Stop. This is part 2 of the double update. If you haven't read the last chapter, go back! If you have, then go right ahead and hope you guys enjoy :)
Epilogue
Someone's Waiting For You
Inside a vast golden space, emerald eyes watch over as vast quantities of souls upon souls circle the mill. It has spun since the beginning of its existence; spinning and spinning as each soul is carried within it. Each soul spinning around over and over until the time of its final and hundredth cycle comes.
It is then that their work begins. The curator first writes upon her black pages the existence of the reborn soul. Then the allocator sets them on the path where they'll begin their new lives. Lastly, their new lives are set into motion by the blessing of the being with emerald eyes.
It saw countless souls come and go. Countless be reborn into new lives. Each time they send another into existence brings a smile to their face. Out in the world is where they will know happiness, where they will experience loneliness—just like it once did so many years ago.
"_"
It turned at being called, emerald eyes set on the curator that now held a single tiny soul in their hands. It didn't appear any different than the others yet something about it was different. The being recognized that soul even after the hundred cycles it had gone through. A light touch and the soul moves, livelier than ever and ready to return to the world.
"Is this the last one?"
The curator glances over their archives before nodding. "It is."
The being nodded solemnly and smiled kindly. "Write it's existence. Allocate it. I shall do the rest."
The two did as they were told. The curator wrote the soul's beginning with its golden ink cementing it into being. The allocator set the soul's destination and opened the path beyond. Lastly, the soul fell into the emerald-eyed being's hands. It wriggled playfully in its hands. The being chuckled and stroked the top of it with its finger before whispering to it.
"Go on," it said. "They're all waiting for you."
With a jump, the soul vanished. The being smiled as it watched from its place in the depths, no longer alone.
Finally. It had finished what it sought out to do after so many years. Every soul—every last one of them—returned.
Its last gift to them as a token of gratitude for all they did.
"It is done. All that's left...is for you to search. One last time."
|Present day|
Routines were something she abhorred.
They made the days blend into one another—made them boring—and boredom wasn't something she liked a whole lot.
It wasn't that she hated her life. Far from it. She lived with a loving family that she loved just as much. Her parents were a couple that was as much in love with one another as they had been the day they met. Her younger brother, only younger by a few minutes, was her confidant of a lifetime whom she loved dearly. They could trust in each other for anything and everything. School wasn't terrible either. A chore perhaps, but not a horrible experience so far. For all intents and purposes, her life was fine.
It was good. But it also lacked something she couldn't quite place her finger on.
The sensation of something missing had been within her since she had the use of conscious memory. Though never lacking in happiness and company, she had never once in her life felt as a whole person. People said it was a normal thing to feel when born a twin but she could tell that wasn't it either. She had her brother; he was as much his own person as she was her own. She didn't feel incomplete because of him.
No, this feeling she harbored deep within her was something different. Almost like there was a piece of her missing that she couldn't grasp.
Music seemed to fill the empty space. If only briefly. Every time she danced, every time she sang, it felt like that part of her returned for the briefest of moments. But it always made its absence all the more jarring once she stopped.
She lived a happy life. Of that, there was no doubt. But there was no denying that something was missing.
Something dear to her.
Dark blue eyes peeked into the mailbox before retrieving all the letters inside with one hand. The metal lid closed unceremoniously when she let it go. Mindlessly, she made her way back to her house all the while skimming over the addresses on their mail.
Not even through half of it, she pushed the front door open with her foot and closed it the same way before making her way past the dining table where breakfast had just ended. The morning chatter from her parents and brother floated in the air, but she didn't mind it as she sorted out the mail into stacks on the island that stood in the kitchen.
"Anything interesting, sweetheart?" her mother mused. The petite brunette with short chestnut hair and large doe eyes smiled from across the banister that separated the kitchen and dining table.
She shook her head without thinking as she continued to sort them out: Dad, Mom, bills, her recital's reminder, and more bills. Just as she turned over another bill, the last letter caught her eye.
It was addressed to her. There was no address, no stamp. Only her name written in the neatest cursive she'd ever seen on the front of the white envelope with black ink.
"Claire?"
Blinking a couple of times, Claire gave her brother a sidelong glance as he shouldered his school bag. He nodded away towards the hallway that led to the front door. From the noise coming from there, her parents must already be readying to leave for work too.
"We're going to be late for rehearsal."
