A/N: Yeah, the new chapter is here! I'm really sorry abt this sucky chapter and the late update...-wail- I've juz been pronounced my death sentence. Computer ban for infinity...Now I'm currently skipping break time to type whatever I can in sch...so, I hope that you can understand...
Disclaimer: Don't own...how many times must I say it? =_=
Retrace II: Flutter
"Like a vivid moon, the born butterfly spreads its wet wings…and dances a waltz."
Break sauntered into the room and settled himself on a chair, smiling that lazy smile of his as the others made themselves comfortable .
Oz walked past him to draw the curtains, allowing long-awaited light to filter in through the windows.
And so the comfortable silence stretched on as they basked in the bright morning sunshine.
It warmed their hearts and they began to speak.
"So, in other words, Oz and Alice, your trip was successful?"
The golden-haired youth nodded enthusiastically.
Break gave a somewhat satisfied nod and turned to Gilbert, who has been quiet all the time, his eyes hidden by his fringe, making it hard to catch his expression.
"Earth to Gilbert~~~"
After failing to get his attention, Break thrust Emily in Gilbert's face and waved it around.
"Break!"
Gilbert jumped and glared at his white-haired friend.
"I see, still so useless, Gil-Gil~~~"
The later brought his sleeve to his mouth to conceal his smirk.
"Useless, Useless!" Emily chimed in.
"You!"
And the poor black-haired victim could do nothing but give the duo a severe glare.
Break continued with an unfazed smile, "Cat got your tongue, Gilbert?"
Immediately, at the mention of the taboo word, Gilbert paled and became a statue.
Oz laughed and tried to help his friend by poking him.
Alice ignored them and concentrated on her meat. (Meat, meat!)
Oz turned and suddenly wondered how, all of a sudden did the meat appear.
He spotted a maid standing by the door nervously holding a tray of empty plates.
He felt a bead of sweat drip down his brow and his mouth twitched.
A-Alice, you're really a carnivorous rabbit…
He looked around the room and gave a sigh of relief.
It was as if nothing has happened.
As if those months of heartbreak and pain never happened.
As if, they were back to those quiet, yet not so quiet days with Break poking fun at Gilbert, Alice eating her meat, Oz observing everything with a carefully concealed smile…..
And Sharon sipping her tea.
Such a pity she couldn't join.
But…everything wasn't back to normal.
Break had but a few months left.
The time spent in fear and worry that the clown of a man would never wake up again, they were precious.
Because every minute, every second mattered to a dying man.
A strange wave of regret swept over him at the time lost.
Oz felt a jab at his forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Yare, yare, a kid should act his age, or else he would be uncute…"
Break grinned, echoing the last word in Emily's strange high-pitched voice.
"Uncute, uncute, uncute!"
At Oz's lack of response, the creepy man went back to his favourite entertainment: teasing Gil-Gil….
"Break, you're really okay, now, right?"
Said man paused in his teasing and turned to him, his red eye gleaming deviously.
"What do you think?"
-X-
In a dark place devoid of light and warmth, a white-haired girl laughed.
"Finally, we can have some fun….Don't you agree, Lilith?"
Around her were shelves and shelves of puppets who cackled at the other girl's silence.
"She has become a puppet like us! Kekekeke…"
Still the other girl didn't respond, her long hair resting on the chequered floor limply, having once been blonde, but now bleached a ghastly white with hints of its former beauty.
Alyss smiled at this and looked up at the clock.
"My, it's time for tea! Jack would be here soon! We have not a second to waste."
She bustled around as the puppets engaged themselves in their grotesque dance.
"Come, Lilith, let's dance!"
So they danced.
On the blood-red carpet they turned and leapt, waltzing on the pain of others, the ones before them who have sacrificed.
Inside the heart where there should be turmoil and fear, it was silent.
So silent that you could hear a pin drop.
Lilith's movements jerked around like that of a controlled doll, having no will of its own.
Then a whisper in her ear, "You'll see him soon. Aren't you glad?"
