against the bedpost, finally sobering but still amused given the situation.
Alice shrugged from where she was perched behind him on the bed, "The guards let me in and your door happened to be open."
"Oh," came the short, sleepy answer.
It seemed he wasn't a morning person.
But then a thought seemed to occur to him and he glanced over at the blond with an unreadable expression that made him slightly uncomfortable. What did he read from Alice's statement...? He had an idea, one that filled him with the irrational need to defend himself, deciding to change the subject instead.
"Well~, since you slept in so much, Gil, you'll just have to eat breakfast with us~," he teased, wandering over to the raven's dresser to find him some clothing.
"Slept in?" he asked blankly before recognition registered on his face. "Ah, wait, I need to go-!"
"No need! I called Break last night and managed to persuade him to start coming here instead."
He pulled out some clothing haphazardly – they were all similar anyway – and dumped the pile onto Gil's lap.
"You what? And wha- hey! Why're you dressing me? You're not even dressed!"
"Come on already," Alice huffed, bouncing restlessly on the edge of the bed. "This is boring. Is Sharon coming?"
Oz hummed, "Hm, knowing her... probably."
"What time will they be here?" Gil asked, sorting through the clothing on his lap and laying it across the bed.
"Nine."
As expected, the raven frowned and grumbled, "Nine? But he always expects me there at eight."
Definitely not a morning person at all. It was actually a little endearing. He wasn't normally so open with his speech. Oz watched as a poorly stifled yawn slipped out.
"Mm," he agreed, "it is Break after all."
Alice sniffed the air and then beamed, licking her lips and throwing her head back to gaze dreamily at Oz. "Smells like meat today."
Gil wrinkled his nose at her, "There's meat everyday."
Oz snorted, smiling at the girl with obvious affection, "Alice, give us a chance to dress and we'll meet you there, okay?"
She beamed at him and hopped off the bed with a quick sound of approval and without a word to Gil, bounced out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Gil stood up as if on autopilot, registering with some detachment the last presence in the room. His brain felt like mush, like he'd slept much too long. Maybe because it was one of the longest nights of sleep he'd had since he got here. At least, since recovering from the concussion, of course. Turning toward the bed, he began unbuttoning his long night shirt. But then he was suddenly hit with a wave of self-consciousness. It was odd, how in the presence of Oz, this action felt shameful. As if he were back in the Nightray mansion undressing for Master Nightray, and the blond were watching him do so. His fingers trembled along the buttons, barely managing to pop them through the holes. For Master Nightray, it was easy, practiced, it didn't mean anything. He'd simply endure until the man had finished his business, then he'd redress. Sometimes he'd shiver from a draft, but he always managed to fixate on a passage he'd read earlier; something warm, innocent, everything that he now wasn't. He hesitated on the last few buttons. As the collar started to slip off his shoulder, a thought jolted him back to reality and he quickly grabbed it. If Oz saw...
"Gil, are you... alright?" he asked gently.
"F-fine, um..." His only way out of this was to feign simple embarrassment at changing in front of someone else. That was normal enough, right? At least it didn't seem like the noble saw anything... "Can you..."
"Shy, Gil~?" he teased, but it thankfully resulted in the opposite of the intended effect on Gil. The trembling in his hands ceased and he could breathe once again.
"Master..."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be in the other room."
Oz leaned his forehead on the cool wood of his wardrobe, and his eyes followed the patterns of the grain beneath the stain. The truth is, he did see it. And Gil's trembling, his suddenly nervous behavior, his jerky action of hiking up the sleeve so his back wouldn't show... it was obvious that he saw something he wasn't supposed to. A deep, dark red, almost purple, circular mark marred his shoulder. It was about the diameter of the width of his index finger. He couldn't imagine what had caused it, but it looked pretty serious even though it had long since healed. It made him angry to know that something, someone, marked him and his perfect porcelain skin. He had half a mind to stalk back in there and demand answers, if only so he could hunt the culprit down. He had an idea already...
"Fuck," he whispered at the top of his lungs and took a deep breath. Pity (although prevalent) and revenge wouldn't ever heal that scar or the raven himself. Tucking the thoughts away, he made short work of his nightshirt and shorts and slipped into fresh clothing for the day. But that mark wouldn't leave the immediate vicinity of the forefront of his mind; what could cause a mark like that?
Oz heard the familiar timbre of Break's voice even before he and Gil reached the breakfast hall and an uneasy feeling crept into his stomach (as per usual when Break was around).
"Ah, Oz, we were just talking about you~" the white-haired man sang with lidded eyes as they entered. Sharon nodded pleasantly at them both from her place beside Break; she looked stiffer than usual although her usual smile was in place.
Oz mumbled a "ah, good morning" as he sat down, reaching for a bread roll. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gil escaping toward the kitchen – old habits die hard with this one – and grabbed the back of his shirt with his other hand. Gil grunted as he was forced into the seat next to him at the table, obviously reluctant to do so. But he didn't complain, for once.
