First of all, I said I would've posted chapter one in two or three days, but it's been four days since then so I apologise for being late. I had intended to post it yesterday but was unable to. Secondly, thank you very much to all the people who followed this story, added it to their favourites and reviewed! I really appreciate it :D

Thus, it begins... I bring you chapter one!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or its One-Shot version.

Gilbert was at his limit. One more flirtatious woman (or talkative musician for that matter) and he was quite certain he'd be forced to casually flash his revolver just to keep them away – his false identity be damned.

This was why he hated taking jobs from high-class nobles. Most of their missions required him to sneak into some fancy party or another and it happened so often that some people slowly started to recognise him. Being who he was, such popularity was the last thing he needed, especially since he was always surrounded by nosy men and gossiping women.

Normally this wasn't such a big problem. Richard and his nephews, who were his regular clients, realised the risk of this as well and suggested he borrow their name for the sake of association. So, during these events he was identified either as a member of the Nightray Dukedom or one of their associates. That way no one would further question who that 'handsome young man clad in black' was and where exactly he had come from.

But this time it was not so simple. Although the Nightrays had been invited, they had obviously refused to attend the party. Had it been any other Family, Richard would have taken the risk hoping his brother wouldn't be informed and sent Gilbert as their representative. However, the Vessaliuses knew of the Nightray's refusal to attend so no chances could be taken, especially since there would be a murder taking place. Even though it wasn't Gilbert's problem, the Nightrays would be the first suspects and Richard was not too keen on having the authorities at his doorstep for something he couldn't explain to Duke Nightray, who was unaware of his younger brother's schemes.

And so, after pulling a few strings and getting into touch with the concertmaster hired for all of the Vessalius Family's events, Gilbert had been introduced to Duke Vessalius as 'Antonio', a young pianist from a quiet little town located somewhere north-west of the country, near the border.

"Yes, like his grandfather Gaspard, Antonio has also grown to be a very skilled pianist. I am told by the elder musicians that Gaspard had been good friends with the maestro who was present at your brother's coming-of-age ceremony, and was invited especially from his hometown to perform in the orchestra for that event."

'Antonio' bowed slightly. "It is an honour to meet you, Duke Vessalius. And it would be an even greater honour to be able to play the distinguished role that my beloved grandfather had."

"If it is permissible, Duke, then I would like for Antonio to participate as our pianist for this grand event because as a professional, I believe his talent is something we cannot go without."

The Duke patted Antonio on the shoulder and smiled first at him, then at the concertmaster. "Well, I am not one to ignore professional recommendation nor can I exactly judge better. I want Oz's ceremony to be perfect in every aspect and music is just as important as everything else. So, if this is the man you recommend than this is the man that shall be our pianist."

"Thank you, Duke Vessalius. I am sure this young man's grandfather would have been so proud had he been among us today."

The next two weeks were spent mastering the long, complex and absolutely boring pieces of music in the concertmaster's personal practice room. Luckily he had plenty of experience with pianos in the past so passing off as a 'very skilled pianist' was not too difficult once he had practiced enough.

Finally the day of the ceremony had arrived. Despite his false identity, wig of long, black hair partially tied back and fake glasses, Gilbert still seemed to be attracting a significant (and irritating) amount of attention. It was to be expected since his eye colour was quite unique but, though he never truly realised it, he was quite devilishly handsome, and that was the major cause of the unwanted attention he so-often received.

He constantly spotted a crowd of watchful and giggling women from the corner of his eye, and once or twice a few of them had gathered enough courage to approach him during the intermissions which was really starting to make him lose his patience. It's not that he hated women nor was he the type to get annoyed very easily, but he'd rather not have any distractions while he worked because one minor mistake could be fatal.

Gilbert hated mistakes. They always led to regrets, which was the last thing he needed since he had more than enough of them in his life as it was.

So far he had not yet run into trouble. No one questioned his identity too much, and security was not as tight as it should have been. After all, who'd want to assassinate a kid? The boy in question had yet to make his appearance, but it wouldn't be long now. So far all that he'd been doing was playing background music as the guests took their sweet time showing up and mingled for some time, but in a few minutes the ceremony would actually begin, after which there was to be another damn party where Gilbert would be required to play his fingers off while the guests danced merrily, followed by a short closing ceremony and finally, more background music as the guests left.

Not if Gilbert had things his way though.

The plan was so simple that he felt appalled at himself just by thinking about how he'd actually be carrying it out soon. Gilbert was not used to simplicity. In all his previous jobs, security would be over the top because that's how nobles and aristocrats liked it. They were paranoid that there was always someone out there just waiting to kill them, and that led them to become obsessed with their lives.