Slowly, as if they were gears that were rusted from a long period of disuse, the lifeless pools of blue turned alive, brimming with fire.
The flames of hatred.
"Yes….And I'm sure he will be glad to see me…"
A bright, cheerful smile adorned the previously emotionless face while an innocent, tinkling voice flowed out.
But it did not belong.
Not with the huge tear in her green dress, not with the blood dripping from it, and not with the way her eyes bulged.
It resounded around the four walls, coming back with a kind of smooth quality that made one shiver.
Her lips curved even more to match the maniacal smile on Alyss' face.
The music flowed into their ears, a sound of dark, rich quality to drown one's conscience in.
So they waltzed towards the path of hatred, that which rings of sacrifice, of pain and of loss.
A path of no return.
-X-
All of a sudden, in all jest and laughter, rang out a statement which made the clown quieten down.
"Break, Mdm Shelly has passed away."
"When was it?"
Oz shook his head sadly.
Break gave a lofty smile.
"It was about time wasn't it? To end her suffering."
He said to no one in particular, a flicker of sadness passing through that crimson eye for an instant.
"What about Ojou-sama? She must have had it tough."
Just as the golden-haired boy was about to answer, the door burst open and Sharon stood there, tears in her eyes.
She ran into the white-haired man's arms and he held her gently, while asking her what was wrong.
"W-When I woke up, Break wasn't there. A-And I thought…"
His smile softened as he held her tighter.
"Hush, Ojou-sama…what a silly child."
She raised her tear-stained face such that their eyes met.
"Break…how are you feeling?"
"I'm fine."
"Now dry your tears. It's unbecoming of a lady like you."
To that reminder than did Sharon realise that the presence of the others in the room.
She blushed and scrambled out of Break's arms while the latter gave a chuckle.
"My, Ojou-sama is blushing~"
He gave a smirk and was continued by Emily.
"Blushing, how cute~"
Sharon's blush deepened and she looked around to see Gil and Oz stifling a laugh while Alice concentrated on her meat and did not look up.
"Stop it!"
She must have looked as red as a tomato.
And Break laughed out loud.
Her eyes suddenly turned murderous.
Out of nowhere she whipped out a harisen(Yes, the official document just now) and…
THWACK!
The white-haired man grinned and ran.
"You! Stop!"
She chased after him.
And Oz observed everything with his usual smile.
We don't have that much time left, so why don't we enjoy it as it is?
After all, you never know what may happen.
However, he didn't know at that moment, how true he was.
-X-
After they fooled around for half a day, they finally settled down to talk about serious stuff.
"So Gil-Gil, what was it that you needed to tell us~?"
"Stop calling me that!"
And Emily echoed in that high-pitched voice of hers, "Useless seaweed head!"
At that, Gilbert passed a glare in the teasing duo's direction before clearing his throat.
"Recently, there seems to be an illegal contractor on the streets, killing people. Pandora has sent several people after her but all proved to be unsuccessful."
"It's a she?"
"According to those eye-witnesses, it was a girl with long hair and her chain seems to be a giant butterfly."
"Butterfly?"
Gilbert nodded grimly.
"When she attacks, her chain attaches itself on her back, causing two butterfly wings to appear on her back."
"The strangest thing is, though…we don't see any contract mark on her. Each time she uses the chain, the contract mark should appear. But it doesn't."
Oz's eyes widened.
"Unless…she's like Alice?"
Sharon nodded solemnly.
"That's what we think. She's a chain."
"In fact, during the last meeting between the four dukes, she attacked the duke houses without warning, causing severe damage to both the buildings and the people."
"She seems to be looking for something…"
Break looked at the look of seriousness on his mistress' face and he understood.
"Ojou-sama, she hasn't attacked the Reinsworth house, has she?"
Both Gilbert and Oz inhaled sharply.
"That means…!"
"That's right. So we're waiting for her here, aren't we?"
"It's her. She must be involved."