"Sorry." Snapping out of her stupor, Claire stuck the envelope into her school bag before chasing after him out the door.
Claire busied herself with her skates and waited on the curbside for her brother once ready while he took out his bicycle from the backyard. Their car paused in front of her and her brother and her mother rolled down her window to peek out at them.
"You two have a good day," she called.
Her father leaned over from the driver's seat, his dark hair and dark gray eyes peeking from below as he flashed them one of his famous grins. "We'll be there for the recital, too. So see you kids there, okay?"
"Alright!" they both said before leaving in the opposite direction as their parents.
Rolling down the sidewalk, Claire mindlessly watched the cherry blossom trees that lined the way towards their school. Her mind wandered to the letter sitting in her bag after a moment.
What a strange thing. It creeped her out to be honest, but she didn't recall having any stalkers. Maybe it was just some very eerie type of propaganda people were trying out these days. Well, if she opened it later, she'd find out, she supposed.
Though that would be hard to do today of all days with their recital being tonight. Months of hard practice was going to bear fruit tonight. With the scouts for the arts academy being there, this would be the performance of her lifetime. If she aced it, their professors assured her they would earn a spot for the fall semester once they graduated high school.
Music meaning what it did to her, this was the opportunity that she sought. And though her brother loved music as much as her, their motives couldn't be any more different. He didn't have to know that though.
And who knew? Maybe doing what loved to do would change things. Maybe then she could rid herself of that emptiness that lived inside her to this day.
A pair of boys stood at the front entrance of a school and inspected it from afar. Far from amused, the tallest of them—a sandy blonde-haired boy with blue eyes—clicked his tongue.
"Is this it?"
His black-haired friend nodded as they stood side by side before the open gates. "It's a small school on this side of the country. Pretty small student body too. According to what I was told, the one being recommended is quite apt though."
"I doubt it."
"The audition she sent was pretty good, though." His friend was quick to intervene with a much peppier disposition. "And that's taking into account that she's a year younger than us and apparently self-taught aside from school lessons."
"How did you get a hold of the application auditions?"
"Secret~"
The first sighed knowing he would get nowhere with his friend. "And the principal wants us here as representatives, you said?"
"More like to accompany the teacher who'll be assessing her."
"What a pain."
His friend chuckled. "Don't say that. Who knows? It might be a fun performance!"
"What did you say?"
Claire felt the color drain from her face at the terrible news her brother delivered to her.
"I'm sorry, Claire, but she's not coming."
Great. Freaking fantastic.
Tonight, the most important night of her life, was when her accompaniment decided to bail on her. Not only that but the recital had already begun and it was already too late to find anyone to replace her. Though she wasn't the only one performing tonight, Claire was the closing performance. They could do without it, but if she didn't perform then she could kiss goodbye her chance of attending the one school she wanted.
And with all of that running through her head, hearing the crowd outside welcoming the second to last performer onto the stage was all that was needed for panic to win her over.
Running away from the small crowd of students and teachers around her, Claire sped off into the small music room of her school. The noise of the recital could still be felt through the walls, but the relative quietness of the place served to distance herself from what seemed like a horrible nightmare.
Why was everything failing her now?
"Damn it!"
Enraged, Claire snatched the first object closest to her and flung it across the room. Said object turned out to be her school bag. It crashed noisily against the wall and dropped to the floor, opening on its way down. Everything spilled out of it at once. Papers flew in the air and pens launched in every direction from the force of the hit.
Performing without accompaniment was useless. Even if she tried, there was no chance that the academy would accept her if it wasn't flawless. And performing alone would certainly shoot her hopes in the foot. Any way she thought about it, the best option was to call it quits and tell their music director that she would forgo her performance and for them to cut the recital short.
Her eyes stung as the rage finally subsided and gave way to the sorrow deep in her chest at that thought. Not wanting to weep, Claire wiped away the tears clinging to her lashes before stepping towards the door to go tell everybody of her bitter choice.
The sudden sound of paper crunching underneath her feet however stopped her just as her hand came to rest on the doorknob. Dark blue eyes gazed downward and found the letter from that morning underneath her foot. Her emotions took a back seat as curiosity came over her. Claire bent and took the wrinkled letter in hand before going over to sit on one of the empty chairs in the music room.