Well, in a way their precautionary measures were never in vain. Gilbert would always make sure of that.

But tonight, all he had to do was wait until the main ceremony was over, after which the target would have to go change out of his ceremonial clothes and into formal party wear. At the same time, the orchestra was allowed to disperse for a nice, long, well-deserved break before they were slave-driven again. That's when Gilbert would sneak past the ridiculously lax security since the only time the target would be left completely alone was when he went to change. It was a little cruel, dying in nothing but a pair of boxers on the day you became a man, but that was life for you. No one would even suspect him because how could an outsider that's only visited the mansion once prior to the murder possibly know its layout, let alone the location of the victim's private chambers?

All of a sudden the conductor gave the signal for the musicians to stop playing. In front of the hall was a grand staircase that was divided into two parts; both were connected by wide landing that had a tall, looming organ situated on the right side. The stairs went all the way up and stopped at another landing that was more than halfway above between the floor and the ceiling, forming a sort of second floor.

Up against the wall at the back was a wide, antique-looking grandfather clock, next to which was an elderly woman wearing glasses whose brown hair was tied back in a bun. She was carrying what looked like a gold- and green-lined overcoat in her folded arms. On the lower landing, a well-built bespectacled man appeared. He was dressed in a white gold- and green-lined suit and Gilbert instantly recognised him to be Duke from his long, golden hair that was tied back in a ponytail. He was flanked by two female servants clad in white robes and together they made their way to the centre of the platform just as the music died.

"Everyone, please be quiet. It's time," announced the Duke.

Incessant chatter obediently came to a halt while any lingering conversation became hushed.

"Right now, in keeping with tradition, we will commence Oz Vessalius's coming-of-age ceremony."

The Duke bowed slightly, before giving a slight nod at the direction of the organ where another woman dressed in white was seated, waiting, and on cue she began to play.

Despite the loud and surprisingly ominous music that was now being played, Gilbert's sharp ears managed to pick up another, very faint muffled sound in the background.

"...Rain?"

"And now, please welcome the person coming of age tonight to this holy place."

"About time."

The double doors at the back of the room swung forward dramatically and all eyes were instantly on the (rather short for a 'man') figure that proceeded slowly towards the front of the hall. By now the guests had broken into applause, but the seemingly warm and welcoming atmosphere was tainted by the hundreds of pairs of eyes that critically analysed the new addition to their high-class society.

When the orchestra had been ordered to stop playing, some of the musicians, including Gilbert, left their posts and stood by the guests to watch the proceeding of the ceremony more closely. Gilbert was lucky enough to squeeze his way into the first row and find himself a place just by the staircase so he had a clear view of the boy who looked... different, from how he had in the photograph.

His smiling mouth was now nothing more than a grim slash of determination. His bright emerald eyes seemed a shade duller, and they stared dead ahead while his brow was creased with unbreakable concentration. The braid that nearly reached his waist seemed noticeably tighter than it had in the photo which vaguely made Gilbert think how a loose braid suited him more. As reading body-language was one of the many useful skills he had learned over the years, he noticed the subtle compression of the boy's shoulders that those who noticed would wave off as practiced posture. But Gilbert knew better; it was stiffness from stress. And while he walked, the boy stood tall and so painfully upright that it made him look almost mechanical.

All in all he looked... Older. Older than a boy his age should look.

But he was still a boy, even if he was going to be considered a man in a few minutes.

...A boy that had apparently taken many innocent lives; something that Gilbert personally could not pardon.

"This boy did...?"

He subtly shook his head. Unnecessary thoughts were unhealthy for a mind such as his. His job was to kill, not speculate.

The... Target was now walking past him and began his slow ascent up the stairs.

"...Is it really the same boy?"

The target came to a stop on the first landing in front of the Duke. He then got down on one knee, bent his head then placed one arm across his chest while clenching the other into a fist and resting his knuckles flat against the floor.

It was the picture of total submission.

"But... What purpose did he have, killing all those people...?"

The Duke held his hand over the target's head and began to recite something from an open book that he held in his other hand.

"Oh, Light of Truth, please shine upon his path. Oh, Wind of Reason, please bestow upon him your wisdom. Oh, Water of Cleansing, please cure his sickness. In the name of the Vessalius blood, Mr. Oz Vessalius has now come of age."

With that, the Duke passed the book to one of the female servants who also carried with her a large golden grail. Then he turned to the other servant. In her hands was a red pillow from which he picked up a golden-hilted ceremonial sword which he held before him as he faced the target once more and again, recited something.