Finally Alice looked up.
"The will of the Abyss."
-X-
"S-Sharon-sama!"
A maid came running, absolute terror on her bloodstained face.
Sharon placed her tea-cup down calmly.
"Yes?"
"She's killing everyone! Sharon-sama!"
She frowned slightly, standing up and moving forward towards the clearly trembling maid.
"Who? And why won't you come in?"
She stopped at the door where the maid stood.
Her rose-coloured eyes widened.
A girl with white-coloured hair stood behind the maid, grinning maliciously while her large butterfly wings flapped slowly.
"Watch out!" Sharon shrieked as the white-haired girl raised a hand to strike.
However, the maid seems to not notice and continued babbling.
"The intru-"
Her message was cut off with a sickening gurgle, as the maid fell to the floor, the moment forever frozen for her, her frightened eyes rolling to the back of her head lifelessly.
The white-haired girl's grin widened as she wiped her bloodstained hand on her green dress.
Sharon screamed.
-X-
In the cold darkness of the night, a girl stood under a pine tree as her giant butterfly wings unfurled silently.
A smile slips onto her face.
No, the curve of her lips could hardly be called a smile.
There was no warmth.
Only endless depths of chilling hatred.
"The time is come."
-X-
At the sound of that high-pitched scream, Break froze.
That…that's Ojou-sama's voice!
He took to his feet and ran towards the direction of the voice.
Ojou-sama, please be alright.
Behind him, Oz and Gilbert followed, both with similarly worried expressions on their face.
-X-
The white-haired girl observed Sharon in almost maniacal glee.
"So this is my replacement? Not bad…"
She stalked towards the terrified Sharon, smiling sweetly.
"Nice to meet you, Sharon Reinsworth."
Sharon backed away desperately, until there was nothing but wall behind her.
"Too bad that I'm still better."
The girl once again raised her hand.
Sharon closed her eyes in fear.
But the blow never fell.
"You'd better not try anything funny."
Those words that squeezed out from gritted teeth caught her attention.
That voice!
Her eyes snapped open.
"Break!" She cried out in relief.
Break rested his sword on the girl's neck firmly, drawing blood.
He looked exceptionally furious.
However, the girl was still smiling.
"Kevin."
The white-haired man's hand jerked in shock and the sword fell onto the floor with a sickening clang.
The girl skipped out of his control and went behind him, hugging him tightly.
"I've missed you so much, Kevin…" She whispered softly.
"Break!" Sharon exclaimed in horror.
He didn't seem to take notice but instead stiffly pried her hands from his waist and turned around to face her.
"Who. Are. You?"
He realised that his voice was shaking slightly and he cursed.
An expression of mock hurt filled the pale face.
"Kevin doesn't remember who I am? Lilith is so hurt…."
Break's eye widened and he shook his head.
"No…it can't be…"
His expression turned hard and he gripped her wrist tightly.
"You're not Lilith. Don't lie to me. Who. Exactly. Are you?"
She gave a cute little pout.
"Of course I'm Lilith! Can't Kevin recognise me anymore? Kevin's so mean~~~My hair colour just changed, that's all…"
He stared in disbelief.
But it's not possible!
Then he saw.
A long scar on her left arm.
"Scar…"
He traced that pale line with shaky fingers.
"Yes. I got it that time when I tried to stop you, remember?"
She beamed.
"Lilith…"
He gave a low moan and fell to his knees.
"I've finally found you, Kevin."
The innocent expression melts and she gave a chilling smile.
"All those years…all because you were foolish enough to try and change the past…"
A mixture of guilt and pain flitted across his features.
He gave an uncharacteristic shaky laugh.
"My fault. All my fault."
His voice was raw and anguished, not hoping for any forgiveness…because he couldn't forgive himself.
Then that innocent mask was back in place, as in it never slipped at all.
The girl came forward and wrapped her arms around the shaking figure comfortingly.
"It's all okay now, Kevin! We can go back!"