Claire reread her name once more on the front of the envelope before turning it over. It struck her as odd how the back was sealed with a wax seal of dark blue and silver. The insignia stamped on being that of a fancy star and moon. She broke it with ease and took out several pieces of paper from inside. This wasn't any propaganda like she had thought at first. This was a full-fledged letter. Claire frowned at its appearance; the papers were yellowed and the corners a bit ripped from age. Despite that, the neat writing inside was intact.
What intrigued her the most was how it started.
'Dear Claire,
It's strange to be writing this to you. Especially after all that has occurred. But because Gilbert suggested it, I decided to do it.
Since there's just so much to tell and I don't want to confuse you, I'll start from where any good story starts: the beginning.'
"Claire?! Claire, where are you?"
Great...
Not only had they lost half of their closing act, but his sister was missing now. He understood how terribly disheartened it made her, but this wasn't the time to bemoan her circumstances. Even without an accompaniment, he knew she could do it.
If only she gave it a shot.
"Claire—"
"Cloude?"
He turned at the sound of Claire's voice calling him and was about to give her an earful but stopped short at the strange expression on her face. She'd been crying, that much was clear from how her makeup ran down her cheeks, but she didn't seem sad or disappointed. If anything described her expression at the moment, the most accurate would be relief.
"Claire, are you okay?"
Claire let her eyes fall down as she clutched to her chest old and yellowed pieces of paper for a long second. She took a deep breath and nodded before lifting her eyes to him. With the heel of her sleeved hand, she wiped away the remnants of her makeup and smiled.
"I'm alright...I just...I don't know what's wrong with me."
"What is this, Claire?"
Before Cloude could even touch the papers in her hand, Claire snatched them behind her back and shook her head. "Forget it. We should go tell the director that I won't be performing after all before they announce me."
"No, wait. Claire, you have to perform." Claire's glazed eyes looked up at her brother's outrageous claim. "To hell if they bailed on you. Go out there and do your thing. You've practiced way too hard to give up now."
Baffled, she shook her head, unable to understand what he meant. "Even if I wanted to, I'm a mess—"
"I already bought you five minutes." Those words shocked her but he didn't allow her to interrupt a second time. "I've never seen you want anything more than you've wanted this. If you want to chase after what you love, then do it. Screw everybody else. Even if they let you down and you have to stand there alone, do it. For you."
His words appeared to strike some sense into his sister as her gaze became pensive. It didn't take long, though, for that determined gleam that he knew so well to return to her eyes. Her whole demeanor changed to one more familiar to him as she stormed off towards backstage with him hot on her heels. Cloude helped her find their classmate to get her back in shape before the five minutes were over. They were just enough to fix what makeup had been ruined by her tears and before long, she stood at the sides of the stage as the director went about announcing their final performance.
Claire didn't focus on how he mentioned her minor inconvenience and of how she would be performing her piece alone. Instead, her focus was on her brother's hand as she held onto it for some courage. The instant her name was announced as welcoming applause rose through the air, Cloude squeezed her hand and smiled.
Taking one last breath, she let go and walked out into the limelight that awaited her.
It was gut-wrenching to stand in front of a concert hall full of strangers. Claire knew there were people in that crowd that she knew, but the light hitting her straight on from the stage made it impossible to discern the friendly faces from the rest. Swallowing that fear, she took a deep breath and made peace with what she was about to do.
This wouldn't be the performance she wished for, but she would still give it her all.
'Be brave, little one
Make a wish for each sad little tear
Hold your head up, though no one is near
Someone's waiting for you'
Her voice boomed through the walls of the hall by itself. Claire cringed inwardly at the volume, having been accustomed to singing above a piano playing in the background, and adjusted her voice to the silence that now accompanied her.
Every noise that rose above her voice made a chill run down her spine. It taunted her and mocked her. But she didn't let it deter her. She would finish this piece.
'Don't cry, little one—'
Claire jumped in her skin, her voice shaking a bit because of it the moment she heard a piano playing. Having already started the phrase, Claire regained her composure quickly and sang alongside it, not caring at the time where it was coming from.
'There'll be a smile where a frown used to be
You'll be part of the love that you see
Someone's waiting for you'
Always keep a little prayer in your pocket
And you're sure to see the light
Soon there'll be joy and happiness
And your little world will be bright'
At first, Claire thought it was a recording, but the few phrases she sang with it told her that this was actually a human being playing behind her. Not just one either, by the sound of it. Though it was the same accompaniment she remembered practicing with, there were parts added to it that she didn't recognize. They didn't take away from her performance, however. If anything, they were enhancing it in a way she couldn't describe.