"Sword of Cleansing which allowed us to be born on this land, please cleanse his body of impurities and bestow upon him everlasting blessings."

When he neared the end of his sentence, the Duke lightly tapped the boy on both shoulders with the sword after which he said, "And with that, the impurities residing in your body have been exorcised."

After placing the sword back on the cushion, the two female helpers moved off the stage.

"Now, please recite your vow," requested the Duke, addressing the boy before him.

The target stood up and made to move for the second flight of steps, but before he passed the Duke completely he stopped for a moment and simply stood there, staring ahead with wide, unfocused eyes as the bespectacled man quietly whispered something brief to him with a smile. Then the target closed his eyes for a moment to regain his composure, before setting off on the rest of his journey up the stairs.

"...Something... Isn't right..."

And though it was worth nothing, he wasn't referring to what had just transpired between the target and the Duke.

Gilbert blinked.

...So, why had he thought that, then? Or rather-

"Stop thinking, dammit! Focus on the job. It's almost time."

At last the unnecessarily dragged-out journey was complete, and the target stopped to regard the looming grandfather clock for a while before kneeling once more and placing his hand on it. Then he started reciting his vow, but Gilbert hadn't caught a single word of it for his attention fell upon the clock, or more specifically, its hands.

"They're stuck at 11:59. Strange..."

A broken clock. Why would they have a broken clock? He knew it was broken because it definitely wasn't that late at night. Maybe it was some kind of tradition? A very strange one if it was.

By now the target seemed to have finished his vow. The woman stepped forth to drape the white overcoat over the boy's shoulders, after which he stood up and turned to face the crowd.

The ceremony was complete. The boy was now a man.

Gilbert unconsciously reached back for his revolver concealed beneath the fabric of his tailcoat.

"...Something actually isn't right here," he breathed.

He had a familiar feeling that was kind of like a sixth sense that developed over the years due to much exposure to danger. Alarm bells were going off in his mind, a cold sensation blossomed within his chest and his heart started to pound faster in anticipation as the air seemed to thicken with a vague sense of tension only tangible to him. It was the same feeling he'd get whenever something really, really bad was about to happen.

And as fate would have it, something did.

Before the crowd could break into applause, something else broke instead. It was the panel of windows on the ceiling to the left side of the room. Through the shower of broken glass, Gilbert's trained eyes could just make out three red blurs that most people wouldn't normally have seen due to the extreme speed at which they moved.

He didn't know by who or why, but the mansion was under attack.

The screaming began, and along with it came panic and hysteria. Gilbert quickly dodged to the side of the room as people started stampeding in random directions before scanning the area overhead. After a while, he spotted them. On one stretch of banister that lined the walkways level with the second landing stood three hooded figures dressed in blood-red cloaks. Two of them were noticeably taller than the one in between them, while the one on the right was quite large and bulky-looking in comparison to the tall, slim one on the left.

Somewhere among the deafening noise of the wild screams of terror, a grandfather clock was chiming.

"Could it be...? But hadn't that clock stopped-"

His train of thought was cut off when Gilbert noticed two of the taller cloaked figures swiftly swoop down and land gracefully without even the slightest hint of injury despite the sheer height and which they jumped, before moving towards two opposite locations.

"They're going to seal the exits before anyone leaves," realised Gilbert when he noticed the directions in which the figures moved. "These guys know what they're doing. And judging by their actions they're searching for something..."

His eyes narrowed.

"...Or someone."

Gilbert spared a glance at the target who had been standing there in a daze until the bespectacled woman grabbed hold of his wrist and practically yanked him down the stairs.

Later on in life, Gilbert would often look back at this moment and berate himself for doing what he did next.

"...They don't seem to be heavily armed, and there are only three of them. The guards stationed outside would have noticed by now, too. So it's not my problem."

Without wasting another second, he disposed his wig and glasses – it'd only complicate the situation further if the outsider pianist was caught sneaking around – then began to make his way towards a small door located on the right side of the staircase that led deeper into the mansion, for it was there where he saw the woman and the target escape to.

"Where's Alice?!" he heard the boy cry with desperation, then came to a halt in the shadows casted by the stairs. Any closer and they'd notice him.

"She should be in her room but don't worry about her, we'll see to it that she is safe!"

The two figures bolted through the door, and Gilbert was about to follow when he noticed something gleam nearby.

The ceremonial sword.

In an instant he dashed forward, bent over slightly to swoop it up and reached back to slip it beneath his coat before continuing his pursuit.