The sudden change of mood back and forth left a tinge of unease in everyone.
Indeed, with that pure lovely smile, she wrapped her large butterfly wings around him.
"Break!" The other occupants of the room didn't understand what was going on, but they knew what was going to happen.
"Do something!"
Sharon ran forward, trying to stop them.
The girl raised her face, the sweet innocence gone from her face, replaced by absolute annoyance.
"Go away."
She raised a hand to strike the plum-haired girl, but Break stood up and grabbed it, stopping her in time.
"Don't, Lilith. She is precious to me."
Lilith's face twisted in displeasure, but otherwise did nothing.
"Break, if you do nothing, you will…."
Oz came forward worriedly, not understanding why his friend is not fighting back.
"No."
"But…"
He smiled softly, a sigh escaping from his lips.
"The debts of my past have caught up with me. I have to pay them, that's all."
-X-
She thought that after Break woke up, everything was complete.
They will go back to doing missions for Pandora, and the old days of her whacking him with her harisen would resume.
Alas, fate chose to pronounce its cold judgement upon her.
When she thought that she's got everything back, it wants to snatch it away from her again.
Her rose orbs burned.
She won't allow it.
-X-
Everything was just wrong.
It wasn't supposed to turn out this way.
She wanted so much, to just stomp her foot childishly and tell them to stop.
"What do you think you are doing, Break?"
She expected a retort, a scolding, anything, anything was fine!
Anything other than that serene look of acceptance on his face.
As long as she can escape this nightmare, she'll do anything.
Her Xerx-nii was gentle.
"Ojou-sama," the sides of his lips curved up faintly, "wait for me. I'll be right back."
He tossed Emily at her.
"I'm leaving Emily with you for safekeeping~"
He gave his trademark grin and waved comically.
She caught the doll dazedly.
Then she shook her head fervently, tears surfacing.
Who did you think you're deceiving?
He gave her a long lingering look, as if he wanted to take every little detail of her, to commit it to his memory.
Then he smiled and was gone.
That lonely smile broke her heart.
Raw fear clawed at her from the inside.
She had a feeling that if she just let him be now, she will lose him.
No, I refuse.
She swallowed back her tears harshly and summoned Eques.
As a black hole opened up before her and she prepared to jump in, Oz grabbed her arm nervously.
"M-Matte, Sharon-chan. What are you doing?"
She smiled through her tears.
"I won't let him go."
-X-
Xerxes Break.
Formerly known as Kevin Ragnard, a knight of the Sinclair family.
Sharon Reinsworth.
Successor to the Reinsworth house, one of the four duke houses.
When they first met, he was fifty-two.
When they first met, she was seven.
A man of the past and a girl of the future whose paths weren't supposed to cross.
A moment of folly on his part and a little kindness on hers brought them together, made this forbidden romance happen.
He was her knight in shining armour and she, his precious princess.
In truth, they are but victims caught up in the unstopping torrent of time, played into the hands of the devil.
Will they, like many others before them, become mindless sacrifices in this cruel game of fate?
Or will their unyielding love see them through the storm?
Only time will determine their untold future.
After all, it was only though the undermining of time will the flimsy thread tying them together become strong.
也許就是要等 一百個世紀(Maybe we have to wait A hundred centuries)
我們才能夠發現 真愛的美麗(Then would we discover The beauty of true love)
To be continued.
A/N: Oh yes, at the beginning, the butterfly line, is from Alice's character song…And I've somewhat decided...this fic will span around 5 chapters, and I'll probably be producing a 2 or 3 chapter sequel to this after my national exams...after mid-november...yeah...
So, I ask of you...please review!^o^
I'm already all stressed up with sch starting and national exams this year...and I'm skipping all my breaks juz to try to stick to updating monthly, so please please please review!
If you don't, I'll be very sad...;_;
Signing out,
The Absolutely Hopeless Break-fan
Edit: I'm changing all the missing line breaks, now. Damn, return me all my line breaks, FF! -glare-