Singing along with this arrangement felt natural.
Nostalgic almost.
'Have faith, little one
'Til your hopes and your wishes come true'
It was hard to ignore the tightness in her chest now. Even more so the tears that were brimming in her eyes. The worst part was that she didn't know why they were threatening to come. There was no reason for her to be forlorn and yet there she was wanting nothing more than to weep.
Having the last of her performance to go through, Claire swallowed the tears back and finished.
'You must try to be brave, little one
Someone's waiting to love you
Her voice faded and the piano softly faded with her leaving nothing but silence in their stead. It only lasted for a second though. The concert hall exploded into cheers and applause that surprised her as a standing ovation met her. Shocked as she was still, Claire couldn't take a step forward to accept them. What's worse the crew couldn't let the curtain fall if she didn't. So there she was standing like a deer caught in headlights until a pair of arms hooked around either one of hers and made her step forward.
Taken aback, Claire couldn't do much except follow the lead of whoever had her in their grasp. The crowd's applause grew as they stepped forward and bowed.
"Nice and low with your back straight." A boy's voice called giddily from her right as the three of them bowed. "Just how we learned."
Her heart wrenched at the sound of that voice. What?
"C'mon now. Don't give them such an expression." The one to her left called, his voice just a tad bit deeper than the boy on her right. "Smile a little, Claire."
Her name from his mouth sounded different and it froze her in place as she stood back up. Suddenly, the curtains closed before her and shrouded her view from everything else. In that instant, all she recognized was what she felt: a pair of familiar hands held in either of hers through their interlocked arm.
Stepping back but never letting go of their warm hands, Claire gasped at the faces she saw and what they made her feel. At how instead of hurting, a whole different feeling flooded her chest.
One that filled her with so much happiness that it brought the tears back.
Her head a mess with so many emotions, Claire could only grasp one of the things that now swam in it.
A pair of names.
"Elliot…? Leo…?"
Along with so many images—so many fragmented memories—that poured in with them.
Elliot and Leo smiled down at her, their hands never letting go of hers. Claire didn't dare let go either, and instead brought them together towards her and held them close as she wept. Leo chuckled and rested his head upon her shoulder trying to soothe her with his words. As for Elliot, he could only rest his forehead against the top of her head before whispering to her.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long."
Claire chuckled through her sobs and only held them closer.
"Glad to see this hasn't changed, either."
At the sound of that new voice, all three parted and looked up to find a man that despite not appearing much older than them held a rather mature gleam in his mismatched eyes. Funnily enough, in the mess of fragmented memories surging frantically in her mind, Claire caught the glimpse of such peculiar eyes and along with them so many emotions.
And a name.
"Vincent?"
Vincent smiled at her when she called his name. "I'm honored that you remember me, your majesty."
Though the words confused her, a part of her also sort of understood that it was a very tongue-in-cheek comment coming from him.
"Who are you?" she finally asked. "Why do I know you...when I have never met you before?"
"A very simple question with a very complicated answer." He chuckled as he brushed back a lock of short blonde hair behind his ear. "But before I begin explaining it to you three, there's someone who would like to greet you."
Claire stood between Elliot and Leo as Vincent stood to the side to let a couple of kids step forward. Perhaps only a year or two younger than her, Claire stared dumbfounded at the blonde boy holding a bouquet of yellow roses and the brunette girl that now stood before them. Like the three before, something in Claire's head clicked at the sight of them. Something that wrenched her heart and took her breath away.
"H-Hey…" The boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously while stammering. "I know this is strange… Vincent said you might not recover your memories even if we saw you but, we...we wanted to see you, Claire."
A single name came to mind. And this time there was no mistaking the happiness that came with it. Claire stepped forward and took the bouquet from the blonde's hand before smelling the sweet roses with a smile.
"Me too...Oz."
|A few months later; a mansion near the countryside of Paris, France|
"What's taking him so long?"
Claire chuckled at Alice's impatience, but couldn't say she disagreed.
After months of convincing her family to travel halfway across the world with people that to their eyes were nothing but complete strangers, having to wait another minute for Vincent's so-called 'surprise' was quite literally killing them all. Elliot and Leo had stayed behind at the bed and breakfast where they rented a room after Vincent convinced them to and though she was also one he tried to convince, there was no keeping her from coming to see what her 'new' friend had in store for them.