"This thing better not be just for show. I didn't bring too many spare bullets since I hadn't anticipated any unexpected circumstances, so I should save them for when I really need them."

As they turned a corner, Gilbert could hear the woman shout, "This is no time to be arguing, Young Master! Your safety comes first at all costs. The Duke has strictly instructed for you to hide in the storage room on the top floor and I have no intention of letting you disobey that order no matter what!"

As they started mounting up the steps two at a time, the boy cursed explicitly. "Where is he now?!" he demanded when they reached the landing.

"H-he's-" she gasped in exhaustion, "-going to try and-" another gasp, "-stabilise the situation!"

The boy cursed again and after that there was no more conversation. Gilbert moved noiselessly and stealthily, sticking to the shadows and always keeping his distance. At one point he slowed down when a few servants rushed past him, seemingly aware of the commotion going on in the hall downstairs and desperate to escape. None of them questioned who he was, but Gilbert knew that it never hurt to be careful. He knew where the target was going anyway, and it's not like he had any escape routes.

When Gilbert finally reached the top floor, he made a sharp turn around the corner but immediately recoiled back when someone ran into him. At a glance he realised it was a maid from her outfit, and quite an unusual one judging by her shoulder-length white hair. The right side of her hair was braided with a cylindrical hair ornament that continued with diamond-shaped beads and ended with another, smaller cylinder and a smaller triangular end piece. He couldn't quite see her face from the way she bowed her head though. The maid was carrying a large, haphazardly packed suitcase that had things sticking out at odd angles, which she nearly dropped upon impact.

Gilbert spared a moment to mutter an apology and briskly walked past her. But he hadn't gone far when she suddenly began to speak, halting him in his tracks.

"A normal man would be running in the opposite direction in this situation. But then again, you've never been normal, have you Gilbert~?"

At the drawled-out mention of his name, Gilbert's eyes widened and he spun around.

But the maid was gone.

Blinking in disbelief, he took a few tentative steps forward, stopping when he spotted something on the floor where she had stood just seconds ago. Gilbert picked it up and upon closer inspection, realised it was a playing card.

"King of Hearts? And it's mutilated, too."

Someone had coloured in the eyes of the king with a red ink; they seemed like twin pools of blood, and also scribbled a wide grin over the mouth. Overall it made him look quite disturbing. On impulse, Gilbert decided to pocket the card before resuming his mission. He'd look into it and that mysterious maid later.

Once he neared his destination, he slipped into one of the unlocked rooms upon spotting the bespectacled woman and waited.

"Had they not blocked the exits we'd have taken you away, but now hiding is the only other alternative. So lock yourself in here and no matter what you hear – I'm dead serious Young Master – no matter what you hear or no matter who starts banging on this door; unless it's the Duke or I, do not come out. Do you understand?"

"Mrs. Kate, I-"

"Please, Young Master Oz. Don't disobey this time because... This may be the very last order you hear from us..."

There was a momentary period of suffocating silence which was broken by the sound of the door being hastily shut and bolted, followed by the woman's receding footsteps.

Gilbert should have moved right about then. But something was stopping him, and that was a twinge of unease in his chest that seemed to plague him the more he thought about what exactly he was going to do.

He was going to kill a young boy...

A boy who was apparently a vicious murderer and Contractor...

"...He's probably going to get killed by those crimson-cloaked people anyway. How could they possibly not notice a target like him missing? It'll only be a matter of time until they find him... No, they'll drag it out just to mess with him. Family and friends usually go first as a warning, as bait to lure out the catch. But with that woman's last words, he'd be torn in between going to save them and staying to save himself, not that he can accomplish either. It's practically a scene out of a nightmare..."

Then, he was suddenly struck with a startling realisation.

"To have everything you ever loved on the line and no way out... It's just like when..."

And at that point he knew he had to stop thinking, because then the memories would resurface and the last thing he wanted to do was jeopardise the entire mission by losing his composure.

Gilbert closed his eyes and took several deep breaths as he pondered over his next course of action for a few minutes. When he finally reached a decision, he slipped outside and approached the double doors of the storage room.

"I'll do the boy a favour..."

Gilbert reached down for his gun.

"...by putting an end to his life before the misery comes."

In case anyone noticed the ceremony scene to seem vaguely familiar, it's because I quoted the dialogue from the anime (I often use the anime for reference when I can since it's easier for me to search for certain scenes using it). But you might also notice that the environment of the ceremony itself is a bit different, since originally there isn't supposed to be an orchestra or anything like that. That's because sometimes you gotta improvise to move things along, so please bear with it! XD