Alice gulped down a glass of orange juice to wash down her sausage and loudly expressed her contentment with her meal. She didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable Sharon was. To Oz, it was a good indication of what they had been discussing prior to his entrance.
"Hm, not talkative this morning, I see," Break drawled, "Well, Alice was just telling me about your wedding~. Or maybe more like lack of wedding."
The blond noble inwardly blanched, almost dropping his fork, before realizing that Break hadn't meant it quite the way it sounded. It felt like an ice cube had been placed down the back of his shirt; he hadn't spoken with Alice yet, and there's no way she could know, unless she'd somehow deduced it like Sharon had. Holding onto a secret like this was more troublesome than he'd ever expected.
He cleared his throat, "Yes, we haven't really started preparing too much yet. It'll be a small event and spring is just a tentative date anyway..."
Looking up, his mouth went dry at the looks he was getting from the two girls across the table. That was clearly the wrong thing to say. He avoided eye contact with Sharon who looked more than displeased with his dishonesty, and locked eyes with Alice, but it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. After a moment, she stayed silent and went back to eating. Her silence itself was a good indication that he'd somehow screwed up royally. They all resumed munching on their food.
"You'd think now would be a good time to begin planning with Alice visiting-"
"Break, would you mind kindly passing me a roll?" Sharon interrupted, her eyes crinkling in the corners as she eyed him threateningly.
Her usual smile took up residence on her face and she inadvertently caught the eye of Gil, who was watching this whole exchange in wonderment. Oz realized he was probably just as uncomfortable with discussing the wedding in front of Gil as he was lying to Alice about it, which saturated him with guilt all over again. He didn't want to hurt either one of them.
Looking for a distraction, he glanced over at the raven's empty plate and promptly plopped a large helping of eggs onto it. Frowning at its loneliness, he then added a croissant, some sausages, a muffin, potatoes, and reached for a danish... then almost jumped at the warm hand on his wrist.
"M-master, that's more than enough."
Blinking down at the mound of food on the plate, he answered reflexively, "Ah, sorry," and realized just how distracted he was to be apologizing to Gil for overfeeding him. Said servant eyed him curiously before hesitantly picking up his fork and, thankfully, beginning to eat what he could. This was actually only the second time they'd eaten together despite Oz insisting he do so on a regular basis. Maybe he was making progress lifting out that overly professional demeanor from the timid young man. Or maybe he was just being polite in front of their guests. Either way, however irrelevant, he didn't appreciate how Sharon was looking between the two of them, her eyes lingering on Gil for just a moment too long. At least the wedding subject was decidedly dropped. For now.
Soaking in the heavy silence, he spaced out while nibbling on the edge of a muffin and marveled at the pinks and purples of the sky beyond the garden. Maybe he and Alice would take a walk today, maybe he could muster up the courage to tell her...
"Well~," Break's voice cut the air like a knife, "I received an interesting telephone call this morning."
Oz let his eyes slide over to him from behind his muffin. Break had his head lazily resting backward on the edge of his backrest, so his one red eye peeked out from under his hair. His fingers laced together loosely over his crossed legs. The blond figured his attention should be enough to prompt him to continue, but this was Break.
He disentangled his teeth from the crumbling muffin he was barely eating in his hand.
"Yeah?" he prompted impatiently. Break smirked slightly; Oz never liked the feeling of being under observation. Were his mannerisms really so interesting?
Break grabbed a handful of chocolates – which must've been specially requested because they never had chocolates at breakfast – and shoved one in his mouth. Gil wrinkled his nose at him.
"I figured – you might like to know – that a certain ex-Nightray servant – is being hunted for by the police," he said, taking his time, swirling his chocolate around his mouth between every few words. Oz grew more than aggravated. He narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that the police have been asking around about your dear servant. I'm surprised that you didn't get a call as well."
He and Gil shared a sidelong glance and the raven shook his head signaling he didn't know of any such phone call. He'd have to remember to remind him not to pick up the phone later.
His aggravation deserted him, making room for a detached sort of anxiety.
"Did they mention any leads?"
Break popped another chocolate into his mouth.
"No, the police in this town are useless," he said flippantly, "After all, how was it that you managed to sneak a bloody kid out of a mansion swimming with them?"
Thinking back to that night, he smirked slightly, smugly, able to relax a little with Break's reassurance (after all, there was very little this man didn't know). "I played drunk and asked one to fetch me a bucket."
"Played drunk? For what?" Alice asked.
"That's what you did?" Gil asked in disbelief at such a novice plan.
Break laughed, simultaneously impressed that he could pull such a simple stunt and amused. "Have you ever even been drunk, brat?"
Oz snorted, "Why would I need to if I can just act drunk?"
Gil was still skeptical, "Wasn't he suspicious at all?"
"Oz?" Alice whined, ignored.
The blond waved his hand, "Nah, it was foolproof. I mean, I reeked of alcohol anyway. And when he came back to an empty hallway he'd figure I was too drunk to remember I asked him for a bucket at all."
"Are you sure he wouldn't remember you?"