"Let's try being patient," Claire reminded her, climbing down the decrepit stone parapet where she sat. The old outdoor hallway of the mansion was already decaying from years of being left alone. But seeing as this strange mansion was hidden well through a forest and plenty of foliage, Claire couldn't exactly fault anybody for that. It was just time taking its due toll. "Vincent said he'd be quick."
"Claire's right, Alice," Oz reminded her with a smile. "How about we wait a little longer?"
"No!" she called out, shooting her arms up in the air in protest. "I'm not waiting another second!" Giddy as could be, Alice ran around in a circle to avoid Oz from catching her before making her way down an open chasm in the middle of what looked like gardens and down a stone staircase.
Her voice echoed the deeper she went, that melody she never got tired of singing ringing out towards them. Oz was quick to chase after her while Claire took her time stretching a bit before walking down the stairs herself.
As she climbed them down, Claire could hear Oz calling out to Vincent before suddenly stopping. At first, she wasn't sure what exactly had caught his attention. Not until she came to the bottom of the stairs to find them locked in an embrace with a dark-haired man.
One whose voice reverberated through the large open space she came into when he exclaimed, "Welcome back!"
A smile came to her face as his name came to her mind. Claire had yet to recover all her memories, but most of the ones she had told her exactly who so caringly embraced the two now. She let their reunion end as Oz and Alice patted his head as he sobbed before calling out to him with a wide grin.
"Long time no see, Gil!"
Gilbert's head snapped up in shock as both Oz and Alice parted ways to make her visible to him. Claire climbed down the few steps left and came up to him then.
"See?" Reaching out, Claire took one of Oz's and Alice's hands in her own. "Told you I'd be here with you when we found them!"
"Yes, you did." Gilbert chuckled, tears brimming his eyes anew as he reached out and brought all three of them into an embrace once again. "Thank you, Claire...and welcome back."
Claire nodded as tears of her own started to form at the corner of her eyes. Above all else, a sincere smile came to her lips as those tears finally rolled down her cheeks and she buried her face against him.
"We're home."
A/N:
A story 11 years in the making is finally over.
*deep breath*
I can't believe it. A part of me had always wanted to finish this story when I spotted it had been 5 years since my last update. But then I think another didn't; this was one of my very first fics back when I barely started high school. Emissary of Time started in 2010 and lasted 4 years with rather cringy writing haha. EoT: Rewrite began 2015 and in that year I managed to polish one of my beloved stories now with more experience. Now in 2021, 11 years later, it is done.
It's a bittersweet feeling. Won't lie either, I cried writing this last part of the epilogue. It really felt like saying goodbye to a part of me that I've always loved. Despite having others before it, EoT gave me my first real story to work on that I was truly content and proud of. It was the first story that I put effort into that allowed me to grow as a writer and truly find my love for writing in general. It's my sweet little baby and it will always have a place in my heart.
I teased before that I might write another story for PH, but truth be told, there's a high possibility I won't. Pandora Hearts was a darling of a series, without a doubt my favorite manga of all time, and with it being connected to EoT, I'd like to end things here with both. Who knows, maybe I'll write something for Case Study of Vanitas (Mochizuki-sensei's at it again with an amazing series), but as far as Pandora Hearts goes, I'm happy with Emissary of Time being my one and only story.
For all of you who accompanied me through this very, very long journey, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. This story meant so much to a young girl much and so much more to me now that I'm older. It will stand as a reminder of how I started, of how I grew, and all that I still have to learn now. You all accompanied me through this. Those of you who were teenagers back in 2015 are young adults now and that baffles me. Especially since I've seen that some of you still came back to read this little story to the end.
Thank you. Though no words will ever fully describe what finishing this story means to me, I appreciate all of you who have reached this chapter and ended this journey alongside me.
Emissary of Time: Rewrite will finally be shelved as a completed story and I couldn't be happier to have made it through even after five long years. And much like this wonderful manga, this story will be with me for the rest of my life.
Excuse all the sappiness, haha, just have so many feels. I'll spare ya'll the waterworks and leave you with this. Thank you for reading the last chapter and epilogue of EoT. Hope you enjoyed them and this story. Feel free to stay tuned for any of my other stories, and if not, I wish you all a happy and healthy life, and beautiful rest of your day.
*Evie (o´ω`o)ノ*