Still reveling in pride from his accomplishment, he shrugged off Gil's concerned tone, "There are plenty of blonds about."
"But it's not just your hair, master," he sighed.
"Hm, Gilbert has a good point. I wouldn't be so sure about that. With some digging, green eyes and blond hair could lead back to the Vessalius house. Your eye color, if nothing else, is rather unique," Break commented, "What do you think, milady?"
Sharon, who'd been quiet until now, spoke up, "I agree with Gilbert, Oz, you're not entirely in the clear."
With his confidence declining rapidly, he nodded.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?" Alice huffed.
Oz smiled gently at her, "Sorry, Alice. I never explained it to you. The night I took Gil in, he was hurt, badly, and I had to act drunk to get him out of the party so the police wouldn't find him."
She frowned, "What about his master?"
The blond looked at Gil for confirmation that it was okay to tell, something the raven seemed to appreciate. He nodded.
"His master... was the one that hurt him," he said reluctantly.
As expected, the mood of the group turned sullen.
"Why would he do that?"
Sometimes Alice could be so naïve it was a little heartbreaking.
Gil spoke up, "Alice, I'm fine-"
"But that isn't fair!" she said, standing up with her fists on the table. Sharon stood as well to comfort her.
"We know it's not fair, that's why we won't let his old master find him here."
Her voice, as always, sent an instant calming effect over the table. Glancing at Gil, they shared a small smile at Alice's caring nature. His hand itched to move toward him, but he ignored it. Gil's smile waned quickly though.
"Master, there's actually something else. Suppose that policeman remembered your face and Elliot were to place you near me in Reveille..."
"Elliot? Elliot Nightray?" Sharon asked from her place at the brooding Alice's side.
"Um, yeah."
Oz spoke up. "He came up to me at your party the other weekend saying he recognized me from Reveille. He started spewing a bunch of detective crap, saying he was investigating Gil's disappearance." At her wary look, he felt the need to add, "But I think I talked him out of it. He gave me his card and stopped bugging me."
"His card?"
"Don't ask."
"Saw you in Reveille? Were you in Reveille?" Break asked.
Oz scratched at the back of his head meekly, "Uh, yeah. I had Gil disguised as my master, but if you think I stand out..."
"...he definitely does," Sharon agreed gravely.
"Actually, we went there yesterday and some policemen followed us into the same store. We escaped out the back."
He felt guilty at how quickly his paranoia had faded to a point where he would take Gil to such a public area.
"That was my fault, he told me not to leave the carriage-"
"It's not your fault, idiot. Anyway, they spent a while interrogating the shopkeeper from what we saw."
Break hummed, "Do you think he talked?"
Oz ground his teeth together, ruminating on the subject, "I'm not sure. I'm a returning, well-paying customer, so it seems unlikely. But if he wanted to avoid trouble then..."
"Good news is if they spent a while pestering him, it's more likely he didn't talk."
The blond sighed and sagged onto his elbow.
"I hope so..."
Alice spoke up, "Do you think that little twerp told anyone about this?"
Before Oz could reply, Gil defended his friend in a softer tone than he usually used to address Alice, "He's not a twerp. But if he saw us in Reveille then chances are he was with his father, the Duke. He doesn't really talk to M- er, his brother much. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even know I was missing at the time..."
Oz nodded along, but felt a fresh pang of irritation when he heard what was surely the beginnings of "Master Nightray." It was only a habitual way of referring to his ex-master, he told himself.
Break put their findings together: "So far, it seems we need to be wary of the policeman, the shopkeeper, Bernard Nightray, and Elliot Nightray... anyone else?"
The room went grimly silent as they all contemplated who might know of Gilbert's whereabouts. But no one came up with anyone other than those listed. Regardless, the odds were already against them.
"Hmm, well, if miraculously none of them talk, you should be in the clear as long as your servant here never again sees the light of day~," Break joked satirically. Oz found some contentment in watching Sharon strike him in the back of the head with her paper fan.
He felt the need to reassure his servant, "I'm sorry, Gil, I'm sure this'll blow over..."
The raven smiled weakly in return, "Yeah."
He didn't seem convinced. What was it that was so important to Benedict Nightray for Gil not to tell...?
"Your master was a Nightray? And you haven't charged his place yet, Oz?" Alice demanded.
Sharon smiled, she was always so patient, "It's not that easy, Alice," she placated. And much more threateningly, she said to Break before he could open his mouth, "And I will not condone any encouragement."
The silver-haired man pouted playfully in response, "Aw, that's no fun, milady~. And anyway, I was only going to ask Gilbert if he were ready to train. We are terribly behind schedule, I'm afraid."
"And whose fault is that?" Gil quipped. The raven then looked down at his half-eaten plate in distress. Oz was about to tell him it was okay to leave it, it was way too much food for anyone, but he forgot that his current fiancee wasn't just anyone when it came to food.
"Are you going to eat that, Seaweed-head?"
Gil looked half torn between relief and offense, but ultimately he shook his head and handed the plate to the practically drooling girl across the table.
"I guess... I'm ready then."